-
MF: Follow-up so far - Keith Clubb - MF: Reply and Tunnel Vision -
Canaan - Re: New Mf-Imtco Tractors And Arda Estates - Financially Bankrupt
but Morally
Not
LETTER
1: MF: FOLLOW-UP SO FAR, received 16.2.2005
by Keith Clubb
Dear
JAG
Regrettably, I have had no response from Mr Wright regarding his
quoted comments. The next step has been to bring his comments to the
attention of the ethics committee of Agco which is the holding company of
Massey Ferguson. A copy of my submission is set out below - a copy has also
been sent to the Chairman of the Massey Ferguson Dealers Association which
is currently meeting in South Africa At the same time, I will raise the
matter with the editors of the farming publications in South Africa. If
anybody wants to help, do drop me a line.
Keith Clubb
-----
Original Message -----
From: Diana Clubb To: ethics@agcocorp.com Cc: egtrac@cybertrade.co.za Sent:
Wednesday, February 16, 2005 9:32 AM Subject: Fw: Public Statement by a
Massey Ferguson Employee
Dear Sir/Madame
1. I farm in South Africa
and Zambia and I have been a Massey Ferguson owner for thirty
years.
2. On January 25 2005, Mr Nick Wright who is Sales Director -
Africa for Massey Ferguson made the following statement which was published
in the Zimbabwe media following his meeting with the Minister of Agriculture
of Zimbabwe :
"Our discussions have been extremely fruitful and the
Minister has put across a strong case. We can safely say that Zimbabwe's
agriculture is in safe hands".
3. Since 2'000, over 4'000 out of a
total of 4'500 commercial Zimbabwe farmers have been thrown off their farms
without compensation. Their tractors and equipment have been stolen; their
crops have been grabbed without payment; they and their wives and children
have been harassed and often beaten, sometimes raped and sixteen of them have
now been murdered by President Mugabe's terrorists masquerading as war
veterans. These terrorists were under the direct direction of Zimbabwe's
Minister of Agriculture in the implementation of his Governments so-called
land reform programme and who was responsible for the subsequent reallocation
of these stolen farms to himself, his fellow cabinet members and
Politicos.
4. As a clear and intentional result of the actions taken by
the Minister of Agriculture and his fellow cabinet members, the agricultural
sector lies in ruins. Agricultural production has been reduced to less than
20% of its 2000 levels and Zimbabwe has gone from one of the most highly
mechanised countries in Africa to the present situation where a working
tractor or combine is a rarity. So there is a significant potential market
for Massey Ferguson equipment. But the underlying problem remains political:
all this has happened to keep an old African dictator in power until he dies.
As a separate issue, democracy in Zimbabwe has been eliminated and you will
be aware that the Secretary of State for the United States of America
has included Zimbabwe in her 'axis of evil' listing and declaring it
"an outpost of tyrrany".
5. I cannot describe to you how offensive,
insulting and just plain wrong Mr Wright's description "We can safely say
that Zimbabwe's agriculture is in safe hands" has been to those of us who
have witnessed the creation of the disaster that is now Zimbabwe. I
appreciate that the job of Massey Ferguson is to help feed people. I am
equally sure that the job of Massey Ferguson is not to lend moral public
support to racist dictators, murderers and thieves who have created famine in
their own country, just because these people might buy a few
tractors.
6. I wish to register a formal complaint with your committee
that the comments of your Sales Director - Africa for Massey Ferguson are
factually wrong; totally inappropriate and contravene your corporate
governance policy - particularly your standards of ethical behaviour and
appropriate business conduct. I would appreciate seeing your public
commitment to doing the right things for the right reasons.
7.I
therefore request that a public retraction of Mr Wright's statement should be
published by Massey Ferguson and that Mr Wright should be instructed by Agco
to be more careful and thoughtful in future. I am prepared to accept that Mr
Wright made an error of judgement. I am not prepared to accept that his error
of judgement is condoned by Agco.
Yours Faithfully
Keith
Clubb
cc
The Chairman, Massey Ferguson Dealers Association, South
Africa The Chairman, Justice for Agriculture,
Zimbabwe
LETTER
2: RE: MF REPLY and TUNNEL VISION, received 16.2.2005
by
Canaan
Dear JAG,
I see that the response from Massey Ferguson's
Chief executive has annoyed a few. Not unexpected, given the tunnel vision.
The best solution is take this response into consideration when buying
machinery in the future. Notwithstanding that, I suggest that a campaign is
launched to STOP BUYING MASSEY FERGUSON in the SADC region. I'm quite sure
that other machinery companies will jump for joy and support this initiative
by providing incentives. Whether Massey Ferguson likes it or not, the big
agricultural developments currently underway across Africa are being driven
largely by our Zimbabwean disaffected compatriots. I say, that unless Massey
Ferguson publicly repudiates what has been quoted in the newspapers, they can
go to hell !!
One more thing. a "Don't Buy Massey Ferguson" campaign
could surely be extended across the globe. Farmer organisations in countries
like Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK (to mention a few) are in
touch with what has happened to our farming community. They are aware of this
massive land theft and are sympathetic to our plight. It is something that
must never be underestimated or overlooked. They know that if you lose
your farm, you lose your home, your business and your life-long dreams.
They also know that the land was legally acquired by our farmers and it
was illegally and violently stolen by this rogue detestable regime. I have
no doubt that farmers across the globe will actively rally to any call
made, as a matter of principle.
This issue is not going to go away
unless Massey Ferguson do the right thing.
Massey Ferguson, if you
have ears, I suggest you listen. It is in your shareholders' interests to do
so.
LETTER
3: RE: NEW MF-IMTCO TRACTORS AND ARDA ESTATES, received 16.2.2005
by
Financially Bankrupt but Morally Not
Dear JAG
Is Massey Ferguson
just supporting Zimbabwe's Land Reform Programme or is it also indirectly
supporting ZANU PF's 2005 election campaign?
At least one of the many
ARDA estates throughout the country received a consignment of approximately
20 brand spanking new IMTCO (the Iranian manufactured MF) tractors at the
start of the 2004/2005 summer cropping season. these same tractors have been
hard at work since their arrival and, judging by the lack of summer crops on
the ARDA estate, one would assume that the main workload has been carried out
on the neighoburing A2 privately "owned" farming land.
Reliable souces
have it that such landprep is being done at give-away prices and certainly
well below currently recognized landprep charges.
The continued
generosity of ARDA is astounding!
Financially Bankrupt but Morally
not.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE
JAG TEAM
JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 205 374 If you are in trouble or
need advice, please don't hesitate to
contact us - we're here to help! +263
(04) 799 410 Office Lines
AU backs report on Zim abuse News 24, 16/02/2005 22:24 - (SA)
Addis
Ababa - The African Union has endorsed a report that concludes political
violence, arbitrary arrests and police torture occurred in the run up to the
2002 Zimbabwe presidential elections, the union's spokesperson said on
Wednesday. The comments come as Zimbabwe's main opposition movement and
foreign observers accuse the Zimbabwean government of using similar tactics
in the run-up to parliamentary elections scheduled next month. The report
- compiled by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights during a
fact-finding mission in 2002 - marks a departure from the traditional code
of silence once maintained by African leaders on abuses by their
peers. The African Union will publish the report, spokesperson Adam Thiam
said without saying when. The report's ratification had been delayed at
an AU summit in Ethiopia in July 2004 to give the government of Zimbabwe's
President Robert Mugabe time to respond. Diplomats said Zimbabwe's
reaction was to be added. The report was endorsed in December. Calls by
The Associated Press to Zimbabwe's AU envoy went unanswered on
Wednesday. "There was enough evidence placed before the mission to
suggest that, at the very least during the period under review, human rights
violations occurred in Zimbabwe," according to a summary of the original
report obtained by The Associated Press. "The mission was presented with
testimony from witnesses who were victims of political violence and others
victims of torture while in police custody." "There was evidence that the
system of arbitrary arrests took place," according to the summary. "The
mission is prepared and able to rule that the government cannot wash its
hands from responsibility for all these happenings." Mugabe narrowly won in
2002 over Movement for Democratic Change candidate Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Group attacks Zimbabwe for failing to open up public
media Thur 17 February 2005
HARARE - The Media Monitoring
Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), a local non-governmental organisation that
fights for media freedom, says Zimbabwe has failed to open up public media
to all political parties in line with regional requirements governing the
running of elections.
In a report titled, Media and the 2005
parliamentary election, the MMPZ criticises the public media's election
coverage in the run-up to next month's election saying it is still heavily
tilted in favour of the ruling ZANU PF party and government.
