Zimbabweans to protest at Summit in Lisbon

Portuguese minister calls on EU to face Mugabe: report

africasia.com

LISBON, Dec 2 (AFP)

The European Union should tell Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe in person its views
on his regime rather than banish him from an upcoming summit, a Portuguese
minister said in remarks published Sunday.

"I strongly doubt that in relations with dictators the best policy is
ostracism. (Or) that faced with people like Mr. Mugabe the right policy is
not to speak," said Manuel Lobo Antunes, European Affairs minister for
Portugal, which holds the rotating EU presidency.

"The right policy is to confront them eye to eye," Lobo Antunes said in an
interview published Sunday in Portugal's Publico daily.

The minister's remarks came just days before Portugal hosts an EU-Africa
summit, which Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown is boycotting after the
Zimbabwean president announced he would personally attend.

Portugal has been scrambling to ensure that Zimbabwe's presence will not
eclipse chances for stronger links between the EU and the world's poorest
continent -- a message echoed by some African leaders. Others have
threatened not to attend if Mugabe is barred from the meeting.

But critics suggest Portugual has sent mixed messages, with Foreign Minister
Luis Amado recently judging it "preferable" if Mugabe did not attend, since
he might divert participants from essential issues.

In his remarks to Publico, however, Lobo Antunes backed Mugabe's presence.

"What's better? To have the occasion to say 'the EU thinks this or that,' or
to find oneself before leaders stuck in their positions, isolated and who
create their own frameworks for relations with others," he asked.

The Portuguese minister instead called for a "strategic global dialogue"
with Africa, which he argued the two regions have never had.

Zimbabwe told it will be much better off in Comesa

The East African

By CATHERINE RIUNGU
Special Correspondent

Zimbabwe will enjoy more benefits if it joins the Common Market for Eastern
and Southern Africa (Comesa) than it does as a member of the Southern Africa
Development Co-operation (SADC).

Dr Medicine Masiiwa, director of the Africa Institute for Policy Analysis
and Development and researcher with the University of Zimbabwe, stunned the
Zimbabwe Economics Society monthly meeting in Harare last month with a
presentation that drew a comparative analysis of the two economic blocs.

He said Comesa is a larger and more dynamic market whose member states'
economies and trade capacities are more balanced, therefore more attractive
to Zimbabwe, which has degenerated from Africa's breadbasket into a basket
case.

The remarks came at a time when Africa is engaged in a debate on whether or
not Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe should attend the EU-Africa summit in
Lisbon, Portugal, next week. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he
will not attend if Mugabe is there. Former Ghanaian president and chair of
the African Union Alpha Omar Konare has insisted that Mugabe must attend as
a matter of principal.

In his paper, Dr Masiiwa said the pace of regional integration is faster in
Comesa than in SADC, while it is a much larger market.

"With a population of over 374 million distributed around 20 member states,
Comesa provides an attractive market for Zimbabwe, particularly its
agricultural and manufacturing sectors, which are relatively developed
compared with those of its regional partners in Comesa," he said.

What is more attractive for Zimbabwe is that the Comesa market is growing at
a much faster rate than that of SADC. For instance, the construction
industry in countries emerging from war (DRC, Angola, Rwanda and Burundi) is
bound to expand rapidly in the near future and Zimbabwe is likely to benefit
from such expansion, said the don.

He added, "Zimbabwe is attracted to Comesa because economies and trade
capacities in Comesa are more balanced and exporters compete on a level
playing field. This is not the case in SADC where South Africa is by far the
dominating member. For instance, South Africa contributes to more than 73
per cent of Zimbabwe's trade. In Zimbabwe's view, such a situation is not
sustainable since the country and the region are vulnerable to the
performance of the South African economy."

He went on to say that South Africa's dominant role in SADC is more worrying
for Zimbabwe considering that in trade terms, Africa's largest economy is
regarded as a developed country.

"Its needs and interests cannot be exactly the same as those of Zimbabwe.
For instance, supply and demand side constraints, which are prevalent in
Zimbabwe, are minimal in South Africa.

South Africa enjoys relatively developed and efficient transport and
communication systems, which give it competitive advantages over Zimbabwe.

"Therefore, if companies in South Africa and those in Zimbabwe are allowed
to compete on equal terms, Zimbabwean companies will lose out, leading to
possible closures and job losses," he said.

