Elderly Zim couple under siege

http://www.news24.com

05/04/2009 22:58  - (SA)

Stephanie Saville

Pietermaritzburg - An elderly Zimbabwean couple who were severely beaten by
war-veterans in June last year, are said to be under siege on their farm in
the Chegutu district.

Mike Campbell, 76, and his 68-year-old wife Angela were on Sunday trying to
keep a group of veterans at bay after they frightened their workers away.

They're threatening to take over the farm.

The couple are alone on their farm with their daughter Cathy.

Karkloof farmer Peter Train, Angela's brother, told The Witness on Sunday
that he suspected that the fact that the mango crop was ready to go now,
formed part of the reason the farm was currently under threat.

Train said that eight war-veterans arrived in a Prado and began harassing
the couple on Friday night.

"All their 150 workers arrived to protect the Campbells and they left, but
on Saturday night they returned.

"The veterans got hold of six of their workers and beat them badly. One of
them is in a critical condition."

Train said the police arrived, but said they had come not to help but to
arrest the Campbell's son, Bruce. Bruce subsequently took off into the bush.

'There is no law there'

"My sister and brother-in-law have been holed up in their house all night,
while the war-vets are chanting outside and trying to break in."

A worried Train alleged that the Zimbabwean police in that area were part
and parcel of the harassment.

"There is no law there. We have spoken to the SA Agricultural Union who has
alerted their Zimbabwean counterparts. Meanwhile the world stands back and
looks."

The Campbells employ over 250 people altogether; 150 on the farm and their
daughter employs 110 in her handcrafts project.

Train said he had been in contact with Angela by e-mail and phone and they
were really traumatised.

He told The Witness that three farm workers had to be hospitalised after
being beaten with iron bars. He said police who arrived at the farm
eventually were armed with AK47s.

Workers intimidated

"They promptly arrested seven workers.

"There was no investigation into the actions of the war veterans."

Train added the truck from South Africa which arrived to fetch the mangoes
had gone back empty, and that cows had not been milked because the workers
were too intimidated to work.

"There is total intimidation now."

He said on Saturday night the war vets broke down the kitchen door, but did
not advance further after Campbell threatened to shoot them.

Texas Jiji, the MDC spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, told The Witness he was
unaware of this weekend's incident and that he would try and contact his
people in Zimbabwe to try and find out the latest and to see what could be
done to assist the couple.

Speaking to The Witness from Zimbabwe on Sunday, Hendrik Olivier of the
Commercial Farmers' Union said pressure from the media was needed to put a
stop to the invasions.

- The Witness

Zimbabwe government sets plan to end isolation

http://af.reuters.com/

Sun Apr 5, 2009 10:30pm GMT

* Minister says Zimbabwe to repair EU, U.S. ties

* Steps promised on press freedom

* Plan to repair shattered infrastructure

By Nelson Banya

HARARE, April 5 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's power-sharing administration will
relax media laws and strive in the next 100 days to end the country's
international isolation, government ministers said on Sunday.

"Re-engagement of the broader international community including the U.S. and
multilateral institutions, will be a priority of the government in the next
100 days," Gorden Moyo, minister of state in the office of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, told Reuters.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, a member of President Robert Mugabe's
ZANU-PF party, said: "A core team of ministers has been set up to spearhead
the re-engagement."

The BBC quoted him as saying Zimbabwe was committed to normalising relations
with the European Union, Britain, the United States and white Commonwealth
nations -- mainly former British colonies which have been Mugabe's harshest
critics.

Neither minister gave details of how Zimbabwe would go about repairing ties.

The United States and EU maintain visa bans and asset freezes on individuals
and companies linked to rights abuses in Zimbabwe, as well as embargoes on
arms and equipment which could be used for internal repression.

Before halting the sanctions and unblocking aid, they are waiting to see
whether Mugabe is serious about sharing power with Tsvangirai in the unity
government that took office in February.

