Mugabe puts military at the centre of Zimbabwe's
election By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed:
24/01/2005)
President Robert Mugabe was accused yesterday of
"militarising" Zimbabwe's forthcoming election after a new law placed the
army in charge of polling stations and installed the regime's allies in
every key position.
Devoid of any independent supervision, the March
parliamentary polls are expected to see a sweeping victory for the ruling
Zanu-PF party.
The Electoral Act, signed into law by Mr Mugabe last week,
gives the security forces a legal role in national elections for the first
time in Zimbabwe's history.
Section 17 allows the heads of the
"service commissions" to second personnel to serve as "constituency election
officers, deputy constituency elections officers, assistant constituency
elections officers and polling officers". The commissions are defined as the
army, air force, police and prison service.
David Coltart, the
justice spokesman for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, called
it the "militarisation of the election process itself". He added: "These
elections will take place under the most repressive laws in our history. Not
a single electoral body is impartial.
"In the presidential election,
Mugabe used the army covertly, now he can do it legally."
Mr Mugabe
has gained the loyalty of the security forces. Before the presidential
election of 2002, all senior military commanders declared they would serve
under no president except him.
Moreover, members of the regime's youth
militia, held responsible for a violent campaign against the MDC, are being
incorporated into the security forces and will run polling
stations.
Mr Mugabe has ensured that his allies will oversee the contest.
A High Court judge, Mr Justice George Chiweshe, has been made chairman of
the Election Commission.
He also runs the body charged with drawing
up new constituency boundaries, a role in which he has already eliminated
three opposition seats and created three others in Zanu-PF
strongholds.
Paul Themba Nyathi, the MDC spokesman, said the opposition
had "serious reservations" about Mr Justice Chiweshe's impartiality and
independence.
Shortly after being appointed to the bench, the judge
denied bail to an MP from the MDC who was critically ill after spending six
weeks in custody.
The MDC is deeply divided over whether to boycott the
polls, in which it is likely to lose half of its 51 seats if it runs any
candidates.
SCHOOL children allegedly voted in Zanu PF's primary
elections in Chimanimani last Thursday, controversially won by economist
Samuel Undenge, it has been brought to the attention of The Daily
Mirror.
Undenge sprung a surprise when he pulled the rug from under
Munacho Mutezo's feet. He polled 4 139 votes, central committee member
Mutezo received 4 074 while 1 631 people voted for Misheck
Beta. Documents in possession of The Daily Mirror show that more than 70
students from Rusitu Secondary School voted in the primaries. Rusitu is
said to be Undenge's home area. However, it could not be established who the
school children voted for, although sources linked them to Undenge. The
documents show that Mutezo has since written to the ruling party's
chairperson of the national elections directorate, Elliot Manyika,
complaining about irregularities there. Allegations are that the school
children voted at Hode Primary School clad in school uniform. Part of the
documents read: "At Hode primary over 70 students from Rusitu Secondary
School (in uniform), some of them under age (and) in form three (voted).
They are not in the party." The document also alleges that voting was not
conducted at Muusha - voting centre for people from Nyamusundu area - and
the results were not complete. Contacted to confirm the authenticity of the
documents in question, Mutezo said: "The matter is with the leadership. I
cannot comment because it will be subjudice. We have not completed the
voting and we have raised the issue with party leaders," Mutezo said. "We
want the people of Muusha to vote. As far as we know, the process is not
yet completed." The document was copied to Zanu PF national chairman John
Nkomo, secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa, politburo member Solomon
Mujuru and Cabinet minister Olivia Muchena. Muchena was the returning
officer in Chimanimani. Mutezo's polling agent at Hode, Tobias Mlambo, told
The Daily Mirror that the students came to the polling station around 4 pm,
clad in school uniforms, and voted. "I questioned why the students were
allowed to vote, but no one listened to me. Some of the students were as
young as 14 voted," said Mlambo. A team from Chimanimani, led by Mambo
Mastick Zvinoera Saurombe, yesterday met Manyika and implored him to allow
people from Muusha to vote. "We met the minister at his farm in Bindura and
told him that we were not happy with what transpired in Chimanimani during
the primary election. We are going to meet the minister again tomorrow
(today)," Saurombe said. Yesterday, Muchena refused to comment, insisting she
would write a report to the elections directorate. "I will report to the
directorate, not the press. I will explain everything to the directorate if
I am asked to do so. Handitauri zvinhu zvemaelections kunewspaper. (I don't
talk about elections in newspapers)," Muchena said. Mutasa said Saurombe and
others approached him over allegations that children voted in the
primaries. "These are some of the allegations which need to be probed.
