The ZIMBABWE Situation
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Zimbabweans
brace for bleak holiday with rising poverty, unemployment, food and cash
shortages
http://www.washingtonpost.com
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, December 25, 1:06
AM
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabweans are facing bleak holidays this year
amid
rising poverty, food and cash shortages and political uncertainty, with
some
describing it as the worst since the formation of the coalition
government
in the southern African nation.
President Robert Mugabe,
in a four-year-old coalition with former opposition
leader Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, announced an extra public holiday
Monday which has
created chaos for holiday shoppers and travelers. Banks
have closed, ATMs
have run out of cash and transport services have been
paralyzed.
This caps a year of political uncertainty, a deadlock
in constitutional
reforms and calls for elections in coming months, seen as
critical for
Mugabe, 88, who has ruled since independence from Britain in
1980.
In 2008, Mugabe’s party was accused of vote-rigging and blamed for
the worst
election violence since independence. As the election tempo
quickens,
political intimidation has resurfaced, according to independent
human rights
groups.
Zimbabwe’s unemployment is pegged at around 80
percent with many people in
Harare, the capital, eking out a living by
selling vegetables and fruits on
street corners.
Matthew Kapirima,
60, waits outside a busy supermarket for customers to buy
his boxes of
weather-beaten peaches and litchis for $10 each.
But holiday shoppers go
about their business without even giving him a
second
glance.
Kapirima has not sold any fruit in days and with a day left
before
Christmas, he said has to concede that he won’t be able to provide
his
family with food and new clothes this year.
“This is the worst
Christmas ever,” Kapirima told The Associated Press.
Kapirima has four
wives and 25 children living in the rural areas, but all
he has managed to
get them this Christmas is a 40-kilogram (88 pound) bag of
maize seed to
plant on his small-sized family plot in Mudzi.
He said he can’t travel to
his rural home because transport operators are
taking advantage of the
holiday rush to charge exorbitant fares.
“I have to forget about going
there and continue working for school fees for
January,” he
said.
Christmas in Zimbabwe is also the hunger season — the time between
harvests
from September to March — for most of the nation’s impoverished
rural
population who depend on food handouts.
Kapirima’s family joins
the 1 million Zimbabweans who live in drought-prone
areas who have received
food handouts for Christmas this year from the
United Nations.
Food
shortages are “worse” this year compared to the last three years due to
drought and constrained access to cash to buy seed and fertilizer for rural
farmers, said World Food Program Zimbabwe country director Felix
Bamezon.
Bamezon said the Zimbabwe government for the first time has
assisted by
providing grain to give to starving communities in rural
areas.
“This is good because they don’t interfere to tell us which people
to give
the food to,” he said.
The World Food Program has been
donating hampers of 10 kilograms (22 pounds)
of cereal, vegetable oil and
mixed beans to each person in qualifying
households every month since
September.
For those who live in areas where there are grain traders, WFP
gives out $3
per person in a household to buy the grain from traders instead
of the food
hampers.
An average household has five people, making it
$15 for a family to spend
for Christmas.
Bamezon also said their
organization helps vulnerable communities by
engaging them in “food for
work” projects where people work to get food
during the time they are not
provided food assistance.
Rural communities have come up with coping
mechanisms such as cutting down
the number of meals a day from three to one
and selling their prized
livestock, furniture and household goods. Bamezon
said he had heard reports
that some young girls are given away to elderly
men for early marriages.
The U.N.’s childrens agency, UNICEF, has in
previous research this year
noted that girls and young women have been
pressured by destitute families
to solicit as prostitutes in bars and
shopping areas.
In the troubled economy, money is not trickling down from
the nation’s urban
elite, who own luxury cars and mansions, to the urban and
rural poor.
“Life is getting harder in this country,” said fruit vendor
Kaparima. “There
is nothing to celebrate this Christmas.”
18
perish in single deadliest car crash yet
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
24/12/2012 00:00:00
by
Staff Reporter
EIGHTEEN people were killed late Sunday in the
single deadliest car accident
yet this festive season, near
Mutare.
Police say a lorry overloaded with 63 fresh produce farmers
veered off the
road and flipped several times, killing 17 passengers on the
spot and
injuring 46.
One person was pronounced dead on arrival at
the Hauna District Hospital,
where more than 30 others are receiving
treatment.
Manicaland Province police spokesman Enock Chisiri told state
radio that
while they were still investigating the cause of the crash, it
was clear the
open truck was overloaded.
Before the Mutare accident,
police had recorded 70 fatalities since the
outset of the festive season on
December 15.
Superintendent Tinaye Matake blamed speeding for most of the
crashes and
urged motorists to observe all road regulations.
Matake
said 412 injuries have since been noted from 579 accidents.
Matabeleland
North Province had the highest number of deaths, with 13 people
killed in 16
accidents.
Harare, Matake said, led in the number of crashes, with 244
cases that
claimed 6 lives.
Some 546 defective vehicles were
impounded and 8, 000 drivers have been
cited for overloading.
Last
year, a total of 147 people were killed while 1, 304 others were
injured
during the Christmas festive period.
The police traffic department is
currently running a public campaign to
promote road safety under the theme
“Drive Safe, Arrive Alive.”
The awareness started December 15 and runs
through January 15.
Coltart
differs with Ncube over election pact
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/12/2012 00:00:00
by
Staff Reporter
MDC senator David Coltart has differed sharply
with his boss, Welshman
Ncube, over the need for an electoral pact with
Morgan Tsvangirai, declaring
that an alliance is “absolutely necessary”
ahead of elections next year.
Ncube, leader of the MDC, dismissed chances
of any such coalition with the
MDC-T recently saying the two parties stood
for diametrically different
causes.
“We are MDC and we won’t have
pacts. We stand alone because what we stand
for is different from what other
parties stand for,” Ncube said.
But Education Minister Coltart on Sunday
differed with Ncube saying while he
agreed that reuniting the splintered
party would not be easy, he believed a
coalition to unseat President Robert
Mugabe was not only possible but
necessary.
“Reunification is
desirable but very difficult,” Coltart said on the
micro-blogging site,
Twitter. “So an election pact is more feasible and
necessary.”
At a
recent rally, Tsvangirai dismissed Ncube as a petty “village
politician”
unsuitable for national office.