The re-engagement plan was agreed at a government meeting in Victoria Falls
which also resolved to settle all outstanding issues in the power-sharing
accord within the 100-day framework, Moyo said.

This included appointing senior government officials, the central bank
governor and the attorney general, he said. Western donors see the removal
of central bank chief Gideon Gono as a key condition for resuming aid.

MEDIA LAWS

On Saturday, the government said it aimed to produce results within the same
100-day timeframe on its economic recovery plan -- an attempt to tackle food
and fuel shortages.

Moyo said greater focus would be given to repairing the country's run-down
communications, water and energy infrastructure. Steps would also be taken
on press freedom.

"It was resolved that the media laws be reformed and that space be provided
for more players," he said.

"We are expecting that we will have a new media commission which will
oversee serious steps towards freeing the airwaves in terms of licensing TV
and radio stations and allowing other players from outside to come and
broadcast from Zimbabwe."

The administration has said its short-term emergency recovery programme
STERP will require $8.5 billion over the next two to three years. It will
depend heavily on help from Western donors and Harare wants financial
assistance from countries in the regional grouping SADC.

Zimbabwe 'to re-engage with West'

Sunday, 5 April 2009 16:04 UK

Zimbabwe's political foes are sharing power in an uneasy coalition Zimbabwe's new coalition government has adopted a 100-day renewal plan aimed at mending ties with the West after years of isolation under Robert Mugabe. Ministers on a three-day retreat hammered out the plan which is meant to yield a new constitution by next year. Restrictions on foreign media are due to be lifted and human rights restored. Correspondents at the talks say there is some scepticism that such ambitious targets can be met in such a short space of time. After Zimbabwe quit the Commonwealth in 2003, the EU and US imposed travel bans on Mr Mugabe and his circle. Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was sworn in as prime minister in February 2009, following months of wrangling over a power-sharing agreement originally signed with Mr Mugabe in September 2008. Meeting and bonding Five priorities have been set out in the plan agreed in the resort town of Victoria Falls: restoring human rights, addressing security concerns, stabilising the economy, building infrastructure and re-engaging the international community. Relaxation of the media regulations means that independent local and international media should be allowed to operate freely. Broad consultations are due to be be held on the new constitution ahead of a stakeholders' conference three months from now. Patrick Chinamasa, the justice minister and an MP from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, said his country wanted normal relations with the West. "We have committed ourselves to normalising relations between Zimbabwe and those countries which disengaged their relationship and this is primarily the EU, the United Kingdom, the United States and the white Commonwealth countries," he said. "So we have now said that we are going to re-engage them. A core team of ministers has been set up to expiate the re-engagement." Eric Matinenga, the constitutional affairs minister and an MP from Mr Tsvangirai's MDC, said broad consultations would be held on the new constitution. "We are already starting to engage the various groups and the population to make sure that the constitution is acceptable to the people of Zimbabwe," he said. Former political rivals may have faced each other and bonded, Zimbabwean journalist Brian Hungwe reports from Victoria Falls, but the big task now is implementation. Tsvangirai tragedy Mr Tsvangirai was at the talks in Victoria Falls but left on Saturday after hearing news of a new family tragedy, less than a month after his wife Susan died in a car crash which he himself survived. His two-year-old grandson Sean drowned in a swimming pool at Mr Tsvangirai's home in Harare on Saturday afternoon, spokesman James Maridadi said. The boy was the child of Mr Tsvangirai's son Garikai and his wife Lilian, who are based in Canada, the spokesman told AFP news agency. He will be buried on Monday in Buhera, south-east of the capital, next to his grandmother Susan.

'Zim maize output 9 percent below average'

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Own Correspondent Monday 06 April 2009

HARARE - Weather experts have revised downwards Zimbabwe's projected maize
output for the 2008/09 season, raising the spectre of another long year of
biting hunger and begging bowls in what was once one of Africa's
bread-basket.

