http://www.voanews.com
The
group cautions that the pace of reforms and credible preparations for
elections will determine the level of interaction between donors and the
unity government.
Blessing Zulu & Tatenda Gumbo | Washington 23
December 2010
Analysts say the call for credible elections by the Friends
of Zimbabwe
reflects the concerns of donors who have been holding back on
aid due to
fears of increased political risk
Western donors have
pledged to provide more than US$500 million in
humanitarian and other aid to
Zimbabwe in 2011, but caution that the pace of
reforms and credible
preparations for elections will determine the level of
interaction between
donors and the unity government.
The so-called Friends of Zimbabwe, an
informal group of donor nations and
financial institutions met recently in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
It issued a statement urging the Harare unity
government to cooperate with
the Southern African Development Community to
promote conditions for
legitimate and peaceful elections, including enhanced
transparency into
activities by the government and implementation of
reforms.
Finance Minster Tendai Biti told VOA reporter Blessing Zulu that
Harare
needs to take the issues raised by these key donors
seriously.
Analysts say the call for credible elections by the Friends of
Zimbabwe
reflects the concerns of donors who have been holding back on aid
due to
fears of increased political risk.
Economist David Mpamhedze
told VOA reporter Tatenda Gumbo that the donors
are holding out the
incentive of expanded aid in hopes of motivating
reforms.
http://www.voanews.com
Travelers
coming from South Africa report delays of many hours at Beitbridge
where an
estimated 17,000 cross daily
Tatenda Gumbo & Loirdham Moyo |
Washington/Mutare 23 December 2010
With the Christmas holiday at
hand, many Zimbabweans have found themselves
in a holiday crunch with access
to cash difficult and transport in many
cases problematic.
Travelers
coming from South Africa report hours-long delays at Beitbridge,
the
southern border post through which an estimated 17,000 may pass daily in
the
holiday season.
Finance Minister Tendai Biti and Transport Minister
Nicholas Goche traveled
to the border to assess travel conditions, promising
a tranformed post come
next holiday season.
Biti said the border
infrastructure was in bad condition and that the govhas
engaged
international partners to reorganization and transform the bridge to
"world
class standards."
Elsewhere, numerous frustrated consumers in Mutare have
found themselves
without cash 48 hours before Christmas as banks overwhelmed
by demand for US
dollars and South African Rand exhausted their stocks of
hard currency.
Many travelled from rural areas hoping to draw banknotes
and make purchases,
but had to return empty handed.
Studio Seven
reporter Tatenda Gumbo spoke with Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions
Secretary General Wellington Chibebe and Reheal Zimbabwe Information
Officer
Tsabile Dewa to discuss the holiday deadlock.
Dewa, who recently traveled
to South Africa, says the conditions on the
Beitbridge left much to be
desired.
http://www.radiovop.com
24/12/2010 17:46:00
Harare, December 24,
2010 – Passengers who wanted to fly Air Zimbabwe planes
were left stranded
Friday after the pilots and other staff members went on
strike demanded to
be paid their December salaries and other outstanding
allowances dating back
to 2009.
Sources from Air Zimbabwe told RadioVOP that all the flights
that were
scheduled for Friday morning were cancelled on short notice after
the pilots
remained in the airport’s car park demanding the salaries be paid
before the
Christmas holiday.
“The salaries that the pilots are
talking about have been owed from last
year. Right now they are in meetings
with management and I don’t think they
will get an agreement today,” said a
source adding that the December
salaries have also not been paid.
"In
their last agreement with the employer which happens to be the
government,
it was agreed that they will be paid 50 percent immediately with
the
remainder staggered over six months but the time has come and payments
have
not been made,” said the source based at Air Zimbabwe headquarters at
the
airport.
A group of pilots could be seen milling around the car park at
the company’s
headquarters when Radio VOP visited the Harare International
Airport. A few
confused passengers were also milling around the airport
terminal waiting
for news on the flights.
Air Zimbabwe chief
executive officer Peter Chikumba confirmed the job action
but added that
they will have to take the matter to their lawyers because
they were not
given a notice by the pilots.
“In terms of the law the pilots should
notify management of a pending job
action and that was not done,” said
Chikumba.