Ncube took umbrage at the
characterisation, and when asked if he would
consider coalescing with
Tsvangirai, he retorted: “How can villagers unite
with
royalty?”
Those close to the two men say they had a longstanding mutual
contempt for
each other that snowballed into outright hatred following the
MDC split in
2005.
The idea of a broad democratic coalition is
currently being thrown around,
with some people urging both Tsvangirai and
Ncube to bury the hatchet and
forge an alliance.
MDC-T
secretary-general Tendai Biti - one of the officials who vainly pushed
for
the reunification of the party ahead of the 2008 polls - says while he
has
given up on the prospects of a reunification, he still hopes a pact is
achievable.
“I pray that there will be maturity at the relevant time
not for the
reunification of the parties, I think that will never happen,
but for some
kind of electoral pact,” Biti told NewZimbabwe.com
recently.
“I hope the leaders of all the democracy loving political
parties in
Zimbabwe - Simba Makoni, Dumiso Dabengwa, Welshman Ncube, Morgan
Tsvangirai
and others - will come together for some kind of
pact.”
Had the two MDC formations contested the last election as a united
force,
Tsvangirai would have won decisively.
But a split opposition
vote, coupled with violence and intimidation by Zanu
PF functionaries, laid
the ground for Mugabe, 88, to remain in office.
Tsvangirai fell shy of
the requisite 50.1 percent, polling 47.9 percent of
the vote against
Mugabe’s 43.2 percent.
Backed by the Ncube MDC, Mavambo/Kusile leader
Simba Makoni bagged 8.3
percent. A run-off followed between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai, but the MDC-T
leader pulled out citing violence.
Teachers
Union Dismisses New Zimbabwe Census Figures
http://www.voazimbabwe.com
23.12.2012
The
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has joined the Bulawayo
City
Council to dispute the results of this year’s national population
census
released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) last
Monday.
At the heart of the dispute are census figures showing
stagnant or negative
population growth in the Midlands, Manicaland, Bulawayo
and Masvingo
provinces.
PTUZ claims the figures were manipulated by
the country’s spy network, the
Central Intelligence Organization, the
military and President Robert Mugabe’s
Zanu PF party in an effort to limit
voter registration in those areas for
next year’s election.
The
census indicates that Zimbabwe has a population of about 12.9 million
people
– a 1.1 percent increase from 2002, when the country had 11.6
million.
ZimStats says Harare has 16 percent of the total population,
followed by
Manicaland with 14 percent, Midlands 13 percent, Masvingo and
Mashonaland
West 11 percent each, Mashonaland central 9 percent and
Matabeleland North 6
percent.
Matabeleland South and Bulawayo account
for 5 percent of the total
population each. These figures are being strongly
disputed by Bulawayo Mayor
Patrick Thaba Moyo.
Moyo insists the city has
more than one million people, not the just over
655,000 people counted by
ZimStats.
ZimStats manager Washington Mapeta insists the population
figures are
accurate.
Census figures are used officially to allocate
government resources. As a
result, it is not uncommon for census figures to
be disputed.
Tsvangirai
in rallying call: Register to Vote
http://nehandaradio.com
on December 24, 2012 at 7:38
am
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has urged people to register
to vote during
the three month-voter registration window starting in
January.
In an exclusive interview with the Prime Minister’s
Newsletter Tsvangirai
said that people should register to vote so that they
will be able to vote
in the forthcoming watershed elections expected next
year. He said people
must vote next year and that there should be no
apathy.
“I appeal to the people of Zimbabwe to go and register in order
to vote next
year if they want to participate in the watershed elections and
shape the
future of the country,” Tsvangirai said.
“We have set up a
three-month voter registration period and this will enable
everyone to
register to vote. By the end of January and early February we
should be able
to hold a referendum on the draft constitution. The decision
to hold
elections will be determined after the referendum,” the Premier
added.
PM Tsvangirai said that the voter registration as well as the
referendum
will be held concurrently. “The three months of voter
registration will
coincide with the referendum. I have agreed with President
Mugabe to instill
some discipline before the holding of the elections so
that free and fair
polls are held,” he said.
Trade
deficit tops US$3,8bn
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 20 hours 22 minutes
ago
ZIMBABWE registered a US$3,8 billion budget deficit
in the period January to
November 2012, as the volume of imports continued
to gallop ahead of
exports.
According to latest statistics from the
Ministry of Finance, imports in the
period to November 15 totalled US$7
billion.
Presenting the State of the Economy address, Finance Minister Tendai
Biti
last week said imports had increased by US$2,5 billion over last year’s
comparative period.
“Cumulative imports to November 15, 2012, amounted
US$7 billion compared to
US$5,5 billion recorded in the corresponding period
in 2011,” he said.
Total foreign payments breached the US$700 million
threshold three times
since January in March, July and October, while
exceeding US$600 million
mark in January,
April, May, June, August and
September.
In what is fast becoming an ominous reality, imports are this year
expected
to exceed US$8 billion.
The disparity between imports and
exports means the country is losing more
than it is earning in terms of
foreign currency inflows.
As such, growing current account deficit drains
most of the liquidity
critically required to fund industry. Imports were in
sharp contrast to the
US$3,42 billion worth of exports from Zimbabwe over
the same period.
The country’s trade deficit remains unsustainable despite
the fact that
exports rose by 9,6 percent since January.
Minerals
dominated exports, accounting for 61 percent of the export
inflows,
followed by tobacco at 21,8 percent, agriculture 9,2 percent,
manufacturing
6,7 percent, horticulture 0,3 percent and hunting 0,2
percent.
Mining
exports totalled US$2,1 billion, tobacco US$747,2 million,
agriculture
US$313,4 million, manufacturing US$228,4 million, horticulture
US$10
million, while hunting contributed US$7,7 million.
“Cumulatively, total
exports to 15 November stood at US$3,42 billion
compared with US$3,12
billion realised during the corresponding period in
2011,” he
said.
Zimbabwean industries have generally had difficulties in competing on
the
global market due to old equipment, the high cost of funding and
utilities,
critical shortage of power and high wage demands, among
others.
The multiplicity of factors that continue to dog industry has seen
industrial capacity, which rose from about 20 percent in 2008 to 57 percent
last year, but falling again this year to an average of 44,5 percent.
