Corruption - survival strategy for most members of ZRP

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has become an institution of
general corruption and abuse of human rights, an investigation into the
operations at Harare Central Police Station over a period of eight days
revealed.

The state of the police force is largely the result of poor remuneration for
employees as well as the institutionalized culture of human rights abuses
emanating from the top of the Mugabe regime.
The recent investigations established that lower and middle-ranked police
officers were earning take-home salaries of between $30 000 and $55 000.
"This is my earning, if you thought I was joking, and there are some earning
less," a police officer working in the Investigations department said
holding a pay slip showing his take-home pay of $42 455.
As a result, corruption has become a survival strategy.
It was intriguing to witness first hand what happens when things fall apart
in a country as has happened in Zimbabwe.
Bribes are openly sought, usually in the form of complainants being advised
to "do something" for the police officers in return for their case being
handled quickly.
The officers exploit the widespread ignorance the functions of the police
and the courts courts.
Members of the force generally imply to arrested persons that going to court
would be the end of their credibility, or chances to escape without jail
sentences. "Are you sure you want your case to go to court and will you be
able to face the Magistrate, understand his English and escape prison?" one
IO was heard asking an accused person.
In another case witnessed by this writer, a police officer from the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) Law and Order Section was handling a fraud
case, apparently because he had been the first to receive a call from the
complainant who knew him before. Efforts by the accused to query why the
case wasn't referred to the fraud section were frustrated through him being
beaten under the feet before thrown into the cells.
The Law and Order officer went on to handle the case in which the accused
was alleged to have defrauded a woman of US$2000 during a black market
transaction.
The accused, who hired a lawyer, spent six days in the cells characterized
by occasional call-ups for beatings. He only met his lawyer once and was
released on the sixth day after his wife and brothers had raised enough
money in Zimbabwe dollars to pay the complainant.
The accused, who spoke on condition of anonymity, later told this reporter:
"My wife tells me they were told by the IO that I wouldn't escape a jail
term and they sold my property at home to raise the Z$2,5 million to pay the
complainant. They also say the IO asked for $100 000 for him to allow for
the matter to be settled before we went to court."
At the cells, where conditions are appalling, this reporter spoke to 16
males and two females who had spent up to 12 days in detention, were not
aware or sure of their charges and had never had any police officer come to
speak to them.
They had to survive on a small morsel of sadza with about six or seven beans
swimming in a brown pool of water, served only once a day on six out of the
eight days of investigations. - Own correspondent

Desperate people will resort to desperate measures

The Zimbabwean

John Makumbe
The hiking of tuition and boarding fees by both schools and colleges
throughout the country is obviously going to result in many parents failing
to raise the money for their children's education and training this year.
Some parents have had to sell their last few cattle, goats and other
domestic animals in order to raise the fees for this term.
Others had none of these domestic animals to sell, and have been forced to
withdraw their children from schools and colleges. Sadly, education is
slowly becoming the preserve of the elite in Zimbabwe. Some schoolteachers
and college staff have had to keep their children at home until they get
paid at the end of January. The desperation that these parents must feel
goes all the way to their children, and that is a national tragedy.
Meanwhile, the ineffectual government officials continue to clutch at straws
since they have no realistic solutions to the incessant escalation of the
cost of living. Their usual battle cry that no student should be sent home
for failing to pay school fees is not being chanted this year. Even the
imbecile Eneas Chigwedere is suddenly uncharacteristically speechless this
time around.
Civil servants are likely to receive a 300% salary hike this month, but that
will not in any meaningful way match the basic survival basket currently at
$350 000 for a family of six. The Central Statistical Office has just
published a new record high inflation rate for December 2006 at 1281.1%. It
is obvious that the rate for January will be higher than this given the
normal practice by retailers to raise all prices at the beginning of each
month and year. The 300% award to the civil servants will therefore be
eroded by inflation long before it is even paid out to them.
Other workers are experiencing the same economic hardships, and might not
even be awarded what civil servants are getting. The price of fuel has
increased phenomenally since the last quarter of 2006. Government subsidised
fuel is rarely available to commuter omnibus operators these days. A huge
chunk of whatever a worker earns has to be used for transport costs. The
alternative is to lose one's job, which is unwise in these desperate times.
Some workers have rightly observed that by continuing to go to work they are
now subsidising the companies that they work for. The Zimbabwe economy is
certainly upside-down.
Junior doctors and some nurses are currently on strike, and hospitals and
clinics are operating at lower than 10% of normal capacity. Dr Death (aka
Pari) does not have the slightest clue what to do to get the doctors back to
work. People are literally dying for lack of medical attention throughout
the country. This explains why the demonic Mugabe regime needs to
strenuously control the flow of information; the people of Zimbabwe must not
be allowed to know what is happening in their own country.
It befuddles the mind why the people of Zimbabwe continue to suffer all this
pain when they could liberate themselves in a very short time. The cause of
the pain and suffering is well known to be Mugabe's extended tenure at State
House when his use-by date has long since expired. That Mugabe has become a
gross national liability has been stated time and again by so many people
that the man must be hard of hearing to miss it all.
Both civil society and opposition political parties can also effectively
harness this escalation of desperation to mobilise the people of Zimbabwe
against the dictatorial Mugabe regime. Regrettably, there is currently
little evidence that either civil society or opposition political parties
are planning any serious civic disobedience activities. The year 2007 is
certainly going to be the year of dramatic change - whether Mugabe likes it
or not.  Desperate people will resort to desperate measures.

