The Vigil discussed plans for Independence Day on Saturday 18^th April and agreed to mark the occasion by calling for an amnesty for prisoners in Zimbabwe.  The Zanu-MDC government has done nothing – despite the worldwide revulsion – to address the horrendous prison conditions shown in the recent SABC television report. 

Starvation, disease, filthy overcrowding – to add to the routine brutality and torture: prison in Zimbabwe can be a death sentence. 

The Vigil believes that the Zimbabwean government must only imprison the number of people it can cope with humanely according to generally agreed standards. Others can be given non-custodial penalties. After all, most of those released from prison will be saints compared to Zanu-PF’s murderous thugs still causing havoc in Zimbabwe.

We will take a collection on Independence Day to help pay for food for those starving in prison.

There was an enormous turnout despite the Easter holidays. Many people phoned to ask whether there was going to be a Vigil because it was Easter.  We said human rights abuses don’t take a holiday in Zimbabwe. 

The Vigil also discussed plans to lobby the UK government against allowing in the Zanu-PF Foreign Minister Mudenge. He has been proposed as part of a Zimbabwean delegation to come to Europe to ask for money.  We will point out that the delegation does not need a Zanu-PF representative – especially one subject to targeted sanctions – as the begging function has been devolved to the MDC in the unity government.

Some other points:

· Vigil supporters were sorry to hear that long-term supporter Geraldine Takundwa was seriously ill with a stomach ulcer.  We took a collection which a group took to her after the Vigil. 

· A supporter from Northampton was distraught when she found she had lost her return ticket – happily she was rescued by Patson who found a group who had space in their car to take her back to Northampton (75 miles away).

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/

FOR THE RECORD: 277 signed the register.

FOR YOUR DIARY:

·  Central London Zimbabwe Forum. No forum on Monday 13^th April because it’s a public holiday.

· ROHR Coventry fundraising event. Saturday 18^th April. Time and venue to be advised.  Contact: E Nyakudya on 07876796129, M Sibanda 07788560068, P Makuwere 07533332306 or M Vijay on 07957907616  

· ROHR Leeds general meeting. Saturday 25^th April from 1.30 – 5 pm. Venue: Dock Green Inn, Leeds LS9 7AB. Contact: Wonder M Mubaiwa 07958758568, Donna Mugoni 07533259373 or B Sikosana 07940181761

·  Fundraising for the Vigil at the London Marathon. Sunday 26^th April.  Steve Garvey, teacher at the Dolphin School, Battersea, is running in the London Marathon to raise money on behalf of the Vigil.

·  ‘Strangers into Citizens’ Rally. Bank Holiday Monday 4^th May at 12 noon in Trafalgar Square.  Meet in Tothill Street SW1 at 11.30 for walk to Trafalgar Square. The event is preceded by services in  several churches including Westminster Cathedral, St Margaret’s, Parliament Square and Central Hall, Westminster. For more information: www.strangersintocitizens.org.uk.

·  Service of solidarity with the torture survivors of Zimbabwe.  Friday 26^th June from 7 – 8 pm. Venue: Southwark Cathedral. This is the 8^th year the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has marked UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

· Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre, 84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel: 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground: Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).

Vigil Co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.

The Zimbabwe Vigil demands amnesty for starving Zimbabwean prisoners

Zimbabwe Business Watch : Week 16

http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/

April 14th, 2009

Once more business is being held to ransom by politics as the honeymoon of
dollarisation relief is coming to an end.

Decision-makers grapple with severe cash flow constraints and various other
anomalies in the economy.

The banks are desperate for a more efficient clearing system in order that
the multiplier effect of forex in circulation brings rewards. However, this
will only provide minimal relief as the political cat and mouse game delays
foreign investment and funding for the financial sector.

The Transitional Government receives revenues of about $20 million a month
when it needs $100 million to fund its basic operations.

Zimbabwe has asked its neighbours for $2 billion, half to support retail and
other sectors, and the rest to help schools and restore health and municipal
services. It requires billions more from other donors. However, Western
countries have reiterated their demands for the restoration of the rule of
law, respect for title and the cessation of farm invasions.

The Price Index dropped by 3% in March but Zimbabwe still pays inflated
prices for such things as fuel which is slowing down the pace of revival.

Foreign Currency remains scarce.

The State vs Gandhi Mudzingwa and others

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15098

April 14, 2009

By Geoffrey Nyarota

THE ascendancy of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) president Morgan
Tsvangirai to the office of Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe has
witnessed a series of traumatic experiences around him.

Only three weeks into office he endured the nightmare of watching his wife,
Susan, die in a horrific road accident in which he sustained head injuries.
In his first week back in office after he took a break to mourn his beloved
wife, the Prime Minister was back by the graveside - this time to bury a
grandson who had brought joy to the lives of his grandparents, Morgan and
Susan Tsvangirai.

Quite incredibly, the boy died in a freak swimming-pool drowning accident at
the Tsvangirais' Strathaven home.

Tsvangirai must currently be caught in the throes of yet another upset - one
that he has endured quietly even before he was sworn-in as Prime Minister in
the government of national unity on February 11.

