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Sunday Times SA

'Mugabe's Chinese puzzle'

Thursday July 14, 2005 07:19 - (SA)

By Donwald Pressly

Outspoken Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo Pius Ncube has released a
document which suggests that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's recent
attack on the informal sector in his country has a hidden motive - to expand
mainland Chinese interests in his country.

In a document released by the archbishop's office - entitled "State in
Fear - Zimbabwe's tragedy is Africa's shame" co-authored by the archbishop
and Roger Bate, who is the resident fellow at the American Enterprise
Institute at Washington DC and Richard Tren, who is director, Africa
Fighting Malaria, in Johannesburg - they argue that the so-called Operation
Murambatsvina "has pointed to the removal of local competition threatening
newly-arrived Chinese businessmen whose stores sell cheap and often poor
quality goods".

The three estimate that, as a result of the government's aggressive "Look
East" policy, up to 10,000 Chinese citizens have moved into the country -
including some who have moved on to farms taken from "highly-skilled"
commercial farmers "notably to grow tobacco for China's 300 million
smokers".

The document reports that Chinese investors in Zimbabwe were reported to
have interests in Hwange colliery, electricity generation and platinum
mining.

They note too that the Zimbabwean Government had also purchased goods from
China "such as three commercial airplanes, buses, K-8 jet trainers and
military vehicles, small armaments and riot control equipment."

China was also a major backer of the ruling Zanu-PF military campaign during
the war against the former regime of Prime Minister Ian Smith.

Assessing the consequences of the operation - which has devastated both
Harare and Bulawayo's informal settlements as well as informal businesses in
recent weeks - the three noted that the licensing of stallholders had been
taken out of the control of city councils - which were dominated by
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) members - and applications
were now being dealt with by inter-ministerial committees.

"It is these committees that will decide who is successful, aided by a
vetting process carried out by the police, and where they will be allowed to
operate."

Land vacated by razed settlements - which has displaced up to 1.5 million
people with 300,000 homes destroyed according to the archbishop - have
already been pegged out for houses to be built "which are reportedly being
reallocated to police, army and party officials, which is consistent with
Mugabe's past method of rewarding those who do his grizzly bidding", said
the report.

Noting that many people were surviving by remittances from abroad, the
report notes that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe estimated that the parallel
trade supported by "diaspora forex" represented 60% of GDP and that only
10% - or about $4 million US dollars - a month is channeled through the
formal banking system.

The archbishop and his team note that the bank's governor Gideon Gono had
approved of the "clean-up" of the informal business "presumably in the hope
that informal currency mechanisms will be disrupted".

The report notes that responses from the African Union and African
governments to the operation - which has been dubbed "Operation Drive out
the Filth" - had been "disgraceful".

"The test of the Southern African Development Community and the African
Union should not just be about selling the region to investors and other
good news, but addressing the hard issues, such as promoting Zimbabwean
democracy," argue the three authors of the document.

Noting that opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had held meetings with
various African leaders - including South African President Thabo Mbeki -
and had motivated the idea of a transitional authority to lead the country
out of "the present crisis", they argue that "African leaders must accept
that they are playing into the hands of those who perceive the continent as
a failure and a breeding ground for despots".

However, the African leadership response to Tsvangirai had been muted at
best.

"In order to gain essential support of the international community, African
leaders must prove their commitment to the rule of law, the protection of
innocent civilians and the protection of property rights as well as taking
responsibility for their actions, both fiscal and moral."

I-Net Bridge
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Reuters

Zimbabwe says now importing maize from South Africa
Thu Jul 14, 2005 8:10 AM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has started importing maize from neighbouring
South Africa after drought slashed domestic output of the staple grain, a
senior official said on Wednesday.

"We have embarked on a massive importation programme. We have since
contracted up to 1.8 million tonnes of maize and this should see us up to
June next year," said the acting chief executive of the state Grain
Marketing Board, Samuel Muvuti.

"The maize has already started coming into the country. The grain is not
coming from far, it is coming from ... South Africa. We have opened all our
routes to ensure that the grain comes into the country timeously," Muvuti
added in remarks broadcast on national television.

Good rains and new seed types have left Zimbabwe's southern neighbour
expecting its largest maize harvest in more than a decade -- and desperate
to shift several million tonnes of surplus grains in the hope of rallying
prices.

