http://www.swradioafrica.com
Violet Gonda
23 December
2008
Human rights lawyers made a breakthrough on Tuesday, after battling
for
weeks to get the police to investigate the disappearance of several MDC
and
civic activists. Lawyer Charles Kwaramba said despite denials by the
police
it has now emerged that at least 12 of the scores of people abducted
are
being held in various police stations around Harare.
After
spending the day combing police stations the lawyers established that
Jestina Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, was at one point
held at Highlands police station, then moved to Matapi in Mbare, Morgan
Tsvangirai's former aide Ghandi Mudzingwa is being held at
Highlands.
Kwaramba also said Concillia Chinanzvavana, the MDC
Mashonaland West
provincial Chairperson of the Women's Assembly, and her
husband, Emmanuel
Chinanzvana, who is a councillor for Ward 25 in Zvimba
South, are being held
in Marlborough police station. The two were part of
the group of 15 who have
been missing for nearly two months.
The news
will come as a relief to the victims' family and friends, as many
of the
abductees were kidnapped from their homes and have been missing for
several
weeks.
The welfare of the victims is not yet known as lawyers are still
being
denied access to their clients. It is reported that the abducted
activist
are being charged under the Criminal Act which talks about training
of
banditry.
"But we feel as legal practitioners that there is really
no point taking
these persons to court. We are actually quite surprised that
they are in
police cells when the police have been coming to court saying
'we don't know
anything about these people', but all of a sudden they pitch
up in police
cells."
Last Friday MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai warned
he will suspend all
negotiations and contact with Zanu PF if all the
abductees are not released
or charged in a court of law by New Year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
Venture
inside a government ministry in Zimbabwe and you will probably
encounter a
cavernous, echoing shell.
By David Blair
Last Updated: 7:05PM GMT 23
Dec 2008
If his fellow African leaders were willing to punish Robert
Mugabe, the
humiliation would rankle deeply
One diplomat recently visited
a cabinet minister in Harare, only to find him
completely alone, save for
his secretary, in an empty building stripped of
furniture.
Leave
aside Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic and mass starvation, now the state
itself
is falling victim to President Robert Mugabe. Hyperinflation has
ensured
that anyone paid in Zimbabwe dollars in effect earns nothing at all.
Entirely understandably, civil servants have given up working and the
government is steadily shutting down.
On the face of it, this
resembles the "death throes" of Mugabe's regime,
which Lord Malloch-Brown,
the Foreign Office minister responsible for
Africa, referred to this week.
Yet how might the old dictator actually
depart? Is his demise really
imminent?
Mr Mugabe, who turns 85 in February, might be removed from the
scene by
nature, an event that would bring indescribable relief to Zimbabwe.
But
aside from dying in office, there are remarkably few ways in which an
African despot might lose power.
Some can be discounted immediately.
Mugabe will obviously not resign or
depart after an election defeat. Nor is
it likely that Zimbabwe's weakened,
impoverished people will ever be able to
overthrow him. The opposition
Movement for Democratic Change is too divided
and inept to mobilise an
uprising of any kind. Morgan Tsvangirai, its
leader, shuttles around the
conference halls of Africa and Europe, spending
much of his time anywhere
but in Zimbabwe.
The only other
possibilities are a coup - either a military takeover or an
internal putsch
within Zanu-PF party - or massive external pressure. No one
knows whether
Zimbabwe's generals are considering a move against Mugabe.
They have done
supremely well out of his rule, taking their pick of formerly
white-owned
farms and treating the state's reserves as their own piggybank.
The
hardline securocrats who sit on the Joint Operations Command, notably
General Constantine Chiwenga, the overall military chief, do not care about
Zimbabwe's collapse and they are utterly indifferent to outside criticism.
Self-interest is all that matters - and at the moment, that seems best
served by keeping Mr Mugabe in power. His presence allows this venal clique
of generals to continue looting their country.
This calculation might
change. The generals might one day judge that Mr
Mugabe has outlived his
usefulness and their privileges would be safeguarded
by a new leader. This
choice could be forced on them by, for example, an
organised mutiny among
the army's lower ranks, whose wages are now
worthless.
But Mugabe is
fully aware of this danger and he will do whatever is
necessary to continue
buying the loyalty of his generals. As for the chances
of a party coup,
Mugabe has plenty of enemies inside Zanu-PF, which is
probably more divided
than ever before. Yet he has always been skilled at
playing factions against
one another. It seems unlikely - although not
wholly impossible - that this
knack will suddenly desert him.
This leaves external pressure as the only
means of forcing Mugabe's
departure. For the first time, he is finding it
increasingly difficult to
claim the support of his brother African leaders.
In the past three years,
every one of Zimbabwe's four neighbours has
acquired a new president,
leaving Mugabe more isolated than ever.
Old
allies have fallen by the wayside, symbolised by the downfall of Thabo
Mbeki
in South Africa. Today, Mr Mugabe is not on speaking terms with the
governments of two of his neighbours - Botswana and Zambia - and his
relations with South Africa are increasingly strained.
Elsehwere,
Raila Odinga, Kenya's prime minister, has openly called for
Mugabe to be
overthrown, by force if necessary, and Desmond Tutu, the
retired Archbishop
of Cape Town, has gone so far as to urge the invasion of
Zimbabwe.
This remains an almost inconceivable option. No African
army would intervene
in Zimbabwe - and the country is simply not important
enough for any Western
government to contemplate this option.
But
suppose Zimbabwe's neighbours decided to ban Mugabe and his allies,
notably
the generals, from travelling to their countries. Suppose they also
froze
any assets and investments they might hold elsewhere in Africa.
Suppose, in
short, that southern Africa replicated the measures taken
against Zimbabwe's
regime by America and every member of the European Union.
This remains
highly unlikely - but no longer impossible. Already, it seems
inconceivable
that Mugabe could pay private visits to Botswana or Zambia. If
his fellow
African leaders were willing to punish him in this way, the
humiliation
would rankle deeply. Mugabe would be robbed of much of his
prestige and his
self-image as a revered African freedom fighter would be
tarnished.
If so, Zimbabwe's generals might start wondering whether
their ageing
figurehead was worth retaining. In this way, external pressure
might provoke
the internal convulsion that remains the biggest threat to Mr
Mugabe.
Britain should urge African leaders to follow the EU's
counter-measures
against Mugabe. The biggest danger faced by the old
dictator is humiliation.
http://www.sabcnews.com
December 21 2008,
5:30:00
Thulasizwe Simelane
Zimbabwean independent
editor Vincent Kahiya says fresh elections will
not necessarily end
Zimbabwe's crisis. President Robert Mugabe has told
members of his Zanu-PF
party that they should start preparing for early
elections because as he
puts it, he doesn't want a repeat of his party's
March loss. He was speaking
at the close of Zanu-PF party's two-day
conference in Bindura.
Mugabe told about 5 000 party loyalists that new elections would be
held if
a power-sharing plan collapsed. He has again refused to heed
international
calls for him to step down. Mugabe says he doesn't have to
follow outgoing
United States President George Bush, a strong critic of
Mugabe, to his
political death.
The Zimbabwe president also told the conference
that he will not allow
any unity government in the country to reverse his
land reform programme.
Critics say the programme has been a key contributor
to the country's
economic ruin.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
Dec 23,
2008, 15:41 GMT
Pretoria - South Africa on Tuesday confirmed it
had provided its ailing
neighbour Zimbabwe with humanitarian aid to the tune
of 300 million rands
(30 million dollars).
The move amounted to an
about-turn on the part of Pretoria that had
initially made the formation of
a unity government in Zimbabwe the condition
for such
assistance.
Thabo Masebe, a spokesman for South African President Kgalema
Motlanthe, had
reiterated on Sunday in an interview with the public
broadcaster that
Pretoria would provide such assistance only once a new
government was
formed.
But a day later, Zimbabwe's state media quoted
Agriculture Minister Rugare
Gumbo as saying Pretoria had sent, among other
goods, maize and sorghum
seed, fertilizer and fuel.
On Tuesday,
Masebe, confirming that assistance was already being provided,
said: 'The
aim is to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to circumvent a
dire food
security situation.'
Zimbabwe's embattled President Robert Mugabe and
opposition Movement for
Democratic (MDC) party leader Morgan Tsvangirai have
failed to implement a
power-sharing agreement signed in
September.
Months of negotiations involving South African officials, have
failed to
break the deadlock, with Mugabe refusing to bow to international
pressure to
step down.
http://news.iafrica.com
Article By: AFP
Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:54
The toll from
Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic rose again on Tuesday, with 1174
people now
known to have died from the disease since August, the United
Nations
children's fund, Unicef, said.
"The disease is still popping up in
the country which means it is still not
under control," Unicef
representative in Zimbabwe Roeland Monasch told a
press conference in Geneva
by telephone.
Almost 3000 new cases have been diagnosed since the last UN
figures were
published five days ago, Monasch said, taking the total number
of confirmed
infections to 23 712.
The previous toll had been 1123 -
meaning that 51 new cholera deaths had
been confirmed since
Thursday.