Tsvangirai must, without doubt, be personally sharing the pain that Gandhi
Mudzingwa, his personal aide continues to endure at the hands of state
security agents who tortured him before they handed him over for indefinite
remand in the infamous Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Constantly reading
or hearing about the painful dilemma of Mudzingwa must induce in the Prime
Minister an unbearable sense of guilt and helplessness that is altogether
harrowing.

It must be painful that the Tsvangirai is so clearly unable to help despite
the high office he has held over the past two months. He must wish he could
at least ensure that Mudzingwa is treated with fairness and justice, which
clearly is not the case now.

Mudzingwa and his co-accused, political activist Kisimusi Dhlamini and
photo-journalist Andrison Manyere have remained on remand since the eve of
Christmas, 2008. They have repeatedly been granted bail but the State has on
each occasion applied successfully for a refusal of bail, only to see the
accused men returned to Chikurubi.

Perhaps resulting from the effects of the torture that their captors have
not denied inflicting on the prisoners, Mudzingwa's health is said to be
life-threatening. The authorities for long denied the incarcerated men
access to medical treatment.

The three accused men are being held on allegations the essence of which
appear to be that they recruited youths for military training in Botswana,
apart from bombing a police station and then a railway line near Norton,
west of Harare. The accused men deny the charges of bombing a toilet or
kitchen at Harare Central Police Station. Apparently they were careful to
ensure no one was around to sustain injury and that only minimum damage was
caused to the railway line in the other incident.

I will not delve into the legal merits or demerits of the case preferred
against Mudzingwa and his co-accused. That is a task for the High Court to
determine once the prosecution is eventually ready to proceed with what will
doubtlessly be a most sensational case. Since December 22 the prosecution
has quite clearly not been ready to proceed, notwithstanding the abundance
of incriminating evidence the State claims it has in its possession.

I will, however, probe into what appear to be the politics of "State vs
Mudzingwa and others".

Essentially, Mudzingwa and his co-accused stand indicted for plotting to
topple President Mugabe from power in the period leading to their arrest in
October 2008. Their alleged strategy was to replace the President with his
erstwhile adversary, Tsvangirai.

The alleged plot to overthrow Mugabe is not entirely without alleged
precedent. Over the years Zimbabweans have become accustomed to being
assailed with reports of unproven plots to assassinate Mugabe and overthrow
the government.

Zimbabweans must rate as the world's worst coup plotters, judging from the
number of attempts to overthrow Mugabe that have been effortlessly foiled
over the 29 years of our independence.

In 1982 Dumiso Dabengwa, Lieutenant General Lookout Masuku, Dr Isaac Nyathi
and other Zapu luminaries were arrested and charged with plotting to
overthrow Mugabe. The charges were thrown out in the High Court but the men
continued to be held in detention under emergency regulations.

Mugabe's archenemy, the late veteran politician Dr Joshua Nkomo, who was the
president of PF-Zapu, saved his life in 1983 by fleeing across the border to
Botswana and then on to the United Kingdom where he lived in exile.

UANC leader Bishop Abel Muzorewa was arrested later that year under the
so-called Operation Chinyavada. Muzorewa was accused of dispatching 5 000
auxiliaries to South Africa to return and stage a coup. Muzorewa was later
released. Of his 5 000 coup-plotters not a word has been heard since then.

In 1995 ZANU-Ndonga leader, Rev Ndabaningi Sithole was arrested for
allegedly plotting to assassinate Mugabe. Sithole was sentenced in 1997 to
two years in prison but died while on appeal.

After a five-year hiatus in coup plots, MDC MPs Tapiwa Mashakada, Job
Sikhala and Justin Mutendadzamera were arrested in October 2000. They were
accused of inciting their supporters to topple the government. A judge
dismissed the case as totally baseless.

During the run-up to the presidential election in 2002 the police arrested
Tsvangirai and other top MDC officials on treason charges. The chief state
witness was a dubious Canadian consultant Ari Ben-Menashe. He claimed to
have been approached by Tsvangirai with plans to eliminate Mugabe.
Tsvangirai was cleared in 2004 but had lost the election by a narrow margin
in the meantime.

Then there is the other current case of Roy Bennett who was arrested at
Charles Prince Airport before being driven at break-neck speed to the
eastern border city of Mutare, 260 km away. There he was charged with
attempting to leave the country illegally; this while he was preparing to be
sworn in as a deputy minister in the new government. He was later charged
with plotting against Mugabe - an old charge that was thrown out of court a
few years ago.

In the other current case, by the time Mudzingwa was arrested in October
2008, the man he allegedly wanted to install in State House, Tsvangirai, had
on September 15 signed the much hailed Global Political Agreement, which he,
Mugabe and Professor Arthur Mutambara of the other MDC now collectively
swear upon.

While his supposed benefactors languished in Chikurubi and nursed wounds
sustained during torture, Tsvangirai was sworn in on February 11 as Prime
Minister of Zimbabwe by none other than Mugabe, the man we are told he
sought to replace through violent means.