South African traders said some maize has been transported by sea to the
Mozambican port of Beira before being shipped overland to Zimbabwe.

Last month Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told parliament President Robert
Mugabe's government planned to import maize and wheat to meet national grain
requirements and also welcomed assistance offered without conditions
attached.

The government last year forecast a bumper harvest of 2.4 million tonnes of
maize from the 2004/05 November to March cropping season, but aid agencies
say the country is now likely to produce no more than 600,000 tonnes.

Mugabe denies that persistent food shortages since 2000 have resulted in
large party from disruptions to agriculture connected to his government's
seizure of white-owned commercial farms for landless blacks.

The shortages have worsened an economic crisis also seen in an acute fuel
crunch as well as record inflation and unemployment, which critics blame on
government mismanagement.

Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980, denies the charge, and defends
his land reform programme as necessary to restore land Harare says was
stolen from blacks when Britain colonised the country more than a century
before.

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Jamaica Observer

      Jamaica, Ghana must send message to Mugabe

      Thursday, July 14, 2005

We hope that Prime Minister Patterson used this week's visit by the Ghanian
president, Mr Kufuor, to discuss the political situation in Zimbabwe and for
both leaders to tell President Mugabe that it is time he put his house in
order.

He must be told that Jamaica expects that he will begin meaningful
engagement with the opposition MDC or face the prospect of Kingston urging
its partners in the Caribbean Community not only to condemn the
anti-democratic actions of Mr Mugabe but also to withdraw from any relations
with Harare.

It is a position which we hope that President Kufuor will also urge on
democratic Africa, particularly the countries of ECOWAS.

Both Jamaica and Ghana specifically, and Africa and the Caribbean more
broadly, have a right to speak to Mr Mugabe with frankness.

He must be told that not only is he squandering a grand legacy but has
emerged into something of an embarrassment to the people of Africa and the
African diaspora in the Caribbean.

This special right for us to tell Mr Mugabe the facts, this newspaper
believes, has been well earned, in historic and political and social terms.
It flows, in part, from ancestral bonds between Africa and the Caribbean.
But it is more than that.

In the case of Ghana, we believe that that country, as the first of the
independent African states, has a responsibility - especially given the
context of its own political meanderings - to be something of a conscience,
with South Africa, for a new democratic Africa.

The Caribbean shares in that responsibility, given the critical role many of
this region's first generation of anti-colonial fighters played in shaping,
for both good and bad, Kwame Nkruma's Ghana.

Indeed, the pan-Africanist vision shared by George Padmore and Nkruma and
others, is finding different expressions today in the shaping, or reshaping,
of the African Union and in new concepts for a relationship between Africa
and the Caribbean, as is being played out in President Kufuor's trip to
Jamaica and that of his predecessor, Jerry Rawlins, for our 40th anniversary
of independence.

Importantly, too, President Kufuor can talk with significant authority as
the leader of a country which emerged with so much hope for so many people,
whose political processes went badly askew, and is now bringing itself
slowly back to an even keel.

In Jamaica's case, even as a colony with only internal self-government, this
country banned imports from South Africa and was a consistent enemy of the
apartheid and racist cliques in South Africa and Rhodesia, and contributed
actively to the liberation struggles in southern Africa.

Moreover, at the 1979 Commonwealth Summit, the Jamaican prime minister, the
late Michael Manley, played a key role in breaking the deadlock and Margaret
Thatcher's intransigence that held up Zimbabwe's independence.

Indeed, it is not insignificant that Jamaica's reggae star Bob Marley was
the key performer at Zimbabwe's independence celebration.

In other words, Jamaica can claim a special relationship with regards to
Zimbabwe's transition from minority white-ruled colony to independence, and
appreciates the great role of Mr Mugabe in leading that fight.

But Mr Mugabe has in recent years made the kinds of wrong turns from which
countries like Ghana have begun to emerge.
Ranging from the land grab by ZANU-PF adherents to the rigging of elections
and the bulldozing of shanties, Mr Mugabe has been making a mockery of
democracy.

He has to hear from those who care, whose noses are not pink, that not only
is he squandering a legacy but also a people's future.

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Zim Online

Thirsty Zimbabwe courts Anglo to revive ethanol plant
Thu 14 July 2005

      HARARE - Zimbabwe has approached multi-national giant Anglo American
Zimbabwe to revive an ethanol plant in the country's lowveld region to try
and fix a crippling fuel crisis that has worsened because of rising world
oil prices, authoritative sources told ZimOnline.

