Zimbabwe police chief in meeting with
British
By Daniel
McGrory
BRITISH police officers are being urged to boycott an Interpol meeting in
France today which is being attended by a leading henchman of President
Mugabe of
Zimbabwe.
Augustine Chihuri, the Zimbabwe Police Commissioner, is again being allowed
to flout an EU travel ban to take part in Interpol's executive meeting in
Lyons, his second visit to the city in four
months.
The French Foreign Ministry that its hands were tied on allowing Mr Chihuri
to enter the country. "The Interpol treaty forces France to welcome members
of the executive committee of the organisation," an official
said.
Mr Chihuri was re-elected as Interpol's vice-president for Africa in June, so
he can sidestep any international travel ban if he can prove that he is on
official business. French human rights groups, however, are exploring whether
they can force his arrest for alleged human rights crimes at
home.
Mr Chihuri is a pivotal figure in organising the latest wave of expulsions of
white farmers refusing to leave their land. He has authorised using police
vehicles to transport gangs of armed squatters to menace those who have not
obeyed President Mugabe's ultimatum to abandon their homes. In addition to
turning a blind eye to months of violence on black farmworkers, the
commissioner, according to farmers' leaders, has chosen a prize property for
himself.
The commissioner, who was educated at Brunel University in Uxbridge, was
thwarted on his last trip to Europe when he applied for a visa to visit Spain
after finishing his business meetings with Interpol. British officers were
criticised for sitting alongside him at Interpol's last executive meeting, in
June. Then John Abbott, head of NCIS, Scotland Yard's National Criminal
Intelligence Service, attended a meeting on
money-laundering.
The French authorities say that they gave the Foreign Office notice of Mr
Chihuri's presence, but that no objection had been raised by
Whitehall.
Mr Chihuri's frequent international jaunts as an Interpol official have been
condemned by Michael Ancram, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, as
appalling.
Under French law, there is an obligation to arrest and prosecute anyone who
authorises, commits or condones acts of torture anywhere in the world. Human
rights groups are asking why, five months after the EU included him in its
travel ban, he remains a vice-president of the world police intelligence
organisation.
Peter Tatchell, the British rights campaigner, has written to the president
and secretary-general of Interpol insisting that they arrest Mr Chihuri on
torture charges. "By failing to act, Interpol would be allowing Chihuri to
commit gross human rights violations with impunity," he
said.
The Supreme Court in Harare ordered Mr Chihuri to investigate the torture of
two journalists detained by the Army in 1999. He took no action and instead
purged the police of any officer suspected of disloyalty to Mr Mugabe's
ruling Zanu (PF)
party.
Mr Chihuri is the envy of his comrades in the regime, most of whom are
frustrated by the international ban which has halted their trips to Europe on
shopping
expeditions.
It was not known who would be accompanying President Mugabe for his trip to
the Earth Summit in Johannesburg this week. The organisers said they had yet
to receive final details of his
entourage.
AS ZIMBABWE's President Robert
Mugabe seeks to complete his economic and political revolution, the pressure
is ratcheting up on SA to take stronger steps against Harare.
In the
immediate term, the World Summit for Sustainable Development is likely to
raise the Zimbabwe issue in the context of the potential promise of Nepad
(the New Partnership for Africa's Development) and its promises.
In spite
of Pretoria's hopes to the contrary, western commitment to Nepad remains
hostage to the lack of African action over Zimbabwe.
Events in that
country also partly overshadow the positive regional peace developments
elsewhere in Angola and the Congo.
Differences within other bodies, such
as the Commonwealth, over what to do about Zimbabwe are also likely within
the summit.
Already New Zealand's and Australia's prime ministers have
called for tougher action.
Just as the eviction of white farmers
resonates with the New Zealand and Australian publics, the reasons for SA
inaction on Zimbabwe are part racial. But there are also vital economic and
political concerns, not least the African National Congress leadership's fear
of a populist backlash in SA and the possibility of refugees flooding over
the country's northern border, destabilising its economy and upsetting its
political stability.
As a result, unless Zimbabwe explodes, SA policy
will waver between benign neglect and containment. There are two dangers in
this approach, however. First, benign neglect is interpreted as tacit support
for Mugabe's regime, negatively affecting SA's investment and leadership
image. Second, it undermines the letter and spirit of Nepad.
Two
Zimbabwean scenarios emerge, each with its own policy options, costs
and opportunities.