Freshly-dug graves in Harare

 
Stark evidence that Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed and a populace now weakened by five consecutive years of near-starvation dies of things which would never have been fatal before. A staggering 42,000 women died in childbirth last year, compared with fewer than 1,000 a decade ago. As international press reports said this week: "A vast human cull is under way in Zimbabwe and the great majority of deaths are a direct result of deliberate government policies. Ignored by the United Nations, it is a genocide perhaps 10 times greater than Darfur's and more than twice as large as Rwanda's."

'BOB' artists flee CIO

The Zimbabwean

 JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwean playwright Tinashe Jonasi and fellow artist
Juliet Samata are moving secretly around South Africa to evade kidnap and
torture from the Mugabe regime's  dreaded spy agency.
The Murehwa-born Jonasi became a CIO target following the release of his
controversial play entitled " BOB"- a political satire on the aging and
unpopular ruler.
Fearing for his life in Zimbabwe, he skipped south, but on learning that the
artist was to publicize the play "BOB" in SA, CIO members intensified
efforts to track down the two for what they described as "a pleasant trip
back home".
"We had to offer shelter and humanitarian assistance to the two artists
after they had been repeatedly hounded by CIO agents for their attempts to
stage the play "BOB" in Joburg. They had become destitute because they spent
most of their time running away from the Mugabe agents," said an official
from a humanitarian organization assisting the two.
Many artists and journalists have fled Zimbabwe into South Africa fearing
persecution, but the CIO is known to try and track down their victims even
in South Africa.
"This is extra territorial-abuse of state power by the Mugabe
government.This kind of behaviour is common - the CIO agents give you no
rest wherever you go," said Remember Moyo, a political victim of the Mugabe
government falsely implicated in the murder of Cain Nkala.- CAJ News

Pay back time for uncle Bob

The Zimbabwean

BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - The Zanu (PF) government is finalizing a complex deal with the
newly sworn-in Democratic Republic of Congo leader Joseph Kabila that will
rake in profits worth US$300 million and involves the biggest ever logging
operation in the precious tropical rainforests of the DRC.
Diplomatic sources said the deal, involving the Kabila family, President
Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean army generals and the Kinshasa government is
widely seen as a hurried effort by Harare to recoup at least part of the
costs of its military adventure in the late 90s.
Zimbabweans will see little of the profits, however, as diplomatic sources
said the revenues were likely to be shared by a small clique of senior
generals and politicians.
Kabila (junior) was confirmed as the first democratically elected DRC
president by universal direct suffrage on November 27 last year after a
UN-run presidential election.  The cash-strapped Zanu (PF) government has
rushed to the new leader demanding that he honours the pledge by his late
father.
According to documents seen by The Zimbabwean, the late Laurent Kabila
promised  Mugabe to pay back for Zimbabwe's military assistance during the
late 90s insurgency with  rights to log the forests in 33 million hectares,
an area of about 15 percent of the Congo, Africa's third largest country.
Sources told The Zimbabwean that Mugabe and Reserve Bank governor Gideon
Gono, who were both in Malaysia on holiday recently, managed to secure
financiers for the deal, including Malaysian banks and logging companies
from France, Malaysia and Lebanon.
Sources said the deal would be run by Cosleg - a combination of Comiex Congo
and Osleg - the commercial arm of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces whose full
name is Operation Sovereign Legitimacy.
Osleg's directors are listed as Retired General Vitalis Zvinavashe; Job
Whabira, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Defence; Onesimo Moyo,
the director of the Minerals Marketing Corporation; and Isiah Ruzengwe, the
general manager of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation.
Most of the timber, some of which would have to be transported by rivers
because of the poor road network in the DRC, would be exported via Harare
and Durban to markets in south East Asia and some European destinations such
as France.
"This deal is simply pay back time to Uncle Bob," said senior diplomat from
a Western capital.

