Zim Online
Thursday 21 December
2006
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe
on Wednesday promised crisis-weary
Zimbabweans their troubles would soon
come to an end as the battered economy
recovers on the back of his 'Look
East' policy.
In a State of the Nation Address to Parliament,
Mugabe repeated
accusations that sanctions and sabotage by former colonial
power Britain and
its Western allies were the chief causes of Zimbabwe's
unprecedented
economic meltdown.
But the veteran leader, who
last week won approval from his ruling
ZANU PF party to continue in office
for two more years after expiry of his
term in 2008, said his decision to
strengthen economic ties with the East
after falling out with the West was
beginning to pay off.
"The under-performance of the economy we are
now turning around is
largely a product of the illegal overt and covert
sanctions imposed on us,
by Britain and her allies, as punishment for daring
to reclaim our land,"
said Mugabe.
"Once more I wish to pay
tribute to our people for their resilience
and to all our Look East
development partners for their sterling display of
solidarity at the time of
our greatest need," he added.
Zimbabwe is grappling with a severe
economic recession described by
the World Bank as unprecedented in the world
outside a war zone. The
economic meltdown has seen inflation shoot to more
than 1000 percent while
food, fuel, electricity, essential medicines, hard
cash and just about every
basic survival commodity is in short
supply.
Critics say Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole ruler since
independence in 1980,
is largely responsible for driving the country's once
robust economy into
the ground, pointing to his populist seizure of land
from white commercial
farmers to resettle blacks, which derailed the
mainstay agricultural sector.
Mugabe, who has been shunned by the
West on charges of rigging
elections and human rights abuses, denies ruining
the country and instead
blames Western powers he says are out to cause
economic strife in Zimbabwe
to incite rebellion against his
government.
The veteran leader vowed to resist Western pressure
boasting that hard
times his country has faced since 1999 had propelled
Zimbabweans "to the
apogee of resilience and self-reliance, and awakened us
in much ingenuity
and pragmatism that have contributed to the home-grown
programmes aimed at
rejuvenating our economy."
The World Bank
however says Zimbabwe is one of only two African
countries that will
register negative economic growth next year.
According to the
bank's 2007 Global Economic Prospects report released
last week, Zimbabwe's
economy is seen shrinking by a further 3.3 percent
while Seychelles is seen
declining by 1.8 percent.
Apart from economic recession,
Zimbabweans also have to grapple with
one of the world's worst HIV/AIDS
pandemics with the disease killing at
least 3000 people in the country each
week.
Mugabe, who has in the past used security forces to clamp
down on
protests against worsening economic hardships, praised the army and
police
for the "peace and tranquility" Zimbabwe was enjoying while also
reminding
opponents they would be dealt with harshly if they dared challenge
his
government through street protests. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 21 December
2006
HARARE - An alliance of Zimbabwean
opposition and civic groups on
Wednesday threatened to roll out mass
protests against plans by the ruling
ZANU PF party to extend President
Robert Mugabe's term by two years.
At a press conference in Harare
yesterday, the civic groups and
churches who make up the Save Zimbabwe
Convention, said extending Mugabe's
term to 2010 would take away the right
of Zimbabweans to elect leaders of
their choice.
"Such a move
(to postpone the elections) by the ruling ZANU PF is
undemocratic and takes
away the constitutional right of all Zimbabwean
citizens to elect leaders of
their choice at regular intervals," said the
alliance.
Addressing the same press conference, Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads the
larger faction of the splintered Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party
said Zimbabweans could not afford to have Mugabe at the helm for two more
years.
"Mugabe does not have a right to impose or to privatise
a national
issue and then impose it on Zimbabweans," said
Tsvangirai.
Last week, a ZANU PF conference in Goromonzi, less than
100km east of
Harare, agreed to hold parliamentary and presidential
elections
concurrently. The move could see Mugabe staying on as president
until 2010,
two years after the expiry of his term.
Political
analysts say Mugabe is not too keen to leave power as
scheduled in 2008 with
the veteran Zimbabwean leader telling senior party
officials jostling for
his position that there were no vacancies in the
presidium.
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) chairman Lovemore Madhuku,
University
of Zimbabwe political science lecturer and Mugabe critic, John
Makumbe,
human rights lawyer Arnold Tsunga and Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions
president Lovemore Matombo were also present at the press
conference.
Makumbe called for the holding of presidential
elections in 2008 as
scheduled saying any extension of Mugabe's term would
be an "extension of
legitimacy."
Contacted for comment
yesterday, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister Patrick Chinamasa
dismissed calls for protests by the Save Zimbabwe
Convention saying it was a
creation of the West to sow discord in the
country.
"Who voted
them into power?" Chinamasa asked.
"ZANU PF is the ruling party and
can decide for the people. In fact,
the idea of harmonisation of elections
came from the people. The Save
Zimbabwe Campaign is representing no-one," he
said. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 21 December
2006
GOROMONZI - From a vantage
point among the dilapidated grass-thatched
huts in the nearby Yafele
village, one could not help but marvel at the
massive show of grandeur at
the nearby Goromonzi High school.
From chauffer-driven Mercedes
Benz saloons to the latest SUVs from
Japan, they were all part of the grand
show of affluence that disturbed the
otherwise tranquil environs of this
rural setting.
Ordinary villagers going about their daily chores
were searched at
random by grim-faced security personnel and the notorious
'Green Bombers'
(the government's North Korean-style youth
brigade).
So tight was the security at the venue of last weeks'
conference of
President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party that even fruit
vendors
wishing to hawk their wares to delegates required to obtain special
clearance from the party's security personnel to be allowed into the school
grounds.
Those who tried to circumvent the tough security
measures by selling
fruits from just outside the school gates were quickly
rounded up, detained
and quizzed why they were compromising the security of
the 'chefs' - which
in Zimbabwean lingo refers to top government and ZANU PF
officials.
But the irony was lost on the ZANU PF security
personnel, the police
and members of the dreaded spy Central Intelligence
Organisation that
ordinary people would be disallowed within the environs of
the venue of the
supposed "people's" national conference!
And
for the ordinary folks of Yafele and Chimanikire villages just
outside the
school gates, the conference was a massive show of affluence by
"foreign"
people who had no knowledge of their daily lives of poverty and
starvation.
That the conference may have had little to do with
ordinary people
could not have been highlighted any better than the
spectacle of ZANU PF
delegates enjoying scrumptious food during the meeting,
while not far from
the conference venue, at Majuru rural shopping centre,
scores of hungry
mothers waited for hours on end for food handouts to take
their starving
children.
By the time the ZANU PF officials left
Goromonzi in their glitzy cars
and luxurious buses after about three days of
deliberations on the "people's
welfare", there was still no joy for the
hungry mothers at Majuru who could
be seen still queuing for the promised
largesse.
"We are not sure whether the maize will eventually come
but we are
sleeping in the council hall (at the shopping centre) hoping that
it will be
delivered soon," said 79-year old Margaret Chinzara, among the
women waiting
for food.
For the two days that Mugabe drove in
his presidential motorcade to
and from Goromonzi, bemused villagers in
worn-out clothes would look up from
their parched fields, staring in awe at
the one-kilometre long convoy of the
82-year old leader hoping for concrete
resolutions at the conference that
would transform their lives.
These villagers had no choice but to be seen in the fields because
three
weeks before the conference, the ZANU PF Senator for the area and a
local
businessman, Cyril Majuru, had distributed 25 kg packs of maize seed
to all
villagers along the Harare-Goromonzi road to make sure their fields
were
ploughed in order to impress the visiting President.
Elsewhere, the
ZANU PF delegates expected nothing short of royal
treatment. The sumptuous
meals complete with ice creams and bananas for
dessert, the expensive cars
and the elegant dressing gave one the true
picture of the ZANU PF gravy
train.
Fifteen kilometres away at Rusunguko High School where some
of the
delegates were accommodated a row ensued after the ZANU PF officials
complained that the bedding "was not good enough."
ZANU PF
legislator Kenneth Mutiwekuziva, told the headmaster of the
government-owned
school, Norman Gombera, that delegates were finding the
school's beds
uncomfortable to sleep on.
