• SA overtakes Zim in DRC scramble
• Moyo in bid to block Daily News, again!
• Govt defiance of court orders now 'endemic'
• Groups call for electoral law overhaul
• Police intensify blitz on forex traders
• Drama in parliament over Land Bill
• Water project still grounded
• Zim shows how corrupt statist policies impoverish
• Interest rates crash
• Property prices begin tumbling
• I won't be intimidated says Gono
• Border Timbers dispute rages on
• Is there ‘hate speech’ in Zim?
• Britain/Zimbabwe Society backs Independent
• Zimbabwe's foreign policy destructive
• Hate speech should cease
• Speaking out
• The monster that eats its own children
• Thumbs up to Moyo and his media group
• Gono’s magic wand won’t do the trick
• Mixed reactions surround forex auctions
• Are they all our ‘beloved friends’?

After four years of a costly mili-tary campaign to prop up the DRC
government Zimbabwe has nothing to show for it despite official assurances
that the country would reap a war dividend.

The Independent established ongood authority this week that Defe-nce
minister Sydney Sekeramayi and Speaker of Parliament Em-merson Mnangagwa
were in the DRC recently to follow up on the debt issue. The two officials
visited the DRC ahead of last week's visit to that country by Mbeki who
tookabout 60 business people who secu-red substantial contracts in mining
and reconstruction projects.

Sekeramayi yesterday confirmed the visit to the DRC but would not explain
the exact nature of their business there.

"Yes we went to the DRC to talkabout various issues," said Sekera-mayi.
Asked if the money issue came up during the discussions, he said:

"We discussed everything that had to be discussed."

Mnangagwa on Wednesday re-fused to discuss the trip to the DRC, referring
all questions to the Defence minister.

"Even if I travelled to the DRC it does not mean I was on Defence business,"
said Mnangagwa. "There is a Minister of Defence, talk to him."

Mnangagwa has been linked in press reports to Zimbabwean business
initiatives in the DRC including military-backed projects.

Former Finance minister Simba Makoni in 2000 told parliament that Zimbabwe
had spent more $10 billion in the DRC. The war debt is believed to be at
least five times that.

Government sources said there was apprehension among the Zimbabwean
political and military elite after South Africa's successful foray in the
DRC last week.

Sources with interests in the DRC said Zimbabwe's business ventures there
had either collapsed or failed to take off the ground. Sources said despite
the setting up of a joint commission between Zimbabwe and the DRC there was
no evidence of the expansion of trade between the two countries. During his
March 2001 visit to Zimbabwe, President Kabila promised to make the
agreement work.

"The only way to thank Zimbabwe is to see the bilateral relationships, the
cooperation we are trying to achieve become a reality. What I want to assure
you is that what we are doing is very legitimate," he said.

The Forestry Commission was granted logging concessions in the DRC during
bilateral discussions held in 2000.

Included in the arrangements of 2001 were the marketing of minerals through
a joint-venture between the Minerals Marketing Corpora-tion of Zimbabwe and
Miba, thediamond marketing company in the DRC.

The DRC was due to export more power to Zimbabwe from Inga hydro-electric
power station. The power was supposed to be paid for in local currency.

The National Railways of Zimbabwe, Air Zimbabwe, First Banking Corporation,
the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Mining Development
Corporation, and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority were all expected
tobenefit from the bilateral arrange-ment. Few have.

The Agricultural and Rural Deve-lopment Authority was allocated 200 000
hectares of land to develop and grow crops but nothing has come of the
venture.

Now the South Africans are reaping the benefits of Zimbabwe's military
effort, as they did in Mozambique.

South Africa and the DRC signed a bilateral agreement worth US$10 billion
last Wednesday, covering the areas of defence and security, the economy and
finance, agriculture and infrastructural development.A joint commission of
the two governments was tasked with imple-menting the agreement.

"The commission's first meeting has already been set for February in South
Africa over which my colleague Kabila will preside," Mbeki told reporters in
Kinshasa.

The Independent of South Africa said Mvelaphanda Holdings signed a
memorandum of understanding with the Congolese government for investments
worth an estimated R60 billion over the next decade.

The investments will cover the processing of gold tailings, copper and
cobalt mining, logging, road building, railways and the purchase of two
hotels - the Grand Hotel in Kinshasa and Hotel Karavia in Lubumbashi in the
mining belt to the southeast, the paper said. The copper and cobalt mining
projects should start in the next two months.

Peter Vundla's New Seasons In-vestment Group is bidding for the
rehabilitation of Kinshasa International Airport, a deal worth US$250
million

Siemens South Africa snatched a US$50-million deal with the national
electricity board of the Congo to install 35 000 electricity connections in
north and western Kinshasa with prepaid electricity meters, the Independent
reported.

The paper said Siemens, with several partners, including Eskom, is also
involved in the rehabilitation of Inga One and Two in a project worth more
than US$1 billion.

Cellular phone company Vodacom is set to invest US$157 million in the DRC,
and plans to push that initial investment to $500 million. It now controls
44% of the cellphone market in the Congo. Mining giant De Beers is
negotiating with the Congolese government regarding diamond concessions.

Justice Tendai Uchena on Wednesday ruled that the ANZ should continue with
its normal operations and that the police should not interfere with the
activities of the publishing house.

The MIC has already been declared improperly constituted by a court, which
renders its decisions legally questionable.

ANZ corporate affairs director Gugulethu Moyo told the Zimbabwe Independent
that the company was facing logistical problems.

"We have only a few computers in the newsroom at the moment," said Moyo.

"The police have not returned most of the computers that they took as
exhibits after we published our paper in September. The matter is different
from the one we had been challenging because this one is a criminal matter,"
she said.

Moyo said the production side had also been affected by the absence of
computers.

"We do not have our subscription base and advertising software and once the
paper gets bigger, we will experience serious problems," she said.