Hazvizivikanwe kuti vana vacho vaka vota here kana kuti kwete. (It is not
clear whether the children voted or not)," Mutasa said. The document
written by Mutezo read: "I write to raise my concern about the voting that
was done in Chimanimani on 20 January. This was a follow-up to an earlier
election held on 15 January. The election on 15 January was not completed,
with six centres not having voted. Out of the 25 centres, in that election I
was leading with the following result: Cde Beta 516, Undenge 1 196 and
Mutezo 1 870. "The people voted at that centre in the first election on
January 15 2005 and the results were as follows: Cde Beta 5, Cde Undenge 19,
and Cde Mutezo 215. This shows we won with a very big margin of over 196
against Undenge. "The results yesterday (January 20) are as follows: Cde Beta
1 631, Cde Undenge 4 139, Cde Mutezo 4 074. The difference between us is 66
votes. This could have been more than covered had we allowed people to vote
in Muusha where there were over 250 people. "This is grossly unfair and
people are asking to be allowed to vote. I feel the candidates who pushed
for exclusion of Muusha did so because they knew it was our stronghold and
they would lose. I humbly request that the people of Muusha be allowed to
vote to complete our elections." Efforts to get comment from Manyika proved
fruitless, as his phone was unreachable, while the person who answered
Undenge's phone at home and identified himself as the young brother said the
economist was not home. In the appeal, it was alleged that soon after the
announcement of the results, Undenge's supporters attacked and damaged a
B1800 truck belonging to Mutezo. A police report was made - RRB number
0458689. Mutezo did not accept the results.
A DIRECTOR in the
Ministry of Special Affairs in the Office of the President and Cabinet
responsible for Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies, Patrick Machaya, says
the media is important in the fight against corruption. "For our part we
realise that the media are an internal element in the fight against
corruption in its various manifestations and provide leads to possible cases
of corruption publicise cases that come before the courts," Machaya said
during a training workshop on investigative journalism in Kadoma last
week. The workshop-attended by journalists from most media houses, a
parliamentary representative and lawyers - was organised by corruption
watchdog - Transparency International Zimbabwe. Machaya said the media
did not only raise awareness about corruption, but had the duty to
investigate and report cases of graft. Speakeing at the same worhshop, the
deputy president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, James Mutizwa, said it was
important for journalists to be conversant with laws that dealt with
corruption. He, however, criticised the principal legislation on corruption,
the Prevention of Corruption Act, saying it did not have a definition of
corruption. Other laws on white collar crime include the Anti-Corruption
Commission Act, the Serious Offences (Confiscation of Profits) Act, the Bank
Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Act-currently being
challenged by lawyers in the Supreme Court. The lawyers are challenging
the constitutionality of provisions that compel them to notify the police if
they suspect that their clients acquired money through illegal
means. Mutizwa said the provisions lawyers are challenging had been struck
down in other countries including India, Britain, Canada and the United
States of America. Meanwhile, Wilbert Mandinde, the legal adviser of the
local chapter of the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA) said the
government had created a hostile working environment for journalists which
made it difficult for the media to expose corruption, Mandinde said the
private media in particular had been under siege from the government for the
past five years. "Over the last 4-5 years, the independent press has borne
the brunt of government hostility in the form of vitriolic attacks,
harassment, the bombing of offices and a printing press, arrests and
detentions, often for brief periods," he said. Mandinde said the
government's grip on the public media and misconception of patriotism had
reduced the state owned media to praise singers at the expense of important
issues. "The media structure in Zimbabwe is characterised by the dominance of
state-controlled media in both the broadcasting and print sectors. In
broadcasting, the government-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation
(Holdings) has a monopoly on all television and radio broadcasting. "The
government also has strong control over the print media. It is a fact that
there is a corruption within the government. However as Zimbabweans we have
a problem of patriotism. The state media have become praise singers and
ignore important issues," he said.