And forget about the national fuel
crisis, Goromonzi resembled a car
assembly plant with fuel readily available
for delegates wishing to drive
their latest acquisition there.
Meanwhile, government-owned mobile phone operator, NetOne, was ordered
to
boost coverage in the Goromonzi area for "security reasons" while the
cell
phone company also donated free lines to school and ZANU PF officials
who
were helping host the 'chefs'.
On the next Monday, a day after the
conference ended, there were
several things the community at Goromonzi could
count - some good, some bad.
You can take your pick from the list beginning
with the beautiful facelift
given the school by government hired
construction workers, the new boreholes
sunk to ensure water for delegates,
the used condoms left strewn around by
the 'chefs' and not to mention the
conference's decision to extend Mugabe's
term by another two years. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Thursday 21 December
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's Parliament
yesterday appointed a six-member
committee to probe a senior member of
President Robert Mugabe's Cabinet for
allegedly lying under
oath.
House of Assembly Speaker John Nkomo said Parliament's
privileges
committee had ruled that Industry and International Trade
Minister Obert
Mpofu had a case to answer after he told another House
committee on trade
that senior government officials had looted state
steelmaker ZISCOSTEEL and
then later backtracked.
Nkomo said
members of the committee to probe Mpofu were Defence
Minister Sydney
Sekeramayi, who chairs the committee, ruling ZANU PF
legislators Jaison
Machaya, Webster Shamu and Mabel Mawere. MDC legislators
Welshman Ncube and
Paurina Mpariwa complete the probe team.
ZISCOSTEEL is one of the
largest steelmakers in southern Africa and
was a major foreign currency
earner for Zimbabwe. But it now lies almost
derelict after years of
under-funding, mismanagement and corruption
involving top officials of the
government and ZANU PF. - ZimOnline
Scoop, New Zealand
Thursday, 21 December 2006, 9:58 am
Press Release:
International Trade Union Federation
INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
(ITUC)
ITUC OnLine 31/201206
ITUC and ETUC call on the EU to maintains
sanctions against the Zimbabwe
government
Brussels, 20 December 2006
(ITUC Online): The International Trade Union
Confederation (ITUC) and the
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) have
written to the European
Commissioners for External Relations and for
Development and Humanitarian
Aid, urging the EU not to drop its 'smart
sanctions' against the Zimbabwe
government.
The measures come up for review early in 2007. "At a time
when trade
unionists in Zimbabwe have been so savagely attacked and as the
Zimbabwean
economy descends into disaster, it would send completely the
wrong signal if
the EU backed down on sanctions now," said ITUC General
Secretary Guy Ryder
and ETUC General Secretary John Monks in their joint
letter to Commissioners
Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Louis Michel.
The
ETUC has contacted its EU affiliates asking them to put pressure on
their
national governments to keep the sanctions regime in place.
The EU
sanctions, adopted in 2002, include an arms embargo, a freeze on
assets, and
visa restrictions on senior officials. The ITUC and ETUC are
concerned that
the Zimbabwe government is staging a concerted bid to get
these measures
repealed next year, despite the fact that it has failed to
meet the EU's
benchmarks for respect of trade union and human rights.
In September
2006, trade unionists around the world staged a day of action
in solidarity
with workers beaten and arrested by the Zimbabwe authorities.
Ends
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
20
December 2006
At least 300,000 more Zimbabweans lost
formal sector jobs in 2006, according
to a study by the Labor and Economic
Development Research Institute of
Zimbabwe, an affiliate of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions, the
country's largest union.
The think tank
said Central Statistical Office figures indicated that the
formal sector
employed about 998,000 people as of the end of 2004. But data
from the ZCTU
and business associations showed only 700,000 now hold jobs in
the formal
sector while more than 80% of the working population is
unemployed, the
institute said.
However, Labor and Economic Development Research
Institute Director Godfrey
Kanyenze acknowledged in an interview with
reporter Carole Gombakomba of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that accurate
labor market data is hard to come
by.
International Herald Tribune
The Associated PressPublished: December 20,
2006
HARARE, Zimbabwe: President Robert Mugabe vowed Wednesday
his government
will not tolerate dissent created "under the guise of freedom
of
expression."
Mugabe, in his annual state of the nation address to
parliament, said law
enforcement agencies will continue to crush dissent in
the troubled southern
African nation. He said government opponents were bent
on creating anarchy
and pushing what he has described as a British attempt
to topple his
government.
In September, police thwarted a march by
the main labor federation in Harare
protesting deepening poverty. At least
16 labor leaders were assaulted by
police, several of them suffering bone
fractures and other injuries,
according to independent doctors and human
rights organizations.
Mugabe said afterward the labor leaders were
resisting arrest for holding a
banned protest and "reasonable force" was
used to break up the march.
He has repeatedly accused Britain, the former
colonial power, the United
States and Western nations of backing the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
and the labor-backed opposition Movement
for Democratic Change in a campaign
for his ouster.
"Our country
continues to enjoy peace and tranquility and will defend its
sovereignty,"
Mugabe said Wednesday in the address broadcast on state
television.
Mugabe blamed the worst economic crisis since independence
from Britain in
1980 on what he termed "illegal overt and covert sanctions"
against the
country by Western nations along with southern Africa's
susceptibility to
drought.
Western aid, loans and investment dried up
after Mugabe ordered the often
violent seizures of thousands of white-owned
commercial farms in 2000,
leading to six years of political and economic
turmoil following disruptions
in the agriculture-based
economy.
Britain, the United States and the European Union have imposed
travel and
visa restrictions on Mugabe and ruling party leaders to protest
alleged
violations of human and democratic rights since 2000.
Mugabe
said embargoes were "the punishment for our daring recovery of the
land"
from the descendants of mostly British colonial-era settlers.
He said the
next phase in black empowerment was to take majority control of
foreign
owned mining companies and exports of gold and other minerals.
As the
country became increasingly isolated by the West, Mugabe said his
"Look
East" policy paid dividends with promises of investment from China,
India,
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Tourism to Zimbabwe from Asia increased this
year, showing the nation was a
safe and attractive destination "despite the
hostile media" in the West, he
said.
The state controls Zimbabwe's
only broadcast stations and the main
newspapers. Under sweeping media laws,
the only independent daily newspaper
was banned in 2003.
Since the
ruling party dominated Parliament passed equally sweeping public
order and
security laws in 2002, opposition and labor meetings have been
routinely
banned or broken up violently by riot police.
The country is suffering
acute shortages of food, hard currency, gasoline
and essential imports.
Official inflation is running at 1,090 percent, the
highest in the
world.
SW Radio Africa Hot Seat Transcript
On the programme ‘Hot Seat’ Violet Gonda talks to Professor Jonathan Moyo, Journalist Peta Thornycroft and political analyst Professor Brian Raftopoulos
Broadcast 19th December
It has been reported that a preliminary move to extend Mugabe’s term was approved at the conference and that the proposal has now been passed to the party's policy-making central committee for endorsement. The next central committee meeting is expected before March. So I first asked Professor Moyo for his thoughts on this matter.
Professor Moyo: I have to correct you there, it is not true that one; there is such a proposal by the ruling party, and in any case, it’s not true that this proposal for harmonising elections in 2010 as part of Mugabe’s plan to remain in office was passed by the ZANU PF conference. In fact, the true position is that for the first time we have an extraordinary situation here without precedent, which is that a ZANU PF conference has concluded without making a single resolution. Not one resolution was formally made and passed by the ZANU PF conference. And, the reason was precisely because there was trouble over this plan, not by ZANU PF; but by President Mugabe, some securocrats and a few supporters within the ruling party who want him to avoid an election when his term expires in 2008 so that he remains for at least another two years but, with the intention of remaining there longer.
But, the main point is that the major factions within ZANU PF; the so-called Mujuru faction and the Mnangagwa faction; the big wigs in those factions are not supporting these proposals. They want Mugabe to go when his term expires in 2008 and consequently there was trouble yesterday when the conference was in the process of making these resolutions. And, what they resolved to do is to send all the resolutions that were intended for endorsement back, not to the Central Committee, but to provinces, so that they will be debated, discussed there and then forwarded to the Central Committee which the Chairman of ZANU PF; the National Chairman John Nkomo, said is the Supreme Organ in between conferences and congresses to look at look at those resolutions. So, we have really an extraordinary situation here where Mugabe’s attempt to use ZANU PF’s 2006 conference to endorse his plan actually failed.