Remote sensing experts at Netherlands-based weather forecasting body EARS
said Zimbabwe is one of a few southern African countries likely to record
poor maize harvests this year due to uneven rainfall patterns.

They said dry conditions experienced in parts of Zimbabwe such as Manicaland
and Masvingo would severely constrain the country's harvest for this year.

According to the weather forecasters, while yields were above average in
Mashonaland and Matabeleland North, total output was expected to be
drastically lower than the national five-year average.

"National average yield is expected to be lower (minus nine percent) than
the historical average," the experts said.

An initial projection by EARS last month had put the decline in Zimbabwe's
maize output at minus three percent of the historical average while the
2008/09 yield was forecast to be four percent lower than the previous season's
harvest of 836 000 tonnes.

Agricultural experts, including those from the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), have said lack of or the untimely availability of inputs
was to blame for the continuous decline in Zimbabwe's maize production.

The United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have launched a massive
international appeal for food aid to assist millions of Zimbabweans facing
starvation this year. - ZimOnline

SA business delegation expected in Zimbabwe today

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Nokuthula Sibanda Monday 06 April 2009

HARARE - A delegation of top South African business executives is expected
in Zimbabwe today to explore business opportunities in the country and will
meet Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Finance Minister Tendai Biti and
other key leaders, officials in Harare said.

The delegation will be the first by the South African business leaders are
visiting Zimbabwe since formation last February of a power-sharing
government between President Robert Mugabe and his long time rival
Tsvangirai.

South Africa, the region's biggest economic power and which facilitated
power-sharing negotiations between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, has offered to
make credit lines available to Zimbabwe in a bid to help its troubled
neighbour recover from a decade of acute economic recession and humanitarian
crisis.

The delegation will also meet Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma,
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, Mines Minister Obert Mpofu.

In the afternoon, the team will meet with Zimbabwe's business leaders at
Rainbow Towers hotel.

A number of South African investors such as mining magnets Mzi Khumalo,
Patrice Motsepe already have business operations in Zimbabwe while ANC
stalwart Tokyo Sextwale's Mvelaphanda group is said to be scouting for
opportunities in Zimbabwe.

Representatives from Mvelaphanda are already in Zimbabwe and will join their
colleagues who arrive today.

Despite Zimbabwe's economic crisis which started almost a decade ago,
Tshwane is still Harare's biggest trading partner. - ZimOnline

Supreme Court To Preside Over Political Detainees' Case

http://www.radiovop.com


Harare, 5 April 2009 - THE Supreme Court will on Monday preside over
an appeal by defence lawyers against the denial of bail by High Court judge
Justice Yunus Omerjee to three Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
activists who still remain in police custody.

The three are MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's personal assistant,
Ghandi Mudzingwa, the party's director of security Kisimusi Dhlamini and
freelance photojournalist, Shadreck Anderson Manyere.

The detainees were abducted in December 2008 and are facing terrorism
charges which the MDC has since dismissed as "trumped up".

The defence lawyers had sought leave to appeal in the Supreme Court
following the denial of bail by the High Court to the three political
detainees.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku was initially supposed
to preside over the case on April 2, 2009 but postponed the hearing to
April 6 2009.
This was after the Attorney General¹s (AGs) office applied for a
postponement of the matter on the basis that their law officer Chris
Mutangadura was away in Tanzania.

Of the three political detainees, Dhlamini and Mudzingwa are under
prison and police guard at private clinic in Harare where they are being
treated for injuries sustained during their torture.

