Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
18 February 2006
09:02
Sixty-three women detained in Zimbabwe during a
Valentine's Day
protest were released on bail on Friday after appearing in a
Harare court, a
lawyer confirmed.
The 63 were part of a
group of more than 150 women detained on
Tuesday in the capital during what
they called a "bread and roses" protest.
About 100 had already been released
after paying fines, but the remaining
women were either unable or unwilling
to pay, said Otto Saki, of Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human
Rights.
Earlier reports had put the number of women still
detained on
Friday at about 120.
The women were charged
under the country's Miscellaneous
Offences Act for "conduct likely to cause
a breach of the peace", the lawyer
said. "They were taken to court at around
3pm this afternoon."
"Some of these women didn't want to pay
the fine," said Saki,
adding that the state would find it hard to sustain
the charges when the 63,
who were released on free bail, reappear in court
on March 3.
In all, more than 300 Women of Zimbabwe Arise
supporters were
arrested this week for holding "bread and roses" marches in
Harare and the
second city of Bulawayo.
The marches were
called to press for affordable food and the
right to a dignified life.
Zimbabweans are reeling under inflation of more
than 600%, escalating prices
and deepening poverty. -- Sapa-dpa
Dear Family and Friends,
The Litany Bird is back in my neighbourhood this
week and it is cause for
considerable comfort to hear its voice these
evenings. The fiery necked
nightjar is a nocturnal bird and lays its eggs on
the ground amongst a
small scratch of leaves. Its piercing call, such a
familiar Zimbabwean
sound in the early evenings and on moonlit nights, is
matched to the words
Good Lord Deliver Us. It is amazing that the nightjars
have managed to
survive another year in our dirty, plundered and ravaged semi
urban
environment. They have survived the fires that scorched every inch of
bush
6 months ago. They have survived the endless flow of men, women
and
children who walk out into the bush every day with axes to chop
trees,
hoes to dig roots and packets to collect mushrooms and fruits. The
Litany
Birds have miraculously survived the boys who aren't in school
anymore
because the fees are just too expensive; boys who harvest birds
with
catapaults and boys who climb trees to take eggs and fledglings in
every
nest they find. The Litany Birds have also survived the unemployed
young
men who walk into the bush in small groups every day. They are armed
with
crude home made weapons and follow lean and fearsome packs of hunting
dogs
which flush out every living creature.
This February the Litany
Birds are back, they have survived the piles of
garbage dumped in the bush,
the people and the plunder and they cry out
defiantly every evening. Their
voices give hope for a similar resilience
for our people and
country.
The call of the Litany Birds is particularly appropriate for
Zimbabwe this
week. Over 150 women in Bulawayo and 240 in Harare were
arrested for
trying to march on Valentines Day. Unarmed women, calling only
for dignity
and food were arrested. Some of the women carried babies, they
too were
taken into police cells. As I sat in the dark this week, in these
evenings
of incessant power cuts, I listened to the Litany Bird calling out
Good
Lord Deliver Us and I struggled to find peace. It was hard not to think
of
ordinary women: mothers, daughters, sisters, some with babies -
crammed
into police cells. I feel such shame that things like this are
happening
in our beautiful country and so ashamed that for 6 years we have
watched
helpless, rudderless and aimless as everything has deteriorated to
the
most appalling levels.
In one week in Zimbabwe there are now so
many horrors that it is hard to
accept that such things can really be
happening. This week we hear that
the Gweru mortuary which can only hold 24
bodies, has over 100 corpses in
it. State media reports that the cooling
plant in the mortuary has broken
and that nurses and doctors are complaining
of the smell. This week we
hear municipal authorities in Harare blaming
overflowing sewers and burst
pipes in the Capital city on dumped babies and
aborted foetuses. The cold,
callous and inhumane way in which the reports are
presented are almost as
unbearable as the facts they tell of. Good Lord
Deliver Us. Copyright
cathy buckle 18 February 2006. http://africantears.netfirms.com
VOA
By
Carole
Gombakomba
Washington
17 February
2006
Zimbabwean state media reported Friday that President Robert
Mugabe extended
an olive branch to Britain, urging its incoming ambassador
to send fair
reports back to the Foreign Office and expressing the hope that
he'll help
bridge the gap in relations.
The state-controlled Herald
newspaper reported that President Mugabe told
new British Ambassador Andrew
Pocock, who presented his credentials to the
president Thursday, that the
country "needs a bridge with the British." He
is also said to have urged
Pocock to portray Zimbabwe fairly in his
dispatches back to
London.