Violet: That’s what I was going to ask, that in a way did you think that Mugabe got what he wanted Professor Moyo?
Professor Moyo? No, he did not. He obviously wanted unanimous support but he did not get it and the problem for him didn’t start in Goromonzi yesterday but it started on Wednesday, on the 12 th of December when the matter came up for the first time in the party’s Politburo and it was not accepted. And, the point here is that, from what I understand, everyone agrees that there is a case to be made and some wisdom for harmonising Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government elections as an administrative issue. But, when it comes to when should this be done and even how it should be done, there is absolutely no agreement even within ZANU PF especially when it becomes apparent that the intention behind this seemingly innocent proposal is, in fact, not only to extend Mugabe’s term by a stroke of the pen but to also make it impossible for, especially those faction leaders who had positioned themselves to take the throne from him; to even challenge within a democratic process. And, this is the problem that he is having.
Violet: Peta?
Peta Thornycroft: Well, I’m listening to Jonathan and I saw; I’ve already spoken to him this morning so I knew about it and I saw the Standard had a report and one did know that leading towards this Congress there has been extraordinary division within ZANU PF. Each faction having scandals leaked about the other faction and clearly ZANU PF is not the ZANU PF we knew up until now. It has never been so divided and we will have to wait and see whether or not Mugabe manages to use his muscle to bring them into line via the Central Committee. I think that’s what we’ll be waiting for now, it’s whether he can whip the Central Committee into shape to come up with a decision to back his extension of power as part of the harmonisation of elections.
Violet: And Professor Raftopoulos, your thoughts on this?
Professor Raftopoulos: Yes I think that the situation as Professor Moyo has described is correct. I think that there’s enormous turmoil in this ruling party, the tensions of the past, the contradictions that are within ZANU PF have emerged quite fully, and the problems of the way ZANU PF deals with succession generally and historically have really come home to roost. President Mugabe has had a real problem of about putting in place proper structures internally within his party of how to deal with this question and I think it’s coming home full force now. But, the problem is, it’s a more general problem for the State in Zimbabwe and for the state of our nation. It’s a very dangerous time I think and especially given the way the State itself has been increasingly militarised and we know these divisions are quite deep. I think it does present very serious problems, not just for the ruling party, but for Zimbabwean people as a whole.
Violet: And you know many would ask, and I think for this question I have to go back to Professor Moyo, that what about these eight out of ten provinces who adopted the proposal to extend Mugabe’s term. Are you saying that they really didn’t want that because many people had thought that they wanted a life President?
Professor Moyo: Well, two things about that as far as I understand what happened. First, it’s not true that these eight provinces, or anyone, for that matter, in ZANU PF, really understands what the content of this proposal is. And secondly, it’s not true that they went beyond simply expressing support for the harmonisation of the three major elections in the country. They did not go as far as making a resolution to say the President’s term should be extended. Because, there is no necessary connection between the two things, between harmonising elections and having Mugabe continue with executive power and authority beyond the expiry of his term. But, in any case, these eight provinces were making recommendations to the conference and it’s no longer important to refer to them because the conference has taken place, and what we know is that they, plus the other two sitting at the conference did not make this resolution. This resolution was not formally tabled before the conference and it was not adopted by acclamation as is usually the place. That’s what we know.
Violet: And Peta, who would benefit from an early Mugabe exit?
Peta Thornycroft: Zimbabwe would benefit. There’s no question that it seems impossible that Zimbabwe can even go on until 2008 with Mugabe in power because the situation is truly unravelling with the inflation. Believe me, that inflation of 1000 / 11 00% is not true. The real inflation rate is closer to 2000. The parallel market rate, which is clearly how most business survive, is rampaging ahead even despite the Diasporan return when the parallel rate normally stabilises or even drops slightly. They cannot carry on like that and there are enough people within ZANU PF amongst the younger business men in ZANU PF who do know that the only way to start a recovery is to get back into the International Community and they cannot, Zimbabwe , cannot do that with Mugabe at the helm. Peter Robinson an Economist in Harare, told me on Friday that the studies that he and his colleagues have done show that even if Mugabe was to go tomorrow and Zimbabwe was to go back into the International Community immediately and was able to get Balance of Payments support, it would take 15 years to get to the state Zimbabwe was in, in 1996. The damage is so intense and widespread and that’s not even taking into consideration the humanitarian crisis that Zimbabweans face; an enormous humanitarian crisis.
Violet: And Peta, also, now that Mugabe has said, you know, it was his suggestion that the elections should be harmonised and that there are no vacancies for his position, is he now clarifying to the world that he is truly a dictator?
Peta: Now clarifying to the world? I think some of us who’ve been covering this story for a very long time have used those words many years previously to describe Mugabe’s rule in the last, you know let’s face it, in some ways in the last 23 years since he sent in Gukurahundi and since Gukurahundi took place. So, I wouldn’t think the word ‘now’ was appropriate.
Violet: And speaking about the International Community, Professor Raftopoulos, is the International Community going to take this issue more seriously that Mugabe has made it clear that he wants to stay, his term to be extended, and, he wants to stay in power by all means necessary?
Professor Raftopoulos: I think the International Community is uncertain what to do about the situation in Zimbabwe and there’s been mixed messages coming out of there at the moment. My sense is that for the moment they will hold their ground; they will hold to the kind of restrictions that they have imposed the collective sanctions that they have. But without a very clear idea of what to do next. They’ve been waiting for signals from the region, from SADC, from South Africa . But I think even in SADC and South Africa it’s clear that they’ve been waiting for some kind of a Mugabe retreat and this is clearly a message that those who’ve been hoping for a change will not welcome. So I think for the moment we are just going to see a continued hold on what is in place and I doubt there’ll be any new initiatives unless there’s some very serious internal changes taking place within the country, a re-emergence of a stronger opposition or renewed turmoil within ZANU PF, but I doubt the International Community is going to take this much further at the moment.
Violet: And Professor Moyo, you know some have said that ZANU PF is decaying while others say ZANU PF will have a bit of infighting here and there but the party will not break up. What’s your take on this and also is ZANU PF capable of reform?
Professor Moyo : Well, on the prospects for survival of the party, Mugabe himself, last week, said that one of the reasons why he believes he should stay longer and not retire now anyway is that he fears the party would disintegrate should he retire. And, there are many who would agree with him that he has stayed far too long to the detriment of his party and that it is unlikely that ZANU PF will survive his departure, and so that’s part of the problem.
But there’s an issue related to a question you were raising just a moment ago about why Mugabe has come out publicly indicating that he is the originator of this proposal and so forth. I think we should understand that for Mugabe now the issue is about fear of prosecution, not only by a successor but by victims of his rule over the last 26 or so years within Zimbabwe . But, there’s also a fear of international prosecution and what they seem to be trying to do through this unacceptable proposal is to retain immunity for Mugabe and Mugabe now believes when he looks around, he is aware of what happened to Chiluba in Zambia , to Muluzi in Malawi . He’s also aware that arrangements through the International Community may not be that sustainable as happened with Charles Taylor. So, he now believes, and certainly those close to him, the securocrats, believe that the only way to keep his immunity is if he remains in office.
The problem they are wrestling with is whether he should have both Executive authority and power on the one hand and the ceremonial responsibilities of a Head of State on the other. That is why I gather that some of the people working behind the scenes within his party and Government are trying to do through this proposal, is to bring back the pre 1987 arrangement of a Titular Head of State with ceremonial powers and an Executive Prime Minister so that Mugabe can, from 2008, as a result of this proposal, become a Titular Head of State. And the reason is simply because he is afraid of what is going to happen to him within Zimbabwe and Internationally. But, on the other hand, the rest of the country is concerned about the fact that the decay, the economic meltdown, the breakdown of institutions in the country; all this is related to his rule, and his being in office himself and that there can be no recovery of any kind as long as he is in office. And, I think that’s why there is a push, even from his own party to get him to leave when his term expires.
