Washington Times
TODAY'S COLUMNIST
By Paul
Moorcraft
August 25, 2006
Daily, far more Zimbabweans are
dying needlessly than civilians in Lebanon's
recent war. Zimbabwe is a rogue
state that could also drag down its
neighbor, South Africa (where the murder
rate is already higher than
Iraq's).
Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the
president of Zimbabwe -- which the U.S. has
dubbed an "outpost of tyranny"
-- is a world-class troublemaker. He has
cosied up to China and calls Iran
"a critical partner." If U.S. intelligence
agencies weren't so pre-occupied
elsewhere, they might openly accuse him of
supplying Congo uranium to his
old pals in North Korea.
The dictator recently encouraged speculation
that America had caused
droughts by unspecified "chemical weapons." Famine,
however, is largely the
result of Mr. Mugabe's seizures of productive
white-owned farms. Despite his
abuse of America, Washington has been a big
donor of aid -- $300 million of
mainly food aid was given in 2002-04.
But the region is now off the media map (partly because journalists are
banned).
True, in 2003, Washington imposed sanctions, including
travel bans on
Mr. Mugabe and his immediate cronies. Mr. Mugabe laughed and
continued with
his disastrous land reforms, fraudulent elections and
hobbling of opposition
parties.
Zimbabwe has the world's
fastest-shrinking economy and the worst
inflation rate -- now 1,000 percent.
Services have collapsed and cannot deal
with the AIDS pandemic, which has
infected one-third of the population. Life
expectancy has dropped from an
average of 62 to 38 years. Unemployment
stands at 70 percent. More than 5
million are on the brink of starvation. At
least 4 million have fled.
Many black Zimbabweans will freely admit that conditions were better
under
the last white ruler, Ian Smith.
Like Fidel Castro, Mr. Mugabe, at 82, is
a great survivor. Mr. Mugabe
has favored not his brother but a former
girlfriend as his possible
successor, Joyce Mujuru ("Spill Blood" to use her
nom de guerre).
After 26 years in power, Mr. Mugabe won't go willingly. A
military coup
is unlikely, partly because a creeping coup has already taken
place. The
security apparatus is full of Mr. Mugabe's Zezuru clan, and they
have been
amply rewarded.
Many within in his own ruling Zimbabwe
African National Union --
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party -- are praying
for him to quit or die.
Although he is due to leave office in 2008, he may
try to stay on. Mr.
Mugabe has never named a formal successor, which could
mean more chaos if he
were to die in office.
Three key clan and
tribally based factions jostle for power inside the
ruling party. Foremost
is the group around Vice President Joyce Mujuru. The
main opposition leader,
Morgan Tsvangirai, runs the MDC (the Movement for
Democratic Change). This
former trade union activist has considerable
cross-tribal support. But while
the electoral system is so fixed in favor of
the ruling party, the
opposition is unlikely to defeat even the most
fractious ZANU-PF.
That leaves South Africa. Pretoria failed to bring Messrs. Tsvangirai
and
Mugabe together. Then it pinned its forlorn hopes on a so-called
moderate
faction emerging in the ruling party. Regional organizations, such
as the
African Union, have been unsurprisingly toothless.
More recently it
looked as though U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan might
offer Mugabe a U.N.
deal: an economic rescue package in exchange for a
deadline to quit office.
Crucially there would also be immunity from
prosecution.
All these
unsuccessful attempts indicate that South African President
Thabo Mbeki's
quiet diplomacy has failed.
In the West, South Africa is perceived as the
regional superpower.
Admittedly, Pretoria does have to contend with regional
suspicions about its
throwing its weight around. Nevertheless, South Africa
has the hard power:
It could cut off fuel and electricity and bring Mr.
Mugabe to heel almost
overnight.
Mr. Mbeki's quiet constructive
engagement was based on the premise that
direct confrontation -- public
condemnation, let alone any use of economic
leverage -- would ultimately
damage South African interests. Ironically,
that is exactly what has
happened.