"If you report as your government wants, why send you here?," the
newspaper
quoted the president as saying to Pocock, citing senior
governmental
sources. "We want you here to help construct formidable
bridges. We need a
bridge with the British."
Pocock is taking the
place of former British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Roderick
Pullen, who abruptly
departed his post in Harare last month for family
reasons.
Some
political analysts took Mr. Mugabe's seemingly conciliatory remarks as
a
sign of desperation with the economy in freefall and food and fuel
shortages
widespread.
National Constitutional Assembly Chairman Lovemore Madhuku
told reporter
Carole Gombakomba of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the
Zimbabwean
president's comments suggest he is feeling diplomatically
isolated.
TMCnet
[February 18, 2006]
(Comtex Community Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)HARARE, Feb 18,
2006 (Xinhua
via COMTEX) -- Zimbabwean President Mugabe has
expressed
dissatisfaction with the performance of some ministers, whom he
described as
"self-centered" and failing to meet the goals
of the development
cabinet.
Mugabe, who was speaking during an interview with Newsnet
on
Friday, said the fact that no one has been axed so far did not
mean
that the chop would not come.
Responding to a question on whether the
cabinet had lived up to
its name, the president said some ministers had not
performed to
expectations.
"There is a lot of self-centeredness that
one sees amongst some
of my ministers. When we talk of national development
and a
development cabinet, we would want to see each and every
minister
and each and every ministry moving towards the attainment of
the
goals set," he said.
"You can just look at how we tried to plan
for our agriculture
this year. Why should we have run short of
fertilizer?"
Mugabe said not much was done to make inputs available and
this
would militate against an otherwise good season.
In apparent
reference to the Ministry of Mines and Mining
Development and the Ministry of
Industry and International Trade, Mugabe
expressed concern over the failure
to revive industries
that were left by former owners who fled to South Africa
and the
continued leakage of minerals.
"We pledged to ensure that the
mines would operate at full
blast that the leakages we had experienced
earlier would not occur.
"
Mugabe, however, hailed achievements in the
social services
ministries, education and health, saying they had done their
best
under difficult circumstances.
"There have been achievements in
certain sectors, in some
ministries. The social ministries have done their
best. Education
has sustained the system but even there, the schools, the
costs of
education have gone up; the Ministry of Health has managed to
make
drugs available," he said.
The cabinet was set up after the March
31 parliamentary
elections. Speculation has been rife that the cabinet would
be
reshuffled to incorporate members of the Upper House who were
elected
after the cabinet was selected.
From: Trudy Stevenson
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 10:48
PM
Subject: Who's Who in the "split"
Many people have asked me
which side various people are on, in the different
groups of the MDC. I have
been reluctant to answer this question for two
reasons:
1) There is only
one MDC, the one which has consistently adhered to the
constitution of the
party, especially regarding the national council vote on
the senate election
and which subsequently expelled Morgan Tsvangirai and
Isaac Matongo for
contravening that constitution;
2) We have left our door open for others to
see the truth of the situation
and come back to the party.
However, as
we are now less than a week away from Congress and as it has
become
increasingly obvious to all but the most ill-informed that there will
be no
magic re-uniting of the two sides, it is perhaps time to give
an
indication.
Please note that this list is NOT EXHAUSTIVE, and that
some exciting
NEW FACES (but old members) will appear at
Congress.
Among National Council and other national leaders are Gibson
Sibanda,
Welshman Ncube, Gift Chimanikire, Fletcher Dulini Ncube, Paul Themba
Nyathi,
Blessing Chebundo, Trudy Stevenson, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga,
Job Sikhala, Renson Gasela, Moses Mzila-Ndlovu,
Joubert Mudzumwe,
Joel Gabbuza, Abednico Bhebhe, Milton Gwetu, Timothy
Mukhahlera,
Abednigo Malinga, Nomalanga Khumalo, Esaph Mdlongwa, Miriam
Mushayi,
Diamond Garanda, Ellen Shiriyedenga, Edwin Mushoriwa, Godfrey
Gumbo,
Alouis Mudzingwa, Silas Mangono, Shakespear Maya, Gabriel
Chaibva,
Lyson Mlambo, Henry Chimbiri, Angilacala Ndlovu, Isaac
Mzimba,
Goodrich Chimbaira and Shaky Matake.