Violet: But, what about some of these people you mention who are working from behind the scenes? You know, where is Mugabe getting his support base from? Who are these people who are supporting him and who want to extend his rule?
Professor Moyo: Well, one thing we can conclude from the annual conference is that he seems to be losing very fast the support of the various factions within his own party. And, certainly, the two major factions do not agree with him on this one. But, he is enjoying the support of the security arms of the state. Clearly, JOCs is still behind him; the Joint Operational Command which is made up of CIO agents, Army and the Police. They support him.
And there seems to be an unwritten rule here that we have to reckon with which comes from this JOC circle and it is that they believe there are founding fathers connected with the liberation struggle who should, in their view, not be subjected to the indignity, they believe, of dying outside office. The feeling; the unwritten but very strong feeling, is that of the founding fathers, including the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo, and the late Vice President Simon Muzenda, Mugabe and Vice President Joseph Msika, these people should die with the dignity of their offices, so goes the argument. And, they say this happened to the late two Vice Presidents and they can’t imagine someone like Robert Mugabe dying as a former President, a retired President and so forth. And, the feeling there is that if we are going to have a new dispensation where power is sought through a transparent competitive process, it should be after this too. If you combine that thinking, which I know for a fact is deeply held in certain circles within the ruling elite plus Mugabe’s fear of prosecution and exaggerated need for immunity, then you can understand why there are problems around this proposal.
Violet: And, you know Professor Raftopoulos, on the issue of people dying in office, as Professor Moyo said, there is also this talk that Mugabe wants to die in office. But, the truth of the matter is that no one is immortal; one day he will die. So, what will happen, if you don’t have a successor?
Professor Raftopoulos : Well, clearly that’s one of the real problems that we’re facing; the issue of Mugabe’s security but also this sense of obligation that they feel that the people of Zimbabwe have. It’s creating enormous problems for the nation because an unresolved issue around the succession could cause a great deal of turmoil, not just in the ruling party and for the State, but for the Nation itself. This is particularly the case when we know how much the State has been securitised, militarised, and that the military are now a major factor in the succession battle. So, as I was saying earlier, I think this does present the nation with an extremely dangerous situation and we need to find a way that this can be resolved without taking us into further dangerous waters.
Violet: And Peta, you know still on the same issue. Many have asked what would happen if Mugabe dies in office, will this make this worse or better? How would you answer them?
Peta Thornycroft: Well, at the moment until he changes the Constitution 90 days after Mugabe dies there has to be a Presidential election. I’ve still been surprised that he hasn’t been worried about that. Maybe he feels that they have so sufficiently defeated the opposition that he doesn’t have to worry about any challenge for any successor. So they do have to deal with that at some stage unless Mugabe believes that he’s got the same genes as his mother and is going to live on until his nineties, and certainly, his health seems extremely robust. But, I am surprised that they’ve taken that chance and it must be indicative of the lack of coherence within ZANU PF. They had a chance to do it when they changed the Constitution for the 17 th time, they had a chance to do it then and they ducked it. So the question of succession as both Jonathan and Brian have said, is an extremely dangerous one at the moment.
Violet: And still on you Peta, there seems to be high levels of discipline from ZANU PF or within ZANU PF. Does this actually make work more hard for the opposition.
Peta: The opposition; it’s really hard to see that the opposition plays any role at the moment in the political life of Zimbabwe . Certainly, as a journalist, I don’t really even phone them now for quotes because those quotes are just quotes, they don’t have any apparent backing by initiatives that would influence the political situation at the moment. So, unless the opposition; and I’m not just saying the two factions of the MDC; I’m saying the broad Civil Society, the Churches, the Students etc get together and form some kind of bulwark so that Mugabe or so that ZANU PF, whichever division within ZANU PF, so that ZANU PF doesn’t just have it all it’s own way one way or another. Because, I think there’s a great fear that even if Mugabe doesn’t stay in Office, even if those who want him to go manage to prevent him staying in power, that we’ll just have more of the same from the next ZANU PF administration. It might have a better gloss to it, it might have gotten back into the International Community, it might have even tinkered with some legislation to make it less abusive. But, the fact is, there’s a spirit and an ethos within ZANU PF that’s out of date and out of kilter certainly with the way in which the region is moving and in fact the way in which Zimbabweans want to live, and some of them have known more freedoms than they have now. But, I really fear that whatever happens in the succession race right now, we are just going to get more of the same but looking a bit better.
Violet: And Professor Moyo, still on the issue of the opposition. What are your thoughts on this? If ZANU PF has somehow been weakened by in-fighting, why is it that the opposition has failed to dislodge it?
Professor Moyo : Well, I suppose by opposition you mean specific groups and so forth. My take would be rather different. In fact my answer to your question ‘what would happen if Mugabe were to die’ would be that we would have blood on the floor and ZANU PF would split and I think those conditions would be of great benefit to the opposition in the sense that even now with all these developments within ZANU PF against the background of the economic meltdown, the conditions; the political conditions are conducive to the growth of the opposition. The prospect of an enlarged opposition which would include significant elements from within ZANU PF have never been brighter, in my view.
So while I see that the specific opposition defined as the MDC has problems at the moment, and some people, I just saw a BBC report saying the opposition is even weaker than ZANU PF. I don’t think that is correct, I think developments on the ground are such that we may see emerging a new and much stronger enlarged opposition. I really do believe that. There are some structural problems within ZANU PF which indicate that either the party might split or something unprecedented might happen within the party. But, the sentiments we find within ZANU PF in opposition to the Mugabe agenda are also the sentiments we find within the current opposition. And, I think what we might see happening is a closing of ranks of certain people. While the factions themselves n ZANU PF don’t seem to have reformers as leaders, within the general membership and within the general political, economic thinking within ZANU PF, there are many whose world view or whose vision is indeed the vision we find within the opposition. So, there is a shifting political consciousness that I see developing in our country. So it’s not so much ZANU PF versus the opposition, it’s the growth of opposition from within ZANU PF feeding into the existing opposition to respond to the overall political situation in our country.
Violet Gonda: And we will continue with this teleconference on the 3 rd of January 2007 when foreign correspondent Peta Thornycroft will give us her input on why the international media has lost interest in the Zimbabwe story. We will also take a look at how the draconian legislation largely attributed to Professor Jonathan Moyo has had a negative impact on the media in Zimbabwe .
Audio interview can be heard on SW Radio Africa ’s Hot Seat programme (Tues 19 Dec). Comments and feedback can be emailed to violet@swradioafrica.com
by Oskar Wermter SJ
In the
Interest of Good Governance
There is one thing the African continent
still has to learn, and some
countries are actually learning, is how to
conduct the transition from one
government to the next, from one president
to the next in a peaceful manner,
without bloodshed, without dead bodies on
the streets of the capital,
without thousands fleeing into neighbouring
countries, into misery and
destitution.
For Zimbabwe the agony is
being drawn out more and more. Millions have
already gone into exile. Now
the date of return has been pushed into an even
more remote future.
Now there are plans to manipulate the constitution once more to suit
one man
and one party.
The constitution should represent the authority of the
people,
untouchable and permanent. In this country the constitution, and the
people
whose will it is meant to express, is not given any respect.
Politicians
twist and bend it as it suits their fleeting interests and
political
scheming.
The Church is not meant to play political games
and align itself with
party interests.
But the Church must insist
on the rule of law and constitutional
government.
Why can't the
Church get up and say, in the interest of good
governance, "Enough is
enough"?
The Second African Synod of the Catholic Church which has been
announced will have as its main theme good governance. We certainly need
some enlightenment.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2006/20/c9270.html
First foreign media interview in more than two
years
TORONTO, Dec. 20 /CNW/ - The Biography Channel is pleased to
premiere an
exclusive interview with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. The
rare
interview,
a first for foreign media since 2004, is set to air on
The Biography Channel
on Thursday December 28 at 10:00 p.m. ET. One of
Africa's most controversial
leaders, Mugabe and his government has attracted
international criticism for
their actions, questionable economic management
and human rights violations.