Nelson Mandela condemned Mr. Mugabe. Unfortunately, the current
president defers to the older revolutionary hero in Harare. The majority of
Africans may well buy into the anti-imperial discourse of Zimbabwe's
rhetoric against the Anglo-American conspiracy. Mr. Mbeki should not.
The Zimbabwe crisis is causing major rifts in South Africa's ruling
African
National Congress. More important is the danger of the land issue
spiralling
out of control. Recently, 8,000 white farmers were given six
months to sell
their land or be forced to quit. Twenty times more white
South African
farmers have been murdered -- many for political reasons --
than white
farmers in Zimbabwe. Also, the flood of Zimbabwean refugees is
making South
Africans much more xenophobic. And allowing a failed state on
its borders
does no good for foreign investors' confidence in the region.
Above all,
it is a question of image. The South African government is
perceived in the
West as implicit in all that Mr. Mugabe does. The
president's medieval
stance on AIDS might have been forgiven as unfortunate
ignorance, but
tolerating Mr. Mugabe is seen as either plain stupidity or
deliberately
condoning the dictator. It is time for the statesman to emerge
in Mr.
Mbeki.
Maybe the same could apply to Washington. In 1976, then-Secretary
of
State Henry Kissinger finessed regime change in what then was Rhodesia.
The
U.S. still has real economic clout in South Africa. By leaning
discreetly on
Pretoria, President Bush could do much good in Zimbabwe. In
the long run,
getting rid of one mad bad dictator in Africa might bestow a
far nobler
political legacy than Arabian adventures.
Paul
Moorcraft, author of a seminal history of the Rhodesian war, is
director of
the Center for Foreign Policy Analysis.
VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
24 August 2006
The
World Food Programme has estimated that some 1.8 million Zimbabweans may
need food assistance between now and April of next year, when the next
harvest will replenish larders, and said it will increase its provision of
food aid to the country.
The Zimbabwean government is reported to
have acknowledged that about 1.4
million people in rural areas will need
food assistance. News site ZimOnline
said the country's Vulnerability
Assessment Committee sees a shortfall of
91,000 tonnes of
cereals.
Economic Development Minister Rugare Gumbo told parliament
recently that
Harare has been trying to raise Z$34 million from alternative
sources such
as pension funds for the purchase of maize and soya beans to
fill the
food-output gap.
The impending food crisis could be
exacerbated by the devastation of winter
wheat crops in some areas by quelea
birds. Some 150 million birds have been
sighted in the Lower Veld of
Manicaland and in Matebeleland South with
harvest approaching.
It is
estimated that the quelea birds destroyed half the wheat crop last
year.
From Johannesburg, World Food Program spokesman Mike Huggins
gave reporter
Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe more on WFP aid
plans.
Three ministers told parliament Wednesday there might be food
shortages next
year. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made and Water and
Infrastructure
Development Minister Munacho Mutezo acknowledged that
essential agricultural
inputs such as fertilizer and fuel for tillage are
not in place though the
planting season is only weeks away.
State
Security minister Didymus Mutasa, responsible for food security as
well as
land reform, said newly settled farmers are having trouble borrowing
money
because they lack collateral to offer bank lenders. Mutasa also took a
swipe
at officials, accusing them of looting agriculture equipment then
failing to
make use of it.
Daily Nation , Kenya
Story by Peter Kagwanja
Publication Date: 8/25/2006
An economy gliding to a
dangerously halt has forced Zimbabwe on
a frenzied diplomatic offensive to
get African leaders to mediate its
growing political
crisis.
On the sidelines of the July 2006 Africa Union Summit
in Banjul
Gambia, President Robert Mugabe backed former Tanzanian president
Benjamin
(William) Mkapa as mediator. But Mkapa has a tall order to succeed
where
South Africa and the African Union have dithered.
African leaders and the international community must now insist
on an
expanded mandate, reminding Mkapa that the trouble with Zimbabwe is
primarily one of failed leadership. The speed and ferocity with which
democracy and the economy have hurtled down has put Zimbabwe on the global
map of countries at risk of chaos and anarchy.
This
latest diplomatic initiative will be dead in water if
regional leaders buy
into Harare's official line that its woes are rooted in
its strained
relations with its former colonial power, Britain.
