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- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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SOKWANELE

Enough is Enough

Zimbabwe

PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY

We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression!

(www.sokwanele.com)

 

The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Epiphany Day

Sokwanele Reporter: 6 January 2004

 

The “Twelve Days of Christmas” is a Christian tradition.  It links Christmas day (December 25) with Epiphany (January 6).  “Epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning “manifestation”.  In a Christian sense we think of God manifesting (or revealing) himself to humankind in his coming into the world in physical form in the person of Jesus. Hence the link with Christmas, marking the birth of the Christ child, and hence too the tradition that remembers, on the twelfth day, the coming of the “wise men” from the East to witness that miracle for themselves.  The twelve days between are days of joyous celebration.  On the twelfth day of course all the Christmas decorations come down and life returns to “normal”.

 

Christmas and Epiphany are essentially Christian festivals, but the event they celebrate is of universal significance – namely that the Creator of this vast, complex and beautiful universe loves each and every one of his children.  In fact he has revealed that he has a special concern for the poor, the lowly and the suffering.  (Jesus was himself a victim of power politics; he suffered an appalling injustice, and was tortured to death)    There is therefore in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” a message of hope for all, and a challenge to all, to show a God-like concern for the victims of injustice and oppression.  Which is why Sokwanele selected this time to run a series of features that relate particularly to some of those “at the bottom of the pile” in suffering, crisis-torn Zimbabwe.

 

Christmas 2004 marked the 20th anniversary of Band Aid, an international charity initiative that set out to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia in 1984. While Band Aid celebrates their achievements in Ethiopia twenty years ago, many Zimbabweans starve today as a result of disastrous government policies. Sokwanele’s articles over the last 12 days have explored a range of ways in which food is manipulated, controlled and exploited in our country. Furthermore, we have shown that using ‘food’ as a tool for short-term gain is an established part of the ZANU PF political tradition. While this campaign recognises the suffering of people in Zimbabwe today, it also remembers the suffering imposed on Zimbabweans at the hands of ZANU PF twenty years ago. We remind those in power that Zimbabweans will never forget what has been done in the past, nor will we forget what is being done today.

 

The issue of food security in our nation is one that touches all of us. Our most recent articles, focussing on the impact of HIV/AIDS on farming in the rural areas, coupled with first-hand testimony from Binga, clearly show that the promise of a “bumper harvest” is a cruel deception.  ZANU PF’s current policies, which set out to monopolise all aspects of food supply and use it to intimidate the general populace into voting for it, renders any such promise a total fiction.

 

Ida, the 73-year-old pensioner whose story we shared on Day 6 of our campaign, should be living comfortably in her old age. Her husband had worked hard to ensure that when he died, his wife would be taken care of. But Mugabe’s economy, boasting the worst inflation rate in the world, has eroded the value of pensions with the result that hundreds of pensioners like Ida cannot afford to eat today.  Yet as difficult as her life is, Ida is ‘lucky’ in comparison to Belinda’s grandmother (Day 3) who is destitute and homeless. Like many other grandmothers in our country, Belinda’s grandmother found herself with the heartbreaking responsibility of looking after her tiny HIV positive granddaughter, orphaned when both parents died while she was still a baby. Without the help of a local organisation, both Belinda and her grandmother would almost certainly have died long ago.

 

Will organisations like this be able to continue helping once ZANU PF’s controls all NGO activities? We caught a glimpse of how many different lives were affected by one small feeding scheme in one of Zimbabwe’s cities (Day 7).  In contrast, our article on Day 4 testifies to how the one institution that is totally dependent on the government for food, namely our prisons, exposes hundreds of human beings to malnutrition and a range of other diseases as a result of paltry amounts of unhealthy food being prepared and served in the most unsanitary conditions. Is this the way of our future once local and foreign feeding schemes are closed down? If this regime cannot feed a few thousand prisoners, how is it ever going to feed the hundreds of thousands – indeed millions -- of starving people who need help today?

 

Or perhaps it has no intention of doing so? Our articles on Days 5 and 8 speak of extensive corruption in the food supply system, and of the deliberate manipulation of food in our country for short term political gain.  These policies and practices amount to state imposed starvation.

 

We started our campaign by saying that starvation, regardless of political or religious persuasion, is at its core a moral issue that concerns us all.  We ask again today, that you put aside your own particular political allegiances, and consider what many Zimbabweans are experiencing today in that light.

 

And here are some of the practical things that you can do in response to that suffering:

 

1.       Keep yourself well informed about what is really happening so you will not be taken in by the regime's propaganda. The following websites provide Zimbabwean news from a range of sources, both international and local: www.zwnews.com; www.zimonline.co.za; www.newzimbabwe.com; www.zimbabwesituation.com.

 

2.       Help others to be informed. Share this knowledge with as many as you can in whatever ways are open to you.

 

3.       Give whatever financial or material help you can to the various local organisations that are working to feed the starving and alleviate poverty and suffering in our country. Visit www.kubatana.net for the contact details of local organisations in your area.

 

We thank you for your support. 

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From Business Day (SA), 6 January

  Zim beef industry close to extinction

  Zimbabwe's commercial beef herd, which until three-and-a-half years ago
earned more than US$2,4bn a year from exports, is on the verge of extinction
as a result of the country's political turmoil, reports the Zimbabwe
Independent, Harare. The national herd, bred over a period of 110 years for
survival in Zimbabwe's harsh conditions, stood at 1,4-million animals in
2000, when President Robert Mugabe launched his fast track land reform
programme. "By the middle of this year only 210000 beef cattle had
survived," said Paul d'Hotman, Cattle Producers' Association CEO. "At the
last count there were fewer than 125 000 animals, but the number will be
lower by now. The entire national herd is on the road to extinction and the
whole gene pool is being wiped out." The looming disappearance of one of
Zimbabwe's most valuable assets is the most dramatic illustration yet of the
meltdown that is occurring in a country with one of the world's highest
inflation rates and the fastest-declining economy, the paper says. Apart
from the land reform programme, crime such as cattle theft has also led to
the decline of the herd.
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Daily News online edition

      Msika warns Zanu PF rebels

      Date: 6-Jan, 2005

        HARARE - Vice President Joseph Msika, has defended Zanu PF's hardline
stance on Young Turks who have been disciplined for participating in the
ill-fated Tsholotsho meeting.

        Commenting for the first time on the issue, Msika, who is the ruling
party's first vice president, said the ruling party was not against Young
Turks taking over the reins, but that they had to follow laid down
procedures whenever they carry out party activities.

        He said although Zanu PF's leadership renewal was inevitable and
desirable, those who had the desire to become future leaders should remain
conscious of the party's principles, policies and values.