      The sources said the government was offering to return some of the
land it forcibly seized from Anglo in the last five years as a way of
sweetening the ethanol-making deal.

      The ethanol processing plant was built by Anglo at the height of
international sanctions on the white supremacist government of Ian Douglas
Smith, the ruler of Rhodesia before it became independent Zimbabwe. The
plant produced ethanol from sugarcane grown on vast estates owned by Anglo
and other firms in Zimbabwe's hot south-eastern region.

      The process of distilling sugar into ethanol which has high alcohol
content, before it is mixed with petrol is a low cost way of producing fuel.

      Zimbabwe's fuel stations have in recent weeks completely run dry as
the foreign currency-short country battles with a severe economic crisis
that has also seen several other basic commodities in short supply.

      The Minister of Energy and Power Development Mike Nyambuya yesterday
would not confirm the government's move but said Harare was doing everything
possible to secure fuel "given the difficult" circumstances. Anglo officials
refused to speak on the issue.

      But a highly placed source said the government had sounded out Anglo
on the issue but said the latter had appeared to show indifference in
reviving the venture.

      "Let me say we have approached Anglo on how we can work together to
find a lasting solution to the fuel problems and we have identified the
ethanol plant as one of the critical areas we should start with," a senior
government official who refused to be identified said.

      The official said Anglo had concerns regarding the economic viability
of the project given the government's pricing structures. Harare controls
the price of fuel often pegging it below market levels in a bid to ensure it
is affordable to impoverished Zimbabweans.

      Government sources also said part of South Africa's Deputy President
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka's talks with Mugabe and his second Vice President
Joyce Mujuru on Tuesday centred on how South Africa could assist in easing
the fuel crisis.

      Zimbabwe's fuel crisis has lately been worsened by acute foreign
currency shortages while international companies demand cash upfront before
delivering fuel to the country.

      Zimbabwe wants to tap into South Africa's Sasol and PetroSA's
expertise in producing synthetic fuels using the large coal reserves that
the country has. It was not clear by yesterday how South Africa would help
its embattled neighbour. - ZimOnline

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Zim Online

ANALYSIS: Mugabe's survival "game plan" spells disaster for Zimbabwe
Thur 14 July 2005

      HARARE - President Robert Mugabe has backtracked on a pledge to meet
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in a move analysts yesterday said was a
doubled-edged sword that will buy time for the embattled President but will
also exacerbate Zimbabwe's crisis.

      Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo last week announced he had
persuaded a reluctant Mugabe to agree to meet Tsvangirai and his Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) party in talks to cobble up a plan to pull
Zimbabwe back from the brink of total economic and social disaster.

      But Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba earlier this week poured cold
water on renewed hopes for a negotiated and democratic solution to Zimbabwe's
fast-deteriorating crisis telling state media that Mugabe and his government
will only make contact with the opposition in Parliament.

      Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai do not seat in Parliament and Charamba's
statement effectively rules out the possibility of talks between Zimbabwe's
two most powerful politicians without which analysts do not see any progress
in resolving the country's crisis.

      University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political scientist Eldred Masunugure,
told ZimOnline that Mugabe had acceded to Obasanjo's demands for talks only
to appease international and regional partners by appearing to be sensitive
to their wishes.

      But the Zimbabwean leader was playing to a different game-plan
premised on the hope that the MDC, weakened after five years of unrelenting
state repression, shall sink into obscurity - if only he could hold on a
little longer.

      "Mugabe has given a picture of walking hand-in-hand with regional or
international partners before," the respected Masunungure said. He added:
"There is a pattern which is part of his political game plan to buy time but
this public posturing is not going to last forever."

      Mugabe's reneging on his promise on talks to Obasanjo is not the first
time he has betrayed his word of honour to African allies, who have however
continued to stand by his government as it grapples its worst economic
crisis ever.

      In the past, the Zimbabwean leader has promised Obasanjo and other
African leaders such as South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki that he would
either meet Tsvangirai or scrap draconian security and media laws used to
silence the opposition and other voices of dissension but to no avail.

      In 2002, Mugabe's ZANU PF party briefly took part in talks with the
MDC which were brokered by Obasanjo and Mbeki. But Zimbabwe's ruling party
soon wriggled its way out of dialogue saying it could not continue in the
talks after Tsvangirai filed a court application challenging Mugabe's
re-election in March 2002.