Meanwhile the MIC is considering two applications for daily newspapers'
licences, the Independent established this week.

MIC executive chairman Tafataona Mahoso this week confirmed receiving
applications but would not give details.

"We have about three projects and two of them are applications for dailies,"
said Mahoso. "It would be improper to tell you who their principals are."

"Defiance of court orders has become endemic in Zimbabwe and it is an issue
that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Godfrey Chidyausiku, Judge
President of the High Court Paddington Garwe, and the Minister of Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa must do something about if
the integrity of the courts and the justice system is to be protected," ZLHR
said.

The police defied four court orders compelling them to vacate the offices of
the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ). It was only after the fifth
order on Wednesday this week that they eventually left. Last week police
also defied a High Court order to release Chinhoyi MP Philip Chiyangwa. He
was only released after the intervention of the Supreme Court.

Constitutional law expert Dr Lovemore Madhuku said the executive must be
held accountable.

"Chinamasa's (suggested) sta-tement condemning the defiance of court orders
will certainly carry more weight," said Madhuku.

Madhuku said judges must speak out strongly against the disregard of court
orders.

"Judges Chidyausiku and Garwe must also come out strongly against the
continued defiance of court orders. It must be noted that a court is a court
when its orders are enforced, otherwise it becomes irrelevant. If there is
total silence it means they are in agreement," he said.

Chinamasa said he was not in a position to comment.

"I am on leave until the end of the month," said Chinamasa.

"You can talk to the Acting Minister of Justice, Cde Paul Mangwana," he
said.

Head of the MDC's elections directorate Remus Makuwaza said this week the
issue of electoral law amendments was a priority and his party had already
taken it to parliament.

"We are unequivocal in our demand for the overhaul of the electoral system,"
said Makuwaza. "We are calling for the establishment of conditions that
enable the holding of free and fair elections."

He added: "In essence, we are calling for the establishment of an
Independent Electoral Commission as well as the repeal of the draconian
Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act which have been used to give Zanu PF an unfair advantage.

"We have submitted proposals to parliament and will use our representation
there to lobby for major changes. We are yet to get a response from
parliament."

Makuwaza said the issue of participation in the elections without major
changes in electoral laws would be decided by the party's national executive
before the elections.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) is lobbying locally and
regionally for major electoral amendments and has said no presidential or
general elections should be held under the current framework.

ZESN chairman Reginald Matchaba-Hove said the non-governmental body wouldn't
accept the outcome of elections held under the current electoral laws.

"Our position is that there shouldn't be any presidential or general
elections held under the current electoral system," said Matchaba-Hove.

"The system doesn't in any way provide an environment conducive to free and
fair elections.

"We are on a massive campaign to consult stakeholders at home and in the
region on what would be the ideal electoral changes, and we will submit the
suggestions to the public before we engage parliament."

ZESN wants a set of minimum requirements in the electoral system that will
satisfy the holding of free and fair elections in accordance with the Sadc
protocol as well as other international tenets.

"We are calling for the respect of every person's right to vote, the
levelling of the field for all parties contesting as well as transparency in
the running, conducting and supervision of the elections."

Archbishop Pius Ncube, who is also the chairman of Solidarity Peace Trust in
Southern Africa, concurred that the current electoral system favoured
President Mugabe and his party.

"Any elections under this electoral framework would be rigged. In fact, the
opposition would be very lucky to win even one seat," said Ncube.

"There should be an overhaul of the system, there is no doubt about it.
However, the issue of boycotting is rather complicated because Mugabe would
just go ahead to declare himself victorious and continue ruling."

National Constitutional Assembly chairman Lovemore Madhuku said the issue of
electoral changes was of paramount importance so that demonstrations and
acts of civil disobedience would soon be planned by the assembly to push for
changes.

"The result of elections held under this framework is predetermined and will
be won by Zanu PF. This system simply creates a technical way by which Zanu
PF remains in power whether the electorate likes it or not," said Madhuku.

A police bicycle patrol unit on Tuesday combed the Roadport area for the
traders. They have since started routine patrols in the area. The traders
were based at Roadport to mop up foreign currency from cross-border traders
and visitors from regional countries. Roadport is one of the largest illegal
forex trading sites for the rand, the greenback and the pula.

After the police raid, the traders this week moved a step further in defying
the law, this time invading Africa Unity Square.

By Thursday the traders who include women from the Vapositori sect could be
seen milling around in Africa Unity Square where they jostle with
photographers for customers.

The raid at Roadport followed threats by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono
last week to mount a massive clean-up campaign to bring order to the forex
market.

"For a start that (trade at Roadport) is illegal and we will take
appropriate action. Just tell us where they are and we will move in," Gono
told the Zimbabwe Independent last week.

The traders have however vowed to remain in business despite the crackdown
by the police and the introduction of the controlled auction system.
Business on the parallel market has been low since the auctions started last
week. It slumped further this week with revelations that most banks had
resumed trade of the foreign currency. Customers can now access forex from
banks at the prevailing rate on the auctions.

Traders who spoke to the Indepe-ndent this week seemed unperturbed by the
new developments.

"The police are on our case but that is nothing new," said one trader who
claims to have four years of experience in the forex business. "They have
been doing this for years. Only this time it's more intensified."

The United States dollar is currently trading at US$1:$3500 on the parallel
market while the rand is fetching $350. At the auction the greenback firmed
8% to trade around US$1: $3 612.

The parallel market is a product of a heavily undervalued Zimbabwean dollar
and a perennial shortage of foreign currency.

MDC secretary-general Prof Welshman Ncube who is the acting chair of the
PLC, presented the report, which was immediately countered by Justice
minister Patrick Chinamasa who is also Leader of the House. Chinamasa wanted
the report to be set aside so the debate on the Bill would go into its
second reading.