Mudzingwa's current plight must be a cause of sleepless nights for the Prime
Minister. Tsvangirai must be constantly haunted by images of his former
aide, especially after he recently saw on television the images of emaciated
prisoners which were surreptitiously captured by an SABC crew and broadcast
for the world to see.

So horrific were the images that Justice Minister Patrick Chamisa felt
obliged to issue a statement to assure a stunned nation that far from being
Zimbabwean, the dreadful images of human suffering had been captured behind
the prison walls of a distant country elsewhere on the African continent.

The Honourable Minister only succeeded in making a complete fool of himself.

What must be the cause of Tsvangirai tormented state of mind is his
realisation that since February 11 he, in fact, has become part of the state
machinery that now prosecutes and persecutes a former aide who, according to
him, is innocent. As the second most senior functionary in the government of
national unity which now torments Mudzingwa, Tsvangirai cannot entirely
escape liability for any punishment that Mudzingwa continues to endure
through what many view as malicious denial of due legal process by the
State.

If the matter remains unresolved the continued incarceration of Mudzingwa
without bail or fair treatment could fast become Tsvangirai's Achilles'
heel. It has potential to discredit him in the short term, while undermining
his political career in the long term. Mugabe is obviously aware of the
adverse implications of the Mudzingwa case on Tsvangirai.

Having repeatedly vowed that Tsvangirai would never step anywhere near State
House, Mugabe is clearly not keen to do anything now that has potential to
strengthen the hand of his erstwhile political opponent. The President of
Zimbabwe has quite cunningly maneuvered the Prime Minister where he always
wanted him. Meanwhile, most of the rest of us pretend that we do not
perceive what is happening in the hope that such pretense will promote the
cause of our government of national unity.

But that is an exercise in self-delusion.

Watching the documentary that caused Chinamasa to see foreigners where his
own incarcerated compatriots languished, my mind wondered back two decades
to that other innocent son of the soil who, in his case, was condemned by
the state after his acquittal by the courts.

Like the leadership of the MDC today the leaders of PF-Zapu said precious
little as the former ZIPRA commander Lookout Masuku spent the first few
years of independence while languishing in Chikurubi. In 1983 the Supreme
Court found Masuku, Dabengwa, and four others not guilty of plotting to
overthrow then Prime Minister Mugabe.

They were nevertheless detained again under emergency regulations and held
for four years.

Zimbabwe soon forgot about Masuku and his co-accused, Vote Moyo, a PF-Zapu
official.

Masuku was finally released from prison because of poor health on March 11,
1986. He died less than a month later on April 5. His life was cut short at
46, his many years of personal sacrifice to the struggle for the liberation
of his country having gone to waste in a dungeon in Chikurubi.

These days anyone who dares to make disapproving remarks about our
government of national unity does so at the risk of being labelled a traitor
to the new cause of Zimbabwe.

The only fate worse than to be called a traitor by Zanu-PF in the past is to
be labelled a traitor by both Zanu-PF and the MDC today. But it can only be
an optimism of desperation that lulls us into silence when a great injustice
is visited upon Mudzingwa and other gallant fighters for democracy right
under the nose of the MDC leadership, whatever they may be negotiating on
his behalf behind closed doors and unknown to the rest of us.

Let the newly found solidarity between Zanu-PF and the MDC serve to benefit
all Zimbabwean citizens, not a select few.

Gandhi Mudzingwa, the man who over the past few months has been reduced to
an oft-repeated newspaper headline, is a labour economist who was born in
1959 in Buhera. He grew up in Zambia where his family took refuge from the
oppression of the Rhodesia Front government.

One of the most prominent members of the family is Gandhi's uncle, Dr
Tichaona Mudzingwa. He is a veteran of the liberation struggle, a military
physician and former colonel in the Zimbabwean National Army. He is a former
Zipa commander during the war of liberation and now serves as deputy
Minister of Transport in the government of national unity. He is the MDC's
secretary for security.

The Mudzingwa family is illustrious, with strong liberation credentials.

Gandhi went to school in Zambia and the former Soviet Union. On return to
Zimbabwe after independence, he worked in the Ministry of Labour before he
joined the ZCTU. He is a founder member of the MDC. He was assigned as a
personal assistant to Tsvangirai until 2007 when he was re-assigned to take
care of the MDC president's close security needs.

A close associate says of Gandhi Mudzingwa: "He is an astute political
analyst, researcher and diplomat. Mudzingwa served Tsvangirai throughout as
a key adviser, legman, protector, speech writer, protocol officer and
political analyst.

"At the time he was appointed to manage Tsvangirai's close security unit, he
attracted the attention of the CIO who thought he was now busy building a
network of informers from the establishment and gathering information on the
strength or otherwise of Mugabe's pillars of support on the ground."

Mudzingwa was arrested several times until he decided to leave Zimbabwe at
the end of 2007 when the heat became unbearable. He was back home for the
landmark elections in March 2008. He was arrested in October after he was
abducted in Msasa Park.

Mudzingwa is a family man, being married and a father of two daughters.

