Reuters
Thu
26 Jan 2006 5:35 AM ET
By Cris Chinaka
HARARE, Jan 26 (Reuters) -
Zimbabwe's central bank governor rang the alarm
on the country's crumbling
economy this week in a frank account which
analysts say shook officials by
airing fears of possible food riots and
political unrest.
President
Robert Mugabe's government is mired in its worst crisis since
independence
from Britain in 1980, fighting food shortages, triple-digit
inflation, a
jobless rate above 70 percent and shortages of foreign currency
and
fuel.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono -- known as a Mugabe
favourite -- cut through the government's usually rosy self-assessment in
his monetary policy statement this week, giving a rare public warning of
possible food riots and slamming bureaucratic inaction.
Political
analysts said Gono's stark forecast revealed deepening fears
within Mugabe's
inner circle.
"The import of his statement is that beneath the veneer of
a brave face,
there is underlying fear of political unrest," said Eldred
Masunungure,
chairman of the political science department at Harare's
University of
Zimbabwe.
"The fact that they are now discussing their
fears in public is a
demonstration of the growing anxiety," he
said.
John Makumbe, a political commentator and a critic of Mugabe's
government,
said Gono, who has been head of the central bank for two years,
decided to
publicly air his problems with the government out of
frustration.
"What we saw ... when Gono talked about riots and so on was
a mirror of the
political fears in Mugabe's government," he
said.
Gono, regarded as one of Mugabe's trusted technocrats, said
mineral-rich
Zimbabwe had potential but needed to boost farm output, which
has fallen by
half since the government started seizing white-owned
commercial farms six
years ago.
"The country is ... standing on the
edge of a cliff which threatens to
irreversibly take us downhill if we do
not boldly move forward with speed to
address most of our shortcomings," he
said in his speech to hundreds of
business and political leaders on
Tuesday.
HUNGER AND ANGER
Mugabe, accused by the West of
pursuing hardline domestic policies, has
deployed riot police to crush
demonstrations since violent protests broke
out against his government in
1998, and analysts say his opponents are
largely cowed.
But Gono said
the country's army chief was concerned and had recently warned
him that the
central bank had to ensure adequate food supplies for a country
where
millions are surviving on food aid.
"To quote the wisdom of General
Constantine Chiwenga, 'a hungry man is an
angry man', and he said we must do
everything to ensure the army does not
one day have to face angry hungry
people on the streets," he said.
Gono said the government had finally
pledged to end farm invasions by ruling
party supporters -- blamed by
critics for the decline in food supplies --
and to do more to respect
private property rights.
He also said Zimbabwe had to tackle graft and
rebuild its ties with the
international community, including the World Bank
and the International
Monetary Fund, which this week has an inspection
mission visiting Harare.
John Robertson, a private economic consultant
and business commentator, said
while Mugabe regards the IMF as a hostile
institution, he has allowed Gono
to try to mend fences and win crucial aid
in the hope of staving off further
economic decline.
"I don't know
whether the political fears that Gono was talking about will
force the
government to do more although those fears have been around for a
while," he
said.
"But on their record, I don't think they will be able to do enough
and in
time," he added.
Zim Online
Fri 27 January 2006
HARARE - Southern African and
international lawyers' groups have
criticised Zimbabwean police for clamping
down on media freedom and using
hostage tactics to secure the arrest of
President Robert Mugabe's critics.
Police this week arrested and
charged five trustees of the independent
Voice of the People (VOP)
broadcasting firm and charged them with violating
the country's tough media
laws.
But the police first detained two private workers of one of
the
trustees, Arnold Tsunga, and refused to release them until their
employer
surrendered himself.
In a letter to
Attorney General (AG) Sobuza Gula Ndebele dated January
24, the
International Bar Association (IBA) said: "We strongly condemn the
renewed
clampdown on media freedom and the unlawful use of the state's
powers of
arrest during policing operations relating to the investigation of
VOP.
"We refer in particular to the unlawful and unacceptable
arrest and
prosecutions of Anesu Kamba and Charles Nyamufukudzwa that was
clearly
directed at securing the co-operation of their employer, VOP
Trustee, Arnold
Tsunga."
