FinGaz
Nelson Banya News Editor
Shamu
linked to controversy-hit safari firm
IN what could be a blatant case of
influence peddling, a safari operator has
revealed that Policy
Implementation Minister Webster Shamu - whose
involvement with the HHK
Safari company has been the source of controversy -
is just a "front man" in
the venture who does not own any shares.
Shamu's association with Charles
Davy of HHK has focused the spotlight on
the company, with calls from both
the United States and United Kingdom -
regular feeder countries for
Zimbabwe's multi-billion dollar hunting
industries - that the safari
company's operations be put under sanctions
that have been slapped on
government and ruling ZANU PF officials and their
businesses.
However,
HHK managing director Graham Hingeston, who claims Davy is no
longer a
shareholder in the business, has sensationally told a US hunting
journal,
The Hunting Report, that Shamu was never a joint venture partner in
HHK as
has previously been reported.
Instead, the senior ZANU PF politician's
involvement was as a token of
indigenisation, Hingeston revealed.
"In
1999, HHK Safaris wanted to purchase the hunting rights for Chirisa off
Ingwe Safaris, which had purchased the lease on auction in 1994. In order
for Ingwe to be allowed to participate in the auction, they had to have an
indigenous partner, and this person happened to be Webster Shamu (remember -
this was in 1994, a long time before any sanctions were enacted).
"Ingwe
successfully purchased the area on the auction and entered into an
agreement
with Mr Shamu whereby he received a nominal fee for acting as the
front
person. The company which held the lease was called Famba Safaris.
"Mr Shamu
signed an agreement abdicating all rights to the Chirisa safari
area in
terms of management, profit sharing, etc. Understand, Mr Shamu
invested not
one cent of his own funds into the deal, which is why he was
quite happy to
sign any agreement," Hingeston wrote in an e-mail response to
The Hunting
Report.
Shamu has, however, dismissed the assertions as "nonsense."
"Do
not be misled. How can he say that? Ndinoita shareholder asina
chaakaita?"
Shamu protested.
He said he had founded Famba Safaris together with a
business associate, the
late Richard Makore.
"Go to Parks (the Department
of Parks and Wildlife Management) and find out
when we bought Famba. We
bought it and then Richard passed away. His wife
assumed ownership of the
shares, which she only sold when she relocated. I
hold 60 percent of the
shareholding in Famba," Shamu said.
Asked about the relationship between
Famba and HHK, Shamu said the latter
was just a marketing company.
He
said: "HHK is a marketing company. When you want to sell your quotas you
go
through a marketing company, that's all there is to it. You have to
realise
that when we entered this industry, we had no knowledge of how it
works, we
had to contract professional hunters and marketers."
However, HHK Safaris
says it is a safari operator which incorporates Famba
Safaris, among
others.
"HHK Safaris is one of the top safari operators in Zimbabwe with
exclusive
marketing and management rights to some of Zimbabwe's finest
hunting and
fishing concessions, operating over 15 different camps around
the country,"
the official company website states.
The company, which
also lays claim to being the largest safari operator in
Zimbabwe,
incorporates operations from Birmakino Safaris, Bulembi Safaris,
Famba
Safaris, Mazunga Safaris, and National Safaris.
HHK has come under increasing
pressure from sanctions lobbyists, owing to
its links with Shamu. The
British press has taken a particular interest in
the issue after it emerged
that Prince Harry was courting Davy's daughter,
Chelsy.
A recent report
in the British Mail on Sunday carried a widely reproduced
article on "the
extent of the wildlife slaughter that has made millions for
the family of
Chelsy Davy, girlfriend of Britain's Prince Harry."
The report also made
allegations of racism, bribery and foreign currency
externalisation against
HHK. The company has, in recent months, made efforts
to distance itself from
Davy and, according to The Hunting Report, Shamu.
A statement from the
company says Davy is no longer a shareholder or
director in HHK following
some "structural changes" in 2005.
"The shareholders of HHK Safaris are
Graham and Anton Hingeston and BTC
Safaris, represented by Anthony Crick of
Bulawayo and Marty Wood of
Monticello, Florida. Bulawayo Trading Company
Safari Outfitters (BTC
Safaris) is a Zimbabwean registered and owned
company.
"Graham Hingeston is the managing director of the group, while Anton
Hingeston and Anthony Crick join as co-directors of the company," the
company announced in a statement posted on its website.
Hingeston was
said to be "out of signal range" when The Financial Gazette
called his
office yesterday.
FinGaz
Perspectives with Jonathan
Maphenduka
THAT Vice-President Joseph Msika cannot be expected to
continue on the job
after President Robert Mugabe's retirement cannot be
argued. His age - he is
reputed to be far older than the President -
militates against his
continuing.
What is arguable is whether
President Mugabe will indeed retire in 2008.
There is a lot of talk that his
retirement may be delayed until 2010. This
would require amendment of the
constitution to allow the next presidential
election to coincide with the
next parliamentary elections, and moves in
that direction are already being
considered.
Meanwhile, of great interest is the succession debate which tips
Vice-President Joice Mujuru as the next President. This focuses attention on
who will then succeed her as vice-president.
Ruling party national
chairman and Speaker of Parliament John Nkomo (72) is
well-positioned for
that position and is therefore tipped to become Mujuru's
deputy. But of some
nuisance value is the suggestion that Dumiso Dabengwa
might challenge Nkomo
for the job. I would not put my money on him even if
my arm were being
twisted!
After the break-up of the government of national unity in 1982,
Dabengwa was
among those who were arrested and later faced treason charges.
He was
acquitted and later became Minister of Home Affairs following the
1987 unity
accord. That detention smudge has haunted him ever since, and it
is unlikely
that king-makers in the ruling party have forgotten it. Even
more serious is
the fact that he has become a liability to the party after
losing two
elections in succession.
Not that his rival has won any since
Joshua Nkomo's death, but John Nkomo
has a more illustrious record and
President Mugabe gives him a lot of ear,
it is said.
Dabengwa therefore
is unlikely to rise to heights above his current position
of being leader of
a pressure group in Matabeleland region, especially
pertaining to the
Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP).
It is difficult therefore to see
him posing a serious challenge to Nkomo if
he were to seek support for one
of the vice-presidential positions.
Who is John Landa Nkomo? His meteoric
rise up the political ladder began in
earnest in 1971 when he joined the
African National Council (ANC), a
regrouping of nationalist movements after
the banning of ZAPU and ZANU.
The ANC was headed by Bishop Abel Muzorewa,
with Gordon Chavunduka as
secretary-general, and Nkomo became deputy
secretary-general. In March 1975,
Nkomo was sent to Lusaka to head the ANC
office in the Zambian capital with
Simon Muzenda as his assistant.
At
independence in 1980, he became Minister of State in Deputy Prime
Minister
Simon Muzenda's office. When Joshua Nkomo was fired from the
government in
March 1982, John Nkomo was one of two junior ministers with
Cephas Msipa who
remained in government.
His detractors like to see this as a dark patch in
his career. But they
overlook the dictum that in politics there are no rules
to tick off, and
that more often than not the end justifies the means and
this is why
politics is such a beautiful art of the possible. He can
therefore dismiss
the so-called dark patch as a non-event.
His political
career suffered a temporary set-back in November 1984 when
then Prime
Minister Robert Mugabe sacked him and Msipa from the cabinet,
accusing them
of involvement in subversive activities. But he bounced back.
Nkomo was
appointed Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in 1988 following
the
signing of the unity accord the previous year. Since then he has held
several ministerial positions including that of Home Affairs.
Although,
like Dabengwa, he has not won an election in his region since
Joshua Nkomo's
death, he has continued to rise in the structures of the
party and now lies
fourth in the presidium as national chairman.
There is something called
predestination. John Nkomo appears to have been
favoured for its
appointment. His name alone has a touch of destiny to it
which has proved
most profitable in the struggle to the top.
His first name must have been
borrowed from John the revelator, the man who
showed believers the pitfalls
in the way to paradise. On the other hand, is
Nkomo not the Joshua who led
the children of Israel across the Jordan to the
promised land?
In
politics, memories tend to be long. Look at what has happened to Edgar
Tekere who returned to the fold only to discover he had to undergo some
vetting. The only thing in politics which has been known to ignore (not
forget) the past is expediency. And in the succession jigsaw puzzle
expediency has a warm place.
If I had anything to do with decision-making
in ZANU PF, I would advise the
abandonment of expediency and, instead, the
adoption of a more accommodating
policy. This would be the recognition of
the fact that the population
comprises four main ethnic groups requiring the
rotation of the presidency.
These groups are led by the Zezuru-Korekore
coalition, followed by the
Ndebele-Kalanga in which the Venda, Suthu, Nambya
and Tonga are included,
the Karanga, with the Manica-Shangani bringing up
the rear.
Part of the 26 years in which the Zezuru-Korekore have predominated
should
have been spent preparing the people to accept this phenomenon of the
population. President Mugabe would have had a free hand in ensuring that
rotation of the presidency was strictly observed. There would have been no
need for an opposition.
For instance, if John Nkomo had been installed
president when Joshua Nkomo
died in 1998, instead of waiting to become
vice-president in 2008 or 2010,
the MDC would have found no supporters in
Matabeleland. Is this such an
outlandish proposal? But are our rulers so
foolish they cannot see the
advantages? Traditional chiefs have long
recognised the need to rotate a
clan's chieftainship, and look at the
smoothness of their administration!
Former army chief Vitalis Zvinavashe was
last week reported as saying
Masvingo Province had ceased to be a "one-party
state" for the ruling ZANU
PF. He did not elaborate why and how this had
become so.
But since 2000, it has become clear that the people of Masvingo
have become
tired of the pretence that the "common enemy" of the Shona - a
term used to
describe the coalition of Shona-speaking people - are the
people of
Matabeleland.
It is clear now that the people of Masvingo now
want their own to become
head of state one day. This is the reason why they
backed Emmerson Mnangagwa
for the post that went to Joice Mujuru.
