The Earth Moved

saturday 25th February 2006

Dear Family and Friends,
Something amazing happened in Zimbabwe this week. On Wednesday night at 20
minutes past midnight the earth shook for a few minutes. The earthquake
which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale was centred in Espungabera, a small
farming town in a remote area of Mozambique near the Zimbabwe border. The
earthquake was felt as far as 1000 kilometres away from the epicentre. In
north east Zimbabwe beds shook, furniture trembled and glasses and plates
tinkled on shelves in cupboards. Many of us heard a rushing noise like a
high wind just as the shaking started and had no idea about what to do or
where to go to be safe. It was a confusing and frightening experience,
exacerbated by our ignorance as earthquakes are virtually unknown in
Zimbabwe.

At 6am the following morning, the obvious place to get news and information
about the strange shaking in the night, was the state owned radio and
television. I listened in confusion and disbelief as the headline morning
news wasn't about an earthquake, tremors or shaking but about the
"unbundling" of Air Zimbabwe into six individual companies. This
"unbundling" is the latest phenomenon of loss making government companies
here. Instead of being closed down or privatized, these huge debt ridden
establishments are split up into lots of different little companies.
'Unbundling' is the 'Zim-glish' word that had sprung up to describe this
strange activity which I suppose is undertaken to share the debts and make
the losses look smaller than they actually are. The second story on the
first news bulletin of the day was about some scandal with a stripper on
Valentines Day and still not about an earthquake and so I gave up and went
looking for news elsewhere.

For one day, we had something else to talk about in Zimbabwe, something
other than massive price rises and inflation that is going up faster than
anyone can cope with. In queues everywhere, whether for passport forms, cash
machines or petrol, a strange shaking in the middle of the night was the
only topic of conversation and it brought Zimbabweans together. Everyone,
everywhere was talking about the earthquake but by lunch time it was still
not making headline news on state owned television which was now talking
about bumper harvests and the Presidents 82nd birthday party. On Thursday
evening, 18 hours after the earthquake, I was forced to give up trying to
find out about the tremors as the electricity had gone off - again. A lot of
people were worried about aftershocks but we were mostly in the dark -
literally and figuratively. For six hours the next night, sitting in the
dark with only the sound of hordes of screeching mosquitoes it was hard not
to think scary and superstitious thoughts as we waited for more shaking.
When the power did finally come back on the television was again talking
about the the nationwide celebrations planned to commemorate President
Mugabe's 82nd birthday party. It seems that even the earth moving does match
the importance of birthdays.
Until next week, love cathy

NCA To Protest Every Day, Even At Night - Madhuku

Zim Daily

            Friday, February 24 2006 @ 12:27 PM GMT
            Contributed by: correspondent
             Emboldened by the success of this week's two mass protests
against President Mugabe's extravagance amid mass starvation , lobby group
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) yesterday said it was bracing for
combat against government over escalating repression and its apparent
refusal to embrace a new people-driven constitution. NCA spokesperson
Lovemore Madhuku said more confrontation was looming over government's
refusal to immediately stop repression and craft a new constitution. He said
President Mugabe's administration would face "unprecedented mass action."

            "If government ignores our calls for a new constitution it would
be declaring war against the people," Madhuku told a public meeting
yesterday. "The consequences of such a move would be serious." The NCA has
persistently called on government to adopt a new constitution, restore the
rule of law, end violence and human rights abuses. More than 130 NCA
activists were arrested this week alone following mass protests against the
throwing of a lavish birthday for President Mugabe amid mass starvation.

            However, President Robert Mugabe scoffed at the NCA, saying his
government would not yield to demands of "students of the white man".
Security Minister Didymus Mutasa bluntly described the protests as "stupid".
But Madhuku warned Mugabe's refusal to stop ongoing repression was a
provocation of an already restless population. "By refusing to abandon
repression in order to continue his tyranny, it means Mugabe is simply
saying he wants to confront oppressed Zimbabweans," he said. "Let him be
warned that Zimbabweans have a long history of resisting dictatorship. They
did so in the past and they will certainly do so now."

            The NCA says it has met to review the protests and map a way
forward. It resolved to fight on despite intensifying state-instigated
retribution against its members after the industrial action. Madhuku told
the public meeting: "From now on we will protest everyday. Even at night."
Zanu PF's politburo onNCA, claiming the civic group was causing violence.
This seemed inspired by Mugabe's vow last Friday that his government would
crush any dissent to his 26 year rule.

Mugabe launches new tirade against West

Mail and Guardian

            Michael Hartnack | Mutare, Zimbabwe

            26 February 2006 08:25

                  President Robert Mugabe used his official 82nd birthday
celebrations on Saturday to launch a new tirade against the West, boosted by
a split in the opposition party.

                  In an apparent play on the name of United States President
George Bush, Mugabe warned Zimbabwe's youth to beware "the monster of
imperialism continually and dangerously lurking in the bush".

                  He told thousands of schoolchildren gathered in the
eastern city of Mutare that the US leader and British Prime Minister Tony
Blair still aim to dominate Zimbabwe through its opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).

                  But a rift in Zimbabwe's opposition movement was
formalised on Saturday when one of the two factions elected a 39-year-old
Massachusetts Institute of Technology-educated professor, Arthur Mutambara,
as its leader.

