The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.

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     The Times



                        August 27, 2002

                        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.
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Business Day

Mugabe still wild card in high-stakes game



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.
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Daily Record
 
Small protests staged on summit's opening day
 

Aug 27 2002

 

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.

 

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ninemsn
 
US dismisses Mugabe 'war cabinet'

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.


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Mugabe police chief beats EU ban to enter France

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.

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Business Day
 
Zimbabwe's land could be utilised to benefit all

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.

Who said that Mugabe is the president?

David Tyndale-Biscoe Somerset West

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Mail and Guardian
 
Mugabe's credibility is shot, says US
Washington
27 August 2002 08:31
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
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Daily News

      Zanu PF fights over candidate

      8/27/02 8:48:45 AM (GMT +2)


      From Our Correspondent in Masvingo

      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."




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Daily News
      Magistrates resume work in Chipinge

      8/27/02 8:39:15 AM (GMT +2)


      From Our Correspondent in Mutare

      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."

      Police in Chipinge refused to comment.




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Daily News

      Private Press shut out

      8/27/02 8:40:15 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      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.



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Daily News

      Full list of Cabinet ministers and their deputies

      8/27/02 8:40:57 AM (GMT +2)


      Staff Reporter

      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.



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Daily News

      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



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Daily News

      Farmers attending Earth Summit reject GM technology

      8/27/02 8:45:38 AM (GMT +2)


      From Takaitei Bote in Johannesburg

      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."



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Daily News

Leader Page

      Needed: sustainable political development

      8/27/02 8:52:57 AM (GMT +2)



      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.





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Leader Page




            Distinguishing drought from famine

            8/27/02 8:53:54 AM (GMT +2)



            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.

           
Tajudeen28@yahoo.com
            or Tajudeen@Justiceafrica.org
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Daily News

      Harare show opens

      8/27/02 8:45:58 AM (GMT +2)


      By Collin Chiwanza

      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.



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