Zimbabwe would also prefer a Comesa Customs Union over that of Sadc because
it feels that it has better chances of attracting foreign direct investment
in Comesa.

This is not the case with SADC, where South Africa is likely to attract most
FDI due to its developed infrastructure and sophisticated support services.

Although Zimbabwe has lost significant competitiveness in the past seven
years, it has the prerequisites to regain equal or higher competitiveness
than its regional partners in Comesa if the economic situation stabilises,
said Dr Masiiwa.

The prerequisites include relatively developed infrastructure (road
networks, railways, communication systems, trade finance, insurance), highly
educated and skilled manpower and a diversified economy.

"These factors also make Zimbabwe an attractive area for both domestic
investment and FDI if the economy stabilises. Further, there is likelihood
of trade creation in favour of Zimbabwe if it joins the Comesa Customs
Union," he added.

While Zimbabwe hopes to have a competitive advantage over its regional
partners in Comesa, this is not the case SADC. The country will certainly
face stiff competition from South Africa, the dominating economy in the
region, he said.

In the past decade, Comesa managed to achieve its key targets - with some
problems - including establishing a Free Trade Area in 2000. The planned
Customs Union in 2008 is also on schedule.

The don said: "Zimbabwe is actually enthusiastically spearheading progress
in Comesa. For instance, it is one of the first nine member states to
implement an FTA in October 2000 when, along with Djibouti, Kenya,
Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan and Zambia, it agreed to eliminate
tariffs on Comesa originating products."

Zimbabwe is also part of the Comesa Common Tariff Nomenclature and Common
External Tariff of the member states. Further, Zimbabwe has also adopted the
single form for use as a Customs declaration in Comesa (the Comesa Customs
Document).

It is also part of the Comesa Regional Bond Guarantee and ASYCUDA - the
Automated System for Customs Data.

In comparison, progress in SADC is slow, with planned targets being missed
or postponed. Although member states signed the SADC Trade Protocol, which
aims to establish a Free Trade Area by 2008, implementation of the protocol
is still dogged by numerous problems. These include various non-tariff
barriers with Zimbabwe being one of the member states with such barriers.

SADC is assisting in the betrayal of Zimbabweans

Mmegi, Botswana
 Friday, 30 November 2007

TANONOKA JOSEPH WHANDE

Of the 10 things that I really care about for Zimbabwe, a new respected and
democratic constitution is the first eight.

I just came across the Patriotic Front Election Manifesto for the 1980
plebiscite that ushered in Zimbabwe's independence.

I was struck by the manifesto's relevance, or irrelevance, to today's
situation, 28 years on.

Like normal human beings, the Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF and PF-ZAPU) sat down
to agree on and put forward requirements and demands for a democratic
foundation for the establishment of the nation of Zimbabwe. The list
somewhat summarized their hopes, intentions and expectations but also
explained why they were fighting a war.

Their very first promise and demand on our behalf was for us to have the
right to vote.
But today, we are being prevented from voting by all means possible.

Already, and as has been happening since "majority rule" in Zimbabwe, the
body count slowly picks up as we march towards another fake election.

In utter frustration, both factions of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) are swaying to the destructive whims of inconsistence as far as
participating in these sham elections is concerned. When the MDC split up,
it was largely due to differences arising from whether or not to participate
in presidential elections. Since then, we have witnessed a classic example
of the MDC's lack of direction as both factions frequently change their
positions on this issue.

It is now 27 years since we gave Mugabe the mandate to lead the country and
our freedoms have been whittled away from what they were under the late Ian
Smith.

Thus the famous pre-independence war cry of 'One man, One vote!' has been
denied us all since we now have to risk our lives to cast a vote.

The Patriotic Front's second demand in the manifesto has caused a lot of
physical pain, anguish and deaths. We voted these people into power because
they spoke of our rights to freedom of speech, assembly, association,
procession, demonstration and strike action.

Today, we are denied these rights. Mugabe is a particular disappointment to
many people. We in Zimbabwe cannot express enough of our disappointment in
this man for we are too busy burying our dead and bandaging our wounds
inflicted by his people.

Today, in Zimbabwe, five people cannot gather; they would be breaking
Mugabe's law which requires that if five or more people should meet, they
require a permit to do so. As media accounts show on a daily basis, we
cannot assemble freely, nor do we have the freedom of speech. We need a
permit to hold demonstrations or to take strike action.