                  Mutambara, a former student leader who clashed with
Mugabe's government over its human rights record in the 1980s, told 3 500
delegates in the south-western city of Bulawayo he will unite opposition to
President Robert Mugabe's 26-year rule.

                  The opposition movement split when its leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai, who still heads the other faction, defied his executive in
October and imposed a boycott of elections for a newly created Upper House
or Senate.

                  Mugabe has been able to exploit the split in the MDC
leadership, portraying the party as mere pawns for Western imperialists.

                  "I am not the master," he told the birthday guests,
sarcastically indicating to a small group of invited Western diplomats.
"Look at all those people there. They are the masters."

                  Mugabe, who has ruled since the country became independent
in 1980, delivered a rambling 75-minute speech denouncing whites who ruled
when the country was named Rhodesia, and urging youth to be ready to take up
arms to repel invaders.

                  He called his "fast-track land-reform programme", which
saw the seizure since February 2000 of 5 000 white-owned farms, a success
and said "youth should be encouraged to develop an interest in agriculture
so they can contribute meaningfully to food production".

                  Despite good rains, more than five million Zimbabweans
currently depend on food relief, much of it funded by or imported from the
US. The crash in farm production since 2000 has seen 90% of commandeered
farmland become derelict.

                  Raised a strict Catholic, Mugabe used his birthday speech
to condemn the emphasis on condoms as a means of checking the HIV/Aids
epidemic that now infects more than a fifth of the country's people.

                  Choirs sang Mugabe's praises as he entered the border
city's Sakubva Stadium with his 40-year-old wife and three young children.
He entered a secret polygamous marriage with her while his late Ghanaian
first wife, Sally, was still alive.

                  Schoolchildren bused in from all parts of the country
waved black, yellow, green and red flags of the ruling Zanu-PF to greet him.

                  On Thursday, 61 demonstrators were detained overnight in
the capital, Harare, for protesting the planned $2-million expenditure on
birthday festivities when many Zimbabweans are starving and homeless.

                  About 20 000 members of Rhodesia's once 293 000-strong
white community remain. They held 17% of the country's most productive
farmland until Mugabe ordered the land seizures.

                  "Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans, just as Britain is for the
British, America for the Americans. So let us not allow outsiders to
interfere," Mugabe said. -- Sapa-AP

MDC versus MDC

Green Left Weekly, Australia

Bernie Stephens, Harare

With the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) divided down the
middle, President Robert Mugabe would have celebrated his 82nd birthday in
February with temporary respite.

The MDC split in the lead-up to last November's Senate elections. MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai rejected government proposals to reintroduce the Senate
and insisted that they boycott the election. He called it a waste of money
and argued that the whole system was so rigged it would be a waste of time
to participate.

A faction of the MDC, led by the party's general secretary and MP Welshman
Ncube, defied Tsvangirai. This faction went on to run candidates, but they
lost heavily in an election campaign dominated by apathy, low turnout and
the well-oiled election machine of Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National
Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

The acrimony caused by the Senate campaign spilled over into battles - legal
and otherwise - to control the MDC's name, assets and properties. Each side
has since been eagerly expelling and suspending each other, a process
expected to culminate in two separate congresses by the end of March.

While Ncube's pro-Senate faction is roughly based on the western,
Ndbele-speaking part of the country, it appears to be successfully carving
out a national following among the MDC's middle-class supporters. It has
attracted some prominent party leaders from central and eastern
Shona-speaking regions, as well as 32 of the 48 MDC parliamentarians and the
seven MDC senators.

The Ncube faction is committed to the parliamentary process backed up by
legal challenges against the rigged elections and, as recently revealed by
South Africa's President Mbeki, secret negotiations with ZANU-PF. As Ncube
has put it, "if ZANU-PF say that there is an election for toilet caretaker
we will participate".

His conservative group is more likely to be able to strike a deal with the
right-wing of the ZANU-PF, itself faction-ridden as internal cliques jockey
in preparation for Mugabe's eventual retirement.

Given his increasing isolation, Tsvangirai, a former leader of the Zimbabwe
Council of Trade unions (ZCTU), appears to have opted to return the MDC to
its roots as a party built out of industrial action and extra-parliamentary
struggles. He has supported the call for a broadly based Working People's
Convention in early March, like that which helped launch the MDC in 1999.

In October, Tsvangirai started walking to his office each day in solidarity
with the thousands of workers and school children who were having to walk
due to the ongoing and crippling fuel shortage. It was a dramatic gesture
that contrasted with the huge cavalcade of limousines, troops, ambulances
and motorcycles heralding the approach of the president's cavalcade. For a
few days, Tsvangirai was joined by a growing crowd of activists and party
supporters.

MDC economic spokesperson Tendai Biti even criticised the government for
paying US$126 million to the International Monetary Fund. He argued that the
scarce foreign exchange would be better spent on importing essentials such
as food, fuel, medicines and the inputs needed to keep factories and farms
operating.

Activists are recovering from the dislocation and disorientation caused by
mass evictions and demolitions in urban areas unleashed by the government
last year. The attendance of more than 3000 people at the Southern Africa
Social Form in Harare in October was particularly significant. Forum
activists, especially the HIV and AIDS cluster, subsequently mobilised
strongly for the ZCTU day of protest against poverty on November 8.