His uncle, the deputy minister, now takes care of the young girls while
their father languishes in Chikurubi as the authorities take their time to
prepare a case to bring against him.

Father Adrian, 'She literally had to run from the graveyard'

Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN

Father Adrian

MUSINA, 13 April 2009 (IRIN) - Father Adrian, a Catholic priest in Musina, a South African town on the border with Zimbabwe, established a shelter for women and children fleeing, first, the violence, and then the socio-economic conditions in Zimbabwe.

Conditions in the shelter in the old Catholic church in Nancefield, a Musina township, are basic, but the Church provides meals to the about 100 or more people who bed down each night.

The women and their children are given temporary shelter while they apply for asylum seeker permits giving them temporary legal status. This usually takes about three days but can take longer, depending on the efficiency of the Department of Home Affairs. Father Adrian told IRIN about the shelter.

"The whole thing started soon after the [March 2008] elections when [Robert] Mugabe lost the presidential elections and ZANU-PF [the ruling party] lost the parliamentary elections, and he [Mugabe] then mobilized the so-called ‘war veterans’ straight away to intimidate the people and they simply started pouring across the border.

"They have terrible stories to tell, both of brutality and all the rest. One woman came to us after they had burned her husband and burned her house - she literally had to run from the graveyard to get away. Other people have different stories to tell, but people maybe arrive here with a little knapsack.

“The church shelter is for the women and children. There is a shelter to accommodate men elsewhere because the sexual abuse is something shocking.

“I believe at the [Musina] showgrounds [where as many as 5,000 people were sleeping while waiting to apply for asylum seekers permits until the authorities closed it] men walked up to women and said, ‘You are my wife tonight’, and the women had no choice but to go with them. There are a lot of things like that.

"We are able to provide nutrition for the young children, some of who have been born here. We started this food parcel scheme in mid-April, or so, in 2008.

“It started at one day a week and we very quickly had to change to five days a week. There were 30, then 40, then 50 - the number kept increasing and by mid-July the numbers were at about 100 a day.

“Finally, towards the end of last year, there were 300 people queuing up and we had food parcels for about 270 people, and then began to divide up the food parcels to share the food out, and that is the way things have been going.

"When people leave here after they have received their documentation, they go south to Johannesburg and Pretoria generally."

Daily cholera update and alerts, 10 Apr 2009

 Full_Report (pdf* format - 189 Kbytes)

* Please note that daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff constraints.On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the numbers. Any change will then be explained.

** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may occasionally result

A. Highlights of the day:

- 81 Cases and 2 deaths added today (in comparison with 137 cases and 0 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 95 738

- Cumulative deaths 4 154 of which 2 543 are community deaths

- 73.3 % of the districts affected have reported today 44 out of 60 affected districts)

- 91.7 % of districts reported to be affected (60 districts out of 62)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 2.5 %.

- No report received from Harare and Matebeleland North provinces.

Cabinet to decide how much to give for Zimbabwe's economic recovery

From The Lusaka Times, 14 April

Cabinet would soon sit to discuss how much money Zambia will contribute
towards the rebuilding of Zimbabwe's collapsed economy. The Zimbabwean
government, during a Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)
extra-ordinary meeting held in Swaziland early this month, presented a US$10
billion bill to the SADC organ to help rebuild that country's economy. Chief
Government Spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha told ZANIS in an interview in
Lusaka today that Zambia's official position on how much to contribute
towards rebuilding Zimbabwe's collapsed economy would only be known after
cabinet sits to discuss the matter. Lieutenant General Shikapwasha, who is
also Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, said government had
not yet made a decision on the amount it would contribute towards the
rebuilding of Zimbabwe. He however said government was working on modalities
to help the neighbouring Zimbabwe to resolve its economic crisis. He said
Zambia will also work on its financial obligation to enable her to render
financial assistance to Zimbabwe, which is currently seeking US$10 billion
for its economic resuscitation. Recently, Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) leaders resolved to give financial assistance to Zimbabwe
to help that country come out of economic doldrums.

Tokoloshe is brought to court

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/witchcraft4.19681.html

Posted to the web: 14/04/2009 14:54:21
A "PROPHET" fainted and had to be revived after he battled a tokoloshe which
was terrorising female members of the same family in Hwange, Matabeleland
North, a court heard last week.

The "dwarf gremlin-like creature with horns curving downwards; beads; legs
and arms without palms" was paraded before a magistrate in the western town
of Hwange after two members of the same family and the self-styled prophet
were arrested for harassing their grandfather fingered as the owner of the
tokoloshe.

A local vernacular weekly newspaper, Umthunywa, reports that the tokoloshe
has been kept by police in Hwange.

The court heard how Solani Sibanda, a self-styled prophet from nearby Binga,
was called in after female members of the same family reported that they
always woke up "tired and wet in the nether regions".

The court heard several testimonies from female members of the family who
all suggested the creature brought to court was going to bed with them at
night without their knowledge.

Tapiwa Mwembe, 27, told the court she "felt someone having sex with her",
even as her husband was away. This caused her to be "always weak, and unable
to satisfy her husband".

