Friday, 13 February 2009
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The formation of Zimbabwe's unity government is due to be completed with the swearing-in of a new cabinet. The cabinet posts are split according to a power-sharing deal signed after months of political deadlock. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF will have 15 posts and the two factions of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) 16. The formation of the government is going ahead despite MDC concern about the fate of imprisoned activists. Mr Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe for 28 years, has promised to co-operate in the unity government. But the allocation of key ministerial portfolios has been highly contentious, and the new cabinet will bring bitter rivals face to face, the BBC's Peter Biles reports from South Africa. The MDC will control finance and health, while Zanu-PF retains its hold on defence, foreign affairs and agriculture. The home affairs ministry, which is responsible for the police, will be split between the two parties. As the power-sharing deal takes effect Zimbabwe faces rampant inflation, a cholera epidemic and unemployment of at least 90%. The fate of political prisoners will be seen as a test of whether the two men's parties can work together, correspondents say. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who was sworn in as prime minister on Wednesday, spent his first full day in office visiting the jailed activists. The MDC says more than 30 people, including 72-year-old man Fidelis Charamba, are still being held after being abducted and illegally detained. They have been accused of subversion and recruiting fighters to overthrow Mr Mugabe - charges denied by the MDC. The prisoners were given no promises of release after Mr Tsvangirai's visit on Thursday, but the prime minister told them their cases would be processed more quickly. The MDC agreed to the power-sharing deal in January after disputed elections
last year led to months of political deadlock.
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http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11495
February 12, 2009
By Own
Correspondent
BULAWAYO - President Mugabe has invited his old and trusted
lieutenants to
join the new Cabinet, while ditching some of the so-called
Zanu-PF Young
Turks.
The new cabinet will be sworn-in Friday. Under
the Global Political
Agreement signed last September Zanu-PF allocated
itself 16 ministerial
posts. The Zanu-PF list announced Thursday has 21
names. There was no
explanation for the inflation. Zanu-PF also allocated
itself top-shelf
portfolios including Defence, Justice, Agriculture, Local
Government and
Media and Information.
In an announcement on national
television Mugabe invited Kembo Mohadi,
likely to retain the much contested
Home Affairs portfolio, Paul Mangwana,
tipped to become substantive
Information Minister, Ignatius Chombo (Local
Government) Joseph Made
(Agriculture) Patrick Chinamasa (Justice) and Sydney
Sekeramayi
(Defence).
He also invited trusted lieutenants Emmerson Mnangagwa, John
Nkomo, Flora
Bhuka, Nicholas Goche, Stan Mudenge, Sithembiso Nyoni,
Simbarashe Mbengegwi,
Webster Shamu and Didymus Mutasa, who were all members
of a bloated cabinet
that Mugabe once described as "the worst cabinet in the
history of this
country".
He dropped some of his younger ministers
and deputy ministers such as his
nephews Patrick Zhuwawo and Leo Mugabe and
the garrulous Bright Matonga, the
former deputy Minister of
Information.
Those not invited for the swearing-in ceremony also include
former first
time deputy ministers Sylvester Mguni and Saviour Kasukuvere.
Former
ministers Olivia Muchena and Ambrose Mutinhiri are also absent from
the list
announced on ZTV.
Mugabe's list includes only four nominees
from Matabeleland. Mugabe's
Zanu-PF lost heavily in the region during the
March 29 elections. Formerly a
stronghold of PF-Zapu Matabeleland is now
dominated by the MDC.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday
announced Giles Mutsekwa, as his
nominee for co-Minister of Home Affairs,
which the MDC will share with
Zanu-PF.
The party's secretary-general,
Tendai Biti was nominated as Finance
Minister, while Advocate Eric Matinenga
was nominated for the Constitutional
and Parliamentary Affairs portfolio, Ms
Paurina Gwanyanya-Mpariwa (Labour
and Social Welfare) and Professor Eliphas
Mukonoweshuro will become Minister
of Public Service.
Professor
Heneri Dzinotyiwei was nominated for the post of Minister of
Science and
Technology Development, while former Harare executive mayor
Engineer Elias
Mudzuri was picked for the Energy and Power Development
portfolio. The name
of Bulawayo businessman, Eddie Cross, who was announced
on Monday as the
nominee for State Enterprises and Parastatals, has been
dropped and
replaced with that of Joel Gabuza Gabbuza. Also dropped from the
mainstream
MDC list is the name of Abednigo Ncube who was controversially
poached from
the Mutambara-led MDC.
There was an unprecedented outcry on the Zimbabwe
Times website following
the announcement as Ndebele readers accused
Tsvangirai of betraying them and
threaned his MDC with dire consequences
come the next elections.
Ncube's name was immediately dropped and
replaced with that of Gordon Moyo.
As news of Bhebhe's elimination spread
the furore on the Zimbabwe Times
website subsided.
Kwekwe Senator Dr
Henry Madzorera was appointed as Health and Child Welfare
Minister while
Theresa Makone will be sworn-in as Minister of Public
Works.
Chitungwiza North MP Fidelis Mhashu was nominated for National
Housing and
Social Amenities while party spokesperson Nelson Chamisa was
handed the
Information Communication Technology portfolio and Elton Mangoma
was
selected for the Economic Planning and Investment Promotion
portfolio.
The nominees for the deputy ministers' posts were Dr Tichaona
Mudzingwa
(Defence), Roy Bennett (Agriculture), Ms Jessie Majome (Justice),
former
Gweru executive mayor Sessel Zvidzai (Local Government) and Samuel
Sipepa
Nkomo (Foreign Affairs).
Prime Minister Tsvangirai is also
expected to nominate a Minister of State
in the Prime Minister's Office and
Deputy Minister of Women's Affairs,
Gender and Community Development.
http://www.iol.co.za
February 13 2009 at
05:58AM
Harare - After three years in self-imposed exile, former
lawmaker Roy
Bennett is set to become Zimbabwe's deputy minister for
agriculture - six
years after his own farm was seized in controversial land
reforms.
Bennett was one of only a handful of white
parliamentarians when he
was elected in 2000 on the ticket of the Movement
for Democratic Change
(MDC), the party of Zimbabwe's new Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.
His entry into the new unity government marks
one of the stranger
twists in Zimbabwe's decade-long drama between the MDC
and President Robert
Mugabe.
Bennett was born to a farm family
in 1957 in the town of Rusape. He
eventually started his own coffee
plantation in Chimanimani, a lush region
near the border with Mozambique,
where he grew into one of Zimbabwe's top
exporters of the crop.
A fluent speaker of the majority Shona language, Bennett endeared
himself to
people in the region, who nicknamed him "Pachedu", meaning "We
are
one."