Zimbabweans did not have many problems with the Patriotic Front's demand
number three. We went to our churches and prayed hard until Mugabe and his
malcontents started interfering with the churches.

Apart from Mugabe calling some bishops evil and calling himself the Son of
God, his party has introduced their own religious clowns who are said to be
pastors in their obscure churches.

The government now views the mainstream churches with suspicion. And, I dare
ask, where ZANU-PF would be today without the churches worldwide? Where,
particularly, would Mugabe himself be today if it wasn't for the Zimbabwean
Catholic church and bishops who supported and protected him? Today he has
the temerity to call them "evil" while ZANU-PF youths assault and disperse
congregations because there are more people in churches than at Mugabe's
rallies.

The Patriotic Front demanded the right to work and to a fair wage. I will
leave that to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

Mugabe's government has destroyed our economy. There are no jobs anywhere.
We send our children to school using proceeds from the tomatoes and onions
we sell by the roadside. Trade unions are viewed as enemies thereby blunting
people's representation and leaving them open to exploitation and abuse by
ZANU-PF.

Mugabe's government handed over Air Zimbabwe, the National Railways of
Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority and other parastatals to
the Chinese.

They squandered all opportunities and are now selling off national assets.
China, Malaysia and Libya are notable beneficiaries.

I also see no point in discussing point number five which seeks freedom from
racial discrimination. This government has embarked on a very embarrassing
racial path. We witness them using race to violate human and property rights
as they seize "white owned farms" to give to their black friends and
supporters.

There are no property rights in Zimbabwe today as is demanded by point
twelve of their manifesto. And where there are no property rights, there are
no human rights.

Government ministers spend hours arguing whether or not to seize a "white
owned farm". It is a shame that the so-called peasants who were instrumental
in liberating the country and on whose support ZANU-PF counted are the ones
protecting the white farmers in their areas from a rogue government.

Demand number seven concerns the right to education.
Most countries now refuse to recognize our educational certificates because
of the rapidly deteriorating quality of our education. Our Ordinary and
Advanced Level certificates are viewed with suspicion and are not accepted
outside our borders with most countries requiring Zimbabweans to take some
sort of examinations to gage their educational level.

The educational infrastructure is in a shambles and the right to education
has become a real nightmare.

Mugabe had 27 years to deal with the land issue but he did not. The land
fiasco is not born from a genuine desire to correct the imbalances in land
ownership. This is proven by the fact that most of the confiscated farms are
lying fallow since they were handed over to indigenous Africans, mostly
cabinet ministers and ZANU-PF functionaries who concentrate more on their
bottle stores than the farms.

It was simple revenge because Mugabe suspected that white businessmen and
commercial farmers supported the opposition, which came on quite strongly,
yet they had every right to support a party or individual of their own
choice as is demanded in point number two of the Patriotic Front's Election
Manifesto.

The remaining Patriotic Front demands are a laugh. How is this government
treating the issue of the right to life? We are not talking only about
abortions here, seeing as I do that this party is itself being accused of
knocking off several thousands citizens.

The Patriotic Front even had the temerity to demand, on our behalf, the
right to leisure and rest.

These crooks had the audacity to demand freedom from hunger but today we
cannot feed ourselves in a fertile country that used to feed Africa.

Regrettably, the last demand refers to the recourse to the courts which have
been staffed by Mugabe praise-singers.

Dr Tomaz Salomao, who shamelessly is making a financial killing while
defending evil under the guise of Executive Secretary of SADC, told the
Herald (Zimbabwe) that SADC "will not allow the EU-Africa Summit in Portugal
next month to discuss Zimbabwe."

This is a problem with people like Salomao who make a living from the misery
of Africans.
Is Salomao aware that Article 4 of the SADC Treaty in reference to
'Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections', stipulates that
"human rights, democracy and the rule of law" are principles guiding the
acts of its members?

Article 5 of the Treaty outlines the objectives of SADC, which commit the
member states to 'promoting common political values, systems and other
shared values which are transmitted through institutions, which are
democratic, legitimate and effective. It also commits member states to
"consolidate, defend and maintain democracy, peace, security and stability"
in the region.

Zimbabwe has failed on all these and Salomao is blind to it.
What is SADC? Who is making such irresponsible and dangerous decisions?

Zimbabwe is a powder-keg and Salomao tells the world that atrocities in
Africa, in this particular case, Zimbabwe, are irrelevant even when people
are dying.

