Dear Friends,
In light of the requests I
put to the leadership of Hear the Word
Ministries (for example to explain to
Zimbabweans the background to this
action and to refer to Isaiah 58 if they
met Robert Mugabe) when I met
them on the 21st January - none of which appear
to have been taken heed
of - I am very distressed by the report attached
below.
The "token of love" is bad enough being made in the very week one
of Roy
Bennett's workers was killed in cold blood by Mugabe's agents
and
another of his workers, aged 18, raped. (Will HTWM agree to donate Z$
30
million to these workers and their families who have been brutalised
in
this manner?) Did the HTWM leadership seek to dispute Mugabe's
statement
that there had been "a reduction of political violence in the
country"?
What is even worse from the perspective of the Church is that
Mr
Deuschle should say that, if he is reported correctly (but that is
all
we have if HTWM does not clarify the position), "freedom of
expression
should be exercised within the confines of the law" in the very
week
that the Daily News has been closed down by this very law Mr
Deuschle
refers to.
I believe that the Church now has an obligation to
speak loud and clear
into this situation. This action is wrong and is deeply
damaging to the
Church if not dealt with.
I have copied this mail to
HTWM to invite them to set the record
straight if the ZBC has misquoted them
or falsified the report in any
way. If I have not heard from them by
Wednesday the 18th February I will
assume that the report is
accurate.
Yours sincerely,
David Coltart
........................
ZBC
2004 expected to be a better year -
President Mugabe
13 February 2004
President Robert Mugabe has
expressed hope that Zimbabwe will this year
witness socio-economic and
political improvements compared to last year.
The President was speaking
at Zimbabwe House in Harare during a meeting
with
a twenty-men delegation
from the 'Hear The Word Church Ministries'. Cde
Mugabe said this year should
be better than last year, which saw the
country
's agriculture affected by
drought and problems experienced in various
sectors including the political
arena. He expressed concern over the
erosion
of moral values among both
rural and urban people in the country saying
this
has led to corruption
and the high prevalence of crimes such as stock
theft.
The president
called for stronger partnership between the church and
state
in instilling
moral values in society.
Cde Mugabe said it is unfortunate that some
leaders are caught up in
immoral
practices such as drunkenness. He
welcomed the reduction in the
incidents of
political violence saying it is
positive step towards unity in the
country.
Speaking at the same occasion,
the leader of the church, Pastor Tom
Deuschle, said morality is the biggest
challenge facing society today.
He
called on the church to speak out on
social issues affecting the nation.
The
church leader also spoke about
freedom of expression saying it should be
exercised within the confines of
the law. The group presented $30
million to
the President saying it is a
token of love from that church.
Dear Members of Island Hospice,
I am a great admirer of the wonderful
work your organization does and
just recently received yet another glowing
report from a dear friend
whose wife was ministered to by your superb staff
in her last days.
It is accordingly with deep regret that I have to write
to you to
express my disappointment that you invited Zanu (PF)’s Minister
of
Health to the recent opening of your new headquarters. As you
probably
know I recently participated in the budget debate in Parliament and
was
appalled by the stance taken by this man, and indeed all those who
voted
for the Ministry of Health’s budget. The Ministry of Health has
only
been allocated Z$ 700 billion which is woefully inadequate. By way
of
comparison I should mention that the CIO was granted Z$ 62 billion,
the
Youth Brigades some Z$ 40 billion, the Army and Airforce Z$ 815
billion,
the Police Z$ 339 billion and the “unallocated reserve” in the
Ministry
of Finance (which is not subject to the same scrutiny as other votes
by
Parliament itself and is routinely used to supplement defence
spending)
Z$ 1.3 trillion. In other words we know that at the very least
this
regime will be spending at least Z$ 1,256 trillion defending
itself
(plus whatever else it takes from the unallocated reserve during
the
year) while poor Zimbabweans are being sent home to die from
our
hospitals because of inadequate medicines and lack of medical
personnel.
In these circumstances I find it distasteful that any
medical
organization could associate itself with, never mind invite as guest
of
honour, a man who is complicit with and largely responsible for
this
appalling state of affairs. I hope that your wonderful organization
will
never associate itself with such people again.
Yours
sincerely,
David Coltart MP
Bulawayo South
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Makamba faces 22 forex
offences-Judge slams police 'high-handedness'
By Caiphas
Chimhete
PROMINENT businessman James Makamba, who is being charged with
22
counts of externalising foreign currency, yesterday became the
first
victim of harsh anti-corruption regulations gazetted on Friday, when
a
Harare magistrate ordered his further detention in custody
until
February 27.
Lawyers for the wealthy businessman had on Friday
made an urgent
application in the High Court to have him released. He had
spent about
100 hours in police custody being shuttled between police cells
at
Harare Central, Goromonzi, Morris Depot, Tomlison,
Rhodesville,
Braeside and Beatrice police stations, without being
charged.
High Court Judge Justice Alphas Chitakunye, in his ruling over
the
Friday afternoon application, yesterday morning referred the
matter
back to the Magistrates' Court where the businessman was
finally
charged with 22 counts half of them in his personal capacity
of
externalising hard currency.
Harare magistrate Jackie Mushonga
ordered that Makamba be remanded in
custody according to the new regulations
which say a person accused of
externalising foreign currency among other
crimes may be detained for
a period of seven days, and more days later, from
the date when an
order for further detention is issued.
"The accused
has been remanded in custody to the 27th of February of
this year on the
basis of the new legislation," said Mushonga, whose
declaration shattered the
hopes of Makamba's wife and several
relatives and friends who packed Court
Room 6.
The heavily-built businessman, clad in a blue bomber jacket, navy
blue
trousers and black shoes, was led away by prison guards.
His
lawyer, Godfrey Mamvura of Scanlen and Hoderness, said the police
had
deliberately waited for Friday's new statutory instrument on graft
to come
into effect in order to take away the court's power to grant
Makamba
bail.
"I can rightly call it 'the James Makamba Statutory Instrument' Ð
this
is a gross violation of the accused's constitutional right to
his
liberty," said Mamvura.
Under the new graft regulations, an
accused person can be detained for
up to 30 days before being charged if
police insist they want to
continue investigations. Mamvura pointed out that
Makamba had
voluntarily handed himself to the police when he came back from
a
business trip to South Africa but despite that gesture, "the
police
continued to treat him like a fugitive".
Makamba, a former DJ
and a successful self-made businessman, owns
supermarkets, farms, security
firms and several other properties in
Bindura and Harare. He is also the
non-executive chairman of mobile
phone operator, Telecel
Zimbabwe.
Makamba is a member of Zanu PF's Central Committee, a
former
provincial chairman of the governing party in Mashonaland Central
and
a former Member of Parliament for Mt Darwin.
According to his
lawyers, Makamba was arrested at 10 AM on Monday
after returning from a
business trip to South Africa. Police had in
the meantime advertised on radio
that they wanted the businessman for
questioning, as if he was a dangerous
fugitive on the run.
Heavily armed police and CIO officers swooped on his
residences and
properties "armed to the teeth," according to his lawyers in
the early
hours of Monday morning before Makamba surrendered himself to
the
police.
Makamba's Harare home, in the up-market suburb of
Kambanji, was raided
by more than 50 heavily armed police while his offices
were sealed. As
he arrived at the Magistrates' Courts yesterday, Makamba who
was
guarded by eight armed police officers tried to put a brave face
but
one could see a tormented soul behind his ready smile.
The
businessman's lawyers say he only knew of the charges that he was
being held
for on Friday about 96 hours after detention and said his
detention was
unlawful because he was a non-executive chairman of
Telecel.
Earlier
on yesterday, Justice Chitakunye had deplored the
high-handedness of the
police when dealing with Makamba.