If this
country is to avoid being condemned to inter-tribal conflict after
President
Mugabe's retirement, a reappraisal of the present arrangement
which gives
the Zezuru-Korekore coalition a clear deck to rule the country
for other
groups, becomes absolutely imperative.
The greatest threat to peace,
stability and prosperity will come from the
present arrangement that does
not recognise these distinct interest blocs
which are increasingly becoming
restless.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi Senior
Business Reporter
A BATTERY of rate, statutory reserve ratio hikes and
finger-wagging have all
failed to tame inflation. Now analysts say Zimbabwe
needs a whole new set of
tools to stem the tide.
March inflation fell
at the high end of analysts' forecasts last week, but
many see the rate
rising at a faster pace as the government funds a string
of new subsidies
and the Zimbabwe dollar comes under renewed pressure from
an anticipated
boom in money market liquidity.
The rise was slower than in February, but
with a range of new farmer
subsidies and an expected rise in liquidity that
could push demand for hard
currency, the landmark 1 000 percent level could
be cleared with ease,
analysts said.
A Financial Gazette poll of five
analysts and economists last week had shown
March inflation forecasts as
high as 920 percent year-on-year.
The Central Statistical Office (CSO) said
on Friday that inflation rose to
913.6 percent in March - a new high that
was up 131.6 percent from February.
Month-on-month inflation, slower at 19.8
percent from 27.5 percent in
February, was also largely in line with
forecasts of around 20 percent.
Rentals, up 3 016 percent, and postal
services, which rose 3 062 percent on
last year, were some of the major
drivers of inflation in the year to March,
the CSO said.
The March
figures easily beat central bank governor Gideon Gono's forecasts
that
inflation would peak at 800 percent at the end of the first quarter.
Gono
said in January he expected inflation to slow in the second quarter on
"tight monetary conditions, fiscal restraint and the expected improvement in
food security" to bring the rate to below 230 percent by
December.
However, economists worry that higher prices for tobacco and maize
will fuel
inflation, denying Gono the second quarter slowdown that he
wants.
Gono's rate hikes have hit the limit, and Zimbabwe now needs to back
up the
monetary policy with a programme to rebuild confidence, they
said.
"There is always a limit. We have reached that," said James Jowa,
economist
at TN Financial Services.
"The rate hike no longer has any
major effect on inflation. What Zimbabwe
needs now is to rebuild confidence,
stop printing money and mend ties with
the international community in order
to access balance of payments support,"
he added.
A Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) survey late last year showed that only 2.2
percent of
Zimbabwe's business executives believed that efforts to deal with
inflation
were either "good" or "excellent".
However, the government's idea of building
confidence has been to announce a
range of new subsidies to farmers.
The
RBZ will pay US$1.80 per kg of tobacco, plus a bonus for early delivery,
acting bank governor Charity Dhliwayo said last week.
Earlier, the
government announced a 1 450 percent increase in the maize
producer price
from $2 million to $31 million.
The prices have been popular with farmer
groups, but critics say the result
will be bigger deficits and higher
inflation.
And as the pace of inflation increases, it is going to become a
lot harder
for business to predict the direction government and central bank
policy is
going to take, analysts said.
"We are in a random walk
situation now and it is impossible to guess what
will happen next," said
Tony Hawkins, professor of business studies at the
University of
Zimbabwe.
FinGaz
Kumbirai Mafunda
Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE'S precarious food security situation
comes under the public eye
next month when a food monitoring agency inspects
Harare's crop harvest,
amid revelations that donor groups will soon
discontinue food aid
programmes.
Government and aid agency sources
disclosed this week that the crop
assessment, which will be carried out by
the Zimbabwe Vulnerability
Assessment Committee-a multi-stakeholder body
comprisng the World Food
Programme (WFP), Southern African Development
Community institutions, non
governmental organisations (NGOs), the Famine
Early Warning System (FEWSNET)
and the government- will commence in early
May after rural households
complete this season's crop
harvesting.
Government is reported to be increasingly jittery over the
outcome of the
crop assessments, with Agriculture Minister Joseph Made this
week warning
multilateral agencies against conducting "back door
assessments." This
follows the preliminary findings of the United States
Department of
Agriculture (USDA) that indicated another staple grain deficit
this year
despite above-average rains.
Agricultural experts have blamed
the virtual destruction of commercial
agriculture on the mismanaged land
redistribution programme and other skewed
policies as well as fuel,
fertiliser and seed shortages for the continued
decline in output.
The
much-anticipated assessment will determine Zimbabwe's food requirements
in
2006/7 by identifying vulnerable areas in both urban and rural areas
where
teacher unions report that schoolchildren are increasingly dropping
out of
school because of starvation.
The crop measurement would be critical in
quantifying food requirements
following another cropping season that was
marred once again by poor
planning and support for new farmers.
ZIMVAC
coordinator Joyce Chanetsa confirmed the forthcoming assessment when
reached
yesterday; "We are just putting resources in place to carry out the
household food security and vulnerability assessment in all rural and urban
areas," said Chanetsa.
Preliminary assessments carried out by the United
States Department of
Agriculture (USDA)'s Foreign Agricultural Service and
FEWSNET have already
indicated that Zimbabwe once again faces a serious
grain deficit that will
further exert pressure on its meagre foreign
currency resources through more
imports.
Despite receiving above average
rains during the current season the USDA
projects a staple maize yield
within the 800 000 metric tonnes to 900 000
metric tonne range about half
the annual requirements
Zimbabwe has an estimated 1.8 million tonne annual
grain requirement at an
average 150 000 tonnes per month. A further 500 000
tonnes are required to
maintain strategic reserves.
While Zimbabweans and
the international community keenly await the results
of the crop assessment,
the WFP which has been feeding 4.6 million food
insecure Zimbabweans since
October 2005 says it is winding up some of its
feeding programmes at the end
of this month.
"We will continue with school feeding, home-based care,
orphans, vulnerable
children and people who are acutely food insecure," said
Kevin Farrell, the
WFP's country director.
The WFP says it is still
US$22.2 million short of some US$151 million needed
to fund its humanitarian
operation until June despite repeated appeals.
Close to five million
Zimbabweans require food assistance due to drought and
reduced food
production in the wake of President Robert Mugabe's seizure of
mainly
white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to landless blacks,
which
began in 2000.
Apart from grappling with food shortages, Zimbabweans are also
battling with
skyrocketing inflation, unprecedented unemployment and acute
foreign
currency shortages.
FinGaz
Staff
Reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is under extreme pressure from his close
associates
to act fast on sloppy Cabinet ministers in what has raised
prospects of an
imminent reshuffle.
Sources revealed this week that
the ZANU PF strongman's colleagues in the
presidency had openly told
President Mugabe to institute a major surgery on
the current Cabinet in the
face of a groundswell of public anger over the
deepening economic
crisis.
"It is clear that some of the ministers have been overwhelmed by
their
responsibilities and President Mugabe's inaction has become a cause
for
concern to his close lieutenants, who would want new blood fused into
the
Cabinet," said a source.
"The old man is definitely under pressure
and cannot continue to ignore
advice," added the source.
The issue of a
Cabinet reshuffle, said sources, featured in a tête-à-tête
the presidium had
prior to President Mugabe's trip to Singapore.
In January this year, this
newspaper broke the story about President Mugabe's
concern about
non-performance and predilection to lie among his ministers.
This was later
confirmed in an interview the veteran Zimbabwean leader had
with Newsnet
titled reflections at 82.
President Mugabe specifically fingered the
Agriculture, Industry and Mining
Ministries headed by Joseph Made, Obert
Mpofu and Amos Midzi.
FinGaz
Stanley Kwenda Own
Correspondent
THE Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban
Housing, Ignatius
Chombo, has downplayed the acquisition of a hugely
underpriced upmarket
council house by Sekesai Makwavarara, the chairperson
of the commission
running the city of Harare.
Makwavarara, whose
penchant for unbridled self-aggrandisement has scarcely
endeared her with
Harare's residents and ratepayers, who accuse her of
defecting from the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to ZANU
PF and betraying the
voters who elected her a councillor in 2002, has
reportedly acquired the
Highlands property - which was recently renovated at
a cost of $500 million
- for $780 million.
However, Chombo, who has acted expeditiously in
dismissing opposition-led
council administrations in Harare, Chitungwiza and
Mutare on various charges
including financial irregularities, yesterday
chose to look the other way as
yet another scandal broke at Town
House.
"This might just be some over-enthusiasm (sic) over things that are
yet to
happen. I am yet to receive the resolution number of this case from
the town
clerk, who deals with these issues at council level. Once we get a
report
then the full council will act on it," said Chombo.
"I just read
the story in the newspaper. I was out of town and I am yet to
receive
anything from the town clerk," he added.
Town clerk Nomutsa Chideya told The
Financial Gazette yesterday that
Makwavarara was given the opportunity to
buy the house some time last year.
He, however, declined to give further
details, referring all questions to
Zivanayi Chiyangwa, the city's director
of housing.
"The mayor (sic) was given an opportunity to acquire one of the
council's
staff houses and she identified the one in Highlands, which was
priced at
that amount at the time when the case was deliberated some time
last year,"
Chideya said.
Chiyangwa declined to comment.
The Combined
Harare Residents' Association (CHRA) has demanded the immediate
removal of
Makwavarara from her post and challenged Chombo "to act on
Makwavarara's
excesses".
"The woman is not fit for the job and her recent excesses leave a
lot to be
desired. Her unparalleled desire to spend and use money
demonstrates her
questionable managerial qualifications.
"The commission
is there to serve its own interests and one wonders where
the minister is
when all this is happening. We don't want to tolerate this
abuse, which is
clear testimony that this woman wants to get the best before
she is chucked
out," CHRA chief executive officer Barnabas Mangodza said.