When Tsvangirai formed the MDC a decade ago, Bennett was one
of the
few white farmers to openly declare his support for the party that
set out
to defeat Mugabe at the ballot box.
He remained
outspoken even in the face of great personal challenges.
His
Charleswood farm was expropriated under Mugabe's land reforms in
2003, and
the following year he was jailed for eight months for assault
after he
punched the justice minister during a heated debate in parliament
on the
land programme.
The sentence was imposed by the parliament then
dominated by Mugabe's
Zanu-PF, and following his conviction he lost his
parliamentary seat.
In 2006, he fled to neighbouring South Africa
to escape arrest after
being implicated in an alleged plot to assassinate
Mugabe.
Police claimed Bennett was the mastermind in the alleged
conspiracy,
which also implicated MDC lawmaker Giles Mutsekwa, who is set to
become
co-minister for home affairs on Friday.
The agriculture
ministry does not deal directly with the land reform
scheme. A separate
resettlement ministry oversees the programme, which
sought to redress
colonial injustices by resettling white-owned farms with
black
farmers.
The new farmers often lacked experience and were given
little
government support or a formal title to the land, which prevented
them from
seeking bank finance for their new farms.
Bennett
will be tasked with helping farmers succeed after years of
disastrous crops
that have left seven million people - more than half the
population -
dependent on food aid. - Sapa-AFP
February 12, 2009
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Roy Bennett
CHIMANIMANI (Radiovop/Own Correspondent) - A show-down looms at Pachedu Farm in southern Manicaland province following this week’s nomination of the farm’s former owner Roy Bennett as the deputy minister of agriculture.
Bennett was evicted from Pachedu by war veterans and other Zanu-PF supporters back in 2003 during the controversial land invasions which targeted white commercial farmers. Bennett’s nomination on Tuesday has reportedly already generated panic and pandemonium on the farm
In its heyday Pachedu was a major exporter of coffee. That was until Bennett’s eviction by a group of war-veterans. He fled to neighbouring Mozambique and then proceeded to South Africa where he remained in exile until his return to Harare two weeks ago. He immediately visited Pachedu.
This week, as if in a form of poetic justice, Bennett became Zimbabwe’s deputy Minister of Agriculture.
“There is pandemonium at Pachedu Farm following the nomination of Bennett by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirayi into cabinet,” said Chris Muchero, one of the occupiers on the farm.
“The people at the farm are not sure of their fate since Bennett is now going to be the deputy Minister of Agriculture. What is more worrying to the invaders is that Bennett visited the farm when he returned from exile in South Africa two weeks ago.”
Some chiefs in the district are also reportedly pushing for the return of Bennett to Pachedu. Bennett who is a former Member of Parliament for the area was popular with the local community, whom he assisted in infrastructural development and food aid. He also availed his high breed bulls to the local community for cross-breeding.
“He was such a fatherly figure to us, that is the reason why we nick-named him Pachedu (We are together).”
The war veterans and Zanu-PF supporters looted Bennett’s property including livestock, household effects, farm equipment and crops. Zanu-PF Member of Parliament for Chimanimani East, Samuel Undenge and a Major Masabeya were implicated in the looting on the farm.
Summing up Bennett’s unceremonious eviction from Pachedu Farm at a recent journalists workshop, Mutare-based human rights lawyer Trust Maanda said, “Bennett left Pachedu Farm with only his under garments.”
http://af.reuters.com
Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:07am
GMT
By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE, Feb 13 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has appointed
party loyalists from a
previous cabinet he described as the "worst in
history" to a unity
government with Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC.
Cabinet members from both
parties will be sworn in on Friday and will need
to bury years of animosity
to rebuild the southern African country's
shattered economy, which is
struggling with the world's highest inflation
rate.
Analysts are
worried that both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have appointed party
loyalists and
allies rather than technocrats better qualified to implement
the radical
reforms needed to head off total economic collapse.
The two leaders
agreed last September to share power, but the deal stalled
for months as
they haggled over the allocation of cabinet posts, stirring
doubts over
whether the old foes can work together to bring in foreign aid
and
investment.
They agreed to implement the accord under pressure from
regional leaders at
the end of last month and Tsvangirai was sworn in as
prime minister on
Wednesday.
A cabinet list released by Mugabe's
officials late on Thursday includes
former defence minister Sydney
Sekeramayi, former state security boss
Didymus Mutasa and Emmerson
Mnangagwa, touted as a potential successor to
Mugabe, 84.
Some of the
ZANU-PF members in the new cabinet have held ministerial posts
since
independence in 1980, when Mugabe came to power.
Mugabe, whose party lost
its parliamentary majority in a March election, in
August called the
previous cabinet the "worst in history", adding that the
ministers were
unreliable.
"Mugabe's list of 15 cabinet ministers will contain a small
forest of dead
wood," the private weekly Zimbabwe Independent said on
Friday. "The
appointment of ministers who were in the last cabinet dissolved
last
February would be a serious indictment of Mugabe."
Foreign
investors and Western donors have made clear the provision of funds
will be
contingent on democratic and economic reforms, such as reversing the
nationalisation policies implemented by Mugabe's ZANU-PF.
ZANU-PF
will have 15 members in the cabinet, Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) 14, and a splinter MDC group will hold three posts.
The
ministers will be sworn in at 1100 GMT.
Tsvangirai, who took office on
Thursday, has nominated party secretary
general Tendai Biti to the post of
finance minister with the challenging
task of reviving the economy. (macdonald.dzirutwe@reuters.com;
+263 4 799
112)
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
Feb
13, 2009, 7:56 GMT
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe,
who declared his last cabinet
'the worst in history,' reappointed many of
its members to a new
power-sharing government that is due to be sworn in
later Friday.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper reported that 20 of
Mugabe's 21
choices for minister and deputy ministers were members of the
last cabinet,
which Mugabe had acknowledged last year as dire.
The
list includes such controversial figures as Emmerson Mnangagwa, head of
the
Joint Operations Command security cabinet that directed last year's
post-election violence against the victorious Movement for Democratic Change
of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Hardline former lands minister
Didymus Mutasa, who once declared Zimbabwe
would be 'better off with only
six million people,' -or the half the
population that supported Mugabe -
also makes a comeback.
The Herald did not say which minister obtained
which portfolio.
The MDC, which will be making its debut in government,
announced its
nominations to the 31-ministry cabinet earlier this
week.
Fourteen ministers have been drawn from Tsvangirai's MDC larger
faction, 15
from Mugabe's Zanu-PF and 3 from a breakaway MDC faction led by
robotics
professor Arthur Mutambara.
The number of ministers exceed
the number of ministries by one because the
MDC and Zanu-PF have agreed to
'co-minister' home affairs, which controls
the police.