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe appeared
to deny
cholera's existence in the country, proclaiming in a radio address
that
"there is no cholera".
His spokesperson later said his comments
were meant as "sarcasm" after they
drew international outcry.
Mugabe
then accused former colonial power Britain of deliberately
introducing the
disease as "a genocidal onslaught on the people of
Zimbabwe."
The
epidemic adds to the economic and political crisis roiling the
impoverished
southern African country, with inflation spinning to
stratospheric
proportions and a political stalemate reigning between Mugabe
and opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai over disagreements on a
power-sharing
government.
Washington had hoped the United Nations Security Council
would adopt a
non-binding resolution condemning Mugabe for failing to
protect his people
from the cholera outbreak, but a Western diplomat said
the plan had run into
opposition from neighbouring South Africa.
http://edition.cnn.com
December 23,
2008 -- Updated 1401 GMT (2201 HKT)
HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe described
the
U.S. government and Western nations as "quite stupid and foolish"
Tuesday
for trying to be involved in the African country's
affairs.
Mugabe made the comments at the funeral for a former senior
soldier, just
days after a top U.S. diplomat said the United States no
longer supports a
power-sharing deal between Mugabe and his political rival,
Morgan
Tsvangirai, that might pave the way for economic, health and other
reforms.
Jendayi Frazer, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African
affairs, said
Sunday that the U.S. felt a viable unity government was not
possible with
Mugabe in power.
At the funeral, Mugabe reacted: "The
inclusive government ... does not
include Mr. Bush and his administration.
It does not even know him. It has
no relationship with him.
"So let
him keep his comments to himself. They are undeserved, irrelevant
and quite
stupid and foolish. Who are they to decide who should be included
or should
not in an inclusive government?"
Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who leads the
opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, signed the unity deal September
15, but Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and
the MDC have failed to implement it
because they cannot agree on who should
control key ministries.
Under
the power-sharing proposal brokered by former South African leader
Thabo
Mbeki, Mugabe would remain president while Tsvangirai would become
prime
minister.
U.S. President George W. Bush and other leaders have urged
Mugabe to step
down amid a cholera epidemic that the United Nations says has
killed more
than 1,000 people since August.
Mugabe blames Western
sanctions for Zimbabwe's worst economic and
humanitarian crisis since
independence from Great Britain 28 years ago. The
nation is facing acute
shortages of fuel, electricity and medical drugs. The
inflation rate -- the
highest in the world -- is 231 million percent.
Mugabe, referring to
Bush's call for him to leave office, said: "We realize
that these are [the]
last kicks of a dying horse. We obviously [are] not
going to pay attention
to a sunset administration. Zimbabwe's fate lies in
the fate of Zimbabweans.
They are the ones who make and unmake the leaders
of the country. Their
decision alone is what we go by."
Bush leaves office January
20.
Tsvangirai announced Friday that his party will withdraw from efforts
to
form a unity government unless 42 kidnapped party members are released or
brought to court to face formal charges by New Year's Day.
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe
said on Tuesday it has exposed a Western
espionage ring which was using
"bogus" relief workers to infiltrate the
country's institutions under the
guise of assisting the government to
contain a cholera outbreak, APA learnt
here.
State radio said the espionage ring came to light after four
"bogus"
physicians from the United States and Britain were caught pretending
to be
on a mission to assess humanitarian needs following a cholera
outbreak.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) quoted police
sources as saying
the four had been holding secret meetings with opposition
politicians "with
a view to sponsoring the revival of PF ZAPU and weaken the
ruling ZANU PF so
as to pave way for the MDC-T to assume power".
A
group of ruling party rebels recently revived PF ZAPU, a party which has
been defunct since it merged with President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF in
December 1987.
The four physicians - Christopher Beryres, Donnane
John Richard, Professor
David Sanders and Frank Monaghue - allegedly arrived
in Zimbabwe on December
13 as part of a team of physicians invited by the
Zimbabwe Association of
Doctors for Human Rights to help out in containing
the cholera outbreak.
ZBC said the four breached their visa requirements
by meetings diplomats,
opposition political leaders, civic organizations and
student
representatives during which Zimbabwe's security situation was
discussed.
The arrests are the latest episode of the hostile relations
between Zimbabwe
and Western countries amid calls by Britain, the US and
European Union
leaders for Mugabe to step down in the wake of the cholera
outbreak that has
claimed more than 1,100 lives since August.
Harare
accuses the West of causing the disease through what it terms illegal
sanctions slapped on senior Zimbabwean officials by Britain and her
allies.
JN/tjm/APA 2008-12-23
ATTENTION NEWS EDITOR
MEDIA RELEASE
Rev Kenneth Meshoe,
MP and President of the ACDP
African Christian Democratic
Party.
23rd December 2008
ACDP CALLS FOR MUGABE TO BE
ARRESTED AND TRIED AT THEINTERNATIONAL COURT
- WELCOMES THE END OF SA's
TENURE IN UN SECURITY
COUNCIL
-----------------------
Rev
Kenneth Meshoe, MP and President of the ACDP spoke on Zimbabwe
today:
"The ACDP calls for Robert Mugabe to be pressured to step down
and a unity
government to be put in place without him. For the sake of the
people of
Zimbabwe, South Africa must stop shielding Robert
Mugabe.
The ACDP agrees with commentators that South Africa has the
economic,
political and military leverage to rescue Zimbabweans from their
leader; yet
President Motlanthe not only refuses to act but actively blocks
intervention
by other countries. Those in South Africa who support this
unquestionable
policy have become accessories to a grave humanitarian
crime.
The ACDP is disappointed to see South Africa renege on its
statement that
the R300m agricultural aid package to Zimbabwe would not be
released until a
unity government was in place. It is reported that SA is
now permitting its
release now under the SADC aid arrangement.
The
fact that South Africa will be vacating the United Nations Security seat
in
two weeks time, will be a blessing for the ordinary people of Zimbabwe as
they will no longer see South Africa block UN Security Council resolutions
that might help rid them of this paranoid tyrant..
The ACDP is
hopeful that with the French taking over the UNSC seat, they
will apply
severe sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies.
While Mugabe plays
for time by pretending to consider a unity government,
his supporters
continue to abduct and murder opposition MDC leaders. The
fact that he is
talking about new elections while pursuing his reign of
terror is clearly
his attempt to cripple the opposition in any such
election.
He
should be arrested and tried in the International Court of Justice in the
Hague. If he leaves Zim for another country, the ACDP calls on that country
to hand him
over."
By Lance
Guma
23 December 2008
A Zimbabwean pastor based in South Africa is to
form a new political party
called Christians for Peace, Justice and
Democracy. The new party will
officially launch on 26th of December at the
Central Methodist Church in
Johannesburg. It's founder, Reverend Timothy
Chiguvare, said he has been
moved by the number of people who have been
victimized under Mugabe's
regime. In an interview with South Africa's
Sowetan newspaper, Chiguvare
said; 'Negotiations to bring ZANU PF and MDC
into a government of national
unity have failed, while starvation and
cholera kill our people every day.'
Rev Chiguvare criticized Mugabe for
the crisis in the country and called for
his impeachment for 'serious crimes
against humanity and fraud,' he also
suggested a referendum to decide on
passing a vote of no confidence against
Mugabe. A third key objective of the
party will be the setting up of an
independent transitional government to
run the country. Several key
activists in South Africa told Newsreel they
did not know who Chiguvare was
and remained skeptical about his intentions.
One of them Sox Chikohwore said
the pastor was avoiding all contact with
other diaspora groups in the
country and this made them
suspicious.
Meanwhile Bishop Paul Veryn moved to dispel any links between
his Central
Methodist Church and the new political party. In an interview
with Newsreel
he said the church was centrally located in Johannesburg and
has been used
by different political parties, including the MDC and South
Africa's ANC and
PAC parties. Asked if he knew Rev Chiguvare, Bishop Veryn
said all he knew
was that he was a gentleman from George in the Eastern Cape
and was a
minister in one of the independent churches. Efforts to get
comment from Rev
Chiguvare proved fruitless on Tuesday.
Meanwhile
there was more pressure on Mugabe this week after ANC President
Jacob Zuma
said he could no longer call ZANU PF and Robert Mugabe 'comrades',
and that
pressure should be brought on them to effect change in Zimbabwe. He
also
added that the people of South Africa and those in Zimbabwe did not
deserve
the suffering that was being created by the 'political deadlock.'
Zuma spoke
out against military intervention, but admitted their liberation
ties with
ZANU PF were being strained by the actions of Mugabe's regime.
SW
Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=9070
December 23, 2008
By
Raymond Maingire
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has launched a scathing
attack on leaders
of a break away faction from his party which claims to
have revived the
hitherto defunct PF-Zapu.
Former politburo member
and Home Affairs minister Dumiso Dabengwa last month
teamed up with fellow
politicians mostly from the western Matabeleland
provinces to revive
PF-Zapu.
The group claimed, among other reasons, Mugabe was an
unrepentant dictator,
who had frustrated all efforts by party reformists to
seek leadership
renewal within Zanu-PF.