This action, despite more than 100 arrests, was further inspiration for
activists - especially women's, HIV and AIDS and human rights activists and
the International Socialists (ISO) - to organise small but morale-building
marches on December 1 and 10. These marked World AIDS Day and International
Human Rights day respectively. However, ZCTU and MDC participation in these
protests was minimal. Presumably the MDC was too consumed with its feuds at
the time.

The ZCTU appeared to pull back from any further protests after it rejoined
the Tripatatire National Forum (TNF) with bosses and government on November
24. The ZCTU even organised a human rights public meeting that deliberately
clashed with the Human Rights Day street march.

Despite the MDC's apparent self-destruction and the ZCTU's re-entry into the
TNF, Mugabe's government remains nervous.

The ZCTU is now sponsoring the upcoming Working People's Convention. Its
leadership must be feeling the pressure of its workers having to survive
with inflation running at over 613%. Few workers earn anywhere near the
poverty line of ZIM$20 million a month.

The government knows that the people are going hungry. Defence force
commander General Constantine Chiwenga recently warned that soldiers could
again be "forced to turn our guns on hungry Zimbabweans".

The security apparatus is now paying particular attention to key civil
society figures, such as independent journalists, student activists, ISO
members, human-rights lawyers and women activists.

In recent weeks, demonstrations and arrests have occurred in Harare and
Bulawayo. Students have protested the introduction of up-front fees and 400
women from Women of Zimbabwe Arise were arrested at "bread and roses"
Valentine's Day marches. The women distributed roses while demonstrating for
bread.

While still small, these protests are a reminder of the mass actions that
led to the rapid and spectacular growth of the previously radical MDC, which
almost toppled Mugabe.

From Green Left Weekly, March 1, 2006.

Mzingwane gets taste of Zanu PF duplicity

Zim Standard

By Gibbs Dube

BULAWAYO - A borehole, sunk at Mzingwane High School in the run-up to the
Zanu PF annual conference in Esigodini last December has become a white
elephant. It stopped operating soon after the event which gobbled billions
of dollars.

According to the school headmaster, Tapi Vincent Moyo, workers from the
District Development Fund (DDF) removed the borehole's submersible pump a
few days after the conference.
Moyo said: "DDF workers took away the submersible pump soon after the
conference without saying a word to school authorities. We were surprised
about the move as we expected to cut down our monthly water bills.

"We are currently paying about $140 million a month to the local authority
for water usage. The borehole could have gone a long way in enhancing the
development of the school as money meant for paying water bills was to be
utilised for other purposes."

He noted that the borehole, sunk at a total cost of over $600 million and
utilised during the four-day ruling party conference, had the potential of
serving both the upgraded school clinic and Mzingwane High School.

Moyo referred The Standard to senior officials, of the Mzingwane Rural
District Council, DDF and Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZNWA), who were
all not eager to discuss the issue.

A senior official of the Mzingwane Rural District Council said his council
was not in a position to discuss "an issue which is highly political" while
DDF and ZNWA officials said they were not supposed to discuss anything with
the Press.

"I am not allowed to talk to the Press although I am aware that the borehole
which was sunk at Mzingwane High School during that time (run-up to the Zanu
PF conference) is now a white elephant. The submersible pump which is used
for pumping underground water into terrestrial storage tanks was not
specifically for that school project," said one of the DDF officials.

He referred further questions to ZNWA officials, who were unwilling to talk
to the Press.

Efforts to get a comment from the Minister of Water Resources and
Infrastructural Development, Eng Munacho Mutezo, were in vain as he was said
to be busy attending meetings during the past two weeks.

Water from the borehole was sent for laboratory tests on a daily basis
before and during the ruling party conference before DDF officials removed
the $350 million submersible pump from the borehole.

Meanwhile, the school has not yet received 10 computers which were pledged
by President Robert Mugabe at the conference soon after a combined schools
choir, with Mzingwane High School students, gave a sterling performance
which took the Zimbabwean leader down memory lane as it sang songs of the
1950s.

Mugabe was so impressed that he promised to source the computers within the
shortest possible time.

However two months later, the school has not yet received the computers
although the school headmaster was optimistic the computers would be
delivered soon.

"I am sure that the computers will be given to us as promised by the
President. We have asked the Mzingwane District Administrator to make a
follow up on our behalf.

"When delivered, we will use them to improve the standard of education at
this school," Moyo said.

Both the district administrator and presidential spokesperson, George
Charamba, could not be reached for comment.

President Mugabe started distributing computers in the run-up to the 2005
parliamentary elections, a move widely seen as vote-buying.

UZ reopening in doubt as students threaten anarchy

Zim Standard

By Vusumuzi Sifile

LECTURES at the University of Zimbabwe, which were supposed to begin
tomorrow, are doubtful as students threaten to resist the new fees that were
announced two weeks ago.

The second semester for the 2005/2006 academic year was initially scheduled
to begin on Monday 13 February, but was postponed to tomorrow to allow
students to pay the new fees, which will see some students paying as much as
$93 million in tuition and accommodation fees.
However, students have vowed not to pay the new fees, as they are "a direct
threat to our fundamental right to education" and "a clear reversal of the
gains of the revolution".