The arrests of Tsunga's workers
followed the arrest on December 15
last year of Maria Nyanyiwa, Nyasha Bosha
and Kundai Mugwanda, reporters
with the VOP, who were detained for four days
and subsequently released
without charge.
Their arrests and
detention was apparently made in order to persuade
the executive director of
VOP John Masuku to hand himself over to the police
for
questioning.
"We are gravely concerned at what appears to be an
emerging pattern of
illegitimate use of arrest as a device to secure the
presence of suspects.
We call for the respect for the rule of law and of
basic human rights
standards in all criminal investigations," the IBA
said.
The IBA criticised Harare's Broadcasting Services Act which
it said
was being used to suppress media freedom in contravention of the
government's obligation under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the African Charter which both require the government to uphold the freedom
of expression.
The broadcasting Act prohibits Zimbabweans from
operating radio and
television or even owning broadcasting equipment without
permission from the
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. Those convicted of
breaching the Act
face up two years in jail. The state accuses the VOP
trustees and directors
of operating a broadcasting service without a
licence. They deny the charge.
In a separate letter to
Gula-Ndebele, the Southern African Development
Community Lawyers Association
expressed concern that the Harare government
was using the broadcasting Act
and other media laws to arrest journalists
although it had undertaken to
review the harsh laws.
The association said: "We are concerned that
the police are alleged to
be implementing the media laws which the
government of Zimbabwe itself
recently formally advised the African
Commission on Human and People's
Rights were under review.
"It
being conceded that they violate fundamental human rights and
freedoms, we
request that the police should respect their human rights,
including the
rights to liberty."
The VOP, which broadcasts on shortwave is one
of two independent radio
stations transmitting into Zimbabwe from outside
the country in an attempt
to circumvent Harare's tough laws and
regulations.
The radio station's programmes are in the two main
vernacular
languages, Shona and Ndebele, enabling it to reach out to remoter
parts of
the country, inaccessible to Zimbabwe's few remaining independent
newspapers.
Zimbabwe has four radio stations and one television
station all
controlled by the government.
The southern Africa
country, which has laws providing for the
imprisonment of journalists for up
to 20 years for publishing falsehoods,
was ranked by the World Association
of Newspapers as one of the three most
dangerous places in the world for
journalists.
The other two countries are the former Soviet Republic
of Uzbekistan
and the Islamic Republic of Iran. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 27 January
2006
HARARE - Zimbabwe's central bank has devalued the local dollar
by 15
percent on its foreign currency auction floors where exporters are
required
to sell 17.5 percent of their proceeds, money which is used to meet
President Robert Mugabe's government's needs.
The auction rate,
which had remained pegged at Z$26 000 to the US
dollar yesterday moved to
Z$30 000 to greenback, the first time it has moved
since October last
year.
However, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono has
set new
rules aimed at restricting the local currency's depreciation on the
interbank market, a move analysts say will intensify activity on the illegal
but thriving hard cash black market.
The Zimbabwe dollar had
continued to slide sharply on the interbank
market, at a rate of 1.5 percent
a day against major currencies but the new
rules will see fluctuations in
the local currency linked to actual volumes
traded on the interbank market,
with daily movements limited to a maximum of
two percent in either
direction.
"I think the central bank is trying to balance the
auction rate and
the interbank," a foreign currency dealer with a local
commercial bank told
ZimOnline.
"This is because there is now
more central bank control on the
interbank market, which I believe will be
negative in the long run if the
Zimbabwe dollar does not depreciate in line
with inflation expectations."
The Zimbabwe dollar has been quoted
at Z$99 201 against the greenback
on Tuesday, the first time it has not
devalued since the interbank was
revived last October.
Exporters, who have become critical in sustaining Mugabe's government
in the
absence of financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)
and international donors, are allowed to retain and sell 82.5 percent
of
their earnings on the interbank and the remainder on the auction to meet
government needs.
The government needs include food, drugs,
fuel, vehicles and various
expenses incurred by senior officials during
foreign trips.