        Addressing mourners at the national Heroes Acre at the burial of
national heroine Ruth Chinamano, wife of the late veteran nationalist Josiah
Chinamano on Thursday, Msika said although Zanu PF, as a revolutionary party
was aware that it should always renew itself by accommodating new blood,
activities within the party in the last few days had proved otherwise.

        The vice president, who was in his usual 'no nonsense' mood said that
those who were bent on destroying the party had been identified, with
appropriate justice being meted on them.

        Referring to the six provincial party chairmen who were this week
slapped with a four year ban after they were accused of trying to scuttle
Joyce Mujuru's nomination and election into the party's presidium, Msika
said: "What we saw in the last few days was unacceptable. Those involved
should not think that they are not known. Those who were involved in the
plot are aware of it. They were nearly swept away by the tide and only
survived by holding onto weeds."

        Msika, who, together with the late Josiah Chinamano, were the most
senior leaders from the Zezuru arm of the old Zapu, did not speak about the
suffering which himself and Mrs Chinamano went through during the
Gukurahundi era, but instead praised Mrs Chinamano for her role during the
country's liberation struggle.

        During the Gukurahundi era, Msika and Mrs Chinamano were harassed by
the army and intelligence officers for supporting 'dissidents' who were
waging an armed struggle in all the Matabeleland Provinces and parts of
Midlands Province.

        Peace was only realised in the area in 1987 after the signing of the
Unity Accord, which also ushered members of the old Zapu into government.

        He also lamented the treatment which widows of fallen heroes were
getting, and said Mrs Chinamano had always raised the issue both as a
parliamentarian and in the party.

        "We have not quite addressed the unique requirements of those spouses
of our heroes who lead a hard life against ever diminishing stipends. They
looked after our heroes and bore them children. In a number of cases, they
are heroines in their own right," said Msika.

        On the land issue, Msika castigated multiple farm owners, whom he
described as 'black white men'. He said most of them were holding on to many
farms but warned that government would not spare them.

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Daily News online edition

            Tsholotsho kills Moyo*s political career

            Date: 6-Jan, 2005

              BULAWAYO - Professor Jonathan Moyo's political career, which has
been in the intensive care unit since he was dropped from Zanu PF's central
committee and politburo last month, finally succumbed to its wounds and died
at Tsholotsho over the weekend.

              The burial is expected shortly, when President Robert Mugabe
announces a new Cabinet that casts into a hellish wilderness the turncoat
propagandist who successfully wormed his way into the top echelons of power
in record time.

              Moyo's political death could not have been more painful and
humiliating - he was barred from contesting Zanu PF's primary elections in
his home area of Tsholotsho in favour of two female nonentities.

              Unable to present his CV in person as he was reported to be on
holiday in the Middle East, Moyo sent Believe Gaule, the chairman of the
party's Tsholotsho district co-ordinating committee, to do the job.

              Gaule and another member from Binga were ejected on the grounds
that they had attended the infamous Tsholotsho Declaration meeting and Moyo's
nomination was thrown out.

              When two alternative male candidates were disqualified for
failing to meet the election criteria, the constituency was then declared
one of two reserved for female candidates in Matabeleland North.

              Hence Josephine Moyo, not Jonathan Moyo, will be vying against
Similo Dube for the right to stand as member of parliament for Tsholotsho.

              All those millions of dollars poured by Moyo into developing the
constituency, all that unashamed brandishing of the cheque book in exchange
for votes, gone for nothing.

              And above all, the tragic end to Moyo's dream - that of filling
the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo's shoes as the political godfather of
Matabeleland, perhaps as a stepping stone to even higher office.

              If the disgraced Moyo had entertained any hopes of clawing back
by relaunching his career at grassroots level, using his mysterious
financial muscle which had become the envy of the entire nation, then that
opportunity is gone after the weekend rejection.

              He should have known that he could not take on the might of Zanu
PF's wounded old guard.

              From now onwards he will be a nobody, an outcast without a voice
and ignored by the very same media that he turned into his own private
property.

              Warning shots have already been fired by George Charamba, the
permanent secretary in the Information and Publicity Ministry, who issued a
blistering attack on both The Herald and The Chronicle for their overzealous
defence of Moyo following reports that he had resigned from his post.

              This news had added excitement to New Year celebrations in
Bulawayo as those who loathe the professor welcomed the perfect festive
season gift. A purge in the state-controlled media's newsrooms can be
expected soon, to remove all traces of Moyo's tight-fisted influence.

              Moyo himself will be forever condemned to wonder what it would
have been like if he had succeeded in pulling off his coup. He will bitterly
nurse the wounds of what it means for Zanu PF to eat you and spit you out
when you have outlived your usefulness.

              Moyo, a strident anti-Mugabe critic who was miraculously
transformed into the defender of all the bad things the president stood for,
made the mistake of trying to run before he could politically. He forgot the
first rule of political survival - thou shall not create enemies among your
superiors.

              With his suspect background, Moyo was supposed to go out of his
way to convince everyone that he had really changed. But trying to be more
Zanu PF than the founders of the party and insulting them wasn't a very
clever idea.

              Moyo strode across the political stage like an untouchable
giant, slaying all and sundry with his sharp and vile tongue. He hardly took
any notice when alarm bells began to ring sharply within the party, over his
public humiliation of stalwarts such as Vice-President Joseph Msika,
national chairman John Nkomo and his own boss as party spokesman, Nathan
Shamuyarira.

              By clashing publicly with Msika over the Kondozi farm issue, and
using the press to humiliate Nkomo for daring to order him to surrender
extra farms he illegally acquired, and Shamuyarira over British press access
to Mugabe and reporting the cricket tour of Zimbabwe, Moyo was challenging
their leadership status.

              Mugabe's strange silence at Moyo's untoward behaviour, led many
to speculate that the embattled president was either fully behind his
sentiments or too scared to reprimand him because he valued Moyo's combative
style ahead of the support of his fellow old-timers.

