Yasmin Alibhai-Brown makes some valid points in her article
about attitudes to Zimbabwe (Cape Times, November 30), from FJ Horwill,
Stellenbosch.
I was introduced to most of Zimbabwe's ministers
in 1984 and watched Mugabe referee a football match inside the police
barracks in Harare, the pitch surrounded by armed guards.
I
was, at the time, a strong Mugabe supporter. His immediate action of setting
a national minimum wage was long overdue.
In a speech shortly after
his election, he stated that some white farmers' land must be given back to
the people.
All white farmers expected this and the consensus of
opinion was that each farmer would surrender 10% of their land.
However, Mugabe did nothing to honour his pledge for 16 years; not a scrap
of land was allotted to the people from white-owned farms.
Then,
suddenly, he announced that the people could take over white-owned farms in
their entirety and if force was used it would go unpunished.
However, if force was used to resist this anarchy, the defenders would be
prosecuted.
We have to ask why Mugabe waited 16 years to act?
It appears that he couldn't care less about the majority of his people
growing crops and rearing livestock to sustain themselves.
He
acted because the Zimbabwe economy had become so rundown due to inefficiency
that it faced bankruptcy and he would be ousted from power.
To
create a major diversion from this, what better way than to incite the
people into smash-and-grab raids on farms?
The story does not end
there. Recently, high-powered officials who have taken a liking to
prosperous farms, have ordered out the new occupants and taken
possession.
The biter bit. This is a strange sort of socialism on
which Mugabe came to power.
But, do not think that when Mugabe
eventually goes all will be well; he is surrounded by scores of clones who
have filled their pockets at other people's expense and are not likely to
give this up willingly.
CIVIC GROUPS WANT UN-LED HUMAN RIGHTS PROBE IN ZIMBABWE Wed
8 December 2004 HARARE - African human rights and civic society groups have
urged the African Commission on Human and People's Rights to pressure Harare
to accept a special rapporteur from the commission and from United Nations
secretary general, Koffi Annan, to probe abuse of human rights defenders in
Zimbabwe.
In a submission at the commission's 36th session, which
ended in Dakar yesterday, the groups also asked the continental human rights
watchdog to mobilise African pressure on President Robert Mugabe to restore
judicial independence in Zimbabwe.
They said the commission
should also call for an inquiry into the harassment and intimidation of
lawyers and other human rights defenders allegedly by government and ruling
ZANU PF supporters.
The groups said: "The NGO forum resolves to
recommend the commission to recommend to the government of Zimbabwe to
invite the special rapporteur on the African Commission on Human Rights
Defenders and the special representative of the United Nations secretary
general on human rights defenders to visit Zimbabwe and assess the situation
of human rights defenders in Zimbabwe."
It is up to the
commission to accept the request by the non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and forward it to African Union's next heads of government summit in
February 2005.
Mugabe and his government have waged a vicious
campaign against independent judges which saw nearly all members of the old
and respected bench headed by former Chief Justice, Anthony Gubbay, forced
to step down.
The government has on several occasions also arrested
human rights activists for exposing human rights violations while Zimbabwe's
biggest daily paper, the Daily News, was shut down after continuously
highlighting political violence and human rights abuses by state security
agents and government supporters. - ZimOnline
MDC begs IMF to spare axe on Zimbabwe Wed 8 December
2004 HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party has called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not to expel
Zimbabwe from the multilateral institution.
MDC shadow foreign
affairs minister, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, told ZimOnline that the
IMF's executive board, which discussed action against Zimbabwe at its
headquarters in Washington last night, should instead continue withholding
support to Harare until it paid all arrears to the Bretton Woods
institution.
Details of the IMF's decision on Zimbabwe were not
immediately available last night.
"Zimbabwe should not be
expelled from the International Monetary Fund but should not get balance of
payments until (it pays) all arrears and capital," Misihairabwi-Mushonga
said.
But the opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman said her party
would continue mobilising the international community to isolate the
Zimbabwe government until the country reformed its electoral laws and
processes to ensure a free and fair election next year.
"We
have recommended to the international community against normalising
relations with Zimbabwe and to view the government as illegitimate until it
delivers a free and fair election," she said.
The IMF cut
balance-of-payments support to Zimbabwe in 1999 and shut down its office in
Harare last month after disagreeing with President Robert Mugabe and his
government over fiscal policy, land reform, human rights and other
governance issues.