Makwavarara was
recently in the news, reportedly demanding that the Harare
City Council
purchase furniture and curtains worth an estimated $35 billion
for the
mayoral residence she occupies.
Only last week, she was reported to have
requested payment of $103 million
for a decoder and satellite dish, which
was installed at the mansion without
the commission's approval as is
required by procedure.
"Makwavarara is not the mayor of Harare. She does not
have the mandate of
residents to be where she is. Continued failure by the
government to call
for elections is testimony that the commission is serving
political
interests.
"That woman has no right to stay in that house
because it is for the
substantively elected mayor. CHRA reiterates that
elections should be held
urgently to return Harare to its rightful status,"
said Mangodza.
Political commentator John Makumbe also slammed Makwavarara's
latest
splurge.
"It is very unfortunate that this woman continues her
extravagant spending
on the ridiculous mansion, and now she has bought that
house for a song.
This is unbelievable and only demonstrates that this
reckless woman is
determined to feather her own nest and accumulate as much
as she can,"
Makumbe said.
"This is absolute corruption. Chombo is doing
nothing about this
self-aggrandisement while Harare residents suffer," he
added.
Makwavarara's antics have raised the ire of ratepayers, coming as they
do at
a time when service delivery in the city has virtually collapsed under
her
watch.
Most roads in Harare are riddled with potholes, traffic lights
are not
working, there are frequent reports of water contamination and
refuse
collection is non-existent in some parts of the city.
Makwavarara
currently resides at the plush Gunhill mayoral mansion, which
was the
subject of great controversy when it was constructed several years
ago under
the late Solomon Tawengwa's administration.
Makwavarara was elected
councillor on an MDC ticket in 2002, before
defecting to ZANU PF and
speedily replacing the popularly elected executive
mayor of Harare, Elias
Mudzuri, when Chombo booted him out of Town House.
FinGaz
Njabulo Ncube Chief Political Reporter
VICE
President Joseph Msika (83) was last week flown to Cape Town, South
Africa,
in a critical condition and is being treated for what well-paced
sources
said was a heart ailment at a top private hospital.
A veteran of
Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, the former PF-ZAPU stalwart is
reportedly
being treated by specialist doctors after being taken ill because
of the
suspected heart condition.
Sources said the Vice-President, who has been
conspicuous by his absence
from official engagements in recent weeks, was
initially treated at a
private hospital in Harare before doctors recommended
that he receive
specialist treatment in South Africa.
"The VP is under
the weather and presently seeking treatment in Cape Town
(South Africa),"
said the source, speaking anonymously.
George Charamba, the presidential
spokesman, could not be reached for
comment yesterday. Officials in Msika's
office said he was not in the office
but refused to disclose his
whereabouts.
Due to Zimbabwe's deteriorating health delivery system and the
flight of
highly qualified doctors to greener pastures, the country's elite
has
resorted to seeking specialist treatment at health institutions in
neighbouring South Africa.
High-ranking officials that have sought
specialist treatment at South Africa's
hospitals include late Vice-President
Joshua Nkomo, the late Eddison Zvobgo
and Retired Air Marshal Josiah
Tungamirai.
Vice-President Msika recently informed his inner circle in ZANU
PF and
colleagues in the former ZAPU that he intended relinquishing his
post. His
intention to quit active politics has ignited a succession battle
in
Matabeleland as senior politicians in the region position themselves to
land
the job which comes with lucrative perks.
FinGaz
Charles Rukuni
Bureau Chief
BULAWAYO - Godie is an architect. He loves his beer. But
when he has had one
too many, he starts lambasting bottle store
owners.
"How can you expect the country to prosper when it is run by
bottle store
owners?" he asks in a soft drawl. But he is very
serious.
His colleague, an engineer, asks: "But they do not all own bottle
stores?"
"I am not saying they all run bottle stores," Godie says. "But they
all
think like bottle store owners. All they are interested in are quick
returns. They are not prepared for long-term investment. They want their
profits now. This lack of foresight has destroyed our country."
Though
Godie is the only drinker in the group, people quickly gather around
to hear
his theory.
"Everyone should have seen it coming, but no one paid attention.
At
independence most of the United (now Zupco) Buses were heading to the
industrial sites each morning and evening. They only started taking people
to town after delivering industrial workers.
"Then the drift started,
slowly. More and more buses started heading to
town. The drift was sealed
with the introduction of emergency taxis.
Everyone was now heading to the
city centre. Industry began to die a slow,
but painful death. Production
declined until there was none. People started
selling services, until there
were no takers. And finally they started
selling money itself. That's where
we are now."
Godie's theory may be a trifle simplistic but it reflects what
has happened
in Zimbabwe over the past few years. The massive bus termini
that were
dotted around most of the key industrial areas like Belmont and
Donnington
in Bulawayo, Workington and Graniteside in Harare just to name a
few, are
now white elephants.
They were designed for a booming industrial
sector and cannot be converted
into anything else. They would have made
ideal market stalls but they are
too far from customers.
The rot started
soon after the boom in the first three to four years of
independence when
government ministers discovered they could make money with
impunity by
selling cars from the government-owned motor assembly plant at
Willowvale.
Despite the widely publicised scandal and commission of inquiry,
most got
away scot- free.
But the economy started coughing. The dollar, which was
stronger than all
hard currencies, started plummeting. Inflation started
rising. The
government introduced an economic structural adjustment
programme that
promised hardship in the initial years and milk and honey
after five-years.
But it was a total flop. Growth averaged only 1.2 percent
instead of five
percent a year.
Faced with a restless population,
especially those who had participated in
the liberation struggle, the
government was forced to implement a rushed
land reform programme and to
reward the war veterans.
Things went haywire and the economy has not
recovered since.
Now only four percent of industry is operating at full
capacity. Everyone
has moved to the city centre. Operation Murambatsvina,
though hailed as a
success, has failed to drive people out of the city
centres. A new breed of
entrepreneur, the speculator, has emerged.
The
speculator does not produce anything but looks out for bargains,
shortages
and price disparities. On seeing something cheap, the speculator
cleans the
supermarket shelves, puts a mark-up and sells it at a higher
price.
The
speculator makes millions but does not in any way promote production.
Commerce and industry continue to suffer. The few available goods become
prohibitively expensive. And because he or she makes money easily, the
speculator blows the money easily as well, patronising fast-food outlets,
hotels and the increasingly popular out-of-town braai spots.
But because
there is no production taking place, the economy continues to
shrink. People
lose jobs. Industry struggles to survive and sells the few
products it is
able to manufacture at ever escalating prices. Sadly, it
becomes cheaper to
buy imported products than locally produced ones. But
because most people
are unemployed and inflation erodes workers' incomes,
people have no choice
but to buy the cheaper, lower quality products.
Life suddenly turns into a
survival game. More and more income has to be
spent on food and
accommodation. It turns into a vicious circle. Work, home,
work and suddenly
one realises that one will starve even with that full-time
job unless one
joins the circle of speculators, or steals from one's
employer.
There is
something for everyone to sell within one's trade or profession.
The
hospital worker steals drugs. Staff from milling companies steal mealie
meal. Teachers go for exercise books or exam papers. Driving schools offer
fake drivers' licences. Magistrates, police and prison officers set
criminals free. Journalists spike stories for a fee. The list goes
on.
Result, total breakdown of the rule of law. But no one realises this.
Everyone is busy trying to earn a living, blaming the next guy for the
economic decay.
While all this is happening, someone has to keep the
fires burning through
promises that keep the people hoping that things will
change for the better.
"The fuel situation is set to improve because of the
discovery of jatropha,"
people are told. Or: "Tourism is set to recover
following the acquisition of
new planes by Air Zimbabwe." Because of the
constant blackouts, someone
says: "Power shortages will soon become a thing
of the past following the
discovery of uranium in northern Zimbabwe."
And
so life goes on. As things get tougher, bottle store owners make more
money
as people try to drown their sorrows, only to wake up broke the next
morning. But the problem is still there.
FinGaz
Chris Muronzi Staff
Reporter
HWANGE Colliery Company Limited says it plans to sink US$20
million into its
Three Main underground mine as part of an expansion plan
aimed at boosting
production at the underground coal resource after a
disappointing 2005
financial year.
"We are going to invest US$20
million into Three Main Underground and hope
to boost production. The
company is in the process of procuring coal haulage
equipment, drills and
coal fines recovery plant. The new 3 Main Underground
Mine, which was
commissioned during the first quarter of 2005, should be
boosted by the
current initiatives to expand mining operations when a second
continuous
miner is brought into production," said Hwange chief executive
Godfrey
Dzinomwa.
The mine has a 25-year lifespan and a capacity to produce 150 000
tonnes of
a coal a month. Management did not give details on current
production
numbers.
The new underground mine, which covers a surface area
of 2 250 hectares, is
located southeast of the open cast mine.
Turnover
was $988 billion from $374 billion, showing a growth of 164
percent. The
company's attributable earnings stood at $264 billion from the
previous $49
billion last year.
The company realised some exchange gains on exports after
fourth quarter
devaluation earnings
Coal delivered to Hwange Power
Station (HPS) stood at two million tonnes up
from a previous 1.9 million
tonnes delivered in the prior year. Sales
declined from 1 022 497 tonnes in
the previous year to 831 614 tonnes owing
to low production from its new
underground mine which was commissioned in
the first quarter of last year
while coal exports stood at 39 067 tonnes,
down from 99 514 tonnes in the
prior year.
"Coke sales of 196 523 tonnes were 10 percent above the tonnage
achieved
last year. This product is a high revenue earner for the company.
There was
a significant offtake of coke to the export market especially
during the
first half of the year.
"Coke exports for the year amounted to
105 927 tonnes and were 40 percent
above the sales achieved in the previous
year," said the company in a
statement attached to the results.
"Gas
supply to ZPC's Hwange Power Station increased from 19 million Nm3 due
to
improved plant availability throughout the year," added the company.
Hwange,
the largest coal producer in the country, is listed on the Zimbabwe
Stock
Exchange, London Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Securities
Exchange.
