Election resources from Kubatana - 25 July 2013

Election Day declared a national holiday

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
25 July 2013

Next week Wednesday has officially been declared a national holiday, to give
Zimbabweans the chance to vote in the elections.

On Thursday Robert Mugabe declared that Election Day will be a holiday, in
terms of the Public Holidays and Prohibition of Business Act.

The declaration comes as the Constitutional Court is set to rule Friday
whether or not those who failed to vote during the chaotic Special Vote
period, will be given a second chance next Wednesday.

The Special Vote was marred by serious problems, including the late delivery
of ballots and delays at polling stations.

Almost half the number of people who applied to vote early, because they are
meant to be on duty during the election, failed to vote over the Special
Vote period.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Tuesday then filed an application
at the Constitutional Court, looking to allow people another chance, despite
a clause in the Electoral Act that prohibits this.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku said the matter will be heard on an urgent
basis on Friday.

Chegutu on lockdown as ZANU PF force people to Mujuru’s rally

We attend ZANU (PF) rallies for T-shirts and protection

http://www.sokwanele.com/

 

AUTHOR:

TAWANDA MAKUSHA

DATE:

JUL 25, 2013

COMMENTS:

0

ZANU (PF) is moving around with a green haulage truck to its rallies. The truck carries the party’s regalia which are being distributed to the electorate at the rallies.  The people who attend the ZANU (PF) rallies are as usual bussed from neighbouring areas of the venue of the rallies.

Most people go there unwillingly.  I attended one of the rallies in Marondera on Monday (15 July)  where I met with several people who had been bussed in.  They told me that they will continue to attend the rallies but they will not vote for the aging ZANU (PF) leader Robert Mugabe come the 31st of July.

“We are here to get the regalia and wear it.  We know that if we resist that will be the end of our lives. We are tired of ZANU (PF) and its fake promises, “a young man of 24 said.

“If we do not attend ZANU (PF) rallies they will dispossess us of our markets, that is why we are here. ZANU (PF) has nothing to offer, they have failed. What they can do is to rig the election but they will not win the hearts of the people.  Not any more”, Joseph said.

So Comrade President do not be shocked come 4 or 5 August when the election results are announced.

ZEC, Security Sector Ties Big Threat to Free Zimbabwe Polls

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

25.07.2013

HARARE — The Zimbabwe Democracy Institute says the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission’s close ties to the country’s security system and lack of
transparency in the production of the voters’ roll compromises the electoral
body’s ability to deliver a credible, free and fair election.

Launching its report titled, ‘Electoral Battleground: Voters roll rigmarole’,
ZDI chairperson Rashweat Mukundu, said production of the voters roll must be
done in a transparent manner.

He said civil society, local and international observers must be allowed to
observe how the voters’ roll will be managed and deployed to polling
stations.

The 19-page report says the security sector is systematically entrenched in
the country’s political life and is capable of wreaking havoc.

Mukundu said the security sector poses a threat to democratic electoral
processes in the country, adding that the transfer of power could be a
problem if President Robert Mugabe loses the election.

He explains it is important for the electoral body to spell out the military’s
role in the July 31 elections.

The report also says thousands of prospective voters, particularly in urban
areas, did not register due to restrictive requirements and lack of
publicity of the registration exercise.

The so-called aliens were also disenfranchised because of confusing messages
on what was needed for them to register as voters.

Mukundu said these and other factors point to an election which won’t be
credible free and fair.

But American ambassador to Zimbabwe, Bruce Wharton, told journalists in the
capital Thursday that people should not prejudge the Zimbabwe elections.

He spoke after handing over $50,000 grants to communities in three
provinces. Mr. Wharton said he believes that local, Southern African
Development Community and African Union observers will be able to
sufficiently monitor the polls.

Zimbabweans go to the polls next week to choose new leaders to replace the
uneasy government of national unity but civil society and other political
parties doubt the electoral commission can deliver given the chaos that
characterised last week’s special voting for police officers and other
members of the uniformed forces.

Political intimidation rife in Mvurwi

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

MARGARET CHINOWAITA  •  24 JULY 2013 8:59PM

MVURWI – Driving into the farming town of Mvurwi in Mashonaland Central, one
could be forgiven for assuming that only one party is taking part in the
elections end of this month.

Zanu PF posters were the only ones visibly pasted on walls while MDC
formations’ posters are nowhere to be seen.

It is less than two weeks towards elections and this scenario is widespread.

Youth Agenda Trust, YAT coordinator for Mashonaland Central Tonderai Samhu
and aspiring MDC candidate in Mazowe North Constituency said they had pasted
posters for their candidates but these were removed allegedly by members of
Zanu PF party.

He said the situation is tense in Mvurwi as anyone suspected to be in the
opposition is not being allowed to engage in any activities freely.

The assumption is if a group wants to engage in any activity that involves a
number of people then it is assumed to be MDC.

Recently, Youth Agenda Trust, YAT, a grouping of young people that is
talking about peace and tolerance went to Mvurwi with a programme to engage
youths in a soccer match were disrupted by mobs in Zanu PF T-shirts and
caps.