Zimbabwe's expulsion from the IMF would be a
final symbolic gesture signalling other multilateral institutions and donor
groups to completely cut ties with Harare. - ZimOnline
Tourists continue to shun Zimbabwe Wed 8 December 2004
HARARE - International tourists continued to shun Zimbabwe because of the
country's negative image with 29 percent less arrivals between January and
September this year compared to the same period last year, according to the
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
In its latest report released this
week, the ZTA said efforts by the government to shift focus from traditional
markets in the West to China and the Far East did not pay off with 1 271 904
people visiting Zimbabwe in the first nine months of the year compared to 1
793 128 visitors between January and September 2003.
The ZTA is
a quasi-government institution and is regarded as the voice of the country's
ailing tourism sector.
The authority said: "Causes of the decline
(include) continued negative publicity (and the) lack of resources to
counter negative publicity in source markets."
A drop in the
number of major airlines landing at Harare international airport as well as
the impact of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States
were also cited as some of the reasons for the decline.
Only
British Airways and South African Airways still land at Harare international
airport after more than a dozen international airlines that used to land
there stopped owing to fuel shortages gripping Zimbabwe for the last four
years.
Tourism was the country's fastest growing economic sector
four years ago but is crumbling - just like everything else in Zimbabwe - as
visitors shun the country because of lawlessness, political violence and its
poor human rights record.
The ZTA said major source markets
that experienced decline over the period under review include the United
Kingdom and Ireland which recorded a 33 percent drop from 47 667 visitors in
2003 to 31 710 in 2004.
Visitors from Germany dropped by 64 percent
from 8 087 during the first nine months of the year compared to the same
period last year. There were 2 916 visitors from Switzerland between January
to September 2004 compared to 7 906 arrivals from Zurich during the same
period last year.
Australian visitors plummeted by 38 percent from
23 478 to 14 437 and South Africa had a 33 percent decline from 713 866
visitors last year to 369 066. - ZimOnline
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to: jag@mango.zw with subject line "For Open Letter
Forum". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1: received 5 December 2004
Dear Jag
So many of us have been
incarcerated or pulled into police stations for supposedly contravening the
Public Order and Security Act. We stared in amazement at the government or
other officials who hauled us before the courts and into police stations on
trumped up charges which were supposed to be trying to overthrow the current
regime. So many of us were just trying desperately to maintain a way of life
and a home and business for our families and found ourselves on the wrong
side of the law...whatever law that was, or was not! It was therefore
fascinating to find that very architect of the dreaded POSA sitting on the
wrong side of the Tsholotsho fence last week. So amazing to find the very man
who designed and implemented the act which so terribly over rules our basic
human rights, facing the very law that he designed and built.
And it
makes us realise, once again.....always be nice to people on the way up,
cause you sure as hell going to meet them on the way down!!!!!
It also
helps to remember that there is no point in selling our souls for power and
money.....it always kicks back in the end.
Perhaps we will be lucky
enough to find that this awful piece of legislation might catch the very
people who use it so effectively at the moment. There will be an
accountability for all these human rights abuses. We just need to be
patient!
Simple
Simon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.
JAG Rebuke to ZTA, received 7 December 2004
In the Sunday Standard,
Business Section, dated 5th December 2004, it was reported that Mr James
de-la-Fargue was excited about this year's tobacco crop. Based on seed sales
he forecasts a crop in the region of 85million kg. Mr Duncan Miller is also
in a positive mood about this year's crop.
These two gentlemen need to be
reminded that much of what they are getting is excited and positive about is
being grown on land and equipment stolen from previous members of the ZTA.
Their sycophancy is nauseating.
This week our schools limped to the last day and shuddered to a
stop at the end of what has been an impossibly difficult school year. It was
my son's last day at junior school and I sat with other parents at the
final assembly. Since nursery school I have never missed a gala, sports day,
play or concert and I knew that Richard's last day at junior school was going
to be emotional. It was also prize giving day and one by one children came
up grade by grade to receive awards for their excellence. There were the
usual English, Maths and Arts prizes but also awards for achievement,
consistent effort and Christian conduct.