South
Africa's "quiet diplomacy" response to the Zimbabwe crisis
has been widely
accused of emboldening authoritarianism and weakening
democratic
forces.
With the specter of a failed state on its doorsteps
looming even
larger and threatening regional peace and security, Pretoria's
policy
pundits are rethinking their quiet approach in favour of a tougher
line.
On its part, SADC's backing of Harare's official
position that
the country is paying for its seizure of white farms has drawn
fire. "The
country is being made to pay for economically liberating its own
people,"
insists a SADC official.
Zimbabwe is a classic
case of the tail wagging the dog. Regional
diplomats concede that: "Mugabe
is larger than SADC."
This partly comes his ability to
explore solidarity which, as
the touchstone of regional diplomacy, has
hampered SADC's action, including
on Zimbabwe's Operation Murambatsvina,
which displaced 700,000 and affected
2.4 million others, pushing the economy
to the brink.
Rejected resolutions
Sadly,
the region is reaping the whirlwind of an economy
dangerously spinning out
of control. Some 2-3 million refugees (over 2
million of them in South
Africa) are straining social services, jobs and
housing, stoking
undercurrents of xenophobia and feeding into cross-border
criminalities,
contraband and cash in transit heists.
Equally, the African
Union's official mind that "Zimbabwe is a
hot potato" has hindered any form
of action.
But under pressure to respond to Zimbabwe's urban
evictions in
June 2005, the AU Commission Chairman, Alpha Konare, dispatched
Tom Nyanduga
as his special envoy to assess the situation. But Harare's
decision to
deport the envoy scuttled the attempt.
Zimbabwe's rejection of former Mozambican President Joachim
Chissano as
mediator appointed by the AU Chairman, Nigeria's President
Olusegun
Obasanjo, put paid to the possibility of inter-party
dialogue.
Repeated rejection of the resolutions of the
African Commission
on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) critical of Zimbabwe
on technicalities
rather than substance has chipped away the integrity of
the AU. "If we
continue to throw out every human rights report that comes
before us, people
out there will stop taking us seriously," warned a Union
official.
Failure to clinch a deal on Zimbabwe has widened
the gap between
rhetoric and reality in the African Union's emerging good
governance and
security architecture, guided by President Mbeki's notion of
African
Renaissance.
Likewise, failure by the proponents
of the African Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to turn the tide
in four of better
governance in Zimbabwe has cast a dark shroud over its
credibility too.
Still, the support for Zimbabwe at the
pan-African level appears
to be dwindling, prompting Mugabe's recent
broadside against his colleagues
as cowards for not standing up to the west
over Zimbabwe.
Mugabe's waning continental clout has left
SADC as the last
bastion of power, explaining its choice as the framework of
the Mkapa
mediation.
The failure of Zimbabwe's badly
splintered opposition to exploit
the air of discontent after the March 2005
elections and Murambatsvina to
mobilize popular uprising along the Orange or
velvet revolutions in Eastern
European diminished international faith in its
ability to spearhead a
democratic revolution.
Mugabe's
exit and restoration of democracy have now come to
drive international
action on Zimbabwe. But the puzzle remains how to
achieve
them.
Targeted international sanctions by the European Union
(EU) and
the U.S have had minimal impact on forcing the regime to restore
democracy.
Chinese support for Zimbabwe has undermined
Western pressure,
with its veto potentially preventing the West from
bringing the issue into
the UN Security Council. But Zimbabwe's offer of
minerals is hardly
sufficient to keep the oil-thirsty China in the
game.
While few expect Mkapa to resolve these problems, his
initiative
offers a window out of the current policy
stalemate.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan backed Mkapa
during his
discussion with Mugabe in Banjul, abandoning his own intervention
plan
involving a trade-off between an aid package and Mugabe's exit
timetable.
But the UN still has a role to enhance the clout and usefulness
of the Mkapa
initiative by appointing an envoy and providing financial and
technical
support.
The Commonwealth can also provide the
technical and material
support, although Mugabe pulled out of the club after
its 2003 Abuja summit
extended Zimbabwe's suspension for gross human rights
violations.