            Certainly, Moyo himself seemed to act as if he knew he was
untouchable, perhaps forgetting that Mugabe is notorious for dishing those
around him with very long ropes to hang themselves. Enter the Tsholotsho
secret meeting, a blatant attempt to isolate Mugabe by removing Msika, Nkomo
and scuttling the nomination of Joyce Mujuru as the party's first woman
vice-president. Many people have asked the question: what was Moyo really up
to in convening this indaba, ngale eTsholotsho? What had he to gain
personally that was worth the risk of losing the all-powerful post that he
had created for himself as government spokesman and chief propagandist? The
answer is startlingly simple: Jonathan Moyo has been scheming and
systematically working towards inheriting the position of political
godfather of the Ndebele people. There is a power vacuum in Matabeleland
created by the death of Vice President Joshua Nkomo which neither the
remnants of the PF-Zapu old guard nor the new Movement for Democratic Change
members of parliament have been able to fill. His outright contempt for the
ZAPU old guard was deliberately aimed at undermining their authority while
presenting himself as a new generation Messiah and man of action, able to
deliver the much-needed development which those before him failed to do for
nearly 25 years. We now know that the Tsholotsho meeting's main aim was to
persuade six out of 10 Zanu PF provinces to defy the politburo's wishes and
facilitate the nomination of parliamentary Speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa as
first vice-president, former woman's league leader Thenjiwe Lesabe as second
vice-president and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa as national chairman.
Party insiders have said that Moyo was to take over from Mnangagwa as
secretary for administration, which would have made him the fifth most
powerful politician in the party and automatically the top dog in
Matabeleland, barring the token presence of Lesabe. To make double certain
that Moyo had no serious rivals, the list of central committee nominees
compiled by Moyo's gang had excluded senior veterans such as Cain Mathema,
the Bulawayo Governor and Moyo's main Tsholotsho constituency rival, Dumiso
Dabengwa often touted in the past as Matabeleland's most serious contender
to succeed Mugabe and Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, arguably one of the most popular
Zanu PF leader at grassroots level in Bulawayo. (But of course the presidium
reversed all this, and Moyo instead was the one who ended up sacked from the
central committee.) A close examination of Jonathan Moyo's actions over the
past four years suggests a ruthless and power-hungry individual who would
stop at nothing in his rise to the top. Surrounded by a bunch of politicians
whose brains he held in contempt, chances are that Moyo could have
entertained dreams of eventually taking over from Mnangagwa and using the
anti-democratic AIPPA and POSA laws he helped to craft to cement his power.
His introduction of draconian laws against the freedom of the press, while
presented as necessary to save Mugabe and Zimbabwe from worldwide siege,
were actually self-serving in that they were meant to protect Moyo's own
privacy after the humiliating battering he received over his Kenyan and
South African financial scandals and the ZBC homosexual controversy. He went
on to abuse the state media to boost his political profile, bulldozing his
relatively low status as Minister of State for Information in the Office of
the President and Cabinet into becoming the de facto Prime Minister of
Zimbabwe. Moyo's introduction of the cloying 75 percent local content (in
reality now 100 percent) on our TV and radio stations was hailed by some as
a major step towards empowering local talent and ridding Zimbabwe of
undesirable foreign cultural influences. But what has been the result?
Stunted development in local talent because of the lack of exposure to
higher quality foreign competition. Mediocre bands, many of which think they
can get away with plagiarising American material since most locals will be
none the wiser, now rule the roost. And Moyo the song composer has benefited
from promoting his personally written music through his PaxAfro pop group.
It appears almost compulsory that every DJ must play at least one of Moyo's
songs on his show. Keep the boss happy and keep your job. Has Moyo ever paid
for all those full-page PaxAfro adverts in the state-controlled press or the
never-ending TV and radio spots? Has he been doing it the Zanu PF way of
demanding services and then failing to pay for them by intimidating
management? Or did he somehow succeed in hoodwinking Mugabe into believing
that there was national propaganda value in allowing Moyo to line his own
pockets by abusing public facilities? While most people have been transfixed
by Moyo's vulgar theatrics, his demonic ranting and ravings they have failed
to notice there was a method to his madness. Moyo has used his monopoly of
the press to promote himself while undermining the careers of his rivals. He
knew that the people of Matabeleland in general, and Tsholotsho in
particular, were worried by the slow pace of development despite 24 years of
independence and 17 years after the signing of the Unity Accord. If the
truth must be told, aside from lingering anger over the Gukurahundi
atrocities, the people of Matabeleland have for a long time resented what
they perceive as deliberate marginalisation in sharing the country's
resources. After all these years, the region boasts the country's worst road
network, poor infrastructural development and the lowest provision of
educational and medical facilities. The opposition Movement for Democratic
Change MPs, who swept most seats in the 2000 parliamentary elections, have
frustratingly learnt that without control of the national treasury and civil
service, it's impossible to keep any promises of improving the lives of the
people. So the unelected mafikizolo set out to create a base for himself by
unashamedly using dollar power to win the hearts and minds of the Tsholotsho
constituency he craved so much to win in the March 2005 parliamentary
elections. Week in and week out, while the rest of the region watched
enviously, Moyo poured millions into providing every school with a computer,
donating drugs and equipment to hospitals and clinics, giving Tsholotsho its
first taste of tower lights and sponsoring beauty pegeants and soccer
tournaments. All done in the full glare of the state-controlled press, to an
extent that Moyo soon eclipsed Mugabe himself as the number one subject of
coverage by the sycophantic media. Two years ago Moyo would have easily
topped any survey to find Zanu PF's most loathed politician in Matabeleland.
Today there are some in Tsholotsho who are genuinely mourning his political
demise. The source of all these funds is a mystery, which if solved might
unravel some interesting facts about the identity of the real power brokers
behind the Tsholotsho Declaration debacle. The funds could not have
originated from Moyo's modest income as a junior minister. Nor were they
sourced from the loathed foreign donors and local NGOs that he helped to
persecute so much. If the money came from state coffers (as happened with
the plane hired for the Tsholotsho conspirators) wasn't Moyo guilty of
abusing treasury funds to gain an unfair advantage over his less fortunate
rivals? If Zanu PF wants to twist the knife, we would not be surprised if
the professor becomes the latest big fish to spend time in jail as
investigations are launched into where exactly he got those millions. It is
now clear that had the aims of the "coup" meeting succeeded, Zanu PF's top
leadership in the presidium would now comprise President Mugabe surrounded
by three totally different individuals to the ones who finally emerged
victorious from the party's conference. An embattled Mugabe could have been
at the mercy of his younger colleagues and even been forced to retire
prematurely while the rules were changed to suit the ambitions of the new
leadership. Mugabe was understandably alarmed when he learnt about the plot
and so he finally decided to pull the rug from under the professor's feet.
His warnings against mafikizolos who seek to buy their way into political
power using funds from imperialist sources was clearly meant as a parting
shot at his former henchman. Mugabe has made it very clear that he will not
appoint to a ministerial post anybody who is not an elected MP or politburo
member. Moyo's dropping out of the Tsholotsho race last weekend therefore
means he can never retain his present post or hope to get an alternative
one. He is truly dead and awaiting burial, as far as Zanu PF is concerned.