In the no-holds-barred interview, Mugabe
talks about how he would never
have predicted he would be in power as long as
he has been and has no
concerns
about the International Criminal Court
pursuing charges against him for
crimes
against humanity and goes on to
counter that George W. Bush is the one that
should be standing trial.
The controversial leader speaks candidly about the land reform process
that
effectively dismantled the country's agricultural industry. He still
believes
it was the right thing to do and goes on to blame British Prime
Minister Tony
Blair for the negative fallout from the process. Mr. Mugabe
also
claims
operation "Clean the Filth", which destroyed hundreds of thousands of
homes
and businesses, wasn't politically motivated and admits that the
government
still has not resettled all the people it displaced in 2005.
"Zimbabwe's
current political situation is one of the biggest and most
important
international stories and I hope this interview will shed a little
more light
on why Canadians need to care and be informed on the subject,"
said
Jonathan Roth, Senior Producer, The Biography Channel Canada.
The interview touches on life expectancy in Zimbabwe, which despite
Mugabe's
claims, is largely attributable to AIDS. According to statistics
from
the
World Health Organization, Zimbabweans have the shortest life
expectancy
worldwide, listed as 37 years for men and 34 years for women.
Mugabe
believes
only 18 per cent of Zimbabwe's population is infected
with HIV and rejects
conflicting statistics brought up by AIDS activists
within the country that
the real figure could be closer to 40 per
cent.
Governing Zimbabwe with dictatorial powers, Mugabe refuses to
retire
from
public office while the ruling party, Zanu-PF, is in shambles
and hopes to
leave a legacy of "the continuation of freedom and
democracy."
About The Biography Channel Canada
The
Biography Channel launched in Canada on September 7, 2001 and is the
only
24-hour television channel dedicated to showcasing biographies,
documentaries
and movies about the most intriguing people from Canada and
around the world.
Available to digital cable and satellite customers, The
Biography Channel in
Canada is owned by Rogers Media Inc.
<<
www.thebiographychannel.ca
>>
For further information: or visuals or to speak with
Jonathan Roth,
Senior Producer, The Biography Channel, please contact:
Gillian McArdle/Lisa
Mills, Media Profile, T: (416) 504-8464, F: (416)
504-4042,
gillian@mediaprofile.com/mills@mediaprofile.com
IOL
Basildon
Peta
December 20 2006 at 12:28PM
Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe's plan to extend his tenure until
2010 is facing resistance
from an unlikely source: his much feared spy
agency, the Central
Intelligence Organisation.
Authoritative sources say a private
security document compiled within
the CIO warns that the issue of extending
Mugabe's tenure until 2010 should
be handled very carefully as it had the
potential of causing widespread
discontent and galvanising the opposition
and civil society into convening
mass protests that might pose serious
security problems.
A senior CIO source, interviewed on condition of
anonymity, said: "It
is clear that a majority of Zimbabweans are opposed to
the president staying
four more years in office till 2010. Even many in
Zanu-PF oppose the plan.
The gist of the document is that trashing the
electoral route in 2008 might
cause widespread disenchantment in the
country, and the fallout might be
severe."
CIO
officials who back cabinet minister Emmerson Mnangagwa in the
increasingly
acrimonious succession battle are believed to be behind the
document. As a
former state security minister, Mnangagwa was in charge of
the CIO, and he
still commands a lot of influence in the dreaded spy agency.
CIO
sources say that although the agency agrees with the idea of
synchronising
presidential and parliamentary elections, this was better done
in 2008 than
2010. Cutting the life of the current parliament short by two
years and
convening parliamentary elections alongside presidential elections
in 2008
would at least send a positive signal that Zanu-PF meant well and
was not
abusing the issue of synchronisation for self-serving ends.
In any
case, Zanu-PF could easily win elections in 2008 as the
fragmented
opposition might not have its act together by then. Delaying the
elections
till 2010 might give the opposition time to regroup and create a
rallying
point for Mugabe's critics.
The issue of delaying presidential
elections till 2010 was raised at
the annual Zanu-PF conference, which ended
on Sunday. It has been referred
to the party's central committee for further
discussion and adoption.
Although there was consensus among
delegates on the need to
synchronise elections and delay presidential
elections till 2010, there was
no unanimity on whether Mugabe should stay in
office till then.
Mugabe has ruled out retiring while his party is
riven by
factionalism.
Sources say the CIO's documents seem to
make it clear that weary
Zimbabweans would rather have Mugabe go in 2008. If
presidential elections
are to be delayed till 2010, then it might be easier
to sell the project
with a new leader for both the ruling party and the
country.
A special parliamentary committee on defence has warned
that
inadequate budgetary allocations to the army would leave Zimbabwean
soldiers
earning wages below the poverty datum line.
The report
is the clearest indication yet that Zimbabwe's seven-year
economic crisis is
starting to cripple Mugabe's ability to keep the armed
forces
happy.
This article was originally published on page 13 of The
Star on
December 20, 2006
Yahoo News
by Fanuel Jongwe Wed Dec 20, 10:06 AM ET
HARARE (AFP) -
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said
he was ready to
lead the resistance to plans for veteran President Robert
Mugabe to extend
his rule for another two years.
"This country cannot afford three more
years of suffering," Tsvangirai told
reporters Wednesday in his first
reaction to moves by the ruling Zimbabwe
African National Union - Patriotic
Front (ZANU-PF) party to extend Mugabe's
rule until 2010.
"Mugabe and
his party have no right to impose on Zimbabweans such an
important national
issue. What ZANU-PF wants to do is not only
unconstitutional, it's also
illegal and we will resist it in whatever manner
we deem
fit.
"Zimbabweans know what they want and they are ready to
resist."
In a resolution passed at its annual conference over the
weekend, three key
arms of ZANU-PF proposed 82-year-old Mugabe's term be
extended by postponing
presidential elections currently scheduled for
2008.
They said having parliamentary and presidential elections
concurrently would
save money in a country reeling under record
inflation.
In the late 1990s Tsvangirai, then leader of the main labour
union, led mass
protests that threatened to bring the country to its
knees.
While he has been conspicuous by his absence from more recent
anti-government strikes, he made clear that he aimed to be involved this
time round.
"Our resistance will take the form of street protests,
job and school
boycotts as long as it is within our right," he
said.
Oppposition to Mugabe has been hamstrung by divisions within
Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The party split into two
separate
factions a year ago after a rival group disagreed with Tsvangirai's
decision
to boycott parliamentary elections.
However the move to
extend Mugabe's tenure appeared to have healed some of
the divisions as both
factions took part in a meeting Wednesday along with
activists from human
rights groups and the church as well as student
leaders.
A total of
23 organisations agreed at the meeting to unite under banner of
the "Save
Zimbabwe Campaign" in a push for elections in 2008.
"The purpose of this
meeting is to announce our rejection of the plans by
ZANU-PF," fearless
Mugabe critic Lovemore Madhuku who heads the National
Constitutional
Assembly, told reporters alongside Tsvangirai after the
meeting.
"We
have formed a movement to reject what ZANU-PF has done. We will not
publicise the nitty-gritties of our action plan but the sky is the limit as
to what we will do."
Public gatherings are meant to receive prior
approval and protests that have
been advertised in advance have been crushed
by Mugabe's security forces.
Zimbabwe is in the seventh year of economic
recession characterised by more
than 1,000 percent inflation and massive
unemployment, with at least 80
percent of the population living below the
poverty threshold.
Critics blame the country's woes on mismanagement by
Mugabe's government.
By Violet Gonda
20
December 2006
Zimbabweans have talked of nothing but the prospect
of another two
years under Robert Mugabe for the last few weeks. This was
after the state
media revealed that ZANU PF intended to harmonise the
presidential and
parliamentary election and extend Mugabe's term. It was
expected that Mugabe
himself would touch on this crucial issue in his State
of the Nation address
in parliament Wednesday but our correspondent Simon
Muchemwa, who listened
on state television, said it was the usual rhetoric
without substance.
Muchemwa said; "Unfortunately he did not say
anything regarding
elections. Actually anything that people were expecting,
issues of bread and
butter, he never talked about."