These are, simply put, life with and without
Mugabe. In the former, the most likely course is that external actors
including SA wait until the land invasions are over and try to re-engage with
Zanu (PF) with two aims in mind: first, to negotiate a rapprochement with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and, second, to put in place
an economic stabilisation and recovery package.
The latter will have
to include the vital element of the second scenario Mugabe's withdrawal from
politics.
No recovery is possible with Mugabe in place. But how can he be
convinced (or coerced) into stepping down? Here the MDC's leadership and
guidance would be critical, but it would currently appear to not only be
under considerable threat from the state apparatus, but also fragmented,
fractured and rudderless.
So the removal of Mugabe's Milosevic style
becomes unlikely, especially as his troops return from the Congo, stiffening
his resolve and security tools. A wild card, though, is still the worsening
food shortages in urban areas, the net effect of Mugabe's Kh mer Rouge
textbook economics that have seen Zimbabwe's economy reduced by one-third in
four years.
One avenue for applying pressure on Mugabe to relinquish
power would be for SA to work in tandem with Nigeria (as it has been) and
with Angola (as it has not). This strategy for leadership transition raises a
number of issues in turn. Who will take over from Mugabe, who sacked moderate
Simba Makoni in a cabinet reshuffle. And what will be the likely path of both
this transition and their policies?
Pretoria is likely to stick to its
guns over Zimbabwe, just as the west is unlikely to stick its neck out. The
policy choices seem to be between no talk and lots of it, and little action
both ways. The west could deliver an asset freeze, but seems to lack the will
and inclination to do so. Current policy essentially lets events run their
course.
One knowledgeable analyst noted recently on western inaction on
Harare: "It's Africa, and they don't care." Pretoria has to start showing it
does.
Dr Mills is National Director of the SA Institute of International
Affairs.
Zimbabwean and Ethiopian
groups have begun the first in a series of planned protests at the UN
environmental summit in South Africa.
As scores of riot police
looked on, 200 singing and dancing members of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for
Democratic Change marched through Johannesburg's Sandton suburb, calling for new
elections and the removal of President Robert Mugabe.
Zimbabwe has been gripped by
more than two years of political violence which has been widely blamed on
Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party.
AFP - The United States dismissed Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe's cabinet reshuffle and repeated its opposition to his
leadership of the country.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher indicated
there was nothing Mugabe could do to repair his credibility, damaged not only by
a seriously flawed election earlier this year and his pursuit of policies that
Washington says are threatening the drought-stricken country with
famine.
"I don't think we've seen the kind of commitment to
the right kind of policy or a commitment to not doing the wrong kind of policy
that could lead Zimbabwe in a better direction under his leadership," Boucher
said.
"The policies that have been followed by the
government of Zimbabwe have contributed to the suffering of its people. It's not
just drought, it's the policies that the government is following out
there.
"We have been appalled by the way they've decimated
Zimbabwe's international standing and its ability to produce food at a time when
they have a national emergency," Boucher said.
Washington stepped up already harsh criticism of Mugabe's
government last week over alleged state-backed violence and rights abuses tied
to controversial land reforms and his crackdown on opposition
supporters.
Mugabe, facing mounting international criticism over
his eviction of white farmers, announced late Friday he was dissolving his
cabinet five months after a disputed win in March presidential
elections.
Earlier, he swore in a reshuffled "war" cabinet to
try to pull the southern African country out of its deep political and economic
crises, state media reported.
Finance Minister Simba Makoni, seen by many as one of
the more moderate members of the cabinet, and the ailing, sole white member of
Mugabe's cabinet, Health Minister Timothy Stamps, were dropped from the new line
up.
"This is a political war cabinet taking into account
the action by the United Kingdom and its allies of interfering in the affairs of
Zimbabwe," Mugabe said, according to the official ZIANA news agency.
Makoni was considered a lone voice of dissent in the
cabinet, especially after Mugabe announced a return to socialism and an end to
market reforms in October.
He had advocated economic policies that Mugabe
disliked, such as devaluing the Zimbabwe dollar, which has been held at an
official rate of 55 to one $US1 ($A1.85) while black market rates have soared to
more than 650 to $1.
US officials last week said Mugabe's refusal to
devalue the currency was exacerbating food shortages by discouraging merchants
from exporting to Zimbabwe.
Mugabe has said the criticism from the United States
and others, including Australia, is racist.
Chris McGreal in Johannesburg Tuesday August 27,
2002 The
Guardian
The Zimbabwean police
commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, is to be allowed into France today, despite a
EU travel ban and the accusation that he is guilty of gross human rights abuses.
