Tsvangirai calls for SA investment

http://www.mg.co.za/

MIRAH LANGER | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Aug 01 2009 08:53

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has called for South African
investment in his country.

"We believe South African companies are better placed to understand the
environment in Zimbabwe," Tsvangirai said at a dinner with South African
business and government officials in Sandton on Friday night.

"Instead of attracting foreign investment from Europe and other places, we
believe that South African companies can operate in an environment that is
almost similar [to their own]."

South Africans are in a position to understand the "politics, economics and
potential of the country", said Tsvangirai.

At the moment, the Zimbabwean government did not have the resources to make
major infrastructure investments, "but if there are private companies who
would like to go into private-public partnerships, they are welcome".

Investment was needed particularly when it came to the rehabilitation of
roads and building other infrastructure.

Tsvangirai said the Zimbabwean government was aware that the rule of law was
critical in order for the country to attract foreign business investment.

"If business is an engine of economic growth, then the rule of law is the
fuel that drives the engine."

Yet, Tsvangirai said, the new government must be given time to stop all
abuses of the law.

"We are only five months in government. Bearing in mind that five months is
not a long time, there has been a general decline in abuses of the law. This
is an incremental process," he said.

Tsvangirai said the uncertain political climate in Zimbabwe in the past
decade had created a negative image of the country.

"This has caused key international partnerships created over long periods to
be set aside or terminated to the detriment of the growth of industry."

He said the country's economic stability required access to foreign markets,
finance, technology, skills and ideas.

On the fate of the Zimbabwe dollar, Tsvangirai said while he could not see
it making a comeback in the short-term, the government was aware it was
crucial for long-term economic growth.

"I don't foresee in the short-term that we can reintroduce it."

However when it was reintroduced, Tsvangirai said, it would be "not as a
political decision, but an economic necessity".

Tsvangirai also said the role of the country's Reserve Bank governor was an
"outstanding issue" that needed to be dealt with.

The governor had to have credible role with a mandate that was solely to
supervise banks and control the country's monetary policy.

However, Tsvangirai joked; "With [US] dollars and rands, what monetary
policy do you control?"

When it came to issues around land reform and ownership, Tsvangirai said a
land audit would take place before the establishment of an independent land
commission.

"This issue must be deracialised and depoliticised. There is enough land for
everyone, the biggest problem we face is how to make land productive."

Earlier this month, the Zimbabwean government launched a campaign for
national healing.

On Friday, Tsvangirai reiterated that compensation was not a definite
outcome of the process of reconciliation, but had not been ruled-out.

"No one has come up with a policy of compensation. We have said we need to
balance two things: The cries of the victims and the fears of the
perpetrators."

Tsvangirai said the government could not be "prescriptive" of how healing
could take place. However, if after consultations reparations were
suggested, it would considered.

"If reparation and recompensation is going to be the policy, so be it, but
we also acknowledge the fact that whatever we are doing will never bring
back our loved ones, our lost limbs, our pain. We need to move on but that
does not mean we forget," he said. - Sapa

Zimbabwe PM urges exiles to come home

http://news.yahoo.com

Sat Aug 1, 11:36 am ET
JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai got a warm
reception on Saturday in Johannesburg as he appealed to exiled Zimbabweans
to invest in and return to their country.

"The reconstruction cannot be done by government alone, by people in
Zimbabwe alone," he said at a rally of about 300 Zimbabweans singing protest
songs and greeting his speech with cheers, claps and whistles.

"You and everyone else will have to play their part in that reconstruction
agenda. Zimbabwe is changing," he said. "It is slow and it can be
frustrating, but it is changing."

The rally at the University of Witswatersrand here contrasted sharply with
his welcome in June in England, where Tsvangirai was jeered when he appealed
to Zimbabweans to return to their country.

"I think he's a true leader. He's a person who can take Zimbabwe from
darkness to the sunny side," said one attendee at the rally, Mduduza Mcube,
29.

Several people wore shirts saying the Zimbabwe's President Robert "Mugabe
must go" and waved the Zimbabwean flag.

Many at the rally were reluctant, however, to return to a country which is
still plagued by economic and political instability.