FinGaz
Rangarirai Mberi Senior Business
Reporter
Adequacy ratio still below RBZ requirements
AGRIBANK'S capital
adequacy ratio remains below regulatory requirements
despite a $45 billion
cash injection from government, as the bank's show of
high default rates on
its loans again exposed the risk banks take on farm
lending.
The bank
had $519 billion in non-performing loans in December. Bad and
doubtful debts
rose from $31 billion in 2004 to $401 billion in 2005, blamed
on crop
failure and input shortages. The bank made a provision for doubtful
debts of
$434 billion, up from $36 billion in 2004. Loans and advances to
farmers
stood at $1.53 trillion, with the bulk of that loan book in 91-day
to
180-day maturing loans.
Tellingly, Agribank has no 365-day loans on its
books. The bank wrote off $3
billion in bad debts in 2005, up from $415
million.
The heavy provisioning hit profits, which came in at $77.4 billion,
up from
$16.3 billion.
"The incidence of crop failure caused by the
drought of 2004/2005 season as
well as input shortages, particularly
relating to fuel, fertilisers and
imported chemicals, are some of the
factors contributing to this outcome,"
chairman Steven Makonyere
said.
The bank is again seeking more funding from government to lift the
capital
adequacy ratio from 9 percent to the required 10 percent, as its
latest
results raise continued concern over the bank's lending.
"The
major factor affecting capital adequacy is the low margin on the bank's
loan
book. The growth of the risk weighted assets is not being matched by
similar
growth in earnings from the same assets," Makonyere said.
The bank last year
had to seek additional capital from government, the sole
shareholder, in a
bid to raise its capital adequacy ratio from 6 percent to
10 percent.
Agribank had paid out $954 billion to farmers by June last year.
However, the
terms and the conditions of the loans had not been made clear
at the time
the disbursements began, and were treated as grants from
government up to
May 31.
Agribank then approached government to rectify the anomaly, resulting
in a
pledge by Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa in September to inject $45
billion into the bank.
At that time, the reclassification of the loans
had increased fears about
the health of Agribank's lending.
FinGaz
Stanley Kwenda Own
Correspondent
AILING national passenger carrier Air Zimbabwe has
recruited a host of
technicians from the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) to act
as a back-up
workforce should the airline's disgruntled staff go on
strike.
The move by AirZim has worsened discontent among the airline's
restless
workforce.
The AFZ technicians, who are slowly being integrated
into the AirZim system,
are believed to have been recruited through a
ministerial order.
According to sources, most of them have little knowledge
about AirZim's
long-haul aeroplanes.
"They are still learning the ropes
since most of them are used to
helicopters and small aircraft. They are
going through the same process as
technical students," said a source.
An
official at the AFZ confirmed that a number of airforce personnel had
left
for the national passenger airline, but could not shed more light.
"I
understand there are some of our guys at Air Zimbabwe, but I cannot give
you
the exact details. My boss will be the right person to talk to," said
the
official, who asked not to be named.
Contacted for comment, the AFZ director
of operations referred The Financial
Gazette to TK Maphosa, the secretary of
the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, who was
said to be out of the office.
Air
Zimbabwe spokesperson David Mwenga also confirmed the presence of the
AFZ
technicians, whom he said were on attachment at the airline.
"There are 12
aircraft engineering technicians from the Air Force of
Zimbabwe attached to
the airline's engineering division," said Mwenga.
"The attaches, who have
basic aircraft engineering training, undergo further
training in the
airline's engineering departments. The training that the
technicians
undergo, together with apprentices from Air Zimbabwe and other
local and at
times regional engineering organisations, is meant to enhance
their skills
before they can be certified to work on any aircraft," he
added.
Mwenga
said that some of AirZim's former personnel now working for
international
airlines had come through the AFZ.
He, however, denied that the AFZ engineers
had been recruited as a reserve
workforce in case of industrial action at
AirZim.
"If there were to be industrial action today, or indeed in the near
future,
no uncertified engineers, including those from the airforce, will be
allowed
to handle the airline's aircraft," said Mwenga.
The recruitment
of AFZ technicians by Air Zimbabwe comes at a time when the
national airline
is facing several problems, including shortages of fuel and
spare parts and
a decrease in the number of passengers due to reduced
standards, most of
which have been blamed on constant government
interference.
AirZim acting
chief executive officer Oscar Madombwe said the airline had
plans to acquire
two long-haul passenger aircraft in a bid to change its
waning
fortunes.
An Air Zimbabwe plane was recently forced to make an emergency
landing at
Harare International Airport after it developed a technical fault
a few
minutes after take-off.
The airline was also recently forced to
cancel its Harare-Beijing flight
following a strike threat by engineers, who
were demanding a review of their
allowances.
The engineers were demanding
monthly allowances equivalent to that of the
airline's pilots.
FinGaz
The Geoff
Nyarota Column
"BY this constitution we, the people of
Umthwakazi, presently living in
Matabeleland and Midlands provinces of
present-day Zimbabwe, united in the
rejection of domination and tyranny and
inspired by our firm commitment to
freedom and independence and determined
that Mthwakazi must never again
suffer genocide and ethnic cleansing, today
found our political movement
MTHWAKAZI, whose purpose will be to spearhead
the establishment of a free
and united nation of Mthwakazi under a new,
independent and sovereign state
to be called the United Mthwakazi Republic,
UMR."
The above is the preamble to the constitution of the proposed Republic
of
Mthwakazi, which is posted, for those who may wish to peruse, on the
website
of MTHWAKAZI, an organisation fiercely campaigning for the
establishment of
a separate state for people living in Zimbabwe's provinces
of Matabeleland
and the Midlands.
MTHWAKAZI, when spelt out in caps, is
the name of the political movement
behind this project, while the same word
spelt in lower case is the official
name of the proposed republic.
The
establishment of this proposed state, should it ever materialise, will
mark
the official secession of the two provinces of Matabeleland, together
with
the mineral-rich Midlands province, from present-day Zimbabwe.
It will also
signal the end of Zimbabwe as we know it today, a state created
26 years ago
next Tuesday after decades of bitter struggle and the bloodshed
of
Zimbabweans in every corner of the country.
While at the moment Mthwakazi may
sound like a radical cyber-based project,
a visit to the organisation's
elaborate website at www.mthwakazionline.org
leaves the
visitor in no doubt as to the seriousness and commitment of the
people
behind the project.
I departed from the website with a definite sense of
regret that such
energy, creativity and commitment were not harnessed for
the benefit for the
whole of our country, Zimbabwe.
In a message
apparently posted on the website in 2004, the unidentified
president of the
party of MTHWAKAZI states: "Let us discard both Zanu PF and
the MDC for the
tribal parties they are. They are not national parties and
will never be,
because their basic assumptions and foundations are fatally
wrong.
"If
they are national parties, why should ZANU PF in 2004 not be led by
Dumiso
Dabengwa or John Nkomo? Why the insistence on Emmerson Mnangagwa and
Simba
Makoni? As for the MDC, why should it not be led by Gibson Sibanda,
Welshman
Ncube or Fletcher Dulini-Ncube?"
I asked two leading Matabeleland
politicians, Professor Jonathan Moyo and
Professor Welshman Ncube, for their
opinion on the setting up of the
proposed Republic of Mthwakazi.
Ncube
was brief. He had no interest in the subject, he said.
"Please, consider
stopping thinking of some of us as politicians from a
particular region and
consider us as Zimbabweans," he urged.
Moyo said he was not aware of the
Mthwakazi project.
"I fully understand where the people behind the website
you have brought to
my attention are coming from," he said. "The plight they
describe is very
real and has remained unattended for a long time, leading
to inevitable
alienation; but I don't know where they are going in terms of
their specific
proposals."
The cartographers of Mthwakazi have been busy
at their drawing boards. They
have produced a detailed map of the proposed
Republic of Mthwakazi.
They carved out a whole swathe of land, whose northern
frontier takes in
more than 80 percent of the coastline of Lake Kariba
before the border
snakes southwards to include the cities of Gweru and
Kwekwe in the
mineral-rich Midlands province and narrowly misses the town of
Chiredzi in
the southeast as it approaches the Mozambican
border.
Mthwakazi will encompass about 52 percent of present-day
Zimbabwe.
The MegaCity of Bulawayo, as it will be called, will be the capital
city of
Mthwakazi. It will also serve as the capital city of the Province of
Nkabazwe.
It is proposed that the city of Gweru will be renamed Gwelu,
while Kwekwe
and Hwange will both revert to their colonial names of Que Que
and Wankie.
It is proposed that Mthwakazi will have four other provinces -
Mpumalanga
(capital city Gwelu), Zambezi (Wankie), Mulilima (Dette) and
Limpopo
(Beitbridge).
Each province will be headed by a provincial
government headed by a premier,
following the model of South Africa.
The
promoters of the idea have identified and prepared the ground work for a
number of ambitious projects to be implemented once the state is officially
inaugurated.
The kingpin of development in Mthwakazi will be the creation
of a man-made
river to be called the Great Mthwakazi River. It is proposed
that the river
will be created by linking three existing rivers: uMganwini
to the south,
Khami to the west and uMguza to the east and north.
While
it is proposed that the Great Mthwakazi River will encircle the new
MegaCity
of Bulawayo and provide transport both in and around the capital,
such as by
boat or ferry, technical details of how the water will flow in a
circle are
not given at this stage.
Another major project earmarked for early
implementation is the
Trans-Limpopo Spatial Development Initiative.
The
promoters of Mthwakazi say an agreement for this project was signed in
2001
between the government of South Africa and "representatives of the City
of
Bulawayo and Matebeleland in general".
This project envisages the creation of
a development corridor stretching
from the Gauteng Province of South Africa
through Matebeleland into
Botswana, Zambia and eventually Angola.
The
project proposes various economic activities covering especially tourism
and
agriculture.