Air Zimbabwe operates a Boeing 767 to Harare from London every
Thursday and
Monday night, and from Harare to London every Wednesday and
Sunday morning.
It also operates flights on regional routes, mainly
between Johannesburg and
Harare and between Bulawayo and Johannesburg. It
also operates domestic
flights between the two major cities and the Victoria
Falls.
Air Zimbabwe says it needs US$750 million to renew its fleet and
match
regional competitors, but the government is reluctant to give up
shareholding to private investors who can mobilise the needed
finance.
The airline lost thousands of dollars in revenue after the
pilots went on
strike again September demanding to be paid their outstanding
salaries and
allowances.
The airline’s chairman Jonathan Kadzura
said: "I can't talk to you much
right now because I am in the middle of a
strike, let me handle this right
now and will be able to take your questions
later."
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
24 December, 2010 07:55:00 By
staff Reporter
Harare, - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and leader
of the Movement
Democratic Change (MDC) says he is ready for elections next
year but not
war.
He said in his Christmas message to Zimbabweans: "We
won the Presidential,
parliamentary and local government elections of 2008
and we are not afraid.
The holder of the heavyweight title can never be more
afraid than the
challenger; the one itching to inflict revenge after being
humiliated in the
first round. And we won the first round. So we are ready
for an election and
not a war.
"We are only ready for a free and fair
election, a peaceful election where
violence, rigging, intimidation and a
biased public media have no space;
where our soldiers, our police, our
central intelligence officers and our
war veterans remain impartial actors
that respect the Constitution of
Zimbabwe. A free election where losers hand
over power and winners begin
urgently to transact the business of the people
and to set in motion
policies that will guarantee a prosperous future for us
and our children.
"So we will only participate in a free, fair and
violence-free election. But
we will not participate in a war. We are simple
defenseless citizens of this
country fighting for change through peaceful
and democratic means. So we
will not participate in a blood-soaked event
masquerading as an election.
"On 16 December 2010, our national council
took a position that the
outstanding electoral business is the unfinished
Presidential election of
2008. There was no contestation on the outcome of
the Parliamentary and
local government elections. This means Zimbabweans
should be given a chance
to vote for a President of their choice in the next
election. We have been
forced to walk the road of violence and we are not
prepared to walk it
forever more.
"I, like every other Zimbabwean,
have personally experienced this violence
and I understand the pain of
brutality and indignity. There have been
disturbing and treasonous
statements by a parasitic minority in Zanu PF that
they will not allow an
election to decide the future leaders of this
country. The people of
Zimbabwe, with the active assistance of SADC, must
ensure that the people's
will prevails if we are to entrench a new culture
of democracy in
our
country.
"I am aware that more needs to be done to realise our
full potential in
bringing hospitals and schools to their former glory and
in ensuring that
our silent factories start working again. But we have made
our positive
change in this government amid renewed tension which is
threatening our
collective march from a dark past of uncertainty to a future
of hope and
progress."
"I have my own frustrations about many things
in this government. Chief
among my frustrations is the failure to implement
the Global Political
Agreement, the resurgence of violence in the country
and President Robert
Mugabe's unilateral and unconstitutional acts which have
blighted the dawn
of possible progress.
"I am frustrated because
these things have stood between us and the great
things we could have
achieved as a coalition government. I am frustrated
because we have taken
Zimbabweans for a ride and betrayed the trust bestowed
upon us by you, the
people of Zimbabwe as well as SADC and the African Union
as the guarantors
of the Global Political Agreement.
"I am frustrated because we cannot
implement the 24 issues we have agreed
upon for the simple reason that
President Mugabe has chosen to run away from
his signature and treats fellow
Principals with utter disdain and contempt.
"I am frustrated because the
noble-constitution-making process has failed to
stand the test of legitimacy
after Zimbabweans were disallowed from freely
expressing their views.
However, we must continue with this process of
crafting a new charter for
ourselves while awaiting the making of a truly
people-driven Constitution in
a post-transitional environment.