WITH
just two months to go before the March parliamentary elections, the
government has called on the security forces and other related agencies to
be on high alert in light of condemnation of Zimbabwe's electoral processes
by some Western countries.
Speaking at a belated Christmas party for
officers at the defence forces headquarters last Friday, Defence Minister
Sydney Sekeramayi said the security requirements for the forthcoming
elections would be high. He said: "The security requirements of the electoral
process and the elections will obviously call for unprecedented alertness
from the security forces and other related agencies." Sekeramayi accused
the European Union, the British and other Western countries of trying to
create unrest in the country. "Regarding the forthcoming elections there is
no doubt that our detractors will continue to spend sleepless nights
conjuring up images of insecurity and unrest in Zimbabwe, in order to
discredit our electoral and democratic institutions," he said. The West
and Europe have accused the Zanu PF led government of fraudulently winning
the 2000 and 2002 parliamentary and presidential elections respectively to
legitimise the imposition of targeted sanctions on top government and the
ruling party officials. The elections were marred by widespread violence that
most observers blamed on the ruling party supporters. The government has
however, denied the accusations and instead accused the West of interference
in Zimbabwe's internal affairs and sponsoring the opposition MDC, with the
intention to effect regime change. President Robert Mugabe is yet to
announce the dates for the March elections. The MDC have threatened to
boycott the parliamentary polls if Zimbabwe does not implement the Sadc
protocol on democratic elections.
GOVERNMENT
last week swooped on the 600-hectare Watermount Estates Private Limited,
that was allegedly used by Time Bank of Zimbabwe directors to divert funds
to the tune of $440 billion for their personal use, indicating that it
intended to compulsorily acquire the land for resettlement
purposes. Interestingly, Watermount Estates, 7 other companies directly or
indirectly tied in an alleged intricate web of deception and corruption with
Time Bank, and 7 directors, including Web Mashumba and Onias Gumbo,
directors of Time Bank Investments (Private) Limited (TBI) and Watermount
Estates respectively, were all declared specified persons on January
14. TBI is the company that dragged the central bank to the High Court
charging that operations at Watermount Estates were above board and seeking
the reversal of Time Bank's curatorship early this month. As a result of
the specification, Tinashe Rwodzi, formerly appointed curator of the Time
Bank, was further appointed to be the investigator of the specified persons
and companies. Specification means that the persons concerned are not allowed
to withdraw amounts in excess of $10 000 without the permission of the
investigator of the specified companies. But it is the intended compulsory
acquisition of Watermount Estates that shows that the drama is not yet
over. John Nkomo, Minister of Special Affairs in the Office of the President
and Cabinet on Friday served Watermount Estates with a preliminary notice to
compulsorily acquire its land. "Deed of transfer 8745/98, registered in
the name of Watermount Estates (Private) Limited, in respect of land
situated in the district of Goromonzi, being the remainder of Craig Crag
Estate, measuring six hundred comma nine zero seven two (600,9072)
hectares," was set for acquisition. This comes at a time when it is
understood that Watermount Estates was used by Time Bank directors to siphon
$440 billion from depositor accounts, one of the reasons why it was slapped
with curatorship. But TBI has a pending High Court application that questions
the curatorship and challenges the RBZ to honour past promises in a dispute
that is still raging 5 years after it erupted. The legal proceedings,
instituted early this year principally seek a reversal of the placement of
Time Bank of Zimbabwe Ltd under curatorship in September last year by
invoking the yet to be tested Administrative Justice Act (AJA). Last week,
Gideon Gono made his first clear response regarding the second High Court
challenge, when he revealed that measures to incorporate Time Bank into the
Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG) had been halted as they awaited the
outcome of the court application. "Time Bank has been excluded from the
ZABG in light of the litigation by the institution's shareholders against
the RBZ, which is pending in the High Court," This is the second time
that Time Bank has dragged RBZ to the High Court after the same happened in
2000, when the wrangle surrounding some US$15 million that Time claims was
wrongfully deposited into its account. Time Bank claims that it suffered
prejudice arising from a Memorandum of Deposit (MoD) transaction entered
into, with the central bank in 2000. Under the MoD, which also involved the
Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank, Time Bank secured a US$15 million (about
$825 million at the exchange rate then) loan to provide pre- and
post-shipment finance to its clients. It is understood that the central bank
was supposed to give Time Bank the Zimbabwe dollar equivalent of the loan
and retain the foreign currency component.