As each child came up there
were the usual claps, cheers and ululation's from parents bursting with pride
and I found tears in my eyes on more than one occasion. I clapped and cried
for myself as a parent, ex farmer and outspoken writer. I was not actually
sure how I had survived these 57 months of turmoil, fear and penury and made
it to this day. I clapped and cried for Richard who had changed schools,
worked through learning problems, lived through horrors on an invaded farm
and fought his fears and nightmares. I was not sure how Richard had made it
to this day either or how either of us would cope with the phenomenal changes
which lie ahead. I clapped and cried for the school too and moreso after
listening to the annual reports by the Headmistress and the Chairman of the
Board of Governors. Even though I had been in and out of the school all year
and had attended almost all of the meetings, listening to the litany of
horrors in one speech really bought home to me what an enormous achievement
it was that this little school had managed to stay open at all. The year
had begun with inflation of over 600% and yet the government had pegged
the school fees at a rate which did not take economics into consideration.
In May, first the headmistress and then the Chairman of the Board had
been detained in police cells. The Police closed the school down and
patrolled the premises preventing our children and their teachers from
entering.
As the year went on, the finances of the school became more and
more precarious. All parents had agreed to make donations to the school to
keep the standards up, but when it came to it, many did not do so. The
feelings at parents meetings got tenser and angrier as those parents who had
made large donations to the school knew that their money was supporting
the children of other parents who had promised to, but who had paid
nothing extra. Three weeks before the end of the term and in the heat of
mid summer, the school was forced to close the swimming pool down as they
could no longer afford to keep it operating. And now, on prize giving day,
not a single child actually received a prize because the school simply could
not afford to buy the usual book prizes. The children got certificates
and applause, huge applause, from parents and teachers who knew what
an achievement it was and what sacrifices had been made again and again
for and by the school to get to this day.
As I sit here on Saturday
morning writing about our little prize-less prize giving day at a small
Marondera school, I found myself drawn to switch on local TV just for a
minute. There is live coverage of the Zanu PF annual congress and its 9000
delegates in Harare. The speakers seem to be falling over each other to pour
praise on the party and its leaders. They are no doubt as shocked as we are
at the events of the last week which saw seven top Zanu PF officials being
suspended from the party for daring to differ in the choice of vice
presidency. Heads have rolled, more will undoubtedly follow and no doubt
there will be no prizes at that ceremony either. Until next week, love
Cathy Copyright Cathy
buckle ------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice for
Agriculture.
Last Updated: Wednesday, 8 December 2004 RBZ
deadline choking, say analysts
By Jeffrey Gogo SOME
companies which accessed cheap Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) funds might
not have the capacity to repay ahead of the extended June 2005 deadline,
economic commentators have said.
Many of the firms which released
their financial results for the period to September 2004 indicated that they
were heavily indebted - some outside the Productive Sector Facility, and
economists say the RBZ deadline for repayment could choke the companies'
tight cash base.
The central bank said in October this year that
concessionary lending under PSF would be phased out next year, and all
companies that benefited from these funds were expected to have repaid their
loans in full by June 2005.
The programme was initially set to
end this December. The initiative is targeted at controlling the abuse of
the PSF by companies, as well as reducing the companies' dependence on the
facility.
While acknowledging the need to do away with cheap funds,
economists say it might lead to a severe liquidity crunch among some
companies if they were put under pressure to repay by June
2005.
"Companies with excessive PSF amounts such as PGI, Pioneer
Corporation Africa and Cottco, to mention but only a few, might struggle to
pay back given their precarious debt position," said a local economic
commentator.
"The companies might have to come back to shareholders
and ask them to retire their debt.
"There are two ways this
could be done. Either the company trades out of the debt (trading normally
and profitably and then settle their borrowings) or additional capital
injection.
"I do not see some of the heavily borrowed companies
being in a position to repay their debt to the RBZ by the
deadline.
"If they manage to, then that must leave the productive
firms in a serious financial hole," he added.
Earlier in
October, economic commentator Mr Jonathan Kadzura also raised concerns that
the withdrawal of the PSF could be too early for some companies that might
not be in a sound financial position to repay by the deadline.
He proposed the June 2005 deadline be moved to a later date.
"It
will be good to have rolled over the facility as it has greatly assisted the
productive sector," Kadzura said. But cheap money is not favourable
though."
However, of the $2 trillion that was disbursed in the
period January to September 2004, total repayments to date amount to $478
billion.