"Such conduct may tend to taint the
intentions the police may allege
to have," said Justice Chitakunye, making
his ruling over the Friday
hearing.
The judge then ordered that
Makamba be taken for a remand hearing at
the Magistrates' Court at 12 noon
yesterday, failure of which he was
to be released at 12:30 PM of the same
day.
Opposing Makamba's application for release on Friday evening,
Joseph
Jagada of the Attorney General's office who constantly consulted
the
officer co-ordinating the investigations, an Assistant
Commissioner
Gora had said Makamba was externalising foreign currency between
2001
and part of 2004.
"He, together with others, was selling foreign
currency to Telecel
Zimbabwe, at black market rates, which would externalise
it," said
Gora.
In one case, said Gora, a Banket commercial farmer Mr
Mudheredhe
exported maize and deposited the proceeds in a Luxembourg
Telecel
account. He would then be paid in local currency using black
market
rates.
"The case involves extra-territorial boundaries that is
why it has
taken long," said Gora, who added: "The police are not vindictive
to
Makamba. We know the contribution he has made to the country, we
just
want justice to prevail."
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Comment
Zimbabwe: A
Police State
THE anti-graft regulations gazetted in an Extraordinary
Government
Gazette last Friday under The Presidential Powers (Temporary
Measures)
(Amendment of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act) Regulations of
2004
which amend the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act are some of
"the
most calculated and determined assault on our civil
liberties".
Zimbabwe has effectively become a Police State.
We are for
the fight against corruption. But the new regulations are
illogical and
completely unconstitutional. What has happened to the
time-honoured
presumption of innocence before one is proven guilty?
This is a clear
interference with the administration of justice. Why
detain suspects in order
to investigate. Investigate and then arrest
on proven facts.
What
these regulations mean is that someone with a score to settle can
simply
phone the police to arrest or acting on a tip off, the police
can arrest an
innocent person and detain them for lengthy periods
without recourse to
bail.
This is tantamount to licensing government to abuse the courts to
keep
people in remand prison without evidence of any wrongdoing.
It is
defective legislation that takes away the discretion of the
judiciary to
protect the civil liberties of all citizens, even those
suspected of
committing crimes, until such time that compelling
evidence of crime is
furnished to the courts.
It is sad and most unfortunate that the Zanu PF
ruling party should be
advancing its hidden agenda this way. People not
convicted should not
be deprived of their fundamental rights as
citizens.
When we eventually recover our freedoms and liberties, many
years will
be spent sifting through the rubble of President Robert
Mugabe's
repressive pieces of legislation such as the new
anti-graft
regulations and many others.
Standard
Comment
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
A case of old
wine in new bottles
SHOCK and disbelief, but mostly a resounding national
yawn, greeted
the so called cabinet reshuffle last week. But Zimbabweans
should
never have been surprised, unless, of course, people
conveniently
choose to forget what sort of man President Mugabe has been and
is.
A leopard has never been known to change its spots. Experience
has
taught us that the man does not change that easily. Look at his
record
since time immemorial and you will understand what we are
talking
about. President Mugabe rarely disposes of his friends and
colleagues
however useless and incompetent they may be. He has
privatised
Zimbabwe so what's the big deal?
"The problem is with you
fellas in the independent Press, the
British-sponsored MDC, the Americans and
the British themselves" we
can hear him say.
To say that the cabinet
reshuffle is a non-event is clearly an
under-statement. It is not worth
talking about. It was just a
circulation and recycling of old and tired
colleagues with an addition
here and there of equally old and tired old guard
who should have been
better left in their semi-retirement
state.
President Mugabe has always found comfort in people who agree
with
him. Disagree with him and you become a candidate for the
boot.
Instead of seeing growth in differences and disagreements the man
sees
nothing but enemies and saboteurs.
'Yes Cde President' is the
catch phrase if you have any hope of
survival in Mugabe's cabinet. He does
not want you to say no but when
he says yes you must all say
yes!
Politicians in Africa particularly of the local variety engage
in
politics to have life without scarcity. Poverty is a real problem.
That
is why grown-up men and women behave like overgrown little
children in
Mugabe's presence. It has really to do with being part and
parcel of the
gravy train. It would be naive in the extreme for anyone
to think it can be
anything else. It does not take rocket science to
figure out why this is
so.
It has nothing to do with "combating corruption and enhancing
the
country's capacity to be self-sufficient". They are in it
for
themselves pure and simple!
After all, many of the ministers who
have either retained their
portfolios or moved to new ones are the most
corrupt individuals one
can think of in Zimbabwe. Not to mention the
newly-appointed ministers
and deputy ministers the majority of whom are known
to be walking,
sleeping and eating corruption big time.
This is the
tragedy of Zimbabwe. And no amount of shuffling can
disguise this fact. If
indeed the reason for the cabinet reshuffle was
to move from the 'war
Cabinet' of 2002 which was fighting imaginary
enemies to a 2004 Cabinet to
fight corruption who indeed in Zanu PF
can be spared? Not that the war
against corruption must not be fought.
We are not saying that. We are merely
raising legitimate concerns
about the sort of characters put in charge of
this fight who
themselves are corrupt to the bone.
Yes, indiscipline
must be fought. But when you put people who
themselves are, by and large,
indisciplined then we continue to be in
deep trouble. Instead of stemming the
tide, we sink and sink until we
sink no more. This is our worry.
We
also get worried when the President says with a straight face that
the people
of Zimbabwe want a large government. Really Mr President?
Which Zimbabwean
people? Of this planet Earth? Really?
It is common knowledge that the
Cabinet is inflated, bloated and
excessively overweight even before last
week's reshuffle. It was a
cabinet crying out to be severely cut and trimmed
particularly in the
context of the meagre resources and the economic problems
that the
country is currently facing.
And to enlarge it the way the
President has done boggles the mind. No
doubt, the ministers, deputy
ministers and the newly-appointed
governors for Harare and Bulawayo, whose
duties we are yet to be told,
will be using government offices and expensive
vehicles to conduct
their business. But human nature being what it is, if
they are not
fully occupied, the tendency will be to devote time and effort
to
their own personal affairs, a situation rampant in government
offices
even as we write.
We dare say deputy ministers and governors
are redundant by all
accounts. We would laugh about it were it not for the
tragedy that it
is given the sacrifices and immense difficulties that the
majority of
Zimbabweans are going through. It is a criminal waste of
national
resources to pay people who will spend more of their time tending
to
their farms and businesses. But President Mugabe seems
entirely
oblivious to consequences of a large cabinet on the
fiscus.
The depth of this country's economic difficulties should have
given
him pause for serious thought and a Cabinet reshuffle should
have
equally given him a window of opportunity to at least begin to
correct
the problems. But true to his nature what President Mugabe has done
is
to give us good theatre.
He has clearly demonstrated that it would
be wishful thinking for
Zimbabweans to ever expect a pragmatic response to
desperately
difficult problems from this man. These appointments, far
from
translating into benefits for the people of Zimbabwe are actually
a
serious drain on the country's resources.
A God-send opportunity has
again been squandered. The Cabinet
reshuffle merely became another occasion
on which to repeat the
formula. It appears that the people of Zimbabwe are
always at the
starting point. Be that as it may, we can only hope that those
who are
engaged in the struggle to return Zimbabwe to sanity will win in
the
end.
Cabinet reshuffle. What Cabinet reshuffle? Yes, a case of
saving old
wine in new bottles. Simple.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Hype, hypocrisy and
hysteria
overthetop By Brian Latham
OCCASIONALLY a politician says
something so breathtakingly stupid that
it takes your breath away. So it was
this week with South Africa's
foreign minister, the deeply unattractive
Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma.
This increasingly notorious woman suggests that
there's nothing wrong
with Zimbabwe's media laws, its tainted courts or even
elections
marred by violence, rigging and corruption.