Mkapa has access to Downing Street, enjoys
relative stature and
prestige and has the backing of the newly elected
Tanzanian President,
Jakaya Kikwete, himself an ally of Pretoria. But
critically his success
depends on an expanded mandate and an all-inclusive
mediation that brings
civic and political actors on board. The intervention
must go beyond the
parochial focus on Mugabe's strained relations with Tony
Blair.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Peter Kagwanja is Research Associate with the Centre for
International
Political Studies and incoming Research with HSRC.
Africa Insight
is an initiative of the Nation Media Group's
Africa Media
Network
By Lynette Mhlanga
There is growing incredulity and
anger at the media’s ludicrous denial of informing the public correctly without
falsehoods. It was shocking to see an article headed Anti-Mugabe Alliance –
Mutambara’s demands “Am not joining any Alliance as a Deputy” on Zimdaily.com
today. It is totally malicious, false and simply untrue for any suggestion that
the Secretary General Professor Ncube, Professor Arthur Mutambara or any other
officer of the party, is against unity and is at variance with the positions
adopted by Council. This article displays pure mischief that certain sections of
the media, have resorted to parade products of their fictitious and imaginative
minds as fact. This article goes against the grain of a free Zimbabwe. Gone are
the days of misinforming the public, the Zimbabwean people have suffered enough
and every Zimbabwean has a duty towards each other. We owe it to the spirits of
our fallen heroes; we owe it to Josiah Tongogara, Josiah Ziyaphapha Moyo, Ambuya
Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi not to misinform the people of Zimbabwe.
In
pursuing their devilish agenda certain sections of the media, quoting unnamed
hypothetical, imaginary and faceless “sources” continue to suggest that there
exists a rift in the rank and file of the MDC leadership. These purveyors of
such falsehoods are certainly scared of the prospects of unity of all democratic
forces in Zimbabwe. According to Gabriel Chaibva the MDC Secretary for Publicity
and Information “The references made to Professor Ncube, quoting his statement
out of context in calculated vulgar, are attempts at attacking his personal
integrity and standing as an individual”. Therefore any such suggestions that
Professor Ncube is anti-unity, is hereby dismissed with the contempt it
deserves. Let it be put on record, for the avoidance of doubt, that the
Secretary General Professor Ncube, is in fact, an ardent supporter and a
relentless advocator for unity, a fact we find hard to reconcile with the
demonic utterances by merchants of doom and gloom.
According to Gabriel
Chaibva “it is delusional and dreadful wishful thinking that President Mutambara
will join any other political grouping in the context of unity! Let there be no
confusion about the need for unity of all democratic forces and the suggestion
of the President “defecting” as has been peddled by some people”. The author
clearly displayed a deep misunderstanding of the whole concept of the Coalition
in Zimbabwe. Probably the best starting point is for us to answer the
fundamental questions first
What is a coalition?
A coalition is
group or partnership of organizations created to work on a specific issue or a
specific goal. People in a coalition collaborate for their mutual benefit. A
coalition is therefore a structured arrangement for cooperation and
collaboration between otherwise unrelated groups or organisations, in which each
group retains its identity but all agree to work together toward a common,
mutually agreed-upon goal. Some coalitions are permanent and work on long term
issues while others are created for a specific purpose and disassemble once the
goal is achieved. In the case of Zimbabwe, the partnership of organisations,
churches and political parties is created for the specific purpose of dislodging
the evil regime of Robert Mugabe out of that power it has robbed the people of
Zimbabwe through its rigging of the election. The aim is to forge a strong
opposing force against Zanu PF.
An Actual Coalition is therefore a
formal agreement to work on an issue, in the case of Zimbabwe the main issue
simply stated is to remove Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies from power. The
Churches and the opposition parties are allies i.e. a group of supporters who
will participate in similar events and action and add resources to the group.