Until the unity accord signed
in December 1987, PF-Zapu, then led by Mugabe's
arch rival Joshua Nkomo, was
Zimbabwe's major opposition political party.
Nkomo, who became Vice
President following the uniting of the two parties,
died in 1999 through
illness. Some of his supporters accused the veteran
politician of having
allowed their party to be swallowed by Zanu-PF.
Mugabe, who was
addressing mourners at the burial of little-known Retired
Major Gordon
Sibanda at the national heroes' acre Tuesday, described the
rebels as
"willing tools of the west".
Sibanda, a former member of the Zimbabwe
People's Revolutionary Army ZIPRA)
High command, died last week through
illness.
"The emergence of dissident voices claiming to revive Zapu must
be
castigated and dismissed with the contempt they deserve," he
said.
"The likes of all those who have become counter revolutionaries and
opportunists seeking to fulfill selfish personal ambitions at the expense of
the nation must be condemned.
"They are becoming willing tools of the
West being used to undermine the
country's sovereignty and independence
through the creation of bogus
political parties meant to weaken the
constituency base of the ruling party,
Zanu PF and engineering political
demise and indeed also distort the
political history for which the man, the
hero we are burying today stands.
"We must not allow them to divide
us."
Welshman Mabhena, an outspoken former provincial governor for
Matabeleland
North and Cyril Ndebele, a former Speaker of Parliament, are
among those who
engineered the revival of Zapu.
Other senior Zanu-PF
politicians behind the revival are former war veterans'
leader Andrew
Ndlovu, former government minister Thenjiwe Lesabe, Effort
Nkomo and
Tryphine Nhliziyo.
As has become the norm during his public speeches,
Mugabe lashed at Britain
and America, which he accuses of trying to remove
him from power.
"Lately we have heard increasing voices from the west
particularly from
Britain and America advocating for the removal of the
government of Zimbabwe
by unconstitutional means," he said.
"They who
pride themselves on legality and constitutionality are now guilty
of
illegality and unconstitutionality including the use of military
force."
US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi
Frazer said the
US government had lost confidence in the stalled September
15 power-sharing
deal between the opposition MDC and Zanu PF.
Frazer
was in South Africa last week to consult with regional leaders about
the
deteriorating political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
Said Mugabe,
"Two days ago the American administration declared it was no
longer
supporting the process of an inclusive government announcing that
they will
not go along with it for as long as President Mugabe remained part
of
it.
"Were they ever part of it? The inclusive government does not include
Mr
Bush and his administration.
"It doesn't even know him. It has no
relationship with him. So he can keep
his comments to himself. They are
undeserved, irrelevant and quite stupid
and foolish.
"Who are they to
decide who should or should not be included in an inclusive
government, our
government. We realize these are the last kicks of a dying
horse.
"We
obviously are not going to pay much attention to a sunset
administration.
Zimbabwe's fate lies in the hands of Zimbabweans. It is the
Zimbabweans who
founded this struggle."
Bush paves way for President elect Barrack Obama
next month after completing
his second term of office as US President.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk
December
24, 2008
The FCO have spoken
up for the people of Zimbabwe, who have voted clearly
for change
From the
Foreign Secretary
Sir, Your news coverage has over many years chronicled
the death and
destruction wrought on Zimbabwe by Robert Mugabe and his
cohort. Any sane
person realises that Mugabe's misrule is only spurring
Zimbabwe's descent
into chaos. But your leading article ("The failure of
quiet diplomacy", Dec
22) channelled frustration at his continued abuse of
power into an attack on
the FCO without logic, fact or
justification.
You rightly say that "words do little to halt cholera".
But you are wrong to
protest that the British Government has engaged in
"quiet diplomacy". On the
contrary, our words have been consistent, clear
and loud. The Prime Minister
and I have spoken up for the people of
Zimbabwe, who have voted clearly for
change.
And Lord Malloch-Brown \
could not have been franker when asked about
Zimbabwe on the Today programme
this week: Mugabe is an absolutely
impossible obstacle. If Zimbabwe is to
haul itself - with the help it needs
and deserves - out of its current
meltdown, Mugabe has to go.
You cite the issue of British companies that
do business in Zimbabwe. Of the
21 companies you say have been placed on the
US Treasury blacklist, the vast
majority are owned by one man. EU-wide
action is most effective, and we will
press for this in the new year. We
have not argued for a total ban on
business engagement with Zimbabwe, nor
for a "fuel blockade". I do not
dismiss this argument but have so far
concluded that further direct damage
to the employment and livelihoods of
ordinary Zimbabweans would not be
right. The last to feel the effects of
such blockades would be Mugabe and
his entourage. Nor has the democratic
opposition in Zimbabwe called for such
measures. But we strongly encourage
UK companies to ensure that they invest
ethically in Zimbabwe and avoid
those investments that prop up the elite
responsible for repressive action
and the subversion of the democratic
process.
You also argue for
greater action in the UN Security Council. We agree. Last
July the UK called
and voted for a sanctions resolution. But this was vetoed
by Russia and
China. They must now answer for their approach. Nevertheless
we have
persisted in keeping Zimbabwe on the Security Council's agenda, most
recently at the ministerial meeting I attended in New York last week. It is
our strong view that this international crisis requires international
attention, and we will continue to make that case. It is obvious to everyone
that neighbouring states, especially South Africa, have most to lose from
instability in Zimbabwe and most to gain from change. That is why we
continue to emphasise their role and responsibilities and to urge them to
take action.
As long as Mugabe rules Zimbabwe he remains a stain on
that country. I
acknowledge that he is also a stain on the international
community, which
has not been able to deliver the will of the Zimbabwean
people. If attacking
the FCO would help a single Zimbabwean I would
understand that might be a
price worth paying. But it does not.
David
Miliband
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs
Sir, Zimbabwe will remain the shambles it is so long as the
talking shop
continues.
Lindsay J. Keith
Hurstpierpoint, W
Sussex
This attachment provides details of the changes to the Zimbabwe Annex, as per RBA Media Release 2008-30 (23 December 2008) – 75 persons and 4 entities have been added, 4 persons have been removed, and amendments have been made to 16 entries on the previous list.
ABU BASUTU, Titus M. J., Air Vice Marshal
BONYONGWE, Willa or Willia, Chair Securities Commission
BVUTE, Ozias, CEO / Managing Director of Zimbabwe Cricket
CHAIRUKA, Annie Flora Imagine
CHAPFIKA, Abina, DOB 23/07/1961
CHARAMBA, Rudo Grace, DOB 20/06/1964
CHAWE, McLoud
CHIDARIKIRE, Faber, Governor of Mashonaland West
CHIHURI, Isobel or Isabel Halima, DOB 14/04/74
CHIMEDZA, Paul, Dr
CHINAMASA, Monica, DOB 1950
CHINGOKA, Peter, Head of Zimbabwe Cricket
CHIPWERE, Augustine, Colonial
CHIREMBA, Mirirai, RBZ Financial Intelligence Unit Chief
CHIVAMBA, Kizito, ZANU-PF Provincial Chair, Midlands
CHIWENGA, Jocelyn Mauchaza, DOB 19/5/1955
CHOMBO, Ever, DOB 20/9/1956
CHOMBO, Marian, DOB 11/9/1960
CHURU, Zvinechimwe, CEO, NOCZIM
DINHA, Advocate Martin, Governor of Mashonaland Central
GONO, Hellin Mushanyuri, DOB 6/5/1962
GOWO, Alois, A/g CEO, ZISCO
GURIRA, Cephas T., Colonel
GWEKWERERE, Stephen, Colonel
HUNI, Munyaradzi, “Zimbabwe Herald” journalist
JANGARA, Thomsen Toddie, ZRP Chief Superintendent for Harare South
KACHEPA, Newton, MP elect for Mudzi North
KARAKADZI, Mike Tichafa, Air Vice Marshal
KEREKE, Munyaradzi, Principal Advisor to RBZ Governor Gideon Gono
KHUMALO, Sibangumuzi M. (Sixton), Brigadier General
KWAINONA, Martin, Assistant Commissioner, Zimbabwe Police
KWENDA, R., Major
MABUNDA, Musarahana, Assistant Police Commissioner, Officer Commanding Law and Order division
MADE, Patricia A
MANDIZHA, Albert, General Manager, Grain Marketing Board
MASANGO, Clemence, Chief Immigration Officer
MASHAVA, G., Colonel
MHANDU, Cairo (or Kairo), Major, Zimbabwe National Army
MHONDA, Fidellis, Colonel
MOMBESHORA, Millicent, Division Chief, Head of strategic planning and special projects, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
MOYO, Gilbert
MOYO, Sibusio Bussie, Brigadier General, Zimbabwe National Army
MPABANGA, S., Lt. Col.