Zanu (PF) destroys the future

The Zimbabwean

Editorial

The government has recently increased fees at educational institutions by up
to 2000%. This sends a clear message that education is no longer considered
an important tool for development. It is now a luxury that only affluent
parents can afford.
This comes on the heels of the minister of education's interference with the
fee structure of private schools, where fee increases have been capped to an
unsustainable level - far below the rate of inflation.
For a government that came into power with the battle cry of "Education for
all" this is beyond words, beyond tears, beyond rage.
It is just another symptom of the general collapse of Zimbabwe.
Shortly after Independence, the Mugabe regime took credit, and rightly so,
for fantastic advances in education. Our nation's literacy rate rapidly grew
to 75% - the highest in Africa at the time.
There was indeed free primary education for all for a decade. To this day
Zimbabweans are reaping the rewards of the initial Zanu (PF) educational
policy - which sees many of them securing top jobs throughout the region, as
well as abroad.
As a former teacher and a diligent student, Mugabe himself rejoiced at this
and was internationally applauded for his government's wisdom and
commitment.
For several years Zimbabweans were able proudly to quote the fact that our
government was one of only a handful in the world, if not the only one,
whose education budget outstripped that of defence.
Today, the government hands over far more to Chinese arms manufacturers than
it spends on education for our children.  Imported weaponry is used to crush
internal dissent and criticism. Millions of children roam the countryside
and city streets, their minds as ragged and hungry as their bodies.
Of all the sectors in Zimbabwe to have been systematically destroyed by
Mugabe and his greedy thievocracy, education is the most significant and
will have the most tragic long-term effect.
This is our future that is being destroyed - not only our present. It will
have huge ramifications on the speed of recovery of the nation, once the
current regime is deposed and a new constitution and
internationally-supervised elections put us back on track again.
It may have been over-used but Alan Paton said it best: Cry the beloved
country.

Prisoners sing their hearts out

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - Fr Nigel Johnson SJ and his technical assistant, Plhilani Majama,
spent a day recording prison choirs in the Central Prison recently. The
original idea was just to record some songs of the Central Choir but after
permissions were sought and obtained we arrived to find the authorities had
arranged for choirs from Khami (Bulawayo), Wha Wha (Gweru) and Chikurubi
Maximum to also be there - a festival of choirs in the prison.
What was striking was the intense attention the prisoners brought to their
singing, creating an atmosphere where even the guards respected the silence.
This was particularly noticeable when Philani was playing back to himself
through his earphones what he had just recorded, to check its quality.
During these moments the whole place was gripped by silence. It was awesome.
Watch out for the tapes. They will soon be on the market.- Oskar Wermter