The
Ministry of Industry and Commerce estimates that local industry needs
about
US$2,5 billion to re-build its industrial base after a decade of
economic
instability.
Obama
appoints Zimbabwean academic
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 5 hours 48 minutes
ago
A ZIMBABWEAN James M Manyika was on Friday appointed into
the United States
President’s Global Development Council in a major
milestone for the
University of Zimbabwe graduate.
Manyika, who is
currently the director of the McKinsey Global Institute and
a senior partner
at McKinsey& Company, was among 12 people appointed by
President Barack
Obama into key administration posts.
“These dedicated and accomplished
individuals will be value additions to my
administration as we tackle the
important challenges facing America,” Obama
said.
“I look forward to
working with them in the months and years ahead.”
Her
Zimbabwe too has been hacked
http://www.techzim.co.zw/
By Staff Writer
December 24th,
2012
Earlier today, we posted an article noting that popular local
entertainment
blog Zimbo Jam, had been hacked. The website has since been
fixed, but it
turns out they were not the only website on the server that
was hacked.
Another local website herzimbabwe.co.zw, was also hacked. The
information
was availed to us via our Facebook page after we posted the
Zimbo Jam news.
Her Zimbabwe was hacked by the same hackers that hit
Zimbo Jam, and
according to the Her Zimbabwe founder, Fungai Machirori, the
website is
hosted on the same server. Her Zimbabwe also uses the Joomla
content
management system. So far the website has not been fixed as it still
shows
the hacker’s page.
Her Zimbabwe is dedicated to discussing and
articulating Zimbabwean women’s
issues and experiences. It was launched in
March this year.
Tsvangirai
shocked by death of Deputy Minister
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
Staff Reporter 6 hours 58
minutes ago
The body of the late Agriculture, Mechanisation
and Irrigation Development
deputy minister Seiso Moyo yesterday left Harare
for burial in Bulawayo this
afternoon with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
describing him as a
“critical team player”.
Moyo, who was also MP for
Nketa, died at a private Harare hospital on Friday
following a short
illness.
MDC-T national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa said Moyo (56)
will be
buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery at 12pm.
Tsvangirai, who has lost
a number of his top allies since the inception of
the inclusive government
in 2009, said his party had been robbed of a team
player who would be
difficult to replace.
“We have lost the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Seiso
Moyo,” Tsvangirai
said on the micro blogging site Twitter.
“He was a
critical team player and the void he has created shall be
difficult to
fill.”
Chamisa said Moyo was a cog in the MDC-T, describing him as a shrewd
tactician who was helping the party with organisation ahead of next year’s
elections.
“He was a versatile leader of excellence,” he said. “He was a
strategist,
short on words, but long in deeds. His actions were very
loud.”
Chamisa said the deputy minister was a “political gentleman”, who was
principled and worked hard to unify the party in Matabeleland after the 2005
split.
MDC-T deputy national organising secretary, Abednico Bhebhe, said
the
funeral will start at the Lutheran Church in Moyo’s constituency.
“He
will lie in state at his Newton West home before burial tomorrow
(today),”
he said.
“We hope his body will arrive in time today (yesterday) so that we
have a
church service at his home.”
Bhebhe said mourners were yesterday
gathered at Moyo’s home waiting for the
arrival of the body.
Speaker of
Parliament Lovemore Moyo, Water Resources minister Samuel Sipepa
Nkomo and
Chamisa were among the party’s top officials who escorted the body
to
Bulawayo.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said Moyo’s death was a sad
development
for his party.
“We have lost a political gentleman and a man
of the people,” he said.
Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo said the deputy minister’s
death was a loss for
the region.
“It’s shocking,” he said. “Being a
cousin of mine, a friend, a colleague and
a homeboy; it’s a sad loss
indeed.
“Considering that he was one of the leaders that we looked up to in
the
representation of the region, we are now one leader short.”
MDC
Bulawayo spokesperson Edwin Ndlovu described the late Moyo as, “a
down-to-earth and humble politician”.
“As the Bulawayo province of the
MDC, we are saddened by the passing on of
the agriculture deputy minister,”
he said.
“We regarded him as a down-to-earth and humble politician who
interacted
with everyone.
“He was one of the few sober-minded politicians
I knew.
“We will mourn him and we will miss him.”
Moyo is survived by his
wife Sinini and five children.
Borders calm
ahead of Christmas
http://www.news24.com
2012-12-24 14:07
Johannesburg - Traffic has
gone down substantially at the Beit Bridge border
to Zimbabwe and the
Lebombo border to Mozambique on Monday, said the Border
Control Operation
Co-ordinating Committee (BCOCC).
BCOCC spokesperson Patrick Moeng said it
was mostly commercial trucks that
were making their way through the border
posts.
"We have very few buses and vehicles passing through... When I
checked at
the Beit Bridge this morning, there were only 19 vehicles waiting
to pass
the border and that is a large contrast to the last few days," he
said.
Moeng said it was not surprising that the borders were quiet at
this time.
"Most people are thinking there is going to be a big rush on
the roads and
at the border so they leave on the 22nd and 23rd [December]...
On the 24th,
we find that it is usually quiet," he said.
The BCOCC
was already preparing for another big rush after 1 January.
"We are
reviewing plans to see how we can improve the roads for New Year's
but the
traffic will not have a big effect on South African as it will be
coming
from the other side of the borders," Moeng said.
He added that they were
working on plans to give travellers information
about when was the most
convenient time to travel in order to avoid traffic
jams.
No major
accidents
Both the Zimbabwean and Mozambican borders received more
vehicles this year
than they did in 2011.
"Last year, the Beit Bridge
border processed 19 000 vehicles a day but this
year, there were around 30
000 vehicles a day.
"Lebombo processed around 17 000 last year and it was
around 28 000 this
year."
No major accidents or incidents have been
reported at the borders or close
to the border areas.
"It was just
the incident on Sunday where a man died of natural causes at
the Beit Bridge
border," said Moeng.
The Zimbabwean national was reportedly coming from a
medical check-up in
South Africa.
Moeng said the man asked to be
escorted to the bathroom but collapsed and
died between the bus and the
bathroom.
Last week on Monday, a woman gave birth to twins at the Beit
Bridge border
and on Tuesday, another woman also gave birth.
"They
were incident-free births. Both the babies and mothers were in good
health."