Instead the
problem lies with Britain, she says. No doubt, in her eyes
at least, Britain
is to blame for drawing mild mannered attention to
the fact that Zimbabwe's
media laws are unfair, its courts unjust and
its elections
unrepresentative.
Oh dear! Mrs Dlamini-Zuma goes on to say that Britain
is obsessed by
the desire to protect its kith and kin and that the
"legitimate
government" of Zimbabwe doesn't want to take orders from its
former
colonial master - or should that be mistress?
The poor woman
obviously received a woeful education, because it would
be embarrassingly out
of character for Britain to actually do
anything.
So - Tony Blair's
spin-driven government may wring its hands and bleat
about the awful
conditions in Zimbabwe, but it won't actually act.
Besides, it's Europe and
the United States that are making the most
noise, but perhaps they're too
large and intimidating for even the
large and intimidating Mrs Dlamini-Zuma
to tackle.
But all that belies the real, mind-numbing insensitivity and
ignorance
of her silly statements. No one but a diehard Bolshevik could, with
a
straight face, claim elections in Zimbabwe have been free and fair;
nor
could anyone claim that the Goebbels-like efficiency with which
government
and courts have crushed the press is conducive to freedom.
But of course,
Mrs Dlamini-Zuma does both, with even more vigour than
her somnambulant
boss.
She even thinks it would be "unrevolutionary" to criticise
Zimbabwe.
Of course, it isn't unrevolutionary (a word no dictionary
recognises)
to murder, rape, torture and starve two thirds of the
population
something citizens of South Africa should bear in mind when
their
revolutionary government gets up a head of steam and decides to
act
out its revolutionary fantasies.
It would, of course, be wrong for
a European nation to embark on a
programme of pillage, but it's entirely
legitimate and even
revolutionary for an African nation to do just
that.
This staggering leap of hypocrisy does make one wonder just where
and
when it will all end, because when Mrs Dlamini-Zuma opens her
mouth,
no one in the west has the courage to point out that she would
sound
far more plausible if she took her foot out before she
spoke.
That's because Tony Blair's craven government would rather watch
a
country collapse than face the dreaded race card Ð and because
George
Bush's government is still trying to find Zimbabwe on the
map.
Still, surrounded by cowardice, hypocrisy and ignorance,
Zimbabweans
can take heart from the knowledge that when the problem is
eventually
solved, they won't have to worry about the troublesome and
tedious
business of writing all those boring thank you letters. Quite
simply,
there is no one to thank. Thabo Mbeki's non-existent "quiet
diplomacy"
is just a euphemism for "let's sit back and watch it die so we can
buy
it at bargain basement prices." Tony Blair's forelock tugging
attempts
to get someone else to solve the crisis have only made things
worse.
And the rest of the world couldn't, frankly, give a damn.
In
the finest tradition of Zimbabwean journalism, the mixed metaphor
"the ball
is now in your frying pan" just about sums up the plight
facing the millions
of starving, battered and broke people from Binga
to Beitbridge.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Zimbabwean politicians, an
intolerant lot
Sundaytalk with Pius Wakatama
THE stereotyped
intolerance of African politicians to any dissent,
differing points of view,
let alone opposition, is characteristically
true of Zimbabwe. I have seen
this with my own eyes. It is not a view
which I hold because of
indoctrination by some white neo-colonialists.
As a young man I was
fairly active in the youth wings of the political
movement in Mbare from the
National Democratic Party (NDP) the
People's Caretaker Council (PCC) and the
Zimbabwe People's Union
(ZAPU).
We were led by, among others, the
fiery freedom fighter and incisive
writer, Malakia Madimutsa. At his death,
he was declared a provincial
hero instead of national hero by some who think
they know better. He
often openly criticised the national leadership of Zanu
PF.
At that time I refused any leadership position among the youth
because
I worked for American missionaries who regarded African nationalism
as
Communist inspired and, therefore, atheistic. They disapproved of
my
associating with the NDP and with ZAPU but could not actually
prove
that I was a member. Otherwise I would have joined the long lines
of
unemployed youths in the country.
I first witnessed the intolerance
of African nationalists through the
violent treatment meted out to trade
unionist, Reuben Jamela. As
leader of the Southern Rhodesia Trade Union
Congress (SRTUC), he was
rather ambivalent towards the National Democratic
Party led by Joshua
Nkomo. He did not want the political movement to control
or interfere
with his trade union movement.
Nationalist leaders
demanded absolute allegiance from all sectors of
African life. They demanded
unity and absolute loyalty to their
leadership. They, therefore called Jamela
a sell-out, a betrayer of
the struggle and urged the people to kill
him.
Jamela's house was stoned and petrol-bombed several times. Some of
his
followers were badly beaten up. One or more were even killed. He
fled
the then Harare Township with his family because his life was in
real
danger.
After the demise of SRTUC Josiah Maluleke formed the
Southern Rhodesia
African Trade Union Congress (SRATUC) which was subordinate
to ZAPU.
In 1963 ZAPU held one of the biggest mass rallies in its history
at No
7 football grounds in what is now Mbare. People came from
virtually
all the townships in their skin hats, singing songs in praise of
ZAPU
leaders, Joshua Nkomo, James Chikerema and George Nyandoro. I
was
among them, wearing my mongoose (Jerenyenje) skin hat.
At this
meeting one of the leaders read out a list of people who had
become
sell-outs. He said these people were plotting against Joshua
Nkomo. They were
educated intellectuals who did not want to associate
with the uneducated
masses and their party, ZAPU. He also said they
had formed their own party,
ZANU, to derail the struggle.
At first I was really angry with these
people who would dare to oppose
"Chibwechitedza" Joshua Nkomo and the
people's party, ZAPU.
However, as the names were read out, I became
confused. Among them
were my heroes and role models; Eddison Zvobgo, Robert
Mugabe, Rev
Ndabaningi Sithole, Maurice Nyagumbo, Edgar Tekere and some whom
I
have forgotten. How could these "vana vevhu" (sons of the soil)
be
sell-outs. I just refused to believe it.
The people were angry.
They called for the blood of these traitors.
They were outraged at the fact
that any African would dare to split
the nationalist movement at that stage.
This was as good as selling
out to the white oppressors! Those whose names
were called out and
were present at the meeting had to flee for their
lives.
This marked the beginning of the violent struggle between ZAPU
and
ZANU which derailed the struggle against white rule for many
years.
I refused to take sides in this struggle. I hoped and prayed
that
sanity would prevail and brother would stop killing brother. Some
of
my friends, from both sides, died in this struggle. My friend
Malakia
remained with ZAPU and helped in the formation of Zhanda, a
youth
group, much like today's Zanu PF's Chipangano, which went
about
beating up any ZANU supporters they could find.
For a while, I
thought that George Nyandoro and James Chikerema would
play a unifying role
and bring the two groups together but they
decided to remain with Joshua
Nkomo and ZAPU. They became enemies of
their former friends and colleagues
who were now supporting ZANU led
by Rev Ndabaningi Sithole. The black on
black violence disgusted me no
end. I decided to abandon nationalistic
politics and instead joined
the conciliatory Centre Party led by Pat
Bashford.
ZANU tried its best to woo the masses by explaining that the
dispute
between the nationalists was over what should constitute the agenda
of
the anti-colonial struggle. Joshua Nkomo had remained a moderate
while
the Young Turks who had formed ZANU wanted a more militant
approach
including armed struggle.
When the Rhodesian Front came into
power, it used the inter-party
violence as a reason to proscribe any
nationalistic activities
throughout the whole country. The leadership was
arrested and those
who escaped went into exile. Up to the late 1960s, there
was a
definite lull in black political activity throughout the country.
In
the meantime ZANU went underground and spearheaded the armed
struggle
in the rural areas.