Friday's
ceremony at State House in Harare, where Tsvangirai was memorably
sworn
Wednesday as prime minister by Mugabe, concludes the formation of the
government.
Zimbabweans are counting on the new administration to
bring about change in
a country that is reeling from world-record inflation,
severe food, fuel and
cash shortages, and raging HIV and cholera
epidemics.
But analysts warn that the MDC's ability to effect change is
hampered by the
skewed sharing of power. Mugabe remains head of state and
government, while
Tsvangirai's role will be to formulate and implement
policy.
Zanu-PF retains most of the key ministries such as defence, state
security
and information, while MDC secretary-general Tendai Biti gains the
unenviable post of finance minister.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Friday, 13 February 2009
Human
Rights Defenders Alert
A Harare Magistrate on Thursday 12 February 2009
granted free bail to
two project lawyers of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights (ZLHR) and
eight members of the group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA),
who were arrested
on Tuesday 10 February 2009.
The ten
including the lawyers Ms Roselyn Hanzi and Mr Tawanda
Zhuwarara were finally
brought to court on Thursday 12 February 2009 after
spending two nights in
police detention at the notorious Harare Central
Police Station.
Magistrate Gloria Takundwa granted free bail and ordered the human
rights
lawyers and the WOZA members to reside at their given residential
addresses
and not to interfere with State witnesses. The ten will return to
court on
04 March 2009 for commencement of trial.
Ms Roselyn Hanzi and Mr
Tawanda Zhuwarara were arrested by
unidentified members of the Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP) on 10 February
2009 as they were returning to the ZLHR
office situated next to the
Parliament building after lunch. Regrettably,
they were caught in the
crossfire of further indiscriminate arrests carried
out by the ZRP arising
from a demonstration outside Parliament building in
Harare by the Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). With the complicity of
Parliamentary staff, they were
unlawfully detained in the Parliament Guard
Room, until police details
removed them to Harare Central police
station.
In contravention of constitutional protective provisions
relating to
detained persons, but in the customary fashion of the ZRP,
lawyers who
attempted to get access to Hanzi and Zhuwarara at Harare Central
were denied
access by the police on the day of their arrest and only
obtained access to
their clients on Wednesday 11 February 2009.
http://www.bloomberg.com
By Jason Gale
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) --
Doctors are leaving Zimbabwe, causing clinics to close, as the health system
collapses and Africa’s second-worst cholera epidemic spreads in the countryside,
aid groups said.
The exodus of medical professionals is compounding a “near
total devastation” of Zimbabwe’s health-care system, Doctors Without Borders
said yesterday. Thousands of doctors, nurses and other health staff aren’t being
paid and have no money for basic needs such as buying a bus ticket to get to
work.
Since the cholera outbreak began in Zimbabwe in August, 3,513 deaths
have been reported to the World Health Organization, compared with 4,031
fatalities recorded worldwide in 2007. The cholera bacterium is spreading
through contaminated drinking water because sewage and water systems have
collapsed.
Zimbabwe, ruled by President Robert Mugabe since 1980, is in the
grips of a decade-long recession and has the world’s highest inflation rate, at
231 million percent last July, the last time the government provided an official
estimate.
“The ongoing political and economic crisis is severely affecting
people’s ability to access and afford health care, particularly people dependent
on HIV/AIDS treatment,” Doctors Without Borders said in an e-mailed statement.
The group, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, has treated more than 45,000
of Zimbabwe’s cholera patients or about three-quarters of cases.
Health
Workers
A shortage of national health workers is stoking the rate of cholera
patients dying from the diarrhea-causing disease, according to the WHO.
“The
outbreak is not yet under control,” said Wilfred Sikukula, who is heading the
cholera response for Christian aid group World Vision. “It can best be described
as having shifted from the urban centers, where it first manifested, to the
rural areas,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Cholera, which causes
profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to fatal dehydration and
shock, is suspected to have infected 73,105 people in Zimbabwe as of Feb. 11,
according to WHO. Of patients treated in the hospital or a clinic, 1.9 percent
has died. With prompt rehydration, less than 1 percent of cholera patients die,
according to WHO.
Cases will probably increase until the end of the rainy
season, which lasts another two months, World Vision said.
The disease is
contracted by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the pathogen. The
infection often causes mild or no symptoms. About 20 percent of patients develop
profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting and leg cramps. Without treatment, death can
occur within hours, according to the U.S.’s Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
New Minister
Zimbabwe’s incoming Minister of Health Henry
Madzorera said his priority in office will be to bring state health-care workers
back into hospitals and clinics to get a grip on the cholera epidemic, Voice of
America reported yesterday.
Now schools have been added to a list of
shuttered public institutions because of a salary dispute between teachers and
the government, World Vision said. That’s meant 720,000 children are no longer
benefiting from the group’s schools feeding program.
Schools were scheduled
to resume from a summer break on Jan. 27. Teachers are staying away, demanding a
pay increase from their current monthly salary, equivalent to less than $10,
according to World Vision.
As part of the government’s 2009 budget, released
last month, school teachers and other civil servants will be paid in the local
currency. Most businesses have abandoned the Zimbabwe dollar, which is in short
supply because the central bank can’t print money fast enough to meet demand.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at
j.gale@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 12, 2009 22:49 EST
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Friday, 13 February 2009
Ladies and
Gentlemen, I rise to speak on three related issues. The
first matter is
explaining why we are here today, that is the meaning and
significance of
today. The second issue involves outlining the challenges to
be tackled by
this new government. The last subject deals with what has to
be done to
ensure that the new government can successfully execute its
mandate, what we
call the critical success factors.
Fellow citizens, we are here to
celebrate the coming together of
Zimbabweans in pursuit of their collective
national interest. This is a new
era of peace and unity in our country. We
are here to celebrate the dignity
of difference. Three different generations
of Zimbabweans have come together
to salvage their country. Three different
political parties have joined
hands in an inclusive government to serve
their people. Different social
classes and different ethnic groups have come
together as members of one
family, the Zimbabwean family. This is the
dignity of difference, the
divinity of diversity. Embracing diversity and
differences is a reservoir of
strength. It is a source of creativity,
innovation, and stability.
Leveraging inclusiveness, and the creative
tension thereof, will lead to the
effective and sustainable resolution of
our national
socio-political-economic challenges
The tasks of the
inclusive government we seek to establish are
immense, but not
insurmountable. The first area is the resolution of the
humanitarian crisis,
in particular the cholera epidemic, food supply,
education, and healthcare.
