VOA
By Carole Gombakomba and Blessing Zulu
Washington
29 December 2006
Scores of families in
Harare were left homeless on Friday after police
demolished their homes for
reasons that remained unclear, while about 100
people on a farm near the
Midlands town of Kadoma were also seeking shelter
after the razing of their
shacks.
Local sources police descended on the Zvivanikwa Ngazviwande
(Abundant
Natural Resources) Housing Cooperative in Harare's Mufakose early
Friday and
demolished about 50 homes. Residents said police told them they
had received
orders from city authorities to demolish the structures, which
were said to
be unauthorized.
No Harare city officials could be
reached for comment on the operation.
Mufakose residents said the
demolitions came as a surprise as most
beneficiaries of the housing
cooperative are supporters of the ruling
ZANU-PF party.
Mufakose
parliamentarian Paurina Mpariwa-Gwanyanya of the opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change faction led by MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai
told reporter
Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that no one
should be
forced out of his or her home regardless of political
affiliation - the more
so when the effects of the government's 2005 forced
eviction and demolition
campaign still linger.
In Kadoma, meanwhile, farm workers said police
destroyed their homes and
property early Thursday amidst a national
crackdown on illegal gold panning.
Authorities have made more than 16,000
arrests for illegal mining activities
since late November, the
state-controlled Herald newspaper reported this
week, and police have been
demolishing makeshift shelters built by miners
near their
workings.
Workers at Mandel Farm said police assaulted them and forced
them to
demolish their own homes, then obliged them to sing and dance for
more than
four hours.
The labourers said most of them were forced to
pay a Z$500
admission-of-guilt fee for supposedly engaging in illegal gold
panning. More
than 100 people were affected by the police operation,
including orphans and
infants, witnesses said. The plight of the homeless
was made worse as heavy
rains lashed the region since
Thursday.
Police Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said the Zimbabwe
Republic
Police had nothing to do with the demolition operation in Mufakose
and
Kadoma.
Judith Kumbula, one of the Mandel Farm dwellers who lost
their homes, told
reporter Blessing Zulu that she and others there have been
left in
destitution.
VOA
By Ndimyake Mwakalyelye
Washington, DC
29 December 2006
The Harare government's pledge to allow an
independent media council to
launch in January are being viewed by some with
a measure of skepticism.
A recent report by the Zimbabwe chapter of the
Media Institute of Southern
Africa says repression of the independent media
and government critics
continues with the government making ample use of the
Access to Information
and Protection of Privacy Act, or AIPPA, and the
Public Order and Security
Act - POSA for short.
MISA cited in
particular the arrests and beatings of leaders of the Zimbabwe
Congress of
Trade Unions during and after a September 13 demonstration,
justified by
Harare under POSA. But MISA noted a decline in violations of
media freedoms
in 2006.
Retired CEO Samuel Sipepa Nkomo of the Associated Newspapers of
Zimbabwe,
the publisher of the Daily News and Daily News on Sunday until
both were
shut down by the government in 2003, said he did not think media
repression
has abated.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
29 December
2006
Zimbabwe Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo on
Friday announced
several new members of the Harare Commission chaired by
Sekesai Makwavarara,
who was reappointed earlier this month to a fifth term
amid criticism by
local activists.
The new Harare Commission members
include Killian Mupingo, a member of the
board of the Zimbabwe United
Passenger Company or ZUPCO, Civil Protection
Unit Director Madzudzo
Pawadyira, Sylvia Masango, a principal director in
the office of Vice
President Joyce Mujuru, and Sasha Jogi. One post remains
to be filled, and
Chombo said the candidate he had in mind for the slot is a
lawyer.
Held over were Jameson Kurasha, Justin Chivavaya, Michael
Mahachi and Alfred
Tome. But Chombo axed Tendai Savanhu and Prisca Mupfumira
though both of
them are highly placed in the ruling ZANU-PF party. Callisto
Matafare was
removed too.
Political observers said said Chombo was
punishing the two ZANU-PF officials
for efforts by the ruling party's Harare
office to remove Makwavarara.
Chombo urged the new commissioners to
restore Harare's glory as Sunshine
City.
But spokesman Precious
Shumba of the Combined Harare Residents Association
told reporter Jonga
Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that his group
intends to bear
down on the commissioners in an effort to force new Harare
elections.