In Parliament, our Shadow
Cabinet is as follows (from newzimbabwe.com):
Kwekwe legislator, Blessing
Chebundo, is the new party Chief Whip and will
be deputised by Nomalanga
Mzilikazi Khumalo, Member of Parliament for
Mzingwane.
Glen Norah MP,
Priscilla Misihairambwi Mushonga, is the new parliamentary
spokesperson for
the party.
Edward Mkhosi, the MP for Mangwe is the new shadow minister for
Lands &
Agriculture, with Harare North MP, Trudy Stevenson re-occupying
the Local
Government portfolio.
Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, MP for Bulilima is the
new Foreign Affairs shadow
minister, while Pumula-Luveve MP, Esaph Mdlongwa,
takes over the Labour &
Social Welfare portfolio.
Other appointments
were: Blessing Chebundo (Health), Dvivarasekwa MP Edwin
Mushoriwa (Economic
Affairs), Lupane MP Njabuliso Mguni (Education &
Culture),
Pelandaba-Mpopoma MP Milton Gwetu (Industry and Commerce), Gweru
Urban MP
Timothy Mkhahlera (Home Affairs), Zengeza MP Goodrich Chimbaira
(Gender &
Youth Development), Binga MP Joel Gabbuza (Mines), St Mary's MP
Job Sikhala
(Defence & Security) and Nkayi MP Abednico Bhebhe as Transport
&
Communications shadow minister.
The list of our Provincial
structures was published in the Zimbabwe
Independent on 6 January
2006.
It might also be useful to list some who are NOT yet with us, apart
from
Tsvangirai and Matongo who have been expelled and David Coltart who
is
still trying to arrange "an amicable divorce":
Lucia Matibenga,
Sekai Holland, Nelson Chamisa, Paurina Mpariwa,
Gertrude Mthombeni, Thokozani
Khupe, Eddie Cross, Roy Bennet, Innocent
Gonese,
Grace Kwinjeh, Tendai
Biti, Fidelis Mhashu, Tapiwa Mashakada, Giles
Mutsekwa,
Evelyn Masaiti,
Teresa Makone, Morgen Femai and staff notables Ian Makone,
Gandi Mudzingwa
and Dennis Murira.
Sadly, some from this other side have been lying that
they are working at
re-uniting the party. This is very far from the truth.
New Zimbabwe
By Lebo
Nkatazo
Last updated: 02/19/2006 00:33:12
A FACTION of Zimbabwe's divided
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party appeared to have
pulled a major coup Saturday by convincing
former student leader Professor
Arthur Mutambara to stand for leadership.
Sources within the MDC told New
Zimbabwe.com that bar a miracle, Mutambara
will be the new leader of the MDC
faction opposed to party leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai.
Mutambara was
expected to meet with the MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube
in Harare on
Sunday, before meeting the MDC national executive committee
later on
Monday.
Mutambara was non-committal when he spoke to New Zimbabwe.com,
only saying:
"I certainly intend to work with others in pursuit of the
Zimbabwean
national interest."
Paul Themba Nyathi, the MDC's
information and publicity secretrary declined
to comment Saturday, but
confirmed that they would be holding their congress
in Bulawayo from 25-26
February where a new leader would be elected.
"We intend to use the
Congress as a platform for organisational renewal and
to establish a robust
consensus amongst our members on the way forward for
the next five years,"
Nyathi said.
"At the congress delegates will elect the leaders they
believe are best
equipped to take the party forward and advance our project
of
democratization in Zimbabwe."
Mutambara's imminent arrival has not
gone down well with everyone, with
Ncube's deputy, Gift Chimanikire,
charging that he is the best candidate for
the job and claiming his
colleagues have stabbed him in the back.
New Zimbabwe.com also
understands that former Zimbabwe Union of Democrats
(ZUD) leader Margaret
Dongo and University of Zimbabwe leacturer Heneri
Dzinotyiwei are also
likely to step in the frame as Mutambara's running
mates.
New
Zimbabwe has been told that Mutambara has the support of all the MDC's
province, except Masvingo.
The MDC split irreconcilably following
disagreements over participating in
senate elections last November.
Tsvangirai favoured a boycott of the
elections, but his senior colleagues
disagreed leading to an acrimonious
split.
Tsvangirai's group intends
to hold its own congress in March.
A political analyst, observing the
developments, said Saturday: "This move
has positives and negatives. The
negative element is that Mutambara barely
knows these guys and has been out
of the country for some time. The positive
is that he is untainted by the
current MDC politics and has a lot of respect
among Zimbabweans. This could
be bad news for Tsvangirai."
