Zim Online
Sat 26
August 2006
HARARE - Senior officials of the two factions of
Zimbabwe's splintered
main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party gathered in South
Africa on Friday for what insiders said were
preliminary talks over
co-operation and possible reunion.
Tendai Biti, who is the secretary general of the larger faction of the
MDC
that is led by Morgan Tsvangirai, is leading his side's delegation,
while
the smaller faction of the opposition party headed by academic Arthur
Mutambara is being led in the talks by its secretary general, Welshman
Ncube, according to our sources.
But the sources said the talks
agenda was being kept a closely guarded
secret because the leaders from both
factions - who have bickered in public
like kindergarten kids, accusing each
of other of looting funds from donors
and of selling out to President Robert
Mugabe's government - were unsure how
their respective supporters would
react to news they were now considering
reuniting.
"There is
also a feeling that it may probably be too early to make
such talks public,
that it might be difficult to manage the situation once
it becomes a media
story," said a senior official with one of the MDC
factions.
In Harare, senior officials of the MDC
factions either professed
complete ignorance of the South Africa meeting or
played down its
significance, insisting it was merely to discuss the future
of a policy and
strategy institute the Zimbabwean opposition party had set
up in the
neighbouring country before its split.
Deputy
secretary general of the Mutambara faction, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga
confirmed the two sides were meeting but was adamant
that unity was
definitely not on the agenda.
She said: "Indeed there is a
delegation that will meet the Tsvangirai
(faction) people in South Africa
this weekend but the issue of unity is
definitely not on the
agenda.
"The discussions will centre on the Zimbabwe Institute that
we had set
up. It is a policy-making group that we had set up when we were
still
together. It is all about policy - we want to see if we can disband it
(the
institute) or find a way (to maintain it) now that we are
split."
Nelson Chamisa, who is the spokesman of the Tsvangirai
faction, said
he was not aware of a delegation from the group that was in
South Africa for
talks with the Mutambara faction.
"That is
actually news to me," said Chamisa, when asked about the
talks taking place
in South Africa. But he was quick to add that his side
would welcome unity
with all democratic forces committed to fighting the
(Mugabe)
dictatorship.
He added: "Unity with anyone is possible and as
Zimbabweans genuinely
committed to fighting the dictatorship, we would
welcome it very much. But
we have not started to talk about it (unity) yet.
When it is ripe, people
will not hear of it but they will see
it."
The MDC came closest to unseating Mugabe's government in
elections in
2000 and 2002, losing by narrow margins amid claims by local
and
international observers that the government rigged the ballot to
win.
The party split after failing to agree whether or not to
contest a
controversial senate election last year. But insiders and
independent
analysts say disagreement over the senate poll only helped bring
to the fore
major differences between party founder Tsvangirai and other
senior leaders
over how to unseat Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF
party.
The split greatly weakened the MDC and most political
analysts agree
that reunion could only help re-energise the party in its
drive to end
Mugabe's decades-old rule. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Sat 26
August 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's central bank on Friday extended the
deadline for
citizens to hand over old currency, however the grace period is
only meant
for the rural areas.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
govenor Gideon Gono told stakeholders and
journalists in Harare that the
extension was because some rural districts
were so remote and inaccessible
that many people there had failed to travel
to towns and other centres to
exchange their old money for new cash by the
change-over deadline earlier
this week.
"With effect from Monday, the 28th of August, 2006, Reserve
Bank teams will
revisit reported cases which were not fully covered in the
rural areas to
carry out a final mop up programme of the old bearer
cheques," said Gono,
who had to cut short an official trip to China to come
and take charge as
several problems threatened to derail the currency
switch.
"The mop-up programme will run through to end of day on Saturday
the 2nd of
September.
The RBZ gave Zimbabweans up to August 21 to hand in
old bearer cheques in
exchange for new ones as part of sweeping currency
reforms that also
included a 60 percent devaluation of the local dollar. The
new bearer
cheques have less zeroes after the central bank slashed three
zeroes from
every banknote as part of the currency reforms.
Bearer
cheques are promissory notes first introduced by the RBZ three years
ago at
the height of cash shortages in Zimbabwe. They are not official legal
tender
but are used in the same way as money.
Most people in urban areas and
nearby rural areas as well as the key the
banking industry were able to meet
the change-over deadline. But there were
thousands more, especially
villagers from remote parts of the country, who
stood to lose nearly all
their lifetime savings after failing to meet the
deadline because their
areas were inaccessible. - ZimOnline
IOL
August 25
2006 at 12:32PM
Harare - The Zimbabwean Army plans to go on a
massive recruitment
drive next year because veterans of the 1970s war of
independence are due to
retire from active service, reports said this
week.
Veterans of the guerrilla war that eventually ousted the
white
minority government and replaced it with President Robert Mugabe's
government in 1980 have comprised the highest-ranking officers in the army,
state television reported late Thursday.
Major-General
Engelbert Rugeje, a Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) chief
of staff, told
officers at a seminar in central Zimbabwe that there would be
a void that
has to be filled, the television report said.
"It is
with this in mind that the Zimbabwe National Army intends to
embark on a
massive recruitment exercise next year to beef up the lower
ranks of the
army and prepare those in the middle ranks for the hand-over,
take-over of
the leadership of the army," Rugeje was reported as saying.
In a
bid to make military service more attractive, the authorities are
also
promising to raise soldiers salaries to keep them in line with the
ever-rising cost of living and give them new uniforms, the report
said.
Soldiers last had their salaries upped at the end of April to
around
27 million Zimbabwe dollars a month (now worth only 108 US at the
official
exchange rate, much less at the parallel market rate).
The cash-strapped Zimbabwe Government appears to be splashing out on
the
defence forces.
Despite biting shortages of foreign currency that
often make it
difficult for Zimbabwe to import fuel and medicine, the
authorities have
already paid out $1,2-million to buy more than 100 vehicles
for top army
officials, according to the official Herald newspaper on
Friday.
The 127 Mazda vehicles were paid for with funds secured
from the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the newspaper said.
And
earlier this week, the authorities were reported to have bought
another six
jet fighters from China worth an estimated 20 million US each. -
Sapa-dpa
[ This report does not necessarily reflect the
views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 25 Aug 2006 (IRIN) -
Zimbabwe's government is blaming grain
millers for food shortages, while the
millers are laying the blame on
government's failure to supply them with
grain.
By law all grain harvested has to be delivered to the state-owned
Grain
Marketing Board (GMB), which then distributes it to millers. President
Robert Mugabe's government has repeatedly denied that the country was facing
food shortages, but the mathematics suggest otherwise.