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Daily News online edition

      Mujuru*s intervention too little, too late

      Date: 6-Jan, 2005

        WE commend the acting President, Joyce Mujuru for cracking her newly
found whip on the struggling national airline, Air Zimbabwe.

        Unimpressed by the never ending flight delays at Air Zimbabwe, Mujuru
this week ordered the Ministry of Transport and Communications to look into
the operations of the national airline.

        Already, the permanent secretary in the ministry, Karikoga Kaseke said
an investigation is being carried out. The newly appointed chief executive
officer of the airline, Tendai Mahachi has been tasked to produce a report
to be presented to the ministry this tomorrow.

        Mujuru's concern and intervention is very welcome but might be very
little too late because there has been so much mismanagement at the national
airline that has left it in financial dire straits.

        Sources say workers at Air Zimbabwe are disgruntled over new rules and
regulations brought in by the new minister, Christopher Mushowe who has
become very unpopular.

        One of the bones of contention is the 10 percent travel privilege for
workers which was suspended by Mushowe last month after it emerged that
workers were abusing the facility.

        It must be noted that most parastatals in Zimbabwe have performed
dismally because of lack of monitoring by the responsible ministry, as has
been the case with Air Zimbabwe.

        Government has to ensure that ministers strictly monitor the
operations of parastatals that fall under them so that they perform
efficiently and profitably without short-changing the people and government.

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Zim Online

MUGABE ORDERS MSIKA TO PRESIDE OVER CHINAMANO'S BURIAL
Thur 6 January 2005
  HARARE - President Robert Mugabe on Thursday directed first Vice-President
Joseph Msika to preside over the burial of late veteran nationalist and ZANU
PF central committee member, Ruth Chinamano, ahead of acting president Joyce
Mujuru.

      Presidential spokesman George Charamba told ZimOnline that Mugabe, who
is on holiday in the Far East, wanted Msika to preside over Chinamano's
burial because he is the most senior leader of the former PF ZAPU party to
which the late heroine belonged before its 1987 merger with ZANU PF.

      "Msika was the third highest official in PF ZAPU and Chinamano was
originally from the same party, therefore the president directed that Msika
preside," Charamba said.

      Zimbabweans had expected to see Mujuru, appointed the country's first
ever female vice-president three weeks ago, to take charge of her first
public function as acting president of Zimbabwe at the burial of Chinamano.

      In his graveside speech, Msika known to be against parliamentary
speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa's bid to succeed Mugabe, warned that ZANU PF will
intensify a crackdown ostensibly against indiscipline in the party but
clearly targeting mostly Mnangagwa's supporters.

      He said: "The net has closed in on a few culprits in a game that
involved many. We know them."

      Six of ZANU PF's 10 provincial chairmen have been suspended for five
years each while several other leaders of the party linked to Mnangagwa have
been barred from contesting next March's general election.

      Msika also said a drive to repossess excess farms from party and
government officials would be stepped up. Only party and government
officials loyal to Mnangagwa have been targeted in the drive so far while
those linked to a rival faction led by retired army commander and Mujuru's
husband, Solomon, have been spared.

      Chinamano died at her Harare home last Sunday. She was declared a
national heroine and given a state burial in recognition of her role during
Zimbabwe's liberation struggle. - ZimOnline
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IOL

Women protest over 'imposed candidates'
          January 06 2005 at 10:26AM

      Harare - The top elections official for Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF
party has been detained briefly by angry female supporters in a further sign
of trouble in President Robert Mugabe's party as it prepares for
parliamentary polls due in March.

      The state-run Herald newspaper said that scores of women detained
Zanu-PF's national commissar, Elliot Manyika, in protest at what they said
was the imposition of candidates.

      Manyika also runs the party's election directorate and oversees the
selection of candidates.

      Political analysts say strife within Zanu-PF, stemming primarily from
debate over who should succeed Mugabe on his retirement, slated for 2008,
could weaken the party, affecting its election prospects as it competes with
the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

       "People are not happy because the candidates in these constituencies
were imposed on them," the Herald quoted one woman as telling Manyika during
the confrontation at the party's headquarters here.

      Manyika was not available for comment on Wednesday.

      Zanu-PF has dropped several key members - including Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo - as candidates in a clampdown linked to an
unauthorised meeting the party claims was convened in secret last year to
promote parliamentary speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa as a candidate for the
vacant post of second vice-president.

      The position - seen as a possible stepping stone to the presidency -
was given to Joyce Mujuru, then-minister of water resources, in a move
Mugabe said met a promise to promote women to senior party posts.

      Analysts say the squabbling in Zanu-PF could work in favour of the
MDC, although the opposition has also been racked by tensions as members
jostle for nomination as election candidates.

      The MDC, which believes Zanu-PF rigged the 2000 parliamentary
elections and a presidential vote two years later, has said it will boycott
this year's polls unless the government implements reforms to ensure an even
playing field.

      It is expected to reach a decision soon.

      The ruling party denies manipulating elections and dismisses the MDC
as a puppet of Western powers it claims have sabotaged Zimbabwe's economy in
retaliation for Mugabe's seizing of white-owned commercial farms for
redistribution among black people. - Reuters
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Zimbabwe Deserves Free And Fair Elections

  Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

EDITORIAL
January 6, 2005
Posted to the web January 6, 2005

  Zimbabwe holds parliamentary elections in March in what is a test for the
country and its people to pull themselves out of the morass of the past few
years. The elections will also be a test of southern African leaders'
ability and commitment to hold each other accountable.

Free and fair elections are not the preserve of certain nations. Zimbabweans
also have the right to free and fair elections. Now, more than ever before,
it is incumbent upon regional leaders to ensure that this year's elections
in Zimbabwe do not descend into a circus in which one party flagrantly
flouts the rules with impunity.

There are certain minimum conditions that have to be met to ensure free and
fair elections. Among these are a free flow of information and ideas;
voters' access to alternative views without fear of intimidation and violent
retribution, so that they can make informed choices when it comes to casting
their ballots; free political activity so that parties and their candidates
can canvass for support without intimidation; and a truly independent
electoral body to ensure fair play.

  Unfortunately, Zimbabwe - in its present form - fails the test dismally.
Opposition members do not enjoy protection of the law and are harassed at
will by the ruling party's activists. The belligerent Zanu-PF government has
systematically strangulated the independent media and civil society. The
state media and its journalists have been turned into sycophants of the
ruling party. Such a situation is detrimental to the democratic process in
which all citizens can express their will freely.