A prominent feature of the MegaCity of Bulawayo will be the
Mthwakazi Mall.
Within the mall, an artistically designed monument will be
built with names
of prominent Ndebele heroes killed in the Ndebele Rebellion
and the last
Ndebele War.
At another prominent site within the mall
another memorial will be
constructed "in honour of those who were either
killed or caused to
disappear by Robert Mugabe during the Gukurahundi in the
1980 -1987
genocide.
"At strategic points, statues of King Mzilikazi,
King Lobengula, Cecil John
Rhodes, Joshua Nkomo and other heroes of our time
such as Nikita Mangena,
Lookout Masuku and other fallen heroes will be
inscribed."
Central to the development of the MegaCity will be the
construction of King
Mzilikazi Airport to replace the current Joshua Nkomo
Airport as the main
international airport of the proposed republic.
The
national carrier of Mthwakazi will be Indiza, to be operated by
Matabeleland
Airline Systems.
As one who comes from an underdeveloped district of
Manicaland, I am all too
familiar with the negative impact of too much
centralisation of
administration, the economy and development in
Harare.
I would support in
principle the devolution of power to the
provinces because it makes sense in
terms of administration and
development.
I would, however, not support decentralisation as a weapon to
hit at the
Zezuru people, many of whom, even in Mashonaland West, also
wallow in
poverty and under-development like the rest of the nation, on
account of the
incompe-
To Page 17
From Page 9
tent governance
of ZANU PF.
Most Zimbabweans living in whatever part of the country are
humble, peaceful
and generally hardworking people.
There is general
consensus among them that the cause of their current
hardship and
deprivation is the party that has mishandled their affairs of
state over the
past quarter century - ZANU PF.
In 2000 and 2005, they attempted to remove
the ruling party from power using
the ultimate weapon in any democratic
constitution - the electoral process.
The greater majority believe they have
been cheated of victory on three
occasions now, including during the
presidential election in 2002.
Anyone visiting the well-funded website of the
Republic of Mthwakazi will
immediately detect that the concept, tone and
language of this project is
hostile and belligerent, not just towards ZANU
PF, but towards all Zimbabwe
outside Matabeleland.
It is not clear,
however, whether the belligerence and hostility reflect the
general attitude
of the people of Matabeleland against the rest of the
country.
The
national symbol of the proposed republic of Mthwakazi, as depicted at
the
top of the constitution and other important documents, is an eagle in
full
flight.
The Zimbabwe Independent, a leading privately owned weekly newspaper
in
Zimbabwe, was recently re-branded and re-launched. The main feature of
its
new masthead is an eagle in full flight and, coincidentally, not
entirely
dissimilar to the national symbol of the proposed Mthwakazi.
I
asked the publisher of the paper, Trevor Ncube, for any comment on this
strange coincidence. He assigned projects manager Iden Wetherell to comment,
copying his memo to general manager Ralph Khumalo.
Khumalo was first to
react.
"I thought we were dealing with a normal human being," he said of me.
"Now I
see we are dealing with a lunatic who is capable of just about
anything."
Wetherell subsequently responded.
"Thank you for drawing our
attention to the Mthwakazi eagle," he said. "We
had not seen it before. I
note that it appears where they publish their
constitution but does not
feature on their website where they have their
symbols. It is similar to
ours but not identical. A number of publications
and organisations have
similar eagles. We chose ours because of its skills
(sharp-eyed with strong
talons) as well as its location in central Africa."
I challenged Wetherell to
publish pictures of the Mthwakazi eagle and the
Independent eagle in his
paper to establish if the public would consider it
an act of lunacy for
anyone to be struck by the resemblance between the two
flying eagles.
FinGaz
National Agenda with
Bornwell Chakaodza
IT is that time of the year once again when
long-suffering Zimbabweans have
to bear with independence jingles and
President Robert Mugabe predictably
going into overdrive pontificating about
the ideals of the armed struggle,
national sovereignty and bringing freedom
and democracy to Zimbabwe.
Ordinarily, there would be nothing wrong with
saying all these things in an
environment in which there is cause for
celebrating our 26 years of
independence. Sadly, as in the previous six
years or so, there is very
little worth celebrating about. It is all pain,
agony, anguish and despair
for the majority of Zimbabweans. It has been the
same tragic story year
after year since the outbreak of the Zimbabwean
crisis six years ago.
For all practical purposes and amid the hunger,
economic hardships and
missed opportunities, we must accept that we
Zimbabweans of all colours and
creeds have been independent for the last 26
years. It is a political
reality and it is a reality that will be with us
for eternity.
But as we reflect on the past 26 years of independence, we
naturally have to
ask ourselves: Is this the kind of Zimbabwe that we fought
for and the
Zimbabwe we dreamt of? Economic-wise, is this the Zimbabwe we
inherited from
Ian Smith and his Rhodesian Front party? True, the economy
then was crafted
around a white minority but the truth is that black
Zimbabweans in their
townships and reserves were not as hungry and poor as
they are now. We must
not shy away from saying these things for fear of
being labelled unpatriotic
and disloyal to Zimbabwe by people who are now
pretending to be more ZANU PF
than ZANU PF itself.
One of the great
pretenders is George Charamba who Jonathan Moyo is on
record as having said
writes as Nathaniel Manheru in the government bulletin
The Herald on
Saturdays. George must be careful that in singing for his
supper and
enjoying the largesse that is dispensed by the system, he thinks
that his
loyalty to Zimbabwe is more than some of us who quietly and in our
own
different ways sacrificed for independent Zimbabwe while he was still a
toddler. The fact that we do not shout about it does not mean that we did
nothing for this country. As the Nigerian saying goes: 'A cook who pounds
yam noisily thinks that those who pound quietly do not eat'.
The point
George is that we do not criticise the ruling party for criticism's
sake.
No. We criticise it precisely because we are concerned about Zimbabwe
and we
want to see the ruling party stop marching not only to the drum of
self-destruction but also to the drum of Zimbabwe's destruction. That is the
only motivation we have - nothing else!
This country is much bigger than
ZANU PF George and your blind loyalty to
the ruling party must not in any
way be seen to be translating to loyalty to
Zimbabwe. In writing your pieces
in The Herald, please refrain from
insulting fellow Zimbabweans whether
black or white. If you stick to issues,
perhaps readers will begin to take
you seriously and see that you are trying
to do your job of defending the
indefensible and explaining government
policies and actions that are
presently not working. This is a task I
totally agree with, having performed
it myself once upon a time, but at a
time (1993-1998) when Zimbabwe's
political environment was largely
democratic and more civilised that it is
now.
Indeed my agreement with the position that you are currently holding
George
stems from the fact that people's eyes and hearts see and feel things
differently. Even among people who see and witness the same event, no single
view may hold the truth!
Yes, people do see things from different
perspectives depending on which
side of the fence one is. In your case
George, you are inside the corridors
of power along with other members of
the ruling elite benefiting from the
gigantic mess we find ourselves in
right now.
Obviously, your main motivation is to maintain the status-quo -
but what
about the vast majority of Zimbabweans who have nothing to eat? Is
that what
kutonga is all about - you having three meals a day while most
Zimbabweans
can only afford two buns and a cup of tea a day? You want to
continue
enjoying the privileges of power at the expense of the masses of
Zimbabweans - people are saying no to that.
The other day, a friend was
explaining to me how an elderly woman who had
suffered a stroke in the
Zvimba communal lands (President Mugabe's home
turf) was being left to die
slowly and painfully by her son because there
was neither the money to
transport her to the nearest clinic nor to buy
medication. The illness was
further compounded by lack of maize meal in the
household. The son who was
looking after her could not do anything. Neither
could the neighbours do
anything as they had nothing as well.
For every story of this nature that one
hears, there are thousands upon
thousands of them up and down the country
that one does not get to hear
about but are a reality. For the majority of
Zimbabweans, living standards
have deteriorated very badly. The question can
rightly be asked: What does
independence mean for this elderly woman in
Zvimba and the millions of
Zimbabweans who are in the same situation? In
truth, Zimbabwe has become an
unhappy country.
The civil servant, the
teacher, the nurse, the security guard, the
policeman, the soldier, the
communal farmer, the factory worker, the
unemployed - name it, all are now
sharing the scourge of poverty and the
grinding despair that is stalking
this land.
Bread, which used to be taken for granted, has at $90 000 a loaf
priced
itself out of the reach of many Zimbabweans. For the few Zimbabweans
who are
gainfully employed, their pay packets can only take them to work for
10 days
a month. How they continue to survive and continue to go to work,
only God
knows. For many Zimbabweans, meat is now a thing of the past.
Today's
ever-rising prices are forcing everyone to rethink what they eat,
what to
buy and what not to buy - literally, changing the kind of lifestyles
they
had been used to.
Whether the government accepts it or not, people
are literally starving not
only in the urban areas but in the rural areas as
well. The Zimbabwe
government itself, the UN World Food Programme, World
Vision, Western
embassies based in Harare and other non-governmental
organisations are
helping to alleviate the suffering but it is never
sufficient.
The story is doing the rounds of soldiers and guards hunting for
mice in the
Botanical Gardens in Harare to try to at least have protein in
the diets of
their families. When such soldiers see their well-nourished
commanders
driving around in sleek, state-of-the-art vehicles and generally
flaunting
their wealth, what goes through their minds at this time of the
independence
'celebrations'? What will sovereignty mean to such a soldier?
How is it
possible that our political leaders can be blinded to such harsh
reality?
National sovereignty can never be an end in itself. The majority of
countries the world over are trading off their sovereignty in return for
prosperity and development. The European Union (EU) is a famous case in
point. It is not a question of surrendering one's sovereignty. No. It is a
question of sharing: giving something and in return you get something back -
prosperity. This is how other countries are moving ahead. In this regard,
the ruling party is out of sync with the contemporary world. And we are
suffering largely precisely because of this. Countries such as China and
India are on the rise precisely because they are doing business with the
West. There is a huge lesson for Zimbabwe here. The so-called Look East
policy is a non-starter - everybody knows that is a failure. Why the ruling
ZANU PF party's head is stuck in the sand on this one boggles the
mind.