The coverage flouts Southern African Development Community (SADC)
regulations agreed by the regional bloc last August, says the media
group.
"Clearly, even by mid-February, conditions for fair and
equitable access to the state media by all political parties still do not
exist . . . these media organisations (state-controlled) continue to favour
the ruling party while suppressing the activities of the main
political opposition.
"Neither the ESC (Electoral Supervisory
Commission) nor the ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) have set minimum
standards for direct access and mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing
these standards," it says.
The two electoral bodies, whose members
were appointed by Mugabe, will run the March election. The MDC says the two
electoral bodies lack sufficient clout to make independent
decisions.
MMPZ said there are no legal instruments in place to
ensure balanced coverage of political parties in the run-up to the poll. It
says this state of affairs represents a clear violation of the spirit of the
SADC guidelines.
The opposition party accuses the government,
which has kept a tight grip on the media, of dragging its feet in opening up
the public media to divergent voices in line with the SADC
demands.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, the country's sole
broadcasting station, has refused to flight adverts from the MDC saying they
were "too confrontational."
Information Minister Jonathan Moyo
last year said the government would not open up the media to the MDC as it
was not a "loyal opposition".
The government accuses the main
opposition MDC party of being a front for whites out to reverse the gains of
the liberation struggle. - ZimOnline
Supreme Court to hear postal votes challenge Thur 17
February 2005
HARARE - The Supreme Court will next week hear an
urgent application by some Zimbabweans living outside the country seeking
the court to overturn a decision by the government not to allow postal votes
in next month's election.
The eight foreign-based Zimbabweans
want exiled citizens to be declared eligible voters and the government
ordered to put in place mechanisms to enable them to register on the voters'
roll so that they can vote in the March election.
Beatrice
Mtetwa, who is representing the applicants said: "The case will be heard on
23 February. We want all voters resident outside Zimbabwe to be declared
eligible voters in all parliamentary and presidential
elections."
The eight applicants are, Jefta Madzingo, Farayi
Maruzani, Emily Madamombe, Matthew Nyashanu, Makusha Mugabe, Brian Mukuzva
and Lincoln Makotore. The Registrar General, Attorney General, Electoral
Supervisory Commission and Ministry of Justice are cited as respondents in
the case. They have already filed opposing papers with the
court.
Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa has also been quoted by
state media insisting the government will not allow the exiled Zimbabweans,
most of who are believed to back the opposition, to vote.
More
than three million Zimbabweans or about a quarter of the country's
population live in foreign countries mostly in South Africa, Britain, United
States and Botswana after fleeing home because of hunger, economic hardship
and political violence.
In their court application, the eight
exiled Zimbabweans said it was unreasonable for the government to ask
Zimbabweans in the diaspora to contribute to the country's economic revival
while at the same time refusing them the right to determine the
political direction of the country.
The government has since last
year encouraged Zimbabweans living and working abroad to send hard cash home
to help end an acute foreign currency crisis gripping the country. -
ZimOnline
Business
Reporter THE consumer basket for a low-income urban family of six has risen
marginally to $1,8 million from $1,6 million per month.
According to
a Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) survey, the monthly basket for basic
commodities for a family of six in January this year is now pegged at $1 774
686.
Notable increases were recorded in bread and meat prices, which has
forced the consumer watchdog to raise the issue with the relevant ministries
to take appropriate action against anyone found guilty of charging prices
above those gazetted by the Government.
"We have raised concern over
the price of bread. Traditional retail outlets are selling bread at the
controlled price, but tuckshops are selling above the gazetted price. Legal
action will be taken against anyone found guilty of overcharging
consumers.
"We have notified the Ministry of Industry and International
Trade, which will take appropriate action against anyone found guilty since
they have an established monitoring division," said CCZ public relations
manager Mr Tonderai Mukeredzi yesterday.
Mr Mukeredzi also said the
cost of rented accommodation had increased significantly during the period
under review, adding that some of the increases were not
justified.
CCZ last month urged Government to take a closer look at the
costing structures and pricing policies of companies, particularly public
enterprises such as Zesa Holdings, Zimpost and TelOne whose tariffs are
burning huge holes in consumers' pockets.
According to the CCZ, the
price of beef has gone up by about 250 percent in the last six months. Many
families were now left to drool at the prospect of eating meat at long
intervals as the price of beef had skyrocketed beyond the reach of many,
said the consumer watchdog.
"Beef has gone up by about 250 percent in the
last six months to December 2004. In June 2004, a kilogramme of economy beef
was costing about $10 000, but the same quantity and brand is fetching
anything above $37 000 per kilogramme. Alternatives to beef, such as pork
and chicken, are equally unaffordable," said CCZ in a statement.
CCZ
said abattoirs, butcheries and retailers attributed the spate of price
increases to a shortage of slaughter cattle and escalating ancillary costs
such as fuel, transport, postal and telephone rates, labour and
packaging.
"Whilst the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe understands butchers
and retailers resolve to operate viably, it does not see the justification
behind some of the exorbitant prices on the market.
"If the wholesale
price of economy beef is averaging $23 000 per kilogramme, what is the basis
upon which some retailers are charging as much as $35 000 per kilogramme or
more? It is our understanding that profit margins (mark-ups) should not
exceed 20 percent of the wholesale price," said CCZ.
IMF Executive Board Considers the
Complaint Regarding Zimbabwe's Compulsory Withdrawal from the IMF The
Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reviewed
Zimbabwe's overdue financial obligations to the Fund and considered the
Managing Director's complaint regarding Zimbabwe's compulsory withdrawal
from the IMF (see Press Release No. 03/210). Recognizing the severity of the
decision at hand, the increases in payments from Zimbabwe since the last
review in July 2004, and some improvement in economic policies, the
Executive Board decided to postpone a recommendation with respect to
compulsory withdrawal, providing Zimbabwe with another chance to strengthen
its cooperation with the Fund in terms of economic policies and payments.
The Executive Board will consider again the Managing Director's complaint
regarding Zimbabwe's compulsory withdrawal from the Fund within six months
or at the time of the Executive Board's discussion of the 2005 Article IV
consultation with Zimbabwe, whichever is earlier.
The Board's
decision provides the country with an opportunity to significantly
strengthen its cooperation with the IMF, with the aim of addressing its
economic decline and resolving its overdue financial obligations, prior to
the Executive Board's next consideration of the Managing Director's
complaint.
The Executive Board noted that Zimbabwe has taken some initial
policy steps to arrest the economic decline, but concluded that these
efforts remain insufficient to decisively turn around the economic
situation. The Board called on Zimbabwe to adopt and implement a
comprehensive adjustment program as a matter of urgency, in the areas of
fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies and structural
reforms.
The Executive Board also noted Zimbabwe's payments of US$16.5
million to the IMF since the last review, which, however, fell short of
stabilizing its arrears to the IMF. The Board noted the authorities'
intention to further increase payments to the IMF from the second quarter of
2005, and urged Zimbabwe to make every effort to increase payments and
resolve its overdue financial obligations to the IMF.
Zimbabwe has
been in continuous arrears to the IMF since February 2001. As of February
15, 2005, Zimbabwe's arrears to the IMF amounted to SDR 202 million (US$306
million), or about 57 percent of its quota in the IMF. Compulsory withdrawal
is the last step in a series of escalating measures that the IMF applies to
members that fail to meet their obligations under the Articles of
Agreement.
IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT Public
Affairs: 202-623-7300 - Fax: 202-623-6278 Media Relations: 202-623-7100 -
Fax: 202-623-6772
Zimbabwe Holds SADC at Arm's Length By Delia Robertson
Johannesburg 16 February 2005
The Zimbabwean government has
not issued invitations to the Southern African Development Community to
monitor whether it is complying with the Community's election guidelines.
VOA's Delia Robertson reports on the difficulties in the relationship
between Zimbabwe and its neighbors.
Southern Africa Development Community
election guidelines stipulate that invitations to monitor elections must be
issued 90 days before the election - meaning that Zimbabwe is more than 45
days late in inviting representatives from the region to monitor the
elections.
South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said
that regional representatives need to be in Zimbabwe to monitor the
elections and that it would cause concern if they were not invited. And
President Thabo Mbeki told national television that the role of regional
representatives in Zimbabwe should also involve intervention.
"I've
discussed the matter with President Mugabe, I am quite sure that the SADC
delegation can go to Zimbabwe," he said. "I think that we should send in
SADC delegation as quickly as is possible - not to go there and observe, but
to be able to intervene to help to create the situation for free and fair
elections."