We all know the rest. In 1980 ZANU came
back as victors. They won the
first one-man, one-vote elections by a
landslide. We all rejoiced and
shouted, "Pamberi ne ZANU." President Robert
Mugabe's inaugural
address to the nation was a classic masterpiece full
of
reconciliation, tolerance and good sense. He followed this up
by
forming a government of national unity with the losing ZAPU.
Zimbabwe
was now going to show the world what real African nationalism was
all
about.
Did we? No, Siree. We reverted back to our stereotype of
crass
intolerance. Before long, there was the fall-out between ZAPU and
ZANU
which culminated in the massacre of thousands of ZAPU supporters
in
Matabeleland. Joshua Nkomo had to flee the country for dear life.
He
only came back to surrender his party to ZANU to form the
so-called
Patriotic Front (ZANUÐPF). Zimbabwe was now a one-party State,
which
pleased President Mugabe greatly. He was not going to brook
any
opposition by all means.
Did we learn anything from our history of
intolerance? Not a thing.
Writing in Sites of Struggle, Brian Raftopulous
says: "No doubt the
anti-colonial movement produced a strong impetus and
momentum for
common interests. However, the nationalist movement was also
the
terrain of disputes both over what should constitute the agenda of
the
anti-colonial struggle, and over the definition of national
unity.
These often vibrant debates were central to the building of a
national
movement: unfortunately, its formative period also witnessed
the
tendency of the nationalist leadership to curtail debate and
suppress
opposing views.
This intolerance, which was a strong feature
of the nationalist
liberation struggle, has reared its head in post colonial
Zimbabwe,
where the State has often demonstrated an overzealous proclivity
to
impose narrow definitions of the nation and national unity on
the
people of Zimbabwe."
They are, indeed, an intolerant
lot!
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Mugabe tightens screws of
repression
By Caiphas Chimhete
CONTRARY to the official hype that
the recent Cabinet reshuffle by
President Robert Mugabe, aims to address the
country's myriad
problems, analysts are convinced the inclusion of former
military
personnel into the recycled Zanu PF old guard, is designed to
tighten
screws of repression ahead of the 2005 general election.
Many
dismissed the reshuffle as "a non-event" similar to previous
ones, where the
same "old redundant loyalists" of Mugabe are awarded
with high-ranking
posts.
Of the new appointments Mugabe made last Monday, most of
the
debutantes have a military background or are former freedom
fighters
with no track-record or experience in handling economic
development
and democratic governance issues.
"This is basically
militarising the Cabinet. This shows that we are
moving towards a more
repressive era, in which Mugabe would control
every bit of society," said
Gordon Chavunduka, a former University of
Zimbabwe
vice-chancellor.
Among the newly appointed ministers with a military
background are
retired Air Marshal Josiah Tungamirai, former Central
Intelligence
Organisation (CIO) boss, Shadreck Chipanga, and retired
Brigadier
Ambrose Mutinhiri.
"None of them has experience in
development-related matters but would
know how to control the increasingly
disgruntled Zimbabweans through
military means," commented
Chavunduka.
If recent by-elections in Gutu North and Marondera, in which
both
Tungamirai and Mutinhiri were elected Zanu PF MPs respectively,
are
anything to go by, then Zimbabweans should brace for a more
violent
2005 general election.
Violence in the two constituencies was
largely blamed on the ruling
party's supporters.
Since the 2000
parliamentary elections, in which Zanu PF narrowly
scraped through against a
formidable challenge from the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC), the governing party has
increasingly become reliant on the use of
violence to "win" elections.
During both the parliamentary and
presidential polls, several
opposition party members were tortured, maimed or
murdered for
campaigning for the MDC.
Mugabe, who turns 80 this month,
has also brought back some of his
trusted "old guard" in the Cabinet to
spearhead his traditional
onslaught against dissenting voices ahead of next
year's general
election.
A surprise inclusion is long forgotten former
minister and Speaker of
Parliament, Didymus Mutasa, dusted off from the
political scrap-heap
to the newly created post of Minister of Special Affairs
in the
President's Office in charge of the Anti-Corruption
and
Anti-Monopolies Programme.
Mutasa, MP for Makoni North, is accused
of having intimidated and
caused the torture of opponents in his constituency
forcing them to
vote for Mugabe during the 2002 presidential poll. Mutasa,
however,
denies the allegations.
Former freedom fighter Webster Shamu
made it back into Mugabe's inner
circle as Minister of State for Policy
Implementation, while Witness
Mangwende, former transport minister and
finance minister Herbert
Murerwa were relocated to less influential positions
as Governor for
Harare and Minister Higher and Tertiary Education
respectively.
Mines Minister Edward Chindori-Chininga was the only one
booted out of
the enlarged cabinet.
Political commentator Brain
Raftopolous described the reshuffle as a
"rotation" of Mugabe's loyalists,
who are basically in the Cabinet to
protect the President's interests. "It is
a consolidation of politics
of the last few years designed to perpetuate Zanu
PF's repressive
rule," said Raftopolous.
Another analyst said although
some of the former military men and old
guard do not occupy strategic
positions, they will play a critical
role in ensuring that Zanu PF maintains
its grip on power.
"Mugabe wants them (old guard) back into the Cabinet
because they now
know the tricks and can stand up to the impending political
heat,"
said one analyst.
Since coming to power 23 years ago, some
analysts noted, Mugabe had
consistently appointed trusted loyalists with
liberation war
credentials to his Cabinet. An attempt to enlist so
called
'technocrats' such as former finance minister Simba Makoni and
banker
Nkosana Moyo flopped after the duo fell foul of Mugabe's
self-saving
policies.
After swearing in the the new ministers, Mugabe
last week said the new
Cabinet would focus on fighting corruption and
enhancing the country's
capacity to be economically self-sufficient."It is
now an internal war
to fight corruption and tendencies to access wealth
through illegal
means," said Mugabe.
However, most analysts were
unconvinced saying there was nothing in
the new appointments to enhance the
capacity of Mugabe's Cabinet to
fight corruption in the country. They noted
that graft is also
deep-rooted in the ruling party itself.
Former
Governor of Matabeleland South, Welshman Mabhena, said last
week's Cabinet
reshuffle is characteristic of Mugabe when he is
trouble.
"Mugabe has
never run a civilian government. Zanu PF itself is a
guerrilla party and when
Mugabe is in trouble he falls back on his old
friends, otherwise how do you
explain Mutasa's appointment. He is a
known failure," said
Mabhena.
Mugabe retained most of the combative ministers, who
spearheaded
controversial policies that are widely viewed as responsible for
the
current political and economic chaos in the country. Some of those
who
survived the chop include the increasingly unpopular trio
of
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa
and Joseph Made, Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development.
"These are the same people responsible for our current
problems and
yet, somehow, they are expected to find solutions for problems
they
have themselves created," said Wilfred Mhanda, the president of
the
Zimbabwe Liberators'Platform (ZLP).
He said the reshuffle was the
cornerstone of Mugabe's campaigning
strategy this year.
"Things are
getting more difficult for Mugabe each passing year and to
survive he needs
his 'Yes men' who will do anything to ensure his
survival because their own
survival depends on him,' said Mhanda.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
UZ staff vow to stage
indefinite strike
By Valentine Maponga
UNIVERSITY of Zimbabwe
workers, both academic and non-academic staff,
have once again agreed to go
on an indefinite strike starting tomorrow
jeopardising plans by the college
to open early.
Joseph Mhlaule, the president of the University Teachers'
Association
told The Standard that all the lecturers have agreed to go on
strike
after it was made clear that they would not get transport and
housing
allowances, which they were awarded through arbitration last
year.