Farai Madamombe, 39, was disappointed by Tsvangirai's speech, which he said
did not give him a "roadmap" back to his country.

Madamombe moved to South Africa three years ago after losing his job as an
accountant in Zimbabwe, and said he could not return until there were job
opportunities there.

South African investors on Friday evening were also receptive to Tsvangirai
but appeared hesitant to commit money to Zimbabwe, saying it would be a
humanitarian investment unlikely to reap financial benefits.

"This country's economic stability requires access to foreign markets,
finance, technologies, skills and ideas, which are only made possible by all
the key stakeholders working together as partners committed to Zimbabwe's
development," Tsvangirai said at a dinner for South African industry
leaders.

Tsvangirai and Mugabe formed a unity government in February after Mugabe,
Zimbabwe's only ruler since its independence, lost a first round vote last
year.

The government was formed to end the violence that erupted after the vote
and to rescue the floundering economy.

Tsvangirai arrived in South Africa Friday and was due to meet with South
African President Jacob Zuma before he leaves on Tuesday to discuss the
problems Zimbabwe's unity government is facing, according to MDC spokesman
Sibanengi Dube.

Biti aide beaten up

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk

1 August 2009

By Claude
Late this afternoon an employee of Hon Minister of Finance Tendai
Biti, was brutally assaulted by soldiers at Biti's home. The  circumstances
have not yet come to light, but the victim, Howard  Makonza,has been  taken
to a hospital for treatment. The perpetrator is  believed to be one R.
Mwanza who guards the house of Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army,
Lt-Gen Philip Sibanda.

Southern African Grouping Rules Out Early Summit on Zimbabwe Issues

http://www.voanews.com

     

      By Blessing Zulu
      Washington
      31 July 2009

The Southern African Development Community has ruled out calling an
extraordinary summit to take up issues that have been troubling the national
unity government in Harare since its formation nearly six months ago, a top
SADC official told VOA on Thursday.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has traveled to South Africa for a meeting
with President Jacob Zuma, who is the current chairman of SADC, in which he
was expected to detail a long list of what his Movement for Democratic
Change formation considers to be breaches of the September 2008 Global
Political Agreement by President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

But on Friday that meeting was hanging in the balance. Tsvangirai James
Maridadi confirmed Mr. Tsvangirai was in South Africa and waiting for
confirmation of the meeting. But Zuma spokesman Vincent Magwenya said the
South African leader wants to reschedule.

Mr Tsvangirai sought the discussion to mollify aggrieved members of his
party who want him to pull out of the government as judicial authorities in
Harare step up prosecutions of MDC legislators in what the Tsvangirai
formation says is a bid to eliminate its House majority.

Mr. Mugabe has also refused to consider replacing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Governor Gideon Gono or Attorney General Johannes Tomana, who he appointed
in late 2008 after the signature of a power-sharing agreement without
consulting the MDC.

Mr. Tsvangirai was expected to ask Mr. Zuma to convene an urgent summit on
Zimbabwe.

But SADC Executive Secretary Tomaz Salamao told VOA that Zimbabwe will only
be taken up when leaders of the regional organization come together in
September. Salamao met Finance Minister Tendai Biti in Botswana Thursday to
discuss the tense climate in Harare.

ZANU-PF sources told VOA they do not expect SADC to censure the former
ruling party as the government has taken steps to reform the media sector
and revise the constitution.

Sources said ZANU-PF is supported in this position by the MDC formation of
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, which is said to be satisfied with
the progress achieved by the government since its launch in February,
isolating Mr. Tsvangirai.

Lawyer and political analyst Theressa Mugadza told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that Tsvangirai's strategy of appealing to SADC
is pragmatic.

Meanwhile, authorities arrested another member of Parliament of Mr.
Tsvangirai's MDC formation, this time in the Mashonaland West capital of
Chinhoyi, for singing an anti-Mugabe song. In Harare, prosecutors invoked
the controversial Section 121 of the country's Criminal Procedures and
Evidence Act to block the release on bail of Deputy Youth Minister Thamsanqa
Mahlangu, accused of stealing a mobile phone from a prominent war veteran.

