Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Chenjerai Chitsaru
OUR own
version of the Christmas story ought to feature Three Wise
Men, bringing us
good tidings - the birth of a new era of economic miracles.
Unhappily, all we can look forward to is a proliferation of Ebenezer
Scrooges, money-grabbing politicians who will lie to us day and night,
through their teeth, about a new period of prosperity which, since 2000, is
permanently unattainable.
The Three Wise Men are actually not
named in the Holy Scriptures, yet
it was long decided that they were Gaspar,
Melchior and Balthasar, who may
or not have been kings hailing from the
east,
Christendom owes a lot to these three gentlemen, for they
announced
the Immaculate birth of Jesus Christ which, for all who profess
faith in
Christianity, is celebrated on 25 December.
Most of us
adults now know that Jesus was not actually born on this
day. Of course, the
atheists don't believe such a person was born at all.
Anyway, all
that is irrelevant. The point today is the long, dreary
march into disaster
since 2000. In that year, the Zimbabwean revolution took
a turn as momentous
and dangerous as the collectivisation of agriculture in
both the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics and the People's Republic of
China.
Both occurred in the initial intoxication of so-called "people's
power",
triggering hunger and death among the people.
In Zimbabwe, the deaths
have not been on a massive scale. But that
there has been massive hunger
cannot be disputed; that there have been
deaths may be statistically
difficult to prove, at a glance.
Yet the fact must be accepted that
more people have died since 2000
that would have died if productivity on he
farms had not been drastically
disrupted by what most people - in and out of
Zanu PF - now accept as a
political madness, an aberration, equivalent to
the insanity that presaged
Gukurahundi.
My choice of Three Wise
Men are Robert Mugabe, Herbert Murerwa and
Gideon Gono. Since 2000, these
three men have supervised our economic
revival. Out of their mouths since
then have flowed words of hope, promises
of miracles.
All three
have popularised the phrase "the economic turnaround". For
many people, this
is a turnaround as preposterous, in its reality, as a dog
chasing its own
tail.
Never mind which dog we are talking of; all three mutts have
the
capacity or incapacity, it would seem, to chase their own tails until
kingdom come.
The reality is that these men have university
degrees, perhaps not in
economics, although Mugabe seems to have studied for
a Master of Economics
or something equally air-fairy.
Now, Gono
had the proverbial humble beginnings, starting off as what
they called,
during the colonial days a "tea boy". This was as menial a job
as you were
likely to get in those days of servitude to the white people.
Then he
became a banker and a damned good one, if we are to believe
the spectacular
achievements he chalked up when he was in charge of what
was, basically, a
government-owned bank.
The rest, as they say, is history.not a
particularly riveting history
of success, but a history nevertheless of a
high-profile career which could
culminate in the biggest prize of them all -
political success, as prime
minister in a new configuration of a Mugabe
government, if Gushungo can
triumph over the current spirited campaign to
stop him from going on beyond
2008.
Murerwa's degree is not in
economics or finance; but he is a man who
knows how to follow orders, which
some people believe is a weakness, while
others believe is in his strongest
suit in a relationship with a man of
Mugabe's kingsize ego.
Then there is Mugabe himself; the master's degree in economics doesn't
bring
him up to Milton Friedman's level of economic intelligence; if the
late
American economist had been in charge after our 2000 fiasco, we would
not be
in our present mess.
Under the tutelage of these three men, Zimbabwe
has achieved dubious
distinctions in a very short time: the highest
inflation rate in the world;
the fastest shrinking economy in the world and
one of the most pathetic life
expectancy in the world - 34 years or
less.
And yet each time one of these three men opens his mouth to
speak
about our economic future, they invariably sound optimistic: Mugabe is
a
politician and for him mendacity comes with the territory.
Murerwa has fallen into the same rut; he can play footsie with the
truth
with the same dexterity as Ibrahim Babangida did, like Armando Diego
Maradona did with a soccer ball, before King Coke messed him
up.
The naked truth is that our Three Wise Men have messed up as if
they
too had overdosed on something lethal, perhaps not mind-expanding, but
definitely mind-deadening, if such drugs do exist.