Zimbabwe's
annual cereal requirement is about 1,923,390 tonnes. The United
Nations Food
and Agriculture Organisation estimate for maize production in
the 2005/06
agricultural season was 1.2 million tonnes, with Zimbabwe's
Central
Statistical Office predicting that plot-farmers would harvest about
328,300
tonnes, a total of 1,528,300 tonnes, leaving a deficit of 395,000
tonnes.
GMB chief executive officer Samuel Muvhuti said they still
expected at least
900,000 tonnes of grain from farmers, but refused to
reveal how much had
been delivered to date, while the state media reported
recently that the GMB
had so far only managed to collect 220,000 tonnes of
maize.
THERE IS NO MAIZE
Millers said the failure by the marketing
board to supply grain was causing
acute maizemeal shortages in the second
city of Bulawayo, and the semi-arid
provinces of Matabeleland North and
South.
"I have rummaged through the city in the past three days looking
for
maizemeal, but to no avail. I am really worried, because our supplies as
a
family are fast running out," said Bulawayo resident Lizwe
Dube.
Head of the Grain Millers Association (GMA) in Bulawayo,
Thembinkosi Ndlovu,
told IRIN: "For the past two weeks we have not been
allocated maize by the
GMB and, as a result, have not been able to produce
maizemeal. The truth of
the matter is that there is no maize."
Themba
Sibanda, a medium-scale farmer in the north, said he was withholding
his
produce "in case there are permanent shortages."
Muvhuti has ordered an
investigation into allegations of corruption at the
marketing board, and
accused grain millers of trading on the parallel
market. However, he
acknowledged that there were problems with imports from
South African-based
maize suppliers, which were being held up at the border.
Between April last
year and March this year, Zimbabwe imported more than
900,000 tonnes of
maize to close the food shortage gap.
A GMA official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, said "the maizemeal
shortages are not a surprise
development at all because the GMB has no
grain; government even knows that.
We have been to many parts of the
country, including the rural areas, and we
have discovered that there is
nothing in the shops - actually, some have not
been able to get any
deliveries from millers in the past three
weeks."
GOVERNMENT IS BANKRUPT
Eddie Cross, a policy adviser and
economist for the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party,
said grain delays at the border were related
to outstanding debts owed to
suppliers, including countries such as
Argentina and South Africa.
Zimbabwe's total external debt amounts to about
US$5.5 billion.
"The
government is bankrupt, and corrupt employees at GMB are taking the
little
that comes in," Cross alleged. "Hard-pressed Zimbabweans are relying
100
percent on the black market for basic foodstuffs, which the government
cannot buy. By blaming the millers for the shortage, government has again
resorted to its scape-goating tactics. Zimbabweans know that the problem is
with the government and the GMB."
Zimbabwe is experiencing an
economic meltdown, with unemployment in excess
of 70 percent and inflation
hovering at 1,000 percent annually.
MDC shadow minister for agriculture
Renson Gasela, a former GMB general
manager, said the situation was being
compounded by government's refusal to
acknowledge that there was a food
crisis.
"The government misled the humanitarian community when it
predicted harvests
of more than 1.8 tonnes; now they cannot admit to the
crisis. There is no
bumper harvest - in fact, farmers have delivered less
than 750,000 tonnes to
the GMB," said Gasela. "There is nothing more coming
so we have to survive
on imports, but we cannot secure them without hard
currency. Government has
accumulated huge debts - no one wants to trade on
terms with Zimbabwe
because of the GMB's record of erratic
payment."
According to the latest food security analysis by the United
States-based
Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET), poor families
were facing a
deepening, multifaceted food crisis.
"Poor urban
households and rural households in staple cereal deficit areas
are likely to
face serious difficulties in accessing food, due to the
ever-rising cost of
living in general, and the escalating costs of food in
particular. A
significant proportion of rural and urban households dependent
on the market
for their food do not earn enough to purchase the minimum
basket. The
minimum monthly wage rate for the commercial sector in June
could only cover
about 40 percent of the total cost of the minimum food
basket for June
2006," the report said.
The situation is set to worsen. "Food insecurity
is likely to deteriorate
again as the hunger season peaks between September
2006 and January 2007,
especially in cereal deficit areas," FEWSNET
said.
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Gideon Gono
INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
1. Ladies and Gentlemen, it will be recalled that we had
several
meetings in this room and outside to deliberate on the issue of
ZEROES.
2. We had several meetings in and out of this room to
debate on the
way forward regarding our currency denominations, our computer
digital
capacities and the inconvenience associated with carrying too much
cash
around.
3. At one of the large meetings here, stakeholders
urged the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe to take a leadership role in dealing with
this matter,
raising the matter from yellow to a red flag in terms of
national
priorities.
4. Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me
a great sense of national
pride to share with you my Report on the interim
review of the
implementation of Project Sunrise - Zuva Rabuda - Ilanga
Seliphumile which
has been part and parcel of our daily lives since I
presented my Monetary
Policy Statement on 31 July, 2006.
5. I wish
to say upfront that taken as a whole, the unprecedented and
much needed
Project Sunrise which has seen the replacement of the old bearer
notes with
a new user friendly and economically convenient family of bearer
cheques has
been a resounding national success for which all Zimbabweans
must be proud
for having played their part positively.
6. This is particularly
significant because the whole effort was
planned and undertaken as a truly
home grown and home driven national
initiative without any external
help.
7. However, looking back, many in the nation will testify to
the fact
that the surprise policy announcement I made on that day signaling
the
momentous transformation from our previous bearer notes which had become
too
cumbersome to carry and which had become a major risk to many of us, was
greeted with mixed emotions depending on whether or not one was operating
their own "illegal mini central bank" out there, something which was
becoming the unacceptable norm.
8. As with any pioneering
national initiative with far reaching reform
implications designed to alter
and ameliorate people's socio-economic life
for the better, Project Sunrise
predictably met with doomsday prophecies of
impending failure, looming chaos
in the financial and banking sectors and
even imminent so-called cash riots
in the streets.
9. Other ill-wishers amongst us went as far as
vowing to do everything
in their power to reverse what they dismissively
labeled as "this ill-timed,
ill-planned and logistically impossible wishful
project".
10. The skeptics of Project Sunrise, many who now also
happen to be
sworn enemies of our ongoing comprehensive economic turnaround
efforts, had
a number of negative questions including the
following:
How will the Governor and his team cover the breath and
depth of
this vast country in 21 days?