Thomas Chiripasi reported on the move by state prosecutors which left
Mahlangu locked up.

Elsewhere, the Tsvangirai MDC called on the government to pardon convicted
legislators, accusing the office of the attorney general and ZANU-PF
influenced members of the judiciary of selectively prosecuting MDC lawmakers
on trumped up charges for political gain.

The party wants immediate "reversal and quashing" of convictions and
prosecutions.

But political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya told reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga
that further politicizing the judicial process through a pardon process
would further undermine the rule of law and set a precedent that could
benefit perpetrators of political violence.

Mugabe takes steps to avoid Sadc censure

http://www.businessday.co.za/

     
      DUMISANI MULEYA  Published: 2009/07/31 07:05:40

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe is making concessions to allow the
implementation of a number of points in the political accord that led to the
inclusive government, ahead of the Southern African Development Community
(Sadc) summit next month.

Mugabe's move to unblock progress on a number of issues is designed to stem
any censure by Sadc of his leadership for failing to implement points agreed
upon during the formation of the unity government.

South African President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday measures would be taken
within Sadc to ensure the inclusive government succeeded.

This week saw a raft of reforms in Zimbabwe, which is still trying to
recover from years of repression and economic ruin.

The range of reforms allowed by Mugabe includes lifting bans on public
demonstrations, the licensing of newspapers, allowing international
broadcasters such as CNN and BBC back into Zimbabwe, and implementation of
the provisions of the political agreement on co-operation in the appointment
of ambassadors and provincial governors, and representation on the National
Security Council.

But MPs from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Mugabe's rivals,
still face a crackdown led by Mugabe's allies. Six MPs have been jailed and
others face arrest for alleged crimes ranging from abduction , violence,
corruption and rape.

The National Security Council met for the first time yesterday. The council
replaced the Joint Operations Command (JOC), a pillar of Mugabe's previous
regime which brought together the army, police and intelligence chiefs.

Mugabe effectively ran the country through JOC structures, undermining
civilian governance. The JOC was notorious for authorising crackdowns on
political rivals in the MDC and harshly silencing dissent.

For the first time, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, now prime minister in the
coalition government, formally came face to face with military and police
commanders who had repeatedly vowed not to salute him even if he won
elections. They also previously made veiled threats to overthrow him in a
military coup.

The National Security Council meeting, chaired by Mugabe, was also attended
by the vice-presidents, two deputy prime ministers, and ministers of
finance, defence and home affairs. The three parties in government also each
nominated a minister to attend.

Also there were the state security minister, chief secretary to the
president and cabinet, secretary to the prime minister, defence forces
commanders and the director-general of the Central Intelligence
Organisation.

The council's main function is to review policies on security, defence and
law and order.

State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi said the meeting was "warm and
cordial".

The government yesterday lifted the ban on the privately owned Daily News,
which was shut down in 2003. Letters to Daily News lawyers confirmed the
newspaper's licence had been restored.

Zvoma backtracks, denies blaming donors for Constitutional fracas

http://www.zimnetradio.com

By KING SHANGO
Published on: 31st July, 2009

HARARE - Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma on Friday backtracked and denied
ever saying NGOs were responsible for the chaos that disrupted the first
all-stakeholder constitutional conference two weeks ago.

Zvoma claimed that a mysterious Non-Governmental Organisation, the Non-
State Actors Forum, paid over 500 delegates and NGOs to attend the All
Stakeholders Conference without Parliament's knowledge.

Zvoma was one of the senior officials at the conference, in full view of the
media and diplomats, who were pelted with water bottles by the rampaging
Zanu PF hooligans, led by senior Zanu PF politicians Saviour Kasukuwere,
Patrick Zhuwawo and Joseph Chinotimba.

The MDC expressed outrage at Zvoma's declaration, ad accused him of being
part of a clique working to soil the image of the MDC.

"We wonder whether it is by coincidence that the same Zvoma has in the past
week been busy dishing out suspension letters to MDC MPs facing various
trumped-up charges," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said last week.

Zvoma on Friday denied ever making such a statement.