This time the world cannot afford to fail Zimbabwe again. The cost of
watching idly while a people's future is mutilated would be too high. This
is the time for decisive action. The onus is on SADC and the African Union
to ensure that this year's elections in Zimbabwe are held in an atmosphere
that allows the democratic process to take its course.
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Zanu PF Has Other Serious Problems

  The Daily News (Harare)

OPINION
January 6, 2005
Posted to the web January 6, 2005

  Although 2004 could be appropriately called The Year of Joyce Mujuru, it
could just as easily be called The Year of Crisis for Zanu PF.

People who have followed Zanu PF's history, from the murky circumstances in
which Ndabaningi Sithole was ousted as leader to the courage with which
Edgar Tekere challenged Mugabe for the presidency in 1990 will know that
this party has been heading for a fall since its formation as a splinter
from the original Zapu led by Joshua Nkomo.

At the centre of it all has been the tough, autocratic style of Robert
Mugabe. Emmerson Mnangagwa thought he had the job in the bag when Mugabe
seemed to back him to the hilt.

But then there was the rather messy affair involving Colonel Dyke. This
brought in The Daily News, in a role which to this day remains amorphous.

So, Mnangagwa was once again outflanked by the old-timer, who appears to
have enlisted the aid of such seasoned campaigners as Kumbirai Kangai, a
master of the "tamba wakachenjera" political strategy which has served his
party so well.

But if Mujuru is the true heiress-apparent, then this will be very untypical
of Mugabe. Mujuru doesn't have the grit that Margaret Dongo has.

Dongo, cast out of the party for being as tough as the members of the
oligarchy that has run the party since before independence, is someone who
must inspire Mugabe's admiration. The problem is that her campaign against
corruption might have, in the end, targeted Mugabe himself.

Also, Dongo, having worked closely with the key leaders of the party, must
have realised there was no democracy at all in the party.

She might have concluded - as Wilfred Mhanda (aka Dzinashe Machingura),
another Mugabe critic who was once a member of the inner circle of the
party, did - that Mugabe is no democrat at all.

Evidence of this is abundant in the way the country has been run so far. A
country where a citizen can be arrested and charged for telling his relative
"not to be as thick-headed as Mugabe" cannot be a true democracy in any
interpretation of that word.

But perhaps the most promising result of the Zanu PF crisis might be the
realisation by most voters that this party does not deserve victory in 2005.

Anyone believing otherwise has to be so naive and spineless they probably
deserve to be ruled by Zanu PF.
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Zanu PF Spy Saga Shows Younger Generation Wants a Turn At the Top Table

  The Daily News (Harare)

OPINION
January 6, 2005
Posted to the web January 6, 2005

  Our dear leader, Comrade Robert Mugabe is a very highly learned man with
university degrees in Education, History, Economics, Law, English and
Administration.

But sadly, he does not seem to have applied this education to practice as
head of state since independence in 1980. Right now, his ruling Zanu PF
party is showing yawning cracks because he has refused to step down and
allow new blood with fresh ideas to run the country.

Most of his senior members have amassed a lot of wealth and wallow in untold
luxury yet more than fifty percent of the people are living in abject
poverty because of the government's mismanagement of the economy.

Reports of some of Mugabe's close lieutenants selling state secrets to
foreign agents clearly indicate that they are not sailing in the same boat.

People publicly show respect and admiration to Mugabe as head of state but
behind doors they are sick and tired of his high-handed corrupt rule.

If the Tsholotsho indaba had succeeded, the story today would be a different
one from what we are reading.

The majority of Mugabe's supporters, especially the younger generation, are
fed up with a regime that has totally lost touch with reality and does not
care what happens to the masses who voted it into power.

But Zimbabweans are not only timid, (they are afraid of being swallowed by
the CIO) they are a docile lot led by legislators who simply rubber stamp
what their old fashioned leaders dictate on a daily basis.

What began as a welcome political revolution in 1980 has turned into an
economic disaster as the nation groans at every turn.

Even the war veterans seem to have recoiled in their shells after making a
spirited uprising in 1997 during the days of Chenjenrai Hunzvi. But will
Mugabe survive the cracks within his party?

How much secrets were sold and to whom and for how long was this going on
before the lid was blown off? Isn't it a clear sign that the younger
generation now wants a turn at the top table?

Mugabe is a strong fighter but for how long will he fight the powerful enemy
within his own party? His time might be running out and at one point he
might be forced out by his own supporters.

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SABC

Pressure mounts on Zimbabwe as poll date nears

January 06, 2005, 20:15

As pressure mounts on Zimbabwean authorities to provide an even platform
ahead of the March parliamentary elections, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Holdings which is the country's sole broadcaster, took the unprecedented
step this week, granting the opposition MDC a news interview.

Whether genuine or not, the MDC was heard and seen on national television on
Monday. Welshman Ncube, the secretary general, got the opportunity to
explain his party's position regarding the March elections. A rare
opportunity it was for the opposition party to get publicity on the state
run broadcaster.

Speaking off camera, Tazzen Mandizvidza, the Newsnet editor in chief, said
he will not discriminate against any political party. He said publicity will
be granted to all parties, as long as developments are newsworthy. However
the MDC smells a rat. The latest development, if pursued genuinely will fall
in line with recommendations of the SABC and principles on elections.

The MDC has been holding regular meetings with Thabo Mbeki, the South
African president, and other regional leaders, seeking their intervention to
facilitate a conducive environment ahead of elections.
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Foreign TV Crews Shoot Tourism Documentary

  The Herald (Harare)

January 6, 2005
Posted to the web January 6, 2005

Enacy Mapakame in Victoria Falls
Harare

A CREW from a London-based television station Original Black Entertainment
(OBETV), a Sky digital channel, is in the country making a six-part tourism
documentary to promote Zimbabwe's tourism industry and the economy as a
whole.

The television documentary called "Authentic Zimbabwe", will be broadcast to
over 70 countries across the world and should reach millions of viewers.

The documentary will help fog off the misconception created by some Western
media reports that Zimbabwe is not a safe tourist destination.

OBETV programming and strategic business head Mr Micheal Orji told The
Herald that the initiative will help tell the true story and situation in
the country and encourage more people to visit the home of one of the Seven
Wonders of the World, the Victoria Falls.

He said the programme would help boost Zimbabwe's global image as a safe and
favoured international tourism destination, embodying all of the greatest
attractions of Africa.

"We believe that Zimbabwe has so much tourism growth potential and above
all, it is important to market all its varied and diverse potentials to a
global audience.

"This is the time now that the story has to be told and told well," he said.

He said Zimbabwe is a beautiful country with majestic and magnificent
tourist destinations, natural resources and diverse cultures that if
promoted well, could make an impact on the economy of the country as a
whole.

"Tourism is the world's largest industry employing over 200 million people
and generating US$36 trillion," he said.