Will they have
sufficient new currency to replace the trillions of
the former bearer
cheques circulating out there?
Who will print the new bearer
cheques for them?
Where will they get the transport,
communication and organizational
resources needed to mount such an
unprecedented project?
And how will they manage alone without
technical support or backup
from the IMF, the World Bank or some developed
countries with proven
experience in similar projects?
Are the
planners of this project sane people?
11. Yet some others with
diminished self-esteem wondered how the
banking and financial sectors would
deal with the technological challenges
associated with all the required
computer software adjustments and whether
there was adequate foreign
currency needed for that necessary purpose.
12. Others thought
Project Sunrise was a big self-indulgent experiment
into chaos, disaster and
assured oblivion.
13. There were some who boasted that the Governor
and his team would
not get the necessary political will and buy in and these
prayed in
disillusionment for some forces to prevail on the Governor to stop
the train
of the necessary currency reform before what was seen as
inevitable disaster
for the nation.
14. Given the national
magnitude of the Project, I believe these and
related sentiments of
detractors and other skeptics were in fact well-meant
as products of genuine
anxiety about the prospects of successfully mounting
an unprecedented
exercise such as we have seen over the last three weeks.
15. The
sentiments of the skeptics and detractors revealed genuine
concerns about
our ability as a nation to undertake and execute such a
project for the
first time in Zimbabwe's history on our own without external
support.
16. Perhaps the skeptics and detractors will find some
solace in the
confirmation that indeed, the Governor and his team at the
Central Bank
shared the expressed concerns and anxiety., with the difference
that he and
his team relied on one crucial and yet often ignored factor in
human
affairs. our trust in the will of God.
17. We reasoned
that if, as we believed, God is on our side in this
Project, particularly
given the sincerity of our planning efforts and the
purity of our
intentions, underpinned by the resilience and the
never-say-die spirit of
our liberators who through their blood, sweat, tears
and effort, coined the
phrase that "we are our own liberators", none of the
projected chaos and
collapse would ever see the light of day in a thousand
years.
18. It was this deep-seated faith and belief in ourselves as
Zimbabweans and
the constant flow of inspiring words and supportive deeds
from the majority
in our nation that kept us going and working hard to the
call of
duty.
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE ENCOUNTERS
19. But of course
we did encounter inevitable challenges and
stakeholder misunderstandings
along the way. We also met with
understandable reluctance on the part of
some stakeholders to take the
plunge into what to them was an unknown
abyss.
20. At the extreme end, we met with fierce resistance,
brick-bats,
name calling and came face to face with naked personal hatred,
smear
campaigns through the rumour mill and physical-harm as well as death
threats
directed at the person of your Governor and his team from a number
of
unusual quarters some of which should know and do better.
21. Needless to say, we took all this in our strides, guided by the
sincerity of our plans and the purity of our objectives without any
prejudice whatsoever.
22. As was witnessed by the nation on
various occasions, we also met
with incredible national excitement,
patriotic enthusiasm and encouraging
cheers from the man and woman in the
street who has shouldered the greatest
burden of the difficult circumstances
in our economic environment.
HUMBLED.
23. We were
particularly humbled and inspired by the encouragement and
public support
from His Excellency President R. G. Mugabe and our two
Vice-Presidents Cdes.
Joseph Msika and Amai Joice Mujuru.
24. We also received
immeasurable support from our Veterans of the
Liberation War, leaders and
members of Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU), Zimbabwe Federation of
Trade Unions (ZFTU) and Farmer Organisations,
the Zimbabwe Republic Police,
the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the security
arms of the state, the
Ministers of Finance and Economic Development Dr.
Herbert Murerwa and Cde.
Rugare Gumbo respectively, the entire Cabinet,
legislators, House of
Assembly Speaker Cde. John Nkomo and President of the
Senate Cde. Edna
Madzongwe and their respective staff.
25. We received untold
support and messages of encouragement from
teachers, nurses and doctors,
civil servants, political parties, students
and civic organizations across
the country.
26. There were also touching prayers from various
religious faiths and
volumes of both Christian and Islamic readings to guide
and strengthen our
professional resolve to do the right thing during and
beyond the 21 days of
the first phase of Project Sunrise.
27.
We also received words of encouragement and support from the
diplomatic
community stationed in Zimbabwe and from some of Zimbabwe's own
diplomats
and staff based outside the country. Many Zimbabweans in the
Diaspora were
very supportive of the objectives of Project Sunrise and our
efforts in
realizing them.
28. Critical to the success of our efforts, we
received decisive
support from key stakeholders and partners who included
the Bankers
Association of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Computer Society,
Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce (ZNCC),
Chamber of Mines, Retailers Association of Zimbabwe,
academics and many
other business entities and organizations too numerous to
mention by name.
29. The support which was also received from the
Chief Secretary to
the President and Cabinet Dr. J. M. Sibanda and his
staff, the entire NEDPP,
its committees and structures, the Department of
Anti-Corruption in the
Office of the President and Cabinet , the
Anti-Corruption Commission, ZIMRA,
the Ministry of Home Affairs, State
Security, the Ministry of Youth and
Employment Creation, the Department of
Policy Implementation in the Office
of the President and Cabinet as well as
the entire Government and Private
Sector machinery, is much
appreciated.
30. My Commendations would be incomplete if I omit the
entire team of
Gary Thompson and Associates for their rare level of
creativity, commitment
and professionalism in discharging their critical
roles throughout the
preparatory and implementation stages of the
programme. I also wish to
thank all Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe staff for
their unfailing passion
throughout the whole programme.
31. Our
outreach efforts were greatly assisted and even improved by
the support and
constructive criticism that we received from the electronic,
print and web
based media.
32. We are most grateful for this because we genuinely
value the role
of the media in currency reform and we therefore look forward
to future
similar and even better mutual collaboration with the
media.
33. No turnaround can be successfully executed without the
media
playing its constructive role of informing, criticizing, cheering and
arguing from different standpoints.
MANY LESSONS
LEARNT.
34. The implementation of Project Sunrise over the last three
weeks
has also provided us with some important lessons that we have learnt.
Naturally, some have been positive while others negative. While there is no
need to list those lessons here, I want to assure the nation that our
institutional databank will store all the lessons learnt as active reference
material for future policy reform operations.
35. Against this
backdrop I wish to once again thank and salute the
nation for smoothly
migrating from the old to the new family of bearer notes
and for the
understanding and patience you showed as you encountered the
rough edges of
our policy strategy, especially in those instances which we
had not
anticipated.