The SADC protocol was adopted last year, including by
Zimbabwe, and includes provisions relating to freedom of association,
freedom to campaign and to vote, and equal access to state media such as
national broadcasters. But Chris Moroleng of the independent Institute for
Security Studies says Zimbabwe's security and media legislation continues to
severely curtail the rights of both organizations and
individuals."
"Unfortunately it seems that the Zimbabwean government has
been able to a large extent to meet the provisions of the SADC electoral
guidelines, which relate to freedom of expression, of political parties to
campaign, free access to information by all political parties. And more
importantly that the environment must allow the electorate free from let or
fear to express their will," he said.
Up to now both South Africa and
other regional neighbors have adopted an approach of quiet diplomacy toward
Zimbabwe; attempting to influence change through persuasion. Mr. Mbeki has
been at the center of this strategy - one some analysts say he adopted at
least in part because Mr. Mugabe led his country to liberation and Mr. Mbeki
believed that he could therefore be persuaded toward the greater good of his
people.
But Zimbabwean Trevor Ncube, an independent newspaper publisher
in both Zimbabwe and South Africa, says that the policy could also have been
informed by ignorance of both the ruling ZANU-PF and of the recently formed
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). He says the MDC made a
fundamental and immature error of judgment when, after its inception, it
ignored African countries in favor of western nations when seeking
international support.
"Because this crises in Zimbabwe unfortunately
is not understood by our African brothers because we have not been across to
the African brothers to explain what is taking place," he said. "The crises
in Zimbabwe has been sold by Robert Mugabe as a white, racist thing - we are
going after these white people - when it is not that. And trying to tell our
African brothers that those who are suffering in Zimbabwe are not the
whites, the people that are suffering are black Zimbabweans."
Mr.
Ncube says that in particular the MDC disregarded the important role South
Africa and its ruling party could play in helping to end the crises in
Zimbabwe. But, he says, party leader Morgan Tsvangerai's recent visits to
South Africa and other African countries are an attempt to rectify the
situation. He says ongoing contacts between Mr. Mbeki and Mr. Tsvangerai
have already had a beneficial effect.
"I think that has added another
dimension in terms of sources of information - not just relying on what
ZANU-PF is saying and what Robert Mugabe is saying, but realizing that the
Zimbabwean story has at least two sides and that the MDC does have that
other side of the story," he said. "And I suspect that emanating from that
was president Thabo Mbeki [being] much more informed as to what the
opposition's gripes and problems were all about."
Evidence of a shift
in South Africa's strategy is in a change of approach by the South African
government toward both the MDC and toward its own alliance partner, the
Congress of South African Trade Unions or COSATU in the latter's efforts to
intervene in Zimbabwe.
In the past six months, COSATU delegations have
twice been deported from Zimbabwe - mostly recently last month. Now the
congress says it will step up its campaign against the Zimbabwe government,
including using its extensive union muscle to effectively blockade that
country's borders.
The independent Institute for Security Studies' Chris
Moroleng says a COSATU-led blockage or even the threat of one, could add to
the pressure on Zimbabwe and strengthen Mr. Mbeki's hand in his talks with
Mr. Mugabe.
"It certainly could be a strategy by the ANC and the
government - as if the government and the ANC are not one and the same
thing. So in one way they are trying to maintain and open and cordial
relationship between - at a government to government level, while at a party
and alliance level they are creating space for dialogue and debate," said
Chris Moroleng.
This kind of double-handed approach to negotiations is
not new to Mr. Mbeki. He was part of the ANC negotiating team, which, while
negotiating with the former apartheid government, used mass protests to both
underpin its demands in talks and to speed up the negotiations
process.
Zimbabwe has promised it will issue the invitations, and SADC
Secretary-General Kasuka Mutukwa told VOA that even at this late date,
monitors may be helpful in ensuring next month's poll freely reflects the
will of Zimbabweans. But Mr. Moroleng and Mr. Ncube both say it might
already be too late.
SA 'scraps' Zim poll monitors 16/02/2005 23:26 -
(SA)
Waldimar Pelser
Johannesburg - South Africa feels that an
official fact-finding mission by a team of legal experts to Zimbabwe for the
parliamentary election there is "unnecessary" and should be
scrapped.
The Southern African Development Community's secretariat in
Gaborone, Botswana, received a letter on Tuesday from the department of
foreign affairs, which apparently stated that "the issue of the legal
experts' visit should not be followed up".
The team would have been
made up of South African, Lesotho and Namibian legal experts.
They
were to have been sent to Zimbabwe by the SADC's directorate of politics,
defence and security.
Earlier in the week, SADC deputy executive
secretary Albert Muchanga said the legal team was to have investigated
Zimbabwe's compliance with the SADC's regulations on democratic elections -
accepted in August in Mauritius.
"Zimbabwe invited the SADC to deploy
legal experts to see how they (Zimbabwe) have incorporated the (SADC)
regulations.
Advocate was to lead SA team
"This process will not
help only the SADC, but also other interested parties with their perception
and formulation of their decision concerning the election."
The
(South African) director-general of foreign affairs, Ayanda Ntasaluba, said
recently the team was preparing for a visit. Kgomotso Moroka, an advocate,
was to have led the South African delegation.
The government was
initially holding back its views on whether a fair and just election was
possible until after the visit.
But, on Tuesday it said the circumstances
were in place for a free election.
The legal team was to have left on
March 16. However, Zimbabwe has not issued an invitation.
SADC
spokesperson Esther Kanaimba said from Gaborone that they had received the
South African notification from Dr Jessie Duarte's office.
She is the
director for multilateral affairs in the department of foreign
affairs.
Kanaimba said she couldn't comment on the contents of the
letter.
However, it is believed the letter states that the issue was
discussed "at the highest level" in South Africa and that it was felt "it is
unnecessary to follow it up", reports Beeld.
Kanaimba said the SADC
secretariat "has no power" to send in a legal team to Zimbabwe and were now
waiting for orders from South Africa - which chairs the directorate of
politics, defence and security, reports Mandy Rossouw.
"We throw the ball
in their (South Africa's) court and they throw it back. We can't do anything
without their go-ahead," said Kanaimba.
'SADC job to organise
team'
Duarte, meanwhile, referred all questions to departmental
spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
According to Mamoepa, Foreign Affairs
Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said South Africa had asked the SADC to
organise a legal team.
"This is what they had to do. We have nothing
further to do with it," he said.
Mamoepa also added that
correspondence between the SADC and the government was confidential and he
refused to comment on the letter.
Harare - A villager in northeastern Zimbabwe was killed when
five land mines he dug up to use against marauding elephants exploded in his
arms, news reports said on Wednesday.
Christian Munetsi had planned
to use the mines to protect his corn field from elephants that roam the
remote Rushinga district, local police official Michael Munyikwa told
state-run media.
Anti-personnel and vehicle mines were strewn along
Zimbabwe's northeastern border with Mozambique during the seven-year bush
war that led to independence from Britain in 1980.
Some have since
been exposed by seasonal rains, making the area "extremely dangerous",
Munyikwa said.
Earlier this month, police reported two other people
injured by land mines in the region.
Zimbabwe's former white rulers
placed mine fields along the borders with Mozambique and Zambia in a bid to
prevent black guerrilla fighters from infiltrating their
homeland.
Attempts to clear the fields have met with little success
because of shifting soil along river banks and a shortage of money and
equipment to sweep remote areas.
Dealing With Mugabe's Zimbabwe Many concerns, but little
agreement on how to proceed Canada should use its political clout in Africa
and convince regional leaders to exert pressure on Zimbabwe to respect the
rule of law, according to human rights observers appearing before a Commons
subcommittee on Feb. 9.
At the bilateral level, Canada has limited sway
with Robert Mugabe's government, which is highly sensitive to anything it
perceives as Western interference. However, greater engagement by
continental actors could facilitate a stronger response to the political and
economic crisis in the country, according to Alex Neve, Canadian Secretary
General of Amnesty International.
A special envoy could lead the
initiative, a recommendation developed from a fact-finding mission conducted
in June,2004. This representative would be similar to the Liberal MPs
recently appointed to liaise with Haiti and Grenada. Using "shuttle
diplomacy", the goodwill ambassador could use the leverage of solid
relationships with partners in the NEPAD Secretariat, the African Union, the
Commonwealth and the South African Development Community (SADC). The
underlying idea is that some of the organizations' member countries have
greater influence on Zimbabwe's oppressive regime, such as neighbouring
South Africa, which provides a vital economic link.