Mutambara shot to prominence in the late 80s
when he led massive student
protests aagainst government
corruption.
He is currently the Managing Director of Africa Technology
& Business
Institute, a professional and advisory services firm
operating in 13 African
countries.
Prof. Mutambara is also a
Principal Consultant with MAC Consulting and
Professor of Operations
Management with the School of Business Leadership,
UNISA. From March 2002 to
September 2003, Prof. Mutambara was a Standard
Bank Director of Payments
with responsibilities in 17 African countries.
ormerly, Prof. Mutambara
was a Research Scientist and Professor of Robotics
and Mechatronics at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
Carnegie Mellon University,
California Institute of Technology, FAMU-FSU,
and NASA, all in the United
States.
From January 2000 to March 2002, Prof. Mutambara was also a
Management
Consultant with McKinsey & Company in the Chicago office.
While in Chicago,
he was Professor of Business Strategy at the Kellogg
Business School.
Prof. Mutambara is author of three engineering research
books and sixteen
peer reviewed journal papers. In addition, Prof. Mutambara
is a community
leader, public intellectual, and activist who is extensively
involved in
socio-economic issues in both the US and Africa.
He
attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in 1991 where he obtained a Doctorate
of
Philosophy in Robotics and Mechatronics (1995), and an MSc in Computer
Engineering and Electrical Engineering (1992). At Oxford, he was President
of both the Africa Society, as well as the Merton Graduate Union
(MCR).
Prior to attending Oxford, Prof. Mutambara received a BSc (Honors)
in
Electrical Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe, where he was
President of the Students Union (1989-1990).
Daily Star, Bangladesh
BBC Online,
undated
Former captain Tatenda Taibu says he has no future with Zimbabwe
after
agreeing to play English club cricket.
The wicketkeeper has
signed contracts with celebrity side Lashings and
Surrey club
Pyrford.
"I've pretty much cancelled everything (in Zimbabwe). I just
do not see a
future," Taibu, 22, told CricInfo.
"It's sad that I
left before I produced the best that I can. I had my best
years still to
come. I had not reached my peak."
Taibu resigned as captain in November
in protest at the way the game is
being run in Zimbabwe.
The
cricket board has since voluntarily suspended Test status after a player
strike, coupled with the departure of several leading players to England and
Australia.
Taibu revealed that former teammate Andy Flower, who
is now playing with
Essex, advised him against playing in
England.
"After speaking to Andy, who, like me, left international
cricket abruptly,
he reckons South Africa is my best destination," added
Taibu, who has been
playing in Bangladesh.
"I thought Andy was
right, especially for a black cricketer like me. They
are short of black
cricket role-models in South Africa.
"But I said I will wait for the
season in England, and God will show me the
way ahead."
Should a
county side want to sign Taibu he would not count as an overseas
player
because Zimbabweans qualify under the controversial Kolpak rule.
IOL
Basildon
Peta
February 18 2006 at 03:53PM
Three weeks ago, a
soldier presented himself at the Zimbabwe Human
Rights Association
(Zimrights) office in Harare, asking to meet with its
head, Arnold
Tsunga.
When told he was not in the office, the soldier explained
that a hit
squad of the Military Intelligence Corps was monitoring Tsunga's
movements
and had received an order to kill him.
The soldier
claimed that he had come to warn Tsunga of the danger. But
the Southern
Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) believes the soldier himself
was sent to
kill Tsunga.
The latest human rights body to come under siege by
President Robert
Mugabe's regime is the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR), of which
Tsunga is also head and which was blacklisted in December
at the ruling
party Zanu-PF congress.
The SALC has begun
distributing an alert urging concerned individuals
and organisations to
write protest letters to the Zimbabwe government urging
it to desist from
its harassment of the ZLHR.
It also urges similar protests to be
sent to Foreign Minister
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma urging South Africa to
intervene and ask for the
protection of human rights defenders in
Zimbabwe.
The SALC chronicles a number of incidents in which the ZLHR
has come
under attack from the Zimbabwe government.
The ZLHR
was behind the representations which resulted in a December
resolution
condemning human rights abuses in Zimbabwe by the African
Commission on
Human and People's Rights. This has infuriated the Zimbabwe
government.
SALC director, Nicole Fritz, said there was growing
fear that with a
weakened political opposition and an effectively silenced
media, the
Zimbabwean government now viewed its most vocal, dangerous
critics as
individuals and groups such as the ZLHR and Tsunga.