"It is a shame that 30 years after
independence, we still use a Constitution
given to us as an order of the
Queen at Lancaster House, albeit a
Constitution mutilated 19 times. And we
still have the have the temerity to
call ourselves a sovereign nation while
at the same time subverting a noble
process of crafting our own, home-grown
Constitution.
"I am frustrated because those who lost the election have
chosen to mistake
our goodwill and benevolence for a weakness. They have
deluded themselves
into thinking that they invited us. But we derive comfort
in that while they
are soaked with the blood of innocent Zimbabweans, we
remain drenched in the
legitimacy bestowed upon us in a free and fair
election.
"We are the true repository of the people's aspirations. But
our present
frustrations must not blind us to the nightmare of the past and
the prospect
of a better future.
"We are now on the home stretch-the
last mile. As we go on this last mile,
we remain undaunted by the prospect
of an election, as this is the only
route through which a legitimate
government can begin to transact the
business of
the people and bring
about real change.
"This month, we all celebrate the birth of Christ and
look positively to the
year ahead, well aware of the value we have brought
into government and the
role we have played in stopping the bleeding and
making sure that
Zimbabweans have every reason to hope again," he said. "We
are not there yet
and I have no doubt about the huge task that lies ahead in
returning the
country to normalcy and in laying the foundation for a great
future for our
children."
He said among the successes of MDC were the
ability to add value to the
government, pulling the nation from the brink of
collapse to a new potential
of hope and averted an inevitable plunge into
the abyss to set the country
back on the rails; on a new path of stability,
development and growth.
"We are the people's conscience in this
government and every day, we are
mitigating the excesses of entitlement and
corruption and keeping in check a
sulking minority unused to working in the
interest of the people.We have
shown what a determined people can do, even
in the face of open Zanu (PF)
provocation."
"We have weathered and
survived dark and sinister plots to undermine the
collective government work
programme and the real change agenda. We have
remained resolute, in the full
knowledge that we are the true people's
representatives because of the clear
mandate given to us in a legitimate
election."
"As I take stock of
the past year and look at the priorities of 2011, I am
humbled by some
notable achievements but at the same time aware of the great
strides we
would have made were it not for the needless tension in this
government,"
noted Tsvangirai.
He said Zimbabwe's inflation has been tamed and the
country is poised for a
growth of 8,1 percent after having
spent the past
two years concentrating on stabilising the economy. There is
food on the
shelves, schools have opened and hospitals have begun
functioning
again.
He said a one-stop shop that will enable prospective investors to
have their
papers processed under one roof in less than 48 hours had been
opened.
Tsvangirai said he was unhappy with the remuneration for civil
servants
considering their patriotism and their great service to the
country.
He also said a false impression had been created that the MDC
and its
leadership were fighting the national security
institutions.
"We have nothing against our soldiers, our police and our
CIO officers as
long as they stick to their Constitutional mandate of
protecting the people
of Zimbabwe. But we have a problem when the same
institutions are used for
partisan interest, to intimidate and mete out
violence against innocent and
defenceless citizens.
"So we need a
roadmap to a free and fair election, with clear benchmarks and
time-bound
milestones that will ensure the people's views will be
respected."
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
24 December, 2010 07:51:00 By
staff Reporter
Mutare, - Speculation is rife that former Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo
may bounce back at the helm of the Ministry following
his recent election to
Zanu (PF)'s politburo, the highest decision making
body of the party.
Moyo was instrumental in the crafting of the oppressive
Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which he used to
shutdown
newspapers. He was also responsible for the loss of jobs for
hundreds of
journalists and other media professionals from the state-owned
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation and the news agency, Zimbabwe Inter-Africa
News
Agency (Ziana), for allegedly siding with the then opposition party,
the
Movement for Democratic Change. He renamed Ziana, which was one of the
best
news agency in Africa, new Ziana.
Sources told Radio VOP that
President Robert Mugabe wanted a cabinet
reshuffle in order to fit Moyo in
before the elections next year. Mugabe
wants to use Moyo to silence
organisations perceived to be critical to the
former ruling
party.
Sources said the current Information Minister Webster Shamu will
be moved to
the National Healing
Ministry.
Moyo was re-admitted
into the party last year after he was sacked for
masterminding a failed coup
d’état against
Mugabe six years ago.