Salomao represents invisible faces in the so-called SADC. Who are these
people that the whole of SADC is fronting for? Just like in Darfur, Africans
are sponsored not to talk or to take action. We see endless strife in the
DRC. Zimbabwe is now Africa's orphan. But Salomao accepts idiotic
moratoriums to not only ignore such atrocities perpetrated on Africans but
to campaign outside Africa to let Africans kill Africans without
interference.
Is SADC just another NGO milking money from elsewhere while retarding the
possible improvement of the region?

(Tanonoka Joseph Whande is a Botswana-based Zimbabwean journalist).

Mbeki minus Zim trumpcard at summit?

From The Sunday Tribune (SA), 2 December

President Thabo Mbeki will probably arrive at the EU/AU summit in Lisbon on
Saturday without the trumpcard he so badly wanted - a concluded political
deal between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC). His plea to President Robert Mugabe in Harare 10
days ago to speed up the negotiations so he could trump European criticism
of Zimbabwe at the summit, apparently fell on deaf ears. One of the two top
Zanu PF negotiators, Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, is on government
business outside Zimbabwe. He will not be back to complete the last phase of
negotiations. These are to hammer out transitional arrangements and create a
conducive political climate for next year's elections - before the Lisbon
summit, African diplomatic sources say. Mbeki was mandated by the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) in March to mediate a political deal.
He, the other SADC leaders and several European countries hoped he would
present a done deal in Lisbon to prevent Zimbabwe dominating the summit.

The EU has waived its travel ban on Mugabe to allow him to attend, but is
insisting that the price he will have to pay is to be sharply criticised in
his presence for his political and economic mismanagement. The SADC
countries are insisting Zimbabwe not be on the agenda. This has set the
scene for a potentially explosive encounter in Lisbon which a signed
political deal could have defused. "It cannot be concluded in time. Most of
the work is done, but the transitional arrangements are not complete," said
an African diplomat in South Africa close to the negotiation process.
"Clearly Mugabe did not take Mbeki's visit seriously." Zanu PF and the MDC
have agreed on an interim constitution during negotiations. But it has to be
introduced via transitional arrangements and MDC demands have not all been
met. The party believes there are still many gaps which would allow Zanu PF
to manipulate the will of the people.

Just this week, the discredited Zimbabwe Election Commission appointed a
military man to head its department in eastern Zimbabwe, as if there were no
negotiations which will fundamentally change the way elections are run. "I'm
upset to see there is a risk the summit will be taken hostage by that
question (Mugabe's attendance)," said European Development Commissioner
Louis Michel. "If that were the case, it would be a missed opportunity we
can't afford." There had been three China-Africa summits since the last
EU-Africa summit in 2000. Since then the EU-Africa summits have been
cancelled because of disagreement over Mugabe's presence. The EU, Africa's
biggest aid donor and trade partner, needed to discuss with the continent
peacekeeping, climate change, energy and development, he said

Weary Cheers Leaders

www.cathybuckle.com

Saturday 1st December 2007

Dear Family and Friends,
On Friday morning in small town Zimbabwe the big ten-tonne trucks were
visible soon after nine in the morning and they were filled to overflowing
with weary "cheer leaders." Men, women and youths who looked dusty, wind
tossed and tired and theirs was certainly not a position to be envied. It
was hard to know where all these people had come from but they weren't
familiar faces so they must have been collected from somewhere in the
surrounding rural areas. Crammed into two open topped trucks, there were
perhaps 50 people in each, sitting on the floor , squashed up against each
other like livestock going to slaughter: without dignity or individuality -
just faces, numbers to swell the crowd.

It only took a few seconds to work out what was going on when the vehicles
turned into the local ruling party offices in the town. The trucks were from
a well known parastatal and had the Zimbabwe flag wrapped around and tied
onto bumpers and roll bars. These vehicles aren't buses and undoubtedly
don't have permits to transport people but they have become very familiar to
us in the past eight years, disgorging great crowds of people at ruling
party rallies and meetings. When the worst of the farm invasions were going
on, the big white vehicles with the red and blue stripes on the doors bought
fear, dread and a feeling of finality to farmers and their workers. They
trucks came carrying masses of people who would swarm over fields, camp
outside gates, barricade roads and sing, drum and shout, throwing stones at
walls, windows and roofs until the occupants were beaten into submission and
left.