Foreign descent laws affect 1.5 million Zims

The Zimbabwean

New rules will also strip the stateless of their votes in local government
elections scheduled for August.
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE - The Zimbabwe government plans to use the same regulations it used
against journalist and publisher Trevor Ncube in taking away his Zimbabwean
citizenship on more opponents of President Robert Mugabe's regime, official
sources confirmed this week.
Zimbabweans of Indian descent, together with an estimated 1.5million with
links to Malawi and Mozambique, who have in the past been critical of
President Mugabe's regime, are among those facing statelessness as
government moves to clamp down on dissent.
The Registrar General's Office has issued a February 6 deadline for people
of foreign birth or descent to obtain proof they have renounced any claim to
foreign citizenship.
The enforcement of the stringent legislation will also strip the newly
stateless of their votes in local government elections scheduled for August.
The requirement that people with a possible claim to foreign citizenship
produce proof they are not, secretly, dual citizens, presents a greater
nightmare for those with links to countries such as Malawi or Mozambique
than for those of European extraction.
Up to 12,000 Zimbabweans of Indian extraction also face an insuperable
problem as Delhi's representatives announced they could not provide consular
services, in the form of letters confirming recipients were not entitled to
Indian citizenship, to persons who were not Indian citizens.
Officials under Zimbabwe's registrar general Tobaiwa Mudede meanwhile
declared that persons of obvious Indian descent who were unable to produce
such letters would be deemed to have forfeited their Zimbabwean citizenship.
The Indian High Commission has had discussions on the issue with the
Zimbabwean Ministry of Home Affairs, but no resolution has been announced.
The "Catch 22" operated by Mudede is well illustrated by the test case of
Trevor Ncube. The official reason given by Mudede is that Ncube failed to
renounce his access to Zambian citizenship formally when the Zimbabwean law
was changed ahead of the presidential election in 2002 to make it illegal
for Zimbabweans to hold dual citizenship or even have access to the
citizenship of another country.
Ncube was born in Zimbabwe and so became a Zimbabwean, but his father was
born in Zambia so he theoretically had access to Zambian citizenship. Born
in Zimbabwe, he is now seeking leave of Judge Nicholas Ndou to fight a class
action in the High Court, backed by human rights' lawyers.
Mudede's officials demanded Ncube obtain proof from Zambia's Lusaka embassy
he was not a dual Zambian citizen. Zambian officials replied that he would
have to apply for and be granted their citizenship before he could renounce
it. But, they added, his application would be refused, since his parents
were refugees and had not registered his birth in Zambia.
A recent US State Department report alleged bribery was common in Mudede's
department. A Zimbabwe High Court judge has also accused the registrar
general's office of countenancing widespread malpractice against Mugabe
opponents.
The opposition MDC has pledged to reverse the citizenship laws if Morgan
Tsvangirai came to power. "You cannot legislate for people's loyalty,"
spokesman Chamisa said.

Mismanagement, not sanctions, have wrecked economy

The Zimbabwean

BY ERIC W BLOCH
'Most prices will double over the first two months of the year, and again in
the next following two months.'

HARARE - In his recent Budget Statement to Parliament, Minister of Finance
Herbert Murerewa demonstrated, yet again, his government's continuing myopic
perceptions of the economy's future. While acknowledging that 2006 had been
yet another year of economic decline, and of pronounced hyperinflation to
all-time record heights, he once again ascribed the decline to the
speciously and spuriously alleged "illegal" economic sanctions.