David Coltart then stood up on a point of order to declare that Chinamasa
was an interested party and could not contribute to the debate since he had
acquired three farms. Parliamentary procedure requires members with a
pecuniary interest in matters under debate to declare it and recuse
themselves.

Coltart then produced a list of MPs and the farms they own, and pointed out
that Chinamasa got three farms under the fast track system.

Jorum Gumbo grabbed the list and started remonstrating with other members
onhis side. Chinamasa then called Coltart "a racist liar".

Tendai Biti (Harare North) and Gabriel Chaibva (Harare South) were both
thrown out for arguing with Dokora. MDC MPs shouted that Chinamasa should
withdraw and called for a ruling on the issue of his recusal. Dokora tried
to restore order but was constantly shouted down.

Chinamasa finally got the floor and declared that he would not withdraw his
statement. Chaos broke out again. Eventually Dokora insisted that Chinamasa
withdraw the statement which he did.

Chinamasa then proceeded to debate the PLC report without recusing himself,
which resulted in further heckling and shouting.Coltart argued against the
Bill, saying reasonable notice must be given to any landowner who should
have recourse to the courts. He said contracts entered into were still
legally binding.

Zanu PF MP Paul Mangwana strongly defended the Bill, criticising Ncube for
not reading all the relevant clauses. Eventually a vote was called. "All
those in favour of the report say Aye".

Zanu PF MPs shouted "Aye". Confusion reigned. Dokora called for a second
vote with MDC legislators protesting. The resolution to ignore the adverse
report was adopted by 58 to 32 votes.Chinamasa immediately proceeded to
present the Bill at its second reading stage.

MZWT chairman Dumiso Dabengwa said he was not prepared to comment on MZWT
issues at the moment but said he would do so next month.

"At present I can not comment on MZWP issues but I will be in a position to
do so next month when everything is clear," said Dabengwa.

However, sources close to the operations of the MZWT said what was hampering
progress was the unavailability of funds since the project was not allocated
funds during this year's budget.

"This year's budget did not allocate anything to the MZWT and about US$500
million is needed to get the project off the ground," said a source.

The source said the MZWT was finding it difficult to secure the funds
through the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa) because of red tape.

"The Matabeleland Water project is not the only water project in the Zinwa
plans. There are various other projects that need to be implemented
nationwide from the meagre resources allocated," said the source.

But Zimbabwe's curse is also Africa's. The main reason the continent is so
poor today is that Mugabe-style incompetent tyranny has been common since
independence. The most important question for Africans now is whether Mugabe
represents not only their past, but their future as well.

There are encouraging signs that he does not.

The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders rate
media freedom in Africa. Human Rights Watch reports on Africa. The IMF and
the World Bank give economic information on various countries. Afrol.com
posts rolling news and country information.

Consider first the advance of democracy south of the Sahara since the end of
the cold war. In the 1960s and 1970s, no African ruler was voted out of
office. In the 1980s, one was. Since then, 18 have been, and counting. That
still leaves a lot of countries where polls are rigged and dissidents
disappear, but it is surely a sign that some African governments are
becoming more accountable to their people.

Africa's media, too, are shaking off their shackles. Under most of the
military regimes of the 1970s and 1980s, independent newspapers and radio
stations were simply not allowed. Today, they are as numerous as they are
irreverent. Television is still largely state-controlled and journalists are
still persecuted "occasionally in most countries, systematically in places
such as Zimbabwe and Eritrea" but, overall, the mighty are subject to
greater scrutiny than before, which makes it a bit harder for them to abuse
their power.

In the past couple of years, Africa has also grown more peaceful. During the
cold war, the great powers fought a series of proxy battles on African soil,
arming and aiding each other's clients' enemies with scant regard for the
African lives their meddling cost. With the collapse of the Soviet Union,
Africa's strategic importance waned. Its wars, however, did not. Without
their superpower backers, some states crumpled, leading to new and
exceptionally bloody struggles in countries such as Congo and Liberia.

Fortunately, several of these conflicts seem at last to have run their
course. Angola and Sierra Leone are at peace. The pointless border clash
between Ethiopia and Eritrea has stopped. Congo's war, the worst anywhere
since the Second World War, is formally over. Liberia's warlord, Charles
Taylor, has been driven into exile. Even in Sudan, which has known only 11
years of calm since 1962, government and rebels are on the verge of signing
a power-sharing deal.

This sudden outbreak of tranquillity has various causes. Angola's war
stopped because one side won. Others have ended because both sides were
exhausted, or because outsiders cajoled them into putting down their weapons
and starting to talk. If Sudan's rulers make peace this year, it will be
largely because they are terrified of what George Bush might do to them if
they do not.

The rates had skyrocketed a week after the monetary policy statement,
leaving banks to scurry to cover their positions to meet their obligation to
depositors.

Last week the RBZ bailed out six banks from a serious liquidity crisis after
they confirmed that they were facing a serious shortfall.

This, according to market consensus, increased the liquidity in the market
and pushed the rates to below the 50% mark.

Barbican Bank said it was quoting rates ranging from 15% to 40%

depending on the duration of the investment.

"The central bank poured in a lot of money to serve the indigenous banks.
This has provided excessive money on the market and demand is now low," said
an official in the bank's treasury department.

ABC Holdings Ltd is quoting some of the lowest rates in the market with a
15% yield for a month-long investment and an 8% for 14 days.

The rates however vary with the amount invested. The Jewel Bank of Zimbabwe
said it was offering between 20% and 40% due to the surplus funds on the
money market.

Other banks attributed the rates to the increased allocation from the RBZ's
productive sector support rates.

Most manufacturing companies have begun accessing the funds at 30% from the
RBZ.

Reports from banks indicate that almost all manufacturing firms that applied
for funds were successful.

An analyst at NMB Bank said this had created low demand for funds.

"Most manufacturing companies have now turned to the RBZ for cheap funds.
The bank has been quite liberal with the money," said an official at NMB
Bank. "This creates a low demand on the money market, and thus pushes the
rates down. It is based on demand and supply."