"There is no sector
of society in the country that is immune or safe," said Mr. Neve, who
participated in the Zimbabwean mission. The urgency for stepped up action
comes amid reports of intensifying state-run violence in the lead-up to a
March 31 parliamentary election. Moreover, a severe food shortage and sharp
decline in quality of living standards over the past few years are causing
grave concern. The Mugabe government has received international condemnation
for its heavy handed and restrictive policies, and the country was labeled
an 'outpost of tyranny' by the United States this month.
In Ottawa,
an official at Foreign Affairs avoided such strong language, but said his
department "condemns" all Zimbabweans who use "violence and intimidation."
He said the department is particularly concerned about food shortages. "The
Zimbabwean government's own policies in this regard have considerable human
rights implications," said Perry Calderwood, director of the Eastern and
Southern Africa Division at FAC.
Appearing before the committee, Mr.
Calderwood responded to the request for Canada to exert more pressure by
saying some African nations have been clear in stating that outside help
isn't needed. "We found in various forums, such as the Human Rights
Commission and the UN, that initiatives from the West, from the northern
countries, are well-intentioned but frustrated by Africa's view that Africa
should be taking the leading role in addressing Zimbabwe's problems and
helping Zimbabwe. We have to exercise some caution in the way that we
approach it."
Mr. Calderwood said that Foreign Affairs has already
considered, and outright dismissed, the possibility of naming a special
envoy. "Our assessment is that there would not be value in it. If you look
at Zimbabwe's history over the last three or four years, and how effective
Mugabe has been in using well-intentioned initiatives and turning them on
their head. The optics of a Canadian special envoy traveling around Africa
trying to solve Africa's problems it's not clear to us that that would in
fact advance our interests," he said.
Sam Landon, first secretary and
head of aid at the Canadian Embassy in Harare, said that Canada and Zimbabwe
enjoy "cordial relations." When asked if his office keeps in regular contact
with the ruling ZANU-PF officials, he replied: "Only when we need
to."
Since the 2002 presidential elections which Canada deemed "flawed"
the federal government has cut off direct funding to the Mugabe
government. A $5.5 million development budget is dispersed to
non-governmental organizations working on the ground. However, the future of
that fund is unclear because the Mugabe government is considering new
legislation that could cut off NGO funding from abroad. "The NGO bill might
cause us some difficulties to continue on with some of the things that we
are doing," acknowledged Michel Lemelin, director general of CIDA's Africa
and Middle East Branch.
In an interview after the session, Mr. Landon
said the economic crisis is as pervasive as the political one. He says
out-of-control inflation has reversed the economic improvements being
experienced in the country just a few years ago.
It's in this context
that Canada could be doing much more, said Professor Linda Freeman, of
Carleton University's political science department. Getting ready to deploy
food aid quickly, empowering civil society, developing a refugee strategy
and intensifying human rights monitoring done by embassies are some of the
additional measures Canada should be taking, according to NGO officials who
testified.
"Any belief that additional bilateral pressure will bring
influence is illusory," said Ms. Freeman. "There is no sign the Mugabe
government has responded to pressure from close allies like South Africa,
let alone Canada, a country they regard as being part of a Western
conspiracy to bring down its government." Ms. Freeman highlighted Ghana and
Nigeria as possible African allies, and used Malawi and Zambia as examples
of nations that could spread a "democratic culture."
On the most
basic level, Canada should be in the international vanguard, calling on
Zimbabwe to create the democratic conditions for free and fair elections.
"The current government of Zimbabwe should not be able to claim a free and
fair election... when the conditions for such an election have already
rigged the outcome," said Ms. Freeman.
Canada has maintained diplomatic
relations with Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. The embassy in
Harare, led by Ambassador John Schram, represents Canada in Zimbabwe, Angola
and Botswana.
EMBATTLED Information Minister Jonathan Moyo,
one of the dominant forces in the country's body politic in the past five
years, faces a defining moment when the nomination court for the March 31
parliamentary poll sits tomorrow.
Moyo, an academic turned ZANU
PF spin-doctor who has been battling for his political survival after a
wicked twist of fate in the aftermath of a controversial meeting in his
Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North home area, has long coveted that constituency
but was precluded by the ruling party from running for it on its
ticket. The controversial 48-year-old government propagandist, who has
since been dropped from the ZANU PF supreme decision-making body - the
politburo - and central committee had his dream of standing on a ruling
party ticket in the March polls shattered by the Matabeleland North
provincial executive, which settled for a woman candidate. Moyo,
who joined President Robert Mugabe's Cabinet in July 2000 as a
non-constituency Member of Parliament, recently dropped strong hints of
standing as an independent with the most poignant being his "many tickets to
heaven" outburst targeted at ruling party chiefs. All is however to
be revealed to the anxious public when the nomination court sits at the
magistrates court at Tredgold Building in Bulawayo tomorrow.
Mtoliki Sibanda of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is currently the
legislator for Tsholotsho. It is understood that ZANU PF structures in
Tsholotsho, who have not forgiven the party for blocking Moyo's candidature
by virtually imposing a female candidate through a controversial affirmative
action policy, were against the candidature of Musa Ncube, who polled just
over 200 votes in the party's primaries. Ncube, the wife of
Bulawayo governor Cain Mathema, shrugged off flimsy challenges from four
other female parliamentary hopefuls to win the ticket to represent ZANU PF
in next month's polls. But it is understood Ncube is presently not
enjoying unified support from ZANU PF leaders and supporters in the
politically restive and volatile province of Matabeleland North. It
understood that traditional leaders and war veterans - beneficiaries of
Moyo's three-year benevolence marathon - were openly rooting for the
minister, much to the chagrin of senior ZANU PF officials from the
region. Sources close to Moyo revealed that he has been agonising over
whether to stand as an independent or, as was less likely, take the party's
decision lying down. Standing on an independent ticket will pit the
tongue-lashing minister who has publicly clashed with ZANU PF heavyweights
in Vice-President Joseph Msika, national chairman John Nkomo and information
chief Nathan Shamuyarira against the ruling party machinery. ZANU PF has a
history of dealing ruthlessly with members within its ranks who stand as
independents; a situation insiders said had presented Moyo with his present
political dilemma. According to the ZANU PF standing rules, any
member who stands as an independent candidate in any election is
automatically dismissed from the party. In the past, political
firebrands such as Margaret Dongo, Dzikamai Mavhaire, Lazarus Nzarayebani,
Moses Mvenge and Richard Shambambeva-Nyandoro have run afoul of the party
after standing as independents. ZANU PF sitting MPs dislodged from
their positions in the January primaries had initially looked set to stand
as independents but chickened out in fear of reprisals. "He looks
set to stand as an independent, unless something happens between now and the
nomination court. People want him and he has indicated he won't let the
people of Tsholotsho and Matebeleland down," said a source. "He made his
mind long back about Tsholotsho. What can stop him now as most of the
structures on the ground identify with him?" she asked. "We now await the
nomination court." Moyo and a coterie of hangers-on have in the past
few weeks increased their presence in Tsholotsho to maintain contact with
people on the ground, the sources added. Other insiders in ZANU PF
suspected Moyo, careful not to show disrespect to President Mugabe, on whose
whim the minister's government career hinged, might opt for a proxy
candidate for Tsholotsho, while considering his options. Insiders
mentioned Believe Gaule, the former chairman of the ZANU PF Tsholotsho
district co-ordinating committee and a Moyo loyalist suspended from ZANU PF
for attending the now infamous Tsholotsho meeting, as a possible proxy
candidate should Moyo decide against standing as an independent.
Gaule delivered Moyo's curriculum vitae to the provincial coordinating
committee in December last year. He was chased out of the meeting while
Moyo's CV was disregarded on the grounds the party had reserved Tsholotsho
for an all-female primary election. "The Gaule option is Plan B,
meant to ensure the constituency remains in his pocket, anyone with Moyo's
influence can win Tsholotsho," said another source, adding that Moyo's
continued and frequent forays into Tsholotsho despite Ncube's nomination as
the ZANU PF candidate, gave credence to suspicions he had something up his
sleeves. Gaule could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Moyo, who has kept his options open, is reported to have confided in his
close political associates to look forward to the nomination court tomorrow
to see if his romance with Tsholotsho, one of the poorest districts in
Zimbabwe where the hyperactive minister has worked feverishly to bring
infrastructural development, would cease. Most of the ZANU PF
insiders in Matebeleland who spoke to The Financial Gazette yesterday were
agreed Moyo had the popular support of the majority of the poor electorate
in Tsholotsho despite his fall-out with senior ZANU PF officials from
Matebeleland. They also revealed that the combative government-spin
doctor had intimated to them his desire to take the ruling party head-on
after senior ZANU PF stalwarts in Matebeleland allegedly pressed for his
dismissal from the ruling party after the now infamous Tsholotsho indaba-
one of the most mysterious yet significant political developments in the
country in recent years. By going independent, the sources added,
Moyo wanted to prove to President Mugabe, who personally appointed him to
the cabinet, politburo and central committee, that he had grassroots support
compared to several former PF ZAPU heavyweights he claims are jealous of his
growing stature in the region. Vice President Msika, Nkomo and
Dumiso Dabengwa, the three most senior former PF ZAPU political
heavyweights, have all declined to test their popularity by contesting in
the elections. "He is willing to stand as an independent but what he is
not sure of is the intensity of the retribution from ZANU PF," added another
source close to him. "What he has said is that let's wait for the nomination
day. What has come clear and even to the President is that it is the top
people that don't want him, not the grassroots," added the source.