      In the latest incident, Obasanjo told British legislators that he had
nudged Mugabe during the sidelines of the African Union summit that took
place in Libya last week to agree to talks with his political foe.

      According to the Nigerian leader, the talks were to be held either in
Zimbabwe or South Africa under the mediation of a respected African,
possibly a former president of one of the southern African states.

      Zimbabwe is in the throes of its worst economic and political crisis
which critics blame on Mugabe's misrule of what was once one of Africa's
most vibrant economies.

      The severe economic crisis has manifested itself in shortages of
foreign currency that has triggered the worst fuel crisis in years,
unemployment of around 80 percent and hyper-inflation that has impoverished
the once prosperous nation.

      But Mugabe denies mismanaging Zimbabwe claiming instead that he is a
victim of economic sabotage by Britain and other Western governments out to
punish Harare for seizing farmland from minority whites and giving it to
landless blacks.

      Analysts say only a negotiated and democratic settlement between
Mugabe and the opposition paving way for free and fair elections could
unlock blocked foreign aid, vital to any effort to resuscitate Zimbabwe's
comatose economy.

      But another UZ lecturer and political commentator Heneri Dzinotyiwei,
said there was no unanimity within Mugabe's ZANU PF party on the necessity
of talks with the MDC.

      "There is a lot of domestic pressure from some influential people in
his ruling party who are against going into talks that maybe viewed as
capitulating to pressure," Dzinotyiwei said.

      Masungure concurred adding that there was a group within ZANU PF
comprising hawks philosophically opposed to talks because they believed the
MDC is a western stooge and some senior party leaders who fear losing
positions of influence under a bi-party settlement.

      He added that the group of hawks was, "probably a small number
numerically but they hold the biggest political clout and unfortunately
dictate the policy of the party." - ZimOnline

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Zim Online

Court to decide fate of women protesters next week
Thur 14 July 2005

      BULAWAYO - A magistrate's court yesterday said it will decide next
week on Friday whether to discharge 28 members of the Women of Zimbabwe
Arise activist group arrested last month while protesting against the
government's controversial urban clean-up campaign.

      The sources said the government was offering to return some of the
land it forcibly seized from Anglo in the last five years as a way of
sweetening the ethanol-making deal.

      The ethanol processing plant was built by Anglo at the height of
international sanctions on the white supremacist government of Ian Douglas
Smith, the ruler of Rhodesia before it became independent Zimbabwe. The
plant produced ethanol from sugarcane grown on vast estates owned by Anglo
and other firms in Zimbabwe's hot south-eastern region.

      The process of distilling sugar into ethanol which has high alcohol
content, before it is mixed with petrol is a low cost way of producing fuel.

      Zimbabwe's fuel stations have in recent weeks completely run dry as
the foreign currency-short country battles with a severe economic crisis
that has also seen several other basic commodities in short supply.

      The Minister of Energy and Power Development Mike Nyambuya yesterday
would not confirm the government's move but said Harare was doing everything
possible to secure fuel "given the difficult" circumstances. Anglo officials
refused to speak on the issue.

      But a highly placed source said the government had sounded out Anglo
on the issue but said the latter had appeared to show indifference in
reviving the venture.

      "Let me say we have approached Anglo on how we can work together to
find a lasting solution to the fuel problems and we have identified the
ethanol plant as one of the critical areas we should start with," a senior
government official who refused to be identified said.

      The official said Anglo had concerns regarding the economic viability
of the project given the government's pricing structures. Harare controls
the price of fuel often pegging it below market levels in a bid to ensure it
is affordable to impoverished Zimbabweans.

      Government sources also said part of South Africa's Deputy President
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka's talks with Mugabe and his second Vice President
Joyce Mujuru on Tuesday centred on how South Africa could assist in easing
the fuel crisis.

      Zimbabwe's fuel crisis has lately been worsened by acute foreign
currency shortages while international companies demand cash upfront before
delivering fuel to the country.

      Zimbabwe wants to tap into South Africa's Sasol and PetroSA's
expertise in producing synthetic fuels using the large coal reserves that
the country has. It was not clear by yesterday how South Africa would help
its embattled neighbour. - ZimOnline

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The Herald

Planes help Airzim boost regional, domestic routes

Business Reporter
THE two MA60 planes bought by Air Zimbabwe from China recently have helped
boost the airline's domestic and regional routes.