He is expected to be hard on
media organisations that does not subscribe to
the ideas and principles of
Zanu PF) in a bid to make sure that the party
makes a clean sweep in next
years projected election to avoid another
embarrassing defeat by the
MDC-T.
“Shamu was not effective in dealing with media houses hostile to
Zanu (PF).
So a resolution was made to bring back Moyo to save the party
from a
possible humiliation if the country is to go to polls next year and
it will
be just a matter of time before the changes are made,” said the
source.
He added that the decision was made after Zanu (PF)’ s supreme
decision
making body, the politburo said Moyo was credited of saving Zanu
(PF) from
collapse during the 2000 era.
The move is set to cause
panic at the ZBC and Zimpapers where Moyo is likely
to purge deadwood
appointed by Shamu when he was brought to the ministry
last
year.
Although efforts to get a comment from Zanu (PF) spokesperson,
Rugare Gumbo
were fruitless, sources said Moyo was expected to rejuvenate
the parroting
of Zanu (PF) propaganda in the state media. - Radio VOP
http://www.radiovop.com
24/12/2010
17:47:00
Karoi, December 24, 2010 - Some police officers were on
Friday being accused
of demanding bribes from commercial workers who they
round up during their
night patrols.
The suspects can negotiate for
their immediate release before reaching the
charge office as the police do
not have transport to ferry them there.
Commercial sex work has been rife
for the past eight years here due to
economic and social
challenges.
'I met three officers who demanded that I pay US$10 as
clearance fee or I
risked spending a night in police cells for loitering'
said a 19 year old
sex worker only identified as Irene from Chiedza Suburb
here.
Those who fail to pay the 'clearance fee' are detained overnight
before
being forced to pay US$20 admission of guilt fine.
'These officers
are robbing us and we cannot make any income during the time
when our
clients have more money to spend,' said another sex worker named
Mercy aged
27 years.
The police officers however, accused the sex workers of
harbouring criminals
during the festive season.
'Some sex workers are
used as hideouts by criminals. They should report any
police officer who
demand bribes to the seniors,' said an officer who denied
to be
named.
There was no immediate response from Officer Commanding Hurungwe
district,
Chief Supt David Mandizha as his mobile was constantly
unavailable.
http://www.radiovop.com
24/12/2010 17:44:00
Mutare, December 24,
2010 - A diamond dealer from the West African country
of Guinea was murdered
by two Zimbabwean men after they lured him from his
base in
Mozambique.
Laye Fode Kaba was recently strangled to death and robbed of
US$14 000 after
being lured into Zimbabwe for a non-existent
deal.
Police have arrested Tinashe Muhammed (30) and Simbarashe Muyambo
(24), in
connection with the murder.
The two appeared before
magistrate Fabian Feshete on Thursday. They were
remanded in custody to
December 28 because it was feared they will interfere
with
witnesses.
The state also argued the release of the accused after the
death of a
foreigner on Zimbabwean soil would induce pandemonium and
jeopardize the
public confidence in the Zimbabwe criminal justice
system.
For the state, Truman Joma, alleged the two lured Kaba who
resided in
Mozambique, a safe hub for foreign diamond dealers.
The
prosecutor said on November 28, the two Zimbabweans called Kaba in
Mozambique and duped him that there was diamond up for sale in
Mutare.
Kaba agreed and asked for the accused persons to collect him in
Mozambique
at his house and smuggle him into the country.
The
Prosecutor said on November 29, the two smuggled Kaba into Zimbabwe.
But
after crossing the Mutare-Machipanda railway line, near the three
kilometre
peg, the Zimbabwean men strangled Kaba to death and robbed him of
$14 000
and two mobile phones.
As a cover up they placed the body along the
railway line and it was dragged
by a goods train for about 60 metres before
it stopped.
Meanwhile soldiers manning the bloody Chiyadzwa diamond
fields were
employing ‘illegal miners’ whom they are using to mine the
diamonds and sell
the mineral on their behalf.
Illegal diamond miners
who spoke to Radio VOP said entering in the diamond
fields was now not a
problem if one has links with the security men manning
the area.