A politiburo member in Matebeleland who spoke anonymously said ZANU PF gurus
had been taken aback by President Mugabe's deafening silence over Moyo's
political machinations, especially his outburst and massive lawsuit against
Nkomo and Dabengwa. "He has a point to prove, he might cross back to
ZANU PF after winning Tsholotsho."
PUBLIC
transport operator, the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO), has
plunged into yet another controversy - this time over the recent acquisition
of 40 refurbished conventional buses valued at about $23 billion at the
ruling exchange rate.
In a new twist to the much-celebrated
acquisition, a local transport operator has raised its protest against the
mega deal with the State Procurement Board (SPB), formerly the Government
Tender Board. Pioneer Development Company, which previously supplied
ZUPCO with 40 Marcopolo Torino F94 buses, has asked the tender board to
reconsider the supply of Isuzu units to ZUPCO by Gift Investments, owned by
influential businessman Jayesh Shah. "Gift Investments P/L and
Isuzu vehicles have no track record on the roads of Zimbabwe, today there is
not even a single Isuzu unit of this specification traveling the roads of
Zimbabwe," said Pioneer group managing director Hamish Rudland in a
letter dated November 22 2004. "I urge the tender board to make a
formal request to Gift Investments to supply and operate as a demonstration
unit an Isuzu bus for a period of at least six months to gauge its hardiness
and suitability for Zimbabwean operational conditions," added Rudland in a
letter copied to the office of the President. Gift Investments won
the right to supply ZUPCO, which operated a fleet of over 1200 buses at its
peak in the early 1980s, with 40 Isuzu MV123TC buses that were commissioned
by Vice President Mujuru last month. Each unit was going for US$91
500. Other suppliers, Scania South Africa, Pioneer and W. Dahmer also
secured contracts to supply coaches in the split tender as the parastatal,
now geared to reclaim its former glory, moved to increase its fleet by 150
buses. Pioneer is however alleging that the Isuzu buses, which are
US$1250 more expensive than the fashionable Marcopolo Torino F94 models
supplied by Scania and Pioneer, could be of a sub-standard quality.
The company contends that the Isuzu units had been condemned from the South
African market by the South African Bureau of Standards due to rollover
safety and environmental pollution. Shah vehemently denied the
allegations when contacted for comment this week. The businessman said his
Isuzu vehicles have never plied South Africa's roads as alleged by his
detractors. He said: "I am not the Isuzu dealer in South Africa. How
can I sell in South Africa? I have not sold or attempted to sell an Isuzu
bus there. The issue was brought buy people who do no want to work for this
country." Pioneer is however, adamant that the buses do not meet the
required vehicle specifications attached to the tender document.
"As a request, we would like to have the Gift Investments unit tested by
standards of Zimbabwe in conjunction with the Vehicle Inspection Department
to verify the specifications as well as the safety of the vehicle for
Zimbabwean operations. "It is urged that the tender board take these
allegations seriously as the vehicles are carrying Zimbabwean citizens whose
safety cannot be compromised under any circumstances," said
Pioneer. Shah alleged yesterday that his detractors were busy throwing
accusations while keeping buses, which could be used to ease the transport
problem, in their warehouses. "I am appealing to other suppliers to
bring in buses and not to keep them in their bonded warehouses. Act in the
interest of the nation I say to them," he said adding that withholding the
buses amounted to economic sabotage.
THE government,
under pressure to level the electoral playing field ahead of next month's
parliamentary poll, has kept a tight lid on the list of foreign observer
missions it prefers in the crucial election.
It emerged this week
that the Foreign Affairs Ministry, headed by veteran diplomat Stan Mudenge,
is still vetting a cluster of observer missions keen on passing their
opinions about the election. The government, whose human rights record
is a subject of intense debate, intends to reduce the number of election
monitors and bar observer teams from "hostile countries" and continue with
what is widely seen as a veil of secrecy on what its critics allege to be
its election rigging apparatus. Officials from the Foreign Affairs
Ministry were mum on the list of foreign observers being invited to monitor
and observe the March 31 election. "The government will invite
international election observers. It is in the process of preparing the list
of foreign election observers," said a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson
in a terse response to inquiries by The Financial Gazette. Sources
in the ministry, however, said the bulk of the observers would come from
"friendly" African Union, Southern African Development Community, Pacific
and some Asian countries. Analysts warned that reducing the number of
foreign observers could heighten concerns about Zimbabwe's electoral
process. The ruling ZANU PF, facing a stiff challenge from the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC), is still to convince the international
community that it can win free and fair elections. The MDC has
emerged as the biggest challenge to President Robert Mugabe's 25-year grip
on power amid a severe economic crunch blamed squarely on government
mismanagement. Observers barred from observing previous elections in
the past have accused the Zimbabwe government of hiding irregularities in
its electoral system. The exclusion of independent election
observers comes amid protests from opposition parties and civic
organisations that preparations for the election are being done under
grossly unfair laws.
How many of the
disgruntled will stand as independent candidates? BULAWAYO - The
political maturity of Zimbabwe's aspiring legislators will be put to test
tomorrow when candidates submit their nominations for the March 31
parliamentary elections.
After the squabbles that rocked the ruling
ZANU PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) during the
parties' primary elections, observers will be watching how many of the
disgruntled candidates will have the guts to stand as independents.
The leadership of both parties was accused of imposing candidates, with some
sitting MPs in the MDC vowing to stand against the selected candidates,
while the ruling party purged all the Young Turks associated with the
so-called Tsholotsho Declaration which allegedly opposed the nomination of
Joyce Mujuru as Vice-President. Six ZANU PF provincial chairmen, some
of whom had indicated that they intended to contest the polls and had poured
millions of dollars into their campaigns, were suspended from the party and
seem to have accepted the decision to bar them. But there has been
speculation that some of the candidates, including Information Minister
Jonathan Moyo, who had campaigned heavily and put almost everything at stake
in their bid to enter into the august House, might decide to stand as
independents. Observers say Moyo hinted on this during his scathing
attack on ZANU PF politburo members Dumiso Dabengwa and John Nkomo, whom he
accused of masterminding his ouster from Tsholotsho constituency.
"As to Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa's self-indulgent declaration that they will
not allow me to contest in Tsholotsho on a ZANU PF ticket, I wish to
respectfully remind them that ZANU PF is larger than any two or three
individuals and any attempts to personalise the party are ultimately bound
to fail," Moyo was quoted by the official The Chronicle daily newspaper as
saying. He added: "In any event, Cdes Nkomo and Dabengwa should
know that there is no one ticket to heaven. There are many such tickets and
that is why there are many churches and many religions and all with tickets
to heaven." Political observers are watching closely how many
aspiring candidates will seek these alternative routes to "heaven" because
they believe very few politicians, especially from the ruling party, have
the guts to stand their ground, preferring to back the party as they have
been drilled for years to believe that there is no political life outside
ZANU PF. This was amply demonstrated, the oservers say, by the late
Vice-President Simon Muzenda during the run-up to the 2000 elections when he
told voters in Chivi: "Even if we put a baboon in Chivi, if you are ZANU PF,
you vote for that baboon." The observers say the same thinking
seems to have crept into MDC strongholds, where the calibre of the candidate
does not matter as long as one is MDC. Yet studies indicate that
more than 60 percent of Zimbabwean voters do not support either the ruling
or opposition parties. Besides, there is a very thin line between the
importance of a candidate and that of the party. According to a study
carried out by Afrobarometer last year, 60 percent of Zimbabweans polled
declared themselves to be "independent, undecided or apolitical".
"In an election, their allegiance would be up for grabs by either of the
main political parties," the study said. Another study carried out by
the Mass Public Opinion Institute in February 2002 showed that 34.7 percent
of those polled felt that a candidate was more important than the party,
while 35.9 percent felt the party was more important than the candidate.