In a move that has reminded villagers in Mvurwi that a free and fair
election is still a pipe dream, Zanu PF youths led by a retired soldier
disrupted a sports tournament that was organised by YAT arguing that the
organisation is a front of imperialists.

The soldier only identified as Chishaka formerly with the presidential guard
in cahoots with a local farmer identified as Nhepera led Zanu PF youths in a
door-to-door campaign warning villagers against attending the YAT event and
threatening them with unspecified action.

The group, which allegedly received logistical support from an aspiring Zanu
PF MP, stormed Pembichase Farm located in Ward 26 of Mazowe North
Constituency and ordered youths, some of whom had walked about 10 km to the
venue, to abandon the Play Your Vote sports tournament.

The group was supported by a number of policemen from the area who
threatened the youths against defying the militia’s orders.

Samhu was taken for questioning and threatened with death if he dared
organise a similar event in the constituency.

Addressing youths who had braved the intimidation, YAT coordinator Fortune
Nyamande challenged them to be resilient and turn out in large numbers and
vote for progressive politicians.

He called on young people to choose politicians who have sustainable
solutions to their problems such as unemployment, basic education and health
facilities and a government that respects fundamental freedoms as enshrined
in the new Constitution.

On the sidelines of the tournament, the youths discussed their right to
vote, issues around the secrecy of the ballot and provisions of the new
Electoral Act.

Youths who attended the meeting received T-shirts courtesy of Zimrights and
the Election Resource Centre and newsletters from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights.

YAT maintains that although Zanu PF has been telling anyone who cares to
listen that it is ready for elections, it is evident that it wants to
conduct the polls under an intimidating environment and steal the people’s
vote.

Zimbabwe Rights Groups Fear for Media Freedom Before Election

http://www.voanews.com/

Anita Powell
July 24, 2013

JOHANNESBURG — Zimbabwe’s media landscape has grown in the past year to
include several independent media groups that are joining the powerful state
broadcaster in reporting on next week’s election. But rights groups say they
are still seeing “low-level repression” of journalists.

Rights groups and media watchers agree that Zimbabweans will have more media
choices during this election than in previous years.

But more, says the Committee to Protect Journalists, does not necessarily
mean better.

In the past 18 months, the government has licensed two new radio stations,
says CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Sue Valentine. But, she said, those
voices are largely drowned out by state media, which she said clearly favors
President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party. Mr. Mugabe will lead his party's
ticket on the July 31 election.

“So there are some chinks in the general armor of silence," she said. "But
state media does remain dominant in terms of its reach around the country.
... If the state broadcaster, if it were behaving according to journalistic
ethics, if it were behaving more more like a public broadcaster and offering
equal time or proportionate time to different parties, I think then it would
not be a problem ...  But it is because you have such a slanted state media
that I think the problem exists.”

Mugabe, who is 89, has led Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. He is
running again, though a recently approved constitution limits him to just
two more five-year terms.

The 2008 elections were marred by violence, which rights groups largely
attributed to Mugabe’s security forces. Mugabe agreed to form a
power-sharing government with the opposition; with this vote, he seeks to
free himself from that troubled pact.

Valentine said the group’s concerns are not only about the government: she
cited reports of intimidation and attacks by what appear to be opposition
supporters.

Human Rights Watch’s Africa Advocacy Director Tiseke Kasambala said while
the media landscape does look better than it has in the past, the rights
watchdog is still concerned. She echoed concerns the state media reports
more on the ruling party than on the opposition, and said her group had also
documented the opposition-linked attacks.

She also said that years of intimidation and harassment have led many
independent journalists to self-censor.

“While there has been an improvement in media freedoms in the country, this
is not to say that concerns to not remain around the ongoing low-level
repression and intimidation against journalists, especially with restrictive
laws hanging over their heads,” said Kasambala.

Valentine said the need for an unfettered media goes beyond just one
election.

“Zimbabwe used to be a thriving economy, an exporter of grain to the region,
and this has all disappeared over the last 10 years, tragically," she said.
"And a critical media that can be saying, ‘what has happened?  Where is this
money going?  How is our economy being managed?  What are the choices that
citizens have around them?"

She said, "People do not have jobs, why is this the case?’ Those are the
kind of questions that a critical media should be able to ask, and a
responsive leader would want to hear, in order to address these things and
to govern in the interests of citizens, as opposed to in the interests of
the elite.”

Without many of those questions asked or answered elections will proceed on
Wednesday.

Zanu PF supporters threaten repeat of 2008 violence

http://www.theindependent.co.zw/

July 25, 2013 in News, Politics

AS general elections fast approach, Zanu PF is now employing various
intimidation tactics in Manicaland province, where known perpetrators of the
2008 poll violence are threatening to beat up or even kill those who will
not vote for President Robert Mugabe in Wednesday general polls.