Sanctions against Zimbabwe, as against some of its ruling Party hierarchy,
are minimal in extent, and have in no manner occasioned the ongoing
devastation of the economy. The economic emaciation of the economy commenced
in late 1997, and is now continuing into its 10th year. In contradistinction
, such limited sanctions as exist, of insignificant economic consequence, if
any, were initiated only a few years ago.
The reality is that the decimation of the economy is wholly attributable to
government's gross mismanagement, its dogmatic adherence to the principles
of a command economy, instead of the provenly successful approach of market
forces driving economic policy, its catastrophically disastrous approach to
land reform, and the consequential near-total destruction of Agriculture ,
its immense profligacy, and much else.
But, being absolutely unable to admit to, and acknowledge, fault, Government
continuously seeks to dupe the population that the Government is blameless,
and the economic ills are solely due to the diabolically evil, malicious,
and unjustified actions of the European Union, in general, and of the United
Kingdom, in particular, aided and abetted by the malevolent USA.
However, the populace is not so easily duped. Most are very aware that
whilst they struggle desperately to survive, on incomes far below the
Poverty Datum Line (PDL), the political hierarchy, and those well-connected
and close to that hierarchy, are living "on the fat of the land". They live
in palatial residences, drive fleets of luxurious vehicles, travel endlessly
on shopping trips to Dubai, Beijing, Malaysia, Teheran, and elsewhere where
they can travel unhindered, and indisputably go without nothing whatsoever
as they may desire.
But the average Zimbabwean now struggles to feed himself and his family
adequately, to house himself and his dependents in even barely tolerable
premises, and pay for utilities into those premises, to meet costs of child
education, and of healthcare, and fund other absolute essentials. Most, even
if amongst the fortunate minority as have gainful employment, cannot even
afford transport to and from their places of work, but must walk very
considerable distances daily.
And, as 2006 ground on, inflation surged upwards, rising from 585,8%
(Year-on-Year) in December, 2005 to 1098,8% in November, 2006, according to
the Central Statistical Office (CSO), although in reality inflation had
risen to at least 1200%, if not more.
(It is not that CSO falsifies inflation data, but nevertheless the data is
incorrect, in that CSO uses State-dictated "controlled" prices, whereas the
populace has to source scarce commodities in the "Black" Market, at markedly
higher prices, and because the consumer spending basket" on which CSO
determines the inflation rate no longer realistically reflects the pattern
of spending of the average consumer, for most necessarily expend their
limited resources on the most critically needed essentials.
However, despite Minister Murerwa's optimistic prophecies for 2007,
inflation is set to soar upwards at a gargantuan pace over the months ahead.
Although it will probably not reach the megalithic level of 4279% projected
by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nevertheless the annual rate of
inflation is likely to exceed 2000% within the next few months. Most prices
will double over the first two months of the year, and again in the next
following two months.
Zimbabwe's hyperinflation is driven by diverse factors, but amongst the most
pronounced causes is the immense scarcity in foreign exchange. On the one
hand, the parlous non-availability of foreign currency repercusses very
negatively upon productivity, and the lesser volumes of production have to
cover fixed costs, with consequential unit cost escalation . On the other
hand, most imports are funded through the unlawful "Parallel" market and
with endless increases in costs of purchasing foreign currency in that
market, due to the intensifying inadequate availability, import costs are
surging upwards.
Concurrently, inflation is itself a major stimulant to inflation, for much
of Commerce and Industry determines prices with regard to expected levels of
inflation, wage and salary demands are linked to inflation, and parastatals
constantly seek price escalations aligned to inflation. Yet another major
contributant to inflation is excessive governmental spending, mainly funded
by recourse to the domestic money market. The 2007 Budget reflected very
little substantive endeavour to contain State expenditure.
Zimbabwe continues to have a monolithic governmental infrastructural,
including a vastly excessive number of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Senators
and Parliamentarians, requiring a massive supportive organization, AN
inconceivably large Public Service, and defence forces of a size
inexplicable for a country allegedly at peace with all its neighbours. All
this fuels yet further great, and crippling, inflation.
These are but a few of many of the triggers of Zimbabwe's hyperinflation,
the highest in the world! And very little, if anything, is yet being done to
address any of the triggers with conviction and substance. The PDL for a
family of six is now in excess of Z$300 000, and rising exponentially, but
per capita income is less than one-third of PDL. With the inflation that
lies ahead in the immediate future, intensifying poverty, malnutrition,
ill-health, and intense misery, for most Zimbabweans, is inevitable.