"It is especially worrying that human rights lawyers are being
targeted, as
they are now often the last and only protection available to
human rights
defenders," said Fritz.
Tsunga has received numerous death threats
while the ZLHR offices have
been placed under military surveillance. Its
lawyers are arrested and
threatened with arrest for defending human rights
activists, according to
the SALC.
The ZLHR has long been
recognised and acclaimed internationally for
its courageous opposition to
the Zimbabwean government's repressive
measures.
Of late, the
ZLHR has sought to challenge the state's unlawful
evictions campaign and its
increasing clamp-down on media freedom and civil
society
organisations.
The SALC said events over recent weeks suggested
that the ZLHR faced
even greater, more extensive threat.
Irene
Petras, programmes co-ordinator of the ZLHR, said fewer
Zimbabwean lawyers
were willing to take up the cases of human rights
defenders for fear of
state harassment.
"Given this shortage, the ZLHR must take on an
increasing number of
these cases and so is increasingly the target of the
state's attentions,"
she said.
The SALC said Tsunga appeared to
be at particularly grave risk. A few
weeks ago, in the early hours of 21
January 2006, two police officers and
one soldier forcibly entered Tsunga's
home.
Not finding Tsunga at home, the officers took his
housekeepers to the
police station. The police would not release the workers
until Tsunga
presented himself for questioning and arrest - an increasingly
common
feature of the Zimbabwe policing system, known as ransom
arrests.
While in custody for four days, the three workers were
severely beaten
and one suffered a perforated eardrum as a result, the SALC
said.
When Tsunga reported to the police station, he and five
others were
charged with operating a broadcasting service in Zimbabwe
illegally, a
charge the SALC dismissed as spurious.
Soon
thereafter, on 26 January 2006, a soldier presented himself at
the Zimrights
office, asking to meet with Tsunga. Tsunga was not in the
office. The SALC
said the soldier explained that a hit squad of the Military
Intelligence
Corps was monitoring Tsunga's movements and had received an
order to kill
him.
The soldier claimed that he had come to see Tsunga to warn him
of the
danger. It is possible that this soldier intended to kill Tsunga,
according
to the SALC.
ZLHR lawyer, Tafadzwa Mugabe,
representing Tsunga and the other five
trustees charged, found himself
threatened with arrest for obstructing the
course of justice.
On Wednesday he was arrested and detained in Harare for coming to the
assistance of his clients, 192 women and five infants arrested for
participating in the annual Valentine's Day march organised by Women of
Zimbabwe Arise. A further 181 were arrested in Bulawayo. Independent Foreign
Service
This article was originally published on page
13 of Cape Argus on
February 18, 2006
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Conrad Nyamutata
The idea of a
national celebration of one man's birthday is just
becoming increasingly
incomprehensible, despicable and unacceptable to me.
Even the attempt to
legitimise it as some kind of movement meant to benefit
the youth, fails to
mask the real purpose of this annual event - that is, to
lick someone in the
wrong place.
It is about President Robert Mugabe, and him alone.And not
some
philathrophy towards our suffering youths.
I cannot even be
pacified by suggestions of a "scaled down" event this
year. The mere
indications that they wish to limit their usual consumption
this time around
is in itself testimony of their guilty conscience. Or do
they have a
conscience I wonder?
Let's face it - the very concept, that very
idea - of 'celebrating' a
leader's birthday just stinks of rotten
sycophancy. The propensity to spend
billions in the name of one person -
who chiefly contributed to the
impoverishment of that very nation - makes it
even more perplexing and, at
worst, distasteful.
And yet Zanu
PF sycophants planned to raise billions of dollars to
celebrate the birthday
of "our dear leader." I must indicate that I do not
believe that all
contributors do so willingly. The scare tactics are well
documented.
But as a nation, we need to ask ourselves some
questions. Should we
really revere mere humans to such a degree? And each
year? Even when times
are hard?
No.These subsequent questions
tend to justify the pratice after all
and bury they key question - Simply
WHY? Or expanded - why should we at all
have a national 'celebration' of a
living person?
The concept is obviously located in some warped
communist ethos; that
leaders should be worshipped like demigods; that a
leader is somewhat
divine. Comparisons are abound.
Enter Cde
Kim.