Faith Zaba

In an interview with Zimbabwe Independent today, MDC-T Manicaland provincial
chairman Julius Magarangoma said Zanu PF supporters were threatening their
members with a repeat of the 2008 election violence, which occurred during
the presidential run-off period, if Mugabe loses or if there is no outright
presidential winner.

He said as the elections draw close, there are increasing levels of
intimidation, particularly in rural areas, whose memories are of the
violence that rocked Zimbabwe in 2008 when hundreds of people were killed as
the military embarked on a violent election campaign to rescue Mugabe after
he lost the first round of polling, are still fresh.

“Intimidation has intensified in the last three days. Zanu PF supporters are
going around threatening people with violence. So far they are using people
who were involved in the 2008 election violence,” Magarangoma said.

“They have deployed the 2008 perpetrators of violence in Buhera and other
parts of Manicaland. These people are known by the locals. All they do is
just walk or drive around the constituencies or just hang around the
shopping centres. Now people are scared that they are there to mete out
violence on the locals.”

He added that: “People were being told that they will beat up people during
the run-off, like they did in 2008, if they don’t vote correctly and ensure
that Mugabe wins in the first round.”

In addition, Magarangoma said MDC-T supporters were being arrested for
engaging in door-to-door campaigns and toy-toying.

“We are not allowed to campaign door-to-door and police are arresting our
members saying it is illegal. This is just part of the intimidation tactics
being employed.”

This is happening as Mugabe, who is desperate for legitimacy if he wins July
31 elections, has been preaching peace at all his rallies.

ZBC refusing to screen MDC adverts because they are too powerful

http://www.insiderzim.com/

Thursday, 25 July 2013

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is refusing to screen two Movement for
Democratic Change adverts, which the party has already paid for, because
they are too powerful and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic
Front cannot match them.

The MDC said today the adverts showed party president Morgan Tsvangirai and
Mai Tsvangirai with their “incisive” messages on what the MDC will do when
it forms the next government after winning the 31 July elections.

The party said it had been told that the ZBC was waiting for ZANU-PF to make
counter adverts from Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace before they can screen
the MDC adverts.

In the MDC’s own words:

Thursday, 25 July 2013

ZBC fails to flight President and Mai Tsvangirai adverts

State broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is failing to
flight two MDC advertisements which show President Tsvangirai and Mai
Tsvangirai calling on the people of Zimbabwe to vote for the MDC on 31 July.

Although the MDC has paid in full for the advertisements, the ZBC is yet to
flight them raising concerns of the public broadcaster continued disregard
of the Electoral Act that guides political advertising during elections.

The two adverts in which President Tsvangirai appears with Mai Tsvangirai
have incisive messages on what the MDC will do when it forms the next
government after winning the 31 July elections.

The adverts which ZBC are declining to flight are already on the MDC
website; – www.mdc.co.zw and Facebook page – zimbabwemdc have since gone
viral.

Sources at the ZBC said senior management at the station felt that the
messages on the adverts were too powerful and it would be difficult for Zanu
PF match the MDC adverts and the station was now waiting for Zanu PF to make
counter adverts from Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace before the MDC adverts
could be screen on TV.

In her advert, Mai Tsvangirai appears telling fellow Zimbabwean women that
she is aware of their plight in sending children to school and having food
on the table, and that is why she was appealing to vote for her husband,
President Tsvangirai so that they can have a better life and real
transformation.

In another advert, the couple is shown informing the people of Zimbabwe that
they deserve more and that in the next MDC government everything will be
possible.