Harare has been run by the commission under Makwavarara
since 2004, when the
central government removed then-mayor Elias Mudzuri, an
opposition
politician.
VOA
By William Eagle
Washington,DC
29
December 2006
A confluence of events has led to an increase in
food and health needs in
Zimbabwe. Like other parts of southern Africa,
Zimbabwe has been the victim
of drought, and a subsequent decline in crop
production. Critics say the
poor have also been negatively affected by
social policies, including
disruptions in food production and cash crop
exports by the government's
appropriation of many commercial farms. United
Nations figures estimate
that the situation has affected about 160,000
households made up of former
farm workers.
Also, a controversial
program to remove rural migrants from the capital,
called Operation Restore
Order, has left up to 700,000 without food and
shelter. Over a million
people in Zimabwe's rural areas are said to need
food aid.
Stephanie
Bunker is a spokeswoman for the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs
in New
York City.
Out of the 214 million dollars of aid we're seeking for the
country,$ 62
million of it is for food aid. There is a lot of food
insecurity.there are
people who are still affected by Operation Restore
Order and who do not have
appropriate housing. (There are) lots of people
with a lack of access to
basic social services. (Galloping) inflation is
very serious issue...this
makes it harder for people to meet basic
needs.."
The UN estimates that up to 20 percent of the country's 11
million people
are affected by HIV / AIDS. Over a million are said to be
living with HIV/
AIDS, while another 1.4 million children have lost either
one or both
parents to the disease.
Zimbabwe is also the home of over
3,000 refugees, and about two million
people born in the country, but whose
citizenship the government disputes.
The country is also affected by a
loss of skilled labor. Says Bunker: "They
have a lot of emigration going to
neighboring countries where (people) can
make a better living and they are
not earning in local currency, which is
eroded by inflation. That is how a
country like Zimbabwe loses its teachers,
doctors, and nurses. You also
have a lot of migration from within the
country from rural to urban areas,
and this has its implications for the
life in the countryside, food
production and for the people who have
emigrated into the cities who are
struggling to support themselves there."
UN agencies are asking donors
for $214 million dollars in aid in the coming
year. Projects would include
agriculture and livelihood support for 300,000
households; improve
educational services for 150 thousand children and
temporary shelter to
about 4,200 people. Health programs would inoculate
over five million people
against disease, provide health care for nearly
three million mothers and
children and provide improved access to sanitation
for 2.5 million people.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
29
December 2006
Another feud has developed within the
Zimbabwean government's top ranks over
an order by President Robert Mugabe
to his ministers to restore a
slaughterhouse in the Mashonaland East
province town of Marondera that has
lain idle for seven years.
Mugabe
ordered Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa and Agriculture Minister
Joseph
Made to revive the abattoir, a facility of the state-controlled Cold
Storage
Company, but the move is opposed by officials of the ruling ZANU-PF
party in
Mashonaland West and Bulawayo provinces which benefited from the
plant's
shutdown.
Murerwa reportedly has raised only Z$10 million of the $2
billion required
to put the abattoir back on an operating basis. Party
insiders say the
facility is not viable given the near-collapse of the beef
sector and stiff
competition from private abattoirs.
Cold Storage
Company CEO Ngoni Chinogaramombe said the firm used to earn
more than US$50
million annually from beef exports to the European Union.
But Zimbabwe has
been struggling to meet its EU export quota of 91,000
tonnes.
Zimbabwe's export-quality herd stood at about 1.6 million
cattle in 2000,
but experts say that since then it has declined in size by
more than 70%.
Those opposed to the investment said Mr. Mugabe is trying
to appease one of
the ZANU-PF provinces that failed to line up behind a
proposal to give him
an extra two years in in office. Eight out of 10
ZANU-PF provinces -
Mashonaland East and Harare were the exceptions - backed
putting off the
2008 presidential elections until 2010.
Mashonaland
East Governor Ray Kaukonde and Marondera parliamentarian Sydney
Sekerami,
also the minister of defense, have appealed to Reserve Bank
Governor Gideon
Gono, which has increased tensions between Gono and Murerwa.
Marondera
residents have not forgiven the ruling party for closing the
abattoir, which
was the town's only meaningful source of employment.
Finance Ministry
sources said Gono has batted the question back to Murerwa,
saying that he is
not inclined to help someone who only recently took him to
task publicly for
for printing money to keep the government and state
enterprises
running.