Draconian laws set to sail through Parliament

The Zimbabwean

Legislation includes terrorism, pricing and spying bills calculated to
cripple any opposition to Zanu (PF)
HARARE - The Zimbabwean government is expected to push through parliament
next week a package of controversial bills which critics say is aimed at
bolstering President Robert Mugabe's grip on power.
Parliament reconvenes on Tuesday after a four-week break to consider
legislation that includes a terrorism and spying bill that analysts say are
calculated to cripple opposition to the veteran leader's 27-year-rule and
muzzle criticism over the imploding economy.
The session comes ahead of a European Union meeting in Brussels next month,
which will discuss the deepening political crisis in the southern African
country.
The EU is threatening to renew travel sanctions on Mugabe and his henchmen
over  land seizures, the drive against the media and the judiciary and Zanu
(PF) supporters' campaign of violence.
The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) denounced Mugabe's
government for abusing Parliament by bulldozing despotic laws aimed at
preserving the incumbency of the governing party.
"The fact of the matter is that the Zanu (PF) regime is now the most racist
and fascist regime," MDC information secretary Nelson Chamisa said.
Acting Information Minister Paul Mangwana told state media at the weekend
that the government would move to adopt the spying and terrorism bills
"without fear or favour" and would not be deterred by criticism led by
former colonial power Britain and its erstwhile ally the US.
Mangwana accused Britain and the US of double standards, saying their
terrorism laws were more stringent than Zimbabwe's, whose own legislation
was based on its national constitution.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the four laws - the Interception of
Communications Bill, the Suppression of Foreign and International Terrorism
Bill, the National Incomes and Pricing Commission Bill and the Census and
Statistics Bill would be carried over from last year.
The Interception of Communications Bill, which is currently with the
Parliamentary legal committee, will give Mugabe's government unfettered
authority to monitor phones and emails sent from both land- and
internet-based addresses. Mugabe claims the bill is meant to protect
national security and fight crime. Under this legislation, the government
will establish a communications monitoring centre which will "monitor and
intercept certain communications in the course of their transmission through
a telecommunication, postal or any other related service system".
The Suppression of Foreign and International Terrorism Bill, which is set to
be introduced to either House, is another proposed law in a cocktail of
legal instruments that analysts say would further curtail most basic
freedoms. The law will see those convicted of working to overthrow Mugabe
jailed for life.
The National Incomes and Pricing Commission Bill, which has sailed past the
second reading is now on the committee stage, will enable government to fix
the prices of goods and commodities below the cost of producing them.
Government has already been warned against enacting this law but is prodding
ahead despite caution.
Critics say the Census and Statistics Bill, which will see the establishment
of a parastatal which will handle official data, would enable government to
manipulate inflation figures and other statistics such as unemployment
levels, which in the past have embarrassed government.
Observers say the bills are draconian and have vowed to ignore them.
Zimbabwe government officials said the parliamentary session starting
Tuesday would also debate the Domestic Violence Bill, the Petroleum Bill,
the Judicial Services Bill and the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment
Bill. Critics say this will give Mugabe sweeping powers to clamp down on the
opposition as he faces the biggest threat of a civil disobedience campaign
over the 2010 poll plan.
The government says the bill is aimed at consolidating law-and-order
legislation and has nothing to do with elections.
Parliament is also due to consider portfolio committee reports on Education
Sport and Culture, and also the report on the Foreign Affairs, Industry and
International Trade over the Ziscosteel scandal. The privileges committee is
also set to open the impeachment of Industry minister Obert Mpofu on
allegations for lying to Parliament about the pillaging at Ziscosteel. - Own
correspondent

How can we resolve the leadership crisis?