The second area is stabilization and recovery of
our economy. Our country
and people have gone traumatic and polarizing
experiences. We need a
national healing process, as the third area of
concern. The next matter
revolves around the crafting and adoption of a new
people driven democratic
constitution. This must be a national consensus
document supported by all
political parties, with total buy in and ownership
by the entirety of civic
society, and the generality of the people of
Zimbabwe. The last area of
concentration is going to be the economic
transformation of Zimbabwe into a
globally competitive economy. As
Zimbabweans we seek to collectively develop
a thirty year economic vision,
shared and adopted by all political parties,
the business community, and all
relevant stakeholders. This vision will be
buttressed by a national economic
strategy rooted in industry sector plans.
The growth pillars will be 15-20
major impact industrial projects. We might
not do much in terms of execution
and results on this fifth item. What we
seek to do in this transitional
authority is to lay the foundation by
completing the inclusive envisioning
process, strategy development,
identification and valuation of the projects,
and implementation
planning.
In order for us to be able to execute the mandate of this
government,
an enabling environment characterized by certain behaviours must
be in
place. We must work as one team, Team Zimbabwe. We must have unity of
purpose and action. We must work together and be seen to be working
together. We must speak the language of unity, the language of working
together. We seek to establish one government, with one cabinet, to serve
one nation. Hence we must be prepared to take joint responsibility for both
failures and successes. We must re-establish trust and respect among
ourselves, as leaders and as Zimbabweans. As a nation we must regain
confidence from those external to us. This can be achieved by clearly
working in harmony, and establishing both a credible cabinet and a credible
plan of action. To our developmental, cooperating, and strategic partners in
the region, Africa, and the international community, we say we are grateful
for the role you have played in our struggle to establish a peaceful,
prosperous and democratic nation. Your role before 1980 and in the last 10
years is greatly appreciated. Now that Zimbabweans have spoken with
unprecedented unanimity and have come together to fix their country, we call
upon you to give this inclusive government a fighting chance. This is a new
era of peace and unity in Zimbabwe. For those who have imposed whatever
measures against Zimbabwe, be they targeted sanctions, call them what you
may; those measures must be removed immediately. As leaders of this
inclusive government we will be remiss in our charge if we do not take this
principled position. We will not be serious about the people's business. Our
country needs all the support it can muster from the global community of
nations, balance of payment support, credit lines, and more importantly
investment. As a new government we seek to normalize and harmonize our
relations with all nations of the world. On our part as leaders of Zimbabwe
we commit to working together in a coherent, clean, democratic and competent
government.
In conclusion, with your permission President Mugabe,
may I take this
opportunity to ban all party political slogans during the
period of this
inclusive government. Let us give up party politics until the
next
elections. Going forward, there will be only two slogans permissible.
Delivery, delivery, delivery. Results, results, results.
The
struggle to attain a peaceful and prosperous nation continues .
I thank
you, tatenda, siyabonga.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11512
February 12, 2009
By Raymond
Maingire
HARARE - Striking civil servants have vowed to continue the
action despite
Wednesday's call by Prime Minster Morgan Tsvangirai for them
to return to
work by Monday while waiting for their salaries which would
apparently be
paid in foreign currency.
Tsvangirai told thousands of
people who witnessed his inaugural address as
Prime Minister on Wednesday
that his first objective in the new government
was to address the plight of
civil servants.
"As Prime Minister," Tsvangirai said, "I make this
commitment that as from
the end of this month, our professionals in the
civil service, every health
worker, every teacher, every soldier, and every
policeman would receive a
pay in foreign currency.
"In this respect,
I ask every schoolteacher, every school in this country to
be reopened and
that every member of the civil service is behind his and her
desk, on
Monday, this Monday, no later than Monday."
But Zimbabwe's civil
servants, who include teachers' representative groups,
have vowed they will
not comply with a statement which was issued at a rally
as it did not
represent official government policy.
But on the contrary, the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the
country's biggest labour representative
group, urged all striking workers to
return to work saying Tsvangirai needed
to be given the benefit of doubt he
was going to deliver on his
pledges.
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA), which boasts of a 45
000-strong
membership, said it was "wishful" to suggest that teachers would
end their
one year long strike by Monday.
"There would be no teachers
at work on Monday," ZIMTA spokesperson, Sifiso
Ndlovu told The Zimbabwe
Times Thursday.
"For teachers to go back to work, they need to have the
foreign currency in
their pockets first because that is what they will use
to go back to work
and not just a commitment or a promise.
"We relish
the chance of addressing that commitment in practical terms," he
said.
"As far as teachers are concerned, the issues still have to be
organised
along institutional structures.
"It is not advisable for us
to act on an instruction given at a rally and
the status of that rally was
that of an inaugural celebration as it were."
"Tsvangirai was not
addressing a meeting of civil servants. He was
addressing a gathering of
mainly his supporters.
"We want to believe he was sworn in on what we saw
as collective
responsibility and this means he was going to consult his
cabinet; he was
going to consult his President and other colleagues and
therefore reach an
agreement which he can then communicate to the
nation.
"So in the absence of that, teachers cannot in their normal
senses, say that
is now taken as a decision."
The Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) also said its members
would not return to
work on Monday even if the instruction was to come from
"Jesus".
"Our
policy is very clear," PTUZ secretary general, Raymond Majongwe said.
"We
want to discourage this idea where issues of professional importance are
addressed at rallies and funerals."
Majongwe said the demands by
teachers were not just about money but bordered
on relevant issues affecting
them.
"The issue is not about going to work because Tsvangirai is now
Prime
Minister," he said.
"We have real labour issues affecting us.
We have issues where teachers fled
their areas because of political
violence.
"We also have issues where teachers are in Cape Town,
Beitbridge and how do
they go back to work when they do not have the money
yet.
"We have situations where the cholera outbreak has not been
addressed. We
are a real trade union. We are not a briefcase organisation.
We will not go
back to work even if the instruction was to come from
Jesus."
Tendai Chikowore, the chairperson of the APEX Council, the
negotiating arm
of Zimbabwe's civil service also said civil servants would
wait for formal
communication by government before they decide on the way
forward.
"The announcement by the Prime Minister is most welcome as it
shows a
commitment on the part of a government official to restore sanity
within the
civil sector," said Chikowore.
"But what is important are
details of the package and how much it has
covered in as far as meeting our
expectations is concerned.
"The question is; are the monies promised
within the reach of what civil
servants were anticipating? When is the money
going to be paid, and what are
the time lines and so forth?
Civil
servants are demanding a minimum salary of US$604.
Although no general
strike action has been declared within the entire civil
service, the
beleaguered sector is in near paralysis following massive
resignations of
experienced staff who have either left the country or have
taken up self
help projects in Zimbabwe's chaotic informal sector.
Most workers who
have remained at work are simply abusing work facilities to
do petty deals
to supplement their meagre salaries.