Mugabe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il undoubtedly belong to
the
same school. Incidentally, their birthdays - my main worry at the moment
-
are celebrated within days of each other. Last year, North Korea marked
the
63rdbirthday of their "dear leader" on 16 February with feasts of
"pheasant
and venison. fireworks over his reputed mountain birthplace and
sing-songs
praising his military brilliance."
The day is treated as
one of the country's most important national
holidays, where citizens are
treated to propaganda spectacles and receive
extra food. Mass synchronized
dances with women garbed in bright-colored
traditional Korean dresses are
staged in the capital's main square.
Familiar?
The following report
on the North Korean leader's last birthday
celebrations reads like something
from our very own People's Voice:
The Communist Party daily,
Rodong Sinmun, said Kim was "endowed with
outstanding commandership art and
matchless courage and pluck" and
represented the destiny and future of
Korea. KCNA said fireworks fizzed over
Mount Paekdu, where the North says he
was born at a secret camp.Floral
tributes mounted up and synchronised
swimmers splashed in unison while the
Korean People's Army song and dance
ensemble put on a show that included
numbers such as the choral "General on
a Galloping White Horse" and female
solo "I do not know a warmer bosom than
it".
Last Thursday,the North Korean leader marked the 64th birthday
insisting he would not succumb to United States pressure.
The
resemblance is striking. Mugabe was born on 21 February 1924. His
birthday
might not be characterised by anything as stupendous and posh as
the North
Korean cuisine. But watch out for the number cows and chickens
which will be
devoured during the hotels, stadiums and gatherings. Already,
there is talk
of raising more than US$100,000 for the "celebration"
scheduled for
Manicaland province.
Our version will also feature some army drills,
our beloved fathers
and brothers, mothers and sisters - clad in Zanu PF
regalia, emblazoned with
Mugabe's youthful wartime image, commemorating his
birth at some stadiums. I
do not want to believe that - in this day, and
knowing Zanu PF's coercive
tactics - all attend such ocassions
voluntarily.
Inevitably, President Mugabe will seize the opportunity to
hit out at
the British and other 'neo-imperialists.'
My feelings
towards this national event on our calendar now fluctuate
between sadness,
anger and sickness.
What makes the whole thing more deplorable is that
the 21st February
Movement - never mind 'youths' well beyond their teens who
lead it - is a
huge political gimmick of our time. This so-called
'movement' was initiated
in 1986 as a registered welfare organisation
ostensibly 'to provide
opportunities for youths and to take part in social
development and
encourage them to participate in recreational
activities.'
Years on, just what social development have the generality
of our
youths been involved in or benefited from? And what recreational
activities
are there to talk about? Perhaps some stock taking would help. It
would be a
waste of time and money anyway.
This sickening charade
proves that the raison dete're, is to elevate
Mugabe to a 'super being',
worthy of not only our collective veneration,
but deserving such reverence
on an annual basis. In my view - and I
insist -this is a revolting
culture.
I think it is time to stop this practice. Robert Mugabe
and his family
should celebrate his birthday at his Zvimba mansion or State
House. Period.
After all, his misrule had reduced Zimbabweans to such
paupers they
cannot even afford one soft drink to celebrate their own
birthdays. In fact
Zimbabwe is going through its worst period in many many
years.
This economic crisis brings me to another saddening
similarity with
our North Korean friends. North Korea's communist ideology
has been based on
the concept of "juche" or self-reliance. Like Zimbabwe, it
has embarked on a
series of limited market reforms. But severe economic
problems , however,
mean the country needs international food aid. Famine in
North Korea has
reportedly killed hundreds of thousands of people over the
last decade.
Disturbingly, both our "birthday boys" have spurned food
aid from the
World Foood Programme (WFP) for fear the gesture would create
an image of
desperation. Well aren't we, really?
In one of his
caustic remarks, President Mugabe left us awestruck when
told off the WFP,
saying Zimbabweans did not need food aid and it should not
be "foisted upon
them" or they would choke on it!
Back to the birthday. I repeat that
the concept should strike us as
repugnant. It is all obscene.Even if there
might be few birthdays remaining
for us to commemorate as a nation, the 21st
February Movement will probably
remain as long as Zanu PF is in power. But
the so-called 'movement' only
window-dresses a sickening culture of
venerating mere mortals.
We have had organisations linked to national
leaders. Take Nelson
Mandela's 46664 Foundation - named after his prison
cell number. It is a far
more respectable and successful organisation
compared to our moribund
movement. Mandela's has attracted major
international stars and raised
millions of dollars for good causes.