Almost a quarter thought the two were equally important. A survey
which will show the current trends will be released in a week or two, but
this will be too late to sway the thinking of aspiring candidates sitting on
the fence. With the political stalemate that has bogged down ZANU-PF
and the MDC over the last five years, the observers believe that independent
Members of Parliament could play a crucial role in keeping both the ruling
party and the main opposition on track as they could swing the vote either
way. "There is a feeling that those who have been sidelined should
stand as independent candidates because if 20 candidates or more win as
independents, this would force the winners to form a government of national
unity as the independents can sway the vote either way, by ganging with the
ruling party or siding with the opposition," one of the suspended ZANU PF
politicians said. A political researcher, however, said Zimbabwe
had a chequered history about people standing as independents. Though the
trend had started picking up in the 1990s with those who had been kicked out
of the ruling party successfully challenging and winning elections - the
notable ones being Margaret Dongo and Mutare mayor Lawrence Mudehwe - it had
been dealt a severe blow after the formation of the MDC as it provided a
strong alternative to ZANU PF, the researcher said. But the change
that the once vibrant party promised does not seem to have materialised.
Even though it was not given any opportunity to sell its programmes to the
people, analysts say some of its legislators have done very little during
their five-year tenure and are virtually unknown in their
constituencies.
ZIMBABWE'S political protagonists, the ruling ZANU PF and
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), have set the ball
rolling for what promises to be yet another bruising parliamentary election
next month, with aspiring candidates from both camps this week on campaign
trails across the country's designated 120 constituencies.
With
President Robert Mugabe having officially launched his party's "anti-Blair"
election campaign at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) last
Friday, the MDC on Sunday uses Mucheke stadium, in Masvingo, as the launch
pad for the party's "Better Zimbabwe" campaign. While ZANU PF saunters
towards the March 31 elections brimming with confidence, the MDC trudges to
the decisive polls "with a heavy heart," alleging a grossly uneven political
playing field. The MDC says ZANU PF, which in recent months implemented
a set of electoral reforms critics describe as cosmetic and piecemeal, is
still in violation of the Southern African Development Community's Mauritius
protocol on staging elections in a democracy despite procuring translucent
boxes on Monday this week. Analysts are unanimous the loud calls
for a peaceful election from both camps point to a race where violent
incidents might be reduced compared to the orgy of brutality that
characterised the 2000 parliamentary and 2002 presidential
elections. ZANU PF officials are adamant the time has finally arrived
to "bury" the MDC, which nearly pulled the rug from under the ruling party's
feet when it grabbed 57 of the 120 contested seats in 2000. The MDC has been
a constant thorn in ZANU PF's side since its formation on September 11
1999. Apart from the usual and predictable anti-Blair and anti-West
rhetoric, President Mugabe, addressing over 3 000 delegates at the HICC,
focused on the issues of land and "economic turnaround". The party
also released a book entitled Traitors, in which it attacks the "evils" of
colonialism and the MDC. In its manifesto, entitled The People's
Manifesto, Sovereignty over our National Resources, the ruling party praises
itself for its controversial land reform programme, saying it had acquired 5
890 farms measuring 7.8 million hectares from whites for redistribution to
landless blacks. The party says it envisages "a brighter and more
hopeful era where all the sacrifices, strains and pressures associated with
the preceding half decade have to give way to a brighter future of rich
rewards and much-improved living standards of our people". "The
next five years will witness more robust funding for all categories of the
agricultural sector. Agriculture will reassert its pride of place as a
leading contributor to the Gross Domestic Product," reads part of the
manifesto. ZANU PF insiders this week revealed that President Mugabe
would be visiting all the party's 10 political provinces as its election
campaign machinery shifts into top gear. President Mugabe has in
the past year been doling out computers to schools around Zimbabwe, a move
analysts have described as a political gimmick to coax youths to throw in
their lot with ZANU PF. The insiders said the party's other strategy
would be to visit rural areas captured by the MDC in 2000 in desperate
attempts to win over the hearts and souls of the villagers. ZANU PF
also reveals in the manifesto that the government has pumped in $25 billion
to develop the long-stalled Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project - a major
sticking issue among the electorate there. According to the manifesto,
the ZANU PF government has earmarked more funds for the project, first
mooted in 1912, but which has not been implemented by successive governments
because of prohibitive costs of rolling out the project envisaged to turn
perennially dry Matabeleland into a greenbelt. Meanwhile, the MDC,
which only a fortnight ago called off its boycott of all elections, has
refused to throw in the towel. Its leader Morgan Tsvangirai warned ZANU
PF of a bruising encounter at the polls as preparations were underway for
the party to officially launch its campaign and manifesto in the political
hotbed of Masvingo province, where the party's sitting legislator Silas
Mangono, aggrieved at having lost the party's nomination, is leading a
splinter faction. Tsvangirai told rural voters at a rally the party had
for the past two-and-a-half years been on the ground putting up support
structures. "We are more organised than we were in 2000," said
Tsvangirai, in reference to the historic polls where his then
eight-month-old party took 57 seats off ZANU PF. MDC insiders were
confident that, barring rigging, the main opposition party would retain most
of the urban seats, especially in Harare and Bulawayo, and grab additional
ones in perceived ZANU PF rural strongholds. Playing down the alleged
bickering within the MDC - a coalition of pro-democracy organisations,
intellectuals and labour unions - party activists said a peaceful campaign
would guarantee a stronger showing than that registered in 2000. A
perusal of the MDC's manifesto, which is yet to be made public, indicates
the party will fight this election on four key issues - freedom, human
rights, education and jobs. The party, which concluded the selection of its
parliamentary hopefuls on Monday this week, will use the Mucheke gathering
to also bring to an end discord in the politically volatile Masvingo
province. All the 120 candidates are expected to be officially
introduced, according to Esaph Mdlongwa, the MDC's organising secretary.
Information kits containing profiles of candidates and the manifesto would
be distributed as the MDC attempts to wrest power from ZANU PF in an
election regional and international observers doubt will be free and
fair.
SEE no evil, hear no
evil, and say no evil has increasingly become the Zimbabwe government's
mantra not only to the country's citizens, but also to the rest of the world
as it decisively clamps down on any perceived critics of the political
situation in the crisis-ridden southern African state.
Following
the barring of a Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) delegation
a fortnight ago, Harare also deported two South Africa-based trade unionists
- Bobby Marie and Vihemina Prout - after immigration officers demanded
"security" clearance letters from Labour Minister Paul Mangwana.
The two had reportedly come to Harare on a Southern African Trade Unions
Coordinating Council (SATUCC) mission to discuss issues pertaining to the
proposed establishment of a trade union school with the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU). ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibhebhe, whose
union led the most spirited public demonstrations against the government in
the late 1990s, said his organisation felt the government was bearing down
on the country's largest workers' representative group. "The
immigration officials said they had specific instructions that anyone who
comes to see the ZCTU should have a clearance letter from (the ministry of)
Labour," said Chibhebhe. "Since they had no such letter, they were sent back
on the same flight," he added. Added to this, the ZANU PF government,
which faces a stern credibility test in next month's parliamentary
elections, has reiterated its position that only selected observers -
international and local-- would be accredited for the March 31
poll. Non-resident Zimbabweans, believed to number 3.5 million and most
of them in the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa cannot vote,
the government contends. After the barring of a second COSATU
fact-finding mission two weeks, analysts that spoke to The Financial Gazette
said indications of the government's paranoia bordering on the absurd would
increase as March 31, election day, drew closer. The analysts noted
that in the face of a seemingly stubborn Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) barely showing signs of a party in disarray or visible political
fatigue, ZANU PF was now jittery hence its determination to ignore or
disregard implementing some of the minimum standards on democratic elections
agreed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) at the Mauritius
summit last August. They also pointed at the dilly-dallying by the
government in timeously issuing out invitations to local and regional poll
observers as signs of a desire to effectively shut out any international
scrutiny. President Robert Mugabe, whose party needs to triumph in an
undisputed election to attain some measure of credibility and respectability
in the international community, has ruled out inviting observers from the
European Union, which has been among Harare's most strident critics over its
political crisis and alleged human rights violations. "This is the
behaviour of a desperate regime that wants to hide something," said ZCTU
president Lovemore Matombo. "We know Zimbabwe is not a province of
South Africa but we are living in a global village. As ZCTU we are allowed
without hassles in and around the world to visit our counterparts but not in
Zimbabwe. This is all because of the elections otherwise these visits are
harmless," said Matombo. The MDC said ZANU PF was shutting out trade
unionists to prevent SADC leaders from confirming that the ruling party had
put huge obstacles in the opposition's way to winning the polls.