- SAPA
Zimbabwean
drug mule spared death in Hong Kong
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com/
Staff Reporter 1 hour
ago
A Zimbabwean woman, Regina Makwembere, 40, has been
spared a death sentence
and instead sentenced to serve seven and half years
by a Magistrate’s court
in Hong Kong after being convicted of smuggling hard
drugs.
Makwembere, a dressmaker by profession, had amphetamine drugs in her
luggage
as she passed through the Hong Kong International Airport en-route
to
Thailand in March this year.
Per her account, she picked the drugs
from a lady named Pearl in South
Africa who helped her smuggle them via the
Oliver Tambo International
Airport.
Amphetamine is a psycho-stimulant
drug that produces increased wakefulness
and focus in association with
decreased fatigue and appetite.
Makwembere has been in jail since March this
year and had travelled to South
Africa by bus around February 15 after which
she stayed in a hotel in
Johannesburg before meeting the named, ‘Pearl’ and
heading to Hong Kong.
The value of the contraband meant for Thailand was not
disclosed.
Makwembere is not the only one. Fifteen other Zimbabwean women are
reportedly serving sentences in Asian jails for hard drug-related
offences.
Regina may have found relief in the form of mere luck since in Asia
drug-linked crimes usually attract automatoc death sentences.
Zimbabwean
citizens are used to transport their consignments because locals
had lesser
chances of raising suspicion.
At least 16 Zimbabwean women are stuck in Asian
jails, 14 convicted of drug
smuggling and two others awaiting the conclusion
of their trial and face the
death penalty if convicted.
According to the
Foreign Affairs Ministry of the 16 women in Asian jails, 14
are jailed in
China where they have been convicted of offences ranging from
drug
trafficking to illegal ivory trade.
Eight are serving their sentences at the
Beijing Women Prison, Beijing
Second Prison and Tianjin Prison while six
others are detained at the
Guangzhou Prison.
Two other Zimbabwean women
are facing the death penalty in Malaysia. Some
Asian countries including
Malaysia could soon impose stringent travel
requirements for Zimbabwe and
other African countries following the increase
of use of locals to smuggle
drugs.
According to an inside source plans were at an advanced stage to
implement
new visa regulations as a result of the rampant drug
trafficking.
Several countries such as Zimbabwe that until now enjoyed
visa-free travel
to some Asian countries will have visa requirements imposed
upon them as a
way of curbing drug trafficking.
Nurse flees
to Zimbabwe after battering UK girlfriend
http://nehandaradio.com
on December 24, 2012 at 8:06
am
SURREY (UK) — A Zimbabwean born nurse is on the run after
being caught on
CCTV beating up his girlfriend. Malvern Kurehwa (38) is
being sought by
Surrey Police for a separate matter and it is believed he
has fled to
Zimbabwe.
Kurehwa, from Rosehill, had pleaded guilty
to battery of his girlfriend at
Sutton Magistrates Court on October 20, 2009
and was ordered to pay a fine
of £230. As a result of the sentence, Kurehwa
was told by the Nursing and
Midwifery Council (NMC) his fitness to practice
as a mental health nurse was
compromised.
He was due to face the NMC
on December 14 to hear the panel determine his
future, but he failed to show
up. He informed the panel in October this year
that he was raising funds for
a flight in order to attend the hearing. A
panel decided in his absence that
he should be struck off the nursing
register.
The panel concluded
that “there is a real, current need for public
protection in this case”. At
the hearing at the International Dispute
Resolutions Centre on Fleet Street,
Central London, the panel heard about
the incident which gave rise to his
conviction.
On October 18, 2009, Kurehwa had called police from a
phonebox in Rosehill
claiming he was being attacked by his
girlfriend.
However, CCTV footage in fact showed him punching his
girlfriend in the head
at least four times whilst holding her around her
neck before dragging her
to the floor and pushing her across the
road.
A report of the NMC hearing said: “In considering Kurehwa’s fitness
to
practise, the panel reminded itself of its duty to protect patients and
its
wider duty to protect the public interest which includes the declaring
and
upholding of proper standards of conduct and behaviour.
“The
panel considered that Kurehwa’s actions are fundamentally incompatible
with
remaining on the register.”
Meanwhile, a Zimbabwean woman has admitted
having false documentation, which
allowed her to work as a nurse with
Scotland’s largest health board. Asylum
seeker Doreen Mutasa (31), was
refused leave to stay in the United Kingdom
in 2004 but was granted a
temporary stay in 2010 on condition that she did
not work.
The UK
Border Agency later discovered that the Zimbabwean national had been
using a
false UK residence permit. Mustasa worked with NHS Greater Glasgow
and Clyde
from 2008 until 2012. Surrey Comet/BBC
Tsvangirai on politics and personal
life
on December 24, 2012 at 6:23 am
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai speaks
on wide ranging issues from politics, Government, the MDC and his personal
life.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
Q: Prime Minister how do you rate
Government performance in 2012?
PM: A major milestone this Government
has achieved is the constitution-making process. The second All stakeholders
conference we had made the process irreversible. We also launched the Medium
Term Plan (MTP) and other various social interventions we did as Government in
health, education and water.
By the end of the year we look back and
say we have succeeded in dealing with the water situation in most urban centres.
The Mtshabezi pipeline has started supplying water to residents in Bulawayo and
this is another milestone we are happy about. We had a very good engagement
drive with the international community.
We went to the Asian-Pacific, Japan,
Australia, New Zealand and I think Zimbabwe’s position was well received in so
far as the inclusive Government was concerned. For the first time we were
invited to China and the general impression was that we were making progress and
that the country was not deteriorating further to a failed
State.
We were making progress on the economic
front but one thing that has become an international concern is the
indigenisation law but generally the interest in the country was greatly
enhanced. If we are able to resolve some of these hygiene issues this country
will be on a very strong positive trajectory.
Q: Other
positives…?
PM: With a narrow budget and very
restricted fiscal space, the Ministry of Finance demonstrated that with the
little means that we had we managed to sustain Government
operations.
I think the issue of the relaxation of
restrictions on technical assistance to Zimbabwe by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), debt restructuring and the continued consolidation of the
macro-economic situation were positive developments.
We implemented the ICT policy, which saw
the whole country being wired up with mobile access. In the health sector we saw
the setting up of cancer centres in Harare and Bulawayo. In education, we had
Grade 7 results announced way before Christmas and it is an
achievement.