He has been given a special dispensation by France,
Britain and other EU governments to travel to Lyon for a meeting of the
international police organisation Interpol, of which he is a vice-president.
But opponents of President Robert Mugabe's government
say it is disgraceful that a senior official implicated in killings, torture and
land seizures should hold high office in Interpol, an organisation which claims
to stand for "respect for human rights".
They have called for him to be arrested when he
arrives in France.
"Instead of feting Chihuri, Interpol should arrest
him," said the gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who has twice tried to
arrest Mr Mugabe under international law.
"Interpol has a vice-president who stands accused of
involvement in gross human rights violations, including unlawful arrests,
detention without trial, torture and murder."
Mr Chihuri is one of Mr Mugabe's closest political
allies. He has turned a once impartial police force into a political tool with a
long tally of abuses.
He dropped any pretence of impartiality when he
declared that he would not recognise an opposition victory, shortly before this
year's rigged presidential election.
He has also defied court orders requiring his force
to fulfil its duty in protecting white farmers and their black employees from
attack by "war veterans" and government party militants.
Instead, he has himself seized a farm.
Mr Chihuri was re-elected to the Interpol executive
and vice-presidency in June, four months after the EU imposed its travel ban on
Mr Mugabe's cabinet and closest political allies.
Mr Tatchell argues that the French government has a
legal duty to arrest anyone involved in torture, no matter where the crime took
place, when that person steps on French soil.
He has accused the British government of hypocrisy.
"By backing the EU sanctions waiver, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, is
colluding with Chihuri and Interpol," he said.
"His denunciations of the Mugabe regime are
completely hypocritical. He is all talk and no action."
A Foreign Office spokesman said that while Mr Chihuri
was banned from the EU for personal and government visits, he was entitled to
enter for the official business of an international organisation.
"The EU travel ban does not cover meetings of
international bodies at which Zimbabwe is a representative.
"Under international treaty obligations, such as
France hosting Interpol, we are bound to give unhindered access to officials,"
he said.
"However, the French government is making the terms
of entry as strict as possible, and on three occasions since February senior
Zimbabwean officials, including Mugabe, have been refused entry to the EU.
"The EU travel ban is being highly disruptive and
humiliating to the regime."
Mr Mugabe swore-in a new cabinet yesterday, calling
it a "war council" to combat his country's deep financial and political
problems.
His uncompromising approach is reflected in the
make-up of the new cabinet: the relatively moderate finance minister Simba
Makoni has been sacked, and hardliners are in the ascendant.
SUMMIT members should be reminded that President
Robert Mugabe and his satellites will continue to claim that the land in
Zimbabwe is being recovered from colonialists. Statements to the effect that
5000 whites occupy 80% of the land and 13-million blacks are crowded into 20%
will be repeated.
If he had the courage to say that white Africans own
most of the freehold land, he would be closer to the truth. Economists have
shown Zimbabwe's land mass can be allocated into three categories. About
6,6-million hectares are not arable. Another part, amounting to 26,5% of the
total area, is freehold. It comprises 10,3-million hectares.
The state was paid transfer duties when those
properties changed hands. By contrast, the communal areas, including the
resettlement areas plus the tenant schemes, the Development Trust of Zimbabwe
lands, and small-scale farming areas, are 56,5% of the total land in the
country. It has a proven capacity to become farmland.
This amounts to 22-million hectares. This area is
larger than Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal combined. The total
population of these European countries is 41-million. By comparison, Zimbabwe's
communal population is about 8- million. That is not all.
The freehold properties support about 5-million
Zimbabweans. These more enterprising people are being displaced illegally by the
state for those with sparse knowledge of commercial agriculture. Famine was
evident even before the drought.
If the communal areas were farmed as well as the
freehold areas, any seeds of dissatisfaction would not exist. But to achieve
these levels of performance, many things would have to change. The communal
tribal system does not allow for title to the land. With no security of tenure,
the communal farmer has neither the means nor the motivation to commit himself
to sustainable farming practices.
Mugabe captured support for his continued presidency
by giving away farmers' freehold land. In case that ploy was insufficient for
him to remain in power, the recent voting results were statistically
unachievable.
The United States on Monday dismissed Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe's recent reshuffling of his cabinet and repeated its opposition to
his leadership of the country.
State Department representative Richard
Boucher indicated there was nothing Mugabe could do to repair his credibility,
damaged not only by a seriously flawed election earlier this year and his
pursuit of policies that Washington says are threatening the drought-stricken
country with famine.