But Agriculture Ministry Permanent Secretary Shadreck Mlambo
told state
media that the Cold Storage facility will indeed open next week
as ordered
by the president.
The proposed restoration of the
Marondera facility also has critics in the
opposition.
Ernest
Mudzengi, director of the National Constitutional Assembly, told
reporter
Blessing Zulu that Mr. Mugabe's directive was self-serving.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
29
December 2006
Publisher Trevor Ncube of Zimbabwe's
Standard and Independent newspapers and
the Mail and Guardian of
Johannesburg, South Africa, is challenging an
attempt by the Zimbabwean
government to revoke his citizenship. Government
critics say the move by
Harare is a thinly veiled effort to punish an
independent media
voice.
Ncube's passport was canceled in December 2005 when it was briefly
confiscated by immigration authorities at Harare International
Airport.
Contacted by the Voice of America, Ncube declined to discuss the
case. But
in court papers he argues that he is Zimbabwean because he was
born in the
country, though his father was originally a Zambian citizen.
Ncube
additionally notes in the court filing that before his birth his
father had
obtained Zimbabwean citizenship.
In his court filings,
Ncube declares that his editors have their own
independent views which "do
not always coincide" with his own views,
opinions or beliefs.
Ncube
adds:"If the action was taken against me merely because I am a
newspaper
publisher...it is clearly unreasonable, ill conceived and based on
consideration of an irrelevant fact and failure to consider relevant fact
."
Constitutional expert Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of the National
Constitutional Assembly, dismissed the arguments advanced by the state and
concluded that the effort to revoke Ncube's citizenship constitutes
political harassment.
VOA
By Chris Gande
Washington
28 December
2006
The government of Zimbabwe is preparing to conduct
another land audit - the
eighth such study of ownership since the launch of
its land reform program
in 2000.
Results of earlier land audits have
not been made public, including one
leaked audit that showed a number of
government officials owning multiple
farms. Critics say land reform gave the
best land to ruling party officials
while peasants were dumped on poorer
farms with little or no financial
support to develop farming
operations.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted Local Government
Minister
Ignatius Chombo last week as saying the forthcoming audit "would
help to
resolve a pile of outstanding disputes over land
ownership."
But farmer and agriculture expert Mandla Nkomo told reporter
Chris Gande of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the methodology used for the
audits is
flawed so that the results are unlikely to resolve the fierce
controversies
over land reform.
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
28 December
2006
Officials of the Movement for Democratic Change
faction led by party founder
Morgan Tsvangirai said the chairman of the
Kuwadzana district of Harare
spent Christmas in hospital after he was
abducted and beaten by suspected
state security agents.
Refias
Masunda said he received phone calls December 23 from unknown parties
and
was eventually lured out of his home around midnight by a work associate
who
was with men he believed to be Central Intelligence Organization
operatives.
Masunda said that when he stepped outside a gun was put
to his neck and he
was forced to get into a waiting truck in which he was
blindfolded and taken
away.
After a beating ordeal of more than four
hours, Masunda said, his abductors
dumped him without clothes along the
Harare-Bulawayo road. A stranger helped
him home and he was later admitted
to the Baines Clinic where he remained
until Wednesday.
Masunda told
reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
despite his
ordeal he will not give up his role in the opposition party.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
28 December
2006
The latest spate of major price increases for everything
from minibus
commuter rides to maize meal has raised serious misgivings
about the
viability of proposed 2007 wage adjustments, according to the
Employers
Confederation of Zimbabwe.
Business leaders and labor
officials are concerned they might have to go
back to the drawing board. A
general minimum wage for workers of Z$100,000 a
month (US$400 at the
official exchange rate) had been agreed with minor
differences by
sector.
Though the cost of living is constantly rising, Zimbabwean
households were
hit with a barrage of major price hikes over the Christmas
holidays.
Employers Confederation Executive Director John Mufukari said
his
organization has been inundated with calls from business managers and
labor
officials concerned about the impact the runup in prices could have on
the
continuing negotiations.
Mugakari told reporter Patience Rusere
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
it is hard in Zimbabwe's
hyperinflationary environment to keep wages and
prices in synch. Vice
President Lucia Matibenga of the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions said the
last round of negotiations had in any case failed to
close the wage-price
gap.