Some of the people in the trucks on this last day of November 2007 were
wearing clothes and head scarves adorned with the President's face and that
gave the game away. They were here on a brief stop over but were on their
way to Harare for what had been advertised as the "Million Man March" - a
show of support of President Mugabe's candidature in the 2008 elections.

As I passed the loaded trucks, for a brief moment I tried to catch someone's
eye to see if I could spot political fervour, a dedicated zealot, even a
believer in the cause but it wasn't there. I saw weary images, lean faces,
pronounced cheek bones - tired people, the same as the rest of us. Like
everyone else they are also surviving with the bare minimum of food and
money; their children are malnourished and many are no longer in school ;
their hospitals and clinics have few staff and even fewer drugs and they are
scratching out a living in hard, primitive conditions. So why then, after
seven years of chronic decline would anyone willingly support a party which
cannot even ensure basic food in the shops. Undoubtedly those big trucks
would be empty if the ruling party had not taken such pains to ensure that
as we went into the next election they had complete control over the supply,
price and availability of food, seed, fertilizer, fuel, water, electricity
and now even of bank notes.
Until next week, thanks for reading, love cathy.

Report: Zambia urges London to keep pressure on Harare

Mail and Guardian

Lusaka, Zambia

02 December 2007 03:08

      Zambia President Levy Mwanawasa has urged the British prime
minister to continue speaking out against Zimbabwe until a solution is found
to the country's crises, media reported on Sunday.

       Mwanawasa, who heads the Southern African Development Community
(SADC), welcomed the pressure Gordon Brown was putting on Harare but
expressed disappointment at his boycott of next weekend's European
Union-Africa summit in Portugal, reports said.

      The British premier has said he would not attend the meeting if
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is there.

      "I have said the nation faces a lot of challenges. Now, he
[Brown] shouldn't get tired of speaking and he must continue until the
harvest [of his efforts]," privately owned the Sunday Post newspaper quoted
Mwanawasa as saying.

      "I appeal to Brown and the entire British nation that they
should continue with their efforts until the situation in Zimbabwe has been
resolved," he was quoted as telling reporters on Saturday in Lusaka.

      State-owned newspapers such as the Sunday Mail and the Sunday
Times also reported the story. "Do not give up on Zimbabwe," wrote the
Mail's headline.

      Zimbabwe is currently in the throes of an economic crisis.

      It has the world's highest rate of inflation -- about 8 000% -- 
while four in every five people are unemployed and 80% of the population
lives below the poverty threshold.

      Mwanawasa, who spoke as he was leaving for Germany, en route to
Portugal for the summit, welcomed the fact that Brown has agreed to send a
representative to the Lisbon meeting.

      The Zambian leader, who heads the 14-nation SAC, once likened
the situation in neighbouring Zimbabwe to that of a "sinking titanic" where
citizens were jumping out to seek refuge in other countries. -- Sapa-AFP

Zimbabwe opposition dismisses talks with Mugabe party

africasia.com

HARARE, Dec 2 (AFP)

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday dismissed as "paper
discussions" ongoing talks with the ruling party of President Robert Mugabe
aimed at solving the country's crises.

"If you check how far we have gone with the talks in the last five months,
it's just paper discussions," the leader of the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) told hundreds of supporters in Glen Norah suburb of the capital
Harare.

He accused Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National African Union-Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF) of being "not sincere" in its commitment to concessions made
during the talks.

"We thought we were negotiating for free and fair elections and a new
constitution. Yet they (ZANU-PF) don't want a new constitution. The question
that confronts us today is 'what is in the talks for us?'," he asked.

Tsvangirai said he expressed his disappointment with the talks to South
African President Thabo Mbeki, who met Mugabe and the opposition en-route to
the Commonwealth summit a week ago in Uganda to brief them on the progress
of the talks.

Mbeki in March was mandated by leaders of the regional Southern African
Development Community (SADC) to broker talks between ZANU-PF and the MDC.

Tsvangirai told the rally: "They (ZANU-PF) are continuing with violence,
they are continuing with discriminatory food distribution, they are
continuing with voter registration and the delimitation process despite our
objections.

"We are saying to ZANU-PF, 'you have to demonstrate to the world that you
have changed your ways.' Mugabe may hoodwink the world but he cannot cheat
Zimbabweans forever. We know his attitude, he wants to die in power."