So, we limp on - with inflation set to race past the 1 000 per cent
mark. In
a country labouring under such hyperinflation, one can safely say
that we
are not far off from
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From Page 13
an implosion.
In other words, Zimbabwe will soon begin to burn from within
unless the
authorities stem the tide soon. And the answer does not lie in
militarizing
all state institutions or establishing National Security
Council committees.
The answer lies in the ruling party swallowing its pride
and embarking on
wholesale policy changes. The road map that Zanu PF is
presently following
is untenable. Holding office particularly at the level
of Head of State and
Government must teach realities and when you learn
reality, it dawns on you
that you could be wrong in what you are doing. Even
within the Presidium of
Zanu PF, there must be a realization that
Zimbabweans have suffered enough.
How much practice does it take 'to plan' a
sacrifice of your own
people?
Health, education, material well-being and the economy ingeneral:
these are
the things that Zimbabweans care about deeply. They do not eat
sovereignty.
They want to be able to feed their families, clothe them, put a
decent roof
over their heads, have a good and affordable health delivery
system and send
their children to school without too many headaches.
The
reason that men of the cloth like Archbishop Pius Ncube and many others
in
the civil society, the churches, the media and the international
community
are holding our political leaders to account is because they have
a vested
interest in putting the Zimbabwean house back in order.
To me, this is what
independence should be all about. What these men and
women and many others
are trying to achieve is what should inspire us and
the next generation to
celebrate real independence in future years. But for
now, despite the doom
and gloom, at least have yourselves a good and godly
Easter weekend and a
hopeful new 27th year of independence.
FinGaz
Personal Glimpses with
Mavis Makuni
ARE the ruling elites taunting the struggling masses? This
is certainly a
question that begs an answer in view of the numerous
unacceptable excesses
of those whose official positions enable them to enjoy
effortless access to
dispensations, resources and assets that ordinary
hard-working Zimbabweans
can only dream about.
The chairperson of the
Commission running the City of Harare, Sekesai
Makwavarara, hit the
headlines twice in quick succession this week, not for
any sterling work she
is doing in the service of the erstwhile Sunshine
City's long-suffering
residents, but for the creature comforts she is
acquiring for herself. Last
week, the chairperson was embroiled in
controversy over a satellite dish and
decoder she had installed at the
mayoral mansion at a cost of $100 million.
She did all this without the
Commission's authority and without following
any tender procedures.
Residents have the right to ask what gives this woman
the confidence to get
away with such murder with impunity.
But before
residents have even figured out why a supposed "patriot" like
Makwavarara
needs DSTV when she should be glued to local television for
ZBH's offerings,
there is another bombshell. The Herald reported yesterday
(April 12) that
Makwavarara had acquired a house in the upmarket suburb of
Highlands in
Harare for the meagre price of $780 million when similar
properties are
fetching in the region of $20 billion. The official
explanation given was
that the property was being sold to Makwavarara as the
occupying tenant.
This was in line with the local authority's policy of
enabling senior
managers to acquire decent accommodation as an incentive to
retain their
services.
But why does Makwavarara need this house when she is already living
in the
opulent mayoral mansion in Gunhill? Remember she was embroiled in
another
controversy only in February when it emerged that the cash-strapped
Harare
City Council planned to spend $35 billion on furniture and curtains
for that
residence. Not long before that, Makwavarara had grabbed the
headlines over
a junket to the Russian capital, Moscow that gobbled up $650
million. These
costly trips evidently do nothing to broaden the
chairperson's horizons
judging by the continuing deterioration of her inept
leadership.
It is only through Makwavarara's failure to provide any kind of
leadership
that the local authority came up with plans to spend more than $1
trillion
on luxury vehicles for senior staff a few weeks ago. While it is
accepted
that employers have an obligation to provide these fringe benefits,
it is
imperative to have properly ordered priorities and this is where
visionary
leadership is crucial. Makwavarara has proved herself to be
totally devoid
of such leadership skills hence her own and the local
authority's constant
hurtling from one embarrassing controversy to the
next.
It has become abundantly clear that the only concern of Local
Government
Minister Ignatius Chombo's token woman at Town House is to make
hay while
the sun shines. She has been shameless about using her political
prostitution to maximum advantage to upgrade her lifestyle. From living in a
humble high-density house when she was first elected into council by MDC
supporters, she has had a pick of comfortable residences all paid for by
ratepayers. In 2003, when she was still acting mayor, the city council
forked out $2 million per month in rentals (a lot of money in those days)
for a house in Gunhill to accommodate her.
When she was appointed
chairperson of Minister Chombo's imposed Commission,
Makwavarara graduated
to the plush mayoral mansion in the same suburb. At
the same time, she had
apparently also become the official tenant of the
council house in Highlands
that she has now bought for the paltry $780
million. These are not the only
windfalls that have come her way. In 2004,
Makwavarara was awarded a farm by
the government in Raffingora, a prime
agricultural area.
Ever since this
woman sold her political soul through her underhanded
defection from the
MDC, on whose ticket she had been elected as a
councillor, she has
distinguished herself only for her willingness to be
used to facilitate the
implementation of Chombo's vindictive agendas and for
her shameless pursuit
of a programme of self- upliftment and enrichment.
Makwavarara dutifully
waited in the wings while Harare's first popularly
elected executive mayor,
Elias Mudzuri, was hounded out of office on
spurious allegations.
Now,
Makwavarara is the most spoilt woman in Zimbabwe although one would
have to
crack one's head to come up with what she has achieved to deserve
such
lavish rewards. Makwavarara's stewardship of Harare, first as acting
mayor
and now as chairperson of the Commission imposed by Minister Chombo to
"run"
the affairs of the capital has been disastrous to say the least. Since
Mudzuri's forced departure things have deteriorated in every department with
the result that service delivery is now an extinct concept.
Everywhere
one looks one is confronted with mountains of rotting garbage
that the city
council no longer even pretends to be collecting. There are
other eyesores
in the form of burst pipes discharging sewage in residential
areas and
potholes the size of craters normally caused by the impact of
meteorites or
bomb explosions. Large sections of the city are plunged into
darkness every
night because of the absence of street lighting. Is anybody
in charge of
this city?
Long-suffering residents would definitely answer in the negative
but they
are being constantly taunted by the authorities through the
lavishing of
rewards and benefits on the person responsible for their
misery. What is
going on Minister Chombo? What is the secret of
Makwavarara's impunity after
she has been involved in so many controversies
and has failed to justify the
confidence you apparently have in her?
FinGaz
No Holds Barred with Gondo
Gushungo
Reflections at 26
WAY back in 1990 when I was still training as a
journalist, I borrowed a
back issue of a Soviet weekly, New Times from our
lecturer Sipho Magwaza.
I had been attracted by an article in the paper
on Solidarity leader Lech
Walesa just after he was elected the Polish
president.
The article talked about how Walesa had, in the autumn of 1980 led
a
gigantic column of people past police formations at a sports centre known
as
Katowice. According to the magazine account, before the march some one
had
shouted from the crowd; "Lech! There are hundreds of police out there
waiting for us. They have got clubs, water cannons and tear gas!" Walesa
shot back; "If you are afraid of them, I will go first and you will follow .
. ." At that moment the gates flung open and Walesa marched ahead, leading
the people.
For me, the article brought back fresh memories of Zimbabwe's
war of
independence. True, what I read about Walesa might have happened in
far off
Poland, but it had a familiar ring. I had seen the same level of
courage and
determination from Zanla combatants Danger, Durban, Prosper and
Jongwe who
operated in my home area of Chihota in 1977 with my late uncle
Samuel
Chikunguru as one of their collaborators. Against all odds they
vanquished
the ruthless Rhodesian forces who were operating in the area and
were based
at Mahusekwa.
During that time which can be described as the
darkest of Zimbabwe's
historical periods, freedom fighters in this country
were not scared of the
tyrannies of Smith's rule. They knew that the
Rhodesians had a brutal lust
for power for in those days, to speak of trees
was treason. But they
soldiered on at great personal sacrifice.
The
freedom fighters did not chafe at but fiercely fought the regime.
Instead,
the brutality of the regime brought about deeper reactive
consequences in
the would-be freedom fighters. These include Robert Mugabe,
Joshua Nkomo,
Jason Ziyapapa Moyo, Josiah Tongogara, Hebert Chitepo, James
Chikerema and
many others.
They, together with tens of thousands of other liberation war
heroes, dead
or alive, are the reason for Zimbabwe's decisive rupture with
the
pre-democracy days of black subservience to the whites. But it was no
stroll
in the park. It was a bloody war in which wives were widowed and
children
orphaned.
And as already observed, it is a historical fact that
the stiffer the
resistance of the outgoing forces, the greater the cost of
the revolution. I
believe this was the case with Zimbabwe. Which is why the
struggle for
independence in Zimbabwe evokes feelings of both pride and
achievement, loss
and sadness. Because of their sacrifices Zimbabwe's brutal
political
landscape changed profoundly, the most notable change being the
political
gains. And that cannot be taken away from them.
The ultimate
price so paid - death - means that Tuesday, April 18 2006 -
designated as
the day when the nation celebrates the coming of independence
26 years ago -
is a special day for Zimbabweans in their enormous diversity.
Indeed, the
celebration of independence should ideally transcend parochial
political
party affiliation and ethnic barriers. That is also why, in my own
estimation, other than anything else, this should be a day of national
reflection, soul-searching and stock-taking and not the traditional orgy of
self-congratulation. There would be no better way of honouring the heroes of
the struggle who never meant for the country to be frozen at the point of
liberation because they knew that the struggle, though an outstanding
chapter in the history of Zimbabwe, would not be a rallying point for the
future.