Due to the downturn in the asset management business there has also been a
sharp decline in consumptive borrowing.

NMB Bank was this week quoting rates of 15% on a 14-day investment and 35%
on 30-day investment.

Most companies that had borrowed at high interest rates are now using
subsidised productive sector rates to service their debts. Zimbabwe
Financial Holdings Ltd has temporarily suspended investments in the money
market owing to the excessive liquidity on the market.

"We are not quoting rates today. There are a lot of free funds coming into
the bank through the deposits," said an official in the bank's treasury
division. The crunch that has hit asset management companies has also
contributed to the plunge on the money market. Most asset management firms
had liquidated their properties to cover their positions and meet
obligations on the market. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's inflation went down for the
first time in two years to 598%, down from 620% in November.

Analysts said the market was however "static" because there was no cash
available for purchases since individuals were now more concerned about
securing basic commodities that continued to be found and sold only on the
parallel market.

Houses in the plush northern suburbs which were now going for as much as $1
billion and about US$300 000 in foreign currency, have now been removed from
the market as sellers hold on to their properties. Estate agents were this
week requesting for "offers" for houses instead of placing US tags on
properties. The move comes as the foreign currency that was being requested
was later used for securing Zimbabwe dollars on the once lucrative parallel
market.

The parallel market has taken a plunge ever since Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) governor Gideon Gono introduced an auction system at the central bank.

The US greenback, which was fetching up to $7 000 against the local
currency, has fallen to about $3 600 on the streets of Harare.

Gono, who took over as RBZ boss on December 1, has already read the riot act
and sent two financial institutions - ENG Asset Management and Century
Discount House - packing for failure to adhere to new RBZ regulations.

He has also evicted six banks - Trust, Time, Agribank, Metropolitan, Century
and Barbican - from the clearing house auction system for flouting RBZ
regulations.

"Members of Parliament will be lobbied to try and see whether my agenda is
regional, sectoral or personal," Gono told stunned Zanu PF MPs. "We (RBZ)
have no axe to grind with anybody. Nothing beats credibility than issuing a
threat which you don't carry out."

The RBZ boss told businessdigest in his first exclusive interview last month
that the time for politicians and business executives to hide behind fingers
while the economy collapsed was over.

He said there was rampant corruption within the financial services industry
that needed to be tackled immediately.

"I can safely say I have consulted widely and will be responsible for all
that is in my Monetary Policy Statement," Gono told businessdigest in the
interview. "I think both politicians and business leaders should now come
clean on issues as we tackle them once and for all."

Insiders said there was now panic within the financial services sector as
the governor's broom continues to sweep each room.

"Some of the bureaux de change operating from homes were being run by top
government officials and some provincial tycoons and now they are afraid the
net is closing in on them," said a source within Zanu PF.

Gono said: "We mean business and we are serious about solving the economic
ills of the country."

Meanwhile, Gono has warned banks to tighten their internal control systems
to curb the increasing fraud cases within the financial sector.

In a statement the governor said there was a clear indication that some
banks were not taking measures to deal with the security loopholes that are
manipulated by internal staff to siphon millions from the system.

"In the majority of the cases, insiders, or the banks' own staff have been
involved in the actual perpetration of these crimes," said the statement.

"The cases clearly indicate the inadequacy or laxity of the institution's
internal control systems in place."

The statement said the cases of forgery of security documents further showed
that there was a total lack of management control and oversight over
day-to-day banking operations.

It said banks should constantly review the strength of their risk management
systems to ensure early detection and identification of loopholes.

Two years ago the RBZ issued Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines to be applied
by all registered banks.

The guidelines required banks to implement strong internal controls,
information systems and accounting controls in relation to their operations.

Cases of fraud have been on the increase.

Trust Holdings Ltd was recently defrauded of $7,7 billion by employees.

Such cases, said the central bank, would erode public confidence in the
banking sector.

The bank said some employees in local banks were using confidential
information to unlawfully access client's accounts.

Border, with a market capitalisation of $56 billion on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange, is a subsidiary of Radar Holdings Ltd previously led by
controversial business tycoon Chris Schofield.

Border managing director John Gahadzikwa in his statement accompanying his
June 30 2003 financial results told shareholders that several shacks had
been erected on the company's land in areas that had been harvested mainly
in the Chimanimani Estates.

Gahadzikwa insisted that all incidents were reported to the police, who
merely recorded them, but "then did nothing further".

Border handed the matter over to its lawyers who immediately made objections
and appeals to the Administrative Court of Zimbabwe.

Subsequent to year 2002, the Attorney General's Office withdrew all Section
7 orders, to which the objections had been lodged in the administrative
court, conceding that the properties were protected by the German-Zimbabwean
Investment Protection Agreement.

Germany is Zimbabwe's fifth largest trading partner but relationships have
soured since the land acquisitions began in earnest about three years ago.

"Your company now awaits official notification from the Ministry of Lands,
Agriculture and Rural Resettlement delisting all Border properties that were
originally listed for designation for purposes of resettlement," Gahadzikwa
said.

"In the meantime, your company will employ all avenues open to it to restore
full and unrestricted ownership. The estates that have been invaded by
settlers are Tilbury and Charter, while the areas that have been listed
comprise the majority of Charter, Tilbury, Sheba, Imbeza and Sawerombe."

Company chairman Phillip Chipudhla in his report for the year ended June 30
2002 said for the past three years people, in all sectors of society, had
been saying the situation in Zimbabwe could not continue for long.

He said: "The deterioration in the economy in general continues, and the
prospects for individuals and companies look more and more terminal," he
said. "We, in the business circles, can only continue to highlight
shortcomings in the system and advise the country's leadership on how we
think the economy needs to be managed - with the hope that someone will take
heed of our advice. The future of your land at the estates remains unclear
notwithstanding that the relevant authorities have, repeatedly, stated in
public, that forest land and plantations, among other agro-industries, will
not be affected by land designations."