36. One such rough edge was the inconvenience of
numerous road-block
searches and the occasional misunderstandings that
occurred there.
37. Whatever bad experiences that some of you
experienced at those
roadblocks while our teams were carrying out their
lawful duties, we
sincerely apologize unreservedly. Those unfortunate
mishaps, which form
part of the lessons we have learnt, vividly reminded us
yet again that it is
indeed true, after all, that quite often, good things
have some temporary
hurtful consequences.
UNRETURNED OLD BEARER
CHEQUES.
38. Out of about $45 trillion (old values) currency that was
in
circulation at the time of launching Project Sunrise, a total of $35
trillion (old values) was accounted for through re-banking/withdrawal into
the Reserve Bank coffers, leaving a balance of $10 trillion(old values)
which has been trapped into the wilderness of underground markets either
inside the country or doing overtime outside our borders. This represents
22% of our currency that is missing from our radar.
39. The
period under review also netted a total of 9 320 cases with a
value of $1,4
trillion (old values) whose owners could not satisfactorily
account for this
money as at the close of business on 21 August, 2006.
40.
Anti-Money Laundering laws will be involved and those unable to
acquit
themselves will face the full wrath of the law. In the meantime,
such funds
are locked up in Zero-Coupon Anti-Money Laundering bonds doing
national
service to the country.
CASH TRADING
41. I also wish to
take this opportunity to warn major cash movers,
such as wholesalers and
supermarkets that the strengthened Anti-Money
Laundering operations of the
Reserve Bank will clamp down on those who are
bent on fuelling the parallel
market through trading of cash to speculators
against cheques at
discounts.
WAY FORWARD: IMMEDIATE
42. The nation will
recall that I mentioned during the initial phase
of the implementation of
Project Sunrise that as your Governor I would, with
my team, keep our ears
on the ground to receive and consider exceptional
circumstances deserving of
further accommodation in the event they are not
covered during the
designated 21 days.
43. Accordingly, and in consideration of
Special Cases that have been
brought to my attention by legislators,
provincial governors, trade union
leaders, the clergy, the elderly, some
disabled members of society, teachers
in rural areas, traditional leaders
led by our chiefs and media houses, we
are pleased as Monetary Authorities
to open a Special Window of extended
accommodation only for the rural,
outlying, areas.
44. Given the fact that some outlying areas that
are remote were
inaccessible during the currency changeover period, with the
implementation
teams having to filter through into those areas sometimes on
foot; and also
due to the unavailability of electricity in some rural
centers which limited
the speed of the counting of cash notes and prevented
extension of daily
working hours into the night, the following accommodation
measures will be
implemented for the rural areas.
(a) With
effect from Monday, the 28th of August, 2006, Reserve Bank
teams will
revisit reported cases which were not fully covered in the rural
areas to
carry out a final Mop up Program of the old bearer cheques.
(b) The
Mop up Program will run through to end of day on Saturday the
2nd of
September, 2006.
(c) This Mop-up Program, which has also been
necessitated by the
unfortunate continued re-injection of old bearer notes
to the rural
communities by some institutional players, such as the Grain
Marketing Board
and some Cotton buyers, will be strictly restricted to the
rural areas only.
45. In order to guard against any attempts by
fraudsters and other
criminal elements in our midst that may want to take
advantage of this
well-meaning accommodation of special cases in the rural
areas, the Reserve
Bank teams will be under strict instructions to
scrutinize and verify
authenticity of the source of funds in cases of all
high value exchanges
(that is in cases of amounts that are higher than $100
million (old value
per individual).
ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF
PAYMENT
46. As the Central Bank, we call upon the banking sector to
redouble
current efforts meant to deepen the use of alternative means of
payment,
such as debit and credit cards.
47. Already the
Reserve Bank is in partnership with suppliers of point
of sale (POS)
machines for them to supply these gadgets of convenience to
smoothen the
interface between our banks and the world of trade and
commerce, into
cash-free platforms.
ACCESSIBILITY OF BANKING FACILITIES
48. As Monetary Authorities, the intensive and comprehensive
implementation
of Project Sunrise over the last three weeks brought us to
the rude
awakening to the reality that the majority of our people in the
rural areas
do not have access to basic banking services.
49. For example, in
some administrative provinces ordinary people have
to travel at least 100km
to get to the nearest banking facility.
50. This rather shocking
reality has impelled your Central Bank to
immediately design a comprehensive
Rural Banking Developmental Programme to
close this yawning deficiency in
our national financial system in the
interests of the majority of our
people.
51. Policy details of this urgent intervention, which is
expected to
take effect within the next two or so months will be made public
in due
course.
52. In the meantime, as Monetary Authorities, we
call upon the banking
industry to expand their corporate social
responsibility programmes to
include the imperative of developing rural
banking as a priority issue.
53. As a Central Bank, we stand ready
to play a pivotal and supportive
role in that endeavour.
WAY
FORWARD: MEDIUM TERM (PROJECT SUNRISE 2)
54. As I mentioned in my
midterm monetary review statement on July 31,
2006, the aspect of Project
Sunrise implemented over the last three weeks
was only the first phase of
currency reforms to be undertaken by the
Monetary Authorities.
55. A sequel is in the offing but I cannot give further details save
to
emphasize that there is definitely going to be a follow up phase. Next
time
round, the implementation process will be short and, therefore swift.
It
will require less than 24 hours notice and will have much tighter cash
limits for allowable deposits.
56. In this regard, everyone,
especially those who are now threatening
to bring back the banished zeroes
through whatever devious means they have
in mind, should be guided
accordingly.
57. Otherwise, like the rest of the nation, we as
Monetary Authorities
are only too aware that the Adventure of the Sun is the
greatest natural
drama that God has created for us as Zimbabweans to live
by. It is our God
given opportunity to have joy in this adventure, to share
in it and to have
awe of it. For these reasons, the Monetary Authorities
are determined to
ensure the full success of all the phases of Project
Sunrise.
58. I once again thank and salute you all, gallant sons
and daughters
of this great country we all love and call,
Zimbabwe!
59. Lets meet when Project Sunrise 2 is
launched!
DR. G. GONO
GOVERNOR
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Toridza Ngoma
HARARE - The Ministry
of Energy and Power Development has ignored the
Reserve Bank Governor,
Gideon Gono's, recent monetary policy review
statement in which he announced
the end of preferential treatment of new
farmers in fuel
allocation.
New farmers who comprise mostly of Zanu PF officials
and top civil
servants have been getting fuel at the subsidised price of
Zd$11 a litre,
while the market value of fuel stands at Z$620 a litre. Gono
had hoped to
stop rampant corruption in which most of the beneficiaries
would get large
quantities of the cheap fuel and sell it on the black market
instead of
using it for farming.