Chikowore said, "The will to work is
there but the resources are not there.
"Some civil servants work in
outlying areas and would want to leave money
and food for their families and
it is not possible to do so if the money is
not yet
there."
Government last month refused to commit itself to paying its
workers using
foreign currency.
But the ZCTU, which met Prime
Minister Tsvangirai on Thursday morning, said
it had faith the Zimbabwean
Premier would deliver on his promises.
"If the promise was made by the
paymaster of the civil servants himself, who
are we to question the
credibility of his statement?" ZCTU president
Lovemore Matombo said to
journalists Thursday.
"As workers, we feel we should give him a chance to
deliver on his promises
by going back to work. If he fails, then that would
be another thing. But we
have faith in Tsvangirai that he will stick by his
promise."
The ZCTU has been agitating for all workers to be remunerated
in hard
currency.
| |
Near Musina, South Africa 12 February 2009 |
Zimbabweans rest in there makeshift homes at show grounds in Musina, 17 Dec 2008 |
A young Zimbabwean boy eats a meal at the show grounds in Musina on December 17, 2008 |
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=11535
February 12, 2009
Business
Correspondent
BULAWAYO - Government has scuttled two multi-million dollar
coal mining and
electricity generating projects planned by a consortium of
indigenous
business people in partnership with an Indian company and awarded
the
project to one of Zanu-PF's major financiers, casting grave doubts on
its
indigenization thrust.
Under the proposals, Fumana Energy Private
Limited led by Bulawayo
businessman, Delma Lupepe, would have partnered an
investor from India to
inject capital into the power station upgrade in
partnership with a
consortium comprising the local community, traditional
chiefs, workers, the
Matabeleland Development Association and individual
business people.
The two projects estimated to cost US$600 million and
US$400 million
respectively to implement would have broken Hwange Colliery
Company long
held monopoly in coal mining and Zimbabwe Power Corporation
(ZPC) power
generation.
According to the Fumana proposal, both
entities lack the capacity to
mobilise funds needed to invest in upgrading
power and coal supplies for
increased generation and initiating other
downstream industries from coal
by-products
Fumana's proposed project
would have witnessed the opening up of coalfield
in Hwange district and
coal-bed methane in the Lupane Halfway area of
Sinamatella where geological
surveys have indicated 96 million tons of coal
deposits await
exploitation.
Last week, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA)
chief executive
officer, Engineer Benjamin Rafemoyo announced the power
utility had entered
into a US$ 800 million deal with John Bredenkamp a known
Zanu-PF financier
on an identical project which Fumana had earlier
proposed.
South African-born Bredenkamp ranked among Britain's richest
people in 2002,
with an estimated fortune of US$ 1 billion had his companies
investigated
for tax and exchange control violations and he reportedly fled
Zimbabwe in
2006.
About a dozen and half of his companies were placed
under a revised
sanctions list published by the European Union in January
this year.
Bredenkamp temporarily fell foul of President Robert Mugabe in
his attempts
as king-maker in 2004. He allegedly tried to convince Mugabe to
retire and
make way for his business partner and long-time presidential
hopeful,
Emmerson Mnangagwa, a strategy that underestimated the intensity of
the
succession race and resulted in a fierce Zanu-PF
backlash.
Sources close to the consortium of indigenous businesspeople
say Fumana had
applied for a concession which falls under the Ministry of
Lands and Land
resettlement, but Minister Didymus Mutasa had given
preference to a belated
application by Bredenkamp because of his Zanu-PF
connections.
The Western Area Coalfields was allocated to ZPC, but the
stipulated period
to develop the coalfields has now elapsed before the power
utility undertook
any tangible work on the concession. It is highly unlikely
that ZPC would
make any meaningful development of a mine in five to seven
years.
On the other hand Hwange Colliery Company (HCC), which is also
vying for the
same coalfield has neither the production capacity nor the
financial
resources to develop a mine in the short term
The project
envisages providing thermal coal to Hwange Power Station Stage 3
which
Hwange Colliery Company is not likely to be able to support under its
current performance that has resulted in coal shortages both for industrial
and agricultural as well as for domestic use. Fumana Energy also envisioned
mining coking for internal markets such as the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel
Company (ZISCO), Zimbabwe Alloys and Zimasco as well as for export while
providing general purpose coal to support agricultural and domestic
needs.
According to the project blueprint, mining coal-bed methane which
has an
assortment of other applications such as petrochemicals and
fertilizers
would buttress foreign currency generation through
exports.
Fumana CEO, Lupepe in June last year said in a letter to
President Mugabe
the project would bring economic development to the
Matabeleland region,
increase foreign currency inflows through the export of
coking coal and
increase employment.
"We think that this is a unique
opportunity for Zimbabwe to demonstrate its
ability to address the current
challenges being faced, through a joint
venture partnership that empowers
the people of Zimbabwe, retains national
ownership while increasing the
country's electricity generation capacity"
the letter says in
part.
Fumana requested government support in the form of a Letter of
Support for
submission to the Mining Commission; authority to negotiate with
ZPC which
holds mining concessions through two special grants for the
proposed site of
the venture and a government Pledge of Security to boost
investor
confidence.
http://www.nytimes.com
Editorial
Published: February 12, 2009
One can only
wonder what Robert Mugabe was thinking as his political rival
and now
partner, Morgan Tsvangirai, was sworn in Wednesday as Zimbabwe's
prime
minister. In his inaugural speech, Mr. Tsvangirai promised a virtual
revolution: rule of law, political freedoms, independent news media,
economic reform, food for needy Zimbabweans regardless of party
affiliation.
Nothing could be further from the horrors that Mr. Mugabe
has wreaked on his
suffering country: political chaos, economic collapse,
desperate food
shortages, violence, a fierce cholera epidemic that has
killed nearly 3,500
people.
We hope the national unity government will
allow Mr. Tsvangirai to achieve
his ambitious and essential goals. But like
many others, we are skeptical
that Mr. Mugabe - Zimbabwe's illegitimate
president - and his henchmen will
allow it.
Mr. Mugabe stole last
year's election after Mr. Tsvangirai won the
first-round vote. The best
solution would have been an end to Mr. Mugabe's
rule. But with Mr. Mugabe
refusing to resign and key African leaders
refusing to push him out, Mr.
Tsvangirai apparently decided that the
power-sharing deal was his best
chance to rescue his foundering country.
If there is any real hope,
African leaders - especially South Africa's -
must pressure Mr. Mugabe to
stop tormenting the opposition and let Mr.
Tsvangirai do his job. And they
must make clear that if Mr. Mugabe does not,
they will finally stop
protecting him.