Chipudhla said Border continued to object to the designations which had
taken place and the individual cases were with the company's lawyers.

"Subsequent to the year-end the Attorney General's office withdrew all cases
relating to Border land designations lodged with the Administrative Court,"
he said.

"Official notification of withdrawals of the relevant Section 5's, 7's and
8's is awaited from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural
Resettlement." -

This is because your reporting is recognised as independent, informed and
intelligently contextualised.

We were therefore concerned to hear about the recent arrest of four of your
journalists and the sustained attacks upon the paper during the past weeks.

We support you fully in your attempts to investigate and report upon events
in Zimbabwe maintaining an independent source of information.

We will be contacting the Embassy (no longer a High Commission!) in London
to express our belief that a healthy society needs an independent press and
that we believe the attacks on your paper (regardless of the accuracy or
otherwise of the specific report on Mugabe's use of the national carrier)
are unhelpful to the maintenance of political debate and civic freedom.

Dr Diana Jeater,

Chair, Britain/Zimbabwe Society,

Principal Lecturer in African History,

University of Western England,

Bristol, UK.

Mugabe has re-invented our foreign policy regime, converting it into an
arsenal against his personal enemies who include his own people. The results
are spectacular.

Now Zimbabwe makes enemies every day, antagonises traditional allies and
disappoints those who once idolised us. Zimbabwe exports headaches to its
neighbours while it alienates itself from the rest of the world.

In response to the international community's enquiries about human rights,
democracy and the rule of law, citizens are tortured and killed, draconian
laws are invented and applied with surgical dedication against journalists
and human rights activists.

Recently, Mugabe has been urging China to transform into an alternative
global power to the US.

This is a foreign policy strategy deriving from recklessness, arrogance, and
an irreversible suicidal streak. I haven't had the opportunity to spy on any
country's foreign policy formulating meeting, but my guess is that they do
not make foreign policies seeking aggression or personal alienation any
more.

I'm not suggesting that small nations shouldn't engage the powerful on
matters of mutual concern. The international political arena is open;
leaders from great and small nations grapple in a perpetual duel to shape
global behaviour and ideals. But it costs to play this game; a country's
economic status determines who it does or doesn't align with.

That decision is always based on economic expectations.

What does Zimbabwe gain from encouraging China to confront the West? Mugabe
seems determined to extend the so-called Chimurenga Three into some sort of
global superpower confrontation. This is taking madness to a new level,
folks.

Let's assume Mugabe's pampering of China was simply a clever ploy to have
the Chinese replace the Bretton Woods funding institutes and fill our
begging bowl. This bowl is so huge that the famed Asian economic Tiger
offers little, if any, salvation from our economic woes.

Even if we get a penny from the Malaysians and the Chinese, we'd still be
extending our begging bowl to the West, through Asia. Their economies are
dependent on the West.

International politics is all about economics. Zimbabwe hasn't got the
muscle to grapple with or distance itself from the rest of the world. It
will tire out, if not tumble into oblivion altogether, while its so called
enemies flourish.

Obert Madondo,

Totonto,

Canada.

Instead of concentrating on developmental issues in a constituency that is
lagging behind others, the ageing Mahofa and the embattled Rusere took the
opportunity to declare war on MDC supporters in the area.

A person of Mahofa's age should not foment violence but urge youths to
desist from it.

Rusere should feel ashamed of himself because he has failed to deliver.

He should be wary of either losing that seat to another Zanu PF candidate
during the party's primaries or losing it to the MDC.

He promised to build more schools and upgrade roads but up to now, Zaka East
doesn't have schools offering "A" levels, a boarding school or a referral
hospital. Despite the fact that he is deputy Minister of Rural and Water
Resources, Chinyabako Dam that burst more than two years ago for example is
yet to be reconstructed.

Right now he is frantically trying to hijack the rural electrification
programme currently underway purporting it to be part of his achievements so
that he can retain his seat next year.

Honourable MP, people are not that ignorant and they shall speak through the
ballot.

Mahofa and Rusere, I see it unacceptable for leaders like you to say: "vanhu
veMDC havagari muno."

It is rather a ruthless assault on democracy for honourable MPs to declare
certain individuals enemies and instruct Zanu PF youths to evict them.

The two blood-thirsty politicians had the cheek to deny two popular MDC
officials Ratidzo Mugwagwa and one Marava residence in the area - a
declaration that should not be tolerated in a democracy. That declaration
also precludes the possibility of having a free and fair election in the
area.

I urge the infamous Mahofa and her surrogate Rusere to stop intimidating
people and work for the development of the area.

They should also know that the voice of the people is the voice of God. So
they can chuck them out of office whether or not they preach violence.

Edison Madondo,

Harare.

In fact they are hostile to dictatorship and very friendly to democratic
diversity. A senior Foreign Affairs official represents government at their
national-day functions. But he doesn't respond to toasts.

On the other hand, many African and Asian states do not bother with civil
society, seeing their mission in Harare as pertaining only to relations with
government. They evidently haven't thought how they will be seen by
Zimbabweans when we have a democratic government!

One of the international institutions based in Harare that needs to be more
responsive to democratic imperatives is the United Nations. The United
Nations Development Programme has for some years been overly anxious to be
associated with Zimbabwe's so-called land reform programme. But its audit
teams have found the situation on the ground so chaotic that they have been
unable to recommend the programme to donors.

This is as it should be. But on the other hand, UNDP staff need to say what
the problem is and not remain eternally hopeful!

Unesco facilitates festivities and speeches on World Press Freedom Day. But
that's the first and last we see of them!

The UN agency most in the public eye at present is the World Food Programme.
But again it seems reluctant to speak out on the issues.