"I never made such a statement. If anyone says that, they are the ones being
economical with the truth," Zvoma said. "What I explained was that I agreed
with Honourable Mangwana and other members who said the conference was
rushed because the committee was not ready.

I explained that decisions related to the dates, budget and delegates
categories were made at the last minute and there is evidence to that
effect. I never accused any organisation of causing the chaos or problems."

Zvoma said: "I can only explain what really happened. That question can be
best put to Honourable Mangwana and the select committee. For the record,
UNDP undertook to provide US$300 000, USAid US$300 000, DFID US$150 000,
European Commission, US$150 000 and the Swedish Foreign Ministry US$100 000.

From funds allocated by the European Commission, the Non-State Actors Forum
paid for 500 delegates from the NGO sector and youth.

This is fact."Zvoma, who like most senior public servants is widely regarded
as sympathetic to President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party staunchly
denied having scandalised the donors.

Packaging peanut butter as medicine could save lives

The Scotsman

Published Date: 01 August 2009
By JANE FIELDS IN SAKUBVA TOWNSHIP
THE tiny child being weighed at a township clinic in eastern Zimbabwe has
barely the strength to cry. His arms are spindly, the flesh on his buttocks
wrinkled. "He is 16 months old," a nurse whispers. "But he weighs the same
as a four-month-old baby."
Prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai's inauguration dream of a Zimbabwe where
food is freely available is still far from a reality. Nine years after
president Robert Mugabe launched his white farm seizures, Zimbabwe's wheat
harvest will be its worst ever this year, providing just 3 per cent of
requirements. The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs predicts that up to 44,000 children here will need
treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

But there is a glimmer of hope - in the form of cardboard boxes marked
Plumpy'nut, stacked in Sister Constance Basope's neat office. Plumpy'nut is
a ready-to-use peanut butter food being distributed to malnourished
under-fives in Sakubva township, east of the capital, Harare.

A mixture of peanut butter paste, vegetable oil, sugar, milk powder,
vitamins and minerals, Plumpy'nut was developed in the late 1990s by the
French humanitarian foods company Nutriset and has been used in Niger and
Darfur in Sudan.

Introduced to the nearby border city of Mutare by aid group Médecins Sans
Frontières late last year, doctors are finding that Plumpy'nut can have a
dramatic effect, restoring children to their "discharge target" - the weight
at which they can be considered no longer malnourished - and even avoiding
the need for hospitalisation.

The toddler's mid-upper arm circumference is measured: for a child aged
between six months and five years, if it is less than 110mm he is considered
definitely malnourished.

A nurse counts out a week's supply of silver-and-red Plumpy'nut sachets -
usually three per day - and packs them into a sack. Five-year-old Gibson,
who looks no more than two, snatches at a sachet. His mother bites off a
corner for him.

Nurses are excited there is finally something they can give to malnourished
kids. Mary-Joyce, a nurse, says: "Before, we could only give the mothers
information. We could tell them to feed their children cooking oil, mashed
pumpkin and porridge."

Provincial paediatrician Dr Geoff Foster describes Plumpy'nut as "magical
stuff": in the children's ward at Mutare Provincial Hospital, it has seen
average hospitalisation periods cut from ten days to three.

Doctors here have long urged parents to add a tablespoon of peanut butter to
porridge to stave off malnutrition. But handing out free jars isn't a
solution: with 80 per cent of the population living below the poverty line,
the peanut butter may be sold off or shared. The genius of Plumpy'nut is
that it is packaged and promoted "as a medicine".

There are plans to feed Plumpy'nut to babies of HIV-positive mothers. Many
are advised to stop breastfeeding at six months to cut transmission risks,
but that can tip babies into "acute nutritional deprivation", says Dr
Foster. "We've seen plenty of deaths."

Unicef says it has 27,000 boxes of the food ready for distribution to
centres countrywide.

The malnutrition ward at Mutare Provincial Hospital is empty - for now.
That's partly due to food availability, which improves in June, July and
August. It's also due to admission fees: the equivalent of £4 for an adult,
£2 for a child. That's unaffordable for many.