The Zimbabwe National Students' Union (ZINASU) and the UZ Students Executive
Council have threatened to "make the UZ ungovernable" unless the authorities
reverse the new fee structure.

ZINASU president, Washington Katema, said: "Once students succumb to this
madness, they will have themselves to blame. We want to make the UZ
ungovernable. We will make sure there are no lectures, no lecturers and that
no students go to lecture rooms."

The Standard understands that by Friday, only slightly more than 500
students out of the university's 13 000 had paid fees. This, said an
official at the university, was causing administrative problems for the
university.

"The normal action to take would be to expel the students who fail to pay
fees, but how can we expel 12 000 students and remain with only 1 000? It
doesn't make any sense," said the official.

Meanwhile, the UZ appears to be backtracking on its hard stance on students
who fail to pay the new fees, introducing a new staggered payment option
where students pay 50% of the semester tuition fees at registration, and pay
the remainder in instalments. There is also an arrangement for those "in
extreme difficulties" to apply for "an alternative payment plan".

Last week, the students petitioned Higher and Tertiary Education Minister,
Dr Stan Mudenge, to "uphold the fundamentals of democracy and if possible
step down if you have failed". They said a 5000% increase in tuition fees,
compared with a 90% increase in grants would make students destitute.

Langa set free after State drops charges

Zim Standard

By Gibbs Dube

BULAWAYO - Andrew Langa, the Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, who
was facing allegations of threatening to shoot his rival in the run-up to
the 2005 Parliamentary elections, had the charges dropped before plea in
unclear circumstances.

Langa, charged with allegedly contravening some sections of the
Miscellaneous Offences Act, recently walked out of the Gwanda magistrates'
court a free man after the State indicated that it would proceed by way of
summons.
The Deputy Minister was accused of threatening to shoot his opponent in the
poll, Siyabonga Malandu-Ncube, of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
during the run up to the election.

Irked by the dropping of the charges on 2 February, Malandu-Ncube has hired
a law firm, Job Sibanda and Associates, to establish the circumstances that
led to the withdrawal of the case.

In a letter to the Gwanda Area Public Prosecutor, Malandu-Ncube's lawyers
have indicated that their client was not happy with the way the
Attorney-General's Office handled the matter.

The letter says in part: "Our client vigorously disputes that the case was
withdrawn because the police had created three separate dockets for the
three accused persons and that you intended to consolidate them into one .
He also disputes that the move was taken in order to allow the State to get
the results of the electoral petition that he had filed in the High Court
against Langa."

Langa's co-accused are Donnie Dhlamini and Spare Sithole, who are facing
charges of common assault. Malandu-Ncube also unsuccessfully filed a High
Court petition challenging the result of the 2005 parliamentary election in
Insiza. The deputy minister beat his rival by a wide margin in the poll.

Malandu-Ncube's lawyers have indicated that they were amazed over the
withdrawal of the charges noting that the trial date had been set but the
State decided to drop the charges even though it was ready to commence
prosecution.

"It appears to us that withdrawal of charges before plea, simply to enable
you to consolidate the dockets, was inappropriate and done in haste. To make
matters worse, you made the decision to withdraw the charges unilaterally
without even consulting, let alone informing our client. That on its own
further fortifies his suspicions," say the lawyers.

Langa's lawyer, Thompson Mabhikwa of Mabhikwa and Partners, told The
Standard that the charges were withdrawn before plea as there were
indications that Malandu-Ncube was likely to be deserted by witnesses.

"These are the same witnesses who testified against Langa in the High Court
election petition which was dismissed by the court. The feeling in legal
circles is that they may desert or turn against the complainant in the
latest court case and therefore this may be a waste of State funds,"
Mabhikwa said.

He said the area public prosecutor had also indicated that the charges were
withdrawn before plea in order to allow the Attorney-General's Office to
consolidate the dockets of the three accused persons.

Asked to comment, the senior public prosecutor for the Western Region,
Phineas Mpofu, said he was aware that Malandu-Ncube's lawyers were demanding
an explanation from the Attorney-General's Office over the dropping of
charges against Langa.

He said: "I have received a letter from the complainant's lawyers who were
not happy with the decision to withdraw the case. I will peruse the dockets
as soon as possible and take the necessary measures thereafter.

"My impression is that the matter has been referred to my office for
detailed analysis before prosecution. It does not mean that the matter is
dead after the case was withdrawn before plea."

Zim can't do it alone - Governor

Zim Standard

By Caiphas Chimhete

NYAMAPANDA - A senior government official last week echoed President Robert
Mugabe's recent statement saying Zimbabwe needed to "build bridges" with the
international community and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in order
to foster national development. Governor and resident minister for
Mashonaland East province, Ray Kaukonde, said Zimbabwe could not achieve
national development if it continued to work in isolation.

"We can't work in isolation. We have to work together. Let's build bridges
and the bridges can start to be built from the grassroots," Kaukonde said.
Kaukonde was speaking at the commissioning of a $8.56 billion Jatropha oil
pressing, soap making and bio-diesel plant, funded by the Canadian
International Development Agency (Cida)'s Environmental Responsive Fund
(ERF).

The project, aims at mitigating climate change-induced vulnerability by
promoting drought tolerant crops, involves extracting of bio-diesel from
Jatropha seeds, oil from sunflower and soap making.