On roads under the Government Work
Programme (GWP) there is the resurfacing of the Plumtree-Mutare
road.
A lot of major activities are taking
place. If you go to other critical interventions, the ministry of Energy has
made efforts to find a solution to the Chisumbanje ethanol plant dispute, the
issue of Government intervening to protect the Save conservancy against what
maybe concluded as a bad-boy image for the country.
Internationally the diamond issue seems
to be near resolution and what is required now is greater transparency in
accounting for the proceeds to the fiscus.
Q:What were some of the challenges in
2012?
PM: The challenges we faced largely
arose from policy discord especially around indigenisation. It would appear the
Government was split with Zanu PF going with its so-called indigenisation plan
which scared away investors.
The policy discord affected investor
confidence in the country because of the manner the indigenisation plan was
implemented. It created so much discord. We hope the nation will be able to set
the real priorities when we come to economic empowerment, which we all subscribe
to.
In the MDC we have always not been happy
about the selective application of the law mirrored by the Glen View activist
arrests and denial of bail. The perception that there is the selective
application of the law does not bode well for a government that is trying to
instill a sense of rule of law.
Q: What is in store for
2013?
PM: I think the country can only go from
strength to strength if we are able to deal with our hygiene issues of politics.
I am sure our country will be on a very positive trajectory economically and
that is the growth we are all looking for, increasing the cake in order for us
to share it.
My focus is to increase the cake,
increase the potential economic growth that is there and that will enhance
internal distribution of wealth.
Q: Is this cake only confined to the
economic issues?
PM: No. It involves even the democratic
cake. It means the people are freer and enjoy the same rights countrywide. The
constitution will, for the first time, provide greater freedom and space for
people to pursue their own individual dreams and opportunities. It is a positive
thing for the country.
Q: How far have you gone with other
issues such as security sector realignment?
PM: We are going to have a meeting of
the National Security council before the end of year. As you know we have not
been able to meet for the past six months for various reasons.
We will receive reports of what has
happened over the last six months and also define in clear terms what is the
role of the security sector in the forth-coming election. We need to have an
agreement because first and foremost we have the GPA, which defines how State
organs should behave.
We also have the Constitution, the
Defence Act and the Police Act which define specifically how these institutions
should behave and above all we need to comply with the Sadc guidelines on how to
conduct free and fair elections.
These are matters that we should be in a
position to discuss without acrimony because there sometimes is a tendency,
given what statements have been issued, to be negative but definitely everyone
should try to find a positive solution to have these institutions behave as
expected at law.
Q: How are you going to deal with
violence?
PM: Firstly, I want to state the
commitment of the Principals to ending violence. Judging by what I discussed
with the President and what he said to Cabinet, its basically to say we do not
want violence. I think this has become a consistent message. Do people believe
the President, I do not know.
Given the characteristics of our
previous elections that have been characterised by violence, I think people have
a justifiable reason to be afraid of the forthcoming
elections.
We need to embark on a reassuring
agenda. We will be addressing the press before end of year about the same thing,
about how we have to conduct ourselves, that we need free
campaigning.
Let the people of Zimbabwe choose, why
should we always be under scrutiny by the international community on how we
behave during elections. It is time we demonstrated the political maturity that
has been put on a test by working together in the inclusive Government. Let us
set those standards.
Secondly, we have Jomic that monitors
and acts on violence. We are hoping to expand Jomic so that we have all the
political actors that will be involved in the election so that we all agree on
what standards to set. Thirdly, the police have an obligation to maintain and
restore law and order without fear or favour.
From now on we have to categorically
state that whoever violates the rights of the people must be prosecuted. The
violence perpetrated in the last election is totally unacceptable and we want
the police to do their work professionally. We believe the church also has an
obligation to ensure that there is peace in the country.
Going around the country for prayer
meetings this year gave me the feeling that we should not only talk about peace
but we should act peacefully. The church has an obligation to ensure peace.
Incidents of violence violate not only the physical beings but also the people’s
spirits.
Q: How do you rate your party going into
the watershed elections?
PM: The MDC is in a very good shape. I
saw it for myself when I went around the 12 provinces. The party has very
serious momentum. People are determined to complete the struggle they started 13
years ago. I am happy with the state of the party and the commitment is
there.
We always emphasise that power is
institutional and not for an individual. We do not put forward the individual
but the collective will of the party and I am happy with that. The leadership is
united. We are working as a team and even the people are happy that the
leadership is united.
Q: What is your thrust going
forward?
PM: The coming election will be issue
based. It is about who is going to provide a clear vision for the future. For me
the challenge is not about President Mugabe and Zanu PF failures which are well
known and well documented but it is about the MDC talking about its specific
plans, and its vision. What are the policies and programmes of the MDC to take
this country forward?
Q: Do you have that clear
vision?
PM: We do have a clear vision. We are
very clear to build a modern, democratic and developmental State that respects
the people’s wishes, not to cover up for the failures of the State but to ensure
that the administration facilitates for people to achieve their
dreams.
We recently launched, the Jobs,
Upliftment, Investment, Capital and Environment (Juice). Juice is a
comprehensive jobs plan because we believe that the critical social question we
face is unemployment. People are being educated and yet there is no industry to
absorb them. This is very frustrating for the young
population.
They are disillusioned and we need to
come up with a response mechanism which focuses on the creation of jobs, revival
of industries, infrastructure rehabilitation, agriculture, foreign direct
investment, ensuring that the skills level we have in the country are enhanced
and that will create a absorption capacity for the unemployed in this
country.
Q: Are structures ready for elections
and to govern?
PM: The resounding conviction is that we
are ready not only for elections but to govern. They are ready and I am happy
too.
Asked about how his personal life had
panned out in 2012, Tsvangirai gave this reaction:
PM: I am glad that I have found someone
I love. I am very happy and positively looking forward to
2013.
Tsvangirai on politics and personal
life
on December 24, 2012 at 6:23 am
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai speaks
on wide ranging issues from politics, Government, the MDC and his personal
life.
Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai
Q: Prime Minister how do you rate
Government performance in 2012?
PM: A major milestone this Government
has achieved is the constitution-making process. The second All stakeholders
conference we had made the process irreversible. We also launched the Medium
Term Plan (MTP) and other various social interventions we did as Government in
health, education and water.