The MDC has also insisted on an amendment of the country's strict security
and media laws which critics say have been used to muzzle a once-vibrant
independent press and suppress dissent, he said.

Tsvangirai had last September defended his deal with Mugabe's government
over constitutional reforms, saying it would help create a conducive
environment for elections next year.

He had said only free and fair elections in 2008 would end the country's
chronic political and economic crisis.

In a surprise show of unity with their ZANU-PF counterparts, MDC lawmakers
that month had approved constitutional reforms which provide for joint
parliamentary and presidential polls next year and redrawing constituency
boundaries.

EU Official Says Europe Must Drop Colonial Attitude Toward Africa

VOA

By VOA News
01 December 2007

The European Union's top development official says the bloc must rid itself
of the notion that Africa is still Europe's own private domain.

EU Development Commission Louis Michel says Europe is not alone in the world
in its relationship with Africa, and it will never be alone again. He cited
the growing influence of China and the United States in Africa.

Michel criticized the EU for looking at the African continent as a burden
rather than an opportunity. He urged the bloc to propose a new partnership
with its former colonies.

Michel made the comments Friday at a conference in Brussels ahead of a major
EU-Africa summit.

The EU-Africa summit is aimed at strengthening political and economic ties
between the two regions. It is scheduled for December 8-9 in Lisbon.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will not attend the summit
if Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is there. He says he can not sit down
with Mr. Mugabe, given what he called conditions of oppression in Zimbabwe.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Free banking for Zimbabwe

Comment from GlobeAsia (Indonesia), 22 November

Steve Hanke

Since March 2007, Zimbabwe has been in the midst of a hyperinflation (a rate
of inflation per month that exceeds 50 percent). This phenomenon is rather
rare. Indeed, prior to Zimbabwe, there had only been 29 hyperinflations.
Zimbabwe's hyperinflation is destroying the economy, pushing more of its
inhabitants into poverty and forcing millions of Zimbabweans to emmigrate.
Since 1997, inflation has surged by 1,030,217 percent, while living
standards (as measured by real GDP per capita) have fallen by 35 percent. In
addition, hyperinflation has robbed people of their savings and financial
institutions of their capital via negative real interest rates. This form of
theft occurs, in large part, because the laws and regulations governing
financial institutions (pension funds, insurance companies, building
societies, and banks) force them to either purchase government treasury
bills that yield only a small fraction of the current inflation rate or to
make deposits at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe that pay no interest.

Not surprisingly, the value of the Zimbabwe dollar has been wiped out. The
accompanying figure tells the devastating story - one that is ominously
following the same plot as that taken by the mark during the great German
hyperinflation of the 1920s. If all that destruction hasn't been painful
enough, worse is yet to come. Private sector economists expect Zimbabwe's
GDP to fall by 12 percent in 2007, and the International Monetary Fund
projects that year-on-year inflation could exceed 100,000 percent by
year-end. As I conclude in my recent book, Zimbabwe: Hyperinflation to
Growth, the most rapid and reliable way to stop hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
is to replace central banking with a new monetary regime. This would signal
a clean break with the practices that have created hyperinflation and give
Zimbabweans reliable assurance that inflation will henceforth remain
relatively low.

One monetary regime that would stop Zimbabwe's hyperinflation is free
banking. Under this system, private banks issue notes (paper money) and
other liabilities with minimal regulation. A completely free banking system
has no central bank, no lender of last resort, no reserve requirements, and
no legal restrictions on bank portfolios, interest rates, or branch banking.
Free banking systems have existed in nearly 60 countries during the 1800s
and early 1900s. Zimbabwe had free banking from the time the first bank was
established in 1892 until the government replaced free banking with a
currency board in 1940. Zimbabwe's free banking was among the least
restricted that ever existed. At the time, the country had only two
commercial banks, the Standard Bank of South Africa and the Bank of Africa
(later part of Barclays Bank). They issued notes denominated in pounds, and
kept their privately issued pounds equal to the pound sterling - except
during the First World War and for a few years afterwards, when the local
pound floated along with the South African pound (the predecessor to the
rand) against the pound sterling.