The national airline had abandoned domestic routes to Kariba and Buffalo
Range while regional routes such as Lusaka, Johannesburg, Maputo and the
Transfrontier Park were put on hold.

Destinations such as Lubumbashi and Lilongwe were being serviced under a
joint venture agreement with Air Malawi.

However, the arrival of the two planes has enabled Airzim to relaunch
flights to some of the destinations it had previously abandoned.

Air Zimbabwe spokesperson Mr David Mwenga said the recently acquired planes
were also being used to link different destinations with the Harare
International Airport for connections to international destinations.

"The MA60 carry traffic from domestic and regional markets to the Harare
International Airport from where the 737 Boeing will then carry the traffic
to other destinations such as Dubai and the United Kingdom.

The airlines were also cost-effective. "The MA60 aircraft are convenient in
that they carry 52 passengers for a full flight which saves costs to the
airliner. (This means) the routes with light traffic no longer have to be
serviced by bigger planes such as the Boeing 737, which carries about 105
people per flight.

Mr Mwenga said the slump in tourist arrivals had negatively affected the
airline's operations but said the situation was improving.

Its flights to the United Kingdom were always full, thus making up - to some
extent - for the low traffic on some routes.

Prospects on the Harare-Singapore and China routes were also looking up.

Zimbabwe is currently enjoying the Approved Destination Status granted by
the Chinese to Zimbabwe and tourist traffic from the Asian countries is
growing.
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The Herald

$43 trillion needed to phase out hot seating

Herald Reporter
GOVERNMENT needs to build at least 500 primary and 100 secondary schools at
an estimated cost of over $43 trillion to phase out hot seating and an
education levy has been suggested to raise the cash.

The Minister of Education Sport and Culture, Cde Aeneas Chigwedere said his
ministry had forwarded recommendations to Cabinet on how it intends to
eradicate hot seating.

"We are fighting hot seating and we are working with the local authorities
to allocate us sites to construct the new schools."

But lack of funding was hampering the building of new schools, which the
ministry would like to see done over the next five years. He said the new
primary schools would require about $36 trillion while the secondary schools
needed at least $7,3 trillion.

"We believe we will be able to eliminate the double shifts in schools, so we
have come up with suggestions such as the education levy, which is along the
lines of the Aids levy," he said.

The minister said councils and the corporate sector should also chip in to
eradicate the problem.

"We are going to make it an obligation that any member of the corporate
world that spends between $50 and $100 million on education can get a 100
percent tax rebate on the money spent," he said.

Government introduced hot seating soon after independence because of
increased demand for primary and secondary school education. Under the
scheme, some students attended classes in the morning while others came in
the afternoon to allow for double normal enrolment.
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AJWS update on Zimbabwe

Almost one million people have been displaced from their homes, causing profound disruption and suffering to families and communities. This is an underreported and misunderstood humanitarian crisis of deep proportions. This began at the end of May, several weeks after completing a peaceful election cycle, the Government of Zimbabwe began implementing a program called “Operation Murambatsvina.”

This program, which can be translated as “Operation Clean-up”, has been presented as an effort to spruce up the city centers, enforce regulations on informal markets, clear unhygienic slums and “restore the shine” to Zimbabwe.

However, murambatsvina can also be translated as “driving out filth.” And the reality of its manifestation is equally slanted. The campaign, which continues today, has consisted of bulldozing and demolishing market areas, homes, schools and clinics in every town and rural business center in the country.

Whether or not one accepts a political interpretation of the reasons behind and the methods used in this crack-down in urban areas, what is apparent is that it is creating a humanitarian crisis -- in a nation already facing disastrous levels of poverty, HIV/AIDS, food insecurity and lack of infrastructure and services.

The estimates of the number of people who have been displaced thus far vary from 300,000 to over a million. Hundreds of thousands more people have lost their livelihoods. Family members who are now housing and feeding displaced relatives are finding their meager resources overstretched. Children have stopped going to school, and their parents are no longer able to raise the school fees need to put them back into school in their new regions. Several people have died, crushed during the demolitions, run over by vehicles or as a result of diseases and exposure (it is currently winter in the southern hemisphere).