Yesterday
was Christmas Day in Zimbabwe; you wouldn't know it from a
cursory glance at
the faces of people in any crowd. Sullen, scowling,
ill-tempered, ready to
unleash a stream of obscenities at you, if you step
on their toes, or if you
say the wrong word.
Mind you, since 2000, most people have been
like that; what happened
to the miracle promised in 1980? Why is it that
most people are eating less
than they did before independence? Why is it
that more people are now out of
employment than there were before
independence?
All these questions become irrelevant when you pose
the big picture
question: why are people not worried enough to do something
about their
plight?
A few pointers: in a speech over the succession
controversy, Mugabe
reportedly said words to the effect that "I am what I
am; you made me what I
am" "You chose me as I am".
One man who
decided it was time to come clean was Edgar Tekere: he
said Mugabe's
campaign to hang on until 2010 was "madness".
It reminded me of Habib
Bourguiba, the former president of Tunisia,
carted off to the madhouse,
virtually from a cabinet meeting. Tekere knows
as much about Mugabe as
anyone who has been a close colleague of him is
likely to know.
This is not the firsts time Tekere has been openly critical of Mugabe,
with
whom he trekked to Mozambique from this country to join the struggle.
In 1990, Tekere challenged Mugabe for the presidency of the country.
He did
not lose exactly by a whisker, but performed rather respectably, for
a man
whose party had been formed only few months earlier.
In addition he
had lumbered himself with a white supremacist party as
an ally. Ian Smith's
party in its new, hardly disguised old Rhodesia Front
plumage.
But
the shooting of Patrick Kombayi in that election campaign and
Mugabe's
rather hasty decision to free the culprits, after their conviction
in court,
will always be remembered as one of his most cynical acts of
rotten
partisanship.
Until now, Mugabe seems to act as if he was still
leading a guerrilla
group in the jungles of Mozambique. His performance at
the so-called people's
conference in Goromonzi confirmed, for many people in
and out of Zanu PF,
that this man is not going to give up power without a
bloody fight to the
finish.
In truth, however, the ball is no
longer in Mugabe's court; it is
firmly in the court of his opponents,
particularly those in the Zanu PF
politburo who believe it is time to change
the leadership, not only of Zanu
PF, but of the country, as well.
For them, and perhaps for the country, an imponderable factor is posed
by
the soldiers. So far, there has been no hesitation among the senior
officers
to back Mugabe to he hilt. After all, he was their
commander-in-chief during
the struggle, and remains so to this day.
Only if they too have
lost faith in Mugabe as one of the Three Wise
Men, will they decide to join
the others in telling him, politely: "Chef, it
is time to go."
East African Standard
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
By John Mwazembwa
In some South African communities, tokoloshe
is believed to be a
wicked genie that inhabits a good person who gradually
or suddenly turns
into an ogre.
An ogre is a "giant or monster
in legends and fairy tales, that eats
humans". In the book, Hellow Africa,
Tell Me, How Are You Doing, Kofi Osei
explains: "Here's how the tokoloshe
works. The newcomer, a populist
president, who seized or won power on the
zero tolerance to corruption
platform, pledges that he will serve only the
constitutional two terms and
then go back to the military barracks, the
lecture hall, trade union job or
the commercial business he misses so
much.
Soon after, he makes his first European or trans-Atlantic
trip in the
presidential jet of lacquered mahogany and burnished leather
interior. By
the time the $30 million (Sh2.1 billion) Citation or Gulfstream
has whisked
him silently above the clouds to the presidential suite in
Paris' Crillion
or New York's Waldorf-Astoria, and after basking in the echo
of his first
international applause to the speech at a conference, and after
signing the
road or oil contract of which a good percentage of the cost is
lodged in the
secret bank account he has just opened in Zurich, His
Excellency is well and
truly crooked.
By the time he flies back
home, he wants the jet, the limos, the gun
salutes and the unlimited expense
accounts to be permanent features in his
life. Tokoloshe!"