At national level, President Mugabe can do the same. Genuinely so.
But
individual egos should not be allowed to supersede the national
interest.
Hero-worshipping living individuals is the bane of African
politics.
It is even more distasteful in our case. Just how people
can 'wine and
dine' amidst such a sea of poverty or a starving nation,
befuddles the mind.
Even if the commemoration is 'scaled down', the point is
- the underlying
concept that one man's birthday should be a cause for
national celebration,
especially when they are still alive, has become
vividly objectionable.
I only celebrate the birth of Jesus
Christ.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
From Pamenus Tuso in Bulawayo
issue date
:2006-Feb-18
WORLD Vision Zimbabwe in partnership with the government has
come up with a
disaster management and response strategy for Matabeleland
South Province.
The province has of late been hit by a number of disasters,
among them
droughts, road accidents, floods, veld fires and the foot and
mouth disease.
Last week, World Vision funded and facilitated an emergency
preparedness and
response workshop in the province attended by provincial
government heads.
Addressing participants at the workshop, the Matabeleland
South Provincial
Administrator, David Mpofu said despite the province's
proneness to
disasters, equipment such as ambulances, vehicles, funds,
resources and
structural organisation remains elusive in the
province.
"This is a pro-active move by World Vision to assist us come up
with a
disaster management plan.that will assist us avert
disasters, save
resources and,
more importantly, save lives and conserve our environment for
the future.
"This is unique because other non-government organisations want
to come in
after a disaster has occurred rather than assisting in taking up
preventive
measures to avoid a disaster from occurring" Mpofu said.
He
pledged to immediately implement the disaster strategy after its
formulation
and approval by the Civil Protection Department.
Mpofu applauded the
strategic plan, saying it will assist the government in
interacting with
other stakeholders in the event of a disaster.
Principal administration
officer in the Civil Protection Department, Godfrey
Nyoni expressed concern
over the increase of disasters in the province.
"Not only are disasters on
the increase in the province, but they are also
becoming more complex to
manage. We have disasters such as droughts, dam
wall failures, stampedes,
suffocation in mines and floods," said Nyoni.
Speaking at the same workshop,
World Vision deputy relief director,
Bhekimpilo Khanye said the emergency
preparedness and response partnership
should spill over to other provinces
and permeate to district, ward and
village levels.
"It is good to respond
to an emergency, but it is more advantageous to have
an emergency
preparedness and response strategy that partners together with
local
people," Khanye said.
He added that training and consultation in emergency
preparedness and
response has been already kicked off in Mangwe and Bubi
districts.
Last year, a train carrying sulphuric acid derailed near Gwanda
and spilled
thousands of litres of the acid into rivers.
Last October,
five pupils coming from a primary school in Insiza in the
province were
burnt in an inferno caused by a veld fire.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date
:2006-Feb-18
THE acute shortage of foreign currency has this year
affected the production
of top dressing, ammonium nitrate (AN)
fertiliser.
This has in turn resulted in the shortage of the much-needed
product on the
market.
Eben Makonese, the chief executive officer (CEO)
of fertiliser manufacturing
company Chemplex, said the country needed 550
000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate
for a good harvest each farming
season.
Due to the shortages of foreign currency to import some critical
inputs, he
said, the country could only produce about 300 000 tonnes this
season.
Most of the manufactured fertiliser, however, ended up on the black
market
because demand is outstripping supply.
"To produce phosphatic
fertilisers, you have to also produce sulphuric acid.
To produce the acid, a
special chemical is needed for the floatation
process, and that chemical has
to be imported," Makonese said.
"In Zimbabwe, we have only two plants that
produce sulphuric acid and one of
them had to be shut down last year because
there was no money to buy the
floatation chemical."
Makonese said there
were also serious transport problems, which resulted in
delays in the
movement of raw phosphate from Dorowa Mine in Buhera to
Nyazura and then to
Harare via rail for processing.
Dorowa is the only phosphate mining company
in Zimbabwe and is not connected
to the rail network.
Currently, the mine
transports the phosphate to Nyazura by its own fleet of
haulage trucks, a
process that heavily depends on fuel availability.
Phosphate is the major
component in fertiliser manufacturing.
Makonese said, due to the
unreliability of rail transport, phosphate had
some time last year to be
moved by road from Dorowa to Harare, a distance of
over 300
kilometres.
He said plans to translocate the manufacturing plant from Harare
to Dorowa
had stalled due to the huge capital demand for such a
project.