This "below-par" performance by some of the companies has
been attributed to the PSF, which has seen increases in capacity utilisation
and "job preservations" in distinct firms.
It is on this basis
that other commentators argue companies would be in a position to settle
their debts by the deadline.
Other analysts maintained the RBZ was
right in withdrawing the facility next year given the present economic and
inflation forecasts.
"By June 2005, guided by current RBZ inflation
targets, year-on-year inflation would be around 70 or so percent. So really,
also given that the RBZ does not want to see a situation whereby market
rates would grow ahead of inflation, this means rates are likely to be in
the region of 50 percent.
"As such, it makes sense to withdraw the
fund - currently at 50 percent - as companies would be in a position to
borrow at similar rates on the market."
Harare splutters to a halt as state opens fuel
tender December 8, 2004
By Sapa and Bloomberg
Harare - Zimbabwe's Petroleum Marketers' Association (PMA) has opened
tenders for the supply of petrol and diesel.
The latest move
comes as fuel queues snake through Harare's streets while motorists wait
patiently for fuel.
The PMA said yesterday that it was tendering
for the monthly supply of 24 million litres of petrol and 26 million litres
of diesel, with supplies expected to flow from January. The tender would
close on December 16.
An official in the PMA, who declined to be
named, said: "The situation is such that come next year, there should be no
periodic stock-outs as we are experiencing at the moment."
Taxi
driver John Takawira said: "We are tired of this nonsense. This week there
is diesel but no petrol. Last week there was petrol but no
diesel.
"It is impossible to plan and impossible to make
money."
Retired office worker Mishek Mubaya said: "It's
ridiculous and all the government does is tell us lies, promising that fuel
supplies will return to normal.
"We know now that when they
return to normal it will be for a week - no more - then it will run out
again. Thousands of us will be trying to go home to our villages for
Christmas. How are we going to get there if there is no fuel?"
Mubaya, who was waiting for a lift to a city bank, said a trip that normally
took him 20 minutes now took most of the morning because of the fuel
shortage. "There are too few taxis. They're all in petrol queues. Thank you
[President Robert] Mugabe."
Zimbabwe's national fuel bill has
fallen to about $30 million (R173 million) a month, from a monthly $40
million before the 2000 economic and political crisis.
Harare - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai
warned on Tuesday that any "carelessness" by the government ahead of the
March elections could lead to an "inferno" in the southern African
country.
Tsvangirai, in a weekly newsletter, called for "sensitive
political management" especially in the run-up to the parliamentary
elections in the politically divided and crisis-ridden nation.
"We
remain deeply concerned that the grass is now so dry that any form of
carelessness, in particular in the next two to three months, could lead to
an inferno," he said, but added that he was still extending an "olive
branch" to the country's leadership.
President Robert Mugabe's ruling
Zanu-PF at the weekend re-elected the octogenarian head of state, Vice
president Joseph Msika and elected a co-vice president Joyce Mujuru to head
the party for the next five years.
"To the new Zanu-PF leadership, I
welcome you with the same old message: I am still holding out that olive
branch," Tsvangirai said.
"An opportunity for a rapid turnaround of our
fortunes is still possible.
"Zimbabwe requires a soft landing," he said,
appealing for "a political solution before it is too
late."
Tsvangirai, who has just returned from a month-long tour of Africa
and Europe to drum up support for his party, said "election management,
humanitarian emergency and a looming constitutional disaster" required
"sensitive political management".
The need of the hour was also
"insightful leadership beyond political parties and individuals", he
said.
Mugabe has dismissed the Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) as a stooge of former colonial ruler Britain and has
effectively ruled out the resumption of any talks with the opposition whom
he labels puppets.
By
Msekiwa Makwanya Last updated: 12/08/2004 08:44:26 WE MAY bemoan the
futility of our quest and complain about our wounds and battle scars; yet,
we endure the pain and cling to the tiny thread of hope as fragile as our
breath. Yes, one day all our dreams will come true. But if you pursue
selfish dreams like the disgraced Junior Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo
your night mares will come true.