Though he would rather chew all his fingers and toes than admit it,
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe has suffered the biggest tokoloshe in the
continent. It was no surprise when Zimbabwe's ruling party passed a
resolution to extend Mugabe's rule to 2010 instead of his expected departure
in 2008.
The reason given was that the party wanted to
"harmonise" presidential
elections, which are due in 2008, with the
parliamentary poll in 2010 so
that they take place at the same time. A lame
reason but tokoloshe! It has
haunted African leaders for
decades.
Kofi says: "Between 1970 and 1995, rare was the African
leader who
managed to escape a dose of tokoloshe: Julius Nyerere,
France-Albert Rene,
Seretse Khama and Leopold Senghor were among the few who
escaped the virus.
Those possessed by full-blown tokoloshe include Idi Amin,
Macias Nguema,
Eyadema and Jean-Bedel Bokassa . There was also Sekou Toure,
Mengistu Haile
Miriam and Sani Abacha, the latter-day Caligula whom Nobel
Laureate Wole
Soyinka damned with a 'may he roast in hell' epithet on
hearing that the
dark-goggled dictator had dropped dead ."
Of late, "democratic" rule has been sweeping the African continent. To
uphold "democracy" and not "break the law" or "contravene the constitution",
many African leaders are amending the law to extend their terms legally.
They think that this will make them appear 'democratic'.
Tokoloshe!
Of all tokoloshe, it was Uganda's Yoweri Museveni that
surprised
friend and foe. The man refused to retire, and in vintage
tokoloshe oversaw
the changing of the constitution to extend his term in
office. What had
happened to such a promising African
statesman?
But it was Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who left
no doubt that
tokoloshe is at work in most State Houses in Africa. The
respected African
elder, who has done many good things for Nigeria and
mediated conflicts in
Africa, showed serious signs and symptoms of the
infection.
Although Obasanjo had not publicly announced his
intentions to run for
a third term, the fact that his supporters were
demanding a change of the
constitution to allow this was widely believed
that the elderly man had been
struck with the madness that inflicts many
African presidents.
Nigeria's Senate put to rest Obasanjo's bid for
a third term when it
shot down the constitutional amendment proposal. In
effect, they told him to
go back home, grow yams and enjoy
foofoo.
Many African leaders are deceived that there is no one
"good enough"
to lead the country after he goes. He sees himself as a
demi-god, almost
immortal and made from some incorruptible material that is
more than human.
They should remember Kofi's exhortation: "It was
because of the danger
of hubris that in Roman times, as Caesar celebrated
his triumph in military
campaigns with parades, and as he was being hailed,
'Ave! Ave!' by baying
crowds, a slave would stand behind him and whisper:
Memento homo - remember,
you are mortal."
African leaders are
used to living in luxury and are not easy to
persuade to leave State House.
This is the reason why the recently launched
Mo Ibrahim Prize for
Achievement in African Leadership is a good idea. The
winner of the prize
will be awarded a cash gift of $5 million (Sh350
million) over 10 years
(when the winner leaves office), plus $200,000 (Sh14
million) a year for
life. This is more in cash benefits than the coveted
Nobel Peace
Prize.
Ibrahim's lucrative attempt could go a long way in
enticing African
leaders to peacefully leave office after their terms
expire. This would be a
good way of ensuring that they are not possessed by
the evil tokoloshe!
Even in our country, political leaders have
shown varying capacities
of plain arrogance mixed with a false belief of
invincibility, sometimes
glaringly open and at other times hidden and
sugar-coated, but tokoloshe,
nonetheless!
They urgently need
prayers, which we generously give: Thou foul
tokoloshe spirit, we conjure
thee, come out of our leaders!
The writer is the editorial
manager at Macmillan Kenya Publishers
johnmwazemba@yahoo.co.
Tacy Ltd
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 December 2006
The World Diamond Council (WDC), led by
Chairman Eli Izhakoff,
has expressed its concerns to the incoming Chair of
the Kimberley Process
Karel Kovanda regarding the current situation in
southern Africa amid
reports that rough diamonds from Zimbabwe's kimberlite
River Ranch mine and
alluvial diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe, are possibly
being smuggled
illegally into South Africa for official export with the
validation of a
Kimberley Process Certificate.