Because the communities that are suffering the most from these actions are poor and marginalized, many of them are participants in projects run by AJWS grantee organizations throughout the country. Therefore, many AJWS grantees in Zimbabwe find themselves having to suspend their regular activities to help families track displaced people, distribute emergency relief supplies, conduct trauma mitigation and other necessary activities.

In light of this direct involvement of our partners, we have launched a solidarity/emergency response effort to support our local partners and other community groups involved in supporting the affected communities. Through our Rapid Response Fund we have provided some additional funding, and in conjunction with other grant-making organizations are coordinating ongoing support to organizations committed to peace, justice and survival in Zimbabwe.

Current Zimbabwe Rapid Relief grants
Organization
Project Title
Project Description
# of target beneficiaries
Community target
Inter-Country People’s Aid
AJWS partner since 1999		 Emergency Relief to Hatcliffe Settlement To provide nutritional, water and sanitation, shelter, health and transportation support to Hatcliffe extension residents made homeless or who lost their livelihoods as a result of the settlement demolitions. Approx 5000 people Hatcliffe and Porta Farm, Caledonia
Girl Child Network
AJWS partner since 2004		 Emergency Rehabilitation for Victims of "Clean-Up Campaign" To provide food, school fees and clothing as well as temporary shelter and relocation expenses to displaced girls' families affected by the on going campaign. The goals of the emergency relief effort include creating a violence-free environment for the affected and displaced women and girls, to curb a potential health disaster as a result of shortages of sanitary facility, and to reinstate children in school who dropped out as a result of relocation or destruction of livelihood. 350 families Chitungwiza, Rusape, Hwange
Institute for Cultural Affairs
AJWS partner since 2002		 Emergency Relief for Mufakose Residents Affected by Operation Murambatsvina To provide financial, moral and psycho-social support to project beneficiaries to enable them cope with extra burdens created by caring for members of their extended families who have been affected by displacement. Approx 5000 people Mufakose

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Cape Times

            EDITORIAL

      A glimmer of hope?
      July 14, 2005

      It's probably unfair to suggest, as some do, that the South African
government's approach towards Zimbabwe has largely been dictated by a hope
that the crisis in that land would somehow resolve itself, writes the
Editor.

      Or, at least, that events in the country might stop attracting the
sort of headlines that demand some action by South Africa.

      Such approaches would, of course, be to reckon without Robert Mugabe,
the Zimbabwean president whose behaviour has become increasingly despotic
over the past few years.

      After giving the nod to Zimbabwe's recent farce of an election, the
South African government must now look on as Mugabe's jackboots swing into
action to rid the country's cities of shack dwellers, street people and
informal vendors.

      These threats to the security of the state are having their houses
destroyed and being relocated to country areas in the delightfully named
Operation Murambatsvina, or "drive out rubbish".

      This week the South African Council of Churches - hardly an
organisation of radicals and hotheads - made the telling observation that:

      "The people we have engaged with seem to believe that we have seen a
humanitarian crisis last experienced in Zimbabwe during the liberation
struggle".

      In other words, Mugabe has reduced the living conditions of many of
his people to a level last experienced before the country was liberated.
There can hardly be a more damning indictment of the man.

      So was this week's visit to Zimbabwe by deputy president Phumzile
Mlambo-Ngcuka and deputy finance minister Jabu Moleketi an acknowledgement
of the deepening crisis? A glimmer of hope?

      We hope so. Mlambo-Ngcuka's credentials and recently elevated status
suggest she may be just the person to give South Africa's approach to
Zimbabwe the lift it needs, one in which we actively use the leverage we
have to improve the lot of suffering Zimbabweans.

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The Star

      DA says the ANC and Mugabe's Zanu-PF have much in common
      July 13, 2005

      By Sheena Adams

      The ANC's obsessive support of Zimbabwe stems from the fact that it
has "much in common" with Zanu-PF.

      Democratic Alliance MP Roy Jankielsohn drew the parallel at a party
meeting in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape yesterday.

      He said the ANC, like Zanu-PF, was also accused of using food and
state resources as political tools during elections.

      They also regarded opposition parties as "unpatriotic or even
treacherous".

      "Both parties constantly attack and vilify opposition parties and
other groups that oppose them," he said.

      "They do not hesitate to launch verbal attacks on clerics who speak
out against injustice. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Bishop Pius Ncube (of
Bulawayo) have first-hand experience of this."