Zimbabwe has been experiencing
serious food shortages since President
Robert Mugabe introduced his chaotic
land reform programme in 2000.
According to a well-placed source,
the Ministry of Energy and Power
Development, which is headed by retired
Major General Mike Nyambuya, has
resumed the processing of application forms
for the subsidised fuel. He said
this is in total disregard of Gono's new
policy. The source said the
processing of the application forms was being
done so secretly that only a
few privileged A2 farmers would benefit as the
majority were unaware if the
resumption of the scheme.
During
the last farming season several top Zanu PF and government
officials were
arrested for selling the cheap fuel on the black market, but
because of
their political connections, the cases have since been swept
under the
carpet. "It is most likely the same people who are going to
benefit from the
secret resumption of the scheme because of their close ties
with the Who is
Who of government and Zanu PF," the source said.
"The withdrawal of
the subsidised fuel did not go down well with most
government and Zanu PF
officials, and they have pushed the ministry to
resume the scheme without
Gono's approval," said the source. The scheme has
been running since 2004,
but most of those benefiting from the scheme have
nothing to show for it in
terms of agricultural production.
Most people, particularly the
business community, had welcomed Gono's
decision to scrap the preferential
allocation of fuel, citing rampant abuse
of the scheme. Gono could not be
contacted for comment yesterday.
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Bill Saidi
IN the South
African soap, Generations, now enjoying a rerun on ZTV,
the investigative
reporter Scotch Mazibuko, is portrayed as a thoroughly
nasty character. He
is a sort of "pen for hire", willing to defile anyone's
character - for the
right price.
In earlier episodes of our own soap opera, Studio 263,
the
reporter-turned-PR, was portrayed as a journalist of such dubious
integrity
most of us gritted our teeth in fury every time he
appeared.
There are bad eggs among journalists - as there are among
Catholic
popes, Protestant bishops, Buddhist monks, schoolteachers,
university
professors of political science, spin doctors, medical doctors,
brain
surgeons - and politicians, including prime ministers and
presidents.
In US political history, Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon's
vice-president
during his explosive Watergate tenure, said this about
journalists, among
other perceived "enemies" of the Nixon
administration:
"(The media) are an effete corps of impudent snobs, a
tiny fraternity
of privileged men elected by no one and enjoying a monopoly
sanctioned and
licensed by the government. They are nattering nabobs of
negativism."
Agnew stepped down amid allegations involving
kickbacks when he was
the governor of the small state of Maryland.
Investigative reporters alleged
he was still taking kickbacks even as
vice-president.
Agnew vehemently denied any wrong-doing, but he
resigned in 1973,
almost a year before his boss, facing impeachment, stepped
down too.
In Zimbabwe, there has not been such high-profile
resignations arising
from corruption. This is absolutely amazing,
considering the many speeches
during which President Robert Mugabe has
railed against his unnamed
colleagues over corruption.
A few years
ago, he became quite detailed: he said he knew some of
them were receiving
"ten percent" of the money of every contract signed for
their
ministry.
It is perfectly understandable for most of us, as
journalists, to
believe that Mugabe knows the names of his colleagues who
are as rotten as
the garbage mounting in Harare streets as the commission
headed by Sekesayi
Makwavarara, itself accused of high crimes of corruption,
neglects the
capital in favour of enriching themselves.
Mugabe has
lately been quite vocal on the subject.
It was largely through this
concern that the government instituted the
Anti-Corruption Commission:
later, they all seemed to develop cold feet.
For many people, this
commission is a dead duck. Its members were
pictured on television,
descending purposefully on Town House in Harare,
ostensibly to get to the
bottom of charges that the commission was steeped
in corruption of one kind
or another.
Months have elapsed since that sensational footage was
shown on TV.
Still, Makwavarara, and the rest of the commissioners alleged
to be smeared
with the dirt of graft, are still in power.
At
the Heroes Acre burial of Josiah Tungamirai, Mugabe spoke of the
former Air
Force Commander's honesty: when Tungamirai was in financial
problems, he
went to the government or to the leaders, to ask for help.
Mugabe said
other leaders didn't do that: they engaged in illicit gold
deals,
instead.
Early this week, the police formed a Gold Squad or a special
unit
assigned to the specific task of investigating illegal dealings in the
precious metal, once a glorious foreign exchange earner of the
country.
The ceremony was graced by Innocent Matibiri, on behalf of
Augustine
Chihuri, the long-serving commissioner of police, whose health is
not what
it used to be a few years ago.
A few weeks ago,
speaking at a ceremony involving the police, the
Vice-President, the often
plain-speaking Joyce Mujuru, condemned corrupt
police officers. There are
many corrupt police officers,, some of them in
the heavyweight division, as
the police themselves officially acknowledged
during Gideon Gono's
much-ballyhooed "Sunrise" operation - the lopping off
of three zeroes from
our anaemic currency.
Some of the people colluding with smugglers
of billions of old bearer
cheques were senior police officers, a number of
them caught, if not on live
TV, then red-handed.
Clearly, there
are not many citizens you can trust today. The parlous
state of the economy
has bred in many people this recklessness, which makes
them believe that,
throughout the country, nobody gives a damn about honesty
or making an
honest living.
Sadly, because of the mountainous restrictions on
the freedom of the
press, investigative journalism has been given very
little opportunity to
delve into this pit of iniquity and unearth the rot
that has become the norm
in Zimbabwean life.
Some observers of
the media landscape in the country recall with
chilling poignancy the
decision by the government to set up the Zimbabwe
Mass Media Trust, as a
front for its effective emasculation of the
independent media. The first
editors of the flagship newspaper of the
Zimbabwe Newspapers conglomerate,
The Herald, were all Zanu PF zealots: in
one or two instances, they loudly
proclaimed their distaste of any
journalism that "promoted imperialism" by
rubbishing "the government of the
people".
In essence, this
translated into what Willie Musarurwa called
"sunshine journalism", which
would not indulge in the "shameless
sensationalism" of highlighting the
corruption among high-profile
politicians.
In fact, it was not
until the Willowgate scandal of 1988 that the
official government newspapers
decided they could publish stories on
corruption without getting
fired.
Geoff Nyarota was not fired from Zimpapers for his sterling
work in
Willowgate. He was kicked upstairs, to a job which Mugabe said "paid
more
money".