The Churches together with the opposition parties becomes a network which
exchanges information and convene to exchange ideas and resources. In Zimbabwe
the ideas are to find the best possible ways of defeating Zanu PF out of power
without the use of violence, bloodshed or civil war. Mind you the coalition can
be a temporary one or a Permanent Coalition. A Permanent Coalition is an
established organisation of organisations that work on long-term goals that
aren’t achieved through one project. Any party or faction who wants to embark on
any other agenda not agreed by others can go ahead. Therefore if Tsvangirai
feels that his faction wants to embark on the Winter Mass Action which others
feel is not feasible, then Tsvangirai and his people can go ahead and do it that
has nothing to do with the coalition at all. In any event the Opposition in
Zimbabwe is not just the MDC party, we have other parties represented by Shumba,
Paul Siwela, and independent individuals like Jonathan Moyo. If there is
leadership wrangle between Tsvangirai and Mutambara where does that leave all
these other groups, what about the churches or the NCA and other Non
governmental organisations? Who voted anyone to be the leader of the coalition,
leaving others to pick the breadcrumbs?
The coalition is not an attempt
to form one organisation or political party. What the Churches, and the
opposition parties do is to work together, without one political party being
supreme, all the allies are equal at all times and purposes of the running of
this coalition. Therefore neither Mr Tsvangirai nor Professor Mutambara can be
the President or deputy of the coalition. Zimbabwe is currently fragile and its
needs for a coalition can not be ignored, we need this partnership against
Mugabe, glossing on it wont aid the situation at all.
Advantages of a
Coalition
A coalition broadens the scope of work to include issues which one
group might not cover in their campaign or activities; It increases the group’s
power in numbers, it adds different perspectives and allows these individual
groups to gain allies in their activities. In the need for a concerted,
rigorous, strenuous, concentrated and intensive effort against Mugabe and his
corrupt Zanu PF government numbers are needed, one voice is needed.
However it’s not as rose-coloured as one would want, working within a
coalition has its own advantages and also its disadvantages; there is bound to
be competition between organisations within the coalition. Another group can
want to undermine the other group, or even try to outshine the other group. This
is what we are currently facing in Zimbabwe. Some supporters of one faction
automatically want to be the leaders making their allies their subordinates.
This simply goes against the grain of what is a coalition. In some cases goals
and objectives of the groups may conflict. One group might go into the whole
idea of a coalition with the aim of dominating or wining people from other
groups. Wanting to dominate other opposition parties in a coalition is
retrospective and regressive; it undermines all the effort done by those who
intended for there to be a partnership just for one common purpose.
In
Zimbabwe the churches and the opposition parties met and choose one unifying
issue, which is to dislodge Mugabe and his archaic Zanu PF. What is needed for
these groups to work together is that there must be understanding and respect
each group’s self-interest. These opposition parties and groups must agree to
disagree, no group must use underhand tactics not agreed upon by others when
they act in the name of the coalition, there is also need to understand other
groups’ contributions with a view and understanding of the fact that
contributions from organisations vary. Credit for work done must be distributed
fairly.
Unity by the MDC Factions
There is currently a lot of
speculations as to whether unity between the Tsvangirai faction and the
Mutambara faction is feasible. Unity is currently not on the table at all, it is
not impossible but not practical. According to the MDC party itself the problems
leading to the October 12, 2005 split were surmountable. Any sensible Zimbabwean
politician would eventually come to terms with the harsh reality that there is
no alternative to elections. Currently efforts are being done to persuade the
governing party to the negotiating table, and not as a means to assume power.
According to Proff Welshman Ncube that certain underlying matters
leading to the October debacle can easily be resolved by merely reflecting on
the founding values and principles of the party; non-violence, respect to
established rules and regulations of the party as enshrined in the constitution,
respect and acceptance of the constitution as supreme, respect of collective
decision making process, and respect for divergent views.
Only and
until these fundamental issues are addressed and rectified will there be an
unity between the two factions. According to Proff Ncube “We are happy that in
the past months there has been a refocus, redefinition of the nature, substance
and content of the change we desire”.
There therefore shall be a
realisation that the MDC is a people driven organization which puts greater
emphasis on national interest over personal ego and ambitions of individuals.