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
28
December 2006
Senior residents in Zimbabwe's main government
hospitals in Harare, the
capital, and Bulawayo, the country's second largest
city, have joined a
strike by junior residents who are demanding significant
pay increases in
response to roaring inflation.
About 350 doctors in
the two cities were on strike as of late Thursday.
Representatives of the
striking doctors met Thursday with Davies Dhlakama, a
Health Ministry acting
secretary, and the chief executives of the Harare and
Parirenyatwa Hospitals
today, but failed to reach agreement on the salary
issue.
The junior
doctors, who went on strike last week, are now paid Z$56,000 a
month -
beneath the official poverty line - while the senior residents make
Z$76,000. The doctors are demanding Z$5 million dollars a month and improved
facilities.
Hospital Doctors Association President Kudakwashe
Nyamutukwa told reporter
Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that beyond the issue of
pay, doctors want Harare to improve work conditions
to keep health workers
from emigrating.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu
Washington
28 December
2006
The Movement for Democratic Change faction led by
Morgan Tsvangirai is
embarking on a diplomatic offensive to lobby regional
leaders to pressure
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to reject his party's
proposal to extend
his term by two years.
A majority of ZANU-PF
provincial organizations supported putting the 2008
election off to 2010
when the next general election is due. But critics say
the real intention of
the election "harmonization" is to extend Mr. Mugabe's
term beyond
2008.
Some leaders of Southern African Development Community nations have
expressed concern in private at the Zimbabwean ruling party's initiative.
The Zimbabwean crisis has spilled over into several SADC countries,
especially through immigrant flows.
Tsvangirai MDC faction officials
say that in light of the violence often
associated with Zimbabwean elections
- which they blame on ruling party
militants - the region could be
embarrassed if the next major round of
Zimbabwean elections is held just as
the World Cup of Soccer is held across
the border in South Africa in
2010.
Spokesman Nelson Chamisa of the Tsvangirai MDC faction told
reporter
Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that his party expects
regional
pressure to mount.
Cricinfo
Steven Price in
Harare
December 29, 2006
Almost a year after the country's Sports
& Recreation Commission dissolved
the board of Zimbabwe Cricket and
established an interim replacement, a new
board has been elected.
As
expected, Peter Chingoka, who had been acting as the head of the interim
board, was elected as chairman, despite continuing unease at allegations of
mismanagement leveled against him and other senior ZC employees.
Five
other directors were elected by the newly-formed provincial
associations.
They were Wilson Manase, Sylvester Matshaka, Charles Maunze
and Tavengwa
Mukuhlani and Maureen Kuchocha.
The remaining seven - Cyprian Mandenge,
Arthur Maphosa, Baureni Matemai,
Philip Matiza, Josphat Mbanda, Brian Mugota
and Lavert Zungunde - were
elected by the provincial chairmen from among
themselves.
The constitution of the new board completes Zimbabwe Cricket
and Chingoka's
purge of the stakeholders who had opposed him.
©
Cricinfo
The Herald
(Harare)
December 29, 2006
Posted to the web December 29,
2006
Harare
THERE are fears that illegal dealers could still be
holding onto some
diamonds, which they would offload on the black market,
following the expiry
of the sole right granted to the Minerals Marketing
Corporation of Zimbabwe
to buy all diamonds from the Chiadzwa area in
Manicaland.
MMCZ, which was granted the right by the Government to buy
all diamonds from
Chiadzwa, announced this week that it was no longer the
sole buyer of the
mineral following the lapse of its grace period on
November 31.
It is feared that all outstanding diamonds held by
illegal dealers are now
destined for the black market.
MMCZ chief
executive Mr Onesimo Moyo said the outstanding diamonds were
being illegally
possessed.
"We have stopped buying the diamonds and it remains that those
currently
possessing the mineral decided to do so illegally and should be
arrested and
prosecuted.
Since the diamond rush, illegal dealers
reportedly opted to channel their
blue gems to the black market and foreign
buyers ahead of the MMCZ who
offered attractive prices.
In an
interview on Wednesday, the Minister of State for National Security,
Lands,
Land Reform and Resettlement Cde Didymus Mutasa, voiced Government's
concerns saying that authentic intelligence reports indicated that diamonds
from Chiadzwa had been smuggled to as far as Tel Aviv in Israel.