MSIPA, Sharlottie, DOB 6/5/1936
MUCHENA, Henry, Air Vice Marshal
MUCHONO, C., Lt. Col
MUDONHI, Columbus, Assistant Inspector, Zimbabwe Police
MUDZVOVA, Paul, Sergeant
MUGARIRI, Bothwell, Senior Assistant Police commissioner, Officer Commanding Harare Province
MUMBA, Isaac, Superintendent Zimbabwe Police
MUTASA, Gertrude, Colonel
MUTSVUNGUMA, S., Colonel
MZILIKAZI, Morgan, Colonel
NDLOVU, Lindela, Professor
NDLOVU, Rose Jaele, DOB 27/9/1939
NKOMO, Georgina Ngwenya, DOB 4/8/1966
NKOMO, Louise S (a.k.a. NHEMA, Louise Sehulle), DOB 25/8/1964
NYAWANI, Misheck
NYONI, Peter Baka, DOB 10/1/1950
PARIRENYATWA, Choice
PATEL, Bharat, Acting Attorney-General
RANGWANI, Dani, Detective Inspector
RAUTENBACH, Conrad Muller (aka Billy)
RUGEJE, Engelbert Abel, Major General
RUNGANI, Victor T.C., Colonel
RUWODO, Richard, Brigadier General (retired), former acting Permanent Under Secretary at Ministry of Defence
SEKERAMAYI, Tsitsi Chirhuri, DOB 1944
SIBANDA, Chris, Colonel
SIGAUKE, David, Brigadier
SHUNGU, Etherton Shungu, Brigadier
TAKAVARASHA, Tobias, Dr, CEO, Agriculture and Rural Development Authority
TARUMBWA, Nathaniel Charles, Brigadier
VETERAI, Edmore, Senior Assistant Police Commissioner, Officer Commanding Harare
ZHUWAO, Beauty Lily, DOB 10/1/1965
ZVAYI, Caesar, Political and Features Editor, Herald
Total: 75
Cold Comfort Farm Trust Co-Operative, 7 Cowie Road, Tynald, Harare
Jongwe Printing and Publishing Company, 14 Austin Coventry Rd, Workington, Harare, PO Box 5988, ZANU-PF's publishing arm
ZIDCO Holdings (a.k.a. Zidco Holdings (PVT) Ltd, PO Box 1275, Harare
Zimbabwe Defence Industries (PVT) Ltd, 10th floor, Trustee House, 55 Samora Machel Ave, Harare, PO Box 6597, Harare
Total: 4
DABENGWA, Dumiso, Former ZANU-PF Politburo Committee Member, DOB 06/12/1939
MAKONI, Simbarashe, Former ZANU-PF Politburo Deputy Secretary-General for Economic Affairs
MANYIKA, Elliott Tapfumanei, Minister without Portfolio and Zanu-PF Politburo Secretary for Commissariat
MUTYAMBIZI, Charles, Chair, Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA)
Total: 4
CHIGUDU, Tinaye Elisha, DOB 13/08/1942, former Provincial Governor, Manicaland
CHIGWEDERE, Aeneas Soko, DOB 25/11/1939, Provincial Governor, Mashonaland East, Former Minister of Education, Sports and Culture
CHIHURI, Augustine, DOB 10/03/1953, Police Commissioner-General
CHIKAURA, Charles, DOB 08/08/1955, CEO, Zimbabwe Development Bank, Chairman, Grain Marketing Board
CHIWEWE, Willard, DOB 19/03/1949, former Provincial Governor, Masvingo
GULA-NDEBELE, Sobuza, DOB 12/08/1954, former Attorney-General
KAUKONDE, Ray Joseph, DOB 04/03/1963, former Provincial Governor of Mashonaland East
MACHAYA, Jaison Max Kokerai, DOB 13/6/1952, Provincial Governor, Midlands, former Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development
MAKWAVARARA, Sekesai, former Mayor of Harare (Zanu-PF)
MALULEKE, Titus Hatlani, Provincial Governor, Masvingo, former Deputy Minister of Education, Sport and Culture
MASAWI, Ephraim Sango, former Provincial Governor,Mashonaland Central, ZANU-PF Politburo Deputy Secretary for Information and Publicity
MSIPA, Cephas George, DOB 07/07/1931, former Provincial Governor, Midlands
MUSHOHWE, Christopher Chindoti, DOB 06/02/1954, Provincial Governor, Manicaland, former Minister of Transport and Communication
NDLOVU, Sikhanyiso Duke, DOB 04/05/1937, former Minister for Information and Publicity, Zanu-PF Politburo Secretary for Education (former Deputy Minister for Higher and Tertiary Education)
NKOMO, John Landa, DOB 22/08/1934, former Speaker of Parliament, Chairman of ZANU-PF
SAMKANGE, Nelson Tapera Crispin, former Provincial Governor, Mashonaland West
Total: 16
From Reuters, 23 December
Beijing - China on Tuesday denounced unspecified western
media for
misinterpreting a UN report that implicated China in a
Zimbabwe-Congo arms
scandal. The report by a UN group of experts on arms
trade restrictions on
the Democratic Republic of the Congo said that country
re-exported more than
50 tons of ammunition to Zimbabwe earlier this year.
The group also said
that arms it believed originated in China had been flown
into Congo, where
factional violence has raged in the East for years, from
Sudan. "Some
western media distorted related contents in the report of an UN
experts
group and framed China for selling weapons to Zimbabwe through
Congo,"
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on the ministry
website.
"It's a complete fabrication with ulterior intentions," he said.
"Once you
read the report seriously, you can find that the criticism is
totally
baseless." The five-person UN group said that the ammunition sent to
Zimbabwe must have first been imported into Congo but did not specifically
say it had come from China. A controversy erupted in April over a shipment
of Chinese arms for landlocked Zimbabwe that South African port workers
refused to unload. There were conflicting reports over where the arms ended
up. Zimbabwe is not under UN sanctions.
BILL WATCH
50/2008
[21st December
2008]
The
House of Assembly has adjourned until 20
January
The
Senate has
adjourned
until 27 January
Statutory Instruments
include regulations for new banknotes, cash withdrawal limits, media
registration fees, Medicines Control Authority licence fees, and Supreme Court
and High Court Calendar for 2009 [see end of
bulletin]
Parliamentary
Business
The Senate: sat on Tuesday and Wednesday
afternoon for a total of only two hours altogether, before adjourning until 27
January.
The House of Assembly:
sat on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for several hours each afternoon and then
adjourned to 20 January.
New
Motions: In the House of
Assembly MDC motions dominated the proceedings:
· Tuesday: the House
interrupted ordinary business at the instance of the MDC to debate the cholera
crisis as a “matter of public importance”.
[The MDC made the same intervention in the
Senate]
· Tuesday: an MDC motion
was passed resolving that the food crisis be declared a national disaster, and
that the relevant Parliamentary Portfolio Committee report on the issue as a
matter of urgency [In fact this resolution
has no legal effect; only the President can declare a state of national
disaster, in terms of the Civil Protection Act. Also Parliamentary Portfolio
Committees have not yet been set up and are unlikely to be set up for another
month, so urgency seems sadly lacking.]
· Wednesday: MDC
introduced a motion on the state of the economy; after a heated 3 hour debate
the motion was carried forward to next year.
· Thursday: the MDC
introduced a motion condemning ZANU-PF for baseless accusations against
Unfinished
Business
Budget: It is preposterous
that
Parliamentary
Committees: No Parliamentary
Committees have been appointed, meaning that Parliament still cannot function
normally. Under usual Parliamentary procedures a Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee would have started work on the Constitution Amendment Bill as soon as
it was gazetted on the 12th December and should have held public hearings to
canvass public opinion; but, as no Committees have been appointed, the Bill is
likely to go through Parliament without the benefit of any Committee or public
input.
State of
On Order Papers for
next year: There is nothing
but the continuation of debates on the few current motions. Interestingly, the
Constitution Amendment No 19 Bill is not on the order paper for the next sitting
of Parliament. It could be added when Parliament resumes, but it does seem a
sign that the Bill is not being taken seriously, as is the fact that, although
the Bill could be introduced any time from 12 January [the 31st day after its
gazetting on 12 December], the House of Assembly will only resume on the 20
January and the Senate a week later.
Acts
of 2008
Number
of Parliamentary sitting days in 2008
House
of Assembly: 13 [2 in
January, 11 since Parliament reopened in August]
Senate:
11 [3 in January, 8
since Parliament reopened in August]
[Note:
“sitting days” are actually sitting afternoons. Ordinarily, Parliament sits on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. The official times are: House of
Assembly, 2.15 pm to 6.55 pm; Senate, 2.30 pm to 6.55 pm. In fact the Houses
often do not continue sitting until 6.55 pm; there have been occasions when a
House has risen after as little as 20 to 30
minutes.]
Appointment
of New Attorney-General
The Attorney-General
is the principal legal adviser to Government and has wide-ranging powers to
instigate prosecutions and police investigations. In these roles he is not
subject to direction or control by any other person or authority. He also has
an ex officio [but non-voting]
seat in Parliament and in the Cabinet. The post of AG is securely tenured, and
it is as difficult to terminate his or her appointment as that of a judge.