Zimbabwe central bank sued by its employees

From The Sunday Standard (Botswana), 5 April

By Pindai Dube in Bulawayo

Chaos has rocked Zimbabwe's central bank as dollarization continues to take
its toll rendering local currency useless and workers have taken the bank
governor to court for failing to pay them. Since the dollarization of the
economy started late last year, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) became of
no use. The Zimbabwe dollar is valueless and no business accepts it. The
United States Dollar, South Africa Rand and the Botswana Pula are three
currencies currently running Zimbabwe's economy. Workers at the RBZ have
gone for more than three months without pay. Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's party, the MDC, in the new inclusive government wants the RBZ
governor , Gideon Gono, who is aligned to President Robert Mugabe's ruling
Zanu PF party chopped off from the central bank. Gono is a close ally and
personal banker of President Robert Mugabe. Economic analysts believe Gono,
49, has played a central role in the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy. The MDC
accuse Gono of blocking international donors and also accuse him of printing
cash to finance President Mugabe's violent presidential election campaign in
June last year, while the majority of the Zimbabweans were wallowing in
poverty, sleeping outside banks as they were failing to access their hard
earned money from the bank. RBZ workers were used to flashy lifestyles when
Gono used to surprise them with allowances when he was printing money with
reckless abandon. They have seen their fortunes wane following the
dollarisation of the economy. On Wednesday, RBZ workers' committee led by
committee chairman, Wilton Mugabe, with the help of the labour union body,
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) dragged the central bank
governor to the Labour Court for his failure to pay workers for the past
three months.

"We do not know how much we are supposed to be earning. In January we once
filed a complaint with a Labour officer on the above issues in terms of
Section 93 of the Labour Act and to date the issue has not been resolved and
the conciliator has since advised us (applicant) to approach the Labour
Court for a remedy. Three months without a salary is unbearable and is a
justified cause for the matter to be heard as an urgent issue," reads an
affidavit accompanying the court papers and signed by Mugabe. Mugabe, in his
affidavit, which is supported by other members, wrote that on 13 January
after writing several communications to the Governor and some senior
officers and failing to get a response, the workers issued a notice to go on
strike. He notes that the employer has unilaterally removed some staff
benefits such as medical aid cover, medical loans, educational loans and
canteen facilities. The matter will go for hearing on Tuesday before Labour
Court judge, Selo Nare. The latest move by RBZ workers came just two weeks
after heavily armed police barricaded the premises of the RBZ branch in
Bulawayo along Leopold Takawira Street to bar striking employees from
leaving the building to launch a street protest over pay. One worker was
seriously injured and taken to hospital after armed police pounced on him
during the brawl. Gono has, in turn, blamed sanctions, commercial banks, the
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, black-market currency dealers as well as insurance
companies for wreaking havoc on the economy.

Collapse in Zim blow to SA Aids efforts

From The Star (SA), 4 April

Drug-resistant HIV resulting from the collapse of Zimbabwe's health system
will undermine the success of South Africa's HIV/Aids programme, Health
Minister Barbara Hogan has warned. "I am deeply concerned about the
situation in Zimbabwe," Hogan told the close of the fourth SA Aids
conference. "The only solution is a regional SADC (Southern African
Development Community) initiative to address health, because health knows no
borders." Earlier in the week, the conference heard that most hospitals in
Zimbabwe were closed, medicines were scarce, and no medical schools or
nursing colleges had opened this year. Hogan also said the current economic
crisis represented "one of the worst economic collapses we have seen" and
that "we will have to be spending far better and smarter". "Every year there
has been overspending in all provinces, not just the Free State. The
deficits have simply rolled over to the next year. The national Department
of Health has sent financial teams into the provinces to see what the cost
drivers that shoot up expenditure are," said Hogan. She added that said the
government remained "absolutely committed" to the targets of the new
National Strategic Plan, including the reduction of new infections by 50
percent and the treatment of 80 percent of all who need it by 2011. She said
it would no longer be possible to say SA did not need donor help to achieve
these targets - provided donor money was "sustainable". "We cannot afford
any stock-out of ARVs, but we are looking at about 1.5 million people
needing ARVs by 2011. They will need these drugs for 30 to 40 years."

Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 4thApril 2009

Much talk at the Vigil about the plight of Zimbabwean prisoners. Most of us knew about the dreadful conditions in Zimbabwean prisons – some because we had experienced them ourselves. But such is the power of television that we were all shocked by the SABC report exposing the holocaust. We were sickened to hear Justice Minister Chinamasa say that the SABC pictures couldn’t have shown the situation in Zimbabwean prisons because cameras are not allowed in and the pictures must have been from some other country.  The only encouraging thing was that the SABC has finally cast aside its blinkers and decided to show what the situation in Zimbabwe is really like.

The feeling at the Vigil was that something must be done immediately to save these poor devils starving to death. We despair of the new government. How can the MDC allow this situation to continue when so many of their own people are incarcerated?

We noticed that Finance Minister Biti is now bleating about sanctions. What is he talking about? Has he been hypnotized? Has he not taken aboard the message that the West is not going to give money to Mugabe? People at the Vigil commented that the MDC ministers are beginning to sound and behave more and more like Zanu-PF. We were appalled that they were so keen to grab their new Mercedes instead of taking the opportunity to make a telling point to the world by refusing them. 

A lady from Botswana came past the Vigil and said she didn’t like our petition. Here it is: “A Petition to the UK Government:  In the light of the Zimbabwean power-sharing agreement, we call upon the UK government to withhold government aid to Zimbabwe until they can ensure that any aid will benefit the people rather than the corrupt Mugabe regime.” We can’t understand her complaint. Is the West expected to keep Zanu PF in power? Let SADC pay.

It was an unusual Vigil because the Water Board had invaded our space and caged off two of our trees and one of our lampposts.  Renewal of sewerage they said – pretty appropriate for Zimbabwe!  We made the most of the barriers to display our posters showing the tortured and beaten. Despite the unity government we are told that there is still a lot of fear. Newly arrived Zimbabwean children are apparently too scared to come to the Vigil because of possible repercussions back home.

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

FOR THE RECORD: 310 signed the register.

FOR YOUR DIARY:

·   Central London Zimbabwe Forum. Monday 6^th April at 7.30 pm. Venue: Bell and Compass, 9-11 Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NA, next to Charing Cross Station at the corner of Villiers Street and John Adam Street.

·   ROHR Liverpool general meeting. Saturday, 11^th April. Time and venue to be advised.  Contact: I Ndoro on 07872008846, D Chimuka on 07917733711 or P Mapfumo on 07915926323/07932216070   

·   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.

·   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.

JOMIC Appeals To SADC

http://www.radiovop.com

Bulawayo, April 4, 2009- The Joint Implementation and Monitoring
Committee(JOMIC)  has written to the  Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC)'s appointed facilitator, Thabo Mbeki following the violations of some
of the

provisions of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) by the three
principals who are signatories to the agreement.

JOMIC sources told Radio VOP on Friday that the three principals,
President Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirayi, MDC-T, and Arthur Mutambara,
the leader of the MDC-M violated the September 2008 agreement by appointing
additional cabinet ministers instead of sticking to the numbers stipulated
in the agreement.

"The three principals violated the (GPA) by appointing more ministers
thanwhat is stipulated in the agreement. They appointed ministers of
national healing from the three political parties, an arrangement which is
not in the agreement. As an implementation and monitoring arm of this
agreement we summoned the three principals last month over this issue and we
have alsoalready informed SADC about the issue,' said a source in JOMIC  who
refused to be named.
The sources said they had also taken to task the principals over
political violence which have been attributed to all the three political
parties. "JOMIC has also briefed SADC through Mbeki, SADC chairperson South
African President Montlante  and SADC executive secretary the incidences of
political violence which have occurred in the country since the formation of
the inclusive government. Political violence is really a great concern to us
and under the (GPA) the parties have pledged to stop any form of political
violence,' added the source.

When reached for comment JOMIC member who is also the Deputy MDC- T
nationalspokesperson Tabitha Khumalo said, 'Right now I am attending a
meeting. Why can't you get in touch with other committee members?"
JOMIC is chaired on rational basis by the three political parties.