Many farmers are going through difficult times trying to access
fertiliser
to revive crops that have been affected by leaching due to
incessant rains
received countrywide since the beginning of the rain
season.
Davison Mugabe, the president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers'
Union
(ZCFU), recently said crop yields could be hugely compromised by the
shortage of fertiliser, coupled with the heavy rains.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
From Patience Nyangove
in Marondera
issue date :2006-Feb-18
A SENIOR police officer on
Wednesday allegedly fired shots and seriously
injured a seven-month-old
baby, its mother and another person in Marondera
during a scuffle with
suspected gamblers.
The baby was strapped on its mother's back.
The
policeman is said to be an inspector based in Marondera.
According to
reports, the bullet went through the woman's abdomen and
injured the baby in
the stomach.
Another shot fired reportedly hit one of the suspected gamblers
in the head.
The victims were by yesterday reportedly battling for their
lives at Harare
Hospital.
Allegations were that the inspector (name
supplied) - who was in civilian
clothes - was part of a team patrolling
Dombotombo suburb when they were
requested by the public to intervene and
stop a fight at Rusike Hostel.
On their way to the hostel, the policemen
allegedly saw a group of people
gambling and told them they were under
arrest for betting illegally.
One of the suspected gamblers reportedly
challenged the
inspector and the harsh exchange of words degenerated into
a
fight.
As they wrestled, the inspector allegedly drew his service pistol
and shot
the man in the head.
The other bullet hit the woman and her
child.
Mashonaland East police spokesperson, Inspector Darlington Mathuthu,
confirmed the incident saying: "We have since launched investigations to
establish what really transpired."
Meanwhile, in a case of domestic
violence, a Macheke man last week fatally
assaulted his pregnant wife
following an un-disclosed dispute.
Mathuthu alleged that Charles Sarufu (37)
killed his 33-year-old wife
Pauline Nyamunjira after kicking her in the
stomach and all over the body
until she started bleeding profusely.
The
police spokesperson said Nyamunjira bled for three
days without accessing any
medication and was only sent to the hospital when
her condition
deteriorated.
She was admitted at Marondera Hospital where she later
died.
Mathuthu said the matter was only reported to the police
when
Nyamunjira was taken to hospital.
"We have since arrested Sarufu on murder
charges and he will appear in court
soon," Mathuthu said.
Cases of
domestic violence in Zimbabwe are on the rise, prompting many human
rights
organisations to press government to table the long awaited Domestic
Violence Bill.
The Bill, which has been on the cards for years, is
expected to protect
mostly women from domestic violence and allow for the
prosecution of
perpetrators of the offence.
Minister of Justice, Legal
and Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa,
recently told this newspaper
that the Bill would be tabled in Parliament
before year-end for debate.
From SW Radio Africa, 17 February
By Violet Gonda
A food riot is
reported to have broken out in Bulawayo on Friday after a
delivery of the
scarce mealie-meal arrived at a local shop. 10 people were
injured and
windows were broken as riot police tried to control the
situation. There has
been no mealie-meal in shops in the Bulawayo area for
months now, and
reports from around the country show that this basic food is
in serious
short supply. Millers in Bulawayo have been accusing the Grain
Marketing
Board of favouring large operations, who sell this major commodity
at higher
prices on the black market. Bulawayo based journalist Raymond
Phiri told us
by the time a National Foods truck arrived with the delivery
Friday, some
people had queued for more than 3 days. He said chaos broke out
as desperate
Bulawayo residents pushed and shoved for positions, and others
attempted to
jump the queue. Riot police arrived to control the crowds as
some rowdy
youths began looting. Many shop windows were smashed and people
panicked
trying to escape from teargas fired by the police. Phiri said the
crowd
eventually dispersed, but the police who remained were seen buying the
mealie-meal themselves. Angry residents say this shows how police and
government officials get priority, while the ordinary Zimbabweans struggle
without this much needed food. Bulawayo based Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius
Ncube also told SW Radio Africa that people are dying of starvation in the
country. The outspoken cleric said this is a direct result of the
government's
ban on mass feeding programmes in parts of the country. Many
NGOs that were
distributing food were told to stop by the government which
claimed they
were supporting the opposition. Ncube says that priests in some
areas are
burying at least 5 people a day as mass starvation grips. Despite
this the
government continues to interfere with food distribution. The worst
affected
are mainly HIV/AIDS sufferers, children and the elderly who are
particularly
vulnerable to a lack of food.