He
said the chaos surrounding diamond mining and selling should stop
forthwith
and allow for orderly disposal of the blue gem through the
required
international standards of the Kimberly Process Certification
System.
"We need order and those fanning chaos must be arrested and
jailed. The
Chiadzwa diamonds have flooded Tel Aviv and South African
streets and this
is unacceptable," said Cde Mutasa.
Business Day
Charlotte
Mathews
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources
Editor
RESOURCES companies operating in Africa have increasingly been
eyeing
Chinese investment with mixed feelings.
On one hand, they view
the Chinese as useful partners because they offer
vast markets for
commodities, but on the other hand their emergence as
investors in African
resources presents unwelcome competition.
China's economic growth rate of
nearly 9,5% a year reflects a rapid catch-up
to the rest of the developed
world.
Substantial construction and infrastructural projects, as well as
increased
manufacturing activity and the emergence of a consumer culture,
have created
demand for a range of natural resources, including iron ore,
zinc, copper,
coal and oil.
But instead of waiting for western
companies to come to China and sell their
commodities, China has taken the
initiative in securing sources of supply,
particularly in Africa.
At
the November Forum on Chinese-Africa Co-operation held in Beijing,
figures
were cited showing that trade between China and Africa rose to $40bn
in 2005
from $4bn in 1995 and was expected to be $50bn this year.
The forum saw
the signing of 16 contracts between Chinese firms and African
governments,
including SA's, across a range of sectors, including a copper
mine in Zambia
and a $230m ferrochrome mine and smelter in SA.
The ferrochrome mine and
smelter is a joint venture between Samancor Chrome
and Sinosteel to form a
firm held 50/50 by each called Tubatse Chrome.
But there have been two
other significant steps by the Chinese in SA this
year. One was the purchase
of a 1,13% stake in Anglo American from the
Oppenheimer family by Chinese
businessman Larry Yung. The other was the
purchase of a 29,9% stake in
UK-headquartered platinum miner Ridge Mining by
Chinese mining firm Zijin
Mining.
Ridge Mining is planning to develop two platinum mines on the
Bushveld
complex in SA.
Outside SA there are many examples of Chinese
activity in Africa's resources
sector. The most prominent this year has been
negative reporting about poor
working conditions on Chinese-owned copper
mines in Zambia and China's grant
of a $2bn oil-backed loan to the Angolan
government.
In Zimbabwe, the government signed an agreement with China
Machine Building
International Corporation in June to establish a coal mine
and three power
stations near Dande.
There is also some expectation
that China Metallurgical Group could rescue
Zimbabwean steel maker
Ziscosteel.
Jonathan Leslie, executive chairman of Nikanor, which is
rehabilitating a
former copper and cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, said last
week the company was talking to the Chinese about a
construction contract
for the mine. Nikanor is also looking at funding
options which could include
China.
The Financial Times reported this
month that the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) had warned that a number of
new creditors were emerging in Africa,
including China, India, South Korea,
Brazil, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The danger is that this could lead to
another round of debt accumulation for
African countries. The IMF said
China's loans to Africa doubled to $5bn by
2004 from 10 years
earlier.
According to the Financial Times, Philippe Maystadt, president
of the
European Investment Bank, a European Union-backed financing
institution,
said multilateral banks were losing projects in Asia and Africa
to Chinese
banks because the Chinese lenders "don't bother about social or
human rights
conditions".
New Zimbabwe
By
Jethro Mpofu
Last updated: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:47:17 GMT
POVERTY walks
across Zimbabwe on two legs.
Suffering Zimbabweans go
shopping with
cash in baskets, and return with groceries in their pockets.
Healthcare
institutions are in an unhealthy state of collapse, just like the
educational facilities.
The political landscape is punctuated with
disorder and heartless
governmental violence and hooliganism towards popular
dissent and protest.
There is confusion and chaos in the national
political stadium as Robert
Mugabe exhibits fierce intentions and stratagems
for an unwanted life
presidency.
Opposition political groups have
been reduced to divided spectators of the
rat race, as leaders of faction
this and faction that within Zanu PF trade
accusations, conspiracies and
plots.
The whole background of Gukurahundi, mishandled land repossession,
headless
adventures of the DRC way, the war against the poor through
Murambatsvina
and the manipulation of elections by Zanu PF have all
sentenced our counry
to the label of a "stinking skunk of the world", which
is not only
unfortunate, but also unnecessary and sad.