Kaukonde said the country needed things "like drugs" and to get them
Zimbabwe needed to "work with the international community and NGOs as long
as they have developmental agenda".

Zimbabwe has been placed on targeted sanctions by the West which accuses
President Robert Mugabe's government of gross human rights violations.
However, a defiant Mugabe has on several occasions been quoted as saying
Zimbabwe can go it alone without international assistance.

He accuses the West, especially Britain and America and NGOs, of wanting to
effect regime change in Zimbabwe, even though most of the organisations are
empowering and feeding poverty-stricken villagers.

Commissioning the project, Canadian Ambassador Ms Roxanne Dubé, said the
project would enhance household incomes, guarantee food security during
droughts and help protect the environment for surrounding communities.

"It seeks to increase food security through the increased production of
cassava, and to increase real incomes through the processing and marketing
of soap, edible oil and a variety of cassava products," Dubé said.

The project, which is spearheaded by Edit Trust, a local NGO, is benefiting
more than 500 households, mostly women- and child-headed families in Mudzi
district in Chikwizo Ward A and Goronga Ward B.

Other than helping improve people's standards of living, the project also
helps protect the environment from erosion.

The Jatropha plant is popular as a form of fencing around gardens,
homesteads and schools.

"Furthermore, the press cake from the plant, one of the by-products of the
oil extraction, is a valuable organic fertilizer that is comparable to
chicken manure," said Dubé.

Villagers feed on leftovers

Zim Standard

By Godfrey Mutimba

MASVINGO - As hunger continues to stalk Masvingo province, villagers in
Zimuto communal lands are scavenging for food leftovers at Zimuto Mission
High School.

Teachers at the school fear the villagers could be exposing themselves to
diseases since they battle with hungry dogs, which also forage for food from
the school's dumpsite and bins.
When The Standard visited the school just after lunch on Wednesday, scores
of hungry villagers were milling around the dumpsite, waiting for cooks to
dump the food leftovers.

One of the villagers, Tangai Mazambara, said he was scrounging for food at
the school while awaiting his crops to mature.

"Our families are starving," he said, "We can't watch them dying. It is
better for them to eat this food. We have nowhere to buy grain or maize
meal. If you go to the city you spend three days in a queue to buy maize
meal and the family will be starving," Mazambara said.

Asked whether he was not afraid of contracting diseases, Mazambara said it
was better to die of diseases than succumbing to hunger.

"We are aware of the possibilities of contracting diseases but we have no
option. It's better to die of a disease than to die of hunger," he said,
adding "we can't be infected because we boil the sadza before eating it.''

A Zimuto Mission teacher, who requested not to be named, described the
situation as "pathetic" adding the villagers risked contracting diseases.

"The situation here is bad. Villagers invade the school bins on a daily
basis collecting leftovers and taking them home.

"I think something must be done because if this continues many people will
die of diseases like cholera," warned the teacher.

According to the teacher, the school authorities, have instructed the
school's cooks to store the leftovers in a clean place to avoid deliberately
exposing the villagers to the risk of a disease outbreak.

Fierce jockeying for MDC posts

Zim Standard

By Nqobani Ndlovu

BULAWAYO - Fierce jockeying for positions in the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) anti-Senate faction is taking place ahead of its March
congress, The Standard has learnt.

Kuwadzana Member of Parliament and spokesperson for the Tsvangirai faction,
Nelson Chamisa, however said there was nothing amiss about the jostling for
positions, as it was a sign of the existence of democracy in the MDC.
Chamisa said: "It only shows that the MDC is democratic. There is nothing
amiss about fighting for top posts. Nominations will soon be open to members
of the party for positions of their interest."

According to sources within the faction, Makokoba Member of Parliament
Thokozani Khuphe, who all along has been the front-runner for the post of
vice president, appears to be losing ground to Matobo Member of Parliament,
Lovemore Moyo.

Khuphe has been quoted as saying that she was interested in filling the post
of vice president once held by trade unionist Gibson Sibanda, who is now in
the other faction led by secretary general Professor Welshman Ncube.

One of the sources said: "MP Khuphe is a victim of political machinations as
other members have been decampaigning her saying she was an agent of the
other faction. This is despite the fact that she is Tsvangirai's favourite
candidate for the vice presidency."

However, Tsvangirai's spokesperson, William Bango, dismissed suggestions
that the MDC leader had groomed Khuphe saying Tsvangirai could not take such
a gamble because he had to campaign for himself and not othercandidates.

Moyo indicated that he had not yet decided to contest for the vice
presidency, "as I have not been approached by anybody on the issue although
everything is possible in politics".

Repeated efforts to get a comment from Khuphe were fruitless as she was
unreachable on her mobile Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, legislators
Tapiwa Mashakada and Tendai Biti appear to be interested in the post of
secretary general, while executive council member Getrude Mthombeni is
eyeing the position of deputy secretary general.

Ian Makone has emerged as the likely candidate for the post of treasurer
once held by Fletcher Dulini-Ncube, who is in the Ncube camp. He could not
be reached for comment yesterday.

Other members of the party who are said to be interested in various posts
could neither confirm nor deny that they were eager to occupy top posts in
the Tsvangirai faction.

Reacting to queries from The Standard, Mashakada said: "Why are you
interested in this matter? However, I am prepared to serve the party in any
capacity in whatever position."