And April 18 should therefore be a day to carefully examine the
journey that
Zimbabwe has travelled since 1980, the people's thoughts and
feelings, what
could have been but never was, why and where the wheels came
off etc. It is
absolutely imperative to do so because there are so many
questions:
Does the country have the credibility, prestige, friends and
prosperity the
liberation war heroes envisaged? Does it cater for
broad-based population
needs? Were all the objectionable pieces of
legislation swept away with the
rubble of the Smith regime? If not, why? Is
Zimbabwe a law-based state that
observes basic human rights, ensures the
accountability of the executive
power to legislative power and allows
dissent among others?
There are those that are still practising back-breaking
subsistence
agriculture in the featureless expanse of sandy soils in dust
bowls. Yet
they sacrificed so much looking after the freedom fighters and
even
slaughtering their livestock to feed the same comrades - in a society
where
a man's social status is measured by the number of cattle he owns.
What do
they have to say about the state of affairs in the country where
uncouth
influential politicians own more than one farm?
Is the country
moving on with the rest of the world or it is caught up in
some time warp?
In short, are Zimbabweans experiencing the true meaning of
independence and
the value of hope?
Admittedly these are both vexed and fundamental, if
uncomfortable,
questions. But they need to be asked nonetheless and without
shirking direct
and honest answers. That is vitally important for Zimbabwe
to reach that
all-important national consensus for a solution to those
issues despite the
widening polarisation of political forces.
Without
that, it would be difficult for the country to embark on a path of
self-correction to restore not only local economic pride and promise with a
national sense of purpose and cohesion but also to restore the honour and
dignity of millions of Zimbabweans living in grinding poverty.
Not only
that but as I have said before, such critical self-introspection
and
self-assessment will help the nation revisit the principles and
selflessness
of the true heroes of the war of independence around which
Zimbabwe should
redefine its national goals to create the kind of nation
envisioned by the
selfless founding fathers of the liberation movement.
This is what the
critical private media and civic society, both bent on
influencing policy
for the greater good, have over the years been trying to
prod the
powers-that-be to look at. Of course this means treading a new path
of
reforms that might not be politically convenient. Which is probably why
the
private media and civic society are being branded as an evil even though
they are only doing their job. Thus betraying a staggering political
inability to accept exactly why the Zimbabwean story is beyond sad.
It is
because of failure by the authorities to realise this that President
Robert
Mugabe and his colleagues in government stand accused of making
mistakes by
their justifiably furious critics. The dominant view is that,
that the
economy caught an enervating disease is the result of culpable
failure by
the government to consider all the issues pointed above. Hence
the blame for
the inevitable socio-economic difficulties and the government
mistakes that
aggravated them is rightly placed squarely on their shoulders.
And the
widespread criticism comes with the territory. Any politician in his
second
year of leadership must be prepared for tough criticism replacing the
initial praise he might have had in the early days. What about one who has
been in office for close to three decades?
FinGaz
Tinashe Mawerera
Own Correspondent
ZIMBABWE'S seven-year economic crisis has claimed the
scalps of more than 50
bakeries amid warnings that more could shut down if
the wheat shortage
persists.
Industry sources told The Financial
Gazette that the bakeries' closure had
rendered thousands jobless.
Bakers
said the few who had kept their plants operating are going for weeks
and
months without firing up their ovens.
The National Bakers Association has
said millers were not supplying them
with adequate wheat allocations to
sustain operations and they called upon
government to protect their members
in the same way they have protected
millers so as to ensure the survival of
distressed bakers.
The shortage of wheat has meant that millers were
demanding prices that are
as high as $50 million per tonne.
The wheat
shortage has led to a huge increase in the price of bread which
last week
shot up from $66 000 to $ 95 000 per loaf.
FinGaz
FOREIGN capital has been a vital
part of many developing countries. The
Asian growth story is a case in
point.
When East Asia was faced with an annual current account deficit of
US$21.8
billion between 1990 and 1996, it was external financing of this
investment-saving gap that fuelled a period of unprecedented economic growth
in the region.
And just like any other country whose economy continues
spiralling downward,
Zimbabwe needs capital to fund its recovery. The need
for foreign capital
is, in fact, even greater for Zimbabwe particularly for
developing
infrastructure, which could be a lifebelt for the sickly economy.
But the
country has been unable to attract lenders or foreign direct
investors over
the past six years. And there doesn't seem to be any
proverbial silver
lining in the dark cloud because not everyone believes the
hype surrounding
the much-vaunted Look East policy. Our argument is not
without reason.
First, other than good words we find it difficult to believe
that much will
come from this initiative. The major players in the East
including the oil
sectors in friendly countries such as Angola and
Equatorial Guinea are from
the European Union area, United States of America
and Canada - the very
regions that are opposed to Zimbabwe's
politics.
And it goes without saying that the interests of the companies from
these
regions operating in the East are intertwined with those of their
respective
governments hence the attitude towards Zimbabwe is endemic among
the various
governments and private investors. Which leaves Zimbabwe in a
catch-22
situation. How does it convince companies that follow their flags
to come
and invest here? It would be as easy as trying to unscramble an
egg.
Not only that but the country's ranking on world economic indexes is
continuously being downgraded since 2000. Only recently, the World Economic
Forum's Global Competitiveness Report tellingly placed Zimbabwe in the lower
ranks with the likes of Cambodia, Chad and the little-known Kyrgyz
Republic.
It is instructive to note that such ratings come about after the
rating
agencies have taken a long hard look at potential troublespots and
then use
the information to forewarn investors and lenders of potential
uncertainties. Of particular poignancy is the underlying message - Zimbabwe
is a land of contagion of political extremity, uncertainty and fear, shun
it!
In other words, they are warning investors of the force majeure
events that
can be used by Zimbabwe for failing to fulfil its contractual
obligations or
that can make it impossible for foreign-owned firms operating
in Zimbabwe to
remit or pay out dividends to their investors. This explains
why investors
and lenders have tended to concentrate on the nuts and bolts
of the risk
problem associated with Zimbabwe as can be seen either through
their
wait-and-see attitude or stampeding through the exits after they
decided to
cut their losses than linger in unsatisfactory
circumstances.
The situation is in fact so bad that Zimbabwe has lost its
relevance on the
regional economic front. To the extent that some
international companies
with operations in Zimbabwe have removed them from
their balance sheets!
All this points to two things. First, the investors are
uncertain about the
overall direction and future prospects of the Zimbabwean
economy. Secondly,
Zimbabwe has, as an investment destination, not only lost
its glitter but
also failed to convince the international community that the
initially slow
but now accelerating economic melt-down is temporary.
It
also underlines the fact that investment, be it domestic or foreign,
follows
confidence. And to this end we do not have to belabour the fact that
if
foreign capital is to stay, it requires macro-economic management to
international standards, something that is clearly lacking in Zimbabwe. What
with policy contradictions and the unpredictable, arbitrary changing of the
rules of the game half-way for political expediency.
A case in point
would be the contradictions coming from government officials
as regards the
issue of bilateral investment protection agreements (BIPAS)
that were
inadvertently adversely affected by the wildcat farm invasions
under the
fast-track land reform exercise. This has hurt Zimbabwe's
reputation as an
investment destination by damaging investor confidence.
As we have said
before, restoring the battered confidence will, among other
issues, require
reintegrating into the broader community of nations. This
means that there
is need for a paradigm shift in Zimbabwe's foreign policy.
Government has to
realise that it is not about looking east or west but
looking at the global
village that is the world! As it is Zimbabwe has taken
a hard stand,
aligning itself with the East and alienating itself from the
influential
West at a huge cost to the economy which has plummeted into
depression.
The Zimbabwean
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
HARARE -
While MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai, rides on a wave of optimism
and
enthusiasm from the thousands of supporters who have been attending
his
rallies around the country, President Robert Mugabe cowers behind
his
restless armed forces, desperately making secret plans to escape
prosecution
for his crimes against humanity.
Emboldened by the mood of the
people, who are clearly ready for change,
Tsvangirai declared again at the
weekend that he would gladly give his life
if that was what it took for
Zimbabwe to be free of Mugabe's tyranny. His
call is clear: nothing short of
a new constitution and fresh elections
supervised by the UN and international
observers will restore legitimacy to
Zimbabwe.
People continue to pack
stadiums across the nation in a heartening display
of support for the MDC's
strategy of massive peaceful public protest. Change
is clearly in the
air.
Mugabe, meanwhile, has ordered a massive recruitment drive to beef up
the
army and police and sent messages to church groups and other
intermediaries
about constitutional reform that would grant him immunity from
prosecution
if he relinquished the presidency.
"It seems that Mugabe has
at last seen the writing on the wall," said a
political commentator. "He
knows his rule is coming to an end. But he
wants assurances that he won't
end up on trial in The Hague like his fellow
dictator, Slobodan Milosevic, or
on trial in his country like Charles
Taylor, or living in exile, a fugitive
from justice, like his friend
Mengistu Haile Mariam."
At the same time
Mugabe is about to sign a law pegging his own pension to at
least 75% of the
salary of a future sitting president. In addition, the new
legislation
provides for his young wife, Grace, and three children to get
generous
payments for the rest of their lives.
Selfishly, the new law does not apply
to the still-living family of the late
former president, Canaan Banana, whose
wife is understood to live in poverty
in the UK.
As part of his exit
preparations, Mugabe gave himself - alone among all
Zimbabweans - a salary
increase of more than 1000% in the past year.
Since the disastrous 'land
reform exercise' of 2000, Mugabe has regularly
used drought as an excuse for
food shortages.
"But people are not stupid," said the observer. "After the
recent bumper
rainy season, they can see that there is something seriously
wrong with the
government's agricultural policies and whole resettlement
exercise. They
refuse to accept these lies any more."
He said Mugabe
continued to denounce the west, but "it is the West that is
coming to the aid
of Zimbabweans in their hour of need, not his eastern
friends. What the
people need right now are not tanks and jet fighters, but
food and
medicines."