"I don't think we've seen the kind of commitment to
the right kind of policy or a commitment to not doing the wrong kind of policy
that could lead Zimbabwe in a better direction under his leadership," Boucher
said.
"The policies that have been followed by the government of Zimbabwe
have contributed to the suffering of its people. It's not just drought, it's the
policies that the government is following out there.
"We have been
appalled by the way they've decimated Zimbabwe's international standing and its
ability to produce food at a time when they have a national emergency," Boucher
said.
Washington stepped up already harsh criticism of Mugabe's
government last week over alleged state-backed violence and rights abuses tied
to controversial land reforms and his crackdown on opposition
supporters.
Mugabe, facing mounting international criticism over his
eviction of white farmers, announced late on Friday he was dissolving his
cabinet five months after a disputed win in March presidential
elections.
Earlier, he swore in a reshuffled "war" cabinet to try to pull
the southern African country out of its deep political and economic crises,
state media reported.
Finance Minister Simba Makoni, seen by many as one
of the more moderate members of the cabinet, and the ailing, sole white member
of Mugabe's cabinet, Health Minister Timothy Stamps, were dropped from the new
line-up.
"This is a political war cabinet taking into account the action
by the United Kingdom and its allies of interfering in the affairs of Zimbabwe,"
Mugabe said, according to the official Ziana news agency.
Makoni was
considered a lone voice of dissent in the cabinet, especially after Mugabe
announced a return to socialism and an end to market reforms in
October.
He had advocated economic policies that Mugabe disliked, such as
devaluing the Zimbabwe dollar, which has been held at an official rate of 55 to
one US dollar while black market rates have soared to more than 650 to
one.
US officials last week said Mugabe's refusal to devalue the currency
was exacerbating food shortages by discouraging merchants from exporting to
Zimbabwe.
Mugabe has said the criticism from the United States and others
is racist. - Sapa-AFP
The bitter rivalry between two
ruling Zanu PF party factions in Masvingo reared its ugly head again this
week ahead of the rural council elections, following violent clashes between
supporters of the hostile camps over the selection of
candidates.
The situation reached boiling
point at the weekend when supporters loyal to Eddison Zvobgo clashed with
those from Josaya Hungwe's faction near Mapanzure business centre.At least
two youths were injured when the supporters stoned each other after sharp
differences over candidates to stand in next month's elections. Zvobgo is a
former Cabinet minister who fell out with President Mugabe, while Hungwe is
the provincial governor for Masvingo, who leads the other faction on behalf
of Vice-President
Simon Muzenda.
The Zanu PF
Masvingo provincial executive loyal to the Hungwe camp is allegedly purging
all sitting and aspiring councillors believed to be
Zvobgo sympathisers. But most sitting
councillors in the Masvingo Rural District Council who were allegedly
victimised for supporting Zvobgo have vowed to stand as independents."The
veteran politician, Zvobgo, was our leader during the liberation struggle and
we will never denounce him," said a councillor who refused to be named. "We
want the people to exercise their right and vote for the candidates of their
choice." The Masvingo Zanu PF district co-ordinating committee chairman,
Absolom Mudavanhu, confirmed there was friction in the party over the
selection of candidates.But he claimed those threatening to stand as
independents were members of the opposition.Mudavanhu said: "Those refusing
to step down to make way for selected party candidates are opposition
supporters. We are not worried with that development."You should know that
those who say they are Zvobgo's supporters are not his supporters, but are
Zanu PF supporters."
The Chipinge magistrates' court
yesterday resumed work after a week's stoppage following the brutal attack on
Walter Chikwanha, the resident magistrate, by a group of suspected war
veterans.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe,
magistrates and prosecutors in Mutare, Bulawayo and Mashonaland West,
condemned the assault and have since asked for
tight security at court
buildings.
In Mutare, court officials
staged a one-day strike in protest against rampant lawlessness which has now
also reached their doorstep.
Officials
from the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, have remained
tight-lipped on Chikwanha's whereabouts.
Court officials said he was at a safe house in Mutare where he was recovering
from the severe injuries he allegedly sustained following
the beatings.
A court official in
Chipinge said a new magistrate was transferred from either Beitbridge or
Gwanda to take over from Chikwanha.
"Two
other prosecutors have also joined us," the court official
said.
He identified the magistrate as
Thembelani Khumalo, and the prosecutors as Lust Goredema and Regis
Mawarire.
A delegation from the ministry
including Sam Kudya, the chief magistrate visited Chipinge, five days after
Chikwanha's assault. Details of their findings were not immediately
available.