Zimbabwe has experienced severe foreign currency
shortages, one of the
clearest signs of an economic crisis also seen in high
unemployment,
hyper-inflation and food and fuel shortages.
An
IMF team is currently in the country and is in the process of
holding
consultations with Zimbabwe government officials before engaging
business,
labour and opposition officials. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Fri 27
January 2006
HARARE - A group of about 20 young men are engaged in
a fierce debate
as they offload some bricks from a truck at a construction
site in Harare's
Willowvale industrial area.
In high-pitched
voices, the group continues to feverishly argue
whether Zimbabwe's national
soccer team, the Warriors, have any chance in
hell to make an impact at the
ongoing African Cup of Nations (ACON)
tournament in Egypt.
For
a change, it looks like the subject of politics, which dominates
public
discourse in crisis-weary Zimbabwe, has for now been pushed to the
back
seat. In its place is the beautiful game, as Brazilian legend Pele
would put
it.
Zimbabweans, it appears, have all momentarily forgotten about
their
normal daily woes of food shortages, long queues at supermarkets and
lack of
jobs.
Even the rival supporters of President Robert
Mugabe and main
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai seem to have buried the
hatchet - at
least for now - as a collective euphoria grips the
nation.
"It appears as if even the government is not under constant
scrutiny
at the moment. They can get away with anything at present as the
nation has
gone to sleep," said Tinashe Chamunorwa, a banker in
Harare.
The Warriors are making their second consecutive appearance
at the
Nations Cup finals, itself a cause for celebration by Zimbabweans who
had
waited for 24 years to see their national squad making it to Africa's
premier soccer tournament.
A 2-0 mauling by Senegal in their
opening game could not even deflate
the palpable euphoria with many
Zimbabweans somehow hoping the Warriors
will perform better against Nigeria
in their second game tonight. This,
despite the fact that Nigeria's Super
Eagles are tougher opponents than
Senegal.
"The talk would
normally be about the food shortages, where to find
sugar, bread or maize
meal but not these days," said Memory Chibasa, a sales
assistant with a
leading clothing retail chain in Harare.
"These days we are all
living, talking and dreaming soccer," she added
and as if to prove her point
quickly began recounting how her younger
brother would not eat his supper on
Monday night after Zimbabwe's defeat by
Senegal.
Jethro Mpofu,
a social commentator in Zimbabwe's second biggest city
of Bulawayo said
after six years of a severe economic crisis it was not
surprising that
Zimbabweans would cling at anything that would make them
forget their
worries even if the relief is only temporary.
"While watching the
Nations Cup finals is the preserve of an
embarrassing percentage of the
population who own television sets, the
games can only provide a
psychological escape route in these trying times,"
said Mpofu.
Zimbabwe's economic crisis, the worst the country has faced in more
than two
decades of independence from Britain, has spawned shortages of
nearly every
basic survival commodity. Food, fuel, electricity and essential
medical
drugs are all in short supply while inflation is pegged at 585.8
percent
with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe predicting the key rate to shoot
to
between 700 and 800 percent by March.
But within this crisis,
Zimbabweans say they have found some peace and
hope in sport, particularly
soccer, the dominant sport among the country's
black majority.
And Mugabe's government, held responsible by critics for Zimbabwe's
economic
crisis, has been quick to exploit the opportunity to use sport for
propaganda purposes.
Through the Ministry of Sport, the
government has in the past openly
hijacked the national soccer team raising
billions of dollars to pay for
incentives and other needs for the Warriors'
at the soccer tournament, in
what political analysts say is a bid to win the
hearts of soccer-loving
Zimbabweans.
But to some Zimbabweans
the fact that the government could devote so
much energy to raising
resources for soccer when hospitals were going
without drugs and millions
face starvation only saves to show how misplaced
its priorities
are.
As 35-year old mother of two Tsitsi Chizambi summed it: "Why
can't the
government demonstrate the same spirit of compassion to help the
hungry
given the manner in which it raised billions of dollars to meet the
Warriors' expenses at the tournament?"