Take for example the following interview with its director in Zimbabwe,
Kevin Farrell, broadcast by National Public Radio in the United States last
week.

Farrell was asked by NPR host Renée Montagne: "Why the drop in international
aid?"

Farrell: "There are concerns, of course, with respect to southern Africa in
general. It's difficult to measure, but I'm fairly sure that the demands for
food assistance in other parts of the country (sic) have probably impacted
as well."

Montagne: "Are donors reluctant to give because of what many Western
countries see as ruinous land redistribution policies of President Robert
Mugabe? Does that have any part in this?"

Farrell: "Well, I think the first thing I'd like to say is that donors have,
in fact, been very, very generous in the past two years throughout southern
Africa and including in Zimbabwe. Some of the hesitation perhaps at this
time may relate to some difficulties that donors have with economic
policies, yes."

Montagne: "What kind of rations are you running out of?"

Farrell: "The one that we have had a problem with or a shortage of over the
last month or so has been the cereal, the corn."

Montagne: "And how long do you expect supplies to last?"

Farrell: "We've had to go onto half rations in December. The January
supplies, we may be able to go back up close to a fuller ration of cereal in
January, but then February/March is looking very, very poor. Zimbabwe and
indeed all over southern Africa, the harvest would normally come in about
April, so the next two or three months, February, March and up until that
harvest, those are essentially the hungry months. Those are the difficult
months, before harvest."

Montagne: "Zimbabwe used to export food. Could you remind us quickly what
happened?"

Farrell: "Certainly. In the last two years, drought has been a factor,
particularly in the 2001-2002 season. We'e looking, though, at the whole
range of economic difficulties. There's apparently an inflation rate of
about 600%. There's unemployment of about 70%. On top of all of that, you do
have a major problem throughout southern Africa, but I think perhaps
especially in Zimbabwe at this stage, a problem of HIV infection. And that
is having an impact both on the general economic situation and more
specifically on food production."

Would you say that was a frank and honest assessment of the facts on the
ground? Or was it dissembling of the worst sort?

This is what the Daily Telegraph reported recently: "The World Food
Programme has slashed by half food handouts to Zimbabwe's starving millions
because President Robert Mugabe's government failed to alert donors to the
scale of the disaster. The WFP, a United Nations agency, said it had cut
rations since the beginning of the month to ensure it could feed more than
five million people, about half the population, until the harvest in May.
The agency said it had not raised enough money to buy the necessary
supplies.

"The WFP's appeal went out six weeks late in the middle of the year because
the Zimbabwe government had not quantified its needs until it was too late
to get the long 'food chain' moving, according to donors in Harare.

"Foreign food suppliers were also showing fatigue at what most see as a 'man
made crisis'. Zimbabwe was once southern Africa's 'bread basket' with huge
and efficient farms producing surpluses for sale abroad. But since Mugabe
began seizing white-owned farms in 2000, production has tumbled, leaving
millions without food.

"Even the United Nations, reluctant to criticise President Robert Mugabe's
administration, has admitted that the government's confiscation of 90% of
productive land from white farmers had been a major cause of the crisis.

"'When the government finally got its act together, and said how much it
needed, we also discovered we would have to fund all food imports without
any contribution from the Zimbabwe government,' said an executive of a major
donor agency."

So not only did Farrell refuse to acknowledge the root causes of the food
shortages, namely the Mugabe regime's reckless economic and land reform
policies (and its inability to fulfil its estimated quotas through the Grain
Marketing Board), he chose instead to focus on the donors for showing a
reluctance to increase their support.

This is not true. The US government, through USAid, donated in fiscal year
2003, US$125 000 000 in humanitarian assistance. This fiscal year alone
(October to now) it has donated an additional $72 000 000.

And while problems of drought and HIV infection may indeed be common to the
region, the fact is other countries are recovering much faster in terms of
food production.

What we need are UN representatives who, without losing their diplomacy, are
prepared to tell it like it is. Dancing around the problems in some
misdirected concern for the sensitivity of their hosts is simply going to
compound official complacency and discourage donors.

The list of enemies who have nothing better to do than spend all their time
causing us misery is unending. That is another danger of the current frenzy
about corruption. Whites, bankers and politicians out of official favour for
one reason or another make soft, easy targets for blame for what ails the
society. They are powerful and wealthy but not necessarily popular groups
who the public is happy to see come down a peg or two. From the phase of
being told all our problems are caused by the British and their local
lackeys, we move to the stage of new-found economic devils trying to
frustrate the innocent government as the cause of our economic decline. It
is merely a new act in the tiresome, long running play of Mugabe being
seemingly incapable of taking responsibility for his policies and actions
and their results.

It is also amazing how easy it often is to whip us up into a collective
frenzy as a catharsis for our frustration at the decline in the quality of
life, rather than to ask what brought it all about in the first place. What
is required to bring about an abiding turn around in our national fortunes
after we have had the temporary satisfaction of seeing pompous politicians,
businesspeople and bankers brought down to size? Is finally bringing these
people to book, parading them in handcuffs and prison garb to our delight
and picturing their ill-gotten toys now economic policy? Overnight fortunes
have been made from all kinds of speculation and we have a vague sense of
unease and resentment at this kind of "unearned" wealth and the way it is
flaunted. Should we also not be asking what turned a fairly stable,
production-based economy into one in which speculation made much more sense
than attempting to grow crops or make goods in a factory?

In the regime of Mugabe we have an unimaginative government that is far more
adept at finding enemies and scapegoats than at creating conditions for
prosperity. Apart from outright repression and intimidation, we the populace
have made it easy for them to do so for all these years because we often
don't ask fundamental questions about what has brought us to our present
state.