Zapu Party Calls For An End To Land Invasions

http://www.radiovop.com

Harare - THE recently revived ZAPU has called upon the Ministry  of
Home Affairs to put an end to the on-going farm invasions saying they are
tarnishing the country's image.

The party's marketing and communications officer Smile Dube said the
two Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa must follow Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's directive for the police to immediately stop farm
invasions.

Tsvangirai recently directed police to arrest people who are invading
commercial farms thereby disrupting production.

Said Dube, "We believe as the vanguard party that the directives by
Morgan Tsvangirai the Zimbabwean Prime Minister are going to be taken
seriously if those responsible for the land invasions and any other act of
abuse of human rights are brought to book. Justice should prevail and that
is what Zimbabweans are looking for."

ZAPU also blames President Robert Mugabe for the on-going farm
invasions, which has affected 100 white-owned commercial farms in the past
month.

"We believe as a party that, a statement by the Zanu PF President
Robert Gabriel Mugabe at his birth day party held in Chinhoyi has led to
these invasions," said Dube.

Mugabe told hundreds of people during his 85th birthday celebrations
in Chinhoyi in February that there would be "no going back" on planned and
already executed seizures of land owned by white farmers.

Zapu said Mugabe is the signatory to the Global Political Agreement
and should not have said those damaging statements.

"ZANU PF should abide by the agreement as the nation can not afford
some of these setbacks," said Dube.

"Zanu PF should tell no lies nor claim easy victory by using state
apparatus and machinery. This grandstanding and diversion from the current
policies, which have been embraced by the whole world, is disturbing to say
the least."

Cholera Cases Resurface In Mwenezi

http://www.radiovop.com


Mwenezi- Cholera cases are resurfacing in Mwenezi under Chief Maranda
with reports that four people died in the period between Tuesday to
Saturday, officials from Maranda clinic have revealed.

RadioVOP was informed that villagers were panicking following the
discovery that cholera was still killing people in their area. "Four people
died of cholera last week. There are a number of cholera cases that are
resurfacing in Mwenezi. We suspect that new cholera cases are caused by
unclean water which is being used by many villagers.

"Organisations which were helping people with water purification
chemicals must continue especially in rural areas where people usually rely
on river water for consumption," said an official at Maranda Clinic.

However, the Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Robert Mudyiradima
said at the weekend that the reports reaching his office only revealed that
some people were still suffering from cholera in Mwenezi. He said he was not
aware that four people died of cholera this week but did not deny the
possibility.

"My office is still to be informed about the exact number of people if
any who died of cholera. I am not ruling out the possibility because cholera
is still a reality but we need to be accurate all the time," he said.

Masvingo is one of the provinces which suffered from cholera last
year. Bikita and Chivi were the worst affected districts with Mwenezi
landing on the third position out of the province's seven districts.

Zimbabwe has been suffering from a cholera breakout since last August
due to shortages of water and sanitation facilities, shortages of drugs and
health workers. Cholera killed an estimated 3 000 people and infected about
80 000 people. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently said the cholera
cases had declined.

Government should ask Mugabe what he's doing with our money

Comment from The Star (SA), 4 April

Jabulani Sikhakhane

Let's assume you have a neighbour who has lost just about everything. He is
so poor his hearth has, as the Zulus would say, become the sleeping place
for the family cat. You know your neighbour's problems can be blamed on the
fact that he sees the world through the bottom of the vodka bottle. He feeds
every cent you give him to the liquor store. But being kind-hearted you
still want to help, not him so much but his family, especially the kids.
Solution? You don't give him money. Instead, you give it to his wife, or you
buy the groceries yourself and hand these directly to his family. You do
have such a neighbour. He is Robert Mugabe. Uncle Bob may not have had a
drop of liquor in his life, but he is the patron saint of human rights abuse
anonymous. Throughout his 29-year rule, Mugabe has ridden rough-shod over
Zimbabwe's citizens, has run "flee and flair" elections, and has ultimately
ruined Zimbabwe's economy.