During the
session of both Houses of Parliament which was boycotted by
the Tsvangirai
MDC, Mugabe made what has now been termed his usual rant when
he attacked
the British and the opposition. Muchemwa said; "We knew that
Mugabe was not
going to conclude his speech without even castigating Britain
and Tony Blair
and that's what he did today when he said Blair was assisting
MDC with
tactics for regime change in Zimbabwe."
It's reported the 82 year
old leader warned; "While the country
respects and affords everyone the
right of assembly and association, the use
of such platforms as tools to
advance the British-inspired regime change
agenda cannot be
tolerated."
The economic crisis - with an inflationary rate of over
1000% is
largely blamed on mismanagement, bad policies and corruption. But
Mugabe
said the economy is on the road to recovery despite 'targeted'
sanction
imposed by Western governments.
He touched on a number
of issues during his State of the Nation
Address including his Look East
Policy, corruption and the health situation.
He accepted that the brain
drain had affected the health system and that the
government would embark on
a retention programme to bond medical
practitioners.
Nelson
Chamisa, spokesman for the Tsvangirai MDC said all their MPs
boycotted
Mugabe's address because there is no need to listen to lies. He
said the MDC
is opposed to Mugabe's management of the country and the
intended
postponement of elections. He added: "Mugabe himself is least
qualified to
speak about the state of the nation. He needs to go Mufakose
and to
Tsholotsho where Zimbabweans can tell him what the country is like
under his
rule."
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Save Zimbabwe
Campaign notes with great dismay and anguish the announcement
by the ruling
Zanu PF Party of Zimbabwe of an intention to postpone the 2008
Presidential
election to 2010 in order to facilitate the joint holding of
Presidential
and Parliamentary Elections in the same year. Such a move by
the ruling Zanu
PF is undemocratic and takes away the constitutional right
of all Zimbabwean
citizens to elect leaders of their choice at regular
intervals as
established in the current constitution of Zimbabwe
Save Zimbabwe
Campaign calls for the holding of elections in 2008 as per the
schedule of
the current constitution of Zimbabwe but within the framework of
a new
people driven and defined constitution that will allow for the holding
of
fee, fair and democratic governance.
We call upon all citizens of
Zimbabwe and like minded national, regional as
well as international
organizations to reject the current maneuvers of the
ruling Zanu PF Party
and the Government of Zimbabwe to further abrogate the
right to vote of all
Zimbabwean citizens through a vain-glorious attempt to
manage its succession
politics using state institutions such as parliament
to effect undemocratic
constitutional reforms.
Save Zimbabwe Campaign will do all that
is permissible in a democratic
society to challenge the ruling Zanu PF
party's intentions to refuse the
people of Zimbabwe the right to select
leaders of their own choice under a
democratic constitution dispensation.
We will campaign for both the holding
of elections in 2008 and the
overhauling of Zimbabwe's current constitution
in order that it be replaced
by a democratic, people driven and defined
constitutional
framework.
Save Zimbabwe Campaign general council members
are:
· Christian Alliance - Chairing
·
Bulawayo Agenda
· Bulawayo Dialogue
· Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition
· Democratic Party
· Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
· Media Monitoring Project in
Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
· Movement for Democratic Change
(Mutambara)
· Movement for Democratic Change
(Tsvangirai)
· National Constitutional Assembly
(NCA)
· Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe
(SCMZ)
· United People's Movement (UPM)
· United
People's Party (UPP)
· ZANU Ndonga
· Zimbabwe
Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD)
· Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU)
· Zimbabwe Election Support Network
(ZESN)
· Zimbabwe Human Rights Association
(ZIMRIGHTS)
· Zimbabwe National Pastors Conference
(ZNPC)
· Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
·
Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)
· Zimbabwe People's Union
(ZAPU)
· Zimbabwe United Residents Association (ZURA)
From The Star (SA), 20 December
President Robert Mugabe faces a tough period after members
of his party
failed to back his desire to stay in power until
2010.
The Russians call it compromat, which roughly translates to
political foes
digging up dirt on one another. There's abundant compromat in
Harare among
the Zanu PF elite, as the battle over who will succeed Robert
Mugabe (82)
unfolds at a time of extraordinary economic and political
disintegration.
Despite the hand-holding, liberation war songs and dozens of
cattle eaten by
3 000 delegates at the Zanu PF conference outside Harare
last week, the
party is in trouble. Mugabe wanted delegates to pass a
resolution to give
him two more years in power. They didn't, and Mugabe is
going to have to do
even more serious compromat to get his way. And find
foreign backers. During
the latter stages of the economic slide, there were
desperate attempts to
attract investment from the dwindling number of
countries with an appetite
for Zimbabwe. Russian "investors" have been and
gone. The Chinese have a
couple of drills poking away at the government's
platinum claims - but they
never produce the foreign cash Zimbabwe needs so
desperately. Ten days ago
the Israelis arrived, hoping for a quick diamond
fix. They won't hang around
long either.
Repeated failed
investment forays by eccentric foreigners is just one
recurring symptom of
the country's economic collapse that is strangling Zanu
PF hegemony. The
economy has become the main opposition. The other is Zanu
PF itself. Mugabe,
who often takes a nap (like any octogenarian), wants
control for as long as
his good health holds, even if it means feigning
political retirement.
Increasing numbers of reports about the financial and
political misdeeds of
Zanu PF "comrades" conveniently crossed his desk
during the run-up to the
conference. Many reports came from the Central
Intelligence Organisation,
which, however despised, is relatively efficient.
The scams and allegations
have included plots against Mugabe, imports of
dodgy wheat and fertiliser,
shady deals in China, looting of the derelict
iron and steel plant
Ziscosteel, tractors, farms, forex, fuel and fiddling
Zanu PF's failing
business empire. Zanu PF's top leaders competing for the
presidency - and
who are accused, rightly or wrongly, of scandalous
behaviour - include Rural
Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa,
Vice-President Joyce Mujuru, national
Zanu PF chairperson John Nkomo and
significantly wealthy governor of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono.
The feverish exchange of
compromat, arguably exemplified by the release of a
parliamentary
investigation into improprieties at the state steel company
Ziscosteel,
takes place amid a daily worsening of the economic mayhem.
Despite power and
water cuts, the festive season nevertheless gripped Harare
with private
parties, craft and linen fairs. Foreigners giggled when they
saw recent
reports that Harare was now the world's most expensive city for
expatriates.
In early December, money traders were selling Z$3 300 for $1.
The rate
slipped about 15% when diasporans flocked home with their annual
bounty of
rands and sterling. For the smattering of expatriates using the
ridiculous
official rate of Z$250 for $1, Harare is expensive, but it is a
comparative
oasis. Less than 30km outside the city is another world of
staggering decay.
Every small town is disintegrating. It's rare to see
cattle in fields, and
land, normally verdant with even, shoulder-high crops,
is bare. On a recent
round trip of about 700km through middle Zimbabwe and
down to the bleak
south-east and back another route, not a town or village
had a litre of fuel
for sale. On a stretch along the road to South Africa,
children were waving
empty jerry cans, flagging down hauliers to siphon off
a little diesel.
South African drivers often oblige, not for money, but out
of
pity.
Despite the misery caused by Gono's monetary policies, and
despite his
denial of political ambition, Zanu PF's rumour mill places him
as a possible
successor to Mugabe. Two weeks ago, all Sunday newspapers
carried yet
another 16-page supplement paid for by the central bank. In it
Gono defended
himself from accusations that he abuses his mandate, so he
published letters
from various ministers begging for funds. All ministries
depend on him when
inflation busts their budgets a month or two after
allocation. Parliament
has collapsed. When the unfathomable budget was
debated in parliament three
weeks ago, only eight MPs were there - five from
Zanu PF and three from the
fractured opposition, the Movement for Democratic
Change. Everyone knows the
economy can't survive unless Zimbabwe goes for
the Liberian option, and the
leadership doesn't want that.
Few in
Zanu PF are as canny as Mujuru's husband, retired defence force chief
General Solomon Mujuru, who has collected an attractive portfolio of shares
in, or ownership of, key companies such as ferro-chrome producer Zimasco.