The hope is that by extending Plumpy'nut distribution on a community basis,
there will be fewer malnourished children needing hospitalisation.

MPs back down on car scheme

http://www.zimonline.co.za

     

            by Cuthbert Nzou Saturday 01 August 2009

HARARE - Members of Parliament (MPs) - who initially shunned a government
vehicle scheme in preference of imports - have started collecting cars
assembled in Harare instead of the imports they wanted.

The MPs last month rejected a scheme put up by Finance Minister Tendai Biti
and Harare car assembler - Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries - arguing that
the locally assembled vehicles they were to be allocated were not durable.
Each vehicle cost US$30 000.

But the MPs started collecting the vehicles this week after Biti told them
that the government was broke and would not be able to import the
top-of-the-range vehicles some of the lawmakers wanted.

The minister also said MPs who intended to import their own vehicles would
be forced to pay import duty.

"The MPs started collecting the vehicles this week," Biti said on Friday.
"We told them that we didn't have money to import the vehicles they wanted
and also that if they were to use their own resources, they will pay duty."

Information gathered by ZimOnline revealed that by last night 49 of the over
300 lawmakers had collected the Mazda BT-50 double cab vehicles and that
more vehicles would be distributed to the legislators on Monday.

Biti structured a vehicle allocation scheme with Willowvale to ease
transport problems for lawmakers but his plan was initially met with
resistance from both ZANU PF and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
parliamentarians.

A row ensued three months ago after Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon
Gono issued the MPs with secondhand vehicles from the central bank for use -
a move that was rejected by Biti who described it as a continuation of the
bank's quasi-fiscal activities which brought the economy to its knees. Biti
ordered the MPs to return the vehicles, but he was snubbed.

The MPs, especially from the MDC, argued that Biti and other Cabinet
ministers had no right to stop them from getting vehicles from the central
bank because they had also benefited from vehicles from the same source. The
lawmakers accused the executive of duplicity.

A fortnight ago when the MPs rejected the Willowvale offer they also came
under fire from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions for their quest for
luxurious vehicles at a time when the country was battling to raise scarce
foreign currency to turnaround the comatose economy. - ZimOnline

Tsvangirai crash driver fined

http://www.herald.co.zw

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Court Reporter

CHINOWONA MWANDA - the driver of the Usaid vehicle that sideswiped Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's car and killed his wife, Susan - was yesterday
found guilty of culpable homicide and fined US$200 by a Chivhu magistrate.

Mwanda, who was represented by Harare lawyer Mr Godfrey Mamvura of Scanlen
and Holderness, had denied the charges when the trial opened, but was
convicted at the end of the trial.

The accident occurred on the Harare-Chivhu highway in March.

Magistrate Mr Tapera Bvudzijena fined Mwanda US$200. Should he fail to pay
the fine, Mwanda will spend six months in jail.

Mwanda will also keep his driver's licence.

In passing sentence, Mr Tapera noted special circumstances surrounding the
commission of the offence, saying the culpable homicide was due to ordinary
negligence, which is lighter than gross negligence.

Mr Bvudzijena said when one is convicted of ordinary negligence, the court
should consider options of a fine or community service and that the driver's
licence should not be cancelled.

He said the accident occurred at a well-known dangerous spot that did not
have any warning signs and appropriate speed limits, thus constituting
special circumstances.

"Our law is very clear that negligent conduct is graded, and there is gross
negligence and ordinary negligence.

"Considering the existence of special circumstances, the cause of the
accident was due to ordinary negligence, which is a lighter offence.

"According to the law, if one is convicted of an offence involving gross
negligence, he or she should be jailed, but ordinary negligence attracts
options of a fine or community service.

"In this case, I cannot send the accused person to jail. I will look at
other options, of which a fine of US$200 is appropriate considering that he
earns about 200 to 300 British pounds monthly," said Mr Bvudzijena.

Mr Bvudzijena agreed with the submissions that the accident caused Susan
Tsvangirai's death; an incident that would haunt the PM for the rest of his
life.

He said that alone was enough punishment for Mwanda in view of the fact that
he suffered from a lot of negative publicity locally and internationally.