Free banking ended in Zimbabwe not because it performed poorly, but because
the government desired the profit from issuing notes. Although free banking
might be unfamiliar, the principles of competition that underlie it are not,
because they are already at work in deposit banking. We do not usually think
of deposits from different banks as being different types of currency, but
in effect they are - at least, they are different brands of a common unit of
account. By holding a deposit at one bank rather than others, a depositor is
choosing that bank's management, portfolio, and services over those of its
competitors. Free banking extends competition from deposits to notes. In
practice, multiple brands of notes have generally not created problems for
free banking systems any more than multiple brands of deposits create
problems in central banking or other systems.

In a system of fully free banking, the field includes anyone (domestic or
foreign) who meets the requirements common to other businesses (registering
a place of business, stating who the officers are, listing the shareholders
periodically, and publishing financial statements if the company is not a
private partnership). Competition weeds out firms that are less astute at
delivering what consumers want. Abundant experience indicates that
depositors want assurance that they are placing their funds with a
financially solid bank. That is why the tendency almost everywhere is for a
few large but highly competitive banks to dominate the market, though
leaving niches for small banks to serve specialized clienteles. As with
deposit banking, then, historical experience suggests that eventually or
perhaps even immediately, note issuance will be dominated by a small number
of large banks.

Under free banking, banks would have the liberty to issue deposits and
circulate notes in any currency - the U.S. dollar, South African rand, gold,
etc. In past free banking systems, they have converged on a single unit of
account, typically gold or a foreign currency. In Zimbabwe it is quite
possible they would converge on the South African rand. However, free
banking leaves it for banks and customers to discover what works best for
them; it does not presume that the government already knows the answers.

Steve H. Hanke is a Professor of Applied Economics at The Johns Hopkins
University in Baltimore and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute in
Washington, DC

Don't worry ... be happy

cricinfo

Steven Price in Harare

December 2, 2007

Harare used to be the most spoilt city in the world as far as international
cricket was concerned. For example, in the 2001 alone the Harare Sports Club
ground hosted four Test matches and nine one-day internationals.

Then Zimbabwe Cricket fell into shadow, as Tolkien might have said. Then
board culled opponents and shut out players and administrators; Zimbabwe,
from being a credible Test nation, lost their Test status and became
no-hopers against senior Test-playing countries in the one-day arena. Harare
no longer hosts Test matches and only occasionally ODIs.

But, on the face of it, the Zimbabwe team has finally taken a turn for the
better. First they beat Australia in the ICC World Twenty20, and then they
defeated West Indies in the first ODI on Friday. Granted, both opponents
were disgracefully complacent, but it must be conceded that this raw, young
Zimbabwean team, with few players older than 25, played well above itself.
Much of the credit has rightly been given to new coach Robin Brown.

Last Friday's victory, in particular, seems to have revived interest in
cricket in the country. Today's match saw by far the largest crowd at a
Zimbabwean ground since the player rebellion, with probably at least 4000
people present. The averages of late have been in three figures, and even
those paltry numbers have been artificially boosted by schoolchildren
specially bussed in. It was almost like old times.

Harare crowds nowadays have more than a touch of the Caribbean about them.
Zimbabweans are notoriously bad timekeepers, so at the start of play the
stands were mostly empty, but they soon filled. Probably over 95% of
spectators were black, mostly well-to-do people - if you have money, you can
still live in comfort despite the shortages. Throughout the day, many of
them moved around much more freely than is possible on most of the world's
Test grounds or filled the stands with groups chanting, singing, clapping,
dancing and blowing the occasional horn.

The atmosphere was both relaxed and festive. Spectators kept their eyes on
the cricket, as could be deduced from the cheers and applause that greeted
anything good by the home side, or any lapse by the visitors. Anybody
momentarily distracted, though, might have missed a Zimbabwean wicket -- the
only change in the normal babble of noise was a mild groan or a gasp. And
there was not a great deal of audible appreciation of achievements by the
opposition. As Zimbabwe slid slowly towards defeat some left, but the
majority stayed until the bitter end and did not let the result discourage
them too much. After all, international cricket is a rare form of escapism
from the appalling realities of everyday life.

Most Zimbabweans are very placid, forgiving people, which accounts for the
illusion of normality and the genuinely peaceful state of the county. But
many blacks resent the present maladministration in Zimbabwe cricket which
led to the departure of most of their best players: "It has weakened our
team too much," one said. But the general philosophy of the country appears
to be, "What cannot be cured must be endured," and Zimbabweans have become
experts at enduring. The political regime and its offshoots, such as the
present ZC administration, are too firmly entrenched to be ousted, so most
people shrug their shoulders, endure some more and don't even try.