Mwembe is a nephew of White Nengwa Ngoma, the 74-year-old grandfather
accused of practising witchcraft, leading to his complaint of harassment
against his nephews.

Another nephew, Lambiwe Ncube, gave "a moving testimony" revealing that she
started sleeping "with this thing" after her husband died, Umthunywa
reported.

"After my husband died, my grandfather promised to find me a man to take
care of my sexual needs. Since then, I would feel someone I couldn't see
having sex with me," she said.

A third woman, Maria Ndlovu, also reported having sex with an "invisible
person".

The women, the court heard, reported the strange happenings to their
brothers Balani Nyathi and Potani Shoko who took the decision to seek
Sibanda's services.

Sibanda arrived in the Lukosi village and immediately went to work, leading
the family to Ngoma's homestead.

Taking the witness stand, Sibanda said he went into Ngoma's bedroom and held
the tokoloshe "by the throat".

"Because it had so much power, I fainted while holding it but I never let go
of it," said Sibanda.

Family members attending the "cleansing" ceremony poured cold water on
Sibanda to revive him.

"Shockingly, when Sibanda came back to life, the tokoloshe also regained
consciousness," Umthunywa reported, citing witness statements.

The paper added: "Seeing he was in danger, Sibanda lifted the tokoloshe and
shoved it into fire ash and it finally died."

Magistrate Aeline Munamati issued a restraining order against the nephews
and warned them about their future conduct. They are also to desist from
harassing Ngoma.

Zimbabwe repealed its witchcraft laws in 2006 and lifted a ban on the
practises of many traditional healers and self-styled prophets. Those
accusing an individual of witchcraft must show proof of their allegations.

The law however also says "any person who groundlessly or by the purported
use of non-natural means accuses another person of witchcraft shall be
guilty of indicating a witch or wizard and liable".

James Ngwenya, prosecuting, told Umthunywa that the men had been spared jail
because the court was sufficiently satisfied the accusations brought by the
family were not without merit.

Zimbabwe coalition living on borrowed time

http://www.nation.co.ke/

By KITSEPILE NYATHI, NATION CorrespondentPosted Tuesday, April 14 2009 at
18:30

HARARE, Tuesday
Deepening rifts in Zimbabwe's coalition government, a failure by the
international community to provide urgent funds and disagreements over a new
constitution have given rise to fears that the country could slide back to
anarchy.

President Robert Mugabe has raised the ire of his coalition partners, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Professor Arthur Mutambara with a
unilateral decision to transfer a major portfolio from a Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) minister to one of his Zanu PF allies.

The portfolio assignments included the oversight of state communication
including state-owned fixed line Phone Company and mobile phone providers
after MDC and Zanu PF ministers claimed control.

Analysts said the disagreements that came at a time when the parties were
still haggling over issues that were still outstanding from the September 15
power sharing agreement showed the coalition was living on borrowed time.

"This (the transfer of ministerial portfolio) is in violation of the global
political agreement and the law, the Prime Minister does not support the
violation of the law. He cannot be seen to be condoning this," said Mr James
Maridadi, the Prime Minister's spokesman.

President Mugabe was set for showdown talks with Mr Tsvangirai and Prof
Mutambara to tackle the clash over ministries, the allocation of posts of
provincial governors and permanent secretaries.

But senior MDC figures believe the latest incident showed Mr Mugabe was not
comfortable ceding control of some sensitive portfolio's to his coalition
partners such as telecommunications.

"This whole thing is motivated by hatred, malice and the crime is that I am
MDC, that I am young and that I am trying to make positive contribution,"
said Information and Communication Technology Minister, Nelson Chamisa who
lost part of his portfolio to a Zanu PF counterpart. "I have already raised
this issue with the other principals - Prime Minister Tsvangirai and Prof
Mutambara."

The unity government was formed on February 13 after Mr Mugabe, Mr
Tsvangirai and Prof Mutambara's parties finally agreed to implement the
September 15 power sharing agreement to end Zimbabwe's  long running
political and political crises.

Its  performances has been heavily affected by the failure by the
international community to raise more than US$8 billion needed for
reconstruction purposes and land invasions blamed on President Mugabe's
supporters.

Resurgent political violence in some parts of the country have also
diminished hopes the unity government will last.

Professor Jonathan Moyo, the only independent Member of Parliament warned
the coalition government's failure to mobilise enough resources to
rehabilitate the economy might prove to be its downfall.

"There is just no money in the country right now be it in business coffers
or the pockets of ordinary people and this is a very serious matter which is
being ignored by the self indulgent coalition government whose Prime
Minister is now groping in the dark  in a desperate search for non exist
benchmarks of success," Prof Moyo said.

Donors have restricted their support to humanitarian initiatives and civil
servants who returned to work after the government promised them salaries in
foreign currency are now threatening to down tools next month.

Last year, the entire civil service was on strike pressing for better
salaries and living conditions, which the bankrupt government could not
afford.

The national hope and goodwill engendered by the formation of the new
government are fast waning.