Honestly
speaking, there is no need to throw bones, cast lots, or conduct
research.
It is Robert Mugabe, and his blind backers and handlers who are
'the cloud
that does not bear rain'.
When Mugabe and many others in Zipra and Zanla,
led by Zapu and Zanu
respectively, fired shots against colonialism, they
became the heroes of our
parents' generation. When, in the late seventies,
they soldiered on with the
armed struggle up to the political independence
of the country, they became
our heroes and leaders also. We celebrated and
honoured them. They even
became icons and idols for our children, the
born-frees.
But it is truly amazing to imagine that Mugabe and his few
but powerful
backers and handlers believe they can now lead our grand
children. The
creator of the universe and the ancestors of the land of
Zimbabwe, no matter
how much contempt for Zimbabwe they have, would not
sentence four
generations of Zimbabweans to one hero.
Contemporary
wisdom says that, naturally, poverty and suffering squeeze the
best out of a
person. I seek to insist in this article that the poverty that
ordinary
Zimbabweans are suffering, the political violence that they are
enduring,
the economic decay that they are experiencing, and the political
lunacy that
they are witnessing, should inspire Zimbabweans to great
creativity and
activity. The eyes of the whole globe are glued to our
country, and it can
as well be an opportunity for us to prove to all nations
that a creative and
committed people can navigate their country out of
decay. The question is,
How?
Some cadres and stalwarts within Zanu PF have, at last, seen what
huge
numbers of Zimbabweans have seen over many years: that Mugabe must go.
The
recent Zanu PF national congress ended without a single resolution; then
there was the report of a planned 'Stop Mugabe' campaign by Zanu PF MPs; and
the obvious cracks among the factions and personalities jostling to replace
the strongman and his backers. These are telling indications that Zanu PF is
now a giant collapsing under its own weight, consumed by its own internal
contradictions and confusions. Evidence abounds that some long term
loyalists and apologists have strategically withdrawn their
loyalty.
My observation is that this fraction of Zimbabweans in the
leadership
echelons of Zanu PF, and also in the rank and file, have not only
seen the
light, but are willing to pursue it by concretely resisting and
opposing
further Mugabeism.
Such people are an asset in the struggle
for the economically and
politically recovered Zimbabwe we want. It is
indeed the beginning of
political wisdom that some cadres in Zanu PF are
willing to show that they
believe that there is a Zanu PF and, most
importantly, a Zimbabwe, beyond
Mugabe.
When Archbishop Pius Ncube
disclosed that he was praying for Mugabe's death,
the rest of us believed
the bishop was a bit too extreme in his impatience
with the man and his
regime. But, even more extreme is Mugabe himself, who
has openly tied his
mortality to his stay in the Presidential office. It is
therefore a
revelation of much needed patriotism, rather than mindless
partyism, that
there is, at last, obvious internal opposition to Mugabe
within Zanu PF. My
humble understanding of patriotism is that it is the
unconditional love of
one's country, which is not negotiable, and cannot be
compromised by party
loyalty, or worship of a party leader at the expense of
the economic and
political health of the country.
Now that it is clear that blind loyalty
to Mugabe, and sheepish following of
the Mugabe way, within Zanu PF is over,
the challenge of strategic thinking
and action confronts the opposition and
civic society in Zimbabwe. It would
be a serious error of omission if the
opposition in Zimbabwe resigns itself
to the stupor of being mere spectators
of the succession drama in Zanu PF.
An entirely Zanu PF managed process
of political change in Zimbabwe,
especially one that is anointed and blessed
by Mugabe himself, will be
unfortunate and sad, as it will transport
Zimbabwe backward.
My observation is that the time has come in Zimbabwe
for a broad and wide
political front to be engineered. This is the time for
our imagination and
thoughts of a better Zimbabwe to take front seat in all
political
arrangements in the country.
In earnest, this is the time
when Zimbabweans of all walks must rise above
narrow party and personality
divisions. There is absolutely nothing wrong,
but everything right and
proper, with having like minded Zimbabweans from
Zanu PF ranks, from MDC,
UPM, UPP, and other organisations meeting and
coming together in one solid
political bulwark that will usher in a new
political, economic and
constitutional era in Zimbabwe.