The MDC is adamant the government has failed to meet demands for
wide-ranging democratic electoral reforms but has cobbled up cosmetic
changes to hoodwink SADC and other international stakeholders with a keen
interest in the polls. Chibhebhe added: "The latest deportation
confirms that we are under siege. Our friends cannot have access to us and
so are we." COSATU, incensed by its failure to visit Harare, is mulling
plans to block entry points into Zimbabwe, but the African national Congress
government, which last week expressed satisfaction with conditions for
elections in Zimbabwe, has given indications it will discourage such
action.
PRESSURE is
mounting on The Weekly Times, the latest publication to come under the
government's onslaught, as it emerged that the Media and Information
Commission (MIC) is planning to scrutinise the weekly's bank accounts to
check on its source of funding.
Sources said the MIC planned to use
its powers provided for in the Access to Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (AIPPA) to probe the accounts of Mthwakazi Publishing House,
publishers of The Weekly Times, held at the Commercial Bank of
Zimbabwe. The MIC, which has threatened to cancel the paper's licence,
is desperately looking for a legal conduit to justify such action. The
sources said the MIC is highly suspicious that the paper is foreign-funded
and is heavily linked to the Mthwakazi United Kingdom and South Africa, a
highly tribalistic organisation whose motives are viewed as anti-Zimbabwean
by the incumbent government. "MIC says it suspects the paper is
foreign-funded but the matter really is they are just trying to find an
excuse to cancel the licence. The licence is going to be cancelled anyway
with or without establishing where the money is coming from," the sources
said. AIPPA gives the MIC unlimited access to all publishing houses'
financial accounts including bank accounts. MIC chairman Tafataona
Mahoso, a reputable academic turned ZANU PF apologist, refused to comment
saying he did not want to comment on matters that are still under
consideration. "It is like a court case, we will wait until the case is
finished," he said. The MIC, apparently not happy with the product
delivered by the publication, has notified The Weekly Times of the
commission's intention to suspend or cancel the registration
certificate. Bulawayo lawyer Kucaca Pulu of Coghlan and Welsh, who is
representing the publishers, said the MIC had indicated that it would advise
on the paper's status in due course. The publishers also met the
MIC where they were requested to furnish minutes of the meeting of the
shareholders when they decided to form the paper and when they decided to
register in terms of AIPPA and their financial statements. The
newspaper would become the fourth paper to close shop inside 16 months under
the draconian AIPPA should the MIC cancel its licence. In September
2003, The Daily News, which had become Zimbabwe's largest circulating daily
and its sister publication, The Daily News on Sunday, were forced to close
down after the High Court ruled they were operating without a licence as
required by AIPPA. A few months later, the government-appointed MIC
shut down The Tribune, owned by the embattled Makonde Member of Parliament
Kindness Paradza, who is now battling for political survival, for failing to
report material changes to the newspaper's shareholding.
IT my honest and heartfelt belief
that the people of Harare Central constituency have only one choice in the
upcoming elections. That choice has to be Margaret Dongo.
Let
me make a few points clear from the outset: I have never met Dongo in my
entire life, nor have I ever communicated with her. And, despite the recent
speculation that I would be among the group of independents she is trying to
put together to contest the elections in March, I have no intention of
becoming an MP . This, I point out in order to demonstrate that my
belief in Dongo is not in any way informed by personal objectives.
Dongo is right when she says that the current political atmosphere in our
parliament is characterised purely by power politics. The MDC and ZANU PF
have become so focused on winning complete control of the country that they
have forgotten that there are people who live in the country they want to
control. These people have needs. They are grappling with the most basic
issues on a daily basis. Yet parliament seems to be completely unconcerned
with bread and butter issues. Instead, when our MPs are not doing
their best Mike Tyson impressions in the revered House, they are busy
nodding off, or simply presenting themselves to be marked present and then
disappearing to run their private businesses. Specifically, I call
the attention of the electorate to the fact that virtually all sitting MPs
for Greater Harare are MDC members. These MPs have watched in almost
complete silence as ignoble Ignatius Chombo has hacked away at every last
vestige of civilisation this city had. He has installed a political hobo, a
political tramp of no fixed (political) abode as "mayor". Subsequent to
this, service delivery in Harare (and Bulawayo, also controlled by the MDC),
has plumbed the depths of mediocrity. Raw sewage is actually flowing in the
streets (something you would not have found even in the city of Rome 3000
years ago). Through all this, MDC MPs have been largely silent. I can
recall only one occasion when an opposition MP asked questions of Chombo in
the House. Chombo's response was hogwash and all indications are that the MP
never then followed through. Which is where I think Dongo comes in.
We know from experience that this woman does not go into parliament to make
up the numbers or to warm the seats. Dongo is stubborn, in the good sense of
the word. She pursues real issues relentlessly. With her representing
me in parliament, I know that, if need be, she will ask the same questions
every single day until the minister responsible is embarrassed into action.
But the MDC MPs we have now just put up a show. There seems to be no drive
in them. ZANU PF, on the other hand, is obviously a non-starter because
any ZANU PF member elected to represent our urban constituencies will be
more concerned with his farms(s) than with the problems of the city. If the
city's problems were their priority, we would certainly have seen an
improvement now that Chombo is now playing the part of mayor, ruling the
city by proxy, through Sekesai Makwavarara. Under these
circumstances, I would rather have an independent, even if that MP is a lone
Helen Suzmansque voice in a sea of power-hungry and politically selfish
partisan MPs. The problem, in my view is pretty straightforward: both
ZANU PF and the MDC have made the mistake of choosing candidates who treat
their parliamentary seats as meal tickets. They see a seat in
parliament as an end in itself, not a means to a more noble end i.e.
standing up for the people who put them into the House. No wonder all manner
of creatures are emerging from political hibernation now, dishing out
presents and gifts to the people in the hope of being given a meal ticket in
the form of a seat in the House. These people, once in, will treat
their constituents with contempt. They will use the seats for personal
enrichment and advancement, paying little regard to the plight of the people
who elected them. As can be expected, this column is not going to treat
these people with any deference at all, since they have shown the people no
deference. Facts and the truth should be what guides the voters as they cast
their votes and they certainly deserve to know the true colours of the
people who are seeking to represent them. Closer to the election,
therefore, I am urging this paper to publish a full list of ALL current MPs
and to also note next to their names how many contributions they made in the
house in the last session and what that contribution was. MDC MPs, with
their councillors silenced by the marauding Chombo, should have taken the
battle to the House, pursuing the minister relentlessly, asking him to
justify his actions and demanding a parliamentary probe into how the
minister is usurping the powers of local authorities. By the same
token, ZANU PF should also stop the behaviour of jumping to act only when
President Robert Mugabe shouts (sometimes, even then, he gets ignored, as
was the case with the multiple farms saga). They do not owe their positions
to President Mugabe, but to the people and if they satisfy the people, even
the President himself would not dare touch them. But, as Dongo once
said, they prefer to be Mugabe's wives, obedient almost to a fault, so that
the House on the ZANU PF side resembles an assembly of robots, controlled by
remote control and unable to take initiatives of their own unless programmed
to do so by the Presidium. This behaviour, more than anything else, is
single biggest threat to ZANU PF, despite the belief in the ruling party its
biggest threat is British Premier Tony Blair. The only way,
therefore, that an educated electorate can get the most out of its
representatives is to make sure that they are never comfortable. Instead of
voting for a party, we should start looking at the characters of the people
in those parties. If you have not heard anything from your MPs in the last
five years, what hope is there that he or she even knows what problems you
face? So, before one votes, one should ask themselves what, in the last
five years, their sitting MP has done to make their lives better. Then one
should ask oneself if there is another individual standing, either for a
rival party or as an independent who is likely to be passionate about the
same things you are passionate about, who will speak for those without a
voice, those who cannot ask direct questions of Ignatius Chombo.