The way the unity government is proposing to tackle the constitutional
making process is threatening to worsen the situation. During the Easter
holidays, a select committee of parliament was unveiled to oversee the
crafting of the new constitution as enunciated by the power sharing
agreement.
But civic groups have threatened to disrupt the process, raising fears
Zimbabwe would be thrown back to anarchy.

They fear the government would impose a draft agreed that was produced by
Zanu PF and MDC representatives a year ago as part of their long drawn
negotiations.

"Millions of Zimbabwean economic refugees remain disfranchised and will most
likely not be able to participate in the constitution making process," said
Mr Fambai Ngirande, a spokesman for a coalition of civic groups.
"Nonetheless our constituency remains defiant in upholding the call for a
people driven constitution reform process.''

Ben Freeth: Open letter to MT over land issue

http://www.swradioafrica.com

Dear Prime Minister Tsvangarai,

As you are aware I wrote an open letter to you 2 weeks ago asking where we
were going because "soon it will be too late."

I likened our countries economy to that of an engine that is continuing to
be stripped. Unfortunately the stripping process has increased in momentum
significantly since my letter; and police unfortunately remain complicit
with it.

Since I wrote to you we have had a fresh illegal invasion on Mount Carmel
Farm on the 4 April 2009. We copied a letter to your office addressed to the
Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police dated 5 April but have
yet to have any response.

Some of our workers have been badly beaten [one with a cracked skull]; the
Mount Carmel house was broken into and entered by invaders while my elderly
parents-in-law were inside; Mike and Angela Campbell have since been evicted
by the illegal invaders and stopped from accessing their home and work place
by a locked gate that the invaders have erected on the drive into the farm;
their house has since been entered by invaders again and some looting has
taken place; the mango crop still in the orchards of over 100 tons is being
stolen before our eyes; the pack- shed has been broken into and the 50 tons
of export mangos that was rotting there [because the invaders have stopped
all the 150 workers from loading the lorry that came from SA for export] are
being sold by the invaders - we saw the rotting mangos and invader sales of
stolen property on 10 April; the orange crop of 200 tons is being stolen and
the maize and sunflower crops will be stolen shortly if nothing is done to
arrest the perpetrators of these crimes.

Many of our workers are sleeping in the bush due to the violence that
remains unpunished. Others are victims of trumped up charges in jail. They
have been subjected to torture by police in Chegutu using armoured cable to
beat them. The one with the cracked skull [Sinos] was dumped on the charge
office floor by invaders in the presence of witnesses who were never even
asked to explain themselves. A police constable then smashed Sinos' head
against the charge office wall. As a result of police being used to torture
and arrest our workers, our workers are naturally very afraid to make
reports of crimes that continue to be committed.

Invaders threatened to kill any of our guards that tried to continue to
guard the crops. They stole a shotgun from the guards and used it to
threaten workers. This they subsequently handed into police. Not a single
one of the workers has been allowed to work for us in the last week doing
the vital job of packing export quality mangos for the earning of tens of
thousands of US dollars of scarce foreign currency.

Chegutu police will not even give us the name of the main invader who is
frequently at the station with them. Chegutu Police now refuse to take
reports of crimes being committed on Mount Carmel Farm so there is no
official record. On their visit yesterday they saw all the evidence of these
crimes and did nothing to arrest the "untouchables" who were in their
presence. Evidence of some of the crimes is on film.

In my letter before this invasion I asked why the SADC Tribunal Judgement is
not being upheld. SADC has directed that "the respondent [the Zimbabwe
Government] is directed to take all necessary measures to protect the
possession, occupation and ownership of the lands of the applicants
[ourselves]...and to take all appropriate measures to ensure that no action
is taken, pursuant to Amendment 17, directly or indirectly, whether by its
agents or by others, to evict from or interfere with, the peaceful residence
on and of those farms, by the Applicants."

If there was a political will to restore the rule of law I have been assured
by police that it would take 5 minutes. Unfortunately, there appears to be
no political will to deal with these latest invasions and to restore the
rule of law and to allow us to live and farm in peace.

This is not an isolated incident. Other farmers are experiencing similar
situations and thousands of jobs and livlihoods are on the line. We invite
you down to urgently see with your own eyes the realities of the continued
State inspired lawlessness in Chegutu. We implore you to have the invaders
arrested and to put a police guard on the property to allow us to continue
farming in peace and to stop the continued victimisation that is being
experienced.

Yours Sincerely,

Ben Freeth.

Markets and resources are two main motives for China's investment in Africa, says OECD report

http://www.apanews.net

APA - Beijing (China) The main motives for Chinese enterprises to invest in
Africa are market and resource-seeking, said the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) in a report released recently in Beijing
and a copy made available to APA.

The report entitled "China: encouraging responsible business conduct"
stressed that "The expanding demand for energy and other natural resources
essential to sustain China's economic growth and the abundance of these
resources in Africa have naturally determined the recent evolution of China's
economic relationship with Africa".