As political events unfold, it must be
clear to personalities like Morgan
Tsvangirai, Prof Jonathan Moyo, Prof
Arthur Mutambara and others in the
opposition that a broad political front
that includes a progressive section
from Zanu PF and the greater civic
society is the way to go.
It must be clear to all opposition politicians
that wasting a lot of time
and energy coining phrases to insult each other,
cooking conspiracies
against each other, and manufacturing various
accusations against each
other, is as negative and unwanted as to join Zanu
PF at this point.
In this grand project of uniting all progressive
opposition forces in the
country, including the forward thinking minds in
Zanu PF, it is the ordinary
and heroic people of Zimbabwe who must be the
inspiration and the pilots.
The people of Zimbabwe have exhibited heroic
patience and heroic endurance
in the face of poverty, violence and other
vagaries of a troubled country.
Our politicians must humble themselves in
honour of the people of Zimbabwe
who deserve relief and rescue from the
current government.
It is indeed the time for all politicians in
Zimbabwe, be it in the ruling
party or in the opposition, to put Zimbabwe
before narrow party and
personality loyalties that pull the democratic and
constitutional wagons
backward.
Jethro Mpofu is a former university
student leader and political activist.
He writes from Bulawayo
New Zimbabwe
By Msekiwa Makwanya
Last
updated: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:46:51 GMT
WHEN we talk of change, we should
neither forget that it does not start with
us nor will it end with
us.
Change involves everyone including those people we do not necessarily
like
to work with. Change is the only constant in life as the saying goes,
and
what we need are competent managers of change since change is sure to
come.
It is not unusual that there are people who will support change
while others
oppose it, because depending on the type and scale of change,
it means
different things to different people.
In business
organisations, change might mean restructuring, reshaping,
renewal and
re-aligning.
This is the main challenge that is facing Zanu PF and the
MDC. Leaders on
both side should promote and enable confluence of thought
and intellectual
clarity on issues within their respective parties,
otherwise how will they
unite the nation if they cannot unite their parties
in the first place?
AGO Mutambara of the MDC made it absolutely clear in
February 2006 when he
entered the race that unity between the two MDCs was
the first prize and
remains one even today. Later on in November 2006,
Nelson Chamisa of the MDC
group led by Morgan Tsvangirai echoed the same
vision suggesting that unity
between the two MDCs would be an ideal
Christmas present for the people of
Zimbabwe.
In Zanu PF they now
have well known factions which are causing headaches for
the Presidium to an
extent that its President feels that his party will not
survive if he steps
down and there is now talk of extending his term beyond
2008.
The
Zanu PF Conference in Goromonzi succeeded in making it clear the point
that
even if delayed, change of leadership is sure to come in Zanu PF, one
way or
the other, sooner or later and the candidates are there -- Simba
Makoni,
John Nkomo, Emmerson Mnangagwa and Teurai Ropa Mujuru.
Zanu PF is also
talking of unity because it is common sense that a united
front will carry
the day. Zanu PF can draw some comfort from the reports
that Simba Makoni is
emerging as a favourite candidate to succeed President
Mugabe in Zanu PF
with no known enemies in either factions and his wealth of
relevant
experience from SADC and government as well as the private sector.
On the
other hand, the MDC continues to miss the opportunities to re-unite,
and
they will find it even more difficult to unite towards elections because
elections present further pressures on political parties anywhere in the
world in terms of resources, positions that people will compete for and
there will not be enough time to cool off internal competition and allow
people to get used to working together again and re-align their ideological
positions and convince the public with one voice.
My argument is that
a united MDC and Zanu PF will give Zimbabwe the best
political contest and
best economic recovery prospects. When parties
re-unite, they are forced to
get the best from both sides (like typical
national soccer team) whereas if
they are divided parties tend to promote
client supporters and patrons. In
the end we will have leaders who will
promise their supporters positions in
return for support and loyalty
regardless of competence. Factionalism within
both Zanu PF and the MDC is
not good for our politics and will diminish
prospects of development in our
country.
Only the leaders who can
rise above factionalism and promote and enable
unity among Zimbabweans will
carry the day. Makoni is one such person.
Tsvangirai and Mutambara should
certainly try unity because the current
division is clearly not working for
either faction, and the Local Government
elections of 2006 showed that it
does not matter what faction they lead and
whatever support they may think
they have at rallies, real and imaginary,
there is no wisdom in splitting
votes in the face of a Zanu PF machinery.