Mr Mugabe on
Wednesday appointed Deputy AG (Criminal Division) Johannes Tomana as
Attorney-General. He replaces Acting AG Judge Bharat Patel, who will return to
the High Court bench. The MDC have commented that the swearing-in of Mr Tomana,
without consultation with the MDC, showed contempt for the global political
agreement and that MDC do not consider him a politically neutral appointee. He
has been described as a staunch ZANU-PF supporter. He was the Media and
Information Commission lawyer at the time the Commission was closing down
independent newspapers. During the Presidential run off campaign he raised
concern in human rights circles by stating that the AG’s office
would deny bail to all
persons arrested for committing or inciting political
violence.
SADC
Tribunal Ruling being Ignored
The State this week
pressed ahead with the prosecution of 4 white commercial farmers for continuing
to occupy farms the Government claims to have acquired compulsorily. This
occurred despite the fact that the 4 are among the 78 farmers protected by last
month’s SADC Tribunal ruling, which ordered the Government to protect their
occupation of their farms and to ensure that no action is taken to evict them.
The cases have been postponed to 5 January. The prosecutions come hard on the
heels of the appointment of Mr Tomana as Attorney-General, and follow earlier
statements by Lands Minister Mutasa that the Government would not comply with
the Tribunal’s ruling.
Statutory
instruments and General Notices
SIs
176 and 177/2008 – new
$1 billion, $5 billion and
$10 billion banknotes and new cash withdrawal limits for individuals [but with
access to the enhanced amounts dependent on proof of lawful source of
income] [Electronic
version of SI 177 available]
SIs
178 to 184/2008 – new fees
for licences issued and services provided by the Medicines Control
Authority
SI
185/2008 – new application,
registration and accreditation fees for mass media services, news agencies and
journalists under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act
GN
129/2008 – Supreme Court and
High Court Calendar for 2009 [Electronic
version of GN available]
Veritas makes
every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal
responsibility for information supplied.
From Business Day (SA), 23 December
Harare Correspondent
Zimbabwe's security chiefs
are under pressure to release more than 40
abducted and detained opposition
activists after an ultimatum issued by main
opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai
that he would pull out of
power-sharing talks if they were not released.
Security sources said
yesterday that the government of President Robert
Mugabe was likely to take
the MDC activists to court soon. The activists
were reportedly abducted by
suspected state security agents in recent weeks
after allegations that the
opposition, with the backing of Botswana's
government, was training
insurgents to overthrow the Mugabe regime. The
police have denied
responsibility.
Tsvangirai said: "This situation can no longer
continue. The MDC can no
longer sit at the same negotiating table with a
party that is abducting our
members, and other innocent civilians, and
refusing to produce any of them
before a court of law. Therefore, if these
abductions do not cease
immediately, and if all the abductees are not
released or charged in a court
of law by January 1 2009, I will be asking
the MDC's national council to
pass a resolution to suspend all negotiations
and contact with Zanu PF.
There can be no meaningful talks while a campaign
of terror is being waged
against our people," he warned. An intelligence
source said: "After
Tsvangirai's statement, Mugabe and his security advisers
have been
scrambling to find a solution to the abductions crisis. They have
agreed the
abducted people would appear in court this week." But Mugabe and
his
security advisers did not know how to handle the issue as these people
had
been held illegally for weeks and months.
Meanwhile, the
stalled power-sharing agreement came under renewed strain
yesterday after
western powers said it was unacceptable for Mugabe to remain
president.
Although the MDC is committed to a deal allowing Mugabe to stay
on as
president with Tsvangirai as prime minister, the US and Britain said
Mugabe
had to leave office. Britain's Africa minister, Mark Malloch-Brown
said:
"Power sharing isn't dead, but Mugabe has become an absolute
impossible
obstacle to achieving it. He's so distrusted by all sides that I
think the
Americans are absolutely right, he's going to have to step aside,"
Malloch-Brown told the BBC. "Either his people around him, or political
allies, or people he's in contact with in neighbouring countries, really
have to go to him in one of those famous political delegations and say,
'You've
got to go'".
Malloch-Brown's comments came a day after US
Assistant Secretary of State
for Africa Jendayi Frazer said Washington would
not restore aid to the
cholera-wracked country unless Mugabe stood down. "We
were prepared to use
the American influence to negotiate with the World Bank
and the
International Monetary Fund to clear the $1,2bn Zimbabwe debt, but
now we
are no longer prepared to do that," Frazer told reporters on a visit
to SA.
We have lost confidence in a legitimate power-sharing being viable
with
Mugabe as president," Frazer said. Malloch-Brown said: "He has lost
touch
with reality." Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed the power-sharing
agreement in
September, but the deal has not got off the ground because of
fierce
disagreements over who will have control of key institutions, such as
the
home affairs department and the central bank. United Nations experts
warned
yesterday that about 5,5-million, or about half the population of
Zimbabwe,
could be in need of food aid, and they called for international
help to be
stepped up.
http://www.iol.co.za
December 23 2008 at
12:47PM
By Brian Raftopoulos
Writing about Zimbabwe at
the end of 2008 largely induces dystopic
imagery. State violence, hunger,
Aids, a devastated economy, cholera, an
opposition under siege and a
battered population characterised by a
debilitating deracination, make it
difficult to imagine a hopeful future.
The brief glimmer of
expectation that was palpable at the September 15
signing of the Global
Political Agreement, by Zanu-PF and the two Movement
for Democratic Change
(MDC) factions, to form a unity government, is barely
alive, struggling to
maintain its relevance.
Caught between an authoritarian state, a
regional mediation strategy
desperate to maintain some self-respect, an
increasingly bellicose
international voice and an opposition almost frozen
by diminishing options,
the space for a positive political outcome is
shrinking.
It is not surprising that the SADC
mediation has been blocked over
disagreement about the security
sector.
The Mugabe regime long ago lost its capacity to provide
basic health,
social and educational services for Zimbabweans, and the
cataclysmic decline
in the economy has led to the destruction of livelihoods
and massive
displacement of people that has threatened the survival of
many.
Violence
Since the 1980s, Mugabe's government
has engaged in systematic state
violence against the
population.
This reliance on coercion for survival is a central
fact that is
largely absent from prominent African scholar Mahmood Mamdani's
ill-conceived attempt to defend the Mugabe regime in a recent issue of the
London Review of Books.
The regime's preoccupation with holding
on to the security apparatus
in the negotiations with the MDC is tied to its
real fear that the opening
up of political spaces will threaten its
future.
Because of the continuing crisis in Zimbabwe, the growth of
economic
refugees from the country has also placed an enormous strain on
other
southern African countries, and the cholera epidemic has added to
Zimbabwe's
growing threat to the region.
Characteristically,
Mugabe's spokesman has blamed the cholera crisis
on the West. In the twisted
logic of Zanu-PF's authoritarian nationalism,
this health crisis represents
an attempt by Western countries to inflict a
bio-political genocide on the
country.
Zanu-PF is once again refusing any accountability for its
negligence
and culpability for the health and economic crisis.
Moreover Zanu-PF has combined this strategy with a renewed attempt to
paint
the MDC as a terrorist organisation, supported by neighbouring
Botswana.
The biological warfare and the insurrection scenarios
are presented as
extensions of a regime-change strategy by the
West.
Thus even as the West has called for the UN to become more
involved in
dealing with the Zimbabwean crisis, on the basis of the
widespread
humanitarian disaster and the Zimbabwean state's incapacity to
protect its
citizens, the Mugabe regime has responded by seeking to
re-energise regional
solidarity against the purported threat of a
Western-inspired regime change
strategy.
And Zanu-PF has once
again unleashed a campaign of violence against
members of Morgan
Tsvangirai's MDC and the civic movement.
The Zimbabwean state is
thus both manifestly visible in the heightened
rhetoric against its enemies
and clandestine in its murderous assaults on
the opposition.
To
force Zanu-PF to cede more ground in the political negotiations,
the MDC is
relying on two strategies.
First an attempt to marginalise the SADC
mediation because of its
distrust of Thabo Mbeki and, second, a concerted
effort to push for stronger
UN involvement in the Zimbabwean
problem.
This pits the MDC against the present efforts of the SADC
to save the
Mbeki mediation. The challenge of such a strategy is that the
MDC must still
face the prospect that any agreement on Zimbabwe will have to
be secured and
guaranteed through the SADC, and that its long-term survival
as a party in
southern Africa will also depend on developing a sustainable
relationship
with the region.
It is unlikely at this point that
the SADC will cede its authority
over the mediation process, especially
since it believes that the Global
Political Agreement and Amendment 19
provide a sufficient basis for moving
the situation forward in
Zimbabwe.
There is also a longer term problem in moving away from
the SADC
mediation in the present context.
The recent
discontent displayed by the lower ranks of the military in
the streets of
Harare points to the growing disparity of income and
accumulation within the
army.
As the lower ranks have experienced the impoverishment of the
populace, the army elite has continued to establish its own networks of
accumulation and, with this, the will to deploy any force to protect such
networks. The violence on the diamond mines in Marange in the east of the
country is evidence of this.
Threat
The stage is
thus set in Zimbabwe for the army elite to control such
enclaves of wealth,
through war if necessary, to protect these sites of
wealth
accumulation.