The OECD found that the Chinese mode of investment in Africa is very poor,
and predominantly focus on the natural resources sectors, adding that the
major African recipient countries of China's Direct Investments (OFDI) are
all rich in natural resources, including Algeria, Nigeria, Sudan and Zambia.

"The resources sought after by Chinese enterprises in Africa include oil in
Algeria, Angola, Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,
Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Nigeria and Sudan; copper in Republic of Congo,
Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo; chrome in South Africa and
Zimbabwe; iron ore in Gabon, and fisheries in Ghana and Morocco" said the
OECD report.

Currently, said the OECD, nearly a third of China's oil imports come from
Africa with Angola, Sudan, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
being the top African oil exporters to China.

These African countries with strong oil trade links with China are also
recipients of many of China's OFDI projects, infrastructure projects carried
out by Chinese constructors, and China's overseas development projects (ODA)
programmes, the report said.

"These three contributions from China to Africa are highly interrelated:
large OFDI deals in the natural resources sector are often accompanied by
infrastructure projects which are financed through China's ODA programmes"
the report adds.

"These infrastructure projects are commonly carried out by Chinese
contractors as required by the terms of China's concessional loans and
grants" said the report.

Furthermore, ports, electricity plants, roads and railroads constructed by
Chinese contractors may provide better transport, logistics and utility
services which can be useful for other Chinese enterprises' operations in
Africa.

The OECD criticized China's investments in Africa for it's "unfair subsidy
provided by the Chinese government to Chinese enterprises; poor
implementation of social and environmental safeguards in China's investment
projects; and lack of harmonisation with international efforts to tackle
human rights abuses, corruption, and repressive regimes".

"In the context of China's growing role as an investor in Africa, concerns
over China's investment behaviour are being raised and large Chinese
enterprises operating in Africa are under increasing pressure to be more
responsible global players" said the report, adding that "Though similar
concerns have been heard for China's outward investment in other regions, it's
investment in Africa has invited the most intense debate on China's business
conduct in the light of Africa's weak governance capacity".

The reports stressed that "Among major Chinese enterprises in the natural
resources sector, CNPC has invested the largest amount in the African
continent, covering 8 countries with a large stake in Sudan. Sinopec has oil
and gas exploration and production business in 6 countries. CNOOC has
recently committed USD 2.3 billion to acquire a 45% stake in Nigeria's Akpo
oil field and signed an exploration contract with Equatorial Guinea for an
offshore oil block".

According to the report although the African local markets are still small
it has been actively explored by Chinese enterprises. Adding that China's
construction business in Africa has a long history including the
construction of the Tanzam Railway in Zambia in the 1960s-1970s, and has
been very successful in winning construction contracts in Africa.

Chinese construction companies have a comparative advantage over those from
developed countries since they have access to relatively cheap financial
sources provided by Chinese state-owned banks as well as a relatively cheap
labour force and cheap equipment available from China, said the OECD.

Furthermore, said the report , the African market for Chinese construction
services is effectively created by the Chinese government itself, which
imposes the condition that the bulk of China's concessional loans and grants
be used to procure goods and services from Chinese suppliers/contractors.
These advantages allowed Chinese enterprises to overcome the high risks
commonly perceived by foreign investors for infrastructure development
projects in Africa.

  AZT/daj/APA 2009-04-14

Catch more flies with honey

Comment from The Star (SA), 13 April

African leaders - lugging around huge chips on their shoulders - crave
external validation

Heidi Holland

Hope in their president's sincerity seems to linger among Zimbabweans.
Predatory though Robert Mugabe is known to be, it persists because, without
it, such cautious optimism as exists in the country's fragile unity
government would not be sustainable. The hope hovers, mind you, alongside
desperation and the ever-present fear that Mugabe is swallowing the
country's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) python-like, just
as he did Joshua Nkomo many years ago. Everybody knows how unlikely the
chances are of Zimbabwe's dictator becoming a reformed man at 85. What he
clearly wants badly enough to play the game, though, is the Western
development money that was hitherto proffered on condition of his departure.
Only donors can kick-start the beleaguered nation's economy, in the process
keeping Mugabe in office until he dies.

It is an awkward situation for Western governments to resolve while
struggling with daunting economic problems of their own. Will they support
the shakiest of political alliances out of pity for ordinary Zimbabweans at
the risk of being outwitted by one of the least popular of the world's
dictators? Probably not. The only way Zimbabwe will get international
development dosh with Comrade Bob at the helm is if he succeeds in
bamboozling foreign governments into thinking he is a reformed character.
That he has undertaken such an apparently impossible public relations
mission says much about Mugabe's enduring belief in his ability to outsmart
absolutely anybody. Ironically, Mugabe's biggest ally in the campaign to
convince hard-nosed Western politicians that he suddenly cares for his
people in the same way as Morgan Tsvangirai cares for Zimbabweans is none
other than the prime minister himself.