The control of the media in Zimbabwe is definitely
not unrelated to
the placing of a heavy lid on all attempts by enterprising,
intrepid
journalists to investigate corruption in high places in the
country.
It is not too sensational to suggest that both the Access
to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order
and
Security Act (POSA) were designed to muzzle the media in their attempts
to
tell the true story of Zimbabwe, as it is, and not as we are told The
Southern Times, edited jointly by government editors in Zimbabwe and
Namibia, is trying to do.
In some ways, Mugabe is hoist with
his own petard: unless he is
willing to accommodate a truly free media, he
may never be able to tackle
corruption in high places to the applause of all
people, including some of
his severest critics in the media.
Zimbabwe is the only former member of the Central African federation
which
has not allowed a truly free and vibrant independent media to
thrive.
In Zambia and Malawi, there are is such a proliferation of
independent
newspapers, radio and TV stations, the former dictators who
controlled them
after the end of federation in 1963, must be turning in
their graves or
burning with envy, in the case of one of them who is still
living.
Zimbabwe continues to be the delinquent member of the
Southern African
Development Community (Sadc) because that organization can
now be confirmed
as mutual admiration society.
If the Sadc
fraternity was as intolerant of a controlled media and
manipulated elections
as its earlier declarations have indicated in the
past, then Zimbabwe should
have been publicly censored.
There was no such censure at the recent
summit in Lesotho. It was all
"buddy buddy", even if some inside sources
hinted at a session during which
Mugabe was carpeted by his
colleagues.
Yet hope must spring eternal for the people of
Zimbabwe. In many
countries on the continent, the prospects of a free media
were always
remote. In the early years of independence, from Ghana to
Lesotho itself,
the norm was an entirely state-controlled media. Today, what
has happened in
the former Zaire, after the fall of Mobutu Sese-Seko, could
not have been
imagined at the height of the former colonel's
reign.
True, the recent elections ended inconclusively and there
has been
violence between rival candidates. All of this has been reported
fully by
the independent newspapers, radio and TV stations that would never
have been
imagined during Mobutu's time.
Zimbabweans must believe
that, sooner or later, it will their turn too
to entrust the fight against
intolerance and corruption to a free media.
Cape Argus
August 25, 2006
Cash-strapped Zimbabwe has
paid out US$1.2 million to buy more than
100 vehicles for top army
officials.
The 127 Mazda vehicles were paid for with funds secured
from the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the state-controlled Herald newspaper
reported.
Secretary for Defence Trust Maposa said the defence forces aimed
to buy
another 197 vehicles for its staff, including 10 luxury Prados, the
paper
reported.
Zimbabwe is facing a severe foreign
currency crunch that often makes
the importation of basic commodities like
fuel and medicines difficult.
Earlier this week, the authorities in
Zimbabwe were reported to have
bought another six jet fighters from China
worth an estimated US$20 million
each. - Sapa-dpa
IOL
August 25
2006 at 06:47PM
Harare - A United Nations-run humanitarian centre
to cater for the
thousands of illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe deported from
South Africa
each week was officially opened on Friday.
Senior
officials from Harare and Pretoria attended the ceremony at the
Beit Bridge
centre on the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
"When the
deportees get to the centre they will get everything they
need, be it
medication or assistance to return to their homes," Zimbabwe's
Home Affairs
Minister Kembo Mohadi told AFP by phone from the bordertown of
Beit Bridge,
582km south of the capital.
"They (deportees) are screened by
immigration and the police stationed
at the centre to look for criminals or
fugitives whom might have run away
from justice."
South African authorities deported more than 51 000 Zimbabweans who
had
illegally crossed the border in the first six months of the year
alone.
Officials say around two million Zimbabweans have crossed
over to
South Africa amid a seven-year economic crisis, characterised by
high
unemployment and inflation running at around 1 000
percent.
The centre, which will be managed by the UN's
International
Organisation for Migration (IOM), is also designed to help
Zimbabweans
seeking employment in South Africa obtain legal documents,
according to
officials.
South Africa's Labour Minister
Membathisi Mdladlana said in a
statement that the centre would stop illegal
immigrants being exploited by
"unscrupulous employers" and was designed to
"source labour legally".
IOM spokeswoman Nicola Simmonds said her
organisation was currently
assisting more than 300 deportees a
day.
"At the centre we will be giving medical assessment,
transportation
home for them (deportees), meals, food to take home, whatever
they want,"
she told AFP.
Illegal migrants from Zimbabwe often
work in teams to try to cross
into South Africa, joining hands to wade
across the crocodile-infested
Limpopo River on Zimbabwe's southern
border.
UN aid agencies estimate that more than four million people
out of a
population of 13 million are in need of food aid in Zimbabwe, once
southern
Africa's breadbasket and an agriculture powerhouse.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, who is trying to meanwhile
resolve a
political crisis in Zimbabwe, has come under fire from critics for
his
so-called policy of "quiet diplomacy" towards President Robert
Mugabe.
Mbeki has so far not criticised the octogenarian leader who
has led
Zimbabwe since it gained independence from Britain in 1980 and is
branded a
repressive leader by critics. - Sapa-AFP
Stuff, New Zealand
26 August 2006
HARARE: Zimbabwe's government has closed down
30 restaurants, lodges and
suspected brothels in Harare in a crackdown on
unlicensed businesses as part
of a drive to boost its depressed tourism
industry, officials said on
Friday.
The once buoyant tourism
sector has collapsed in the face of a crumbling
economy, chronic fuel
shortages and concerns about reports of lawlessness in
rural
areas.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive Karikoga Kaseke
said the
southern African country was working to lure foreign and domestic
visitors
to its tourist sites - including the famous Victoria Falls - and
was
cleaning up the sector.
"We are going after facilities that are
not fully licensed and registered
with the ZTA, and that is why we have
closed down some 30 facilities here in
Harare, including some suspected
brothels," Kaseke said on Zimbabwe
television.
"Brothels are illegal,
and we have restaurants and lodges which have ignored
our many appeals over
the last few months to register their operations," he
said.
Kaseke
was speaking on a news programme which also showed a scantily-dressed
young
woman sitting on a bed with a pile of condoms in one of the closed
brothels.
Environment and Tourism Minister Francis Nhema also told
ZTV the government
had launched the crackdown to protect the country's high
tourism standards.
Zimbabwe's tourism attractions include one of Africa's
largest elephant
populations and spectacular scenery.
Government critics
say the industry has been badly hurt by President Robert
Mugabe's policies
including his seizures of white-owned farms for
redistribution to
blacks.