Calls for an armed intervention in Zimbabwe will
exacerbate this
threat of violence, and as we learn from other such
struggles in Africa,
peace and democratisation do not follow such
violence.
With all its problems, the SADC mediation remains the
best point of
entry to prevent a further deterioration in
Zimbabwe.
The regional body should certainly be pressurised to look
again at the
balance of power arrangements in the Global Political
Agreement.
Mbeki's position needs to be complemented with other
mediation forces
considered less biased towards the Mugabe
regime.
However, any strategy that does not have the buy-in of the
regional
states, and fails to deal with the reality of the balance of
coercive power
in Zimbabwe, is likely to set the stage for more instability
within the
country.
The likely alternative to a failed
mediation is that the Mugabe regime
will call another election in 2009,
intensify its violence against the
opposition and civil society, and preside
over the further devastation of
the country.
* Brian
Raftopoulos is director of research and advocacy in the
Solidarity Peace
Trust.
This article was originally published on page 9 of
Daily News on
December 23, 2008
http://www.politicsweb.co.za
MacDonald Dzirutwe
23 December
2008
Here are possible scenarios in Zimbabwe's political
crisis.
HARARE, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe dismissed U.S.
President George W. Bush on Tuesday as a "dying horse"
after the United
States said it could no longer support a Harare government
that includes him
[nLN410883].
Here are possible scenarios in
Zimbabwe's political crisis.
WHAT IS MUGABE LIKELY TO DO? Mugabe says he
has invited Tsvangirai to be
sworn-in as prime minister and is expected to
name his 15 ministers
allocated under a stalled September power-sharing
deal. By pressuring a
reluctant Tsvangirai to join a government, Mugabe may
be trying to portray
his old foe as a spoiler.
WHAT CAN WEST DO IF
DEADLOCK CONTINUES?
The United States has said it will no longer support
a government that
includes Mugabe and Britain has said Mugabe will have to
step down if any
power-sharing government is to succeed. Washington had been
poised to help
rescue Zimbabwe's collapsing economy as soon as the deal was
implemented,
including possible relief on $1.2 billion in debt to
international
institutions and the easing of sanctions. But Mugabe remains
defiant and the
West has little leverage over Zimbabwe.
His Western
foes can continue to withhold desperately needed aid critical to
ending an
economic and humanitarian catastrophe worsened by a cholera
epidemic.
Western countries will likely apply more targeted sanctions
against those
propping up Mugabe, but such measures have failed to weaken
the 84-year-old
leader in power since independence from Britain in 1980.
WHAT CAN
REGIONAL COUNTRIES DO?
The 15-countries in regional bloc SADC are better
placed to apply pressure
on Mugabe but critics say they lack the resolve to
take strong action.
South Africa, the continent's biggest economy, has
the most influence. It is
Zimbabwe's main economic partner. Most of
Zimbabwe's fuel comes through
South Africa. South Africa is also a key
source of electricity. Botswana and
Zambia have taken a tough line against
Mugabe. But other SADC countries are
still awed by Mugabe's history as a
liberation fighter and he has
capitalised on this.
Mugabe says they
lack the courage to use military force against his
government.
WHAT
IF MUGABE FORMS A GOVERNMENT WITHOUT THE OPPOSITION?
The power-sharing
deal would almost collapse and Mugabe is seen calling for
fresh elections as
it would be difficult to run a government without a
parliamentary majority.
Analysts say Mugabe would form a government without
the MDC to force the
opposition to pull out and blame it for the collapse of
the deal.
Tsvangirai's MDC has said it would quit the talks if what it said
were
abductions and attacks on its members continued.
WHAT HAPPENS IF A DEAL
IS STRUCK SOON?
If Mugabe and Tsvangirai agree on a unity government
regional countries are
expected to mobilise an economic rescue package. Many
impoverished
Zimbabweans hope a unity government would start an economic
recovery. Many
investors hope a government with Tsvangirai as prime minister
would wrest
enough control from Mugabe to reverse policies they blame for
the country's
economic meltdown. A government without donor support would be
doomed.
LIVING CONDITIONS
Zimbabweans were hoping for a new
leadership that can rescue the economy.
Instead, hardships are deepening.
Food, fuel and foreign currency are
scarce. Hyper-inflation means prices
double every day and the United Nations
says a cholera epidemic has killed
more than 1,100 people. Unemployment is
80 percent. Millions have fled to
South Africa and neighbouring countries in
search of work and food,
straining regional economies.
http://www.voanews.com
By Peta
Thornycroft
23 December 2008
A key Western charity in
Zimbabwe says the level of child malnutrition is
rising, while the United
Nations says half the country's population needs
emergency food aid and its
stocks of food will last only a few more weeks,
and at the same time
Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic may worsen.
According to Save the Children
U.K., child malnutrition in Zimbabwe is
increasing as the emergency food aid
pipeline falters.
Acute child malnutrition in parts of Zimbabwe has
increased by almost
two-thirds compared with last year, according to Save
the Children.
Many areas of Zimbabwe are not well monitored, but Save the
Children has
long been involved in the Binga district on the edge of Lake
Kariba in
northwest Zimbabwe.
Chronic, long-term malnutrition in
Binga district has increased to 50
percent from a year ago, and about
one-third of the children under age five
are underweight due to acute
malnutrition.
Save the Children said the new statistics reinforce growing
concern that
emergency supplies into Zimbabwe are faltering, because not
enough food is
being donated by the international community.
Save the
Children is supplying emergency food aid in Binga using supplies
brought
into the country by the World Food Program. But the U.N. agency
says it is
18,000 tons short of the food needed for January, leaving it with
only half
the amount it needs for the month. Supplies for February and March
are even
less certain.
Save the Children in Zimbabwe Program Director Lynn Walker
said in areas the
group serves some children are wasting away from lack of
food. She says
compared with last year indications are that things are
significantly worse.
Walker said Save the Children has cut rations to
families and this will get
worse early next year unless the West donates
urgently and the World Food
Program gets food moving into
Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, several Western doctors, including at least one
American, who
went into Zimbabwe last week to assist with the cholera
epidemic say they
had to flee after being harassed by Zimbabwe's Central
Intelligence
Organization.
More than 1,100 people have died and at
least 20,000 have been infected with
easily preventable cholera. The United
Nations says 60,000 could be infected
during the current summer rains
because Zimbabwe's health system has
collapsed.
http://africa.reuters.com
Tue 23 Dec 2008, 14:51 GMT
By
Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The onset of Zimbabwe's
rainy season and an
increase in the number of travellers over Christmas
could spread a cholera
epidemic that has already killed nearly 1,200 people,
the Red Cross said on
Tuesday.
The outbreak of cholera has worsened
the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe and
brought renewed calls from Western
leaders for veteran President Robert
Mugabe to step down.
The
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies -- the
world's largest disaster relief network -- appealed for over 10 million
Swiss francs ($9.2 million) to boost its operations in
Zimbabwe.
Health care and water sanitation systems have
collapsed.
"We are just entering the rainy season, that's one additional
factor which
could really make the epidemic worse. Then at the end of the
year, the
populations are moving and staff is less at work, this is another
factor,"
said Dominique Praplan, who heads the Federation's health
department.
The organisation estimated that hundreds of thousands of
people could be
travelling over the holiday.
Cholera is highly
contagious but treatable. Boiling water and frequent hand
washing can help
stop it spreading. Patients require oral rehydration salts.
The worst cases,
with severe diarrhoea and vomiting, need intravenous
fluids.
Cholera
has now spread to all 10 provinces, infecting 23,712 people and
killing
1,174 of them since August, according to the latest figures from the
U.N.
Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"The cholera is spreading. We have an extremely
high case mortality rate,
exceptionally high," said Peter Rees, head of the
Federation's operations
support department.
"We anticipate it could
get worse which is why we are deploying these very,
very large resources to
try and get the epidemic under control," he told a
news briefing in
Geneva.
Roeland Monasch, acting head of UNICEF in Zimbabwe, said that
only 60
percent of the water carried by Harare's distribution system is
reaching
households because of leaks and broken pipes.
Garbage had
not been removed for months in many areas, drawing flies which
are a major
risk factor for contamination, he said by telephone from
Harare.
"Children play run around in the garbage, that's part of the
reason why we
are cleaning up the garbage. Children run around mountains of
garbage," he
said. (Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
23
December 2008
As the cholera outbreak continues to rage out of control in
Zimbabwe, the
spread of the disease is becoming more pronounced, with new
deaths being
reported in the South African province surrounding
Johannesburg.
The disease has already left its mark in Zimbabwe's
neighbouring country,
but until recently the disease had been fairly limited
to the Limpopo
province, with the border town Musina being worst affected.
Hundreds of sick
and desperate Zimbabweans have crossed the border in an
attempt to receive
the critical treatment lacking in Zimbabwe and at least
eight deaths have
been reported at the border's treatment facility so
far.
But the disease is now spreading further into South Africa, with the
third
reported death in the Gauteng province over the weekend. Gauteng, home
to
both the economic centre of Johannesburg and the national capital of
Pretoria, now has 21 positively identified cases of cholera, with the
heaviest concentration reported to be in the Johannesburg area. The city is
the favoured destination for Zimbabwean migrants, and the new cholera deaths
have prompted fears of a serious outbreak there.