Mr Orji and his team were in Victoria Falls where they were making part of
the documentary filming the falls, hotels, the mighty Zambezi River and
interviewing various people on their views of Zimbabwe as a tourist
destination.

He said before his team leaves for London they would also meet the acting
President Cde Joyce Mujuru and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Commissioner
Cde Augustine Chihuri.

The meetings would be to assure people that Zimbabwe is a safe country to
visit.

"We want the Commissioner to assure people from the rest of the world that
this country is safe to visit, there is no violence here, police officers
will be there to protect them," he said.

The OBETV team is working closely with the Miss Tourism World Organisation
in this project which will also pave way for the pageant is set for February
this year in Victoria Falls.

The pageant is also expected to put Zimbabwe on the global map and enhance
the tourism sector.
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VOA

Zimbabwe Says 'Enough' to Bank Note Protest By VOA News
      05-January-2005 1701

  Zimbabwe has condemned opposition activists for stamping protest messages on
the country's bank notes.

Deputy Finance Minister David Chapfika warned Wednesday the government would
punish those behind the vandalism.

No group has claimed responsibility for printing the words "enough" and "get
up, stand up" on some bank notes found in circulation in Zimbabwe.

Last year, officials blamed an underground rights group known as "Enough"
(Zvakwana) for a similar campaign in which messages were printed on condom
packages.

Opposition groups say the government of President Robert Mugabe has launched
a new crackdown ahead of key parliamentary elections due later this year.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
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Mmegi, Botswana

      Extend the vote to us as well

        1/6/2005 12:03:41 AM (GMT +2)

      News from Zimbabwe over the past weeks has moved from what had become
the traditional focus on land reform to elections. First there were the
elections at the Zanu-PF Congress at which the party elected its principal
office bearers - the Presidium.

        A momentous occasion at this meeting was the selection of Joyce Mujuru
for the position of Second Vice President of the party, which resulted in
her being appointed the country's Second Vice President. Then came the
election of members of the party's Central Committee followed by the
selection of members of the Politburo from among the members of this body.

      With these election-selection processes behind them, Zanu-PF is now
gearing itself for primary elections (bulela dilwe!!) to choose members that
will represent it in the general plebiscite scheduled for March this year.
And the opposition Movement for Democratic Change has now decided to
participate in the process after keeping everyone guessing for the past five
months as to whether they would participate or not (I wonder how the
aspiring MPs are being identified). So the stage is now set for another
fight for the people's vote in my beloved country!

      As a Zimbabwean in the diaspora, I observe all these processes and the
"high octane" political statements that accompany them with a lot of
interest. I say with a lot of interest because in all the debates and
decision-making, none of the political leadership at both ends of the
political spectrum have recognised the presence of millions of Zimbabweans
that live outside the country and the fact that most of these "sons and
daughters of the soil" are disenfranchised by the failure of the state to
provide facilities for them to participate in elections in their country of
birth. The liberation struggle was fought in order that all Zimbabweans
would enjoy the right to determine who would govern them. As a young man
growing up in the townships of the then Salisbury in the 1960s, I remember
the impassioned calls by our political leaders for "one man one vote" which
would guarantee the total emancipation of the people. We all rallied behind
these leaders, threw stones at patrolling and harassing police vehicles,
petrol bombed shops belonging to collaborators, saw our fathers and mothers
arrested and whisked to imprisonment, restriction and detention for days,
weeks, months and years. Then we witnessed the strengthening of the resolve
of the African people to emancipate themselves from the colonial yoke with
the adoption of the armed struggle and we all participated in our various
ways - by taking up arms, by providing food, intelligence and cover for
armed combatants. We did this together for the sake of our collective
freedom and the promise that at the end of it all we would individually
enjoy the right to determine our own destiny, the right to "one man one
 vote".

      It breaks my heart today to see that the freedom that we all fought
for has been privatised by the few in leadership positions. The "active
combatants" are now a special breed of Zimbabweans with special privileges
ahead of those that "did not fight the war". The duty of the rest is to vote
these privileged few into positions of power over and over again. If you are
a "mafikizolo" in this freedom game you have to wait your turn until the
decision is made by the leaders to let you join them. The President is now
ring-fenced from the people. He is an institution that should be held in awe
and fear. The rule is: thou shall not speak ill of His Excellency. Thou
shalt make way for him to pass on the roads. So we were wrong to think that
he was a first among equals. He is the first, period! And our duty is to
vote him back into power without question (if you are allowed to vote). Why
were we not told this was going to be the situation when we were fighting
for "freedom"?

      I have heard excuses relating to cost being advanced as the reason for
the failure by our state to provide facilities for those living outside the
country to vote. What does it cost to have Zimbabweans resident in Botswana
registered and go through the voting process? If it is beyond the means of
the state, could they not ask us to contribute so we can enjoy our
birthright? I am sure our embassies around the world are staffed with
officers that are capable of managing this process. If, by any chance, they
are not, some of us would be willing to contribute our time to assist in
this process. I am sure fellow Zimbabweans in South Africa, Namibia, the
United Kingdom (yes, United Kingdom - despite all the robust talk, we still
have an embassy there manned by the Dean of the Zimbabwean Diplomatic
Corps!), the United States and elsewhere in the diaspora would be willing to
do the same. We do not want to be seen only as potential sources of foreign
currency. This is a challenge to the government in Harare. Take us up on it
and see what happens.

      A last word, directed at our various hosts around the world - as you
engage with our erstwhile political leaders in your various ways (quiet or
otherwise), we implore you to insist that all Zimbabweans be allowed to
exercise the right to choose those that lead them. We are grateful for the
hospitality that you have so generously extended to us. All we ask now is
that you impress it upon the leadership in Zimbabwe that they should stop
discriminating against us through denying us the right to vote! Is the right
of every qualified citizen to vote not one of the conditions for free and
fair elections agreed to through the SADC system?

        Samaita

      Gaborone

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New Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: George Orwell's Animal Farm

By Cecil Matshelela
Last updated: 01/06/2005 23:25:14

  R.G Mugabe-Napoleon

Joshua Nkomo-Snowball

Simon Muzenda-Boxer

Cabinet Ministers-Pigs

Nathan Shamuyarira & Jonathan Moyo-Squealer

War Veterans-Dogs

GEORGE Orwell's timeless political satire, Animal Farm, finds its proper
usage when describing the political situation that has prevailed in Zimbabwe
over the years. Mugabe's Stalin like, Robespeirre like, reign of madness and
extreme terror has left the concerned world in a continual state of surprise
and keenly awaiting for his eventual downfall.