Anglo-American bid to stop estate takeover hits
snag
The Daily Mirror Reporter issue date :2005-Jan-24
A BID by
Anglo-American to negotiate against the government's takeover of Mkwasine
Estate, involved in sugar and wheat production, has hit a snag after the
status quo said it would go ahead with the acquisition of the
property. Other companies affected by the same action are Border Timbers,
the Wattle Company and Sam Levy's Lilfordia Farm in Zvimba. Last year,
the government issued Mkwasine Estate-owned by Anglo-American through its
Zimbabwe subsidiary, Hippo Valley Estates, a Section 8 order indicating the
takeover of the property under the land reform exercise. Anglo-American said
it would engage the government to rescind its decision, but the Minister of
Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement, John Nkomo had already applied for
confirmation of the Section 8 order in terms of the Land Acquisition
Act. Nkomo said in a notice in a local daily: "Take notice that an
application for the confirmation of the acquisition order issued in respect
of the following farms has been filed in the Administrative Court at Harare
and that the respondent and any holder of real rights over the said farm are
required lodge their objections within five days after the publication of
this notice failure of which the matter shall be set down unopposed without
any further notice."
CONTROVERSY continued to dog MDC
primary elections yesterday with reports that drunken party youths violently
disrupted the holding of the polls in Zengeza where three candidates were
contesting the ticket to represent the opposition in March-if the party
decides to participate in the general elections.
The candidates vying
for Zengeza are James Makore, Charlton Hwende and a man identified only as
Chimbaira. According to Makore the polls were abandoned after a fourth
candidate emerged and demanded that he be allowed to take part in the
election. "A man called (Alexei) Musundire just emerged and demanded that he
be allowed to take part despite the fact that he was not on the list of the
candidates that were supposed to contest. A group of drunk youths then
jumped on top of tables and ordered that the man be allowed to take part,
banging tables and causing confusion," Makore said. "Violence then broke
out and we jumped into our cars and drove away fearing for our lives," he
added. Musundire is the former MDC provincial chairperson for
Chitungwiza. Makore, who lost to Zanu PF's Christopher Chigumba in a
by-election to replace Tafadzwa Musekiwa after he fled the country citing
attempts on his life by state agents, yesterday said: "We will write reports
on what took place today (Sunday) and we are going to forward them to the
leadership of the party tomorrow (today)." Hwende said the violence
erupted after Musundire wanted to impose himself. Said Hwende: "When
Musundire tried to force his way in, we agreed that the people were supposed
to vote on whether he should be allowed to contest, but 29 people voted for
his participation against 95. Musundire, who had hired thugs then burnt
ballot papers and the police intervened leading to the abandonment of the
exercise." Musundire distanced himself from the violence that took place in
Zengeza, but confirmed that his name was not among those of other candidates
that were supposed to contest. "I did not take part in whatever happened
as I was outside of the building where the ballot papers were," he said,
adding that the problem was that some contestant wanted to bar him from
participating.