The problem is that we are having
too many press statements and no real
effort to unite, but spin doctoring
will not get the MDC anywhere, after all
some of the statements are mere
compositions with no real impact on the
intended
audience.
Mutambara's knowledge and exposure to the outside world which
is important
for our country in this fast changing world is almost the same
as that of
Simba Makoni, and Tsvangirai's popularity which important to win
elections
cannot be under-estimated just as you cannot underestimate
Mnangagwa and
Mujuru in their constituencies and support in other
institutions in the
country. Leaders with complimentary skills and abilities
should work
together for the good of their own parties, and client
supporters and
hangers-on should be discarded in order to bring about
positive change for
our country's sake.
As ordinary Zimbabweans we
also need to change the way we participate in our
county's development, and
stop celebrating mediocrity and taking sides just
because we hate or like
the people involved. As Napoleon once said, those
who seek to change the
world have had to change the ordinary people first
not the leaders because
it's the ordinary people who constitute the majority
and do most of the work
in the parties so the government should be the last
target when seeking
change.
It should be made clear that the British Government or the South
African
government or any other government cannot effect the change we need
in
Zimbabwe; they do not have the mandate or the obligation to do
so.
Change is sure to come, ut only if the centre can
hold.
Msekiwa Makwanya is a social commentator based in England. Contact
can be
made through makwanya@yahoo.com
Washington Post
William Gumede - Is China
becoming Africa's new colonizer? In what is
reminiscent of a new scramble
for Africa, China has rushed to plant its flag
on the continent, offering
soft credit, bricks and mortar investment and
promising non-interference in
local politics. China's political clout in
Africa has never been
greater.
But is this all too good to be true? In November, China hosted an
Africa
summit in Beijing attended by 50 African leaders, the biggest
showcase of
China's new foreign policy shift towards the developing world,
to expand its
political reach and to secure raw materials to feed its
rapidly growing
economy. Beijing offered Africa US$3bn in preferential loans
and US$2bn in
export credits over the next three years. China envisaged
annual trade with
Africa to reach $100bn by 2010. Whereas Western nations
such as the US,
France and UK have year-on-year slashed development aid,
China promised to
double aid by 2009. Most of the Chinese aid to Africa is
tied to business
deals. Nevertheless, China has offered aid without
insisting on onerous
conditions as Western donors do. This is sweet music to
African nations, who
for long now have protested the hypocritical insistence
by Western countries
that they must open their markets, while they (Western
nations) heavily
subsidize their own agriculture sectors and maintain
prohibitively high
tariff barriers. As a case in point, China early this
year granted Nigeria a
$2.5bn loan soft loan and the Angolan government
$9bn.But China has offered
many African despots, such as Zimbabwe's Robert
Mugabe a lifeline. China has
major investments in Sudan's oil-fields and
fiercely supports the Sudanese
regime which is responsible for an internal
conflict that has seen millions
perished and displaced. China worked
effortlessly to water-down a United
Nations resolution condemning the Sudan
for the bloodshed in Darfur.
China accounts for 65% of all Sudanese oil
exports and 35% of Angolan oil
sold abroad. Again, the argument can be made
that many Western nations are
often quite happy to turn a blind-eye to
allied undemocratic regimes,
especially if there are Western oil interests
to protect. Most African
economies are depended one or at least a few
commodities. The Chinese
dragon's big appetite for commodities has given
some African economies a
handy windfall. However, very few Africans have
used the extra cash to
diversify their economies. But to prosper, African
nations need to diversify
their economies as soon as possible. In fact, most
of these rich returns
from commodities appear to be pocketed by a handful of
African ruling
elites. China's strategy of making friendship by targeting
leading members
of African ruling parties have encouraged this trend. The
easy money China
dangles in return for oil or other commodities could foster
corruption. It
is also true that China's interest in Africa has given
African nations more
options to negotiate better trade deals with Western
competitors. In the
past African countries had to accept the poor deals
Western countries forced
on them. In terms of global politics, many Africans
do see China is
potential ally in a world where African interests are either
ignored or
dismissed by the big powers. South African President Thabo
Mbeki's says the
continent has a "dire need for close friends, reliable
partners and good
brothers".
(http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=qw1163161982436B251)