Just like the cunning Napoleon, Mugabe's power-crazed sixth sense drove him
to calling Joshua Nkomo with nasty names during the early 80s. He swore on
his mother to shake the heavens and the earth and bring Nkomo to his knees.
He made the PF-ZAPU leader suffer a barrage of idiotic remarks than any
other opposition leader in the history of the country. We were made to
believe that Nkomo and Zapu "were some kind of invisible influence.pervading
the air.menacing them with all kinds of dangers."

Nkomo was labelled, a king of the dissidents, old granny, the imperialists'
running dog and "zidumbu rakazara zvombo" (one with a stomach pregnant with
dangerous weapons). After Nkomo's death, in a Napoleonic windmill turnabout
praise, Mugabe usurped Nkomo's land reform programme made a clumsy meal out
of it. He uses Nkomo's name to drum-up support for his own violence-radiated
programme so as to possibly blame the late great statesman when things go
wrong and beat his own chest when he wins public sympathy.

Before rigging the June 2000 elections, Mugabe used to refer to elections as
nothing but a formality. He was quoted in the 80s saying, "When all people
carried Zanu PF cards, the present national registration cards would be
abolished, because they would serve no purpose. It would be easier to
identify the enemy."

His lust for a one-party state and life presidency could have been possible
had the likes of the tolerant Nkomo and praise-singing hangers on like Simon
Muzenda been around. Mugabe chose Simon Muzenda as his immediate deputy
because of Mzee's Boxer or Benjamin-like mannerisms. Muzenda departed, just
like Boxer, without having uttered a single word against Mugabe, not even in
the name of "positive criticism". All Mzee knew was that, "zvataurwa nava
Mugabe ndizvozvo" (Mugabe is always right) ".tikati heiro dongi reZanu
voterai, munofanirwa kungovota pasina kutsvaga tsananguro" (it's a must to
vote for anything with a ZANU PF label, even if it could be a donkey).

Mugabe was recently seen shaking in his shoes, hesitant to chose a deputy
from his young and equally power-hungry cabinet. Settling for Joyce Mujuru
could be a clear indication that he probably desperately appealing for a
womanly conduct and praying that Mujuru lands on the hot seat to permanenlty
keep the dirty linen away from public scrutiny.

Nathan Shamuyaririra and Jonathan "Mafikizolo" Moyo have been taking turns
to play Squealer but with clearly different motives. Shamuyarira, Mugabe's
long-term boot kisser, is a die-hard tribalist who's said to have devoted to
inventing conspiracies against Nkomo and Canaan Banana. A tribalist's hot
air can never be mistaken when emitted. On an interview by ZBC's Alson
Mufiri during the burial of Cain Nkala, Shamuyarira openly said, "Anditauri
kana kundzva chiNdewere" (I don't speak or understand Ndebele). A national
leader, on national media! His arrogance is similar to that of his
mean-spirited master, Mugabe, who was educated in South Africa and taught in
Matabeleland but continues to try to enforce Shona on everyone. It's a real
tickler.

A Squealer in the mould of Jonathan Moyo is more puzzling. Moyo's turnabout
from being a fierce Zanu PF critic to Mugabe's election architect and
bootlicker could be misted in several fold confusion. The nutty professor
could have been there to either continue his legacy of thieving or to
destroy Zanu PF from within. It's no secret that he has been a real turn off
to everyone at the ruling party. The outcome of their recent Congress says
it all. He has for long been the povo's number one enemy, especially each
time he churned out those concocted stories with no flicker of emotions. God
knows when we will know where he has been reaping out those banknotes thrown
to every Jack and Jill in Tsholotsho. Is he set to go down crushingly or we're
set for yet another of his vampire like and chameleon conversion?

I wish George Orwell had added another chapter showing Napoleon's empire
hanging on a tattered thread.

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JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE OPEN LETTER FORUM, 17th December 2004 OLF No. 320

Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet: www.justiceforagriculture.com

Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to:
jag@mango.zw with subject line "For: Open Letter Forum".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The important thing is this:

To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.

Charles Du Bos

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter 0: CFU Midlands Office, received 5th January 2005

by Joe Whaley

Dear John

I have just received this message sent on to me by a friend and am
absolutely appalled that members of our farming union can be threatened and
cajoled by their own elected officers to donate to the very organisation
that has so carefully and brutally overseen the annihilation and downfall
of our once wonderful and proud industry. Far from acheiving peace,
prosperity and security and a future in farming I firmly believe that this
sort of action is merely prolonging the agony by continuing to feed the
beast and merely pushing back 'D Day" for those lucky few to still be in
the business of farming. There are none so blind as those unwilling to see.

I also query what is so sensitive in our farming programme that cannot be
discussed openly and above board with the membership, past and present, the
current situation is not a state secret and all negotiations should
therefore take place in the open. If the CFU wish to have unity then they
need to include all farmers, internal and external, who may wish to
contribute to this country"s agricultural future.

This comes from one who has lost his entire asset base, business, home and
income to the greed of an insatiable beast. For those willing to sell their
souls I wish you luck, but beware the crocodile, many a hand, arm or the
whole being has been consumed alongside the bait.

Yours sincerely
Joe Whaley

PS Is extortion the right word?

----- Original Message -----
From: fairhill@zol.co.zw
To:Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 6:12 AM
Subject: CFU MIDLANDS OFFICE

CFU MIDLANDS OFFICE

We have received a request to donate cattle, chickens and mealie meal to a
welcoming reception next week for the new Vice President, Joyce Mujuru.

This request has come to us through the Midlands Leadership (E.D) whom I'm
sure you know.

I suggest that each member pay in 1 million in cash to Bob at the CFU
office by the end of business hours on Monday the 10th January 2005, as we
need to secure these donations from our sector by Wednesday the 12th. 
Each individuals name will be on the list of donors when we present the
donations so think hard before you do nothing.  It is a strategy that I
believe will ultimately lead to benefits of sorts in the future.  But it is
like gambling.

I urgently request your attention and support in this endeavour.  I hope
you will have the faith needed at this time and support us at the office in
our varied efforts to bring relief and forward motion to our current
predicament.

I feel I must clarify and stress again that I only have the mandate of
members to work on your behalf to the best of my ability with all good
conscience. For those non-members I say to you all that unity is our best
defense.  This we are not, we all are to blame as we now find ourselves
divided and ruled.  To change this we must change - unite and stick
together and speak with one voice.  When the time comes for significant
changes to the current situation we have been pushed into kicking and
screaming foul play, then more than ever the voices of the divided will not
be heard clearly and negotiations will be held from a point of weakness. Is
this what we want, choose for yourselves.  Give me your mandate that I want
from all, each and everyone with all your individual strengths and
weaknesses together.  I will represent you as the Midlands in Harare and
push for what you want, which I'm confident will be peace, security,
prosperity and to be allowed to farm as we love doing.