Corruption is the new bogeyman on which all our economic ills can be blamed.
But if so, could it have gone on for so long at the level it did without the
president who now casts himself as a crusader against it unaware of it? How
do high ranking ruling party officials acquire vast, allegedly corrupt
property and investment portfolios without the police, the CIO and Mugabe
himself knowing about it? Could the various spy and security services not
have been aware of what was the subject of common talk in Harare for years,
or did the authorities choose to look the other way because they were an
integral part of the corruption? Or were perhaps the CIO too busy spying,
beating up and torturing citizens attempting to exercise their right of
democratic dissent to worry about highly placed crooks? Could it be that
these were considered the "legitimate" perks of supporting the status quo,
leading some who stand accused of massive corruption today to yesterday
openly boasting of how their ruling party membership and patronage, not
business acumen, had led to their "success?" If you want to do well like I
have done, you must also join Zanu PF, a high profile alleged crook once
openly, provocatively teased.

It certainly was not a secret that many of the overnight newly rich, both in
the ruling party and outside of it, were engaged in corrupt activities. But
they often did so with the tacit as well as open support and participation
of hypocritical rulers who believe themselves to have covered up their own
corrupt tracks enough to now sacrifice their equally corrupt junior
colleagues.

I quite understand the shocked sense of betrayal the corrupt pompous young
Zanu PF Turks must feel at being sacrificed the way that is happening by
seniors whose own dirty secrets they know. What is tragic about the youngish
high profile thieves is their obviously not having understood the high risks
of the game they were playing, along with the high rewards. The haughty high
profile young "playas" of Harare are being cynically, tragically getting
"played" by political mentors who no longer find it in their best interests
to continue with the game, at least in its present form. There is no honour
among thieves, it's everyone for himself when the heat is on!

While the long suffering public is quite justified to feel a rare sense of
justice at our greediest and most corrupt high-profile citizens finally
being brought to book, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is also
a diversion meant to distract us from the real reasons for the decline of
this country.

Speculation in foreign currency is the result of its shortage, it is not the
basic cause. If hoarding of and speculation in mealie meal causes the price
to shoot up beyond prices that are widely affordable, it is fundamentally
because there is a shortage of it, and we must address the shortage to
permanently deal with the problem. Why does a sophisticated country like
Zimbabwe, drought or no drought, have a shortage of its staple food? It is
not enough for us to merely enjoy the temporary satisfaction of arresting
the hoarder-speculator.

It is easy to ram through new laws declaring it illegal to sell wheat or
other crops to anyone but the state grain monopoly. But a far more effective
way to deal with the problem is to address the fundamental issue that a
farmer will quite naturally want to sell his crop where he gets the best
return on his investment. Being naive about this only creates worse
shortages and forces producers to find more innovative ways to flout such
unreasonable laws. Apart from the shortages that result from this kind of
fire-fighting that has become a hallmark of the regime of Mugabe, it is
these kind of contradictions that make so many people lose respect for the
law. For significant levels of voluntary compliance with the law, that law
must be seen to be reasonable and fair, as well as fairly applied. This is
hardly the situation in Zimbabwe today.

I am not at all surprised that economic collapse has had the result of
having the members of the Zanu PF hierarchy that benefited from it for so
long turn against each other. Flaunted "prosperity" that was not underpinned
by increased national productivity was always a giant, fraudulent pyramid
scheme that had to eventually collapse. But I am neither grateful for nor
particularly impressed by a cynical, highly selective scapegoating exercise
billed as an anti-corruption drive, orchestrated by the creators, godfathers
and main beneficiaries of that corruption!

 Chido Makunike is a regular Harare-based contributor.

Now the parallel market is tottering on the brink of collapse following the
combined efforts of law enforcement agents and the public media. Taking a
lead from the public media, the police have for once done a commendable job
in bringing the force of the law against the exposed vices and their
perpetrators. The illegal parallel gold market may well be doomed as the
public media (ZBC and papers in the Zimpapers stable) have led a vigorous
campaign against this vice. And now Moyo has exploded the myth that there
are untouchables in society who can commit crimes with impunity owing to
their political and economic muscle.

To some of us passionate nationalists it had become embarrassing to
associate ourselves with the ruling Zanu PF, as the view among the members
of the public has been that Zanu PF was a haven of thieves and other
fugitives from the law. But now the chickens are coming home to roost for
those who came to Zanu PF to protect their ill-gotten wealth. There are a
lot more respectable criminals still to be exposed.

The law enforcement system has been compromised. Rich criminals never go to
jail. The long arm of the law only stretches as far as the high-density
suburbs leaving out criminals ensconced in Borrowdale and some such places.
White-collar crime in this country is getting out of hand and the
fashionable thing for these smooth criminals is to join the up town churches
in the leafy northern suburbs pretending to be born again Christians. Car
dealers (a polite term for sophisticated car thieves) bribe people at the
Central Vehicle Registry and other relevant offices. They then use their
blood money to corrupt Pentecostal pastors (themselves crazy about earthly
possessions) so they can be given prominent positions in church.

Some businessmen have been heard to say they are joining Zanu PF to protect
themselves should they be exposed to be operating outside the law.
Indigenous businessmen have been known to corruptly buy fuel from Noczim at
subsidised rates for resale at black market rates at their filling stations.
Yet others have been known to commandeer maize from the GMB under the
pretext of distributing it in their wards, only to sell at black market
prices and pocketing the proceeds.

Some will say coming hard on these black criminals is an own goal against
indigenisation. But the discerning will dismiss that claim with the contempt
it deserves. Is it indigenisation that breeds criminals? Is it
indigenisation that produces corrupt public officials who pander to the
criminal whims of the few indigenous criminals hiding their crimes behind
the banner of indigenisation? No. We went to war not for the right to become
criminals but the right to have equal opportunities to use our abilities to
make money and better our living standards. If we do not put a stop to this
seemingly inexorable march towards the wholesale criminalisation of society,
very soon we will be exporting criminals - sophisticated though they maybe
like Nigeria yet from independence to the 1990s we were renowned for
exporting skilled and diligent workers.