TV Viewers Dump ZBC

http://www.financialgazette.co.zw/

Ray Ndlovu 25 Jul 2013

DECADES of a monopoly and partisan programming by the state-owned Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has forced millions of television viewers to
look beyond the country’s borders for an alternative source of broadcasting
content.
It would appear that the entry of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
in 1999 onto the political stage might have forced ZBC to become rabid in
its criticism of ZANU-PF’s rivals.
In a bid to deal with the new political threat, ZANU-PF propagandists turned
to ZBC to do the party’s bidding.
Dealing with the MDC’s rise meant tightening the grip on the airwaves so
that the opposing views are shut out completely.It was, however, the
ordinary TV viewers who suffered the most from the war, as politicians
battled to win the hearts and minds of the people.
The inception of stringent media laws in 2002, such as the Access to
Information and Protection of Privacy Act and tougher broadcasting laws was
the final straw. It made it near impossible for the entry of divergent media
players.
Around the same time, government also attempted to shut out external
influences from ZBC’s programming by advocating for “100 percent local
content,” which became a buzzword at the time.
ZANU-PF jingles, talk shows on farming and one-sided political programmes
bashing the West and the MDC became the order of the day at ZBC.
Fed up by ZBC’s partisan reportage and poor programming, viewers started
looking for alternatives.
Initially, they found solace in Joy TV and Munhumutapa Broadcasting, but
these channels did not last for long before the government pulled the plug
on them.
But it was also not long before the free-to-air channels craze hit Zimbabwe,
with viewers now being able to watch some of South African Broadcasting
Corporation (SABC) channels from the comforts of their homes.
Those who can afford, are subscribing to MultiChoice Zimbabwe, which offers
its Digital Satellite Television (DSTV) at a cost of between US$10 and US$75
per month.
Nearly all well-heeled members of the Zimbabwean society subscribe to
MultiChoice, including government ministers.
An independent survey conducted by the Zimbabwe All Media Products Survey in
November 2011 established that the country has nearly three million
free-to-air decoders, representative of nearly a quarter of the national
population estimated at 12 million.
The free-to-air decoders, despite their illegal transmission, offered an
alternative view in the country. Programmes such as Generations, Muvhango
and Isidingo gained cult-like following across the country.
Although, signal carrier Sentech earlier this month cut off the SABC signal,
it seems ZBC’s excitement that it would regain viewers who had dumped it for
years has been short-lived.
Despite being a more expensive option, pay television is gaining ground as
viewers do whatever it takes to avoid a return to ZBC.
Officials at MultiChoice Zimbabwe say there has been an upsurge in new
subscribers.
Desperate viewers who have been missing out on their regular SABC programmes
due to the signal cuts are turning to purchasing DSTV decoders from South
Africa and registering them in that country, while viewing from Zimbabwe.
The trend has been gaining ground and has seen officials at MultiChoice
Zimbabwe distancing themselves from the illegal practice.
It is, however, the launch of 1st TV last Friday on the free-to-air decoders
that has piled pressure on ZBC.
Vivid Gwede, a political commentator, said ZBC was bound to be affected by
the new station because of its repulsive inclination to propaganda and overt
political bias to one political voice and organisation.
“However, the impact of 1st TV will also depend on how the new player will
handle itself and if it will prove to be a real alternative to viewers,” he
said.
Rashweat Mukundu, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, said
1st TV would “shake” up the broadcasting sector in Zimbabwe.
“People will have access to an independent voice and another voice different
from ZBC. The coming in of 1st TV is manifestation of the media policy
failures of the State, which still believes in this day and age of
technology that sovereignty is defined by a geographic territory, which they
can close and open up as they wish. 1st TV is proving a point on how
backward Zimbabwe’s media landscape is, moreso its lack of promoting an open
broadcasting sector. If we had a genuine public broadcaster as well as
multiple private television stations, then maybe 1st TV would not have seen
light of day,” said Mukundu.
With less than a week before voting in the do-or-die national elections, the
broadcast sector is fast becoming a space that all political parties need in
order to reach out to potential voters and their constituencies.
Nigel Mugamu, a social commentator, said the launch of 1st TV just before
the elections meant different things to the political parties.
“Any launch of any television station will affect ZBC. People will
invariably compare the choices before them. With more travel and exposure to
other television channels like SABC, people understand value and have been
exposed to more quality and   ZBC lacks that element clearly.”

Mugabe threatens to behead homosexuals

AU ‘happy’ with Zim election prep

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Alex Bell
SW Radio Africa
25 July 2013

The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, South Africa’s
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has reportedly expressed optimism about Zimbabwe’s
election next week.

Dlamini-Zuma arrived in Harare on Wednesday to assess Zimbabwe’s
preparedness for the poll. According to the Herald newspaper, the former
South African cabinet Minister said there was not yet any cause for alarm.

“Siyayithola imbiko kulaba akade bafika. Okwamanje kukahle imbiko
esiyitholayo ayikasenzi ukuthi sibenovalo kodwa sifuna ukuzobona nje nathi
ukuthi kuqhubekani. (Those who came earlier said all was well and as of now
everything is proceeding well. Nothing gives us any cause for alarm),” she
said.

Dlamini-Zuma said the AU was being briefed about the situation in the
country by a 10-member observer team that has been in the country since July
15th.

“We are here as the African Union observer mission, but, as you know, our
team has been here for quite some time . . . they have been sending us
reports, so we are fairly informed, but we felt that it was important to
come and see for ourselves before the elections.”

The AU chief was set to give a media briefing on Thursday evening, after
meeting with Robert Mugabe. But there is concern that Dlamini-Zuma will not
speak out against Zimbabwe in any way. Back in 2003, when she was South
Africa Foreign Affairs Minister, she blatantly laid out South Africa’s
position on Zimbabwe.

“The problem with you (the press), is that you are waiting for one word –
condemnation of Zimbabwe. You will never hear that. It is not going to
happen as long as this government is in power,” she said in March 2003.

Dlamini-Zuma’s visit comes ahead of the expected arrival of the head of the
AU observer mission, Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo. He is
only set to be in the country a few days before the election, although
Dlamini-Zuma cast doubts about him coming to Zimbabwe at all.

“I think he will come if he is allowed,” said Dlamini-Zuma without
elaborating.

About 600 foreign election observers, mainly from African bodies, have been
accredited to observe the polls, while 6,000 local observers will also be
watching the vote. Zimbabwe did not invite Western observer missions because
of the targeted sanctions still in place against Robert Mugabe and some key
members of his regime.