Today we find reason to celebrate in that all our predictions have eventuated
and for these reasons, the National Council endorsed unanimously the principle
of unity. Placing national interest over personal desires, the National Council
further endorsed and adopted the principle that all of us be prepared to forgo
whatever claim to leadership we have, to pave way for unity of all democratic
forces.
The MDC is governed by the doctrine of collective
decision-making and nobody can make unilateral decisions and nobody can override
resolutions adopted by National Council in its assembly. It is therefore totally
malicious, false and simply untrue for any suggestion that the Secretary General
Professor Ncube or any other officer of the party, is against unity and is at
variance with the positions adopted by Council. It is pure mischief that certain
sections of the media, have resorted to parade products of their fictitious and
imaginative minds as fact. In pursuing their devilish agenda certain sections of
the media, quoting unnamed hypothetical, imaginary and faceless “sources”
continue to suggest that there exists a rift in the rank and file of our
leadership.
Any discussions around the subject of Unity shall remain
confidential until such time it may be necessary to make statements in that
regard. There are NO disagreements between the leadership of the party on this
very important issue of unity and we are all in total unison with the President
and overtures he makes directed at achieving that.
The media and the
press must remember that peddling misinformation might sell their articles, but
in the end these malicious misinformation are a true hindrance of any form of
unity which is currently much needed in Zimbabwean politics. Any carelessness
and recklessness in the impart of information to the masses of Zimbabwe is
equivalent to treason subversive, deceitfulness, and disloyal to the whole
nation of Zimbabwe. Peddling falsehoods is anathema to the people of Zimbabwe’s
agenda to free themselves from the shackles of Zanu PF. It only aids and cements
the position of Zanu PF in Zimbabwe. It aids and abets traitors who betrayed
ambuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi by making the people of Zimbabwe to suffer. The
media must be accountable and learn to be reliable sources of information.
Lynette Mhlanga is a political commentator and human rights activist
based in London. She is also a doctoral student in London and can be contacted
by email: lynn.lynette@yahoo.co.uk
IOL
August 25 2006 at
01:49AM
Harare - Zimbabwe is preparing for its key summer cropping
season, but
a lack of funding and a scarcity of essential inputs may
undermine output,
slashed in recent years partly by disruptions linked to
government land
reforms.
The southern African country, a former
regional breadbasket, has
relied on food imports and donor aid since 2001 to
supplement domestic
output, which fell sharply due to drought and a
controversial drive by
President Robert Mugabe to forcibly distribute
largely white-owned
commercial farms among blacks.
Critics say
the often-chaotic programme resulted in poorly equipped
peasant farmers
failing to fully utilise the land, while some members of the
ruling elite
amassed multiple farms now lying idle.
Local media
reported on Thursday that three government ministers told
a parliament
committee the country had sufficient seed for the next staple
maize crop but
that a shortage of fertiliser and farmers' lack of finance
were
worries.
"The seed houses are ready... Seed is already being
distributed in the
market (but) the fertiliser side is the biggest
challenge," Agriculture
Minister Joseph Made said in remarks broadcast on
state television, citing
equipment failure at one of the country's biggest
fertiliser manufacturers.
Made said this would force Zimbabwe,
which has suffered chronic
foreign currency shortages during an
eight-year-old economic recession, to
import a large portion of its
fertiliser needs.
Water and Infrastructure Development Minister
Munacho Mutezo said a
state agency that offers tillage to poor farmers for a
nominal fee had been
hit by a breakdown of equipment.
"We have
not recapitalised (the agency) for a long time. They have not
been buying
equipment, they have also not been adequately maintaining
equipment
(because) they do not charge rates that enable them to recover
their costs,"
Mutezo said.
Mugabe's government, which rejects charges that skewed
policies
including the land seizures have brought the agriculture-driven
economy to
its knees, has set a target of 2.4 million hectares of maize for
the 2006/07
season.
But farmers say the lack of inputs could be
a major impediment.
"There are many, many challenges. Farmers have
been selling their
produce but when they go to fertiliser companies,
chemical companies, there
is nothing to buy," said Zimbabwe Commercial
Farmers Union President Wilson
Nyabonde on state television.