"BE sincere and honest", President
Robert Mugabe implored aspiring Members of Parliament for his ruling ZANU PF
when he launched the party's campaign and manifesto for the watershed March
2005 Parliamentary poll.
What we read as the import of the
President's message to the MPs, some of whom are known for their bloated
self-interest was: don't waste people's time if you are not up to the task,
which demands a commitment of service to others - a placing of the needs of
others above your own. He was telling them that they have to have vision and
act as if it is impossible to fail the people. In other words, the days of
self-centredness and parochial political interests are over! We couldn't
agree more with President Mugabe even though this would be asking for far
too much from some of the MPs if their track record is anything to go
by. Just as well, because other than being a menace to ordered social
life and social thought when they fan violence during campaigning, most of
these politicians, who by a strange streak of fortune ended up being MPs,
had not known how to tell the truth. By and large, they have not been able
to deliver on electoral promises - they have usually promised more than they
could deliver. They did not pay regard to any moral obligation nor did they
give a damn about the people they purported to represent. It was
said of former American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that ". . . he is
a disaster. His priorities are one Kissinger, two president, three USA." And
so it is with most of Zimbabwe's piscatorial politicians who have been
persistent fishermen in the country's political waters. Most of them have
been a dishonest lot which makes us and indeed many Zimbabweans wonder how
it ever occurred to anyone that they should be people's representatives in
the august House. We do not care how it is explained because in the
court of public opinion, it defies all common sense to have had some of
these hypocrites who are chock-full of self-importance and self-concern, as
MPs for close to three decades in the case of some. They are the kind who
would cut down a tree species threatened with extinction, and then mount the
stump to make a speech for conservation! That is why we were not
surprised that some of the sitting MPs from both sides of the political
divide - ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - were
emphatically rejected by the people during the two political parties'
controversial primaries. Instead of throwing the MPs who were literally
clutching at straws a lifeline, the people, tired of being taken for
granted, sickening hypocrisy and dishonesty, threw the politicians both ends
of the rope such that they deservedly sink right down to the bottom of the
political deep blue sea. First of all, even though their campaigns,
violent in some instances, jet from place to place in their various
constituencies, no real issues show up on the radar screen. It is all cheap
politicking as they are only good at attacking personalities or in the habit
of speaking about patriotism is such a way that the very word becomes
impure. There is no iota of sincerity in what they say. Bread and butter
issues only come up as after-thoughts that could go unthought of! It is a
pity that Zimbabweans have in the past helplessly been forced to vote for
these MPs, more for the parties they would be representing than on the basis
of the individual's suitability as an MP. Secondly, when in
Parliament some of these individuals have said or done nothing worth a
serious person taking the trouble of remembering. Some of them probably
sleep more than any legislator in the world whether by day or night. Emperor
Nero fiddled while Rome was engulfed in a ball of fire but they are worse -
they actually snore in the august House of all places! Such is our surprise
and shame. As for those who have said or done something, they are
mostly remembered for the wrong reasons. It is either for their lack of
respect for Parliament, disdain and contempt for the people and the
sacrifices they have made for Zimbabwe. A case in point is the gaffe by none
other than Isaiah Mushayamwando Shumba on whom it seems lost that the
salvation of this great nation depends very much on the scholastic
development of the country's children. In what could have left
those of the few Parliamentarians with conscience frozen in time, wondering
whether they were hearing right, the deputy Minister of Education, Sport and
Culture blamed, of all things, the drought for the delay in registering
candidates for last year's "O" and "A" level examinations. Now if this is
not too specious and spurious as to be tangible bordering on the absurd and
ludicrous, then we don't know what is! As we asked in our comment of 10 June
2004 headlined Temple On A Sewer, what in God's name is the link between
drought and the delayed registration of candidates for the secondary school
examinations? Thirdly, there is this breed of politicians that wants to
play it safe. These MPs, probably for fear of ruffling political feathers,
have hardly said anything meaningful about the country's socio-economic and
political problems. A case in point is a former Marondera West MP whose
contribution to that august House never went beyond thanking the President
for the State of the Nation Address! Like we have said before, a ship in the
harbour is safe but that is not what ships were built for, so to speak.
Power Last week the owners of the
country launched their election campaign amid pomp and fanfare. Bandanas,
propaganda music albums, books and, on top of all this, a high-sounding
nothing of an election manifesto.
All the projects that have been
put on ice over and over again purportedly because there was no money are
suddenly brought to the voters as new projects, or projects that can only be
implemented because ZANU PF is in power. The Matabeleland Zambezi
Water Project, on the drawing board for over nine decades, suddenly gets
some funds to kick it off, the long stalled Harare-Masvingo, Harare-Gweru
highway projects are resuscitated, you name it. All because some people want
to retain the right to rule! As we get to the "Anti-Blair" elections,
CZ cannot help but imagine how it would have been like if ZANU PF still had
within its ranks the likes of the late Chenjerai Hunzvi, Border Gezi and
such other characters, in addition to our Manyikas!
Freedom We are told day and night that Zimbabwe is a free country.
Whether this is fact, mere propaganda or just fantasy is beside the point,
but the truth is that as far as an ordinary Zimbo is concerned, nothing is -
and should be - free in this country. Do we agree? However, from
the look of things, some Zimbos do not want to learn to do things for
themselves. They expect the state or someone else somewhere to give them
everything free. A story by CZ's sister in one of the state-owned
weeklies at the weekend seemed to take umbrage at the fact that our
perennially lossmaking power utility ZESA had decided to disconnect all
defaulters who owed it hundreds of billions in unpaid electricity
bills. Isn't it the best way of getting notorious defaulters to cough
up? Although the parastatal is not sparing anyone, the story was
written in such a curious way as to give the impression that the killjoy
behemoth was out to sabotage the "endangered" special crop of farmers, some
of whom have been on the land for five years but remain "new". With
the author being a "new" farmer herself, would it be imagining too much if
one were to smell something here? Something called agenda journalism . . .
or is it called cadre journalism? All things being equal, the good
sister - with all due respect - should otherwise have allowed another much
more sober colleague - we mean a colleague without direct interest in the
story concerned - to do the story for her. She could still have fitted
perfectly well in the story being quoted as one of the affected farmers,
which we strongly suspect she is! And by the way, at which stage of the
tobacco curing process do farmers use electricity? Can CZ be
dismissed as unpatriotic if he dares doubt the veracity of the claim that
some of the outstanding electricity bills in question were left by the
former commercial farmers? Remember, some of them were kicked out about five
years ago! We know that quite a number of these so-called new farmers
have done extremely well, way above what some of the old white commercial
farmers used to do on their multiple farms - but it is only the disciplined
ones, who appreciate that farming is a business, not a honeymoon. And this
type of farmers cannot fail to pay electricity bills as paltry as $6
million. Most of those whingeing are curiously the same people who
spend more time queueing for free money and inputs than they actually spend
on the farms, and it is therefore not surprising that they also want to get
free power as well. Yes, they want the land for free, inputs for
free, power for free, money for free, (prison) labour for free, transport to
the market for free, everything for free?! Isn't this taking our freedom too
far? Last word A statement issued by the authorities - please
don't ask which authorities - to mark St Valentine's Day this week read as
follows: "All married men have been placed under curatorship for
externalising love. All externalised love should be repatriated back home by
June 30 2005. All small houses are forthwith declared illegal and will
therefore be closed down by law enforcement agents by July 1 2005. The
prevalence of small houses has had a negative effect on the authorities'
efforts to stabilise incomes and prices and thereby reduce
inflation."
THE Ministry of
Mines and Mining Development has intervened in the River Ranch Diamond Mine
ownership wrangle, in which deposed owners of Zimbabwe's first ever diamond
mine have launched a legal battle to reclaim its ownership.
It
has been established that the mines ministry, which has been investigating
the circumstances surrounding the takeover of the mine by a consortium
headed by retired army General Solomon Mujuru, had concluded its
investigations and would soon make a ruling on the matter. Although
the report is still under lock and key, sources in the ministry said the
mines ministry had been annoyed by the method used to take over the
mine. The former owners of the diamond mine, Bubye Minerals, who are
facing a court challenge to release crucial mine documents, are accusing the
new owners of employing unorthodox means to wrest control of the
mine. "The government has reacted and the sentiments are that people
who forcibly take over mines are hampering foreign direct investment," said
a ministry official. "But the matter is very sensitive because of
the high profile figures involved and that could be the reason why legal
matters are taking very long," said the source. The former owners
also accuse Anti-Corruption Minister Didymus Mutasa of dragging his feet
over the investigations. Bubye Minerals, which took control of River
Ranch in 1999, accuses Mujuru's consortium - comprising of Rani
International, Aujan Southern African Development and Kupikile - of
"unlawfully and forcibly" taking over control of the diamond mine, situated
in Beitbridge. Bubye Minerals is accusing the new shareholders of
grabbing the company using political connections. In a High Court
application filed on September 7 2004, Adel Aujan, chairman of the new board
of River Ranch, demanded that the ousted directors account for their
dealings and assets of the mine from October 1999 to date. "They will
also have to surrender all documents, including the share register, asset
register, maps, working papers, core drilling results, original of the
Special Grant No.1278 and any geological reports in their possession," the
new shareholders said in their court application. The new owners are
also alleging that Bubye is indebted to the Aujan group of companies as well
as Rani to the tune of US$1.16 million.