ZIMBABWE'S main opposition party, the
MDC says while it was pleased with the recent appointment of members of the
Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, it has reservations about its chairperson,
Judge George Chiweshe. "The MDC welcomes the establishment of the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission. In particular, the MDC is pleased with the
appointment of the four commissioners - Sarah Kachingwe, Rev Jonathan
Siyachitema, Vivian Ncube and Professor George Kahari - who were appointed
as a result of consensus between the MDC and Zanu PF in the Standing Rules
and Orders Committee of Parliament," opposition party spokesperson Paul
Themba Nyathi said on Friday. Nyathi said the MDC had serious reservations in
respect of the impartiality and independence of the "person appointed as the
chairperson for the reasons that he is not known for his impartiality in the
manner in which he has handled cases relating to the MDC and its
members". Nyathi said: "This was particularly true in respect of those
members of the MDC who were falsely implicated in the abduction and murder
of Cain Nkala. In the spirit that everyone learns from their mistakes we
hope and trust that Justice Chiweshe in the light of the Cain Nkala case as
a trained lawyer, would let bygones be bygones and return to the ideals of
the legal profession of fairness, impartiality and integrity." Nyathi,
however, added that the MDC was prepared and would give Chiweshe the benefit
of the doubt in the hope that he was going to take seriously the injunction
of the laws of the country that members of the commission "must at all times
act with impartiality, fairness, independence and integrity". The MDC said
one of the commission's major mandates was to open the airwaves for all
political parties. "This means that the commission will have to insist that
all political parties have fair access to the public media as is now
contained in our laws. "The commission must also ensure that the police
act with absolute impartiality and bring to the end their practice of
banning and interfering with the meetings of the opposition parties. "It
must also ensure that all perpetrators of violence are effectively and
firmly dealt with and that an accurate voters' roll is prepared in which
every Zimbabwean entitled to vote is registered," further stated
Nyathi. He stressed that the commission was supposed to ensure that the
voters' roll was thoroughly audited and made accessible, particularly in its
electronic version, to all Zimbabweans. This is despite the fact that
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa spoke highly of Chiweshe at a press
conference in Harare while announcing members of the commission. He said
the judge's objectivity could not be doubted, as he was familiar with some
aspects of the electoral process, having conducted the delimitation
exercise. "That weighed heavily in favour of him," he said. Of the
commission, Chinamasa said: "The members of the commission are people of
integrity and have vast and diverse administrative and other experiences and
will therefore be an independent and objective authority to administer all
elections and referendums in Zimbabwe."
THE murder of a British aid worker in one of
Harare's wealthy suburbs last week has sent shockwaves through the shrinking
expatriate community, already threatened by new restrictions imposed by the
president, Robert Mugabe, on aid organisations.
The body of Lisa
Veron-Brunner, 30, who worked for the United Nations' World Health
Organisation (WHO) in the Zimbabwean capital, was discovered beside her
upturned vehicle just down the road from her gym.
Ms Veron-Brunner, who
held joint British and Swiss nationality, was initially believed to have
been killed in a road accident.
However, a post-mortem examination
revealed that she had been stabbed in the neck and chest, and several items
were missing from her bag, according to the UN.
Most observers in
Harare suspect that Ms Veron- Brunner was the victim of a botched
carjacking.
Her murder has been the subject of hushed conversation in
diplomatic gatherings, and has thrown the spotlight on the once peaceful
southern African country's growing problem of violent crime.
The UN
says it has stepped up security for its officials in the wake of the
attack.
Zimbabwe used to be a dream posting for Western aid workers.
The cost of living was relatively cheap, good schooling was affordable and,
in urban areas at least, security was much better than in Johannesburg, the
capital of neighbouring South Africa.
But all that has changed.