Efforts to obtain a comment
from Kudya were unsuccessful. Mutare police refused to shed any light on
whether any arrests were made in connection with
Chikwanha's
assault.
Meanwhile, MDC officials said
police in Chipinge arrested Annie Sigauke, the party's provincial organising
secretary of the women's league, and Bessie Mashava, the district organising
secretary for Chipinge North.
"The two
were picked up by an assistant Inspector Sibanda," said Pishayi Muchauraya,
the party's spokesman. "They confirmed arresting the two and said they were
under interrogation, but they would not tell us where they were transferred
to. They are no longer at Chipinge Police
Station."
THE Daily News and the rest of
the independent Press were not invited to the swearing-in ceremony of
President Mugabe's new Cabinet at State House in Harare
yesterday.
A Daily News reporter and a
photographer were turned back by security officials manning the gates at
State House who told them they were not invited to the
function.
"Daily News!" exclaimed one
guard, incredulously. "Who told you that there is a swearing-in ceremony,
because you do not have invitation cards?"
The reporter and photographer were made to wait for about 30 minutes at the
gates, hoping reason would prevail and they would be allowed in, but this was
not to be.
Other private newspapers and
international news agencies, including Reuters, were not invited to the
ceremony either.
George Charamba, the
permanent secretary in the Department of Information and Publicity, could not
be reached for comment.
Reuters' story on
the ceremony said Mugabe swore in a reshuffled "war Cabinet"
to defend his
policies.
Reuters quoted the ZBC as saying
Mugabe told reporters his team would fight opposition from abroad as well as
the country's economic problems.
"Addressing the media after a swearing-in ceremony . . . Mugabe described the
new Cabinet as 'a fully fledged war council set to fight the country's
economic problems'. "He also described the
Cabinet as a political war cabinet which will take into account the actions
being taken by Britain and its allies against Zimbabwe," the ZBC
said.
Political analysts said that by
retaining the hard-liners, Mugabe had sent a clear message to the world that
he intended to battle his way through the political crisis and would not
easily buckle under growing
international pressure.
BELOW is the full list of Cabinet
ministers, following the reshuffle:
Paul
Mangwana: Minister of State Enterprises and
Parastatals; Kembo Mohadi: Minister of Home
Affairs; Dr David Parirenyatwa: Minister of
Health and Child Welfare; Amos Midzi: Minister
of Energy and Power Development; Sithembiso
Nyoni: Minister of Small and Medium
Enterprises Development; Olivia Muchena:
Minister of State, Science and Technology
Development; Flora Bhuka: Minister of State
for Land Reform Programme; John Nkomo:
Minister for Special Affairs in the
President's Office; Samuel Mumbengegwi:
Minister of Industry and International Trade;
Herbert Murerwa: Minister of Finance and Economic
Development; Swithun Mombeshora: Minister of
Higher and Tertiary Education; Jonathan Moyo:
Minister of State for Information and
Publicity; Sydney Sekeramayi: Minister of
Defence; Aeneas Chigwedere: Minister of
Education, Sports and Culture; Francis Nhema:
Minister of Environment and Tourism; Stan
Mudenge: Minister of Foreign Affairs; Patrick
Chinamasa: Minister of Justice, Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs; Joseph Made:
Minister of Lands, Agriculture and Rural
Resettlement; Ignatius Chombo: Minister of
Local Government, Public Works and National
Housing; Edward Chindori-Chininga: Minister of
Mines and Mining
Development; July Moyo: Minister of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare; Joyce
Mujuru: Minister of Rural Resources and Water
Development; Elliot Manyika: Minister of Youth
Development, Gender and
Employment Creation; Nicholas Goche:
Minister of State for National Security.
Kenneth Manyonda: Deputy Minister of Industry and International
Trade; Reuben Marumahoko: Deputy Minister of
Energy and Power
Development; Chief Fortune Charumbira: Deputy
MInister of Local Government, Public Works and National
Housing; Tinos Rusere: Deputy Minister of
Rural Resources and Water
Development; Jaison Machaya: Deputy Minister
of Mines and Mining Development; Kenneth
Mutiwekuziva: Deputy MInister of Small and Medium
Enterprises Development; Shuvai Mahofa:
Deputy Minister of Youth Development, Gender and Employment
Creation; Chris Mushohwe: Deputy Minister of
Transport and Communications; Isaiah Shumba:
Deputy Minister of Education, Sport and
Culture; Rugare Gumbo: Deputy Minister of Home
Affairs; Abdenico Ncube: Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs; Chris Kuruneri: Deputy
Minister of Finance and Economic
Development.