The United States, Europe and others must continue
providing humanitarian
aid to help Zimbabwe cope with the cholera epidemic
and feed its people. But
they are right to hold back major development aid
and maintain sanctions
until Mr. Mugabe and his henchmen show they are
serious about keeping their
commitments.
Mr. Tsvangirai must also
remain clear-eyed about Mr. Mugabe's reprehensible
ways and not be seduced
by the limited power he has managed to negotiate.
Zimbabwe desperately needs
an end to its horrors and deserves the hopeful
future Mr. Tsvangirai has
promised.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
|
Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has declared that his first priority will be to fix the country's basket-case economy.
It is a challenge of biblical proportions - even when leaving aside the problems of sharing power with President Robert Mugabe. "The expenditure needs of government stretch from the North Pole to the South Pole while its revenue options are as terse as the shortest verse in the Bible - 'Jesus wept'," observes the All Africa news service. With most of Zimbabwe's schools and hospitals closed, its roads and sewers in tatters, and with at least eight in 10 people out of work, there is no shortage of areas where expenditure can be clocked up. But raising the cash is a trickier task. Take Mr Tsvangirai's first promise to his people, that "every health worker, teacher, soldier and policeman will receive their pay in foreign currency until we are able to stabilise the economy". Doing so would make sense, given that the US dollar and the South African rand have become the de facto currencies in Zimbabwe, with most shops refusing to accept the Zimbabwean currency as payment. This has rendered the salaries currently paid to civil servants pretty much worthless. In turn, many have been forced to seek an alternative income, whether from other jobs or by turning to corruption, while others have simply left the country. No assistance The question is not whether civil servants should be paid in a currency that will pay for their food, but rather where the government will get the money from.
Unlike many other African nations which receive aid from wealthy nations, Zimbabwe saw the International Monetary Fund turn off the taps a decade ago. Donors, led by the US and the European Union (EU), have said they will neither ease economic sanctions nor provide development assistance until it is clear that Mr Tsvangirai has truly managed to wrestle power from President Robert Mugabe. First, the EU would want to see "tangible signs of respect for human rights, the rule of law, and macro-economic stabilisation", it said in a statement. "We'll just have to wait and see," agreed US State Department spokesman Robert Wood, calling for evidence of "good governance and particularly real, true power-sharing on the part of Robert Mugabe". Direct investment into Zimbabwe from abroad has also all but collapsed, which leaves the government with just one way to get hold of foreign currency, namely exporting. Severe impact In the recent past, more than half its export earnings have been generated by its platinum, gold, ferrochrome and nickel mines.
In recent months, these earnings have plummeted as global prices for precious metals have slumped, with some mining companies mothballing operations till demand picks up again. "The impact on Zimbabwe has been particularly severe, " according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. "All four sectors are in serious trouble, partly because of the global downturn but also the collapse of basic infrastructure, especially electricity and water supplies." Zimbabwe's other foreign currency earner, agriculture, is a shadow of its former self after the wholesale looting of farms by Mr Mugabe's cronies during the early 2000s, when productive and profitable farms were either actively wrecked or left to rot. These days they do not even produce enough to feed the country's starving population. "Seven million people are in need of food aid"," says Mr Tsvangirai, so it is clear that significant export earnings from agriculture are out of the question. The country no longer has a tourism industry to speak of, and it could take years before visitor numbers pick up. Indeed, to make Zimbabwe attractive to tourists, the country's deadly HIV/Aids and cholera epidemics will need to be tackled and the rule of law must be re-established. 'Unhelpful and unacceptable' With little scope for raising sufficient foreign currency from exports, another solution has been put forward. Zimbabwe should adopt the South African rand as its currency, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe has suggested.
But there are plenty of sceptics. "It would mean that Zimbabwe would have to follow very different policies than what they've followed up to now," says Rudolph Gouws, chief economist at Rand Merchant Bank. "This would require Zimbabwe to give up its monetary and exchange rate policy sovereignty," observes Alide Dasnois, economist with the Governance of Africa's Resources Programme of the South African Institute of International Affairs. Such a move would also leave Zimbabwe with "a very tight fiscal space in which to manoeuvre and pull itself out of its misery", he reasons in an article in the Cape Times. And as the rand would be overvalued relative to Zimbabwe's situation it would "destroy the competitiveness of its exports" and hence remove any chance of an export-led recovery, he continues. As such, adopting the rand would "paint Zimbabwe into a corner in its bid to revive its economy", though this is not the main reason why it is an unlikely scenario. "It would not work unless Zimbabwe accepted that South Africa would control its economy, which would make it virtually a province of South Africa," adds Azar Jammine, senior economist at Econometrix. Mr Mugabe in particular would resist any dilution of Zimbabwe's sovereignty, while Mr Tsvangirai would see it as "an attempt by South Africa to be party to the agreement via the back door", Mr Lwanda reasons, insisting that adopting the rand would be "unhelpful and politically unacceptable" to Zimbabwe. Political battle An economic solution to Zimbabwe's woes is clearly not forthcoming at this stage, so expect Mr Tsvangirai to focus on his political battles. He will have to fight on two fronts. At home he will need to make the power sharing agreement with Mr Mugabe work. While on the international arena he will need to convince both government leaders and investors that he has truly established himself as the nation's genuine leader. Only then will sanctions be lifted and both aid money and inward investment begin to flow. Without such input from the international community, there is little hope that Zimbabwe's economy can begin to recover and the country's humanitarian crisis be brought to an end. |
http://www.guardian.co.uk
Ten years ago, Zimbabwe was self-sufficient in food. Today
more than
two-thirds of its population needs food aid, many are dying of
hunger and
this year's harvest will be the worst in decades. By Chris
McGreal
Chris McGreal
The Guardian, Friday 13 February
2009
Juliana Tafirei will probably die, while the pills that
could save her life
lie on her bedside table. The drugs arrive each month
with a batch of Red
Cross food aid at her small conical house in the village
of Muzondo in
Masvingo, a sprawling agricultural province of about 1.3
million people,
300km from Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. But there are a
lot of mouths to
feed and the food runs out after a couple of weeks, three
at best. After
that, Tafirei and her six children eat only every other day,
a meal
consisting of a few boiled wild vegetables and sometimes a cup of
maize
begged from neighbours.
That is when Tafirei, 36, stops taking
the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that
prevent HIV from developing in to
full-blown Aids. On an empty stomach they
are, as one health worker puts it,
like digesting razor blades. "We don't
each much. The food they give us
doesn't last. The children get hungry. It
is hard to tell them they cannot
have food when they can see it sitting
there," says Tafirei, lying in bed
eating a small plate of beans, her only
meal of the day. "When I eat I feel
a bit better. But when I get hungry, I'm
really, really weak. I can hardly
walk. I'm taking ARVs. Without any food I
don't take them because it's very
painful."