The government says the ailing agriculture sector is on a recovery
from a
five-year slump and has forecast 1.8 million tons of maize from last
season
which would largely meet domestic needs for the first time since
2001.
But food agencies forecasts see a much smaller crop,
pointing to
continued maize imports mainly from neighbouring South Africa,
which Harare
says are meant to help build depleted strategic grain
reserves.
Business Day
Jonathan
Katzenellenbogen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International
Affairs Editor
IF AN explosion is to be avoided in Zimbabwe, the
opposition may need to
launch nationwide nonviolent protests to help drive
President Robert Mugabe
from power, said a report released yesterday by the
International Crisis
Group.
If demonstrations were successful, "they
could become the spark that finally
sets Zimbabwe toward change," it
said.
Its analysis of the effects of possible mass action comes months
after a
faction of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic
Change
(MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai, threatened a nat-ionwide campaign of
protest.
The Washington- and Brussels-based crisis group analyses and
recommends ways
of resolving conflicts.
It is rare for the group to
appear to recommend demonstrations rather than
strictly diplomatic means as
a way for resolving a crisis.
However, it said in the report that the
path to political reform in Zimbabwe
was blocked and nearly every indicator
is pointing downwards.
The report, Zimbabwe: An Opposition Strategy,
available on www.icg.org,
argued that an
opposition campaign directed toward confrontation in one or
two areas, such
as downtown Harare, "would probably be unachievable and
highly
dangerous".
"A better tactic might be a decentralised campaign of
widespread nonviolent
demon-stration on bread-and-butter issues."
If
a critical mass of demonstrations can be achieved, the MDC should explore
a
deal with Zanu (PF) that includes Mugabe's departure, the group said.
Media
Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek)
PRESS RELEASE
August 24,
2006
Posted to the web August 24, 2006
The Broadcasting Authority
of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has blamed the Ministry of
Information and Publicity for
the delays in the issuing of broadcasting
licences to private and community
radio stations.
BAZ Chairman Pikirayi Deketeke says the licensing
authority submitted its
recommendations for amendments to the Broadcasting
Services Act (BSA) to the
ministry. Deketeke said the amendments in question
would make it much easier
for would-be private broadcasters to meet the
licensing requirements than
under the existing restrictive provisions in the
BSA.
Deketeke was responding to questions posed by the weekly "Financial
Gazette"
about why they had not met a July 2006 deadline, by which the BAZ
had told
the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and
Communications that
it would be in a position to call for applications for
broadcasting
licences.
"It becomes difficult if we are to call for
applications when we know those
eager to apply fail to meet the criteria and
requirements," said Deketeke.
"We have made recommendations for the
amendment of the BSA, but we have not
had any input from the
ministry."
"The amendments we have recommended to the ministry will
assist in allowing
new players. As things stand it is difficult to accuse
the BAZ of being in
contempt of Parliament or the Portfolio Committee on
Transport and
Communications," he said.
No private radio stations
have been issued broadcasting licences since the
enactment of the BSA in
2001.
Following the expiry of the July deadline, Committee Chairman Leo
Mugabe
said the BAZ was in contempt of court for failing to fulfill a
commitment it
had given under oath.
BACKGROUND: In its report tabled
before Parliament on 1 June 2006, the
Committee conceded that the country's
broadcasting laws prohibit the entry
of private players. The BSA, among
other restrictions, bans foreign funding
and investment in the otherwise
capital-intensive broadcasting sector,
making it almost impossible for
private players to set up television and
radio stations.
The
Committee recommended then that the BAZ should concentrate on issuing
licenses to private players, especially community radio stations.
Xinhua
www.chinaview.cn
2006-08-25 06:29:06
HARARE, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese
government on Thursday
donated 180 solar water heaters to the Zimbabwe
Republic Police as part of a
project to introduce China's experience and
technology in solar energy
development to the solar energy-rich southern
African country.
The pilot project, of which the first phase
worth 1.5 million yuan
(187,500 U.S. dollars) was completed in 1998, has
brought great changes to
the life of 110 households, said Chinese Ambassador
to Zimbabwe Zhang Xianyi
at the handover ceremony for completion of the
second phase.