"While
remaining mindful of Zimbabwe's membership of the
Kimberley Process, such
illegal exportation presents a clear threat to the
integrity of the
legitimate export process as a whole. In addition, we have
heard that River
Ranch diamonds are being mixed with production from the
Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC). We appeal to the Chair and participant
nations of the
Kimberley Process to act swiftly and in unison, to resolve
this situation
and protect the legitimate and law-abiding industry. We
appeal to the
governments of Zimbabwe, South Africa and the DRC to take
necessary action
to ensure that illicit diamonds cannot be exported under
the Kimberley
Process Certificate Scheme. In addition, we appeal to all
rough diamond
importing countries to carry out appropriate inspections of
all parcels of
rough diamonds emanating from southern Africa to ensure that
they do not
contain Zimbabwean or Congolese production," says Izhakoff.
"I fully agree that the situation in Zimbabwe needs to be
carefully
monitored, and that Participants and Observers must take further
action to
ensure that the Kimberley Process is not negatively affected by
these
events," responds Kovanda.
Kovanda points out that at the
recent Kimberley Process Plenary
meeting in Gaborone Zimbabwe recognized the
difficulties it faces in
relation to the 'diamond rush' and it has informed
the Kimberley Process of
measures, notably in terms of enforcement and
police controls, that it has
taken in a bid to regain control of the
situation.
The European Commission has committed to
requesting an update
from Zimbabwe on recent developments and actions there,
and has requested
that the WDC shares any further information on Zimbabwe
and its effects on
neighboring countries as well as action by the industry
for the benefit of
participants of the Kimberley Process.
Here is a link to video of Free-Zim Youth's protest on Friday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhmvkh_st8Y
Welcome to the Vigil's
Christmas baby - Zizi, son of Gugu and Vigil
Co-ordinator Dumi. He arrived
safely in time for breakfast on Wednesday
morning. Dumi and Gugu met at the
Vigil - one of a number of pairings we
have seen among our
supporters.
As last-minute shoppers hurried along the Strand, the Vigil
marked the end
of a busy week. Vigil supporters participated in carol
singing on Tuesday
evening in Trafalgar Square in aid of a Zimbabwean
orphanage. Others turned
up on Wednesday evening to sing carols outside
Zimbabwe House. Both nights
were bitterly cold, with fog blanketing
London. Thanks to the Tofts who
came specially from Tunbridge
Wells.
Friday saw the beginning of the "Long March" by our supporters,
Free-Zim
Youth. Banging one of our drums, they marched to half of the High
Commissions in London of the Southern African Development Community to
demand action on Zimbabwe. Small coffins symbolising the death of democracy
were delivered to the buildings. They were pleased to be joined by
supporters from other African countries as well as passers-by. Free-Zim
Youth plan to visit the other High Commissions in the New
Year.
Particular thanks to Luka who has been a stalwart this week -
turning up for
all our events and looking after the Vigil paraphernalia for
Friday's
protest and returning it in good time for the Vigil. With
transport in
chaos because of the fog, we were pleased and surprised to have
a supporter
from Scotland at the Vigil, along with our long-time supporter,
Patson, from
Leicester. Among new faces was a British poet who,
interestingly enough,
was invited to come to the Vigil by a South African.
It was also good to
welcome several Zimbabweans over from London for
Christmas. There was much
merriment when 3 Mother Christmases dressed in
their seasonal uniform came
by with a wheelbarrow full of mistletoe to raise
money for charity.
We take this opportunity to wish all Vigil supporters
as happy a Christmas
as possible given the situation in
Zimbabwe.
Vigil co-ordinator
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe
Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place
every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00
to protest against gross violations of
human rights by the current regime in
Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in
October 2002 will continue until
internationally-monitored, free and fair
elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk
Zimbabwejournalists.com
By Julius Sai Mutyambizi-Dewa
LONDON - On
the 22nd of December 2006, Zimbabweans observed the day
Unity Day. The term
unity itself has been challenged by many people who
believe that this day in
fact the day PF ZAPU and ZANU (PF) merged to form
ZANU PF.