Meanwhile new
cholera cases have been reported in other parts of the Limpopo
province,
including Botlokwa, Madimbo, Dilokong and Knobel. Musina recorded
15 new
cases since Sunday, bringing the total number of suspected cases
treated in
the area to 909, with five patients still in hospital. Botlokwa
meanwhile
has reported 18 new cases while 11 were recorded in Madimbo. A
total of 23
cases were also reported in Dilokong, with 42 people being
treated in
hospital. The town of Knobel had three new cases, which brings
the number of
suspected cases in the area to 49.
As the year end approaches, there are
now concerns that there could be
further outbreaks over the Christmas
holidays, when Zimbabweans who live in
South Africa return home to visit
relatives, perhaps risking infection and
the further spread of the disease.
At the same time, there are reports that
Musina is at 'breaking point'
because of the high number of Zimbabweans
still fleeing their homes. It's
believed an estimated 1000 Zimbabweans are
living on the streets of Musina
in deplorable conditions, while at least 300
applications for asylum are
being made each day.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
23 December
2008
Former staunch supporters of Robert Mugabe have joined a chorus of
world and
church leaders calling on him to step down, as the country sinks
deeper into
the grips of a humanitarian crisis.
Both the Americans
and the British have said Mugabe needs to step down for
any power-sharing
government deal to succeed, and now one of Mugabe's former
supporters in the
Mbeki government in South Africa has urged SADC states to
halt supplies of
commodities to Zimbabwe, to force political change.
Mosiuoa Lekota is the
former ANC chairman and defence minister. He is now
the leader of the new
Congress of the People (COPE), a party formed by
dissident members of the
ruling ANC.
His statement will come as a surprise to many observers,
especially from a
man who is close to Mbeki, the SADC mediator in the
Zimbabwe crisis.
Political analyst Isaac Dziya said Mugabe has lost all
sense of reality but
because of his arrogance and intransigence he will
still refuse to step
down.
'Mugabe has in effect become the very
worst enemy of Zimbabwe and not the
British or the United States. He's
arrogant and intransigent and lives
chronically in denial. He's never even
made an effort to visit cholera
victims,' Dziya said.
British
Minister for Africa, Mark Malloch Brown, explained that while the
power-sharing deal wasn't dead, Mugabe had become an absolute impossible
obstacle to achieving it. Referring to a call this week by United States
Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer for Mugabe to step down to clear
a path for the deal to go ahead, Malloch Brown added: 'The Americans are
absolutely right -- he is going to have to step aside.'
Malloch Brown
offered a grim picture of the never-ending crisis by saying he
doubted
Mugabe would go willingly, and that offering him immunity from
prosecution
could be difficult.
The deadlock between Mugabe and Tsvangirai has held
up any chance of ending
the spiraling crisis in the country, where the
spreading cholera epidemic
has killed more than 1000 people and food, cash
and fuel are in short
supply. Analysts describe the situation in the country
as being in the
'final death throes.'
A United Nations human rights
expert added her voice to the growing calls
for Mugabe to go by describing
him as 'a mad dictator' who has 'lost all
sense of reality'.
Jean
Ziegler, an adviser to the U.N.'s Human Rights Council, told a Swiss
radio
station that the only way Mugabe can be removed from power is for
Europe to
convince his 'great protector South Africa' to withdraw all
support for
him.
In Australia, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, has said the state
of
affairs in Zimbabwe has gone from catastrophic to perilous, but stopped
short of endorsing a call by the former premier Malcolm Fraser to cut off
the country's electricity in an attempt to force Mugabe to step
down.
Fraser had said the situation was so desperate, the country's
neighbours
must use all means, short of declaring war, to force change - and
this was
just a day after ANC President Jacob Zuma said he could no longer
call
Mugabe a comrade.
The churches have also been increasingly vocal
in their criticism and this
week the Catholic Church in the region called on
South President Kgalema
Motlanthe to cut off electricity and fuel supplies
to Zimbabwe
In a statement issued by Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the Southern
African
Catholic Bishops' Conference said Motlanthe should force Mugabe to
leave
office because talks aimed at forming a Zimbabwean unity government
have
failed.
Napier also said the government should immediately freeze
any assets held by
Mugabe and "his cronies" in South Africa.
This call by
the church came just a week after an Anglican bishop called
Mugabe a 21st
century Adolf Hitler and demanded that he be removed from
power.
With the
power-sharing process on hold, imminent change is unlikely unless
the
regional power house South Africa decides to toughen its stance on
Mugabe.
Analysts have said that cutting off electricity and blocking fuel
supplies
to Zimbabwe would mean that Mugabe would be gone in a week.
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/grantwalliser/2008/12/22/why-invasion-of-zimbabwe-is-a-very-real-option/
Grant
Walliser
Here is
the thing with Mbeki's fabled "quiet diplomacy": it has not, does
not and
will not work.
While Mbeki and his simpering entourage of struggle
buddies have been
donning their Armani suits and hopping north on their
private jets for the
last few years, Zimbabwe has steadily accelerated into
anarchy under their
entrusted watch. As a result of their cronyism and
morally corrupt
incompetence, we are now getting a small taste of what a
failed state on our
border is all about.
We have already been
subjected to massive illegal immigration from Zimbabwe
during the reign of
the laughable, Hitleresque buffoon in Harare. It has
placed massive strain
on our already strained facilities from hospitals to
police stations,
schools to roads and jobs. While a manageable number of
immigrants work hard
and add to the economy, an unmanageable number of such
immigrants form a
desperate human tsunami, swamping the possible good that
controlled
immigration could offer, leaving destruction in its wake.
It is happening
right now on our northern borders. Thousands of people are
daily trying to
join the millions already here. Massive illegal immigration
is creating a
refugee crisis that we South Africans can not hope to cope
with on our
own.
In addition, we now have to deal with a cholera epidemic that is
almost
certainly going to cross the Limpopo and start infecting and killing
South
African citizens. We have to deal with refugees that have no option
but to
turn to crime in order to feed themselves. We have to deal with an
international perception that regionally groups us together with Zimbabwe
and judges us by their actions. Those that know better have noted our
inability to provoke change up north and lump us together anyway. Frankly,
we deserve it.
Why are we in this position? We are here because
nobody in charge of our
country bothered to take the threat seriously when
it was obvious what was
coming. The media and opposition parties have been
hammering on about this
fairly obvious outcome for years now. So endless
were the warnings and the
horror stories that they have faded out into
background noise. The ANC
government's response has been to respect the
sovereignty of Zimbabwe,
respect the leadership of Zimbabwe and respect the
rights of those leaders
to travel and visit our country and be greeted on
the tarmac.
By mutual exclusion, their response has also been to
disrespect the wishes
of the people of Zimbabwe who did not vote these thugs
into power, to
disrespect the rules of law and democracy when the sham
elections were
hammered into shape by Zanu-PF militia and to disrespect the
human rights of
farmers, farm workers and millions of hungry Zimbabweans.
People were beaten
and murdered and had their generations of work, their
jobs and lives
destroyed and were doomed to starvation. We stood by and
watched and then we
sickeningly prevented the world from taking any kind of
action in the UN and
ratified their elections.
Seven hundred thousand
people were bulldozed out of their homes. That makes
Sophiatown and District
Six look like a joke, yet how raw are those wounds?
We stood by and did
nothing and said nothing. Intimidation, beatings and
killings are
commonplace in Zimbabwe today. There is no free press. There is
barely an
economy. There is almost no food being produced. There are no
viable
hospitals. There is no free trade. Our leaders chose to ignore this
whilst
maintaining the respect for those who are in charge of this
diabolical
mess.
It is now obvious that without intervention, nothing concrete is
going to
change in Zimbabwe. Since quiet diplomacy has now thankfully died
and gone
to bunnyland where it belonged all along, what are the
options?
There is, to be blunt, only one option: Zimbabwe needs to have
the results
of the last contested election enforced. The MDC needs to take
power as per
the election mandate given by Zimbabwe's long-suffering people.
The MDC will
then have to get foreign support; an embarrassing necessity for
yet another
African disaster imposed on Africans by Africans.
Blaming
the West's actions a hundred years ago and hiding behind some
colonial,
racial excuse is simply bull. The country was more than viable
when Mugabe
took over. He had the hopes of the world with him. He killed
those hopes
along with his own people. It is his fault. It is Zanu-PF's
fault. It is not
Tony Blair's fault. It is not Britain's fault. A Zimbabwean
born, Zimbabwean
bred, Zimbabwean megalomaniac has destroyed Zimbabwe. That
is the hard, cold
truth.
The stability of the region and the upholding of democratic
principles and
human rights demand change there in a voice so loud that it
can now not be
ignored.
It is also obvious that this will not happen
without some kind of real
pressure being imposed on the Mugabe regime to
step down. It is also clear
that any kind of power sharing deal is simply a
joke and will be dominated
by Mugabe. This will have dire consequences for
Zimbabwe and for its
neighbours. There would be no credibility; nothing
would really change and
quite frankly, Zimbabwe has spoken and they don't
want him any more.