      Jankielsohn, saying both parties had members who had been party to
human rights violations, drew attention to the "ethnic cleansing" of the
Ndebele in Zimbabwe, the Quattro camp in Angola and the "innocents" who died
during necklacings in South Africa.

      "Both Zanu-PF and the ANC have been unable to deliver that which they
promised to the people, due to, among other things, large-scale corruption."

      "Zanu-PF sends in the army and police to arrest, torture and even kill
those who protest against this, while the ANC more subtly threatens
protesters with anti-terror laws or even charges of sedition," he said.

      "Both are former liberation movements that have been unable to mature
as political parties. They have never truly accepted the responsibility of
government and find it unacceptable that a liberation movement could be
ousted democratically."

      Both parties were also obsessed with trying to control society. While
Zanu-PF used brute force, the ANC used policies which included democratic
centralism, redeployment policies and black economic empowerment.

      Jankielsohn found the similarity between the parties "disconcerting"
when he was in Zimbabwe as a member of the parliamentary observer mission
during the March election.

      "Besides defending all the actions and statements of the Mugabe
regime, ANC members of the missions even began to use the language of this
regime to defend its actions."

      The ultimate cost of the ANC's "indifference" to human suffering was
the undermining of ethics, morality, human rights and good governance in
Africa, he added. - Political Bureau.

      sheenaa@incape.co.za

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New Straits Times, Malaysia

      COMMENT: China may have to think again on Africa
      Frank Ching

      July 14:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Fifty years after the first Bandung conference, when the leaders
of Asia and Africa met and pledged mutual co-operation and support, ties
between China and the developing world, especially with African countries,
have been greatly strengthened.
             China has provided substantial assistance to Africa over the
years for political reasons, though not on the scale of the developed
countries. And Chinese aid is often dispensed in such a way that corrupt
rulers cannot use it to buy Mercedes Benzes for themselves and their wives.

            This is because Chinese aid is often in the form of
infrastructure, such as a railroad network in Nigeria or roads in Kenya and
Rwanda. Or in the form of doctors and nurses to provide health care to
people who otherwise would not have access to such medical care. In
addition, China provides scholarships for African students to study in its
universities and, increasingly, funds to encourage its businessmen to invest
in Africa.

            China has provided training for African students since the
1950s. The 15,000 graduates include some of the leaders of Africa today,
such as President Isaias Aferwerki of Eritrea, who received military
training in China, and President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. Chinese trade with Africa has tripled from US$10 billion (RM38
billion) in 2000 to US$30 billion (RM114 billion) in 2004.

            Much of this economic activity is fuelled by China's need for
oil to keep its economy growing. Today, China imports about a third of its
oil from Africa.

            Historic ties bind China and Africa. The founding fathers of the
People's Republic of China, such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, identified
with the cause of the people of Africa in opposing colonialism and
imperialism. In return, newly independent countries in Asia and Africa
supported China's efforts to join the United Nations until, in 1971, Beijing
successfully ousted Taiwan to claim the China seat on both the Security
Council and in the General Assembly.

            In 2000, at Beijing's initiative, the Forum on China-Africa
Cooperation was set up, including 46 of Africa's 53 countries. (The
remaining seven have diplomatic relations with Taiwan and so were not
included.) At the inaugural meeting held in the Chinese capital, China
agreed to cancel debt amounting to US$1.2 billion for 31 African countries.
China also agreed to set up a special fund to encourage Chinese companies to
invest in Africa.

            In 2003, at the second China-Africa forum meeting, this time
held in Addis Ababa, Premier Wen Jiabao reported that 117 new China-invested
projects were up and running in Africa.

            Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing reported that China was promoting
tourism to eight African countries.

            Such is the priority accorded to Africa by China that, each
year, the Chinese foreign minister's first official overseas trip is always
to Africa, a tradition that goes back to the late 1980s.

            One major ingredient of China's Africa policy is
non-interference in their internal affairs.

            Thus, Beijing will not co-operate with Washington when it
condemns the human-rights behaviour of such countries as the Sudan or
Zimbabwe. Instead, American sanctions often provide an opportunity for
Beijing to further its inroads into African countries.

            While China's policy of non-interference clearly gives it an
advantage in terms of relations with African countries, it may also be an
obstacle to another prong of Chinese policy, which is to help those
countries improve governance. But, as a result of extending friendship to
all African countries, regardless of the form of their government, China has
won for itself a lot of goodwill.