On the other hand, Biti said he was not in a race for any party post because
no one had approached him suggesting that he should be nominated for the
position of secretary general.

Mthombeni said: "There is no specific position that I want but I believe
people are the ones who should elect office bearers and if I am approached,
I will take up the challenge."

Swedish envoy slams police over baby detentions

Zim Standard

By our staff

SWEDISH Ambassador to Zimbabwe Sten Rylander has condemned the detention of
children by police which occurred in Bulawayo and Harare recently.

About 14 babies were detained with their mothers - members of the Women of
Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) - after the women demonstrated in the two cities
against increasing economic hardships.
Rylander was addressing more than 100 guests who included villagers,
traditional leaders, and local government officials during the official
handover of a vehicle and two motorbikes to a community-based child rights
project.

"The use of physical force to control children should not be encouraged at
all. This also applies to sending children to prison like what happened in
Bulawayo and Harare last week," Rylander said.

Also present at the function were several high-ranking police officers.

"International law encourages all states to make efforts to eliminate the
abduction and trafficking of children. Despite this, there are so many
children in today's world living in exceptionally difficult circumstances.
Zimbabwe is no exception," Rylander said.

Women politicians join looting bandwagon

Zim Standard

By Foster Dongozi

RECENT reports suggesting that Harare Commission chairperson, Sekesai
Makwavarara, wanted to spend $35 billion on furniture and curtains for the
Gunhill mayoral mansion could signal the emergence of a new breed of female
Zanu PF politicians prepared to match their male counterparts in plundering
public resources.

While Makwavarara was making her bid for the good life in Harare, President
Robert Mugabe's recent appointee, Matabeleland North Governor, Thokozile
Mathuthu, was wallowing in the lap of luxury at the tax payer's expense as
she lived large at a Bulawayo hotel.
Mathuthu stayed at the Bulawayo Rainbow Hotel for months during which period
she reportedly chalked up a bill that ran into millions of dollars in
accommodation and meal expenses.

Several years ago Mugabe ordered that governors live in the provinces they
were appointed to represent. Mathuthu, as Matabeleland North Governor,
should ideally operate from Lupane, the designated provincial capital.

Alternatively, she could live in some of the province's towns like Hwange,
Victoria Falls and Binga to avoid burning scarce and expensive fuel through
commuting.

Governors in other provinces of the country live among people they were
appointed to serve.

Districts under Mathuthu's control like Binga, Umguza, Tsholotsho, Nkayi and
Hwange are some of the least developed in the country and have dysfunctional
clinics and schools.

Ironically, both Makwavarara and Mathuthu fall under the Ministry of Local
Government, Public Works and Urban Development, headed by Ignatiuos Chombo.

Another Mugabe appointee, Abigail Damasane, the Deputy Minister of Women's
Affairs recently hit the headlines after demanding US$14 309 (about $1.4
billion) from the State-run export promotion body, Zimtrade, arguing that
she performed national duty in 2 000 when she manned the country's pavilion
at a trade show in Germany.

She reportedly wants the payment in foreign currency.

Damasane, who lost the Umzingwane constituency to Nomalanga Mzilikazi
Khumalo (MDC) in the 2005 Parliamentary elections, is renowned for treating
Zanu PF delegates with raunchy dance routines during meetings.

Trudy Stevenson, MP for Harare North MDC, said she was disappointed by
reports linking Makwavarara and Mathuthu to acts of extravagance.

"I am disappointed with the two women politicians. Women are supposed to be
more honest, accountable and less extravagant. I am absolutely
disappointed."

The chairperson of the Women's Coalition, Betty Makoni, concurred with
Stevenson.

The Women's Coalition is a grouping of 35 women's organisations.

"We are currently analysing reports that appeared in the media about
Makwavarara and Mathuthu. We have to be cautious because those are sensitive
issues that can bring some women down.

"There will soon be a symposium on how to build the capacity and vision of
women in high profile positions. This will help them in looking at bigger
things than curtains and living in hotels," Makoni said.

She said some women leaders needed to have capacity building training to
improve their vision.

Precious Shumba, the Combined Harare Residents' Association spokesperson
said the three women would unfortunately be treated as a representation of
what the new breed of female politicians were prepared to do, once entrusted
with power.

"There is a lot of rot even among male politicians but the three female
politicians could have reversed the gains made by some women who had broken
into the male-dominated political arena."

Shumba added that chauvinistic sections of society would seize on the three
women's excesses, and label all female politicians greedy and not prepared
to serve ordinary people.

Jabulani Sibanda, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans'
Association's chairman, said Mathuthu's extravagance was "scandalous".

Harare Hospital's casualty disaster

Zim Standard

By Bertha Shoko

HARARE Central Hospital is operating with a casualty department without
essential drugs, medicines and equipment a situation that has seriously
endangered the lives of many patients seeking treatment at the institution.
The casualty department is a patient's first port of call on arriving at a
health institution and it is in this section of the hospital that all
emergencies and accidents are first attended to by casualty officers.

However, The Standard can reveal that Harare hospital, which is one of
Zimbabwe's largest referral hospitals, no longer has a casualty department
to speak of. Patients seeking treatment at the institution do so at their
own peril.
Last week this reporter toured the casualty departments at the hospital, one
of the largest in the country to witness a serious health crisis at the
institution. There are three casualty sections at Harare, which are the
main, general paediatric and maternity.