The Zimbabwean

BY ZWIDE KA LANGA
Various parties have expressed concern over the dearth of patriotic
leadership within the Zanu (PF) ranks in much the same way as some did of
the Rhodesia Front in the 60s and 70s. The problem then, and today, was the
lack of analysis of what the opposition leadership were offering in terms of
patriotic leadership. Hence we ended up with a more brutal black
dictatorship replacing a white dictatorship.
What has the opposition and civic groups offered in terms of what they stand
for that is relevant and practical to the average Zimbabwean? Even more
important, what principles, practiced as well as preached, have the
opposition and civic groups offered?
We all know that Zimbabweans are divided along ethnic and racial lines. What
have the opposition and civic groups offered in terms of a united Zimbabwe
where all the groups have a stake in the future? Please note that people do
not eat or pay school fees with democracy or a new constitution.
The focus should be how a new, democratic, constitution is going to deliver
an environment for individuals to make a living and access food.
Vice president Joseph Msika, a Shona leader in Matebelaland, allegedly
chastised Ndebeles for being "imgodoyi", which translates to a dog that just
follows anyone who is not their owner without even knowing where it is going
(some may come up with a better translation). At the core of the
Zimbabweans' apathy is the lack of clear and principled leadership in the
opposition that is continuing with a lot of rattle and hum but no clear
direction and vision.
We as Zimbabweans need to define the bedrock of a long-term unity of purpose
in our struggle.
For example: What would motivate me as a white Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe
when I am not sure if the opposition is any better in terms of racialism?
(Note: the lack of political action from the opposition and civic groups
following the assault of Trudy Stevenson could be argued was racially
motivated. Additionally, the lack of strong condemnation of racialist/hate
speeches from the Zanu (PF) regime have not been universally condemned by
the opposition).
What would motivate me as a Karanga Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe when I am not
sure if the opposition is any better in terms of equitable treatment of
Masvingo? (Note: Masvingo is the most populous and geographically central
province with the greatest national monument-Great Zimbabwe, but has never
been acknowledged or appropriately represented on the national scene. To
make matters worse, as Karangas, during the "civil war" we lost the most
number of fighters in the ZANLA forces under unclear circumstances).
What would motivate me as an Ndebele Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe when I am
not sure if the opposition is any better in terms of equitable treatment of
Matebeleland and the Midlands? (Note: Matebeleland and Midlands have not
only been sidelined, but acts of genocide have also been carried out against
their populations when they have never voted for Zanu (PF).).
What would motivate me as a Zezuru Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe when I am not
sure if the opposition is any better in terms of equitable treatment of
Zezurus after what my ethnic folk have done to the other groups and the
country over the past 26 years? (Note: that some people have already
resorted to heap blame on Zezurus, as a group, for our current quagmire).
What would motivate me as a Coloured Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe when I am
not sure if the opposition is any better in terms of equitable treatment of
Coloured? (Note: that Coloureds have been "transparent" when it came to
minority rights due to the apartheid legacy that dictated their status as
being the buffer between the "Africans" and the "Europeans").
What would motivate me as an Asian Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe when I am not
sure if the opposition is any better in terms of equitable treatment of
Asians? (Note: that the Asian businesses that have been the bedrock of
SME-Small & Medium Size Enterprises, have been attacked without respect to
property with no protection or condemnation from any quarter).
What would motivate me as a Manyika Zimbabwean to fight Mugabe when I am not
sure if the opposition is any better in terms of equitable treatment of
Manicaland? (Note: Manicaland is one of the provinces that have been
sidelined in terms of social and cultural development and representation in
national government).
Zimbabweans, we need to all join the march to our liberation but we need to
make sure that we are all marching to the same drum that is for liberation
for ALL not liberation for some as done in 1980. That opposition light at
the end of the tunnel may not be the exit but a high speed train about to
decimate us like the rest of Africa.
My intention is to stimulate a wider discussion through which we all can
develop a strategy for true liberation for EVERY Zimbabwean - a bedrock of
unshakeable principles to which WE ALL have to subscribe and commit.

Mahachi - salt in the wound

The Zimbabwean

BY TRUDY STEVENSON
HARARE - The appointment of Tendai Mahachi as Town Clerk of Harare simply
rubs more dirt into the wound of Harare residents already suppurating from
the reappointment of Sekesai Makwavarara and her expanded commission for
another six months.
Mahachi's track record is hardly impressive, despite his academic
qualifications.  He was suspended and then fired as CEO of Air Zimbabwe in
2005, only a year after his appointment, while his ability as City of Harare
Strategist is all around us  - potholes, garbage, broken street and traffic
lights, water shortages and general deterioration of our capital city's
infrastructure, environment and bank balance.
Chombo said when he reappointed Makwavarara that she had done a good job.
We all asked ourselves what that good job was, since Harare has gone from
bad to worse under her illegal continued chairmanship.  Then she boasted
that she managed to pay the workers on time, and the penny dropped - she
must be an essential part of the ZanuPF machinery, ensuring that
card-holders are employed and paid, using ratepayers' money!
Doubtless that is the sort of strategy Mahachi was hired for - not that
there is any such position as City Strategist in the Urban Councils Act -
and we also wonder what Chester Mhende was doing.  Residents must guard
against being fleeced more and more to support the voracious ruling party
machine, with other strategies the new Town Clerk thinks up.  The 1000
grasscutters called for only yesterday is a case in point - why can't the
already-employed workers do their job?  What are we paying them for?
In fact, town clerks were traditionally lawyers, trained to deal with all
the legal issues arising in cities and towns, not strategists.  But then
Mahachi is not a strategist by training - he's a chemist.  So perhaps there
is some chemistry at work, somewhere along the line.
Whatever the case, Harare residents have every reason to review their
continued payment of ever-increasing rates to support the machinations of a
fired CEO and an ex-data capture clerk. - Stevenson is the Shadow Minister
for Local Government, MDC (Mutambara)