It remains to be seen
whether the government's robust backing for the
Warriors will pay off
politically. But for now Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF
party can afford to
take a nap as the attention of a hungry and angry
Zimbabwe is momentarily
focused elsewhere - on the tournament in Egypt. -
ZimOnline
VOA
By Carole
Gombakomba
Washington
26 January 2006
Looking
to support its "Look East" policy of close economic ties with China
and
other Asian nations, Zimbabwe's government says it will oblige
university
students to learn Chinese. Education Minister Stan Mudenge told
the Standard
newspaper that courses in Mandarin will "promote tourism and
trade between
the two countries."
But students at the University of Zimbabwe, which
reopens next month, are
dismissing the scheme, saying Chinese would be of
little use to them and
noting that institutions nationwide are facing
shortages of lecturers, books
and boarding facilities.
University of
Zimbabwe lecturer John Makumbe told reporter Carole Gombakomba
of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the language initiative was nonsensical.
But
University of Zimbabwe education professor Fred Zindi told VOA reporter
Ashenafi Abedjie that while he is maintaining a neutral stand on the
proposal, "Knowedge for the sake of knowledge is good and useful at some
point." He notes that China is the world's fourth largest economic, making
it worthwhile for Zimbabwe to develop ties.
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 26
Jan 2006 (IRIN) - The Dutch government has been urged to
take action on the
alleged jamming by the Zimbabwe authorities of Radio
Netherlands broadcasts
to the country.
Thijs Berman, a Dutch member of the European parliament,
told IRIN that the
Zimbabwean government was using jamming equipment to
block Voice of the
People (VOP) programmes produced in Zimbabwe and
broadcast into the country
by Radio Netherlands via its relay station in
Madagascar.
"This is a clear violation of freedom of the press and we
have urged the
Dutch government to file an official complaint via the
International
Telecommunications Union (ITU). They have not yet responded
and we are
disappointed by the lack of action," Berman remarked.
Jan
Willem Drexhage, head of programme distribution at Radio Netherlands,
said
the organisation's options were "very limited - we find ourselves in a
difficult position and have asked the Madagascar administration to file a
complaint and take up the issue with the Zimbabwe government".
The
Zimbabwean government switched on its Chinese-supplied shortwave jamming
equipment to block VOP reception of programming in July 2005, Andy Sennitt,
of Radio Netherlands told IRIN.
In March last year the BBC monitoring
service reported that SW Radio Africa,
an independent anti-government
station broadcasting from Britain, had also
been jammed by Zimbabwean
authorities.
Zimbabwe's National Security Minister, Dydimus Mutasa,
denied the
allegations, saying Zimbabwe did not block broadcasting, and "it
must be
their imagination. If it does happen, it is because the broadcasting
is
hostile."
VOP has been unable to resume operations since police
confiscated its
equipment and files, and arrested director John Masuku in a
December 2005
raid. This week the six-member board of VOP were detained and
charged with
broadcasting without a license.
In December 2005 the
Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ben Bot, responded
to questions in
parliament on the willingness of the Dutch government to
take action against
Zimbabwe's alleged harassment of VOP by saying, "If the
situation warrants
any action, the Netherlands will ensure that the
necessary steps are taken
through the European Union."
Berman noted that the ITU could not impose
sanctions on Zimbabwe, and that a
complaint filed by the Dutch "would only
be symbolic", and "a way to show
the Zimbabwe government that people from
outside are watching".
Business Report
January 26,
2006
Harare - An International Monetary Fund team held meetings with key
finance
officials in Zimbabwe on Thursday after its narrow escape from IMF
expulsion
last year for debt arrears.
"We met them today (Thursday)
and discussed various issues," Economic
Development Minister Rugare Gumbo,
told AFP.
The IMF team "did not say anything after the discussions,"
Gumbo added.
Maybe they will speak next week once they are through with
their findings."
The five-member delegation is in the southern African
country to assess its
economic health after Zimbabwe won itself a six-month
reprieve from
expulsion from the world lending body last September when it
made an
unexpected payment.
Findings from the current mission will be
used at an IMF executive board
meeting on March 8 to decide on Zimbabwe's
fate.