At the main casualty the resuscitation room is poorly equipped to handle any
emergencies and accidents. Monitoring equipment such as the Electro Cadio
Graph (used to monitor a patient's heart beat) and pulse oxe-metre. Sources
at the hospital said essential equipment such as the laryngoscope that is
used to assist patients with breathing through a tube is kept locked up by
the authorities for fear of theft.

Said the source: "This laryngoscope is available only upon request from the
authorities. It takes just a few seconds to lose a patient who is failing to
breathe properly and more than five minutes to unlock that cupboard and
retrieve this machine."

Supplies of drugs used for resuscitation such as atropine, adrenalin and
dextrose that sources said were used in cadio pulmonary resuscitation, are
erratic and have not been available at the hospital for weeks. When the
heart stops beating doctors may use these drugs to resuscitate it.

The sources said for weeks, Harare hospital's main casualty department has
not had any intravenous fluids (drips) and tubes used to administer the
drip.

Blood supplies at the hospital are erratic leaving one to imagine what
happens to patients who require blood transfusions after accidents. Sources
said the Blood Transfusion Service was not supplying Harare Hospital because
"it is a bad debtor".

There are no pleural drain sets in the casualty department, which is used to
drain blood in a patient's lungs after injuries in the chest cavity. Blood
in the lungs prevents proper breathing and if left undrained could result in
death, according to medical sources.

Neck collars that are used when a patient has a neck injury are not
available at the hospital. Instead, doctors cut cupboard boxes and use to
steady the neck on trauma patients.

The hospital's X-ray department, which is situated on the second floor of
the main casualty department, exists only in name. When a patient is injured
doctors need to determine the extent of the injuries using X-rays but the
radiography department is as good as dead. According to sources, the only
two radiographers are often not available and the hospital may go without
necessary films for months.

On manpower, there are only three nurses who are trained to deal with
emergencies or trauma cases. There are supposed to be six casualty
doctors/officers at any given time but there was only one doctor when The
Standard visited. Sources at the hospital said this was always the case.
Because of the shortage, the doctors are spread to other wards in the
hospital to attend to patients.

The problems in the main casualty section also extend to the paediatric and
maternity wards. The shortage of equipment and drugs in the two wards is
just as acute as in the casualty department. The hospital's former
superintendent Dr. Chris Tapfumaneyi, who was recently trasnferred to the
Ministry of Health and Child Welfare head office, could not be reached for
comment.

Mugabe's bark is worse than his bite

Zim Standard

Comment

THE sycophancy, paralysis of indecision and consequent inaction afflicting
Zimbabwe was on display again last week. It needed President Robert Mugabe
to express his disappointment at the performance of some of his ministers
and the perennial bungling in the administration of soccer for his band of
ineffectual praise-singers to jump onto the bandwagon.

Mugabe said the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) had failed to manage
the sport and, in fact, was undermining the national soccer squad's
potential to make an impact on the international stage.
He said: "Zifa continues to be in shambles. I don't know whether we can get
the right-minded people to constitute Zifa. its management."

Suddenly a discovery had been made! Taking the cue from Mugabe, the Minister
of Education, Sport and Culture became one of the cheer leaders, clamouring
to outdo each other in their condemnation of soccer administrators. Yet the
incompetence in the administration of sport has been self-evident for years.

The ministry, and by extension the government, is guilty of and has played a
contributory role in nurturing the cancer in the administration of football
in this country. They have no idea of what should be done, beyond merely
calling for a change of faces at 53 Livingstone Avenue.

In order to be cleansed, the administration of soccer requires an
investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission and a new set of
requirements for people aspiring to be soccer administrators.

Mugabe was also dissatisfied with the performance of his ministers,
according to his 82nd birthday interview with Newsnet. We are surprised that
he should be. He has restricted himself to appointing those who are good at
nothing apart from parroting ruling party mantras. When on occasion he has
appointed the likes of Nkosana Moyo and Simba Makoni, he has consistently
disregarded their advice, almost branding them enemies. That is why Moyo
felt threatened and ended up fleeing. And that is why Makoni is outside the
government.

The major weakness in Mugabe's appointments is that he fails to incorporate
new thinkers capable of injecting life into his government's tired and
recycled thinking. The ruling party is incapable of providing new thinkers.
They can only be found outside Zanu PF.

During the past three months the Governor of the Reserve Bank, who Mugabe
appointed to spearhead the economic turnaround, has called Mugabe's senior
officials seizing commercial farms, saboteurs but Mugabe has not lifted a
finger, suggesting he either supports lawlessness or does not care. Joseph
Made has presided over the collapse of the agricultural sector, Amos Midzi
has presided over the collapse of the fuel sector and now the mining sector,
while Obert Mpofu and his predecessor have overseen the demise of industry,
but Mugabe has done nothing about these non-performing ministers while not
extending support to those working to reverse the misfortunes of the
country.

It seems the most important qualification needed to secure Mugabe's
protection is the propensity to botch things up.

Mugabe must shoulder the blame for appointing non-performers and then
protecting them when they fail to deliver. As it stands his bark is worse
than his bite.