In our dogged efforts to carry out our
duties and pursue our life goals, we dare not pause less we may be
overwhelmed by pains and doubts. We just keep on going, believing that
sooner or later we will find the real thing, even though we cannot fully
grasp what we really want. So, as we endure and persevere, the saga of
survival continues. While individual politicians find it very important to
get into power our hope is that they will take the nation's aspirations into
account. We can only get a taste of how aspiring politicians will perform
when we look at their track record. You do not need to be a rocket scientist
to imagine what Jonathan Moyo will do if he was to get more power. Many have
drawn unwarranted attention on Morgan Tsvangirai's educational
qualifications but we now know that even with their doctorates and
professorships Dr Made and Dr Chombo have failed to deliver while Professor
Moyo has destroyed democracy in Zimbabwe.
Even the helpless victim of a
hopeless situation, facing a fate he cannot change, may rise above himself,
may grow beyond himself, and, by doing so, change himself. He may turn
personal tragedy into triumph and turn his predicament into human
achievement. We must not under-estimate our capacity as Zimbabweans to solve
our own problems. It is however mortifying to realize that there are
Zimbabweans who believe that President Thabo Mbeki should switch Zimbabwe's
electricity off in order to influence the political situation in Zimbabwe. I
do not see any government stepping down because electricity has been cut
off. In fact Zimbabwe has more electricity than some countries in Africa
where load shedding is a common problem. It is important for those in
politics to be very careful with their strategies.
I defend the MDC
President, Morgan Tsvangirai's tour of duty to the 22 countries both in
Africa and Europe last month. It opened his mind to political realities that
he was never exposed to. What he learns from the visits is a matter personal
ability and it is this learning which is more important than degrees from
university.
Our quest should continue as long as the Promised Land
beacons us. It is this hope for future meaning to fulfill that sustains us
in trying circumstances. We should stay the course and run the race, we need
to remember those who have overcome the obstacles and turned tragedies into
triumphs. The most glorious pages of human achievements are not about great
scientists, artists, athletes, or war heroes, but about ordinary individuals
who have endured unimaginable suffering and beat incredible odds. You do not
find them in the halls of fame, but in the corridors of life. Our fallen
heroes Gen Josiah Magama Tongogara, Leopold Takawira and Jason Ziyapapa Moyo
were not rocket scientists or professors.
However, endurance entails
more than persistence until success. The greatest challenge is to endure all
kinds of pressures and resist endless temptations in order to remain true to
one's convictions and moral principles. The issue of principles is very
important and there is no harm to state your principles and values. In the
American elections George Bush and John Kerry took a stand on homosexuality
for instance. In Zimbabwe Mugabe has always taken a stand on homosexuality
what is Tsvangirai position? Do we avoid issues because they are
controversial and we do not want to offend a particular group of
people?
Persistence without moral courage can be dangerous. Single-minded
and tenacious pursuit of success without any regard for moral and spiritual
laws can lead to disastrous results which brings us to the issue of
character. We wish to see strength of character in the political leadership
if our country is to recover from the present mess.
Character is the
sum total of your decisions, actions and habits, especially in difficult
circumstances. Like a rare and precious diamond, a sterling character is the
product of years of enduring opposition for doing what is right. In the
final analysis, integrity is the only guarantee you can offer to both your
friends and enemies.
The endurance test does not seem worth it, if at the
end all we receive is a corruptible crown, which we cannot take with us when
we leave this world. There has to be something more. It is the nation's hope
that the parties participating in the next elections will field candidates
who have shown endurance, strength of character and sound record of
performance in their own careers other than adumbrating at political
gatherings. It is the quality of people rather than mere numbers of Members
of Parliament which will improve Zimbabwe. Makwanya is a social
commentator based in London
December 7, 2004 Posted to the web December 7,
2004
Isaac Ongiri Nairobi
Who is killing Africa's elephants and
encouraging the trade on ivory?
With the global ban on ivory trade still
in place, the precious elephant tusks are increasingly becoming marketable
worldwide, further endangering the lives of the African elephant, mostly
targeted for elimination by poachers.
And with ready and secret
markets in some Asian and European countries, the population of the African
elephant is endangered today as it was when the ban was put in place in
1991.
"More and more elephants are being killed every other day. The fate
and survival of the African elephant is doomed," says Dr Noah Sitati, a
Kenyan researcher on human wildlife conflict.
Retired president
Daniel arap Moi destroyed huge stocks of ivory in 1989 in a campaign to wipe
out the trade on ivory. The ban in 1991 was a blessing.
Zambia, the only
southern African state to have come out strongly against ivory trade, also
ordered the destruction of huge piles of the commodity without a second
thought for the poverty levels that like any African state bedevils its
citizens and the millions of dollars worth of ivory it was
destroying.