Gumbo refused to disclose details of the deliberations but
according to an
official schedule of the meetings, the discussions centred
on fiscal
revenue, the 2005 outturn, this year's budget projections and new
measures.
IMF spokeswoman Lucie Mboto Fouda said Zimbabwe's arrears to
the fund
amounted to $136,7-million ( about R1,1-billion) after it had paid
off
another 17 million dollars ahead of the delegation's
visit.
Central bank chief Gideon Gono said this week Zimbabwe would beat
its
February 28 deadline to pay off its $16,2-million arrears under the
IMF's
general resources account.
Settling the general resources
account will enable the country to benefit
from the IMF's technical
assistance programmes and regain its voting rights.
Once the bread basket
of southern Africa, Zimbabwe avoided the boot from the
global financing body
in September last year after making an unexpected
payment to the IMF to
relieve some of its outstanding debt.
The country had risked becoming the
second to be kicked out of the IMF since
the former Czechoslovakia in
1954.
Last October Gono promised the remainder of Zimbabwe's IMF debt
would be
paid in two instalments in February and November this
year.
The previous month, Zimbabwe chipped in 120 million dollars
--
more than a third of its outstanding foreign debt - and thereby gained a
six-month reprieve. - Sapa-AFP
itv
9.43AM, Thu Jan 26
2006
Zimbabweans looking to escape oppression are resorting to
swimming across
the crocodile infested Limpopo River to South
Africa.
The fast flowing river separates the two countries and on top of
any natural
dangers such as wildlife and currents, South African police
patrol the other
side.
The very fact some Zimbabweans consider the
journey at all is proof of their
desperation to run from the poverty and
misery they face each day.
One border jumper, Agnes, was four months
pregnant when she crossed the
river two months ago, risking not just her own
life but that of her unborn
child.
She said: "The water was up to
neck but I had to take the risk, even with
the crocodiles, more for my
baby's future than my own.
"I could not stay in Zimbabwe
anymore."
Cricinfo staff
January 26,
2006
Zimbabwe's players are preparing to go to court in a bid to extract
their
unpaid salaries and match fees from their cricket board, having set a
deadline of January 31for the dispute to be resolved.
The
players, who last week ended their strike action in the hope that a
softening of their stance would ease the way for a resumption of
negotiations, are owed about US$200,000 in total, including vehicle and fuel
allowances, and most have not been paid since last August.
Now
they have enlisted the services of a leading lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa,
and
intend to take the case to the Harare High Court and pursue Zimbabwe
Cricket
for an index-linked sum of more than US$700,000.
"I have been engaged
by the players to act for them in their claims," said
Mtetwe,"but I am
naturally waiting to see what happens in the next six
days."
Even
if the board was willing to resolve the situation, which seems
unlikely, it
appears that they have no funds available to do so. One of the
major
stumbling blocks is the exchange rate. The money owed was calculated
at a
rate of Zim$25,000 to the dollar, but that rate has since spiralled to
Zim$85,000.
Zimbabwe Cricket's original contract offer made no
allowance for index
linking, but in a country with runaway inflation, that
was never likely to
be acceptable.
The renewed militancy will be a
problem for ZC as it is considering
ICC-driven proposals to play in a
tri-series in Bangladesh which would
feature Kenya as the third side. On
Tuesday, Cricket Kenya also announced
that it was in talks to host three
ODIs against Zimbabwe, possibly as early
as next month.
©
Cricinfo
News24
26/01/2006 09:26 -
(SA)
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe is keen to talk to the African Union's
human rights
body over its "discriminatory tendencies", that country's
Herald newspaper
reported on Thursday.
It quoted Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa as saying: "We need an
undertaking that what has happened
in the past will stop and that they will
treat us like any other African
country."
He said there was a need for the AU's Commission on Human and
People's
Rights to be transparent and objective in executing its
duties.
"We feel dejected as Government that we can't expect to receive
justice from
the commission if it continues treating us without due process
of the law."
Last month, the commission criticised what it called the
continuing
deterioration in human rights in Zimbabwe.
It said last
year's mass evictions violated individual and collective
rights, and called
for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The government's
Operation Murambatsvina, or Clear Out Trash, left about 700
000 people
without homes, jobs or both, according to United Nations
estimates.