Mr Bvudzijena added that the state of the roads in the country was poor and
that although there was negligence on Mwanda's part, he was not entirely to
blame.

"I visited the scene personally and it is true that it is a dangerous spot
that requires urgent attention. Although the warning signs are now there,
there are no speed limits.

"When the department responsible for road maintenance discovers a dangerous
spot, they should at least put warning signs and reduced speed limits to
avoid accidents," he said.

In aggravation, prosecutor Mr John Hama concurred that a fine should be
considered as an option but urged the court to impose a "hefty" fine, which
he failed to quantify when asked by the court.

Southern African Media Group Sees Progress in Zimbabwe - But More Needed

http://www.voanews.com

     

      By Ntungamili Nkomo
      Washington
      31 July 2009

The Media Institute of Southern Africa said Friday that it is encouraged by
word that a government panel has granted a publishing application to the
Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe - former publisher of the Daily News, shut
down by the state in 2003.

MISA also commended the government for readmitting the British Broadcasting
Corporation and Cable News Network to cover the news with correspondents in
Zimbabwe.

But MISA said Harare still needs to repeal laws like the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Broadcasting Services Act
which it says chill press freedom.

MISA Chairman Loughty Dube told reporter Nntungamili Nkomo of VOA's Studio 7
for Zimbabwe that more needs to be done to restore press freedom in
Zimbabwe.

Nkala to sue Sunday Mail, Sunday News

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=20507

August 1, 2009

By Muza Ray Matikinye

BULAWAYO - Enos Nkala, the former defence minister and veteran nationalist
who resigned from government in 1989 after he was embroiled in the
Willowgate Scandal and subsequently became one of President Robert Mugabe's
bitterest critics says he is suing The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News
newspapers over a recently published article.

The story claimed Nkala was seeking to reconcile with the long-time Zanu-PF
leader.

Both papers are published by Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Ltd under stringent
government control.

"That was the greatest lie of the century, and I have instructed my lawyers
to demand a retraction, failing which I shall take the papers to court,"
Nkala said.

His lawyers, Lazarus and Sarif of Bulawayo confirmed they had received
instructions to institute legal proceedings against the publishers of the
offending article in what portends to be a sensational court battle with
potential to leave the litigant deep in debt.

Nkala did not say how his image was tarnished by a suggestion that he might
want to reconcile with Mugabe.

In its issue of July 19-25, The Sunday News reported that Nkala and Edgar
Tekere had tasked the president of the Chiefs Council, Chief Fortune
Charumbira to mediate in the proposed compromise meeting between the two
veteran politicians and President Mugabe.

"None of those reporters sought my views or confirmation that this was the
case. The papers simply published what they liked and in the process
tarnished me. The last meeting I had with Mugabe was in 2003 when he asked
me whether I was receiving a government pension," Nkala said.

Nkala served in various portfolios in government before resigning after he
was exposed by The Chronicle for making a huge profit from the sale of
several new vehicles illicitly acquired and then compounding the felony by
committing perjury when he lied under oath before the Wilson Sandura.

President Mugabe had appointed the commission to investigate the serious
allegations published by the newspaper in what came to known as the
Willowgate Scandal.

Nkala now says last week The Sunday Mail and The Sunday News ignored a
scathing speech that he delivered at the recent launch of Zimbabwe 's Vision
2040 in which he blamed the current and past political leadership, including
himself, for "destroying our country and bringing to zero what the
colonizers had done for this country".

Green shoots and dry grass

Tracking Africa's people smugglers

 