Zimbabwe's five-year political crisis has been accompanied by a surge in
carjackings and armed robberies, which have affected mainly monied white and
black Zimbabweans.
Luxury four-wheel drive vehicles are a favourite
target, according to local press reports. The stolen vehicles are believed
to be shipped out via Victoria Falls to Zambia.
Desperate to revive
its tourist industry, the Zimbabwean government is not keen to broadcast the
rise in crime.
There has been no mention of Ms Veron-Brunner's death in
the state-owned Herald newspaper so far.
By Martin
Kadzere THE National Railways of Zimbabwe's (NRZ) negotiations with Chinese
companies under a deal to procure $35,8 billion worth of equipment are at an
advanced stage.
NRZ said the rail equipment was meant for the
rehabilitation of the railway operator's antiquated and vandalised network
while at the same time bringing in state-of-the-art technological
equipment.
Last year the rail transporter lost over $600 million worth of
equipment to vandalism which adversely affected the operations of the
troubled parastatal.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications is
spearheading the negotiations.
"We confirm that the NRZ is still
engaged in discussions for the purchase of a variety of railway equipment
from Chinese companies.
"Our parent Ministry of Transport and
Communications is playing a leading role in the deliberations," said NRZ
corporate affairs manager of Mr Misheck Matanhire.
The national rail
transporter has already ordered the consignment which would be delivered as
soon as the deliberations are concluded.
The equipment would be used to
upgrade the dilapidated railway infrastructure in the country and on the
proposed Harare-Chitungwiza link project.
Under the short and
medium-term measures to rehabilitate the infrastructure, the NRZ is also
installing a new communication system as well as rehabilitating the existing
one.
"Among other projects that we have embarked on to improve the state
of railway equipment are the upgrading of the signalling and
telecommunications system, rehabilitation of the rail track as well as
refurbishment of locomotives, wagons and coaches," said Mr
Matanhire.
This move has immensely benefited the parastatal in terms of
service delivery to its customers.
To date, 23 locomotives and 804
wagons have been refurbished since the commencement of recapitalisation
programme in July 2003.
In addition, NRZ is currently installing a UHF
communication network on the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls line to improve
communication between train crews and command centres.
Vandalism of
railway infrastructure, which had in the past reached unprecedented
proportions, was threatening to paralyse the parastatal's operations and has
been cited as the major cause of accidents, many of them fatal, on the rail
network.
Your report
made for disturbing reading (Zimbabwe: the terror and abuse goes on, January
18). Amnesty International is extremely concerned that the government of
Zimbabwe is operating a policy of systematic repression of all those it
perceives to be critical of it. With the parliamentary elections in March
only weeks away, we are concerned that alongside political violence the
Zimbabwean authorities are using a raft of new legislation to control the
media and human rights organisations.
We must then question why the UK
government decided last year to reverse its policy of not returning
unsuccessful Zimbabwean asylum-seekers? In Zimbabwe, the state-controlled
media's response has been to run articles suggesting that those returned
from the UK should be viewed by the authorities with suspicion, and
"vetted". It appears that a "return at any cost" culture now appears to
reign supreme at the Home Office. Kate Allen Amnesty International
UK
Zimbabwe's tobacco crop may rise 32%
January 24, 2005
By Antony Sguazzin
Johannesburg -
Flue-cured tobacco production in Zimbabwe might rise 32 percent this season,
reversing a four-year decline, as more small-scale and commercial farmers
had been contracted to grow the leaf, US-based Universal, the world's
biggest tobacco leaf merchant, has said.
Zimbabwe was expected to
grow about 90.3 million kilograms of flue-cured tobacco, the top grade of
the leaf, the company said on its website.
"More farmers across
both sectors have signed growing contracts," Universal's Zimbabwean
associate, Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco, said in a report. "The majority of
contractors have been fairly quick in providing the necessary support
required."
Between 2000 and 2004 tobacco production in Zimbabwe
slumped by three-quarters after the government began seizing commercial
farms for redistribution to the landless. Many of the new owners are
subsistence farmers.