NRZ locomotives China deal derailed

Zim Standard

By Deborah-Fay Ndlovu

NEGOTIATIONS between the National Railways of Zimbabwe and China for the
supply of locomotives have ended in a stalemate because the Zimbabwean
government has failed to raise the required deposit in local currency.

The development has left authorities at the parastatal panic stricken and
were last week reportedly begging the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe for the money
to install signals along the deadly Victoria Falls to Bulawayo railway line
and to purchase the locomotives.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two parties last July made a
provision that Zimbabwe would have to raise a deposit but sources said last
week the Chinese were riled when their counterparts only raised $5 billion.

"They had raised $5 billion and China said it was not enough. The government
still wants to pursue the deal but they might be overtaken by events. Our
mechanical guys are sceptical about using equipment from China. All along we
have been buying from General Motors from the United Kingdom and their
locomotives are made to suit the local conditions but what the Chinese have
has to be adapted to suit the climate. The thing is NRZ cannot contest
because the deal is being pushed by government," the source said.

He said the NRZ was trying to convince monetary authorities to advance a
loan to the railway company to enable it to finance its turnaround strategy
as well.

However the rail company faces a hurdle because the RBZ announced that it
had shut the door to parastatals at the recent monetary policy describing
them as a "drag" to the central bank's efforts to turnaround the economy.

"The NRZ had prepared a turnaround plan which they had prepared as a
pre-requisite for accessing the Parastatal and Local Authorities
Reorientation Bond. The RBZ had approved the plan but now they have turned
around and are not willing to give the money," said the source without
stating how much the parastatal was seeking from the central bank.

ZESA eyes HCB

Zim Standard

By Ndamu Sandu

POWER utility ZESA Holdings is on the verge of clinching a 25% equity in
Hidroelectrica de Cabora Bassa (HCB) to augment its electricity requirements
ahead of power outages in the southern region next year. Power utilities
under the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) have been on the hunt for
potential investors in the electricity sector.

The southern region is expected to face power outages next year unless there
is an investment in the energy sector. Obert Nyatanga, ZESA general Manager
(corporate affairs) said the issue was a government-to government matter
though ZESA had spoken to its Mozambican counterpart.
Nyatanga said chances were bright that ZESA, which imports 35% of its
electricity requirements, would take up the equity. The move to acquire
stake in HCB is part of the measures the power utility has rolled out to
meet energy security requirements. In addition ZESA is taking up energy
generation projects to meet the growing demands of the economy.

ZESA envisages that the country requires an additional of 1750MW by next
year made up of import displacement (650MW), Expanded Rural Electricity
Programme (450MW), new investments (400MW) and spinning reserve (250MW).

Nyatanga said Zambia Electricity Supply Commission (ZESCO) would resume
exports to Zimbabwe in 15 years. ZESA will import between 150MW and 300MW
from ZESCO.

ZESA is planning a US$980 million expansion of Hwange Power Station. The
engineering design would be in place in March and engineers from Germany
arrived into the country last week.

Geologists from China were in the country a fortnight ago.

However, ZESA's expansion of the Kariba Power Station will take longer than
expected as the power utility is failing to raise deposit.

ZESA is also planning some coal mining ventures and will work with Datong on
the Western Fields venture, Coal India on the Entuba project and South
African companies on the Sinamatella Fields project.

The investment is the second since independence after the 1982 to 1987
period when US$1,130 million was invested for energy security with supplies
of 7 932 GWh.

Meanwhile, Powertel Communications - a subsidiary of ZESA Holdings, - has
signed an agreement with Tel*One which will allow fibre optic to pass its
traffic through the fixed network's operator's international gateway. The
deal was struck last year after lengthy negotiations between the two
parastatals.

Cletus Nyachowe, CEO for Powertel, confirmed the deal and was optimistic
about the potential opportunities it would open up the country in general
and within the company in particular.

"We signed the agreement late last year after lengthy negotiations and we
are very much excited about it," Nyachowe said.

He said the signing of the agreement would allow the company to handle
international traffic and in the process earning itself scarce foreign
currency.

"The deal will open up avenues for financing as financiers had been hesitant
because we were unable to earn our own foreign currency," added Nyachowe.

Only 3% operating

Zim Standard

By our staff

ONLY 3.6% of companies in the manufacturing sector were operating at full
throttle in the past year, a CZI report has revealed. The report, State of
the Manufacturing Report 2004-2005, released by the Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries last week said of the 200 companies used in the sample,
companies in the clothing industries were operating at 100% capacity.

The report was done by CZI in conjunction with KM Financial Solutions.
However, the report said that 54% of companies were operating above
inflation. This is a significant improvement from last year where 75.9% of
companies were operating lower than inflation. The report says foreign
currency constraints were heavily impacting on the successful operation of
almost all companies. It says 88% of the respondents had said that the
managed exchange rate was impacting on their operations.

Making his submissions, Obert Mpofu, Industry and International Trade
Minister, said efforts were in place to assist distressed companies.

"I had a meeting with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono on
Wednesday on how we can assist distressed companies," Mpofu said.

Mpofu said $200 billion had been disbursed to distressed companies and 60%
of the recipients were in the manufacturing sector. The report also said
that capital investment declined in real terms in the period under review to
78.2% in 2005 from 114% in the year comparable.