Zimbabwean journalist Mthulisi Mathuthu told SW Radio Africa Thursday that
the role of the observers is merely technical, saying they would have played
a more influential role if they had been in the country earlier. He said
that ZANU PF has been busy planning how to rig the election in Mugabe’s
favour, in such a way that it won’t be an obvious plot.

“The problem is that they (the observers) are unlikely to see anything that
they will be able to point to and say ‘this is how the election was stolen’.
Because there has been a lot of intellectual effort put into rigging, which
will leave people flabbergasted and they won’t know what happened,” Mathuthu
said.

He added: “If they had arrived three months earlier, they’d understand the
system. By this time, they’d be in a position not to just be observers but
also investigators. As it is, there’s nothing they can say.”

Calm ahead of Zimbabwe vote

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

Sapa | 25 July, 2013 16:43

No major instances of violence and intimidation have been reported ahead of
next week's elections in Zimbabwe, Deputy International Relations Minister
Ebrahim Ebrahim said on Thursday.

South Africa welcomed the fact that the "overall atmosphere" in Zimbabwe was
calm ahead of the July 31 polls, he told reporters in Pretoria.

Ebrahim referred to the recent Southern African Development Community Organ
Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, which was held in
Pretoria last weekend.

"On the Republic of Zimbabwe, the summit was pleased to note that all the
political parties have committed themselves to ensuring that the forthcoming
elections are held in a peaceful environment," Ebrahim said.

"The summit encouraged the government, all political parties and leaders to
continue with these commendable efforts which will help realise credible
elections."

The summit praised the Zimbabwean government for the manner in which it
received observer missions.

About 600 foreign election observers, mainly from African bodies, had been
accredited to observe the polls, while 6 000 local observers would also be
watching the vote.

"The success of the elections in Zimbabwe will contribute to an improvement
in the regional political and security situation," Ebrahim said.

"This will create positive conditions for socio-economic development,
contributing to an improvement in the quality of life for the people of
Zimbabwe and the region."

On the South Sudan, South Africa was concerned about recent developments
which saw the vice-president removed and the cabinet dissolved.

"South Africa calls for calm in the entire South Sudan, especially among the
different communities, and urges all communities to exercise restraint,"
Ebrahim said.

It was hoped the situation would not compound problems between South Sudan
and Sudan.

"South Africa calls on the leadership of South Sudan not to allow the
dissolution of the cabinet to impact on the progress of the ongoing
negotiations with Sudan, as well as the progress recently achieved by South
Sudan in addressing her socio-economic challenges."

Zimbabwe Secures Funds to Conduct General Election

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

Thomas Chiripasi
25.07.2013

HARARE — Finance Minister Tendai Biti says government has secured enough
money to fund next week's elections but admits treasury does not have any
money to pay civil servants who will conduct the polls.

Presenting his Mid-term Fiscal Policy Review Statement at a news conference
in Harare on Thursday, Biti refused to shed light on the source of the funds
although he admitted that the money was internally generated.

The finance minister said his department does not have “a single coin to pay
officers who will conduct the elections countrywide on July 31.”

Government had set a budget of $132 million to fund the polls and extended a
begging bowl to the Southern African Development Community, some individual
SADC countries, and the international community, including the United
Nations, but the request found no takers.

At the same time, Biti said in the event of a presidential runoff, Harare
will not be able to fund the second round of voting because state coffers
are empty.

President Robert Mugabe proclaimed September 11 as the runoff date in the
event there is no outright winner in Wednesday's elections.

Biti said authorities would not have been cracking their heads over poll
funding had there been transparency in Marange diamond revenue sale returns.

The caretaker finance minister last week said announced his ministry was
investigating a case in which more than $400 million in diamond money had
not been returned to treasury.

The minister said, “Not even a dime of diamond revenue was remitted to the
national fiscus for the first half of the year.”

He added that as a result of political uncertainty, some companies were
closing shop while his ministry has revised downwards economic growth
projections due to the underperformance of key sectors such as agriculture
and mining.

The Mid-term Fiscal Review Statement was supposed to be presented before
parliament but Biti could not do so following the expiry of the life of the
seventh parliament.

In light of next week's polls, Biti said he found it unnecessary to make any
key economic interventions saying this will be done by a government that
will be elected into office in Wednesday's polls.

Presidential Race Tight, Heading for Run-off

http://www.voazimbabwe.com/

Gibbs Dube
25.07.2013

WASHINGTON DC — Zimbabweans head to the polls next Wednesday to elect a
president with no current clear front runner though political commentators
and some ordinary people believe that the race is between incumbent
President Robert Mugabe and bitter rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Others have not yet ruled out Industry Minister Professor Welshman Ncube of
the other faction of the Movement for Democratic Change.

Political commentators predict a tight race for Zimbabwe’s top most public
position which has been occupied in the past 32 years by President Mugabe, a
former freedom fighter.

Professor Shadreck Guto of the University of South Africa believes that
President Mugabe has the upper hand over Mr. Tsvangirai, Ncube and other
opponents though indications are that there may be no outright winner.