But a renewed demand for the legalisation of trade on
ivory by some South African states like Zimbabwe and South Africa could be
dangerous if entertained.
Once again the Kenyan elephant is
endangered, as poachers have returned in big numbers to do their illegal
business. In the last three years, rangers from Trans Mara County Council
running part of the Maasai Mara game reserve have arrested 360 poachers in a
bid to stamp out poaching activities in the region and guarantee safety for
the threatened wildlife.
"We are intensifying the war on poaching every
minute. We are introducing more fancied tactics to ensure we manage the war
against poachers. This way we have been able to harass poachers away from
the boundaries of our park," said Brian Heath, the chief executive officer
of the Mara conservancy.
Brian said most of the suspected poachers who
have been arrested are foreigners from a neighbouring country.
And
Sitati, who works for the Durel Institute of Conservation and Ecology
(DICE), has been able to help recover about 240 pieces of ivory from the
local community in only two years.
A recent survey conducted by the
International Union of Conservation and Nature (IUCN), shows that at one
time, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania had the largest number of elephants in
Africa. But recent statistics show a diminishing population of the herbivore
in the region compared to other parts of sub Saharan Africa.
The
survey indicates that in 1977 about 450,000 elephants roamed freely in East
Africa, but in 2002 the region had recorded a 70.2 per cent decline, with
the elephant population dropping to 140,000.
At that time other regions
like the Central African states comparably had 200,000 elephants, dropping
49,000 in 2002. West African countries, mostly ravaged by war, have seen a
decline in the population of the herbivore to 6,200 in 2002, as compared
14,000 in 1977.
And Kenya, which had a record 50,000 elephants in 1961
spread all over its sanctuaries in Amboseli, Maasai Mara, Shimba hills,
Aberdares, Samburu and Mau forest, among others, has slightly above 8,000 at
the moment. Prominent merchants trading in ivory who are living in Kenya are
propelling the trade and "inciting" poachers into our parks once
more.
Research conducted by Sitati has also shown that business people
whose warehouses are situated in towns like Migori, Isebania, Namanga and
Busia are smuggling Kenyan ivory out through a neighbouring country.
Increased deaths of elephants around our parks have exposed the risk under
which the jumbos live.
In the last 24 years and ever since the world
launched campaigns against this black trade, Kenya has lost a total of 1,521
elephants to poachers, according to a survey conducted by the Wild Wide Fund
for nature (WWF).
A recent meeting held in Bangkok on elephants exposed
two countries as being most notoriously involved in the illegal ivory
trade.
"Japan and the United Kingdom are among the countries named at the
Bangkok forum as leading in the provision of markets for ivory," Sitati
said.
And according to the researcher, who has been studying the
increased conflict between human and wildlife near the Maasai Mara game
reserves, the unending conflict is worsening the situation.
"People
are getting annoyed because elephants are destroying crops, killing and
injuring people and there is no compensation from the state," says
Sitati.
As a result the community expected to protect elephants from
poachers is itself recruited into poaching and harming the herbivores, which
they consider enemies.
Sitati is appealing to the government to
hasten the compensation process as some of the people around the parks have
been widowed and orphaned by wildlife.
Botswana denies signing media pact with Zimbabwe Wed 8
December 2004 GABORONE - New Botswana Communications Minister Pelonomi
Venson this week told ZimOnline that there was no information pact between
her country and Zimbabwe committing the two countries to help defend each
other against negative coverage by the international press.
Venson said her predecessor at the Communications Ministry, Boyce Sebetela,
had discussed media co-operation with Zimbabwe's Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo during a visit to Harare last June but no pact was
singed.
She said: "No information pact has been developed
between Botswana and Zimbabwe. Former Minister, Sebetela's visit to Zimbabwe
in June this year was supposed to be followed by a reciprocal visit by
Minister Jonathan Moyo to discuss possible co-operation between the two
countries on media issues.
"This matter has not developed beyond
this and no discussion has taken place since that visit. The intention of
the former minister was to involve media practitioners in any discussion
concerning this matter."
At the time of Sebetela's visit, Harare
claimed that the Botswana official had agreed to a pact under which Gaborone
would help rebut reports by the international media about political
violence, lawlessness and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. - ZimOnline