Help for farm workers

The Zimbabwean

CAPE TOWN - A South African humanitarian organisation, Nkhuzi Development
Association, based in Limpopo Province has extended its humanitarian
assistance to impoverished Zimbabwean refugees and farm workers who are
often abused by farmers and locals.
The organisation provides Zimbabweans with food, shelter and sometimes pays
for their medical expenses. It also pays for funeral costs of some when they
die in the province especially those working on the farms around Limpopo.
The project officer, Sharima Shirinda, said the association would continue
to provide assistance to Zimbabwean refugees, although its primary mandate
was to help South Africans.
"The people of Zimbabwe have suffered a lot at home and when they get here
they are also abused by their employers, especially farmers," he said. -
From Thabo Kunene

New party fizzles out

The Zimbabwean

HARARE - A new political party formed in the second city of Bulawayo has
crumbled like a deck of cards even before it held a single rally.
The Patriotic Union of Matabeleland (PUMA) announced its agenda last year
and disappeared into oblivion. Officials remain tight-lipped over their
political intentions citing security concerns.
The political outfit, fronted by a group of civic leaders and political
activists from Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, claimed it was
representing the interests of the provinces which have remained largely
undeveloped.
Ndebele-speaking people are the majority of the inhabitants of the region.
President Robert Mugabe, a Zezuru heads a cabinet dominated by ministers
from his tribe, fuelling disgruntlement from politicians from other tribes.
Among a host of nagging problems in Matabeleland, water remains critically
short and plans by the Zanu (PF) government to undertake the Zambezi
Matabeleland Water project have not succeeded.
Former Zimbabwe Teachers Association Leader (ZIMTA) leader, Leonard Nkala,
is the brains behind the party and announced last year that he had set up a
45-member executive committee, which was due to spearhead the launch of
PUMA.
Former Zanu (PF) Bulawayo province spokesperson, Sikhumbuzo Ndiweni, was
named as the party's interim secretary general. PUMA also stated that it was
also working on the establishment of external wings, one focusing on
Southern Africa, and another on the rest of the world.
Ndiweni denied the party had collapsed.
"We are currently working on setting up our structures, but everything would
be
complete on time for the official launch. Some of our members are drawn from
the ruling party, as well as both factions of the MDC. The interest from the
diaspora is also very overwhelming," he said.
Source closed to the party said PUMA's promoters felt that they could
capitalise on the fact that people in the area still had fresh memories of
an 80's crack military operation code named Gukurahundi.
The operation conducted by the Zimbabwe's North Korean trained Fifth
Brigade, left an estimated 20,000 civilians dead as soldiers sniffed out a
few dissidents who operated in the area.
Up to now survivors of the operation have not been compensated and this
remains a major source of disgruntlement. Zimbabwe's main opposition party,
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) draws the bulwark of its support
from this region. - Own correspondent

The other genocide

Winchester Star, Virginia

The U.N. isn't doing anything about this one either
Because Iraq is dominating international headlines, there wasn't much
response to an African story that Zimbabwan President Robert Mugabe arrested
20,000 miners as a prelude to taking over the nation's gold mines.

Mugabe has already nationalized agriculture and almost every other industry
in the nation. The results have been what always follows state
collectivization - starvation and dispair.

Millions have died due to the government's policies and untold numbers of
others have been brutalized or killed by Mugabe's secret police.

According to Australian reporter R.W. Johnson, "A vast human cull is under
way in Zimbabwe, and the majority of deaths are the result of government
policies. Ignored by the U.N., it is a genocide 10 times greater than Darfur
and more than twice as large as Rwanda's"

Simply put, the population of Zimbabwe should be almost 18 million, but
social scientists estimate only 8 to 11 million people remain in the
country. Millions have fled. Others have died of malnutrition or have been
executed.

A few items in Mr. Johnson's story are chilling:

More than 42,000 women died in childbirth last year. A decade ago, the
number was less than 1,000.

So many babies have been dumped in the bush that hyenas have acquired a
taste for human flesh.

However, Mugabe has a friend in South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has
deftly kept the topic of the Zimbabwan atrocities off the U.N. table.

According to Mr. Johnson, the two heads of state, "have been responsible for
more deaths than Rwanda suffered and the number is fast heading into realms
previously explored only by Stalin, Mao, and Adolf Eichmann."

Not to worry though. Amnesty International and other human rights groups
plan to protest and demonstrate this month demanding that . . . the prison
at Guantanamo Bay be closed.

While the lawless laugh at us, we send good men to the dogs