One
school of thought has looked at this unity as very superficial and
meant to
please only one side, the old ZANU PF which in fact absorbed the
old PF ZAPU
as there is no indication that PF ZAPU gained anything really as
the name
remained ZANU PF and this in fact is an indication of victor's
justice.
Apologists of Unity Day have always argued that the day ZANU PF and
PF ZAPU
united was when the whole of Zimbabwe in fact united as those two
political
parties represented the two major tribal groupings in the country,
Ndebele
and Shona.
I do not intend to demean the steps taken by Zimbabwean
luminaries
such as Father Zimbabwe Dr Joshua Nkomo who decided to forgo
personal glory
for the advent of peace in our country. The peace dividend
will always be an
enjoyable one, so is the Unity dividend: the common
nationhood of a people
working for common goals. But we regret that their
aspirations for a truly
united Zimbabwe have so far remained
elusive.
Nine years on the question of Gukurahundi still remains.
No one has
ever been brought to justice for the genocide in Matabeleland and
no apology
has yet been given to the people of Matabeleland and indeed the
whole
Zimbabwe for innocent deaths that befell families simply because their
ethnicity was imputable to opposition politics. People directly responsible
are yet to be indicted. They roam free in Zimbabwe buoyed up by recent
statements from Nathan Shamuyarira that it was not necessary to apologise
for Gukurahundi.
Matabeleland and the Midlands still remain
marginalised, no
development is taking place. Ndebele culture is held with
suspicion as seen
by the suspicion on innocent cultural organisations such
as Imbovane
yaMahlabezulu. Equivalent organisations in Mashonaland such as
the then
Sangano Munhumutapa are celebrated. ZANU PF has failed to unite
Zimbabweans.
They have failed even to honour their own agreement and today
as people
discuss ZANU PF succession, they are in fact discussing the
accession of
another Shona and a person from the old ZANU PF not an Ndebele
from the old
PF ZAPU. This is despite the fact that no-one from the old ZAPU
has ever
been a President (well there has only been one absolute leader
since
Zimbabwe's independence).
Today, nine years on no Ndebele
dares to contest for a parliamentary
seat in Mashonaland. In fact recently
we saw how Sithembiso Nyoni, eyeing a
seat in Mutoko, was forced to
backtrack because people were resisting her on
tribal grounds. We have heard
how Professor Jonathan Moyo, was told that he
has to thank President Mugabe
for affording him a piece of land in
Mashonaland Central where none of his
ancestors has ever dreamt of owning
letter. This very apparent tribalistic
bigotry from ZANU PF apologist
Nathaniel Manheru went unchallenged by the
ruling political establishment,
as if to say that was acceptable talk in a
country that is supposed to be by
now very much gone past the era of
tribalism.
While Zimbabweans must rejoice at the opportunity of a
common
nationhood the idea of Zimbabweanness should catch everyone in the
mood. I
believe that the Unity dividend and the peace dividend all come from
the
concomitant environment of justice. Unity must not be something created.
Reconciliation must not be something created. Both should derive from the
fact that they are naturally there. UNITY AND RECONCILIATION must be an
attitude not a favour. ZANU PF sees unity as a favour that was extended to
the people of Matabeleland and the Midlands. ZANU PF sees reconciliation as
a favour extended to the white Zimbabweans. As a result both sets of people
must always support ZANU PF even where the party is clearly wrong. ZANU PF
believes when people from Matabeleland talk about federalism, that the
people of Matabeleland should be able to rule themselves, utilise their
resources in their part of the country but being a complementary part of a
universal Zimbabwe, they are talking war and that has to be
thwarted.
ZANU PF believes that the liberation struggle was a
favour extended to
Zimbabweans and those who never took part in it must
never hold opinions
different to them. If any Zimbabwean does so, then they
are enemies of the
state. Zimbabweans have thanked those who took part in
the liberation
struggle, and that includes Robert Mugabe and the other
people still alive
who took part in it. But the biggest gratitude that we
have given to the
liberation struggle has been to stick to its principles;
including our
demand for freedom which we have shown we are never prepared
to surrender.