But intermittent use of the drugs, combined with immune systems
weakened by
a lack of food, makes ARVs virtually useless over time. Then
Aids takes a
grip.
Tafirei is not alone. The United Nations says that
this month it will feed
seven million Zimbabweans, more than two-thirds of
the population still left
in a country where drastic shortages have driven
millions of the most able
across the border to work illegally in South
Africa. But new foreign food
aid has all but dried up as the western
financial crisis bites and donors
hesitate to pour in more money to
alleviate a crisis of President Robert
Mugabe's making. So rations for most
people have been cut to about 600
calories a day, less than the minimum
required to keep an adult alive.
There is little relief in sight with the
worst harvest in decades expected
this year, mostly as a result of Mugabe's
land seizures and economic
policies. The numbers dying are rising steadily.
A silent, almost unseen,
cull is underway.
Zimbabwe is not Ethiopia
25 years ago. The dead are not dropping in the
street. Many of the women
wondering where the next meal will come from for
their children are still
well rounded. Few of the children are skeletal,
although their extended
bellies are testament to chronic malnutrition, and
in parts of the country -
near the eastern border with Mozambique and parts
of Matabeleland -
starvation has taken hold. But the gnawing hunger that
plagues people in
great swathes of Zimbabwe is compounded by collapsing
immune systems. With
that comes disease. Children get sick quicker.
Hospitals have no medicines
and, frequently, no doctors and nurses. So the
children die.
The food
shortages have helped cholera take a hold in Zimbabwean towns and
villages,
killing more than 3,300 and infecting nearly 70,000. The numbers
keep
rising. And the graveyards are being filled ever more quickly by Aids
in a
country where one in four are infected with HIV. Hundreds of thousands
of
Zimbabweans are receiving ARVs. Millions are not, and they are among
those
dying in the largest numbers. No one can put a figure on it but in
town
after town, health workers speak of sharply escalating death rates.
"It's
all down to food. Without food, Aids comes. Cholera comes. The weak
ones
die. Any disease, they die," says a senior state health worker who
declines
to be named because of a government ban on talking to foreign
reporters.
"In the rural areas most people are malnourished but I
have also seen
starvation for the first time in recent weeks. Only a few
cases, but I
didn't see that before. They died of starvation. There have
been food
shortages before and neighbours always helped the poorest. But no
one has
anything to spare any more."
Aids upset the traditional
family model years ago, robbing many children of
their parents and imposing
a new kind of family headed by grandparents or
teenagers looking after
younger siblings and cousins. But working-age men
and women were still
around in sufficient numbers, bringing in a salary or
working the fields, to
help out the most destitute in the village or
township. Now even that
support mechanism has collapsed in many places as
the economic crisis has
driven those who could work to South Africa or
Britain in search of any kind
of job, or to Harare, to deal in the black
market.
In parts of rural
Masvingo, working-age men - and quite often women - are a
rarity. As the
number of available adults shrinks, the mothers and
grandmothers who remain
find themselves looking after eight, 10, even a
dozen children. With that
has come a constant struggle to find enough food.
Rosina Chimbewa is 69.
She had 15 children: six are dead. They left 10
grandchildren who live with
her in a tiny house in a poor suburb of the town
of Masvingo. The eldest is
13-year-old Samantha. She is a serious girl who
sits bolt upright next to
her grandmother with her hands on her lap under a
poster of Jesus with his
eyes raised to the heavens. She takes on a lot of
the responsibility for
looking after the other children, preparing their one
meal a day of maize
and boiled vegetables. She says they cry because they
want
more.
"There's nothing for today," Samantha says quietly. "We are waiting
for our
grandmother to find something. There are days when we don't eat.
There's
nothing to be done about it."
Her grandmother winces at
Samantha's comments. There is food from the Red
Cross, she says, because the
children were orphaned by Aids, but it's not
enough. "I used to have a
market stall but now I'm old and can't move so we
rely on the Red Cross and
well-wishers. But we haven't been receiving food
aid for three months and
it's difficult. So we had to ask the neighbours for
some mealie meal (maize)
and they sometimes help. But they don't have much
food themselves," she
says.
"Hunger is painful. It never goes away. I look at the children and
I know if
I feel it, they can feel it. In the first days they would cry and
ask for
food but they saw they were putting me under stress and so now they
just sit
and look."
When what little money there is goes on food,
everything else is sacrificed.
The children stop going to school because
there is no money for pencils and
books and uniforms. Many of the schools
are closed in any case because
teachers' pay is worth so little they don't
bother to go to work or have
gone to South Africa to earn rand as waiters
and taxi drivers.
The Zimbabwe Red Cross is using foreign donations to
feed about 260,000
people infected with HIV or affected by it, such as Aids
orphans. One such
recipient is Tambudzai Savera in Masvingo. It is hard to
imagine that the
42-year-old woman can last much longer. Her face is drawn,
her eyes close
constantly and she works hard to get out a few words to
explain that she
feels ill and is hungry. Savera's daughter, Rudo, props her
mother up in bed
and says she has stopped taking her ARVs.
The Red
Cross delivers 50kg of maize, 5kg of beans and some cooking oil
every month
but that has to feed Savera and four children, providing them
with little
more than 1,000 calories a day. Savera used to make a living
selling
vegetables but her health and the general economic situation means
she isn't
making money any more, so she rents out the stall for 50 South
African rand
(£3.50) a month. In South Africa that would be enough to buy
another 10kg of
maize, a litre of cooking oil and a few extras. But the
Zimbabwean
authorities have been imposing 90% duty on food crossing the
border, and
then there are the transport costs and the vendor's mark-up. So
a packet of
maize has more than doubled in price by the time it reaches
Masvingo or
Harare and the 50 rand don't go very far.
Even food aid can create its
own problems. People who were once seen as the
most vulnerable and a source
of sympathy - the men and women on the awful
ARVs, the children orphaned by
Aids - are now sometimes viewed by their
desperate, hungry neighbours as at
an advantage. Sometimes they come
knocking and those who have previously
relied on their kindness find it
difficult to turn them away.
Matthew
Cochrane, a Red Cross official in Johannesburg who has just returned
from
Zimbabwe, expects the situation to deteriorate. "It's not suddenly
going to
fall off the edge," he says. "You'll see a steady and steep
decline. It's
frustrating going through the country and seeing how healthy
the soil looks.
But there's a lack of seeds and fertiliser. A lot of seeds
that got planted
were poor quality ones and even those farmers who get good
seeds aren't
getting fertiliser. At first glance the crops look healthy but
then you
realise the plants are about 3ft shorter than they should be at
this
stage."
Last year's harvest was the worst since independence in 1980.