"We had a meeting today (Friday) of both non-academic and
academic
staff and we have agreed to go on strike as from Monday until
our
allowances are granted to us," said Mhlaule.
A source at the UZ
told The Standard that the workers gave the
authorities a 14-day notice,
which expired last week, but there was no
response.
The strike will
affect students scheduled to write their end of first
semester examinations,
which they failed to write last year because of
another strike by the
lecturers.
"We have heard that the university council is trying to engage
the
services of outsiders and some workers at campus who are
not
participating in the strike so that they will invigilate the
exams,"
said the source.
The lecturers insist that even if the exams
were conducted, they have
resolved that they would not mark them.
UZ
lecturers are paid a basic salary of $2,5 million per month as of
last month
after the government awarded all civil servants an
increment of 250% at the
beginning of this year.
After the arbitration process last year, the
lecturers were told that
they had been awarded a basic salary increment of up
to $2,5 million
plus 30% of the same amount for their housing and transport
allowances
backdated to July last year.
Last year, the government
appointed a new council for the University
of Zimbabwe, whose main task was
to resolve the thorny issue of
salaries and help in the recruitment of
additional staff but nothing
seems to have materialised.
University
authorities were not available for comment yesterday.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Made, Msipa clash over
dairy farms
By Richard Musazulwa
GWERU Ð THE Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development has ignored
directives from Midlands
Governor Cephas Msipa not to resettle people
on highly productive dairy
farms, resulting in many farmers abandoning
milk production.
This
emerged at a land report back meeting held last week in Gweru
which was
attended by the Minister of Special Affairs responsible for
land, John
Nkomo.
Msipa, who heads the province's Land Resettlement Committee,
said
dairy farming in the province was now under threat as the
ministry
continued to resettle people on productive farms.
He said his
committee had recommended that dairy farms in the province
should not be
interfered with.
"Because the ministry continues to offer people land,
some of the
dairy farmers have already stopped producing milk. They have
sold
their dairy cows and equipment after people settled on the
dairy
farms," said Msipa.
He said this had disturbed plans to put
Midlands on the map as the
best milk producer in the country and prevent a
looming milk shortage.
The meeting resolved that all new offer letters
for land in the
province should be done through the Governor's office to
avoid further
confusion in land redistribution.
At the same meeting,
Msipa and his committee pledged to allocate land
to members of the Zimbabwe
National Army who fought in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC)
war.
Msipa said the land would be given to the soldiers soon after about
25
multiple farm owners in the province surrendered their other plots
to
the District Land Identification Committee.
"All A1 plots
surrendered should be handed back to the District Land
Identification
Committee. Consideration in the distribution of these
plots be given to
decongestion of communal areas as well as members of
the army who were in the
DRC," said Msipa.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Chinos booted out of
Gutu
By Henry Makiwa
WAR veterans' leader Joseph Chinotimba was
recently embarrassed by
retired Air Marshall Josiah Tungamirai who ordered
him out of Gutu
after he tried to harass losing Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC)
candidate Crispa Musoni.
The usually boisterous
Chinotimba was forced to eat the humble pie a
fortnight ago by Tungamirai,
the newly-elected Member of Parliament
for Gutu North, who ejected him out of
his campaign team after
complaints that the bearded ex-combatant was
harassing Musoni's staff.
Chinotimba raised Tungamirai's ire when he
stormed Zouma, a cafe owned
by Musoni, accompanied by six other Zanu PF
heavies and began to tear
down MDC campaign posters in the shop.
The
group threatened to beat up Musoni's staff. The MDC candidate, who
is
reportedly related to Tungamirai, appealed to the former Airforce
chief who
ordered Chinotimba out of Gutu.
Tungamirai yesterday confirmed to The
Standard that he had reproached
Chinotimba for his violent behaviour and the
threat to Musoni's staff.
"The likes of Chinotimba are still young men
... Vachine ropa
reviolence (their blood boils for violence)," Tungamirai
told The
Standard in a telephone interview yesterday.
"I just cooled
him off and told him to return to Harare where they
employ violence in their
campaigns. Here in Gutu we are mature and
seasoned politicians," said
Tungamirai, a former guerilla leader in
President Robert Mugabe's
pre-independence Zanla forces.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Up the
Limpopo
"NOES" certainly had it the night we visited Limpopo Restaurant
at the
airport. First negatives expressed were by myself and
Meryl
Streep-lookalike, Turia McOran-Campbell about the
extraordinary
architecture of our deserted, so-called international,
airport.
"Siess, No!" escaped my lips as I stared in wonder at its
remarkably
vulgar excrescences.
"No passengers!" followed, walking
along eerily echoing empty marble
halls, watched by blinking neon signs above
closed (mostly empty)
shops.
"No flights, worth mentioning": after
checking electronic
departure/arrival board.
I've only occasionally,
and at breakneck speed, hurried through the
new building but Turia, a blonde
estate agent/art dealer, has recently
flown South fairly frequently; she's
had more time to stand and stare
at this costly white elephant.
More
negative snorts that, at 7.56PM, the 8:00PM Jo'burg flight we
were to meet
had "landed" electronic indicator announced. No
indication had it touched
down two seconds, two minutes, two hours
ago. (Anything's possible with
AirZim.) And, of course, with new
set-up you have no glimpse of the apron.
(Hear even air-traffic
controllers can't actually see anything other than on
radar!)
No sign of my daughter's in-laws (uplifting the youngsters.) No
hint
of anyone in authority to say what had happened to the Jo'burg
flight.
Up to bar/restaurant: found someone who "guessed" the plane had
been
in no more than a minute or so: no bags on carousel. Relief:
chilled
articles of a moderately intoxicating nature ordered. Served
seconds
before my 22-year-old daughter hove into sight; she and husband
were
alabaster pale.
Under 20 passengers on the flight. After swiftly
clearing formalities,
Adele and I had a flurry of "chuggles" (hugs/cuddles.)
Shook hands
with son-in-law, Mark Vincent, and his folks, who whipped them
off for
a good night's kip, after travelling 28 hours from near Oxford
to
Ha-ha-ha-rare (fun capital of southern Africa.)
One customer in the
sprawling, perhaps 200-seater, restaurant; one
more flight due (also from
JHB, 50 minutes later: about 15 pax.)
Flight out to Cairo cancelled. Two
menus appeared. I spurned one: "We
don't eat breakfast at 8 o'clock at night,
tatenda."
"No," said the waiter, we mentally renamed Norman, in the
absence of
his name plate badge. "There's light meals there...like fish
and
chips."
The one other diner gingerly approached our table. "Excuse
me," he
whispered clutching what looked suspiciously like an autograph
book.
"Are you Meryl Steep?"
"Certainly not" I protested at this crass
impertinence. "I'm Eugene
Terblanche!"
Turia fancied fish; tickled to
see under "From the Sea": pan
fried/grilled bream ala (sic) Zambezi $29 500;
grilled trout $34 500.
What's the difference between these and "fish and
chips" $18 500 on
the mini-menu? we asked Norman. "No fish tonight." he told
us, to our
amazement. "But you just suggested fish and chips," I complained.
An
eloquent shrug said it all.
"Do you have wine?" I
asked.
"Yes" he told us...and disappeared. On reappearing, with
aluminium
gravy boat of tomato sauce of improbable hue, I asked for wine
list.
"Yes, wine," he repeated, one of very few affirmatives all
night.
"White? red? dry?, sweet? fortified? local? imported?" I
demanded.
"Wine!" he said firmly, producing a "split" (two-glass bottle)
of
Meadows Chenin-Blanc, not quite as chilled as it should be;
"tulip"
glass not quite as clean as it could be, leaving it to Turia to
open
and pour herself. I took over. Norman's horrified glance said
he
realised any chance of our tip buying him a duplex in Borrowdale
was
rapidly diminishing.