“It does seem that President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party probably has the
edge given that it controls the state machinery but also is able to use
threats if not direct violence in some pockets of Zimbabwe,” says Guto.

He says Mr. Tsvangirai has not been able to keep his party together and this
may have a devastating effect on his poll numbers.

“That plays in the hands of Zanu PF and I think because one of that one of
the splinter groups is said to have joined another opposition party Zapu in
Matabeleland and therefore this will reduce the number of votes for the
party led by Tsvangirai,” says Guto.

Another political commentator, David Mogae, based in Johannesburg, South
Africa, agrees, noting that results of the general election will be largely
determined by ways in which the poll will be conducted.

“Elections in Zimbabwe have been largely characterized by violence and as
such the presidential election results hinge on the electoral processes. And
at this stage it is difficult to predict the outcome of the election,” says
Mogae.

Effie Dlela Ncube, chairman of the National Association of Non-Governmental
Organizations concurs, noting that no candidate will win by a clear
majority.

But some Zimbabweans, who claim that they are not aligned to any party,
believe that Prime Minister Tsvangirai will win the race while a few
non-profit organizations have predicted a narrow win for Mr. Mugabe.

David Moyo of the Women in Leadership Development says Mr. Tsvangirai will
be Zimbabwe’s next president.

“I strongly believe that Tsvangirai will win the elections judging by the
large crowd that turned up for his rally in Bulawayo,” says Moyo.

Some Zimbabweans also say the presidential election outcome will be
determined by contents of party manifestos, past political party records and
bread and butter issues.

Bulawayo Agenda director, Thabani Nyoni, who is also the spokesman for
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, says people will vote on the basis of
socio-economic issues which will improve their standard of living.

“Those turning out to vote will be looking for making a difference. If it’s
(they are voting for) President Mugabe he will have to demonstrate that he
will do something that he has not done I the past 32 years,” says Nyoni.

Indications are that political commentators and members of the public
believe that Zapu chairman Dumiso Dabengwa and independent candidate
Kisinoti Mukwazhe will not spring any surprises next week.

In the first round of the 2008 presidential election, Mr. Tsvangirai got
almost 1,195 562 million votes compared to President Mugabe’s 1,079 730
million.

The prime minister did not have an outright majority to form the next
government. He dropped out of the second round citing election violence.

Mugabe can't win: Analysts

http://www.dailynews.co.zw/

THELMA CHIKWANHA, POLITICAL EDITOR  •  25 JULY 2013 1:43PM

HARARE - President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF are heading for
defeat in the July 31 general election, according to political analysts.

The 89-year-old Mugabe is looking to extend his 33-year rule in polls
scheduled for next Wednesday, where he squares off with four challengers,
including his long-time arch-rival and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Ibbo Mandaza, director of Harare-based think-tank Sapes Trust told the Daily
News yesterday that Mugabe faces defeat because he has since lost control of
the rural communities where he previously enjoyed popular support.

“Zanu PF’s social base which was the rural base has depleted over time
especially given the socio-economic problems over the last 20 years,”
Mandaza said.

“It is clear that these problems are daunting Mugabe and cannot be solved
overnight.”

While the increasingly unpopular Mugabe was forced on Wednesday to deny
accusations that he was attempting to steal the vote at a Mutare rally,
Mandaza said the octogenarian’s rigging machinery would not be able to help
him out this time as Zimbabweans were fully aware of the machinations.

Mandaza said 60 percent of the newly-registered votes will vote against him.

Tobaiwa Mudede, the Registrar General of Voters, told a news conference this
week that 747 928FROM P1
new voters were registered by the close of the voter registration exercise
that ended on July 9 and that 6.4 million people are registered to vote on
July 31.

Mandaza said Mugabe, the world’s second oldest head of State, will also be
weighed down by his advanced age.

“There is no way Zimbabweans in their right minds are going to vote for a
90-year-old president,” Mandaza said.

“The age liability also exposes Zanu PF’s failure to deal with succession,
let alone leadership renewal where we have a situation where an 89-year-old
is standing as presidential candidate in the wake of Kenya whose president
(Uhuru Kenyatta) is 52 and Tanzania’s (president Jakaya) Kikwete is 63. The
average age is about 57 years. Most post-liberation movements have managed
succession well.”

Shakespear Hamauswa, a political science lecturer at the University of
Zimbabwe, also predicted a Mugabe loss, saying Tsvangirai’s penetration into
Zanu PF strongholds was bound to sway votes away from the Zanu PF strongman.

“In 2008, Tsvangirai polled almost 50 percent of the same votes Mugabe
received in those provinces and because of the new voters, Tsvangirai will
likely get more votes,” Hamauswa said, adding Zanu PF retains control of
only three out of the country’s 10 provinces.

Hamauswa said Mugabe’s Zanu PF will also have to deal with protest votes
from victims of the 2008 post-poll political violence.