One black former first-class cricketer, once on the verge of the national
side, has retired from cricket in his mid-twenties. "It's not worth it," he
said, though he was at today's match to support his erstwhile team-mates.
Why not? "The administration."

Even whites, whose cricketing expertise has been largely extinguished by the
board, are on the whole forgiving enough still to support the national side.
Many took great pleasure in the team's recent victories and were happy to
support them in person today. One said, "We just hope things are going to
improve from here."

It is this sort of perhaps hopelessly unrealistic optimism that gives some
hope for the future as well as enabling people to get through the day.

Steven Price is a freelance journalist based in Harare

Time runs out for Zimbabwe

The Australian

Malcolm Conn | December 03, 2007

ZIMBABWE's startling one-day victory against the ever declining West Indies
does not diminish the latest damning allegations of corruption and missing
millions that are likely to present the International Cricket Council with a
case for banning Zimbabwe's administrators.

While Zimbabwe Cricket president Peter Chingoka and chief executive Ozias
Bvute were no doubt celebrating Friday's shock 30-run victory in Harare,
four years and four days after it had last beaten a major Test-playing team,
their shameful tenure appears to finally be running out.

Chingoka and Bvute are expected to face charges under the ICC's code of
ethics next year.

Section two of the code states: Each director shall act in an honest and
ethical manner. In order to facilitate the transparent operation of the ICC,
conduct that gives the appearance of impropriety will also be unacceptable.

Sanctions include, but are not limited to, removal as an ICC director.

If Chingoka and Bvute are not charged, cricket's governing body will be
exposed as being even more compromised and dysfunctional than it already
appears. The Australian has obtained details of an ICC forensic audit that
has found alarming but unsurprising irregularities in ZC's finances,
including millions of dollars in ICC dividends that remain unaccounted for.

There has been a lack of co-operation and documentation from ZC, with
Chingoka and Bvute constantly changing their explanations for transactions.

This includes numerous transactions involving UK bank accounts that have not
been adequately justified.

"The audit is painting a very bad picture," an ICC signatory said.

The ICC would not comment on the audit, except to say that it is still in
the hands of KPMG. "It was hoped it would have been completed in time for
the board meeting at the end of October but that was not the case," an ICC
spokesman said. "We await the completion of that report."

Presentation of the audit was postponed until the next meeting in February
because of continuing irregularities and insufficient information.

Even though the audit is yet to be completed, The Australian understands
there is already enough evidence to charge and ban Chingoka and Bvute with
having any affiliation to the ICC.

This means both would be forced to step down from their official positions
because only the president or chairman of a country's governing cricket body
can represent their country at the ICC board table and only the chief
executive can do the same at CEO meetings.

The ICC has been attempting to audit allegedly corrupt ZC financial dealings
for almost two years.

Despite no longer playing Test cricket, Zimbabwe maintains all the
privileges of the 10 Test nations, which include full voting rights and
millions in hand-outs. It was entitled to about $7million just from the
World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year.

This is in contrast to Ireland, which was eligible to about $500,000 despite
now being ranked 10th on the ICC's one-day table. Zimbabwe is ranked 11th
and must beat the West Indies 4-1 in this five-game series to climb above
Ireland.

Friday's loss by the West Indies continues to highlight the global crisis in
cricket and its playing standards, with the once mighty Caribbean cricket
team one of three so-called Test nations that has not won a Test match in
two and a half years, along with Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

In January last year, at the same time it was under pressure from the ICC to
withdraw from Test cricket, Zimbabwe agreed to an independent financial
audit.

This was never satisfactorily completed.

At the ICC's annual meeting last June, chief executive Malcolm Speed and
Faisal Hasnain, the ICC's chief financial officer, presented a devastating
audit of their own, summarising concerns felt since late 2005 "about the
governance and financial accountability of Zimbabwe Cricket".

Speed and Hasnain concluded: "It is clear that the accounts of ZC have been
deliberately falsified to mask various illegal transactions from the
auditors and the government of Zimbabwe.

"The accounts were incorrect and at no stage did ZC draw the attention of
the users of these accounts to the unusual transactions ... it may not be
possible to rely on the authenticity of its balance sheet."

The presentation by Speed and Hasnain prompted the current, even more
damning audit.