So, since Zimbabweans and the vast majority of SADC's
people all want the
same thing, why not implement the following:
One
month from now, with the blessing of SADC and the UN, a repentant and
suitably humbled South Africa should lead a coalition comprising a
significant peace keeping force into Zimbabwe to stabilise the situation
there. It should constitute representative troops from every SADC country
and any AU country that can spare them. Negotiations should ensure as much
prior compliance with the security apparatus and the military of Zimbabwe as
possible to prevent open fighting. It is quite likely that under the current
climate in Zimbabwe, the military leaders would be happy to make a deal to
save their own complicit skins and abandon Mugabe completely at the threat
of large-scale, unified military action from multiple states.
The
peace keeping force should initially centre in Harare and Bulawayo, and
offer protection to the MDC with a mandate to allow the party to take full
governmental control of Zimbabwe, starting with those two cities. If Mugabe
does not stand down, he should be captured, arrested and tried. If he does
stand down, he should be arrested and tried. Why should he be afforded any
kind of leniency? People with far shorter rap sheets are waiting in line at
the International Criminal Court. He would fit in perfectly. His "struggle
credentials" are now a joke. His motives for "struggling" were quite clearly
for self-enrichment and the pursuit of absolute personal power. He is an
embarrassment to actual struggle heroes and should be exposed as
such.
Why has it become necessary to take such radical action? Should we
not keep
talking? Is military intervention ethically justified? Is this
simply an
emotional reaction that upon closer scrutiny will prove to be a
bad
decision?
Contrary to popular belief, governments of countries do
not invade other
countries for humanitarian reasons. It is often sugarcoated
in this way to
appeal to the electorate, a fundamentally emotionally charged
mass of voters
with no real interest in the gritty details of rule or
national strategy.
There need to be some very real benefits to the invading
countries to
necessitate such action. The NATO bombing of Serbia, the US-led
coalition
invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan and the US backed invasion of
South Ossetia
are all recent examples of action taken purely for
overwhelmingly strategic
reasons. They were all coated in humanitarian sugar
and in some cases there
may have even been beneficial humanitarian spin-offs
after the fighting and
bombing stopped. Strategic gain, however, dominated
the decision to invade
in all cases.
Going to war is a huge decision
and should not be taken lightly, but
sometimes the options just run dry. As
safe as talking is, it is has proven
totally ineffective. SADC have a number
of important strategic reasons to
validate this action in addition to the
compelling humanitarian necessity:
. Invasion for peace keeping reasons
would almost certainly have
overwhelming international and UN support should
South Africa and SADC back
the plan. The world is horrified by what is going
on in Zimbabwe. The world
is further horrified by the South African reaction
and lack of condemnation.
We are seen as complicit at best. We need to
redeem our image in the eyes of
the world with concrete action and earn back
our respect.
. The regional stability of SADC is threatened. The worse
things get in
Zimbabwe, the worse things get for SADC countries. The quality
of life of
all SADC citizens is directly affected by the decline of
Zimbabwe. Foreign
investment in these lean times will be harder to come by
as a result of
Zimbabwean catalysed regional instability and the resulting
poor image
projected abroad. Refugees place enormous strain on the countries
receiving
them. Zimbabwe's leadership is dragging us all down during
difficult times.
We need to stop the rot now.
. The physical
well-being, safety and security of the citizens of South
Africa is under
direct threat from Zimbabwean refugees who are exporting
cholera and crime
into our country as a result of the collapse of their
country. This poses a
threat to our own domestic stability. Recent riots and
killings are the tip
of the potential xenophobic iceberg that will only
become visible when the
real tsunami hits. It is the mandate of government
to protect our citizens
from external and internal threat. Zimbabwe is now
both. Action needs to be
taken. Talking has clearly not worked.
. South Africa is funding the
crisis in Zimbabwe directly with taxpayers'
money. We are paying for food
aid for starving Zimbabweans. We are
supporting millions of Zimbabwean
refugees. We are exporting desperately
needed electricity, providing urgent
and expensive healthcare and we are
allocating our resources to prop up an
impotent mediation process. We have
allowed Mugabe to destroy the economic
benefits of a flourishing trading
partner on our border. Zimbabwe's ruin is
costing us big money that we need
for our own people. There is therefore a
huge economic imperative for
instituting regime change in Zimbabwe.
.
Mugabe has begun to dismantle the working structure of the MDC, kidnapping
activists and party figures. If he is successful, there will soon be no
viable party to replace Zanu-PF. Removal of Mugabe under those conditions
will either be impossible or create a power vacuum and almost certainly a
civil war. Mugabe knows that invasion will be forced down the list of
options if there is no viable replacement for his government. It is
therefore critical to act quickly before he has more time to achieve this
objective. The MDC is intact, has been voted into power, is ready to rule
and can hardly do any worse than ZANU-PF. It is imperative that they get the
chance before they are structurally incapable of doing so.
. It is in
South Africa's local and international interest to project our
regional
power in a globally acceptable and benevolent but firm way. If we
do not do
this and somebody else does, Nigeria for example, that country
will become
the conduit for international negotiation and the gateway to
Africa. The
benefits of being the portal country to a massive region cannot
be
underestimated in the context of our foreign policy strategy. We are in a
unique position to project an image of a country that upholds universal
human rights and democracy - good power. That image landed us 2010. We have
not done much in recent years to improve this image, choosing rather to drag
it through the filth and dump it in the trash. This is our chance to put
things right and gain friends in high places.
. The timing of
military action in Zimbabwe could not be better. The
Zimbabwean military is
unpaid and morale is therefore low. The crisis is
getting major
international media and condemnation of Mugabe and Zanu-PF is
universal.
Mbeki has been replaced in South Africa and would provide the
ideal
scapegoat for our previous indiscretions. Zuma needs a huge boost to
his
popularity and image both locally and internationally. It is a risk but
should it pay off, he will instantly be known as the saviour of Zimbabwe and
much less as the corruption king of South Africa.
. Regime change in
Zimbabwe is as inevitable as the fall of apartheid was.
The sooner it
happens, the sooner the rebuilding will begin and the decline
will end. The
longer we wait, the longer it will take to rebuild Zimbabwe
and the greater
the problems that we will have to deal with here in South
Africa. We have
wasted enough time already.
The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the
security of our country and
the well being of our citizens are increasingly
coming under threat from the
north. As well as having serious humanitarian
reasons for catalysing regime
change in Zimbabwe, there are some very
compelling strategic reasons to do
so as well. Those compelling strategic
reasons should result in concrete
action.
The time for talking is
over. The time to act is now.
Mugabe does not negotiate. He manipulates,
murders, tortures, lies and
steals. We have put up with him for long enough.
We do not need any more
proof. We need a new neighbour. We need a new
neighbour now.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at
1:03 pm
http://www.westender.com.au/
Australia
Lingerie Company Supplies Much Needed Underwear for African Women
HOTmilk
Lingerie, international maternity and nursing lingerie label, is
sending a
very special gift of underwear to help lower the rate of sexual
abuse
amongst young women living in villages in Zimbabwe.
HOTmilk is assisting
former Zimbabwean Morag Roy, who returned to her home
in Australia from a
recent trip determined to help the local communities in
Zimbabwe in a very
unusual way.
Roy discovered that sexual abuse of young girls was rampant
in that country
and asked a priest what the girls needed most to prevent
this happening.
"He told me that underwear gives a woman prestige, shows
that they have
money and means men are less likely to assault them," said
Roy. "I was
amazed but when I flew back six months later with suitcases
stuffed with
bras I saw first hand what a difference it made."
During
the trip, Roy also found that most of the young girls and mothers
there only
had one ragged pair of knickers each, so often wore none. "They
also
desperately need knickers, but I guess a Catholic priest wouldn't have
thought about mentioning that!" said Roy.
HOTmilk learnt of the cause
and were determined to lend a hand. "Sometimes
we can take a lot for
granted, from the roofs over heads right down to the
fact we own underwear,"
says HOTmilk co-owner and co-designer Ange Crosbie.
"When we heard that
something as simple as undergarments had the possibility
of giving young
women in Zimbabwe a better chance to live a life free of
sexual abuse, we
knew that we wanted to help."
"Morag had done such a great job in
gathering thousands of bras for her
cause and we were delighted to donate
6,500 brand new pairs of underwear for
her project," said Crosbie. The
company's freight forwarder, Express
Logistics, were also happy to come to
the party by sponsoring the transport
of the knickers from New Zealand to
Zimbabwe.
"Express Logistics is a New Zealand based international freight
forwarding
company. Because we deal with the rest of the world on a daily
basis we are
pleased to offer our assistance in this worthy venture," says
Account
Manager Kim Herewini.
"It is so wonderful to hear that
HOTmilk and Express Logistics wanted to get
involved," said Roy. "It just
proves that there are companies out there who
care about others and are
willing to do what they can to make a small
difference."
Crosbie is
anxiously waiting to receive a positive response from Zimbabwe
through Roy.