Back to menus. On asking what "pork chop
zingara" was, we heard a long
mouthwatering description of a rich
ham-and-cream sauce which I'd
(wrongly) assumed would contain ginger. "Right,
sport, two of those!"
Several salivating minutes later: no zingara sauce
...no pork chops,
either.
"Fancy a starter?" I asked, on the point of
gnawing rather grubby
table cloth or tissue napkins. No mushroom soup ($14
500), no chicken
soup, no deep-fried mushrooms ($19 000).
"Does that
mean chicken breasts "ala fungi" are also 'off'?" I asked.
Norman concurred.
Whoopee, another "yes". No fish cocktail ($18 000);
no Greek, green or
chicken salads ($6 900-$9 200).
A twinge of gout previous day said red
meat wasn't a good idea, but we
were exhausting options. "T-bone steak,
medium-to-well-done, please."
"No steaks!" was the retort. Couldn't tell
if he was embarrassed about
the empty larder or secretly, triumphantly,
basking in our
discomfiture! A passing superior thought they had fillet ($29
500);
pepper, T-bone and sirloin definitely "off".
"Bit warm for it,
but they must, surely, have daily special: haricot
braised oxtail?" ($23 000)
Turia, mused hopefully. "No oxtail,
tonight!" Positively-Negative Norman
trumped her overheard rhetorical
question ecstatically.
They had
chicken Kiev. It swam in more garlic butter than the Ukraine
produced either
of in its last Soviet-era Five-Year Plan, but tasted
good at $28 200. My
steak also tasted fine (without a $2 300 extra
sauce two out of three "off".)
It looked, however, like no fillet seen
previously. Having just fed household
pets, it would be unkind to
dogs' breakfasts to say the ragged meat looked
like that much maligned
dish. If I were the butcher, buyer, chef or Norman,
I'd be ashamed to
cut, sell, purchase, cook, present or serve such a thin
bedraggled
untypical lump of nyama. Fillet steak? I've seen more handsome
dollops
of soup meat.
Chips were fine, generously portioned.
Vegetables were stir-fried in
oil long past its best, in far too much of the
stuff, not up to
temperature. Disgusting greasy- tasting mess. Rolls and
butter were
good! Vinegar came in little plastic sachets. Wasn't sure of
the
etiquette...did I tear the corner off one with my teeth and hand
it,
opened, to my companion, or splash the stuff on her chips, or did
we
rip our own packets to bits? Letter to The Spectator's "Dear
Mary"
column?
Norman, now doing a passable impersonation of Uriah
Heep, sidled up
mid-chew, not half-way through our main (and only) course
saying they
were closing (9.20PM) could I pay? Body language told him I
thoroughly
objected to leaving the steak I'd waited ages for.
Embarrassment
turned to horror when I produced cheques and sundry credit
cards.
"Who's it payable to... CaterCraft?"
"Don't think we accept
cheques these days."
"Well, shamwari, we've a problem, then, because I
haven't enough loot
for what we've had and to get my car out of your usurious
car-park." A
cheque on either of my long-established banks proved acceptable,
he
discovered with obvious relief.
We never learnt if puddings ($11
500 - $13 800) were available, but
fully expected No! Two punters left; an
impatient visible staff of 10+
clearly wanted to go. A pastry fell out of
cardboard tray carried
towards cold room, snatched up and replaced among
other delicacies!
"If we don't want to get locked in, we'd better
voetsek," I whispered.
We left the zillion dollar plus Harare International
Airport at 9.38PM
as empty as Great Zimbabwe at midnight, fondly recalling
the "old"
restaurant in the "old" airport; paid a president's ransom to
recover
my wheels. Bedraggled street adult appeared out of bush, armed
with
mallet and rock, at Dieppe Road robots. He peered into my estate
car
rear window, leaving in unhurried disgust, spotting nothing
worth
stealing. Oh what fun dining out can be.
ABF in Billy
Fudpucker's. Guy farming in Mozambique, asked: "Hey,
Dusty, is that chick
with you Meryl Streep?"
"Sure!" I told him. "Straight from Hollywood, via
the airport. Wanna
autograph?"
Food cost $57 700; drinks (already
taxed at source): two lagers, local
spirit and mixer, wine split: $21 043 48
and then (mistakenly I'm
sure) hit another $3 156 52 VAT). Menus state meal
prices rounded-up
(really? totally surprised!) and include VAT. Neither of us
could make
any sense of the bill and, as I'd left specs at home, I
couldn't
decipher fine, faint print until next day.
Bottom line (good
job we've both a sense of humour) for two people:
$81 900: single course,
largely indifferent food, poorly presented,
dreadful service, no ambience,
drinks dear, parking outrageously
over-priced.
NO we won't be in a
hurry to repeat the experience.
Half-a-star, early February
2004.
Limpopo Restaurant, Harare International Airport. Open 06:30
probably
until your seventh mouthful of supper, daily. Tel 575157-9.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Trust formed to help
victims of atrocities
By our own Staff
BULAWAYO An organisation
called the Post Independence Survivors' Trust
(PIST) has been formed in
Matabeleland to assist survivors of the
"Gukurahundi" atrocities and to
campaign to have perpetrators of the
heinous crimes during Zimbabwe's 1980s
civil war brought to book.
The new organisation will be launched in
Bulawayo this week at a
function expected to attract traditional leaders,
churches, local
politicians, academics and civic society representatives, as
well as
survivors of the brutal military campaign against supporters of
a
dissident group then allegedly loyal to the late Vice President
Joshua
Nkomo.
The Zimbabwean government in 1983 launched a military
campaign in the
Matabeleland and Midlands provinces to flush out a group
of
dissidents, reported to number less than 100, whom it accused of
trying
to violently overthrow the then young government of President
Robert
Mugabe.
Thousands of civilians, estimated to be more than 20 000, are
said to
have been killed during the brutal campaign code Ðnamed
"Gukurahundi"
(Shona description of early rains that sweeps away all the
dust) and
spearheaded by a special Korean trained military unit then known
as
the "5th Brigade".
PIST founding members say they have already
submitted an application
to police for clearance to conduct the official
launch of the
organisation, in accordance with the Public Order and Security
Act.
PIST Executive Director, Felix Mafa, told The Standard that they
would
seek to assist the post independence "survivors of the genocide in
all
manner possible by seeking reparation, compensation, redress
and
financial restitution from the perpetrators".
"As I speak right
now, we know all the perpetrators of the 1983-86
genocide and they have to
pay for their wrongdoings," said Mafa.
The organization would be involved
in counselling the survivors,
victims and the relatives of the deceased, said
Mafa.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Equipment failure puts Mat
cancer patients in danger
By Wilson Dakwa
BULAWAYO A considerable
number of cancer patients, many of them
children, have died in the southern
provinces of Matabeleland, the
Midlands and Masvingo, after they stopped
receiving treatment for the
disease following the breakdown of the only
cancer treatment machine
at Mpilo Central Hospital, a year ago.
The
linear accelerator machine, which is used to administer
radiotherapy to
cancer patients, has been broken down since March last
year and this has
affected the treatment regimes of more than 4 000
people suffering from the
disease.
The situation is so grave that health authorities at Mpilo fear
that
more deaths will be recorded unless funds are sourced urgently
from
the government and donor agencies to repair the machine.
At least
$237 million dollars is needed to repair the machine while
$339 million is
required for a completely new one.
James Chinyanga, the Chief
Radiographer at Mpilo Radio Therapy Centre,
told The Standard that the only
other available radiotherapy centre
was located at Parirenyatwa Hospital in
Harare.
The centre was however inaccessible to patients from the
three
provinces because most of them were too poor to afford the high
cost
of transport and accommodation to travel to the capital.