Most
of them however, complained that they were being used by the soldiers
who
demand half share of the sold diamonds.
“They are telling ‘their’ miners
to recruit more people who will work for
them. If you enter through that
channel you will be protected but the
problem comes after selling the
diamonds as the soldiers demand an equal
share with you.
“Its
difficulty to avoid them (soldiers) when you have sold the diamonds
because
you will be escorted by to the market,” said Charles Siyamupepe.
“We are
being enslaved by soldiers here because how can we have an equal
share after
the labour we would have gone through? Yes it’s true that they
will be
protecting us but from who? Imagine after selling my loot for say
US$20 000
they demand US$10 000. It’s unfair, “complained Clever Ganyiwa.
A middle
ranked soldier deployed in the controversial diamond fields but
declined to
be named said corruption was the order of the day at Chiyadzwa.
“That's
how most of us are making a living here. Where do you think private
soldiers
and junior police officers who are here get money to buy those
expensive
cars, said one soldier.
Human rights organisations have been calling for
the withdrawal of soldiers
from the area, citing corruption and human rights
abuses, but the government
said they were there to protect the looting of
the precious mineral by
illegal miners.
http://www.radiovop.com
24/12/2010 17:49:00
Masvingo, December
25, 2010- As many Zimbabweans were pushing their trolleys
full of groceries
on Christmas Eve, some beggars said it was their hardest
time as busy
shoppers failed to notice them.
Radio VOP which visited OK Supermarket,
one of the country’s biggest retail
group here witnessed hordes of shoppers
doing last minute buying. Many of
the shoppers were preparing to go for
their rural homes to enjoy Christmas
with their families.
“It is
Christmas time, and we have to make merry,” says Tatenda Moyo,
holding a
bottle of whisky in one hand and a box of cigarette and a packet
of biltong
in another.
He said he was heading for his rural home to
booze.
Hardly 200 meters away, a visually impaired beggar and his three
children,
also blind were singing on top of their voices, beating plastic
containers
with sticks in a bid to attract attention of the
passersby.
But nobody seemed to pay attention as most people were caught
in the hustle
and bustle of Christmas.
“We have no home, we live in a
shack. Our homes were destroyed during the
Operation Murambatsvina (Clean up
operation). We live on begging,” says
Josia Rugara, the 40-year old
destitute.
Although Christmas is also a time for giving and remembering
the less
privileged, very few have extended the olive branch to Rugara’s
begging
bowl. In fact, according to Rugara, as Christmas approached, many
locals
tightened the strings of their purses.
“On some days, I could
get around US$5 to US$6. But as Christmas drew
closer, very few were willing
to donate. Today, I just got a dollar at noon,
and it shows the day is not
going to improve,” he said.
A few meters from Rugara was another beggar
who is physically challenged and
is in a wheelchair.
“I would have
loved to work if I was born like others. It is not my wish to
be in the
streets getting very little, especially on times like these where
we expect
to be remembered. To me, Christmas is just like any other day,”
said Garirai
Rwonzi.
Alghouth the Christmas Cheer fund had been distributed, very few
orphanages
benefitted little as the amount was little.
Masvingo
Mayor, Alderman Femius Chakabuda said the business community only
pledged
US$1 000, les than a quarter raised last year.
“Because business was not
that good, we raised a little amount from the
business community. We would
have loved to help everyone and make sure that
even those in orphanages and
those on the streets have a smile this
Christmas,"
By close of
business on the 20th December 2010 13 million textbooks will have
been dispatched to around 5,300 schools. The coverage map is attached. Due to a
significant number of schools not having been on the original distribution lists
and rising enrolments, 93% of schools will be covered by the time the trucks
reach their destinations within the next week to 10 days. Inevitably there will
also be some schools which will not receive enough books and we know of
shortages already in certain subjects and grades. Unicef and the Ministry of
Education, Sport, Arts and Culture are currently negotiating to procure the
mop-up and buffer stocks with Longmans and will be able to complete the job
early next year while still remaining well under budget for
textbooks.
As I have
recently advised we have secured funding for the Secondary school textbook
programme which will be rolled out early in the New Year. We hope that these
textbooks will be delivered to Secondary schools countrywide during the second
term of 2011.