Nuanetsi maize project in trouble as students reject forced
labour
8/27/02 8:44:11 AM (GMT
+2)
By Energy Bara in
Masvingo
THE government's plan to clear
100 000 hectares of land on Nuanetsi Ranch to grow maize and boost the
country's food reserves hangs in the balance as scores of students expected
to clear the land refused to participate in the Zanu PF-initiated
project.
Students from all tertiary
institutions, including universities, were expected to clear the land
together with Zanu PF youths under the rural attachment programme mooted by
the then Minister of Higher Education and Technology, Samuel
Mumbengegwi.
Work on the programme was
supposed to start last month but had not begun by
yesterday.
Pedius Sikisa, an executive
member of the Zimbabwe National Students' Union said the students did not
want to participate in the exercise.
Sikisa said: "This is a Zanu PF call-up. The problem is that when we voice
our concern over such issues we are labelled enemies of the State, but we are
just standing up for our rights as Zimbabwean
students."
Sikisa and two other students
from Masvingo Technical College were suspended indefinitely for their
opposition to the project.
Mumbengegwi,
the Zanu PF chairman for Masvingo province, had planned to have students from
all colleges and the universities on rural attachment participate in the
clearing and cropping exercise in the Lowveld, as part of their national
service.
Josaya Hungwe, Masvingo governor,
recently held a ground-breaking ceremony
under the glare of television cameras at Nuanetsi Ranch in which District
Development Fund personnel and Zanu PF supporters
participated.
While acknowledging that no
headway had been made on the land-clearing, Hungwe insisted the project would
start soon.
Already 1 800 hectares of land
have been put under the winter maize crop and President Mugabe and
agriculture ministers from Southern African Development Community countries
were expected to tour the project this
week.
The decision to give the Masvingo
Food Initiative 100 000 hectares of land was made rather hurriedly by the
government as it tried to spruce up its image after its failure to maintain
the strategic grain reserves at a respectable
level
SMALL-SCALE commercial
farmers attending the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in
Johannesburg, South Africa, have rejected the technology of genetically
modifying plant organisms saying it will deprive them of the ownership of the
seeds they produce.
The small-scale
farmers from seven Eastern and southern African countries, including
Zimbabwe, who are holding their summit in Johannesburg from 22 August to 31
August, are expected to make their presentations to the United Nations
meeting during the world summit.
Apart
from presentations, the farmers plan to lobby about 100 world leaders
attending the summit so they can take part in
policy-making.
Zimbabwe's representative
David Hatidani said farmers shunned the GM technology because its side
effects were not yet known. Hatidani said: "We do not want to promote the GM
technology as we do not know its after-effects. The GM technology is
unnatural and we will rather do organic farming which improves soil
fertility."
There are fears that if
farmers use GM seed, it would disempower them to an extent that they will
rely on companies that produce seed every
year.
International companies producing GM
seeds patent them. Farmers are expected to pay for licences to use the seed
every year.
Isaac Tembo, a small-scale
farmer from Zambia said: "If as farmers we use the technology, we may end up
relying on companies such as Monsanto for seed and yet over the years we have
produced our own seed.
"The GM seed also
has a tendency of intermixing with any plants near the field where they are
planted and change other farmers' seed to GM even if they do not want
it."
Tembo said scientists needed to prove
that the GM technology food was safe for human consumption before people eat
the food.
Zimbabwe and Zambia have in the
past two months resisted GM maize from the United States. The two countries
are facing severe food shortages, together with Namibia, Mozambique and
Malawi.
Zimbabwe later accepted the maize
because of the severity of the crisis affecting six million people. While
Zimbabwe is carrying out GM monitored field trials on GM crop production,
Zambia has set up an investigation unit to check the effect of the
technology.
Patrick Lameck, assistant
leader of the Tanzanian farmers' delegation said: "Our country sees GM
technology as a threat and we wish it to be stopped in other counties that
have adopted it. Farmers will need to buy seed every
year."
THE World Summit on
Sustainable Development, opened by President Thabo Mbeki this week will
enable many African leaders to exchange ideas on how to fight poverty and
HIV/Aids on the continent.For Africa it seems that far more important at this
stage is the development of sustainable political systems. African leaders
will be joined by other leaders who will no doubt offer their own solutions
to the many problems of development which African leaders seem to have failed
to tackle. Many analysts have suggested that as long as African politics are
mired in conflict, there will be little time to concentrate on the fight
against poverty. They suggest that the "political kingdom" to which Kwame
Nkrumah referred, may still be an unattainable dream for many
Africans.