After independence in 1980, Mugabe embarked on an ambitious programme of
socio-economic development, which he financed by borrowing way beyond what
Zimbabwe could sustain. Mugabe's initial exuberance was fuelled by a number
of unusual factors, including a commodity boom, the promise of more aid than
eventually arrived, expectations of a peace dividend, as well as initial
high rates of economic growth. When Mugabe's policies hit the skids, sending
the economy into a tailspin, Zimbabwe's professional class voted with its
feet, seeking greener pastures in South Africa, Europe and the US. Those who
stayed behind did so because they had the financial means to withstand the
effects of hyperinflation. Lacking the skills passport needed to enter the
global job marketplace, the poor were either stuck in Zimbabwe or driven by
hunger to risk life and limb by jumping the fence to work in South Africa.
Throughout all this, Mugabe was in denial.

Now he wants the rest of the world to give Zimbabwe up to $10 billion to
inject some life into the economy. You can bet Mugabe expects all of this
money to be given to Zimbabwe without any conditions. South Africa, along
with other Southern Africa leaders, has agreed to back Zimbabwe's rescue
plan. Last year, it gave Zimbabwe R300 million and plans to chip in another
R225m over the next three years. I have no doubt Mugabe's administration
cannot account fully for how the R300m was used. Nor can the South African
government certify it was not siphoned off by Mugabe and his cronies. This
is a dereliction of duty by our government. Our constitution enjoins the
national treasury, for example, "to ensure transparency, accountability and
sound financial controls in the management of public finances". Treasury has
lived up to this mandate in terms of the management of the country's
finances. It has, among other things, introduced transparency and
predictability to the budget, largely through the three-year budgeting
cycle, the introduction of the mid-term budget statement, and the detailed
documentation that comes with the announcements.

This constitutional requirement should also apply to monies spent outside
our borders. That means Pretoria should insist Harare account fully for what
it does with our money. After all, it's our tax rands that are being used to
dig Zimbabwe out of the hole Mugabe deliberately sank his country in. It is
a responsibility our government owes its citizens. It is their money, money
they worked hard for, that is being given to Zimbabwe. Although most
citizens will be happy to help their fellow Africans, they have the right to
expect that their hard-earned money will be used for the benefit of the
poor. It is time South Africa demanded accountability by the Zimbabwean
government for how it uses financial aid. Our tax rands should not be used
to subsidise Grace Mugabe's shopping expeditions, or to satiate Morgan
Tsvangirai's expensive whisky tastes. That may sound harsh, but that's what
a good neighbour would do.

The Role of the Diaspora to Zimbabwe's reconstruction revisited

http://www.zimdiaspora.com

Sunday, 05 April 2009 21:52

By Lloyd Msipa
There is a general misconception by some Zimbabweans at home that all
Zimbabweans living abroad are a class of people who are either struggling in
foreign countries and living destitute lives despite their professional
credentials acquired either in Zimbabwe or in the country they have moved
to. Some have even gone to the extent of dismissing the potential input by
this class of people into the GNU government by way of policy
recommendations and the reconstruction of Zimbabwe in general.
Another leading blogger with a myopic perception of Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora has gone on further to say that the role of the Diaspora community
in now irrelevant as Zimbabwe was now slowly returning back to normalcy.
Their role according to him was limited to providing sustenance funds which
was largely used for consumptive purposes. Hence beyond the need for
groceries and fuel largely financed in foreign currency for the better part
of the last eight years by the Diaspora community, Zimbabwe has no need for
them. They do not possess sufficient capital to make any meaningful
contribution to get industry and the economy running, their role therefore
is either limited or no longer needed.