Saturday, 1 August 2009 02:32 UK

By Brian Hungwe Harare Human smugglers are running a complex multi-million dollar network, fleecing distressed Somalis seeking a way out of their war-torn country and desperate Ethiopians caught up in vicious cycles of hunger, floods and political repression. The migrants have to walk for thousands of miles Thousands of people leave their countries every year, trekking thousands of miles through eight countries from the Horn of Africa, via East Africa down to South Africa. Bribes oil their journeys across the region by air, overland and sea. And immigration and police are complicit. The state of the airports and the corruption that goes on there mirrors the body politic of the countries involved. And this has security implications for the countries involved. The next five to 10 years, Somalia will have nobody there Ismail, Somali truck driver in Malawi In a recent report on smuggling in the region, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) noted that "guardians of national border integrity... are deeply compromised, creating a threat to national security". It says their complicity is keeping the smuggling business afloat and that they "should be considered part of the illegal and abusive enterprise" where "cupidity appears to be the foremost and only visible motivation". Huge sums IOM's Tal Raviv, based in Nairobi, acknowledges that the smuggling ring is "sophisticated." Nairobi's Eastleigh district is the region's smuggling hub, the IOM says "Tens of thousands of people are able to move from Somalia and Ethiopia, all the way down to South Africa, and they arrive successfully," she said. "All the borders are porous, it's just that," points out Mokotedi Mpshe, who heads South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority. Mr Mpshe knows the extent to which corruption has permeated his society. "Some government officials can let you down. We may try to fight human trafficking, but at the same time there may be elements amongst ourselves that are working against us," he said. Cash-strapped governments can't match the huge sums smugglers pay immigration and police officers to ease the path of illegal immigrants en route to South Africa. Expanding business I found that immigrants pay smugglers on average $1,500 - $2,000 before the journey begins. The IOM also estimates the smuggling business generates annual revenue of about $40m. Along the way the immigrants lose much more to robberies. And rape and other abuse is common. Over the years, the flow of Somalis has been growing, and thus, according to the IOM, "providing smugglers an expanding and lucrative business opportunity". "The next five to 10 years, Somalia will have nobody there," said Ismail, a Somali truck driver living in Malawi. "There is no peace which is coming, there is nobody who is fighting for Somalia." Lions and snakes Salma left Somalia with her son Nasir, 3, six years ago, when she was 23. She left her mother and brother behind, and has no clue where they are. Sometimes [smugglers] ask the women to sleep with them. You sleep with them, otherwise they leave you behind Salma, Somali migrant From her flat in Cape Town, South Africa, she says that everyone in Somalia is trying to flee the fighting there. She says she walked on foot for 24 days during the journey. In Kenya, Salma met Amina, a smuggler linked into a network that carried her across several countries. Nairobi's Eastleigh district is, according to IOM, the smuggling hub of the region. It is a little Mogadishu in the heart of Nairobi, whose life runs 24 hours, hosting a close-knit Somali community that keeps itself to itself. Money transfers are done with ease, and anything goes. Vehicles with tinted windows are a common sight, and haulage trucks move goods in and out every hour. It is here that Salma gave $1,000 to the smuggler, Amina, who accompanied her and a small party of migrants on the first half of their journey. Police bribed In Tanzania, six members of the party were arrested. Salma says the smuggler bribed the police to secure their freedom. She says they had similar experiences in Zambia and Zimbabwe. "[Smuggler] paid some money and we came out." Thousands are trying to flee Somalia's never-ending conflict Six years later, Salma's journey is still vivid for her, as she recounts how she was terrified of lions and snakes as she trudged through the bush. "Sometimes [smugglers], they ask the women to sleep with them," Salma remembers. "You sleep with them, otherwise they leave you behind... they do that." The IOM's Tal Raviv confirmed that almost all smuggled women get raped, and her organisation has also received reports of the same thing happening to men. Salma's journey was even tougher than usual because she was travelling with a child, so the smugglers told her they could not give her accommodation. "I was struggling too much," she remembers. Nasir, now nine, vividly recalls sleeping in the forest, his mother walking long distances, and sometimes going for days without food. "I never ever, I don't want to do again that journey." .

Zimbabwe's fractured politics

http://www.globalpost.com

Robert Mugabe prevents Morgan Tsvangirai from assuming power, and then asks
why West doesn't give money.
By Zimbabwe Correspondent (author cannot be identified because of Zimbabwe's
press restrictions)
Published: August 1, 2009 08:47 ET
HARARE - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is clearly suffering from an
identity crisis. He now requires all journalists in the government-owned
media to address him as "Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief
of the Defense Forces."

This mouthful of authority stems from Mugabe's unhappiness at Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's claims that he is the legitimate Head of Government.
Tsvangirai has in recent weeks attempted to get briefings from army chiefs
who have refused, claiming they serve only one master - Mugabe.