For instance, around the
time that Mbeki was opening the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, President
Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria was thanking his people for having stood by him
when the Lower House of Parliament threatened to impeach
him.
Their reasons for this serious threat
to his presidency included his alleged inability to deal with corruption and
his own alleged incompetence. Obasanjo had initially taken the threat to
impeach him lightly, as many believed an element of the army top brass was
involved.
In the end, however, he must
have realised there was enough sentiment against him for the impeachment to
succeed.There was much behind-the-scenes consultation before the impeachment
move was eventually shelved, to the relief of all concerned, but particularly
to Obasanjo, the leader of the most populous nation on the continent. He and
Mbeki, together with the presidents of Algeria and Senegal, have emerged as
the chief proponents of the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development
(Nepad), which is likely to be discussed on the sidelines of the Earth
Summit. Recently, the former president of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, was accused
by supporters of his successor, John Kufour, of planning to sabotage the new
government. In fact, it was suggested he may have been urging the army to
stage a coup.Rawlings did not stand against Kufour in the election which his
party lost, but Kufour's victory seemed to rub him the wrong way. For a man
with two military coups under his belt, could he be itching for a
third?
The people of Ghana, who have
endured military rule sporadically since the first coup overthrew The
Osagyefo in 1966, must be praying that Rawlings will put the interests of his
country ahead of those of his party or
his ego.
In Kenya, President Daniel
arap Moi has signalled his intention to step down after being in power since
the death of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta
in 1978.
He has chosen Uhuru Kenyatta
as his successor and is determined that he will be elected on the ruling Kanu
ticket in the forthcoming
presidential election.
Many Kenyans
suspect Moi is up to what they have called his old tricks: Uhuru Kenyatta is
Jomo Kenyatta's son and would carry the Kikuyu vote with him - or so Moi
assumes. What critics fear is that Moi will effectively be the
power behind the throne. Kenya, like Nigeria
and Ghana, may be in for troubled political times. There may even be violence
before all the ambitions of the diverse politicians are dissipated. Will they
have time to tackle their Number 1 Enemy - Poverty? Or HIV/Aids? Has Africa
had much time to tackle poverty since Ghana became independent in 1957? There
have been coups, civil wars, corruption on a grand scale, there has been
electoral fraud on a huge scale. Yet the poverty has escalated. Clearly, what
needs urgent attention in Africa today are its political systems. Democracy
has a chance, but is frowned upon by many leaders because it deprives them of
the chance to be the tribal chiefs they really want to
be.
At the Earth Summit in Johannesburg,
let's hope they can relate the fight against poverty and HIV/Aids to the
development of sustainable political systems as
well.
The US is cynically exploiting the plight of the starving to create an
artificial market for its GM food and promote corporate sharks pushing this
food of dubious nutritional and health value. There is famine in a number of
southern African countries with Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Angola more
affected than the
rest.
No one denies this truth, but there is a difference in emphasis as to what
the causes may be. Drought, like all other natural disasters, can occur in
any country, but what turns drought into famine is both a combination of the
technological development of the society concerned and power or powerlessness
of those directly affected. For instance, there is drought ravaging regions
of the United States of America at the moment, but we would not see pictures
of malnourished Americans used to front campaigns by those angels of misery
(otherwise called humanitarian agencies) to raise funds for needy Americans.
This is due to a number of reasons. The USA has more than enough food
reserves to cover the losses due to the drought. It also has the
technological resources to ameliorate the situation.The farmers are such a
powerful interest group that
no
administration dares ignore their plight. Finally, no administration can
remain in office if it cannot feed its
people.
Welcome to Mother Africa where all of the above, in the negative, may not
lead to the collapse of the government of the day. That is why natural
disasters quickly transform into disproportionate and prolonged suffering
across this continent.The responsibility is primarily political. Take the
case of Malawi which had surplus strategic grain reserve in 1999 but was
forced to privatise the grain agency by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). Consequently by the time drought came, the private agency had already
sold most of the reserve for profit and the country had no reserves to fall
back on. It is not enough to blame the IMF, because the government of Malawi
must take responsibility for its irresponsibility in accepting wrong advice.
Would the American government, despite its free market ideology, ever take
such advice?Would the European Union with its notorious food subsidies,
butter mountains, wine lakes and pyramids of grains ever take advice about
selling off in order to make agriculture more
competitive?
Our governments can take these decisions only because they do not care what
the
interest of the majority of our peoples
are.