This view of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora is very ill informed and let alone
potentially selfish. Talk about biting the hand that feeds thee. It is a
truism that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora single handedly managed to sustain
Zimbabwe during one of the most difficult times in its history through
remittances. The impact of remittances was so significant to a point that
even the Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono travelled to a number of western
countries were Zimbabweans are domiciled to solicit for their money to be
transmitted to Zimbabwe via the Home link programme. The recent
dollarization of the Zimbabwean economy following the formation of the all
inclusive government has made it more difficult for the average Zimbabwean
abroad to send large amounts of money as the exchange rate advantage
provided for by the Zimbabwe dollar is now a thing of the past. The global
recession affecting most first world countries has not helped matters
either.

Whilst it is a fact that Zimbabweans abroad do not necessarily have the
required capital to input into the economy to get industry working again, it
is also equally true that Zimbabweans at home do not have the money either.
It is therefore a futile exercise for Zimbabweans at home to expect more
from Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and less from themselves.

The mass exodus of Zimbabweans post 2000 from their country of origin was
unprecedented in the history of Zimbabwe. It took away a class of people who
relied on salaries and credit for their day to day subsistence. The last
time Zimbabweans left their country in significantly large numbers was
before independence. Even then, most came back soon after 1980 and a large
number of them are today in positions of influence both in politics and
commerce. Emigration whether temporarily or permanently is not unique to
Zimbabwe. When the living standards of a country plummet, it is usually the
middle class that is impacted first. This is the class of people that held
all the professional jobs that are currently vacant or short staffed and
incidentally this is the class of people that drive any economy worldwide.

Zimbabwe is not unique in this sense. Before the formation of the all
inclusive government, Zimbabwe had no economy to talk about. Zimbabwe had no
formal sector to talk about. Zimbabweans literally survived neku khiya khiya
(sic)(wayward means of acquiring something) to borrow the terminology used
to describe the process  by which Tendai Biti, the finance minister used to
find the salaries of civil servants last month.

Zimbabwe has over the last eight years or so seen the proliferation of wily
dealers, ordinarily referred to as the informal sector. There is no way this
class of people will be able to alone transform the informal sector back to
the formal sector were by the government can start to benefit by way of
taxes and other ways of revenue. This class of Zimbabweans have not paid a
dime in taxes for the last eight years or so. The finance minister, Tendai
Biti confirmed this when he said there was a need to get the tax system
working again at the launch of STERP (Short Term Economic Turn Round
Programme)

The all inclusive government will need to look into the Diaspora in order to
head hunt the requisite skills and expertise required in order to get
Zimbabwe working again. Zimbabwe is endowed with professionals many who hold
qualifications and experiences required to input into the policy
formulations processes of government.

What the all inclusive government should be considering now is how to best
attract Zimbabweans back into the country. What packages can the government
put in place to get Zimbabwean professionals back into the country to lend
support to the reconstruction of our beloved country?

The Diaspora is endowed with Teachers, Nurses, Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors,
Journalists, Social workers and other experts the new inclusive government
can take advantage of. Zimbabwean professionals are littered all over the
world from South Africa, The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the
United States of America and as far afield as China. It is by no means an
accident that the South African government has decided to regularise the
stay of thousands of Zimbabweans in South Africa at this eleventh hour.

They plan to continue to tap into the expertise that Zimbabwean
professionals provide long after Zimbabwe has normalised. The role of the
Diaspora cannot and must not be limited to providing sustenance funds as the
critic of the role Zimbabweans in the Diaspora insinuated. Zimbabweans in
the Diaspora will be instrumental in diluting the culture of ku khiya khiya
that has permeated the fabric of Zimbabwean society in the last eight years
or so by re introducing professionalism in the conduct of our day to day
lives. We must remember that the Zimbabweans in the Diaspora have been
living in stable democracies for the better part of 10 years and hence
gained a lot of Knowledge and cultures that will be useful in a new
Zimbabwe.

The writer Lloyd Msipa is resident in the United Kingdom. He can be
contacted at lmsipalaw@googlemail.com Read more from Lloyd at
http//:www.lmsipa.com or http://msipa.blogspot.com/