Most don't have a foreign stash in Malaysia, the favoured, if inconvenient,
haven for the top few. The majority of the cabinet and apparatchiks depend
on Zanu PF patronage to smooth their access to cheap fuel and forex they can
trade on the black market. In this atmosphere of heightened compromat, some,
like General Mujuru, believe Zimbabwe's only option for survival is a clean
candidate to replace Mugabe to make the country become part of the
international community again. Only that way, Mujuru and a few important
party hacks argue, can monetary stability be restored and the infrastructure
they broke be mended. There is only one on the horizon at present.
Businessmen say he isn't a great administrator, is sometimes side-tracked by
trivia, but in so far as anyone can be clean and decent in Zanu PF today,
Simba Makoni is the man.
He isn't hated by Ndebeles as the
Mujurus and Mnangagwa are for their role
in the 1980s massacres in
Matabeleland. He hasn't helped himself to a farm,
and when he was finance
minister in 2002, he stood up to Mugabe, trying for
devaluation - but he
failed and had to quit. But he isn't trusted by Mugabe
or the securocrats
who are the power behind the throne and who want him to
stay on not only for
two extra years, but for life. So who does Mugabe trust
to keep him safe
from his own personal nightmare: that he lands up at The
Hague for crimes
against humanity? Gono would never hand him over to the UN
and he is also
personal banker to Mugabe and his extravagant wife, Grace.
Mugabe doesn't
owe him anything from the ferocious politics of the
liberation war. But Gono
is disliked and feared by key business leaders. He
uses incompetent
investigators and Zanu PF youth militia to target exporters
and seize
documents and computers, looking for forex. Companies under attack
are
paralysed for weeks. So Mugabe, the puppeteer, must carry on tweaking
the
strings and intensify compromat so that Zanu PF capitulates again and
gives
him what he failed to get at the party conference: overwhelming
support for
two extra years in power. While he works out which string to
pull next, he
must hope above all that he will be able to stay awake more
than he nods off
during steamy afternoons this summer.
From SW Radio Africa, 19 December
By Violet Gonda
State security
agents have in recent weeks been confiscating radios in some
rural areas,
allegedly looking for subversive content. Last month several
members of
organised listening clubs had their radios taken in Mberengwa. In
Gokwe
several teachers who had been given "Ranger Freeplay" radios by the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) also had their radios seized
by state agents who claimed to be from the President's Office. The radios
were distributed to radio listening clubs in remote areas to allow people to
listen to independent news broadcasts from outside of Zimbabwe. Two lawyers
from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) who responded to these
reports managed to get a court order and had the radios in Gokwe returned
while the matter was being finalised in the courts. But Rangu Nyamurundira
and Dzimbabwe Chimbga of ZLHR were allegedly subjected to harassment and
intimidation by state agents last Friday.
Nyamurundira told
Newsreel that Gokwe police refused to serve court papers
on the CIOs. He
said; "An Assistant Inspector Dube informed us he could not
go ahead and do
what had been ordered - that is to serve the papers on
members of the
President's Office because this was also a state institution.
which of
course we did not agree with because this was a court order and his
refusal
was actually in contempt of court." The human rights lawyers were
left with
no choice but to serve the court papers on the CIO operatives
themselves.
The lawyers allege they were subjected to frustrating tactics
and harassment
during the process. At first they were told by one of the
respondents, a Mr
Mlotswa, to serve the Minister of State Security Didymus
Mutasa. But they
insisted that the court papers specifically noted that
Mlotswa and another
CIO, Emanuel D Takadiyi, were the respondents.
Nyamurundira said they were
told that before they could serve the papers
they had to supply their own
personal details, giving their names, home
addresses, contact numbers, and
fathers' names.
A ZLHR statement said; "To insist that lawyers
carrying out their legal
mandate give their personal details is clear
harassment aimed at
intimidating them from doing their work." It was alleged
that the two CIO
operatives working in the President's Office at Government
Complex in Gokwe
went to Simbe Primary School and Njelele Secondary School
in November and
December respectively, where they produced a list with names
of teachers who
had been given the radios. The two state agents demanded
four teachers hand
over the radios to them, claiming that it was a state
security issue. The
human rights group urged "the Minister of State Security
and state agents to
stop the illegal and forceful seizure of people's
radios, a clear violation
of their right to property and right to receive
and share information." The
lawyers also appealed to the security forces to
respect court orders.
Reuters
Wed Dec 20, 2006 5:43 PM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe is at an
"advanced stage" in finalising a
controversial law designed to give locals
shares in foreign-owned mines, and
has sealed joint mining deals with China,
President Robert Mugabe said on
Wednesday.
Mugabe's government
unsettled the mining industry in March when it announced
plans to amend the
mining laws and "indigenise" 51 percent of all
foreign-owned mining
companies, with 25 percent going to the state for free.
The government
withdrew the document for further consultations but Mugabe
has repeatedly
stressed that locals should be in control of their rich
natural
resources.
"Indigenisation and economic empowerment of our people remains
the
cornerstone of our socio-economic development," Mugabe said in an annual
state of the nation speech to parliament.
"The amendment of the Mines
and Minerals Act to facilitate participation by
locals in the mining sector
is at an advanced stage," said Mugabe.
The government empowerment has
worried investors in one of the few sectors
of Zimbabwe's economy that has
continued to attract foreign capital
following the collapse of the key
agriculture sector, which critics blame on
Mugabe's seizure of white-owned
farms for blacks.
Major international firms with interests in Zimbabwe
include the world's
number one platinum miner Anglo Platinum, Rio Tinto and
Implats.
Last Friday Mugabe said his government would not allow land-grab
style
seizures of mines by top officials, a statement analysts said was
designed
to calm jittery foreign mining firms.
On Wednesday Mugabe
said his "Look East" policy, which seeks to bolster ties
with Asian and
Muslim nations to make up for Zimbabwe's increasing isolation
from the West,
was bearing fruit after Zimbabwe signed joint venture mining
agreements with
firms from China.
"Joint venture mining projects have been agreed with
several Chinese
companies while there are advanced plans to open a minerals
marketing office
in the city of Shanghai in China," Mugabe said without
giving details of the
companies involved.
Analysts and industry
officials say growth in the mining sector is being
stunted by delays in
finalising mine ownership laws and a skewed exchange
rate
policy.
Mining ouput declined by 14.4 percent in 2006, but official
forecasts point
to a 4.9 percent growth in 2007. The industry has overtaken
agriculture as
the top foreign currency earner in the crisis-hit southern
African country.
Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red
Crescent Societies
(IFRC)
Date: 18 Dec 2006
Zimbabwe: Appeal
No. MAAZW001 Programme Update No. 2
APPEAL AND BUDGET REVISION
The
Federation's vision is to strive, through voluntary action, for a world
of
empowered communities, better able to address human suffering and crises
with hope, respect for dignity and a concern for equity. Its mission is to
improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity.
It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of
volunteers are active in over 185 countries.
In Brief
Period
covered: July to November 2006.
This Programme Update revises the total
Appeal budget from CHF 6,680,475 to
CHF 6,856,202 (USD 5,680,366 or EUR
4,309,366).
Appeal coverage: 9.36%
Outstanding needs: CHF
6,214,323 (USD 5,148,569 or EUR 3,905,923).
Appeal 2006-2007: http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/annual06/MAAZW001.pdf
Programme
Update no. 1:
http://www.ifrc.org/docs/appeals/annual06/MAAZW0001.pdf
The
programmes herein are aligned with the Federation's Global Agenda, which
sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the
lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity":
-
Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
-
Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public
health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red
Cross Red Crescent
capacity to address the most urgent situations of
vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social, exclusion
and promote
respect for diversity and human dignity.
Programme
summary: This programme update focuses on 2007 operational plans
for
Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) and provides information with regard
to
adjustments made to the second year of the two year plan for 2006 and
2007.
The priority for the humanitarian action plan in 2007 is on vulnerable
groups, particularly those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS through
home-based care (HBC). Activities will target enhancing positive coping
mechanisms and mitigating the effects of the declining economy, particularly
its impact on the access and quality of basic services for already
vulnerable populations.