“People who were beaten up will seek revenge through the ballot box. Those
who were beaten up and their relatives will engage in a protest vote,”
Hamauswa said.

He added: “The youths which consist about 60 percent of the population will
not vote for him because they need change. Mugabe is no longer in charge of
his own political party and the vigour he had during his earlier days is no
longer there and everyone is talking about change.”

However,  Charity Manyeruke, another political scientist at the University
of Zimbabwe, predicted a Mugabe win on the back of the youth vote.

“He will win because he has the support of the youths owing to his policies
like the land reform, indigenisation and economic empowerment which have
benefited the youths which consists of the majority of the population of the
country,” Manyeruke said.

“His age will not have any bearing because people like a president who is
democratic, a shining star on the continent who has stood against
neo-colonialism and imperialism.”

Davison Gomo, an affirmative action activist, said the people of Zimbabwe
had an emotional connection with Mugabe and Zanu PF.

“Zanu PF is inextricably linked to the birth of a new and independent
Zimbabwean nation and that history is irremovable and wishing it away in
search of power, is political folly of the worst order,” Gomo said.
“It is almost impossible to gain power by denying the role and importance of
the liberation struggle and even going as far as to denigrate the war
veterans.”

Gomo said “there has been a relentless effort from powerful European nations
and the USA supported by local political outfits to bring about regime
change under the pretext that Zimbabwe is a failed state.”

‘Miracle’ doctors set to arrive next week ahead of free surgeries

Zimbabwe mbira queen Chiwoniso Maraire dies

http://www.swradioafrica.com/

By Violet Gonda
SW Radio Africa
26 July 2013

One of Zimbabwe’s most talented musicians, Chiwoniso Maraire died at the
South Medical Hospital in Chitungwiza on Wednesday evening. She was 37.

An accomplished singer, songwriter and proponent of mbira music Chiwoniso
crossed all musical borders inspiring young Zimbabweans to play the mbira in
a more modern and contemporary way.

She collaborated with various musicians and artistes across the world. As
well as producing several albums she also worked on soundtracks for movies
and documentaries.

Above all, she was a revolutionary mbira player whose music touched the
lives of millions of Zimbabweans.
Chiwoniso’s former fiancé and business colleague, Farai Munro, told SW Radio
Africa the singer had been in hospital for almost two weeks.

“She got throat problem. She had a sore throat and it got worse and worse…
apparently the diagnosis I heard is that she passed away from a chronic case
of pneumonia,” Munro said.

He said ‘Chi’, as she was affectionately known, was an inspiring and
powerful force within the music fraternity. “Publically as an artist she
should definitely go down in the history books as one of the legendary
talents we have produced, alongside people like Thomas Mapfumo and Oliver
Mtukudzi.”

He said she also had a deep social conscience and wasn’t in music just for
the money. “Music for her was her career but she was always very conscious
in her songs. She always made sure there were relevant social and political
messages.”

Munro was in the middle of recording an album with Chiwoniso, which will be
released next year. He said: “She broke boundaries. She just didn’t play
mbira. She did so many different collaborations from hip-hop to jazz.
There has been an outpouring of tributes for the much-loved songstress on
social forums.

Arts and entertainment critic Professor Fred Zindi wrote on Facebook: “It is
with a heavy heart and deep sorrow that I received the sad news of mbira
music icon and musician, Chiwoniso Maraire’s death. She died on the 24th
July, 2013 aged 37. Her death has robbed the music fraternity of a sincere,
creative, innovative, serious and dedicated singer and performer who was
instrumental in bringing Zimbabwean music to a higher level. Words cannot
adequately express how I feel about the loss of such a talented musician and
friend as nothing can describe the sadness and anguish that I am feeling. We
offer our sympathy, prayers and compassion to her family and friends. Gone
too soon, the loss of her life will impact on us forever. Mai Fambai
Zvakanaka. Mai Tichazomuona!”

Trudy Stevenson, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Senegal, wrote on Facebook:
“Devastated Chiwoniso Maraire! Spiritual voice of Zimbabwe We were hoping to
bring her to Dakar Senegal to perform again with her friend & colleague
Baaba Maal this year, to promote our beloved country. So happy Baaba Maal
brought her onto stage HIFA2013 – as though it was already written.”

Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi tweeted: “Very promising and talented sister.
Death is a painful robber. RIP, you wrote your legacy. Till we meet.”

Chiwoniso was the daughter of the late renowned Zimbabwean mbira player and
teacher Dumisani Maraire. She leaves behind two daughters, Chengeta and
Chiedza, who she had when she was married to legendary Zimbabwean singer
Andy Brown who died last year.

Mourning The Passing On, and Celebrating The Life of a Library and Peace Advocate, Chiwoniso Maraire

http://www.zimeye.org/

By Letters to the Editor

Published: July 25, 2013

Zimbabwe: Chiwoniso Maraire’s Death Shakes Zimbabwe

Editor,

Allow me space to mourn the death of a beloved sister Choiwoniso Maraire,
while celebrating her life at the same time.