Yours
faithfully,
Senator
David Coltart
Minister
of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture
www.davidcoltart.com
By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London
The statement ‘what you see is what you get’ seems to aptly describe Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. This is so because he appears to convey the message that ‘I may not be perfect, but I'll be making no efforts to improve, so be warned'' (phrases.org.uk).
For a leader whose party is facing its ‘Lazarus moment’, Mugabe proved that desperate times have forced his party to adopt various desperate measures lately e.g. by burying the succession issue. Some analysts likened Zanu-pf to ‘Mugabe’s wives’ after they confirmed without any debate the 86-year old as the party’s presidential candidate in the election 2011 and by maintaining loud silence on who succeeds Mugabe who is very old..
Mugabe announced at the 11th Zanu-pf national the elevation of Jonathan Moyo to the Communist-style politburo exactly 6-years since his expulsion. In reference to Moyo, Mugabe said ‘I don’t want to call him a prodigal son”, a development seen by some analysts as evidence of desperation by turning a blind eye to scathing articles penned by the Tsholostho MP especially the controversial article entitled: ‘There is a sinister agenda at work’ (Zimbabwe Independent, 22/09/06).
In his paper, Moyo lambasts Mugabe, Zanu-pf ‘mandarins’and securocrats and makes one useful revelation for the opposition if they didn’t know already, saying the party’s strategy calls for:
‘state security to infiltrate the opposition in order to destroy it from within. The core purpose of this strategy is to enable state security to determine Mugabe’s successor and the manner or process of his succession on behalf of factional interests in Zanu-pf.’
In the wake of spirited rejections by Welshman Ncube of any chances of his faction uniting with the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai, one wonders what has prompted a resurgence of efforts to reunite the two MDC parties ahead of possible elections in 2011. While unity is a desirable ideal under normal circumstances, these are not normal circumstances in view of the state security strategy referred to above. Early this month, Jenni Williams of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) warned about an infiltration strategy called ‘hemming in’ whereby ‘people are hemmed in’ (Zimbabwean, 06/12/10).
Before the conference ended Mugabe declared on 18th December 2010 that a legal framework must be put in place to ensure individuals and organisations that call for sanctions against the country can be charged with treason (New Zimbabwe, 18/12/10). Criminalising the freedom of expression will obviously have no valid legal basis as it will only make things worse. For instance, in order to claim asylum abroad one would simply call for the retention of targeted sanctions on Mugabe and would have committed a ‘treasonous offence’ according to Zanu-pf law. One would not need to prove membership of a political party, arrest or torture to be justified in fearing for their life in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe under the proposed ‘sanctions law’.
Interestingly enough, targeted sanctions which are intended to restrict named individuals from travel to the USA, Canada, Australia, EU and the UK have been used as an excuse for nearly every little problem imaginable in Zimbabwe – including driving a long distance to work, causing poverty, ‘biting’ education and child mortality.
In March 2010 a provincial governor blamed targeted sanctions for forcing her to commute more than 240 kilometres daily to work ‘at tax-payers’ expense’ (The Zimbabwe Times, 30/03/10). Matabeleland South governor, Angeline Masuku of Zanu-pf reportedly said in a bid to beat ‘sanctions’ she was forced to drive more than a thousand kilometres to work each week in her chauffer-driven government issue Mercedes Benz E280 as she commuted between a farm on the outskirts of Bulawayo and her offices in Gwanda. Meanwhile, Bulawayo Metropolitan Governor, Cain Mathema also of Zanu-pf, allegedly travels a similar distance from rural Tsholotsho to the city. The two government officials jointly clock 2,400 kilometres to and from work in a five day week.
“The problems we are facing are caused by the illegal economic sanctions that were imposed by Britain and her allies. Our major buildings in Matabeleland South are still undergoing construction after many years,” Masuku said. Mathema blamed the coalition government for not allocating him a house in the city of Bulawayo. Just how some people find a link between a ban to visit London or Washington with governors’ accommodation in Zimbabwe, is hard to decipher.