Minister Chinamasa said on Wednesday he met commission
chairperson Salamata
Sawadogo of Burkina Faso at last week's AU summit in
Sudan.
"I indicated that the government wants dialogue with the
commission to clear
the air on a broad range of issues as it pertains to
Zimbabwe," he said.
"The commission is now in the habit of refusing
audience with Zimbabwe, and
this is contrary to the rules and principles of
natural justice."
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Golden
Sibanda
issue date :2006-Jan-26
ZIMBABWE has agreed to compensate
Zambia for the northern neighbour's
contribution to the construction of
Kariba South Power Station during the
era of the two countries' colonial
occupation by Britain.
The Minister of Energy and Power Development, Mike
Nyambuya, said the two
countries were now engaged in mutual discussions to
agree on the quantum of
the financial compensation to be given to
Zambia.
Zambia, said the minister, contributed to the construction of Lake
Kariba
and the southern hydropower station but pulled out of the project
after 1965
following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) by the
then
(Rhodesia) Prime Minister Ian Smith.
When Zambia pulled out of the
Kariba South power project it embarked on the
construction of a massive
hydropower project of its own that saw it build
its own power station on the
northern tip of Lake Kariba, which it wholly
financed.
However, that was
despite the fact that the two neighbouring countries,
under the colonial
rule of Britain at the time, had teamed up to construct
the mighty Lake
Kariba under a holding company called the Central Power
Corporation.
This
company owned the dam and the generating units but was later dissolved
in
the mid 1980s.
"Up until 1965 power generation was done at Kariba Southern
when Zambia
decided that it wanted to build its own generation unit on the
northern tip
of the lake.
"Differences between the two countries,
however, arose after independence
when Zambia asked for compensation as
Zimbabwe had contributed nothing in
the construction of the northern power
plant," said Nyambuya.
Nyambuya said the antagonism between the two
neighbours came about when the
Central Power Corporation was wound up and
assets shared.
The minister said Zimbabwe conceded that it did not contribute
anything to
the building of Zambia hydropower station on the northern end of
the dam
whereas Zambia did in the construction of Kariba South and so was
prepared
to advance the payment in compensation.
Nyambuya pointed out
that a mutual agreement would be reached, as the two
countries remained the
best of friends adding that they were working
together in other hydropower
projects along the Zambezi River.
Zimbabwe and Zambia, following the
dissolution of the Central Power
Corporation, then formed the Zambezi River
Authority (ZRA) to jointly manage
the welfare of Lake Kariba and the river
itself.
The explanation by the minister puts to rest media speculation that
the two
neighbouring countries were involved in a tug of war in which Zambia
was
allegedly demanding a 17 percent stake in Lake Kariba.
As things
stand, Zimbabwe wholly owns Kariba South while the same applies to
Zambia
for the Kariba North.
Behind the
Headlines takes a closer look at Robert Mugabe's much talked
about
retirement home in Borrowdale, Harare. The palace is said to have cost
at
least US$10 million to build. Instead of the proverbial 'love thy
neighbour'
policy, Mugabe has given notice to homeowners around his mansion
that their
properties now fall under a designated security area and will be
confiscated
by the state. UK Telegraph journalist Peta Thornycroft has been
following
the story and speaks to Lance Guma about the plight of residents
in the
area.
Lance Guma
Producer/Presenter
SW Radio
Africa
+44-777-855-7615
www.swradioafrica.com
Behind The
Headlines with Lance Guma
Thursday 5:15 to 5:30pm (GMT) live on the internet
at www.swradioafrica.com
Friday 5:15
to 5:30am on Medium Wave broadcasts 1197khz
Also available on internet
archives after broadcasts at
http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/archives.php
SW
Radio Africa is Zimbabwe's only independent radio station broadcasting
from
the United Kingdom. The station is staffed by exiled Zimbabwean
journalists
who because of harsh media laws cannot broadcast from home.
Full
broadcast on Medium Wave -1197KHZ between 5-7am (Zimbabwean time) and
24
hours on the internet at www.swradioafrica.com.