Zimbabwe,
which used to be more than self-sufficient in food, produced only
about a
third of its needs. This year is expected to be even worse.
A
Zimbabwean health official grimly observes that people are dying from the
effects of hunger despite being billionaires - "No," she gasps,
"Quintillionaires!" - and then briefly allows herself a guilty laugh at the
absurdity of it all. Some of the dead did have trillions and quintillions of
Zimbabwe dollars in the bank but it was virtually worthless in a country
with inflation running somewhere above 10 sextillion% and a newly issued 100
trillion Zimbabwe dollar note losing almost all its value in a matter of
days.
The growing food shortages have played an important part in
burying the
national currency. With less food coming in to the cities,
prices surged.
The government tried to curb inflation by imposing price
controls. But all
that did was empty the supermarket shelves as local
producers refused to
sell at loss-making prices and importers stopped
importing because prices
were less than goods cost to buy.
The black
market quickly took over. Food was shipped in from South Africa
and sold
illicitly for US dollars and rands. Underground supermarkets sprung
up in
warehouses and garages. The government swore it would never allow
people to
deal in US dollars but faced with a burgeoning parallel market and
with no
solutions of its own, the authorities first agreed to let some shops
and
then all businesses trade in foreign currency. In the past few weeks,
the
entire economy has gone over to American dollars and rands. Zimbabwe
dollars
have all but ceased to be traded.
That has made life a lot easier for
those who can lay their hands on foreign
currency. Some families receive
rand from sons and daughters working in
South Africa. Cash is flowing again
and the supermarket shelves are filled.
But the bulk of Zimbabweans have
been virtually shut out of the cash
economy.
In rural Masvingo they
are back to bartering. A day's labour on someone
else's crop is worth a cup
or two of maize. What little property people
owned is sold off, although
that is getting harder with fewer people buying.
Idah Mbizvo, 50, gets no
food aid at all. She is looking after six of her
own children and three
grandchildren at their home in the village of Vuranda
in the Chivi district
of Masvingo. She has kept them alive by selling off
most of what she owns,
and from what one of her sons brings in by panning
for gold."I don't even
remember what meat is," she says and laughs. "For us
there's no light at the
end of the tunnel. This is the worst period of my
life. We had 10 goats but
we sold them so we could get maize.
"Now everything is gone and the
children are not getting enough food. They
are unhappy. They go to school
barefoot with torn clothes. They should have
something decent but we can't
afford it. Now everyone wants to be paid in
rand. Where can I find rand? I
can't find even one rand to buy them books or
pencils.
"I don't think
we'll be able to send them to school any more but I'm not so
worried about
that. Food is the worry now."
http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/8651
By staff writers
13
Feb 2009
Zimbabwean Christians will join human rights campaigners in a
Valentine's
Day vigil outside Zimbabwe's embassy in
London.
Representatives of Christian organisations including the Council
of
Zimbabwean Christian Leaders in the UK, Tearfund and other Christian
agencies working in Zimbabwe, will deliver a Valentine's card to the
embassy, launching the Love Zim campaign.
The campaign comes at a
crucial time with the introduction of the new
power-sharing
government.
It is organised by activist group, Women of Zimbabwe Arise
(WOZA), who will
hand out roses at the vigil.
Eight WOZA activists
were arrested in Harare on Tuesday for distributing
roses, symbolising their
call for peace and political tolerance, outside
parliament
there.
Cards will also be delivered to the South African and Ugandan High
Commissions and Number 10 Downing Street. Each card, headlined with the
message "Don't go breaking our hearts", includes a personalised message and
Psalm 149.
Qobo Mayisa, General Secretary of the Council of
Zimbabwean Christian
Leaders in the UK, said: "Zimbabwe is embarking on a
journey towards
national recovery and reconstruction amid economic chaos,
hunger, a cholera
outbreak and continuing human rights
violations.
"We believe the Love Zim prayer campaign will support what to
some may
appear to be an impossible outcome by inviting divine guidance and
intervention through this process of transition. The church and people of
the UK can help the reconstruction efforts by committing themselves to
offering prayers for our ravaged nation."
The London vigil comes
three days after Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangari was sworn in
as prime minister of a unity government, sharing
power with President Robert
Mugabe.
The Love Zim campaign aims to build support among UK churches for
Zimbabwe.
13 Feb 2009 10:23:00
GMT
Source: Caritas Internationalis
Caritas
Internationalis
Website: http://www.caritas.org
Caritas
Internationalis Secretary General Lesley-Anne Knight is sending a
message of
solidarity to the people and Church of Zimbabwe for "Zimbabwe
Sunday" on 15
February on behalf of all 162 national Caritas members.
The Southern
Africa Catholic bishops declared the date as Zimbabwe Sunday in
an attempt
to raise concern for the humanitarian, political and economic
crisis
engulfing the country.
Half of Zimbabweans rely on food aid to survive, a
cholera epidemic has
killed 3,500 so far out of 71,000 cases, and the
country's economic, health,
educational infrastructure has
collapsed.
Lesley-Anne Knight said, "The people of Zimbabwe need our
solidarity in this
time of crisis and tragedy. Reports from Caritas staff on
the ground are of
acute need among the majority of people. The lack of food
will be peaking
over the next few weeks, a cholera epidemic has already
killed too many, and
the suffering is deepening.
"Catholics and
people of good will around the world will be seeing the
tragic events unfold
in Zimbabwe and wondering what they can do to help. We
can follow the
example of the Southern African bishops by marking 15
February as Zimbabwe
Sunday with our thoughts and prayers."
South African Cardinal Wilfrid
Napier spoke about the reasons for declaring
a Zimbabwe last week. Cardinal
Napier said, "There was a delegation of two
bishops that came to address the
bishop's conference and one of them put it,
I think, in the most graphic way
anyone could put it. He said it was
'passive genocide' for the world to be
standing by and watching what's going
on in Zimbabwe. I think one could say
the situation is worse than
desperate." Cardinal Napier says he hopes to
accomplish two things on
February 15th.
"The first one is simply to
express our Christian solidarity with our
brothers and sisters, who are
suffering. And secondly...to do something
towards alleviating some of their
suffering by collecting funds, food,
clothing and medicines and things of
that nature," he said.
Collections will be made at Catholic churches
across southern Africa
February 15th. Caritas Internationalis, the
international coordinating body
for Catholic charities, will help distribute
the charity items through its
national member and Church
partners.
Caritas is appealing for $7 million to help a quarter of a
million people
avoid starvation, provide health care, and clean water to
16,000 homes The
appeal will provide monthly food rations for 164,212 people
to prevent them
suffering from malnutrition and death.
Contact
Patrick Nicholson on 0039 334 359 0700 or nicholson@caritas.va