"As a
result, some have given up and are now suffering at home. Quite
a
considerable number have died and we are worried that if the
situation is not
rectified immediately, more deaths will occur,
especially among children,"
said Chinyanga.
The department has also run out of drugs for
administering the
chemotherapy needed to treat certain cancers and as a
result, patients
are being asked to buy their own drugs, which is proving
difficult as
a full course of treatment costs about $3
million.
Chinyanga said the centre had now stopped treating some diseases
such
as cancer of the cervix, kaposi sarcoma a cancer of the skin
breast
cancer and HIV-related cancers. Also affected are those suffering
from
cancers of the lung, throat, brain, colon and rectum.
The radio
therapy department has also been seriously depleted by a
critical shortage of
staff after most of its radiographers left for
greener pastures. Only one
radiographer is left out of a staff of 15
and currently, there is only one
physicist instead of three.
The nearby Department of Nuclear Medicine has
also not been spared as
its main machine, the simulator used for the
diagnosis of cancer has
also been out of operation for more than a
year.
"The situation here is so bad that any help from any quarters be
it
government or private sector, would be greatly appreciated to help
save
the lives of our patients. We are hopeful that someone will
appreciate our
plight and come to our rescue," Chinyanga said.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Respect the opposition,
says Lesotho minister
By our own Staff
BULAWAYO: Visiting Lesotho
Minister of Justice, Human Rights, Law and
Constitutional Affairs, Moses
Masimine, says opposition political
parties should be treated with respect
since they are governments in
waiting.
The Lesotho minister's remarks
come at a time when the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
leader Morgan Tsvangirai is
facing treason charges for allegedly plotting to
assassinate President
Robert Mugabe.
"Any government worth its salt
should give full respect to the
opposition because they help by offering
constructive criticism for
nation building," said Masimine.
"African
governments, including Zimbabwe, should have full respect to
the opposition
because they are the governments in waiting," he added.
The Lesotho
minister was speaking at a Press conference hosted by the
Southern Africa
Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD) at a hotel in
Bulawayo on
Friday.
He said when opposition political parties made constructive
criticism
compounded with their enthusiasm for nation building; they should
be
treated with respect.
Masimine said his tiny mountain kingdom had
more than 10 political
parties which were recognised by the government for
their positive
contribution towards nation building.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Labour shortage threatens
production by new farmers
By Caiphas Chimhete
THE current labour
shortage on Zimbabwe's commercial farms, largely
attributed to the
depressingly low wages offered by resettled farmers,
is exacerbating an
already precarious food situation facing the
country, experts have warned.
They said if the situation is not
urgently addressed, Zimbabwe which is
already suffering a huge grain
deficit could face a serious food crisis this
year.
Presently, most farm workers have withdrawn their labour from
the
newly resettled farmers citing far below the stipulated minimum
wages
they are being paid.
The General Agriculture and Plantation
Workers' Union of Zimbabwe
(GAPWUZ), a body that represents the interests of
farm workers, last
week confirmed that most farm workers had left the newly
resettled
farmers, a development that affects the country's food
security
situation.
"Most workers are reluctant to work for the new
farmers because they
do not pay well and this has a bearing on the country's
food security
situation," said GAPWUZ secretary general, Getrude
Hambira.
Hambira said the majority of the newly resettled farmers pay
their
workers wages well below the stipulated minimum of $38 300 a
month.
"While there are a few individuals who pay well, the majority of
the
new farmers pay $15 000 and $20 000 per month, which is nothing
under
the current economic hardships," said Hambira.
Crops such as
beans and maize, which require weeding, have been
seriously affected by the
labour shortage on many farms. Most of the
new farmers, on the other hand,
cannot afford herbicides or machinery
to replace human labour.
Acting
director of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers' Union (ZCFU),
Cleopas Mandebvu,
confirmed that Zimbabwe had a critical shortage of
labour on the farms but
played down the repercussions on national food
security.
He said other
than relying on human labour, the new farmers should buy
machinery with loans
from Agribank to boost their production. Agribank
recently received billions
of dollars from the government for
on-lending to new farmers without, or with
little, collateral
security.
Mandebvu said apart from low wages
offered by the new farmers, the
farm workers now preferred to venture into
gold panning, which they
find more lucrative.
"It true most new
farmers cannot match the stipulated wages but the
farm workers have also been
lured from the farms by attractive returns
from gold panning,' said
Mandebvu.
The situation is worsened by the fact that the overall cropping
area
of maize has declined due to the shortage of inputs such as seeds
and
fertilisers.
According to a recent assessment by the Agriculture
Rural Extension
Services (AREX), the maize cropping areas for 2003/2004 are
projected
at 1,1 to 1,2 million hectares.
This is slightly below last
year's cropping area and a reduction of
about 10 percent from the 1995 to
2001 average of 1,3 million
hectares.
The estimated production levels
of maize represent between 30 and 50
percent of the annual requirement of 1,8
million metric tonnes (MT).
But agricultural experts said Zimbabwe would
not attain the projected
maize output due to the shortage of farm labour and
a host of other
problems, including the scarcity of seed and
fertilisers.
As a result of the shortage of labour, many new farmers are
using
child labour. In most farms, children have dropped from school
to
provide cheap labour to the new farmers. Some of the children work
on
the farms early in the morning before lessons start and after
school.
The government last week accused non-governmental organisations
(NGOs)
of luring farm workers away from their employment by providing
them
with food, thereby sabotaging the country's production
capacity.
Despite the fact that the new farmers are reluctant to pay
the
gazetted minimum wage, GAPWUZ is currently negotiating with
the
farmers to have the minimum wage raised from the current $38 300
per
month.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Mugabe's new look Cabinet:
'shifting books on a bookshelf'
By Kumbirai Mafunda
ECONOMIC
analysts have dismissed President Robert Mugabe's reshuffled
Cabinet as a
"non-event" and say the new look team would not address
Zimbabwe's myriad of
problems.
The analysts said the 80-year-old President had only "shifted
the
books around the bookshelf" as nearly every player in the line-up
had
worn the helmet before.
Mugabe only dropped Mines Minister Edward
Chindori-Chininga thereby
according to experts once again missing the
opportunity to prune the
ranks of dead wood among his ministers.
The
new Cabinet, which was sworn in on Tuesday, had only two major
surprises: the
addition of forgotten old-war horse Didymus Mutasa and
of failed banker David
Chapfika at key ministries to tackle corruption
and restore confidence in
Mugabe's economic policy.
Mutasa bounced back as Minister of Special
Affairs in the President's
Office in charge of the Anti-Corruption and the
Anti-Monopolies
Programme, while Chapfika landed the deputy finance and
economic
development post.
Experts said Mugabe had once again
displayed his disdain over calls to
arrest runaway government expenditure by
bloating his Cabinet with new
posts and effectively creating new executives
posts downstream.
The experts pointed out that the major cause of
Zimbabwe's
hyperinflation was the government's need to service its huge
domestic
bill that is created by the need to maintain an excessively
large
public service.
"It is a reward system for individuals at the
expense of the masses,"
said an economist who declined to be
named.
Instead of following former Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa's
advice
to reduce recurrent expenditure by targetting government
spending,
Mugabe appointed an enlarged Cabinet that swelled the number of
full
ministers to 28, up from 25.
New ministries include Mutasa's,
Elliot Manyika's non-portfolio post,
John Nkomo's Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, Webster Shamu's
Ministry of State for Policy Implementation and
Josiah Tungamirai in
the Ministry of State for Indigenisation and
Empowerment.
"It is quite big - even the British government with its
huge
population doesn't have such portfolios," one diplomat
observed.
"As he ages, President Mugabe feels he has to reward more and
more of
his friends with ministerial positions and ministerial cars," added
an
economist.
Although other experts contended that there was an
urgent need to
fight graft, they said the creation of an Anti-Corruption
and
Anti-Monopolies Programme under one ministry was unworkable.