Mugabe says Zimbabwe's economy is a victim of sabotage by
domestic and
Western opponents angry over his nationalist policies aimed at
empowering
the black majority.
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
25 August 2006
11:06
The authorities in Zimbabwe have threatened defiant
fuel dealers
who have refused to cut fuel prices in line with a government
directive, it
was reported on Friday.
State radio said
the dealers who are selling fuel for prices of
up to 1 000 new Zimbabwe
dollars ($4 at the official exchange rate) per
litre, instead of the
gazetted Z$320 a litre for diesel and Z$335 for
petrol, would face legal
action.
Energy Secretary Justin Mupamhanga says the fuel
dealers had
previously agreed to the new government prices and were merely
profiteering,
the official Herald newspaper reports.
"People sat down and agreed and made a publication [on the new
fuel price].
For them now to ask me saying we cannot sell at this price ...
I do not
think this is fair," Mupamhanga was reported as saying.
The
sticking point appears to be the different values for hard
currency in
Zimbabwe.
President Robert Mugabe's government has pegged the
value of one
US dollar at Z$250 but on the widely used parallel market, the
greenback
fetches around Z$600.
But fuel dealers say they
are not being allocated foreign
currency by the government to import the
precious commodity and have to use
their own hard cash.
Already drivers are finding it difficult to buy fuel as many
fuel stations
are refusing to sell to individuals, preferring to deal with
companies who
may be able to pay, albeit illegally, in hard cash.
Analysts
have predicted another round of serious fuel shortages
because of the price
dispute.
In July, Zimbabwe lopped three zeros off its
currency to deal
with hyperinflation of 1 200%. - Sapa-DPA
SABC
August
25, 2006, 16:30
The role of Benjamin Mkapa, the former Tanzanian
president, as
mediator in the Zimbabwe-Britain diplomatic row, seems headed
for collapse.
Britain does not recognise him as a mediator, and despite
giving Mkapa
its blessing, the UN has failed to clarify his
role.
Two months ago, there was hope that the intervention of Kofi
Annan,
the UN secretary general, in Zimbabwe could address the strained
relations
between Tony Blair, the British prime minister, and Robert Mugabe,
the
Zimbabwean president.
It was agreed that Mkapa was the
right man for the job, but nothing
has happened subsequently.
Britain denies problems between the two countries
Paul Mangwana, the
Zimbabwean acting information minister, says
Britain denies there is a
problem with relations between the two countries.
Mugabe is on
record as accusing the British government of mobilising
against any
financial aid and investment in Zimbabwe and instigating
European Union
sanctions against his government.
Mugabe has even stated that
Zimbabwe's fuel supplies are being
diverted by British
agents.
By Violet
Gonda
25 August 2006
Pamela Tungamirai, wife of the late
Josiah Tungamirai, has claimed in
a memoriam advertisement published in the
Herald that her husband was killed
with potato chips laced with
poison.
The late Air Vice Marshall and Minister for Black
Empowerment and
Indigenisation died after being flown to South Africa in
August last year
for emergency treatment. It was reported at the time that
Tungamirai had
been having problems with the rejection of a kidney
transplant.
But a year later on the first anniversary of his death,
Tungamirai's
wife took the unusual step of claiming in an advertisement that
her husband
died after eating poisoned french fries (chips).
She wrote in an apparent eulogy: "What gives me relief are the obvious
signs
of hell on earth for all those who had a hand in the lacing of poison
on
those fresh chips you ate, and brought home the remains, and told me all
that resulted in your immediate illness leading to your death. Vengeance is
mine! Praise the Lord! I am sure you have found your rightful place on his
side, and may your soul rest in peace."
Confirming these
allegations on SW Radio Africa Mrs Tungamirai said
her husband fell sick
after he had eaten half a pack of chips which had been
bought for him by his
driver on his way back home from a political meeting.
She said: "Straight
after eating them, all the way - can you imagine an
adult stopping by the
roadside pouring diarrhoea on the roadside and
throwing up?"
Although she did not accuse anyone in particular, Mrs Tungamirai said
she
suspects family members were involved. She has also had a legal clash
with a
senior figure in the government since her husband's death. And the
fact that
the advert was published in the national government controlled
newspaper has
given rise to even more speculation. Was this an editorial
oversight or is
Mrs Tungamirai's claim part of a high level power play
within Zanu
PF?
Since her husband's death Mrs Tungamirai has been embroiled in
a legal
battle with retired army general Solomon Mujuru and her two step
sons Thomas
and Tawanda over the estate.
General Mujuru - a
close friend of the late army commander - is siding
with Tungamirai's sons
over the control of Tungamirai's house in Harare and
a farm in Darwendale.
The master of the High Court has appointed Tungamirai's
wife and Mujuru as
co-executors of the will but the court is yet to rule.
The widow
told us she was going to institute an inquiry into her
husband's death but
"unfortunately people have delayed me because of this
inheritance,
administration thing. They have been delaying and arguing
because there was
no will so it has taken the whole year."
She said it has always
been important for her to establish who was
behind this as it couldn't have
been the driver, saying he was only a
messenger. Pamela Tungamirai, herself
a war veteran, former Member of
Parliament for Tafara / Mabvuku and a ZANU
PF central committee member, said
unfortunately the driver had also died
before she could start the inquiries.
Josiah Tungamirai (born
Thomas Mberikwazvo) was the ZANLA chief
political commissar during the war
of liberation. He became a brigadier in
the newly formed Zimbabwe National
Army after independence and in 1982 he
was given command of the air force.
In line with Mugabe's policy of having
senior soldiers active in the ruling
party he appointed Tungamirai to the 40
member politburo as secretary for
youth affairs. On retirement he was
brought into Parliament and the Cabinet.
He was on the "targeted sanctions"
list of prominent regime
supporters.
Mugabe made unsuccessful attempts to promote Tungamirai
as a political
strongman of the Karanga section but he never succeeded in
ousting Eddison
Zvobgo who died last year. Tungamirai and Zvobgo were
seriously injured 10
years ago when the car in which they were travelling
together crashed in
their home area near the southern town of Masvingo .
It's reported that to
calm a nationwide frenzy of speculation, both were
forced to issue strong
statements there was no foul play involved.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
By
Tererai Karimakwenda
25 August 2006
Fed up with what they
describe as extremely poor quality programming
and government propaganda,
Zimbabweans have been refusing to pay the
mandatory radio and television
license fees to Zimbabwe Broadcast Holdings
(ZBH). The state controlled
media entity has launched a very expensive
campaign to collect the license
fees, buying brand new vehicles and
employing hundreds of agents to go door
to door. In Harare our correspondent
Simon Muchemwa reports that these ZBH
agents are receiving threats from
Zimbabweans who say they do not watch ZBC
television or listen to state
radio. He said many families are refusing to
pay the Z$650 (revalued) for TV
and Z$20 (revalued) for radio
licenses.