By the end of the year we look back and
say we have succeeded in dealing with the water situation in most urban centres.
The Mtshabezi pipeline has started supplying water to residents in Bulawayo and
this is another milestone we are happy about. We had a very good engagement
drive with the international community.
We went to the Asian-Pacific, Japan,
Australia, New Zealand and I think Zimbabwe’s position was well received in so
far as the inclusive Government was concerned. For the first time we were
invited to China and the general impression was that we were making progress and
that the country was not deteriorating further to a failed
State.
We were making progress on the economic
front but one thing that has become an international concern is the
indigenisation law but generally the interest in the country was greatly
enhanced. If we are able to resolve some of these hygiene issues this country
will be on a very strong positive trajectory.
Q: Other
positives…?
PM: With a narrow budget and very
restricted fiscal space, the Ministry of Finance demonstrated that with the
little means that we had we managed to sustain Government
operations.
I think the issue of the relaxation of
restrictions on technical assistance to Zimbabwe by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF), debt restructuring and the continued consolidation of the
macro-economic situation were positive developments.
We implemented the ICT policy, which saw
the whole country being wired up with mobile access. In the health sector we saw
the setting up of cancer centres in Harare and Bulawayo. In education, we had
Grade 7 results announced way before Christmas and it is an
achievement.
On roads under the Government Work
Programme (GWP) there is the resurfacing of the Plumtree-Mutare
road.
A lot of major activities are taking
place. If you go to other critical interventions, the ministry of Energy has
made efforts to find a solution to the Chisumbanje ethanol plant dispute, the
issue of Government intervening to protect the Save conservancy against what
maybe concluded as a bad-boy image for the country.
Internationally the diamond issue seems
to be near resolution and what is required now is greater transparency in
accounting for the proceeds to the fiscus.
Q:What were some of the challenges in
2012?
PM: The challenges we faced largely
arose from policy discord especially around indigenisation. It would appear the
Government was split with Zanu PF going with its so-called indigenisation plan
which scared away investors.
The policy discord affected investor
confidence in the country because of the manner the indigenisation plan was
implemented. It created so much discord. We hope the nation will be able to set
the real priorities when we come to economic empowerment, which we all subscribe
to.
In the MDC we have always not been happy
about the selective application of the law mirrored by the Glen View activist
arrests and denial of bail. The perception that there is the selective
application of the law does not bode well for a government that is trying to
instill a sense of rule of law.
Q: What is in store for
2013?
PM: I think the country can only go from
strength to strength if we are able to deal with our hygiene issues of politics.
I am sure our country will be on a very positive trajectory economically and
that is the growth we are all looking for, increasing the cake in order for us
to share it.
My focus is to increase the cake,
increase the potential economic growth that is there and that will enhance
internal distribution of wealth.
Q: Is this cake only confined to the
economic issues?
PM: No. It involves even the democratic
cake. It means the people are freer and enjoy the same rights countrywide. The
constitution will, for the first time, provide greater freedom and space for
people to pursue their own individual dreams and opportunities. It is a positive
thing for the country.
Q: How far have you gone with other
issues such as security sector realignment?
PM: We are going to have a meeting of
the National Security council before the end of year. As you know we have not
been able to meet for the past six months for various reasons.
We will receive reports of what has
happened over the last six months and also define in clear terms what is the
role of the security sector in the forth-coming election. We need to have an
agreement because first and foremost we have the GPA, which defines how State
organs should behave.
We also have the Constitution, the
Defence Act and the Police Act which define specifically how these institutions
should behave and above all we need to comply with the Sadc guidelines on how to
conduct free and fair elections.
These are matters that we should be in a
position to discuss without acrimony because there sometimes is a tendency,
given what statements have been issued, to be negative but definitely everyone
should try to find a positive solution to have these institutions behave as
expected at law.
Q: How are you going to deal with
violence?
PM: Firstly, I want to state the
commitment of the Principals to ending violence. Judging by what I discussed
with the President and what he said to Cabinet, its basically to say we do not
want violence. I think this has become a consistent message. Do people believe
the President, I do not know.
Given the characteristics of our
previous elections that have been characterised by violence, I think people have
a justifiable reason to be afraid of the forthcoming
elections.
We need to embark on a reassuring
agenda. We will be addressing the press before end of year about the same thing,
about how we have to conduct ourselves, that we need free
campaigning.
Let the people of Zimbabwe choose, why
should we always be under scrutiny by the international community on how we
behave during elections. It is time we demonstrated the political maturity that
has been put on a test by working together in the inclusive Government. Let us
set those standards.
Secondly, we have Jomic that monitors
and acts on violence. We are hoping to expand Jomic so that we have all the
political actors that will be involved in the election so that we all agree on
what standards to set. Thirdly, the police have an obligation to maintain and
restore law and order without fear or favour.
From now on we have to categorically
state that whoever violates the rights of the people must be prosecuted. The
violence perpetrated in the last election is totally unacceptable and we want
the police to do their work professionally. We believe the church also has an
obligation to ensure that there is peace in the country.
Going around the country for prayer
meetings this year gave me the feeling that we should not only talk about peace
but we should act peacefully. The church has an obligation to ensure peace.
Incidents of violence violate not only the physical beings but also the people’s
spirits.
Q: How do you rate your party going into
the watershed elections?
PM: The MDC is in a very good shape. I
saw it for myself when I went around the 12 provinces. The party has very
serious momentum. People are determined to complete the struggle they started 13
years ago. I am happy with the state of the party and the commitment is
there.
We always emphasise that power is
institutional and not for an individual. We do not put forward the individual
but the collective will of the party and I am happy with that. The leadership is
united. We are working as a team and even the people are happy that the
leadership is united.
Q: What is your thrust going
forward?
PM: The coming election will be issue
based. It is about who is going to provide a clear vision for the future. For me
the challenge is not about President Mugabe and Zanu PF failures which are well
known and well documented but it is about the MDC talking about its specific
plans, and its vision. What are the policies and programmes of the MDC to take
this country forward?
Q: Do you have that clear
vision?
PM: We do have a clear vision. We are
very clear to build a modern, democratic and developmental State that respects
the people’s wishes, not to cover up for the failures of the State but to ensure
that the administration facilitates for people to achieve their
dreams.