Mugabe has also been shuttling in and out of the country to make sure that
Tsvangirai will not chair one of the weekly cabinet meetings.

Ordinarily one of Zimbabwe's two vice-presidents would take over for Mugabe
but one is too frail to attend and the other is seen by Mugabe's hardliners
as sympathetic to Tsvangirai's party, the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC). So in between visiting Libya, Malawi and Zambia recently, the
85-year-old Mugabe made sure he was in Harare every Tuesday to deny
Tsvangirai an opportunity to act as Head of Government.

MDC ministers boycotted a recent cabinet meeting when it became obvious that
Mugabe had moved the date to prevent Tsvangirai's deputy, Thokozani Khupe,
from chairing the weekly meeting while Tsvangirai was on his way back from a
visit to South Africa. Mugabe was incandescent with rage describing the
boycott as "insolent."

"It was a surprise to me to tell you the truth," he told the state media. "I
don't know whether this is going to be the order of doing things. It's
insolence on the one hand but it's also abysmal ignorance on the other."

The episode illustrates Mugabe's preoccupation with his own authority.
Surrounded by a coterie of old-guard loyalists and military chiefs, the
veteran leader is not conceding an inch of power in the increasingly
problematic government of national unity set up in February.

The recent refusal of Attorney-General Johannes Tomana - a staunch Mugabe
ally - to return the passport of senior MDC official Roy Bennett so he can
attend meetings in South Africa, is an emblematic case. Mugabe misses no
opportunity to remind the country that Bennett is facing "serious charges."
The MDC points out that the deputy agriculture minister-designate is
innocent until found guilty. In any case, the exact same charges of amassing
weapons for the purposes of banditry were thrown out of court three years
ago when brought against another MDC official - who is now the current
minister in charge of the police.

In addition, the state's star witness has said he will not give evidence
against Bennett when the charges are so obviously trumped up.

"These are people who are trying to hide behind politics to settle scores,"
retorted Attorney-General Tomana, defending his stubborn determination to
keep the charges against Bennett. "They are blaming me for being Zanu-PF. I
have my allegiance to my religion as I have my allegiance to my party of
choice." And in an undisguised reference to the Bennett case he made the
following declaration: "I am a public servant and I owe it to the people
that those facing serious charges are not given the freedom to flee."

Tomana is very useful to Mugabe. He has brought a number of prosecutions
against MDC MPs in the eastern districts of the country on grounds of
political violence last year while studiously ignoring cases involving
Zanu-PF MPs who mounted a campaign of violence that saw an estimated 200 MDC
supporters killed. This has whittled down the MDC's majority in parliament
so the two main parties are nearly neck and neck at 97 and 95 seats. But
Mugabe has obviously calculated that having MDC MPs lose their seats on the
basis of spurious charges is more politically cost-effective than
terrorizing their constituents.

The MDC charges that Mugabe is in breach of last September's power sharing
agreement by appointing Tomana without consulting his partners in
government. Mugabe says he is under no obligation to do so.

Tsvangirai's frustration over public perceptions that he is a captive in
Mugabe's tightly controlled political domain has led him to publish a
newsletter from the prime minister's office that is distributed free, much
to the consternation of Mugabe's officials. But this has not compensated for
the daily torrent of hostility towards the MDC and civil society in the
government press. There is no sign that the public media, which includes a
stable of daily and Sunday publications and the country's only broadcaster,
is about to change its stance. Indeed, the more Mugabe is perceived as
losing what little popularity he has left, the more he needs a partisan
press.

The government has agreed to allow the BBC and CNN back into the country,
claiming disingenuously the two networks were not banned in the first place.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is meanwhile considering lifting prohibition
orders against foreign correspondents evicted from the country over the past
seven years. There is a consensus in media and government circles that the
hated Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill, the scourge of
journalists since 2002, is likely to be repealed, or at least significantly
amended.

A free media would be a giant leap for Zimbabweans not least because, with a
new constitution in the making, the public would be able to make an informed
choice at the ballot box.