Muchemwa said Zimbabweans are complaining about the
quality of
programmes on the state controlled television and radio outlets.
They say
the picture and sound quality is poor and the news bulletins are
mostly
government propaganda. Muchemwa added that infighting within the
ruling
party is spilling over into the state controlled media with ZANU-PF
officials attacking each other on the news and talk show
programmes.
The other element working against the state is
satellite television
which many Zimbabweans subscribe to. Muchemwa said
those receiving financial
assistance from family members abroad have
satellite dishes and therefore
access to better quality broadcasts from
South Africa and Botswana based
media outfits. There is also BTV, a Botswana
based television station which
Zimbabweans receive for free and has become
very popular.
Muchemwa said some license fee agents have had dogs
set on them and
now fear going door to door in the high-density suburbs of
Harare. Threats
are also reported to be quite common. Muchemwa told us the
agents are
provided with reflective vests and ZBH identity cards. He said he
was not
aware of any reports of fake agents trying to collect fees from
unsuspecting
families.
SW Radio Africa
Zimbabwe news
Mmegi, Botswana
STRYKER MOTLALOSO
Staff Writer
8/25/2006
11:41:28 AM (GMT +2)
Senior Press Secretary to the President, Dr
Jeff Ramsay, has said that
Botswana cannot ignore Zimbabwe. "We must remain
engaged with our neighbours
as our AU (African Union) brothers. We can't
pretend they do not exist.
We have relations with them," said
Ramsay. The explanation comes after
accusations that Botswana is handling
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe
with kid gloves. He said such perceptions
fall short of understanding how
Botswana contextualises its relations with
Zimbabwe. He said the
relationship is based on the understanding that both
countries are long time
trading partners. Since 2003 export trade between
the two countries has
tremendously increased, Ramsay disclosed. Other than
that, he said Botswana
and Zimbabwe share common economic, social and family
ties.
At another level, Ramsay believes that the government of
Batswana must
have mutual respect for its African sisters and brothers. He
said Botswana
has extended similar respect to both Mugabe and MDC leader
Morgan
Tsvangirai. Botswana's perceived generous treatment of the Mugabe
regime has
been reinforced because Mogae has been invited to Harare to
officially open
the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show next week. Despite growing
unease by the
international community and the socio-economic problems facing
Zimbabwe, new
SADC chairman, Pakalitha Mosisili is upbeat about progress in
the troubled
country. The Lesotho Premier hosted the just ended SADC summit
in Maseru and
said there is positive progress in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Alois Phiri Mbawara
IT'S a shame that we,
young Africans, have such a big deficit in role
models. All our heroes are
falling from heroes to zeros, they are actually
becoming villains faster
than we ever imagined. I'm talking here about South
African President Thabo
Mbeki.
It sounds too ambitious for Mbeki to stretch himself saying
South
Africa is ready to intervene in the Middle East if called on to
support
peace initiatives by United Nations when right next door his own
neighbours
are suffering under the autocratic rule of another former hero,
Robert
Mugabe.
Well, it is very vital for South Africa to join
hands with the
International community in pushing for peace in the Middle
East but I think
Mbeki's bigger problem right now should not be the Israel
and Lebanon but
Zimbabwe, whose problems have for long being a cause of pain
in his own
backyard.
Speaking recently he said it was essential
to end hostilities in the
Middle East. Mbeki openly pointed out the negative
and positive things that
will pave way for peace in the region while
supporting a transition and the
need for negotiations between Israel and the
other stakeholders, which is a
good thing.
He even said that
his government will launch a joint initiative with
the South African civil
society to channel humanitarian aid to the Middle
East.
Well
charity begins at home Mr President. Mbeki was given a mandate to
solve the
Zimbabwe crisis but has failed to even acknowledge it. Why go to
solve
problems so far away when in your own neighbouring country, Zimbabwe,
people
are being denied life. How can he see hostilities in the Middle East
when he
can't see children in Zimbabwe who are being denied basic health
care,
meals, clean water, basic education and related things.
There are
people who are sleeping on the streets, in shacks not
because of natural
disasters but because of a ruthless regime which has
destroyed their
livelihoods. Is Mbeki waiting for a civil war for him to
intervene and talk
openly and honestly about the Zimbabwean crisis or is it
there are no
casualties openly being displayed on the streets as in Lebanon.
Or are they
waiting for Zimbabwe to be another Angola for them to intervene?
Africans should boycott and push for major reforms in the African
Union and
the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other such
institutions which we are increasingly coming to believe were designed to
fund and protect African leaders and not the general populace on the
continent.
Or is it Mbeki wants to maintain his "quiet
diplomacy" because South
Africa is benefiting a lot from Zimbabwe's crisis.
What with all the
Zimbabwean doctors, teachers, lawyers, builders, prominent
people, investors
who are fleeing Zimbabwe into South Africa and
contributing a lot more to
their neighbours economy. South Africa's
interests in Zimbabwe are also
increasing by the day - the Zesa-Eskom deals,
its mining interests and many
others. Why destroy your fellow brothers and
sisters in Zimbabwe, Mr Mbeki.
Mbeki needs to openly criticise
Mugabe's policies which have lead the
country to ruins. He needs to point
out that there is need for a transition
in Zimbabwe - he needs to encourage
Mugabe and all the other political
stakeholders to sit down and iron out the
problems affecting the country
while at the same time mapping out the future
for the troubled country.
Mbeki should stop sympathising with Mugabe and
desist from protecting him
and for once put the Zimbabweans people first.
They have suffered long
enough in the land of "milk and honey".
As the Zimbabwean youth in the UK, we call on our fellow Zimbabweans
all
over the world to speak-out and push our African counterparts to reform
from
their softer stance towards Robert Mugabe and his government. And to
our
fellow Youth in Zimbabwe, we say let us get up and show the Mugabe
regime
they can jail, kill a revolutionary, but they can't jail or kill a
revolution.
Our criticism is liberty because the Mugabe regime
has never done
anything for us the youth, especially now when people are
being denied their
civil rights.
Alois Phiri Mbawara is one of
the founding members of Free-Zim, an
organisation formed to educate young
Zimbabweans to take an interest in the
politics of their country. He can be
contacted on freezim6@yahoo.co.uk