Respectable criminals and corrupt officials inspire more criminals from the
ranks of our youngsters and public servants. Leaving white-collar crime to
flourish also deals a felling blow to efforts at empowering women, as our
beauties are known to make a beeline for smooth criminals with lots of
money. Corruption is now killing the incentive for hard work to earn a clean
income. Industry is full of impostors whose CVs are full of lies about their
qualifications and experience. Many now corruptly get fake certificates
having paid officials in the education system.

So to Moyo, the public media and the police we say please leave no stone
unturned in your efforts to eradicate this vice threatening our society.
These actions are aimed at wooing back voters who had deserted Zanu PF en
masse in protest at its collusion with criminal and corrupt elements. This
is meant to enhance Zanu PF's electoral fortunes in next year's
parliamentary elections.

Government should consider raising the economic standing of police and
judicial officers so that they are not bullied and corrupted by economically
powerful criminals. Government can do this by paying police and judicial
officers competitive rates. This need not necessarily be at private sector
rates, but competitive enough to make these officers respectable, not the
laughing stock of society.

This competitive salary coupled with the provision of cars and houses will
sure go a long way in making them less prone to accepting bribes. Through
the Ministry of Public Construction and National Housing, government could
build houses for judicial and police officers whose positions make them
susceptible to corruption. These houses should remain government property.

The training of police officers will need to be changed from the current one
where emphasis is put on developing and encouraging the use of brawn and not
brain by the police force. Now that the native criminal is also a smart
thinker our ill-equipped baton-stick wielding police officers have been
found wanting. More resources should now be made available to train our
police force on how to deal with white collar crime instead of the current
over-policing of townships which has filled our jails with small time pick
pockets.

This disproportionate attention to small time criminals leaves white collar
crime to flourish, yet white collar crime costs society much more than pick
pocketing which is mostly motivated by need. White collar crime is always
motivated by greed. These measures will definitely inspire confidence in
these very important institutions of government and help in making them more
efficient and effective.

Kudakwashe Marazanye is a Harare-based freelance writer.

Gono’s magic wand won’t do the trick

THERE was much jubilation this week when Zimbabweans were told by the
Central Statistical Office (CSO) that the country’s inflation figure had
gone down by 20,8 percentage points from a record 620,5% for November to
598,7% in December.

Some quarters, especially in government, were quick to point out that
inflation had nose-dived because of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono’s
monetary policy stance.

They said Finance minister Herbert Murerwa’s prediction that inflation would
stand at 700% during the first quarter of this year had been made to vanish
by Gono’s “magic wand” and inflation would now be less than 500% for this
period.

Economists however point out fatal flaws in these claims. For one, the
statement was released in mid-December and so inflation figures would not
have been affected by Gono’s statement as CSO officials were still
collecting the necessary data.

Inflation figures are collected using what is termed a basket of goods and
services that the ordinary Zimbabwean needs for  normal day-to-day upkeep.

These include milk, bread, cooking oil, low-quality meat, and fuel.

Inflation figures are also calculated on the cost of services such as
transport, accommodation and medical needs. That information is yet to feed
through for the current quarter.

Further, basic commodities are still not available on the shelves of major
supermarket chains but are stacked outside their front doors. They are
selling at exorbitant parallel market rates. These are not a part of the CSO
’s calculations.

Fuel is also available on the parallel market resulting in transport costs
being pegged at these rates.

Rentals are pegged and in many instances now charged in foreign currency so
one needs to ask what basket is used when making the inflation calculations.

Health services are in the intensive care unit and there are no medicines in
the country. Only the well-to-do with foreign currency accounts have access
to services outside the country. What basket is used in such instances one
may ask?

The auction system has been praised for bringing to an end the thriving
parallel market in the country.

The system, recommended by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI),
has however already come under fire from the same body that wanted it
introduced.

The CZI says it now wants a pegged figure of $5 800 to the United States
dollar as opposed to the $4 195 average currently being used.

The CZI points out that an “unviably low” auction price in the initial
period will undermine exporter confidence in the auction system, delay
investment in export growth, and stimulate foreign currency demand for
consumptive purposes. The RBZ has thrown out the CZI’s suggestion.

While the auction system has brought about some sanity in the financial
services sector there is still a thriving parallel market on the streets of
Harare and Bulawayo.

One thing is evident though — there is little money trickling into RBZ
coffers at the moment. Businesses are holding onto their foreign currency in
anticipation that Gono will soon run out of steam or face obstacles.

There is a long list of Reserve Bank governors and Finance ministers who
tried to clean up Zimbabwe’s Augean stable but eventually met a brick wall
including Gono’s predecessors, Kombo Moyana and Leonard Tsumba.

The salient fact facing him is that the country is not earning sufficient
forex to meet its import needs. And inflation is 600% higher than that of
our trading partners.

Those facts on the ground are likely to fuel the parallel market —  and with
it inflation — for some time to come.

At the end of the day we have to face another harsh reality. The government’
s scorched-earth land policies have sabotaged the country’s means to earn
forex through exports of tobacco and horticultural goods. And tourists are
staying away in droves as a result of the country’s well-deserved reputation
for political violence and selective application of the law.

There will be no foreign investment until the rule of law is restored. There
is no question of the Bretton Woods institutions extending
balance-of-payments relief until earlier conditions have been met. And the
land reform programme will need to be cleaned up and brought into line with
constitutional guarantees on property rights as the parliamentary legal
committee’s adverse report on proposed amendments underscores.

Gono will have difficulty dealing with those basics. While we don’t want to
rain on his parade, he should be the first to realise that the current
respite is only temporary.

Sooner or later he will have to face the hard facts that underthe current
regime a misma-naged economy, macro-economic distortions, corruption and
shortages have become a way of life. He may tinker at the margins. But
without the engagement of the international community and nationally agreed
land and economic policies Zimbabwe’s future remains bleak.