            African countries by and large support China on all issues it
considers important (as long as they do not conflict with their own
interests). They adopt a "one China" policy, support Chinese rule over
Tibet, China's passing of the anti-secession law directed at Taiwan as well
as China's status as a market economy.

            The question, however, is whether this should be sufficient.
Ultimately, the Chinese may well ask themselves if they should be doing more
if they really had the welfare of their African friends at heart.

            In particular, they should consider whether they should do more
to help them in terms of governance, especially to help combat the
corruption that is so rampant in certain African countries, so that much of
the external aid to Africa never reaches the people for whom it was
intended.

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New Zimbabwe

Zanu PF MPs vote against people's interests

By Paul Themba Nyathi
Last updated: 07/14/2005 06:33:48
ZANU PF MPs this week rejected a motion moved by MDC MP for Dzivarasekwa
Edwin Mushoriwa to stop the war against the people which it has dubbed
Operation Murambatsvina.

The motion called on the regime to immediately stop the destruction of
people's homes and to provide help to the victims of the operation in the
form of food and shelter. The motion also called on the government to
comprehensively address the issue of national housing and provide basic
amenities and decent living standards to the current victims of the
operation.

The Zanu PF regime is not moved by the plight of the women and children who
are sleeping in the open. The reality of the situation is that whole
families are spending hungry and sleepless nights in their own country in a
crisis caused by this regime which embarked on a programme that was not only
unplanned but also unbudgeted for.

Those disgraceful men and women who raised their hands to vote against the
suffering people did so against their consciences. They know the truth but
are too afraid to speak out. As a result of their selfish vote the suffering
of the people will continue. Mothers and children will continue to sleep in
the open in the middle of this cold winter. School children will remain out
of school. The people will continue to suffer in hunger and destitution.

We condemn the actions of this regime. As the regime continues to reject all
peaceful means of resolving the crisis in Zimbabwe, it is leaving the people
with limited options.
Paul T. Nyathi, is the MDC Secretary for Information and Publicity

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New Zimbabwe
 

Misihairabwi out in shadow cabinet reshuffle

By Staff Reporter
Last updated: 07/14/2005 16:51:44 Last updated: 07/14/2005 00:31:02
ZIMBABWE'S opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday reshuffled his shadow cabinet, dropping foreign affairs secretary Priscilla Misihairabwi and replacing her with Moses Mzila Ndlovu.

Ndlovu, the MP for Bulilima was in charge of the portfolio but was dismissed after a fist-fight with a Tsvangirai adviser last year.

Also out is Evelyn Masaiti, who is replaced by Editor Matamisa as secretary for gender.

Gabriel Chibva's local government portfolio also changes hands, with Trudy Stevenson replacing him.

Mangwe MP Edward Mukosi takes over from Renson Gasela as secretary for lands and agriculture.

The new shadow cabinet line-up has THIRTEEN men and THREE women.

Misihairabwi told New Zimbabwe.com: "The MDC is run on democratic principles, and the president has decided that we were probably not the best for our roles at this time.

"I have accepted his decision and I remain active and hopeful that one day Zimbabwe will get a government it deserves, which cares for the people and the country."

Misihairabwi is MP for Glen Norah. She is one of the few Zimbabwe MPs who have constituency offices where she conducts fortnightly surgeries.

An MDC spokesman said the new shadow cabinet would no longer carry the title "shadow minister", but they would be "department spokesmen", similar to the British system.

MDC SHADOW CABINET:
• David Coltart, Legal and Constitutional Affairs
• Blessing Chebundo, Health and Child Welfare
• Giles Mutsekwa, Security and Defence
• Fidelis Mhashu, Education
• Trudy Stevenson, Local Government
• Moses Mzila Ndlovu, Foreign Affairs
• Murisi Zvizvayi, Energy, Transport and Communications
• Paurina Mpariwa, Public Service, Labour and Social Security
• Joel Gabuza, Mines
• Editor Matamisa, Gender, Youth and Culture
• Edward Mukosi, Lands, Agriculture and Natural Affairs
• Tapiwa Mashakada, Budget, Finance and Economic Planning
• Tendai Biti, Home Affairs
• Paul Themba Nyathi, Information (non-MP)
• Edwin Mushoriwa, Environment and Tourism
• Milford Gwetu, Industry and Commerce

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