But, more importantly, because that silent majority has no means of enforcing
its will or punishing any regime that ignores its interest.The case of
Zimbabwe is generally blamed on the internecine conflict over land reform for
the past two years.The government must take responsibility. However, to blame
everything on land reform is
disingenuous.
It does not explain why there is famine in other countries. It also
presupposes that the bulk of the food crops of the country was produced by
commercial landowners. The evidence suggest that the bulk of the food eaten
by the people is produced by small-scale farmers with the large-scale farmers
cultivating mainly cash crops and food for
export.
The land reform conflicts are an important factor only in the context of the
country being too broke to be able buy food internationally to make for the
short supply. But how does one explain the Angolan situation? Yes, the civil
war in the country (which happily is now almost completely over) is a factor.
But Angola is one of the richest countries in Africa. That its people should
be starving is a consequence of the priorities set by the government. It can
afford to buy food and if it has not, it is because the interests of the
starving people are not dominant in budgetary allocation and national
planning.
Both Angola and Zimbabwe along with Uganda, Rwanda and Namibia, have managed
to spend millions of dollars daily in their military campaigns in the
Democratic Republic of Congo without recourse to
"international begging".
So their not finding resources to cushion the effects of drought on their
people is a question of priorities, not lack of resources. Whatever the
reasons for the famine, people are suffering and they need help. But should
this be help at all cost and by whatever means? I do not think so. The US
government has been quick to offer help in the form of genetically modified
(GM) maize. Zimbabwe rejected it initially and Angola expressed its concern
and only last week Zambia also rejected it. On the surface it looks like
these governments are behaving as though beggars can choose. With Zimbabwe
the demonisation of President Mugabe internationally made him "the usual
suspect", but I do not think that everything the government of Zimbabwe or
Mugabe does is
bad. There
are legitimate issues about GM foods which millions of people in the USA and
Europe are unwilling to eat. Why should Africa be the dumping ground or the
experimental laboratory? Humanitarian agencies are claiming that GM foods
should be accepted because it is better than nothing and because people are
starving. A very persuasive argument at the emotional level, but it does not
address the scientific health concerns about
GM foods.
Also let us change the context of the appeal. Imagine a predominantly Muslim
country is suffering drought, could the people be persuaded to eat pork on
the grounds of this is what is available? Or could Hindus be whitemailed into
eating beef even if it is the only food available? GM foods are not the only
available food surplus in the world and even in Africa itself. The USA is
cynically exploiting the plight of the starving to create an artificial
market for its GM foods and promote the corporate sharks pushing this food of
dubious nutritional and health
value.
THE annual Harare Agricultural
Show, Zimbabwe's premier farming showcase, kicked off yesterday on a low note
due to a host of, including the chaotic land reform programme, the
devastating drought and the government's erratic economic
policies.
Economic consultant John
Robertson predicted that very few exhibitors would attend this year's annual
show.
Dr Tony Mutukumira, the information
officer for the agricultural show, yesterday said: "My general impression is
that the first day of the show was less busy as compared to last year, even
without looking at the figures. Business is a bit low and the number of
visitors is also low."
Mutukumira,
however, said it was the normal trend that the first days have a very low
turnout compared to the closing days. "Normally, we have a low turnout during
the first days but we expect the numbers to pick up during the course of the
week. A number of exhibitors are also still busy putting up some final
touches to their stands," he said.
Mutukumira said a total of 420 exhibitors occupying 483 stands would grace
the show this year. The total capacity for the show is 500 stands.Over the
years, the agricultural show has been an important annual event on
the calendar for most commercial farmers but this year, a number of the
farmers have not shown any enthusiasm to take part in the exhibition.A number
of important sections of the show have either recorded a significantly
low representation or completely left out. The dairy and tobacco sections
have this year had a lower number of exhibitors, while the animal section
is completely absent. The animal section normally gets a huge following
from the show crowds, but it will be totally out this year. Even the
children's play centres, which are normally full from the very beginning of
the show, were virtually empty yesterday, indicating that this year's show
could be a huge flop.
Most farmers said
they were busy making arrangements with the government to ensure their
continued stay on the farms from where they are being chased under the
government's controversial Section 8 eviction
orders.
By midday yesterday, only a few
people could be seen trickling into the showgrounds, while it was generally
quiet inside. Robertson said: "The prevailing conditions certainly are not
conducive to a successful show. There will be very few commercial and
agricultural exhibitors because most businesses are crumbling. There will be
very little business." Already the show has suffered a major setback due to
the glaring absence of international exhibitors who have largely shunned the
Harare show.