We recently launched, the Jobs,
Upliftment, Investment, Capital and Environment (Juice). Juice is a
comprehensive jobs plan because we believe that the critical social question we
face is unemployment. People are being educated and yet there is no industry to
absorb them. This is very frustrating for the young
population.
They are disillusioned and we need to
come up with a response mechanism which focuses on the creation of jobs, revival
of industries, infrastructure rehabilitation, agriculture, foreign direct
investment, ensuring that the skills level we have in the country are enhanced
and that will create a absorption capacity for the unemployed in this
country.
Q: Are structures ready for elections
and to govern?
PM: The resounding conviction is that we
are ready not only for elections but to govern. They are ready and I am happy
too.
Asked about how his personal life had
panned out in 2012, Tsvangirai gave this reaction:
PM: I am glad that I have found someone
I love. I am very happy and positively looking forward to
2013.
Indigenisation:
Is the timing appropriate?
http://www.newzimbabwe.com
23/12/2012 00:00:00
by Graham
Nyakudjga
ZIMBABWE has gone through a massive land redistribution
program which
although successful, has almost brought the country to its
knees
economically. The reasons which caused this downward spiral of the
economy
are varied.
The random seizures of once productive farms,
sanctions imposed by
international powers, corruption and successive
droughts are some of the
major causes of this historic economic
disaster.
Were the land seizures wrong? The answers differ according to
one's
viewpoint.
My personal view is that it was inevitable to
redistribute land as the
majority of people were squeezed in small
unproductive plots in rural areas
in a country they called theirs. A need to
resolve that condition was
paramount considering too that it was one of the
burning issues which
Zimbabweans fought for during the liberation
war.
Nevertheless, the good thing is that Zimbabwe can reverse the
current bad
image and become a future case study for the whole of Africa in
terms of
economic turn-around only if the government handles the situation
carefully.
We have got educated, smart and hardworking human resources,
fertile lands
and when there is no drought, we always receive ample rains
and hence
nothing can stand in our way production-wise.
The biggest
part of land redistribution is behind us if we do not take into
consideration some few reported minor cases of land grab still happening.
Land redistribution was a major exercise which will take some years for its
benefits to be realised - if we are not careful.
By that, I mean the
government support towards this undertaking should be
adequate. New farmers
need training to view farming as business since most
of them were only into
small scale production, or peasant farming. Funding
should be availed for
new farmers to secure inputs, machinery and pay for
labour.
Safeguards should be put in place to ensure that funding
meant for
supporting farming is not diverted. Agricultural extension
officers need to
be deployed to farms to impart vital farming methods and
skills to the new
farmers. This will act as a catalyst to speed up
realisation of big-time
production and bring back the country to its good
old self.
The government is presently spearheading indigenisation of the
economy .The
question is: Is the time ripe for that major project again
before land
redistribution starts to bear fruits? Does the country have
enough economic
muscles to carry itself through these combined major
transformations?
There is no doubt the idea of indigenisation is a noble
one, but here we
have a question of sustenance. History, as well as
experience, are the best
teachers. What we learnt during the land
redistribution needs not be
ignored. Inflation reached unprecedented levels
and the human suffering
could not be measured.
There was a massive
exodus of people in search of better living conditions.
If indigenisation is
allowed to run concurrently with the land distribution
program, are we
saying if we remove sanctions from the equation, the economy
will not be
affected much?
Is it not going to exacerbate the suffering of our people? How
about
delaying the indigenisation of the economy and gradually address
current
challenges facing the country, then move forward at a later stage
when the
storm is over.
Besides the nobility of the idea of
indigenisation, some of our indigenous
entrepreneurs are unscrupulous,
get-rich-quickly minded people whose methods
of running businesses leaves a
lot to be desired. Government will need to
work overtime to put in place
policies to prevent such conduct before the
country is further
ruined.
We have seen what it’s like when some indigenous people run the
show.
Professionalism is disregarded to its maximum. Corruption is the order
of
the day. Business ethics are never taken seriously. Before wholesale
indigenisation is implemented, the government should let the already running
indigenous businesses keep competing with foreign-based
entities.
This will help them learn to appreciate professionalism and
embrace business
ethics. That learning curve will prove very crucial when
total
indigenisation policies are implemented in the future. The other
problem
with indigenous businesses is that they want instant profits whereas
profits
should gradually build up. Quick profits are usually a result of
corruption.
This type of business operation does not allow or present
equal
opportunities to everyone but to some few usually
politically-connected
individuals. Zimbabwe cannot allow itself to indulge
in such ways as it does
not help it develop and compete on the international
platform.
Don't get me wrong and construe me as painting all indigenous
businesses
with the same brush. Not at all! We have an example of Econet
Wireless, an
indigenous company which is the largest Telco in Zimbabwe, and
many people
envy the company and admire its prosperity. That should be
commended, and I
wish many local companies emulate Econet Wireless and run
their enterprises
likewise.
Policy makers should be urged to keep on
brainstorming and formulating these
invaluable policies to better the lives
of Zimbabweans. Proper planning and
reasoning should be the order of the
day.
Ruling a country is big business and the effects should be shown by
living
standards of the majority. We are no longer a colony of any country,
and
that should motivate us to excel and refuse mediocrity.
Viva
Zimbabwe.
Graham Nyakudjga is a Zimbabwean based in Australia. He can be
contacted on
gnyakudjga184@live.com.au
Professor Welshman Ncube should put up or shut up
I read with disgust
some of the political innuendos coming from Prof Ncube
directed to the MDC-T
leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Does this come out of
personal hatred or political
completion? If it is the former, then it is
definitely neither fodder enough
for political consumption nor good enough
to add significant numbers to the
dwindling MDC-N support base (if ever one
existed in the first place). If it
is the latter, then it is not only
ill-conceived, but it smacks of poor
political acumen on the part of the
Prof and the party he leads as it is on
his personal leadership.
For a start, Prof Ncube got the opportunity to
show the nation his political
leadership skills when he assumed the reigns
of MDC-M. Never mind about how
that happened, including the court processes
that accompanied the whole
drama. What do we get from him, the suspension
and expulsion of party
members who dare challenge his decisions, let alone
his leadership?