This story has a striking resemblance with that of a boss who would not buy heaters for his freezing staff and had them hypnotised into thinking they were warm (The Sun, 23/12/10).The employer bought coats for the ‘lads’ in his cobblers workshop where temperatures had plunged to -13 degrees centigrade, but because doors were left open to clear solvent fumes, the workers were reportedly still feeling cold. However, just a five- minute session with a hypnotist saw them stripping down to shorts and T-shirts, saying they were too HOT! (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3315242).
Mugabe claimed poverty in Zimbabwe had remained high because of the ‘debilitating effects caused by targeted sanctions’ while addressing the United Nations plenary meeting on Millennium Development Goals in New York in September 2010 (SWRadioAfrica, 22/09/20). Similarly, ‘sanctions’ were blamed for biting education in Zimbabwe this month after a ‘key German ally’ reportedly rejected the release of a 15 million Euro tranche due to ‘infighting among key Unicef funders who are divided over Zimbabwe’s diplomatic relations with the European Union’ (Financial Gazette, 03/12/10). Mugabe’s wife, Grace on 9th December 2010, blamed sanctions for high numbers of maternal and infant mortality rate in Zimbabwe (RadioVop, 09/12/10).
The truth is that Zimbabwe’s economy was already in freefall before targeted sanctions were imposed on 200 individuals and some state enterprises that were seen as propping-up Mugabe’s regime especially over accusations that Zanu-pf rigged the 2002 presidential election. It could be argued as a fair comment that the reluctance of the South African government to release a report on Zimbabwe’s 2002 elections despite two court orders could be due to fears of opening a can of worms and unintentionally help justify the case for targeted sanctions on certain individuals.
Desperate measures have seen senior priests in the Anglican Church faction led by ex-communicated Archbishop Nolbert Kunonga declaring their church’s unwavering allegiance to Zanu-pf and that the church will pray for Mugabe and no other leader (Newsday 20/12/10). On the other hand, the new Bishop of Harare Sebastian Bakare, who is at loggerheads with police-backed Kunonga told The Daily Telegraph that riot police had attacked "nearly all" of Harare's 58 Anglican churches in 2008. "People are too scared to try to worship in their churches in case they are beaten," he said.
If all was well within Zanu-pf there would be no plans to nationalise western private businesses or expel diplomats from western countries. There would be no plans to set up Zanu-pf schools to ‘orient’ young people about its ideologies ahead of 2011 elections (RadioVop 23/12/10) because it’s too late. In any case, the intended beneficiaries would be too young to vote in 2011. The ‘look East policy’ envisages propaganda centres to be dotted all over the country modelled along those run by the Chinese Community Party.
Despite freedom of information being enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the so-called Global Political Agreement (GPA), police and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) Agency operatives are reportedly confiscating solar powered, wind-up radios that were donated by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to rural communities because they are allegedly ‘selling out the country by listening to foreign broadcasts’ (ZimbabweJournalists, 06/12/10).
The Supreme leader had a compliment from the cables released by Wikileaks for being ‘fit and healthy for an 85-year old’ rather than earlier reports alleging failing health, but Mugabe’s healthy appearance comes at a price to the taxpayer. He has round the clock medical care 24/7, something not being enjoyed by people of the same age even in some of the country’s hospitals, therefore he has an unfair advantage. However, the cables noted that Mugabe “could not sit still” and “constantly pulled up his socks” during the meeting with American diplomats last year. Latest reports in 2010 quote MDC Finance Minister Tendai Biti as saying Mugabe allegedly sleeps during meetings.
If that is the case, instead of wasting public funds seeking medical attention abroad, Mugabe should build modern health facilities in Zimbabwe including those for cancer treatment which can be used by all the people. Funds for hospitals and ambulances can come from the sale of Mugabe’s redundant Russian made helicopter which according to media reports is now being used by one of his ministers because he does not like it.
Mugabe would have done the country a lot of good by persuading the securocrats to apologise and say sorry for their alleged offences against humanity and step down in return for no retribution so that Zimbabweans don’t have to sleep with one eye open come election 2011. Surely, he can do more than ‘what you see is what you get’.
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London zimanalysis2009@gmail.com