The update also provides information
regarding financial coverage to date
and indicates changes made to the 2007
budgets in light of adjustments made
in the programme areas. The food
security integrated health and care project
under bilateral with British
government's Department for International
Development (DFID) will be funded
through a bilateral agreement with the
British Red Cross. The capacity
building component will scale up to
strengthen programme implementation at
all levels. The water and sanitation
(WatSan) project will benefit from the
European Union (EU) - African
Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Water Facility. The
British, Danish and Japanese Red
Cross societies will continue having
bilateral project in health and care
and disaster management.
In
addition to this revised budget, ZRCS is seeking CHF 5,746,567 in 2007
for
the integrated HIV and AIDS programme. Please refer to the Southern
Africa:
Integrated HIV and AIDS Programme Appeal (MAA63003) and the country
plan
(MAA63003ZW).
National context
The ongoing economic recession and
growing political rivalries are making
Zimbabwe unstable. The Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) is forecast to contract
by 4.4% in 2006 and by 2.3% in 2007.
The redenomination of the Zimbabwe
dollar in August 2006 had an economic
rationale and minimally improved the
economic situation. Neither the
supplementary budget nor the new Monetary
Policy statement published in late
July contains any new measures that are
required to put the country on the
road to economic recovery. Instead, the
government has largely continued to
tinker with exchange rate and interest
rate policy. Inflation has hovered at
around 1,000% since March 2006. The
Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has continued to
boom, defying economic logic.
Despite growing debt arrears, the government
has continued to seek new loans
to fund food and fuel imports The South
African government is still seeking
to finalize a bilateral investment
protection agreement with Zimbabwe, aimed
at increasing trade between the
two countries. (Economist Intelligence Unit,
October 2006)
New data
shows that the HIV and AIDS infection rate has fallen slightly, to
18.1%
among the sexually active population. The maize harvest has improved
significantly, to about 1.2 million tonnes in 2006, although this still
leaves a deficit of about 700,000 tonnes, requiring further
imports.
For further information please contact:
In Zimbabwe: Emma
Kundishora, Secretary General, Zimbabwe Red Cross Society,
Harare; Email: zrcs@ecoweb.co.zw or ekundishora@comone.co.zw; Phone
+263.4.332.638; +263.4.332.197; Fax +263.4.335.490
In Zimbabwe:
Françoise Le Goff, Head of Southern Africa Regional Delegation,
Harare;
Email francoise.legoff@ifrc.org;
Phone + 263.4.70.61.55,
+263.4.72.03.15; Fax 263.4.70.87.84
In
Geneva: John Roche, Federation Regional Officer for Southern Africa,
Africa
Dept., Geneva; Email: john.roche@ifrc.org; Phone:
+41.22.730.44.40;
Fax +41.22.733.03.95
All International Federation
assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of
Conduct and is committed to the
Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards
in Disaster Response in
delivering quality and accountable assistance to the
most vulnerable. For
support to or for further information concerning
Federation programmes or
operations in this or other countries, or for a
full description of the
national society profile, please access the
Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org
From VOA News, 19 December
Harare - In a year when Zimbabwe's economy continued
to plummet and its
death rate continued to soar, there was one piece of good
news: the rate of
infection of HIV/AIDS has dropped significantly. A new
demographic survey,
the first of its type to be done in Zimbabwe, has
confirmed that Zimbabwe is
the first southern African country to have
reduced the numbers of people
contracting HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
It has been a terrible year for most Zimbabweans suffering under a
collapsing economy and state repression. In its latest global report, the
World Health Organization says Zimbabwe women have the lowest life
expectancy in the world, between 34-38 years. Every fourth child is an
orphan, another world record. Zimbabwe also has the highest rate of
inflation at more than 1000 percent. It has the fastest shrinking economy in
the world in a country that is not at war. The rare good news is that
Zimbabwe is the only country in southern Africa with a decreasing rate of
infection of HIV/AIDS. A group of international donors, which included the
United States, funded the first Demographic Health Survey in Zimbabwe and
the results were released earlier this month. Zimbabwe's HIV infection rate
among sexually active people has dropped to 18 percent, from a high the
government says was over 30 percent.
A 65-year-old grandmother in
Harare, who wishes to be known as Mary Mutasa,
has lost three of her seven
children, as well as three grandchildren, to
HIV/AIDS. She is caring for two
of her orphaned grandchildren, with help
from compassionate employers. Last
year her home, along with thousands of
others, was knocked down as part of a
government-mandated campaign called
Murambatsvina, or Clean-out-the-trash.
But amid all the hardships, she says
there is one positive development. She
has noticed that fewer young people
are dying now in the working-class
suburb where she lives than earlier in
the decade. "I know because at the
location where I stay we had many, many
funerals, now it's better, last
time, now it is better... There are still
funerals but it is not like last
time, 2000, 2003, 2001, now in 2005 there
were some but it is better," she
said. "In 2006 its better than before when
every time, every day there were
three funerals, some next door, over there
over there, there were many,
many, many ... now it's better."
Her first child to die was 22 years
old. "Brian was the first person to have
got AIDS, my son Brian," she said.
"The man I was working with said, 'Ah,
Brian is becoming thin, he is
becoming thin.' I didn't know that it was
AIDS, now he was getting thin and
thin and he said; 'Mummy, my legs are
weak.' He was a driver, he was young,
he was about 20 years, he started to
have girlfriends, many girlfriends,
because he was a driver." Christopher
Dell, U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe,
says the demographic survey confirmed the
lowering infection rate.
Previously, HIV statistics were taken from
pre-natal clinics and since many
pregnant women can no longer afford to
attend them, the data they provided
became unreliable. Mr. Dell says the
data for the latest survey were more
accurate. "We went around to almost
10,000 households, asked a lot of
questions about health issues, not just
HIV/AIDS, to establish a health
baseline," he said. "Because it was so
wide-ranging, and using modern
research techniques we believe we have
identified a real representative
sample and for the first time we have solid
evidence about the rate of
prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe."
Earlier this month, United
Nations envoy Stephen Lewis questioned whether
Zimbabwe's infection rate was
lowering. He speculated that the drop in HIV
rates might be attributable to
high mortality rates and the exodus of
Zimbabweans. But Dell believes the
figures can be trusted. One of the
reasons he does, he says, is that a
significant numbers of Zimbabweans have
changed their sexual behavior.
"There are two contributors to this,
principally increased condom use, the
highest uptake [use] of condom use in
the world, is here in Zimbabwe,
secondly young women are delaying the
initiation of their sexual activity,
avoiding some of the dangers that
younger, less informed girls faced 10-15
years ago," he said. Despite this
good news, more than 3,000 young and often
skilled people are dying every
week in Zimbabwe from
HIV/AIDS.
Even though there is almost universal awareness of the
disease and how to
prevent contracting it, the grandmother said people in
her community still
do not speak about the disease killing their children.
"You know people at
the rural areas and at the location they don't like it
known that they have
AIDS," she said. "Some of them say someone gives them
poison, but me, I know
that it is AIDS." But although Zimbabwe is making
progress in the fight
against HIV/AIDS, the country's ministry of health
acknowledges much remains
to be done. It say only 40,000 out of 300,000
people who need
anti-retroviral drugs to keep the disease in check are
currently receiving
them. Health Minister David Parirenyatwa says he hopes
Zimbabwe will provide
free treatment for all those in need by 2010.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
20 December
2006
More divisions have cropped up in Zimbabwe's opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change, this time between the Harare headquarters of
the MDC
faction headed by founder Morgan Tsvangirai and the faction's branch
in the
United Kingdom.
The faction's international affairs secretary,
Eliphas Mukonoweshuro,
reprimanded the U.K. branch after its leadership met
with British government
officials, ordering them not to engage in diplomatic
activities or other
business outside their jurisdiction. The U.K. branch
says its officers were
simply introducing themselves to the
government.
U.K. branch secretary Julius Mutyambizi-Dewa said his
organization takes
orders only from faction chairman Isaac Matongo. U.K.
branch chairman
Ephraim Tapa added that the contact with the British
government had been
approved by Matongo.
Mukonoweshuro told reporter
Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that the MDC officials in
Britain overstepped their authority in
representing themselves as the
faction's representatives to the British
government. Tapa said his
organization had followed a constitutionally
correct procedure of informing
the chairman of the party of its activities,
and that it was up to the
chairman to coordinate with other officials.