To end all I can safely say is that there is some activity currently in
progress and I'm sure you will understand that this is at present too
sensitive to disclose.

Faith in your leadership is what I am asking for and believe that those
with faith and the will to go forward, will support us in all we try and do
for you as individual members and also as a farming community in its
entirety.

Actions speak louder than words.  We trust you had a good Christmas and
take this opportunity to wish you all a prosperous New Year.

Yours sincerely,

Your Chairman

TREVOR SHAW
AND OFFICE STAFF

P.S. Cash or Kind 1 ton Mealie Meal or Potatoes etc, 5 Steers for
slaughter, 100 Chickens.  We need about 30 million for this.  Excess money
will be refunded to each person.  That is one of the reasons for the cash
request.

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Letter 1: Dispossed farmers, received 18th December 2004

by Wynand Breytenbach

Dear Sir,

As a follow up to the letters written by Bruce Gemmel and Kevin Grant I
wish to add the following:

I am also a farmer that left Zimbabwe three and a half years ago. As a
matter of fact, Bruce's son and my son-in-law were two of the five farmers
abducted from the Murewa police station and severely tortured without the
police lifting a finger. This happened on the day David Stevens was
murdered by the same gang of "political activists".

Living in Australia now, and also having extensive contacts with people in
other countries, what struck me like a bolt of lightning is that the
outside world does not care a hoot about what is really happening in
Zimbabwe. Don't be fooled by the window -dressing of half-hearted protests
by some governments. Just look at their trade and investment figures with
Zimbabwe.

The only solution, I think, is to forget trying to claim compensation from
the Zimbabwe government but rather instigate international claims for
compensation against the tobacco and other agricultural merchants who are
buying produce from our stolen farms.

Wynand Breytenbach
Ex ZTA Councillor

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Letter 2: Help Roy Bennett, received 2nd December 2004

by Bruce Gemmill

Dear JAG

Jailing Roy Bennett was an act of savage retribution. It had nothing
whatsoever to do with justice.

Roy is something of a hybrid in the pub he is one of the boys laughing,
joking, always ready for a party. the very next day, Roy will be in
discussion, in fluent Shona, with his fellow M.D.C. members and acolytes.
In both instances the warmth and rapport are spontaneous and genuine. Roy
is the antithesis of the old fashioned anti-colonial liberal. He is a
living example of racial accord and in many respects reminds one of Sir Roy
Welensky. Roy being a white farmer elected to parliament by an all black
constituency was more than the ZANU-PF racist propaganda machine could
digest. By hook or by crook he had to be got rid of. ZANU-PF issued a
virtual fatwa against Roy Bennett. Parliament handed down a prison
sentence, but behind the scenes the powers that be, would prefer Roy
Bennett to only leave prison feet first. If this happens it will be first
degree murder.

Roy is a victim of his own moral decency. Commercial farmers and others owe
Roy Bennett a huge debt of gratitude.

Bruce Gemmill
Harare

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Letter 3: Who's fooling who?, received 21 December 2004

by Andy Walton

Dear JAG,

This is just confirmation of the level of self- hoodwinking. Who does he
think that he is fooling? Victim of ever increasing inflation

Please insert in open letters!!

Andy Walton.

Original Article was:

FROM News24 (SA), 15 December 2004

Disbelief greets Zim inflation

Harare - President Robert Mugabe's government on Tuesday claimed it had met
its target of bringing inflation down below 150% before the year end,
releasing figures showing the rate for the 12 months to November had fallen
to 149.3%. State radio said this was in line with predictions made in
December 2003 by the then newly appointed governor of the Zimbabwe Reserve
Bank, Gideon Gono. The inflation rate in October stood at 209%, down from
an all-time high of over 600% at the beginning of the year, according to
the Government's Central Statistical Office.

The official figures are, however, widely disbelieved, with the Zimbabwean
dollar continuing to fall against all major currencies on the black market
and soaring prices for fuel, postage and telecommunications, transport,
medicines, and many basics. On the official market, the Zimbabwe dollar now
stands at Z$6200/US$ and Z$8212/E. Mugabe claimed last week that the
economy is in the midst of a "dramatic" recovery following redistribution
of 5 000 seized white owned farms to black Zimbabweans, a policy which saw
a massive slump in agricultural and manufacturing production, and near
collapse of tourism, another traditional money-spinner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 4: Help, please!, received 19 December 2004

by Brian and Cath Oldreive

Dear JAG

Please can you help us to contact our friends both inside and outside
Zimbabwe. Our computer crashed recently and we lost our entire email
address book, so we are asking friends to send us a one-liner or their
Christmas letter so that we can make contact again!

Our email address remains the same: agriway@mweb.co.zw and our postal
address is: P O Box MP1390, Mount Pleasant, Harare. (not that many would
want to use that means!)

Thanks so much for your help.

Sincerely
Brian and Cath Oldreive

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 5: Christmas/2005, received 18 December 2004

Coen Schippers

Dear JAG,

May I thank for the good work you are doing for all the odd 4300 ex
commercial farmers spread out all over the world and we wish you a good and
peaceful Christmas and a fruitful happy and healthy 2005.

We will have a toast to you all

Best wishes
Coen Schippers

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 6: received 22 December 2004

Jill Hunter.

Dear All at jag office.

Many thanks for all support during times of change, and remember times are
always achanging. The Kurds got their property back in 12 years and as
things change faster and faster as time goes by, we could do better than
the Kurds!! Comfort can be lifted from Plato's Republic, and that is, that
tyrants always meet their demise from within the inner circle, so please
everyone who reads this, do not feel it is up to any of us to make the
tides of history run their natural course. Just continue the GOOD works,
and those of us left will have front row seats.

All uncultivated land is just resting, Grazing is plentiful for cattle
lucky enough to have survived the revolution, and they will become fat.
Keep the mind clear of any negative thoughts, so that positive ones can
enter, enter, enter, enter, enter.

May your God go with you.

Jill Hunter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Letter 7: Christmas greetings to JAG

Peter E Bennett

Dear JAG staff

Thank you for sending Info and news of the situation in Zim. and also for
the hard work put in to the fight for land.

Here in RSA we are monitoring the situation and it also stems us with
concern about our own future.

Keep up the good work in support of yuor kindsman there.

May you enjoy a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Peter E Bennett
Zim supporter.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

All letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for Agriculture.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE JAG TEAM

JAG Hotlines:
(091) 261 862 If you are in trouble or need advice,
(011) 205 374?
(011) 863 354 please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here to help!
263 4 799 410 Office Lines

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