The World Food Programme (WFP) expects 5.5 million Zimbabweans to
be in need
of food aid by June. "People are so desperate for food that at
some
distribution sites, beneficiaries have been seen opening and eating
uncooked
rations on the spot. Some reportedly lack the strength to carry
donated food
home," said a WFP official recently. Meanwhile, the UK's
Department for
International Development (DFID) has just given £22 million to
UNICEF in
Zimbabwe in a bid to improve the plight of orphans and vulnerable
children
across the country.
The Zimbabwean
We offer this space to Zimbabweans everywhere
to express their views on a
subject close to their hearts. If you have
something to say please email
the Editor: wilf@thezimbabwean.co.uk
Mash
war vets lambaste Mugabe
By Worried War Vets: Mash West and
East
This an open letter to His Excellency Cde R G Mugabe to show
our
disgruntlement as the Liberation War Freedom Fighters of Zimbabwe in
regard
to just a few of your shortcomings concerning our welfare as the ZNA
Reserve
Force of Zimbabwe.
We have observed that you forcefully placed
us under the command of your
office and of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
commander, General Chiwenga, in
order to silence us - wilfully knowing that
you have let us down on many
occasions.
For example, there was your
evil Clean up campaign, code named operation
Murambatsvina, which spared
no-one, including us the Zimbabwe Liberation War
Vet Association members and
Zanu (PF) supporters countrywide.
How do you think we are going to build our
houses when you are aware that
you are only giving us a paltry Z$5m per month
as salary, no bonuses, no
increments? How many bags of cement and bricks do
you think we can afford to
buy in this economy? And what about our monthly
rental since most of us are
lodgers and destitutes?
Why is it that the
detainees are getting better treatment than us who were
disadvantaged while
in the bush? We had no visitors, no shelter, no clothes
or education. And
there is a lot of paper work needed when applying for
funds, yet you know
that we are not all educated because of war?
We don't want you to impose
candidates who should lead the freedom fighters
in this country. We would
like to express our displeasure at the imposition
of Dumiso Dabengwa and
retired General Mujuru. The only exception is the
retired Army General
Zvinavashe, with whom we feel comfortable since he is a
man of principle and
has War Vets at heart.
We have also noted with great concern the level of
promotion of War Vets in
the army, where most ranks are only from lance
corporal to colour sergeant
and in the police where most of us are sergeants,
with just a few connected
to the highest table?
Stop politicising national
events because we did not fight to liberate Zanu
(PF) only but the whole
nation and the emerging political parties of
Zimbabwe.
We demand that all
political parties are allowed to lay flowers on the tomb
of the unknown
soldier on all Heroes commemoration days, since its their
right to pay
respect to daughters and sons who died for this country during
the
war.
Please help me get educated
By Sarhanna Hassim.
I am a
form 4 student currently attending a private school in Zimbabwe. In
first
term 2006 my school fees, which include boarding, cost Z$90m. The
school fees
for second term 2006 will cost my parents Z$239m. On top of
this, they have
to buy my own food as the school is unable to provide for my
special diet. My
parents struggle to scrape together enough money to pay my
school fees.
1.
What do they do for a living? My parents own two shops.
2. So then what is
the problem? The problem is it is very expensive to buy
goods for the shop as
suppliers demand cash upfront and the goods can't be
sold anyway as nobody
can afford them.
3. Then why don't I move to an affordable government school?
First of all
the facilities in government schools are not up to scratch for
the medical
career I want to follow. The laboratories are not well equipped,
even though
the teacher might be excellent. It is also extremely difficult to
get
textbooks and chemicals are very expensive. If my private school
cannot
afford new textbooks how will government schools manage? Secondly
there is
racism, and not only about your skin colour (which has already
occurred at
my private school) but about the school you have attended before.
Thirdly if
I do go to a government school, what are my prospects of getting
to the top
universities?
4. So what am I trying to say? I sit at home now
that it is the holidays and
worry myself sick about where I will attend lower
VI, as my parents have
made it clear that they cannot afford my fees.
According to my latest report
I have excellent prospects. I have also
achieved first place in Geography,
Chemistry, Biology, English Language and
Literature. For the other subjects
I have attained either second or third
place.
I have been trying to get information about scholarships out of the
country
but because I am a Zimbabwean student it has been impossible. As long
as you
are from Zimbabwe it is near impossible to get into other countries.
Won't
you spare a thought for us whose future look bleak but whose brains
are
bright? You never know. I might be the person who discovers a cure for
AIDS!
If you have any information concerning scholarships available to A
Level
Students, please let me know.
The Zimbabwean
VICTORIA FALLS - The
60,000-member Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (ZIMTA)
held its annual
conference here this week under the theme "Uplifting and
Consolidating the
Status of Teachers in Zimbabwe."
"Teachers are preoccupied with their abject
poverty, moonlighting to make
ends meet instead of devoting their full
attention to providing quality
public education to the learners. Their morale
is low and it is difficult to
motivate hungry professionals who cannot afford
to send their children to
school, or afford basic needs," said chief
executive office Peter Mabande. -
Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The City
authorities have announced that they intend to repossess
undeveloped stands
and tear down illegal structures erected since last
year's evictions and
demolitions. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said it
was ready to help
people who risked losing their homes.
The warning came on the eve of the
first anniversary of Operation
Murambatsvina. Tafadzwa Mugabe of ZLHR
encouraged residents to comply with
regulations, ensure that construction met
council standards and title deeds
were in order and offered free legal help
to do this.
"We are ready to assist people to meet the legal demands of
local
authorities and the state to avert what happened last year," he said.
"Last
time, residents were told to regularise their houses, but before they
could
do that they were razed to the ground, and that is what should be
avoided."
Officials from residents' associations in the Harare suburbs of
Mbare, Glen
View and Dzivarasekwa said council officials had already started
evicting
residents from their uncompleted houses. Police have also
intensified
efforts to remove illegal street traders. - IRIN
The Zimbabwean
BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Soldiers put in charge of
villagers in Matabeleland have seized harvests of
maize planted before they
arrived, ploughed in vegetable crops, ruined crop
rotation, beaten up
protesting farmers, and harassed school girls, a body
headed by southern
African church leaders reports.
The South African-registered Solidarity Peace
Trust provides a devastating
indictment of the increasing militarisation of
Zimbabwe as the economy
slides further into ruin and the Mugabe regime seeks
to tighten its grip to
head off the possibility of insurrection.
The
detailed report focuses on the impact in Matabeleland of
Operation
Taguta/Sisuthi or "Operation Eat Well" launched last November when
soldiers
were despatched to rural areas under a Maoist-style Command
Agriculture
programme.
"The fact that they (soldiers) have taken away the
farmers' food, which is
rightfully theirs - produced by their hard labour -
is a hugely immoral
issue," Bishop Rubin Phillip, the Anglican bishop of
KwaZulu Natal, told a
news conference to launch the report.
Bishop
Phillip, who with Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo is co-chairman of
the
Solidarity Peace Trust, visited Matabeleland at the end of March with
another
South African prelate, Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, to
investigate the
impact of the deployment of military in rural areas.
"As of now they give us
500 cobs (100 kg) of maize (of our entire harvest)
and say that's enough, we
have to wait until the next harvest," said a plot
holder in Matabeleland
South, who was among farmers interviewed on video
recordings played at the
news conference. ". we had bought our own seeds and
fertilisers from Bulawayo
and we hired a lorry to carry it for us, and we
planted it before the army
arrived."
The Trust said it had not been able to find much evidence of
large-scale
commercial farms seized from white owners coming under Command
Agriculture.
It knew, however, of one commercial farmer who has cut a deal:
the soldiers
cleared away the settlers and in exchange he grew a bumper crop
for the
military.
The report mentioned a few instances of Command
Agriculture in Mashonaland
West and Central, but focussed on
Matabeleland.
"It could be that Matabeleland is considered a troublesome
rural region as
most rural people here support the opposition, whereas in
other parts of the
country, rural areas are the Zanu-PF stronghold," said the
report.
Among the most shocking results of Operation Taguta/Sisuthi in
Matabeleland
is what the report calls the "seemingly senseless destruction"
of market
gardens with lucrative cash crops such including paprika, tomatoes,
spinach,
sweet potatoes, groundnuts and even banana trees. The soldiers
grabbed
anything salvageable and ate it.
This, said the report, was either
the work of extremely stupid soldiers
following a general instruction to
plant only maize, or, more sinisterly,
the wanton destruction of the
villlagers' food base to keep them subdued.
This would be in line with the
regime's repeated use of food as a political
weapon.
"Plot holders now
have to beg for the very maize they themselves have
laboured to grow, and
soldiers have the power to say yes or no," said the
Solidarity Peace Trust,
adding that the small-scale farmers see themselves
as indentured
labour.
The Trust said another possible reason for Command Agriculture was
to
appease poorly paid soldiers by putting them where they can help
themselves
to food.
The authors predicted that the regime may try to keep
the urban population,
which could stage food riots, fed at the expense of the
rural areas where
hunger is likely to result in greater political compliance
rather than
uprisings.
Above all, the military deployments are part "of
the continuing process of
closing all remaining democratic space in
Zimbabwe," said the report. "It
can be predicted that the presence of the
army across the nation, including
in rural areas, will intensify over the
next few years ahead of the next
presidential and/ or parliamentary
elections."
The Trust urged NGOs and the international community to press the
Zimbabwe
authorities about forced purchase of crops; urged charging the
military with
violation of the Grain Marketing Board Act, which stipulates
that producers
can keep sufficient for 12 months; and said the army should be
withdrawn
immediately from irrigation schemes.
National Security Minister
Didymus Mutasa dismissed the report as "lies,"
telling IRIN (UN) that the
army had been deployed to revive the agricultural
sector.
Command
Agriculture in Zimbabwe: its impact on rural communities in
Matabeleland
April 2006. www.solidaritypeacetrust.org.