The government last season allowed
companies for the first time to contract farmers to grow the crop, providing
more security for growers. Prior to that, all tobacco was sold on
auction.
In December the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association forecast a
crop of 85 million kilograms this year.
Favourable rains were
boosting the crop, Universal said, with yields of over 3 000kg a hectare on
irrigated fields and 2 500kg on dry land fields expected.
The
country was also likely to harvest between 200 000kg and 300 000kg of
lower-grade burley tobacco, Universal said.
Auction floors in
Harare will begin selling the crop in April.
By
Staff Reporter Last updated: 01/24/2005 14:22:52 ZIMBABWE'S opposition
Movement for Democratic Change party on Sunday confirmed the arrest of
Makokoba MP Thokozani Khupe and over 100 party supporters after police
raided a restaurant that she owns in the country's second largest city of
Bulawayo.
Also arrested with the MP are two councilors Peter Nyathi of
Ward 10 and Amen Mpofu of Ward 2 in the same constituency.
The MDC
said Khupe was having a "strategic meeting" when the riot squad stormed the
building.
Khupe and the party activists are facing charges under
Zimbabwe's tough public order and security laws for holding an "illegal
meeting".
"Three police details arrived at the private planning meeting
and demanded to attend. Khuphe allowed them. The meeting proceeded but after
about 30 minutes riot police in full gear arrived at the meeting and told
everyone that they were under arrest. They were all loaded in police
vehicles and taken to Bulawayo Central police Station," the MDC spokesman
Paul Themba Nyathi said in a statemenbt released Sunday.
Nyathi said
the arrests were evidence that Zanu PF was determined to ignore regional
demands for a free and fair election when Zimbabweans vote in parliamentary
polls in March.
"The political playing field remains very flawed," Nyathi
said. "We would like to bring it to the attention of the SADC leaders that
in many instances the situation is deteriorating. The police continue to
interfere with the MDC's political meetings and thus prevent fair
campaigning. They also continue to act in complicity with the Zanu PF
officials, neglecting their role of fairness and neutrality.
" The
selective application of the law is deepening. All these factors will have a
large bearing in the decision of the MDC National Council on whether to
participate or not. We continue to implore the regime and the SADC leaders
to continue to push for a path that will afford the people of Zimbabwe a
free and fair election to bring about a lasting solution to the
crisis."
As usual, and in spite of a number of utterances in
recent days, the government's position on Zimbabwe remains as clear as
mud.
The ANC issued a statement last week in which its
secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe suggested that conditions in Zimbabwe
were not conducive to free and fair elections in March.
That
was widely interpreted as an indication that the ruling party was growing
weary of its so-called "quiet diplomacy". This has, of course, been
vehemently denied, with all sorts of explanations as to why nothing has
changed.
At the same time alliance partners Cosatu and the SA
Communist Party have taken a much stronger line, with the trade union
federation about to send another fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe.
Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi was most outspoken yesterday,
suggesting that a free and fair election was highly unlikely at this
stage.
He said the opposition was denied access to the media, the
right to address meetings and to canvass. Its members were also denied the
rights to freedom of association and movement.
It is worth
pointing out the obvious: that the election is now only a matter of weeks
away.
If Motlanthe's comments are to be taken at face value, the
ruling party has woken up somewhat belatedly to the reality on the ground in
Zimbabwe.
The Southern African Development Community has also
been tardy. The election guidelines which it compiled have by-and-large been
ignored by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, without any apparent
reaction.
Is it too late now?
We tend to agree with
Vavi that even if the Zimbabwean authorities were to change their ways
overnight and allow for a free and fair process it would be too late to
offset the headstart given to Zanu-PF.
But a vigorous intervention
by SADC - and in particular South Africa - might at least ensure a poll that
is not a complete sham. Failure to act will make them complicit in Mugabe's
deceit and contempt for his people.