"You
can't combine anti-corruption and anti-monopoly because the two
concepts are
not compatible," said a leading economist.
Other critics said no amount
of "Cabinet gymnastics" would changes
things in Zimbabwe because no minister
really had the power to change
anything because Mugabe controls all the
ministries.
"The ministers run on strict orders from the President so
nobody is
allowed to do what is necessary," said John Robertson, an
independent
economic consultant.
Tendai Biti, the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change's shadow
secretary for economic affairs, said the new
Cabinet was really a
"campaign Cabinet" for the governing Zanu PF
party.
"Logically, they had to trim the Budget but the expanded Cabinet
is
totally irresponsive of the financial consequences of a
bloated
Cabinet," said Biti.
"There is no change. It is only a
recycled Cabinet," said ZCTU
economist Tendai Makwavarara, who added that
Mugabe's last Cabinet,
which he dubbed "the war Cabinet", only managed to
seize more farms
than sorting the country's multifaceted economic
crisis.
"Unless we demonstrate that there is genuine democracy, we are
not
going to get economic and development aid," said
Bulawayo-based
economic commentator Erich Bloch.
The Standard (Zimbabwe), 15 February 2004
Harare rated the worst
city
By our own Staff
HARARE has been branded among the worst
cities for expatriates to
reside in the world, authenticating Zimbabwe's
accelerated slide into
disaster, according to the latest Economist
Intelligence Unit's
hardship survey.
The hardship survey, released a
fortnight ago by the world's leading
provider of country intelligence, states
that Harare suffered the
greatest actual drop in living standards because of
"ongoing unrest".
Out of the 130 ranked cities, Harare is at number 113
which is a
plunge down eight places from its 106 position recorded during
the
last survey carried out in December 2002.
At 113, Harare ranks
jointly with Iran's Teheran, Bogota, Colombo and
Vietnam's two cities, Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh.
The EIU describes the situation in Africa and the Middle
East as a bad
and "worsening".
Overall, the African average for
hardship rose by 1,1 percent to 46,2
percent since the last survey was
conducted, whose average was 45,1
percent.
"Hardship scores in Africa
and the Middle East have increased by just
over 1% since the 2002 survey.
This is partly because the situation in
Zimbabwe has continued to worsen
under President Robert Mugabe and
partly because the situation in Iraq has
had a negative impact on
surrounding countries like Kuwait," says the
EIU.
In Africa, only South Africa's capital city Pretoria scored well.
It
was ranked at number 80 and followed by Casablanca (Morocco) and
Africa
Cup of Nations' host, Tunis, jointly at 95.
Political and religious
violence, combined with under-developed
infrastructure and inconsistency in
the availability of goods, place
both Algiers at 125 and Lagos at 127 in the
classification of cities
entailing serious hardship .
Other African
cities to rank dismally include Gabon's capital,
Libreville at 111,
Cameroon's Doula ranked 112, Dakar rated 122 and
Nairobi at
119.
Austria's Vienna joined Melbourne (Australia) and Vancouver
(Canada)
at the top as the easiest cities in the world for expatriates to
live
in.
As in the previous survey, Port Moresby the capital of Papua
New
Guinea is branded the worst place to live at position 130.
Port
Moresby, according to the EIU, is a dangerous place because of
lack of
security, corruption and high humidity.
ZIMBABWE: "No tighter EU sanctions"
JOHANNESBURG, 16 Feb 2004 (IRIN) -
Sanctions imposed by the European Union
(EU) against the Zimbabwean
government look set to be renewed this week, but
are not expected to be
significantly tightened, a European parliamentarian
said on Monday.
"I
am disappointed," said Geoffrey Van Orden, the British Conservative
party
spokesperson on human rights in the European parliament.
The EU
sanctions, implemented two years ago but due to expire on 20
February,
included a travel ban on President Robert Mugabe and other leading
officials,
froze their assets in Europe and banned the sale of military
equipment by EU
members to Zimbabwe.
Van Orden, who has been lobbying for "tougher
sanctions" and widening their
scope to include businesses, moved a resolution
in the European parliament
to that affect last month.
Van Orden said:
"The only change expected is the inclusion of 90 names - 10
more than those
contained in the previous list - of Zimbabweans facing
sanctions. The list
will be updated to include the new Zimbabwean cabinet
ministers and all the
regional governors. The previous list contained the
names of only some of the
governors."
EU is expected to renew the sanctions by the end of the
week.
Hindustan Times
Zimbabwe arrests nine cricketers for 'dancing
nude in rain'
Agence France-Presse
Harare, February
17
Zimbabwean police arrested nine white Zimbabwean and
Botswanian
cricketers at the weekend for dancing nude in the rain in the
middle of the
cricket grounds in the northwestern town of Hwange, police said
on Monday.
Inspector Andrew Phiri said the nine were arrested for
crimen injuria
(offensive behaviour) for indecently exposing themselves
during traditional
annual anniversary celebrations of the formation of the
Wankie Cricket Club.
The club was set up five years ago on
Valentine's Day. The cricketers
allegedly took off their clothes after a
stoppage due to rain then rushed to
the ground and danced in full view of all
cricket fans.
"Nine cricketers were arrested. They are being
charged with crimen
injuria. I think they will appear in court tomorrow
(Tuesday)," Phiri told
AFP.
"They were playing cricket,
following the normal cricket rules and
when it started raining all the
officials and players left the ground.
"All of sudden these nine
undressed, rushed back to the centre of the
ground and started dancing around
naked ... nude, nude.
"They showed their private parts to all the
people in the ground ...
And to some it was offensive," said Phiri, adding
that it was not yet clear
why the men had danced naked.
He said
some spectators took photographs, police were informed and
followed up with
arrests.
Demanding Cash Up Front Illegal: State
The Herald (Harare)
February 14, 2004
Posted to the web February 16,
2004
Harare
THE Government has evoked provisions of the Medical
Services Act that
prohibits health care providers from demanding cash up
front from patients
on medical aid.
Under the Medical Services
(Medical Aid Societies) Amendment Regulations
that were gazetted yesterday,
no health care provider shall refuse to
provide service to any person who
produces a valid medical aid card.
This follows an impasse between the
Zimbabwe Medical Aid Society (Zima) and
the National Association of Medical
Aid Societies (Namas) over consultation
fees to be charged by private
doctors.
The impasse, which has been in existence since last month, has
resulted in
medical doctors unilaterally increasing consultation fees from $8
000 to $46
500, while specialists doctors are demanding as much as $115
000.
The doctors are also refusing to accept medical aid cards and
instead demand
cash up front from patients.
According to the new
regulations, the consultation fee to be paid to the
medical doctors shall be
the amount agreed between Namas and Zima.
In the absence of an agreement
between the two parties, the consultation fee
shall be specified by the
Minister of Health and Child Welfare in a
Government Gazette.
No
health care provider shall demand consultation fee or deposit from
patients
with valid medical aid cards, while medical aid societies are
required to
reimburse medical doctors for their services within the maximum
settlement
period.
Medical aid societies and health care providers that fail to
adhere to these
regulations will be prosecuted.
The impasse between
Zima and Namas has led to the suffering of patients who
have to pay double,
initially to their medical aid societies and then
private doctors who do not
accept medical aid cards.
The Minister of Health and Child Welfare,
Dr David Parirenyatwa recently
issued an ultimatum to the two parties to
reach an agreement as soon as
possible, failure of which, he said the
Government would evoke provisions of
the Medical Services Act. Private
doctors resorted to demanding cash up
front alleging that some medical aid
societies were taking time to reimburse
them.
The impasse between
Namas and Zima had however, resulted in a decrease in
business as an
increasing number of patients were now visiting council
clinics for
treatment.