Large-scale use of solar water heaters can help
reduce Zimbabwe's
electricity imports and peak demand during the winter
season, Zimbabwe's
Energy and Power Development Minister Mike Nyambuya said
at the ceremony.
Nyambuya said uptake of renewable energy
technologies in Zimbabwe
was being hampered by high initial investment
costs, lack of knowledge about
benefits to be accrued and the prevailing
macro-economic environment.
The aim of the pilot project is to
evaluate the performance of the
Chinese-made solar heaters under local
conditions, to train local
technicians in installation and maintenance, to
demonstrate the green energy
technology and to promote commercial and
industrial co-operation in this
field, he said. Enditem
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006-07-27
FARM MANAGER REQUIRED
A farm manager
is wanted for a large commercial tobacco estate, Karoi north
area. The
position requires the management of 80 ha's irrigated & 80 ha's
dry land
tobacco, 250 ha's of commercial maize,10 - 30 ha's seed maize and
40 ha's
winter crops.
The successful candidate needs to have previous experience
in tobacco and
maize production. Farming diploma as well as mechanical and
/or electrical
knowledge would be an added advantage.
The successful
candidate is also expected to have strong HR skills to manage
a large work
force of at least 300 workers.
The farm Manager will report to the
General Manager of the Estate.
A competitive package with a generous
performance driven bonus is on offer.
Minimum contract period shall be 2
years but standard offer will be for 3
years. Good accommodation and other
related perks are also on offer.
Please send C.V. and references to wajetsi@hms.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
TOBACCO MANAGER REQUIRED URGENTLY
We
urgently require a highly motivated and capable Tobacco Manager to run
a
commercial unit near Harare. The successful applicant will be an
honest,
hard working person who is prepared to put everything into the
project to
ensure success.
Please contact Joe Pistorius on email: agrijoe@hms.co.zw or phone 091 251408
or
335465
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
WANTED Regional Sales Manager
We are looking
for a person in their 30's to aggressively sell Inverters for
our client.
The right candidate must have the following qualities:
* Hard core sales
*
Someone who is used to a "small office" set-up
* Ability to manage a team of
sales representatives at a later stage
* CV must show a strong sales
experience with a preference to 3 years at a
management level
* Ideal
candidates would have a background in
electrics/solar/electronics/FMGG/power
(battery)/IT sector
* The candidate should be aggressive, focused and result
oriented who can
build the market independently
* Main challenges are to
identify the right partners as distributors/dealers
and agents
* The role
will involve lots of travelling in Zimbabwe and Regionally. There
will be a
lot of international exposure.
* Very attractive salary and benefits on
offer
If you feel you have all the above experience and qualities, please
contact
Sarah to secure a place in the short listing. Sarah Vale Oxford
IT
CFU Agricultural House, Corner Adylinn Road and Marlborough
Drive,
Marlborough, Harare
Tel: 309855 - 60 (ext 23), Direct: 309274, Fax:
309351
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Ad
inserted 27 July 2006
Vacancy Offered - General Manager
Our
company is looking for someone to fill the vacancy below:
Company:
Associated Meat Packers, Harare
Industry: Beef Retail and
Wholesale
Position: General Manager.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB: The
position is required by the senior executive to
manage, plan and organize the
daily operations and activities of Associated
Meat Packers, Harare. The
objective of the General Manager is to be a direct
representative capable of
making sound business decisions on behalf of the
Managing Director whilst
operating AMP Harare as an individual strategic
business unit at a profit and
growing.
EXPERIENCE: The incumbent should have at least 5 years
experience in the
beef industry or related market(s) and have held a position
of
responsibility for a minimum of 3 years. Knowledge in export markets is
an
added advantage.
CONTACT: L. JONES on 04 797868 (Work)
or 091 408 881 (Mobile) for
more information and to arrange an interview.
Please deliver CV in a sealed
envelope to Associated Meat Packers, 1 Coventry
Rd, Workington, Harare -
Attention: Mr. L
Jones.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 3 August 2006
Cruise Vacancy