You and I will be forgiven for being naïve to think that
going to school and
attaining the highest qualification amounts to being
educated. Probably
being schooled is not the same as being educated. And
which one of these is
the pre-requisite for good political
leadership?
While politics itself is a dirty game (ask some of the
ZANU-PF
functionaries), but it also requires political acumen. This is the
keenness
and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination in
political
matters. If anything, we are yet to see this from you Prof Ncube.
Probably
it would not only make a lot of political sense to many people, but
also it
would convince your supporters too if you start showing this
political
acumen before you judge others. And most importantly, before you
put your
name on the ballot paper as a presidential candidate in the next
elections.
While I appreciate the individual freedoms that we all have,
especially that
of speech, it disturbs me a bit when a political leader of
your statue makes
an amateurish analogue of a seasoned cyclist being put in
charge of driving
a bus. Common sense tells me from the onset that this is a
frivolous
personal attack on the person of Tsvangirai. As such it will not
achieve you
anything at the end of the day.
But why would you
criticise one leader by praising another? Where are you
yourself in the
political leadership continuum in Zim? Are you not a leader
as well? What do
you think will attract people to your rallies if they are
rest assured that
they will be subjected to comparative attacks of other
leaders? Or sorry,
and comparative praises for others who have successfully
and constantly
starved the people you address in your rallies?
The ‘flip-flopper’
recently unveiled JUICE and the ‘principled person’
presided over economic
decadence of the country for 33 years. What a
comparison? At least they
have something to their names. What do you and
your party have to offer
Prof? What is your manifesto for the coming
elections? What would you offer
the people of Zimbabwe if they vote for you?
By the way, I did not hear you
make clear your intentions to be a
presidential candidate in the next
elections. Probably this is why President
Mugabe has suddenly become a
‘principled person who exhibits remarkable
leadership qualities’ according
to you.
For all along I did not believe that you were being used by
ZANU-PF.
However, I now believe that this could be true based on the work
that you
are doing on behalf of ZANU-PF. Well this is your choice Prof. But
I urge
you to be bold enough to let your MDC-N supporters know where you
stand. I
don’t think they would want an unpleasant surprise come election
time. At if
they know in advance they will also make their choices, either
to go with
you or to part ways.
However, what I am worried about now
that you begin to show us your true
colours, is your genuineness in the
whole peace process in Zimbabwe, firstly
as a negotiator and secondly (and
lately) as a principal. My own assessment
points to one thing, that you
could have been and want to continue playing
spoiler role in the peace
processes in Zimbabwe, at least from within.
What is spoiling really?
Spoiling is a phenomenon whereby individuals or
groups engage in activities
or tactics that seek to hinder, delay or
undermine conflict resolution
efforts or other peace processes through a
variety of means. Spoilers could
be individuals (such as leaders), political
parties or just groups that
believe that peace which emerges from peace
processes threaten their power,
worldview or interests. So they spoil the
peace process by any means, from
within or outside the peace process,
including violence.
Spoilers can
only exist in the event of peace negotiations, where a peace
agreement has
been signed or where at least two or more parties have
publicly committed to
peace. I haven’t heard your call for peace and
peaceful elections in
Zimbabwe Prof, like what the other leaders have done,
both the ones you like
and those you don’t like.
Spoiling is not a constant notion that acts the
same and for the same
reasons in every situation, though spoilers are
inherently part of peace
processes.
If I were to categorise you as a
spoiler Prof, I would say you are a ‘greedy’
spoiler. Greedy spoilers change
their goals and interests depending on the
situation and opportunities
coming their way. They tend to exploit anything
that works to their
advantage or favour, including supporting their rivals
if they feel that it
gives them some opportunity to leverage their power or
benefit their
interests.
Greedy spoilers are very dangerous in that they pretend to be
part of the
peace processes until such time when they show their true
colours and their
interests. This may happen in the late or advanced stages
of the peace
process. They are dangerous in that they work from within the
peace process.
They have inside information which they can use to their
advantage.
Greedy spoilers exploit any opportunities that come their way
to expand
their goals and commitments. For example, União Nacional para a
Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) is an example of a greedy spoiler.
When the United States adopted the strategy of inducement over force, during
the Angola civil war, UNITA avoided further peace talks with the Movimento
Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA), taking advantage of no use of force
strategy to amass and deploy its army in a desire to totally control
Angola.
Back home, instead of playing spoiler role from within the peace
process,
Prof Ncube should just tell us where he stands, what he stands for
or shut
up.
Sheunesu Hove
Hove is a PhD candidate at
the university of Queensland, Australia, doing
political science, though his
area of interest is peacebuilding and conflict
resolution.
Food
for votes
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/
AUTHOR:SIMON MOYODATE:DEC 24, 2012
It would be great
to go to bed every night knowing that tomorrow there is
something to eat.
Yet in Zimbabwe many are so insecure when it comes to
food, millions face
starvation and only the drops of rain could silence the
pangs of hunger. In
this drought prone nation praying and waiting for the
rain is an annual
routine for villages located on barren lands.
But even if the heavens
were to open up there is no guarantee of crops, for
without fertilizers
people cannot coax any meaningful harvest from the land.
Here the country’s
President steps in, with a promise to avert the huge
consequences of a food
crisis, but the catch is that if you are not a Zanu
PF supporter your chance
of getting Mugabe sponsored agricultural inputs are
slim.
Unfortunately politics have muddled the waters, with President
Robert Mugabe
hell bent on extending his 32 year old rule, it is somewhat
sickening that
old and young, able bodied and maimed people are reduced to
beggars as the
presidential inputs support scheme carried out in a partisan
fashion.
The Zimbabwe Peace Project recently reported “the politicisation
of food
amid reports hunger-stricken villagers who failed to attend Zanu PF
meetings
were denied food as punishment.”
It is sick indeed that the
president of the nation chooses to politicise
food and ignore the plight of
his people who are living within the jaws of
poverty.
If I was
president, just for a day, I would sublimate my personal interests
for the
interests of the broader masses. I would never use food to settle
political
schemes and I would ensure that those who do not have a piece of
land to
till, because of fragmentation caused by traditional inheritance
procedures
or through the partisan based land distribution, are given a
piece on farms
that presently lie idle in the hands of a few elite.
Food is a
right and if I was the president it will be my chief priority to
ensure that
people are food secure.
But then it is just a dream in a country where
food is used to win numbers.