We have over the years decided to say no-one is bigger than
the liberation
struggle; not even its protagonists. We have decided that our
freedom will
never be taken away as we have indeed done in the past where
historically we
have fought for it. The main principle behind the liberation
struggle was
the emancipation of the black Zimbabwean in the land of his
forefathers.
Unpacked it meant economic emancipation, political
emancipation, cultural
emancipation, social emancipation, religious
emancipation etc. The
liberation struggle did not okay genocides,
oppression, etc it was an
expression of total freedom. Oppression and
repression are not permissible
because they are done by a black person on
another black person.
The Unity Day would have been relevant,
coming towards Christmas it
could be a perfect gift for a country that went
through a lot to liberate
themselves. But the day has been marred in
hypocrisy, championed by those
who view unity as a favour. Today even those
who have said that it was only
the unity of ZAPU and ZANU are eating their
words. The current succession
talk in ZANU PF has left out the former ZAPU
when it might have been better
for the good of their merger that the next
leader would come from the former
ZAPU. It shows therefore that ZANU PF has
failed to unite Zimbabweans who
have every reason to be restive. It is clear
that the whole debate about
unity may be exhausted only when we move away
from the majoritarian
principle of democracy where the majority takes all
and the minority must
assimilate into the whims of the majority, slowly and
surely until their own
identities are dead. Surely to talk about unity while
we fail to address
this will be to demand too much from Zimbabwe's
minorities.
The Unity dividend must derive from the justice
dividend. Zimbabweans
today want justice. They want justice in Matabeleland,
they want justice in
Manicaland, and they want justice in Harare and
everywhere else. As people
who have opposed the current regime we are happy
in that we are the true
custodians of the legacy of the liberation struggle.
At the end, the
struggle for Zimbabwe was supposed to deliver a free and
united society
where everyone belongs. It is this that we crave after,
delivering the
legacy of the liberation struggle to all Zimbabweans, not to
a few
liberation aristocracy and their emerging dynasties. Every Zimbabwean
must
be a legatee of the liberation struggle. The Unity Day will become more
relevant when Gukurahundi is correctly buried by bringing justice both to
the victims and the perpetrators, when the people of Matabeleland and the
Midlands feel they belong, when supporters of the MDC and other political
parties are not beaten and tortured for deciding to be different. The Unity
day must go beyond galas. It must celebrate ubuZimbabwe.
Not in
this environment of moral decadence where people have who lost
their
relatives have been denied an apology, not when people are not allowed
to
bury their dead, not when we are always minded by those who liberated us
that they favoured us and we should allow them to create their political
dynasties unperturbed. On the day we get a people driven constitution, on
the day we get a federated Zimbabwe, on the day we have free and fair
elections, on the day we have justice and abolish impunity, we shall all see
the relevance of the Unity Day. Together as Zimbabweans, 22 December will
become an important date which we will identify with. We shall contribute
our time, resources and a lot in celebration of our common
Zimbabweanness!
JULIUS SAI MUTYAMBIZI-DEWA IS THE SECRETARY FOR THE
MDC UK AND IRELAND
MEHRNEWS, Iran
TEHRAN, Dec. 25 (MNA) - The Iran Tractor
Manufacturing Co. (ITMC) has
the capacity to produce 50,000 tractors per
annum, noted the company's
managing director.
Production from Iran
Tractor Manufacturing Co. during the past few
years has increased from 3,000
to 30,000 per annum now, the Persian service
of ISNA news agency quoted him
as saying on Monday.
The machineries built by Iran Tractor
Manufacturing Co. are currently
exported to 31 countries. Venezuela,
Zimbabwe, Kenya, Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia,
Tajikistan, Iraq, Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan Republic, the Philippines and
Tanzania are among the major
importers of Iranian made tractors.
The director also
referred to the company's preparedness for
investment in Zimbabwe for
launching a tractor production plant in that
country in the near future. He
explained that in light of the supports given
by the nation's President
Robert Mugabe, he hoped that the tractor
production assembly line would soon
become operational.
When completed, Zimbabwean tractor
manufacturing plant would be able
to export its surplus production to other
neighboring countries.