At a press conference in Harare last month, Mugabe's erstwhile enemy
responded irritably when a journalist referred to Zimbabwe's despot simply
as Mugabe: "It's President Mugabe," Tsvangirai snapped. In an interview with
me during the run-up to the power-sharing arrangement, the MDC leader
described a long dinner he had had with Mugabe in a Harare restaurant - when
the two got up close and personal for the first time - as "a lost father-son
reunion". At a time when most of the global media were attacking
Tsvangirai's willingness to make peace with the dictator, he added
forthrightly: "I actually have to admit that I have some respect for Mugabe,
who used to be my hero." Tsvangirai's unabashed respect for the much older
Mugabe - based on a deeply held African veneration of the aged, which comes
naturally to the well-mannered prime minister - is one of the unity
government's few strengths amid multiple potential deal-breakers.

Continuing land grabs, human rights abuses, harassment and imprisonment of
MDC supporters, as well as Mugabe's fraudulent cabinet appointments, could
yet derail the uneasy coalition. It is Tsvangirai's attitude towards Mugabe
that will hold the unity government together. Mugabe will take full
political advantage of his prime minister's respect while also genuinely
appreciating it - as is his contradictory wont. And, who knows, Tsvangirai
may be wilier in his courtesy than we think. If ever a man craved respect,
it is Mugabe. Had former British prime minister Tony Blair sized him up
accurately in all his human frailty as well as bluster when the two first
started spitting at each other in the late 1990s, Blair could have put an
arm (metaphorically, if not literally) around his African counterpart - who
felt humiliated by New Labour's rejection of old policy - and slipped Mugabe
the disputed land redistribution funding promised by an earlier government,
possibly sparing Zimbabwe a decade of suffering. Pragmatic reconciliations
have been a feature of diplomacy throughout history, after all.

Blair's failure to patch things up with Mugabe before the situation in
Zimbabwe became totally toxic probably had a bit to do with the British
leader's intuitive arrogance, something to do with New Labour's unholy
alliance with the right-wing British media, and a lot to do with perceived
as well as real Western disrespect towards African leaders. Well, hell, no,
you might argue: discredited leaders, African or otherwise, forfeit respect.
True. But there is little doubt that people like Mugabe, former president
Thabo Mbeki and now ANC president Jacob Zuma - all of whom have come from a
traditional leadership system akin to that of medieval England - become so
accustomed to widespread deference, indeed adulation, at home that they
simply can't tolerate the slights of strangers. Add to that formidable
narcissistic barrier the inferiority complexes bequeathed to so many in
Africa by colonialism and white settler rule and you have a compelling
psycho-drama for Western power brokers (including the media) to fathom - or
ignore at the African country's peril.

A few months ago, a US diplomat told me how difficult it had been to engage
with South Africa while Mbeki was at the helm because Mbeki, lugging around
a sizeable chip on his shoulder, simply refused to deal with anyone other
than the supreme leader of the world's superpower. "It makes doing
international business very difficult," the American sighed. Similarly, a
British government official engaged in public health in South Africa said
she felt obliged to bow and scrape to former health minister Manto
Tshabalala-Msimang; nowadays she is free free to treat Health Minister
Barbara Hogan, who understands Western manners, with normal rather than
exaggerated respect. Daily, the independent local media bear the brunt of
our leadership's intolerance of criticism or, sometimes, of informal
journalistic behaviour. You might argue that this sensitivity should not be
factored into the methods and logic by which power and its abuses are
challenged.

True. But there are petty humiliations that could be resisted without
compromising press freedom. Such an unnecessary taunt, which ran on the
front page of a daily newspaper recently, showed Zuma flipping "the bird" to
the camera. In fact, he was using his middle finger to push his glasses back
on to his nose. Was this an example of amusing photography or a cheap shot?
Rude signs that convey contempt to those with the muscle to react
oppressively may not be the way to go in these days of reckless rule. Which
reminds me: Zimbabwe's draconian media laws remain unaltered, not
surprisingly. Of all the unity government's designated reforms, Mugabe can
be expected to resist this one the longest. Why? Because journalism's job is
to confront politicians with their failures. Mugabe, having contemplated
nothing but his omnipotence for decades, will hardly be keen to encounter an
accurate view of himself now.

Flower expected to land England role

Press Association, UK

4 hours ago

Andy Flower is expected to be revealed as England's new director of cricket
at Lord's on Wednesday.

Zimbabwean Flower made a worthy impression as stand-in coach during the
11-week tour of the Caribbean despite the unexpected defeat to West Indies
in the Test series.

The 40-year-old initially displayed reluctance to fill that role due to his
loyalty to former coach Peter Moores, and he deliberated for a number of
weeks over committing himself to applying for English cricket's top coaching
position. But he gained a taste for the responsibility during his interim
tenure and formed a strong bond with new captain Andrew Strauss.

Though England's results were mixed, he impressed players and management
alike with his demeanour and work ethic on the recent tour and his chances
were undoubtedly boosted by the thrilling one-day series victory which
concluded the trip.

Hugh Morris, managing director of England Cricket, observed Flower's input
first-hand both throughout the seven-week Test campaign and later in the
limited-overs matches.

He is the man with ultimate responsibility for appointing Moores' successor,
and will reveal his choice at lunchtime.