Why does God take away our beloved ones when we want those most? I am in a
state of shock, I cannot believe Chiwoniso is gone. Gone when I was admiring
the relative peace and calm that I read about in the run up to the
Zimbabwean general election due within the next week? Gone when I was
expecting to dance to her song promoting school library development which I
hope will be launched in the next month or two.

I had all my life not have had serious one-on-one communication with
Chiwoniso until this year. In our exchanges, and from what I later read
about her in the media, I became to admire her person much more than I had
done before. She was a selfless woman, ready to contribute a hand when it
came to supporting a noble cause.

I had hoped to meet Chiwoniso and thank her for her contribution with other
musicians to the Zimbabwe Peace Caravan project musical album produced as a
tool to help build peace in our communities. I had hoped I would, during the
same encounter, congratulate her for being part of the team of musicians
that won the United Nations World Tourism Organisation assembly theme song
competition. While I had thanked her in emails and sms messages for
accepting the Zimbabwe Rural Schools Library Trust (ZRSLT)’s request for her
to contribute a song to the Trust’s yet to be released album to spread the
message on the important role played by school libraries, I was hoping to
thank her in person at our first encounter. The forthcoming album, which
will have songs by various artists promoting school library development, had
been a guarded secret, but I am compelled to let go, for how else can I tell
the world about the good work that Chiwoniso was working on until her
untimely death.

I grew up in a family where mbira was played daily, that is why when I
thought of the idea for an album to promote school library development, I
couldn’t avoid Chiwoniso, the Mbira Star as she was popularly known, among
all other musicians. It took me a while to get Chiwoniso’s contact details,
and I finally got her email address through Tsungi Zvobgo, her manager.
Chiwoniso did not have any second thoughts when we finally made contact.
“Warm greetings to you this afternoon”, she wrote in an email to me on 12
May 2013.

“I would like to start off by apologising for my delayed response to your
invitation, I was ill over the last few weeks so work was set aside for a
bit. I’m very interested in this project, have you already begun the
recording process, etc? What is it you need me to do? Driden, please call me
direct on my number so that we can discuss further. You can reach me on
mobile number …………. I don’t always have access to a computer at this time,
so my phone is the best. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely,
Chiwoniso Maraire”.

I called Chiwoniso, and followed up the telephone conversation with an
email, to which she responded on 13 May 2013:

“Hello Driden, Ok, so I shall wait to hear from Marshall. I have Bcc’d my
close friend and co-creator Chirikure Chirikure, whom I am sure you know is
a great writer and performer. We have worked together for many years and my
intuition tells me his assistance, should he have time, toward my
contribution to the recording will be of great value. I would need to let
you know that my studio costs will need to be covered, as I record either at
Monolio Studios in Hatfield, or MFD Studios in Milton Park. I understand
about budget constraints, this is a real issue in the economy we live in at
the moment, but please consider that some of us are single mothers with two
children in high school who also need books! Hahaha”.

This was the last email Chiwoniso wrote to me.

In between my colleagues and I worked very hard to secure funding for the
production of the album. It was not easy, and we are still working on it.
There were trying times during this process, and the trying times are not
over. Some of my detractors labeled me and all my fellow trustees tribalists
without even caring to ask appropriate questions what our rural school
library initiative was all about, how far we had gone and which direction we
were taking, but relied on information posted on our website, which was
posted when we started operations. Such challenges are expected in life, but
one has to toughen up, endure and proceed in the intended direction.

Earlier this week, a colleague in the trust emailed me to say that a
potential sponsor who has shown interest in the initiative had asked us for
a detailed budget for the project. I emailed the musicians involved in this
project whose email accounts I have to update them on the latest
development, and followed the email with a brief text message asking them to
check their emails. I did not write my name as I assumed all the musicians
involved knew who I was given the subject under discussion and previous
communication we had had. I was a bit shocked with the response “Hi, who is
this?”. I responded giving my name and giving a bit more background hoping
that would refresh her memory, but did not get a response. Perhaps it was
her way of saying good bye to me? Perhaps she was in a state in which she
could not easily remember things? Perhaps it was a friend or relative who
replied to my message, and obviously did not know anything about my
communication with Chiwoniso since May 2013? My Chiwoniso is not there
anymore to answer my questions?

So gone is Chiwoniso, with all the unrecorded artistic work that could have
helped spread the message about school libraries. My hope is that she had
managed to collaborate with Chirikure Chirikure and some of the wisdom she
would have given on this noble venture has been captured.

I am down, feeling but enduring the pain and anguish, but feel more
determined to carry on with the work that my colleagues and I, Chiwoniso
included, had started to make difference in the lives of the rural school
children of Zimbabwe who are the most deprived of reading material. The
immediate challenge for me, and hopefully for my colleagues in the Zimbabwe
Rural Schools Library Trust, is to complete the album that Chiwoniso died
working towards. Sandra Ndebele-Sibindi, Jesse O’Brien, Jeys Marabini,
Leonard Zhakata, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Oliver Mtukudzi, Evans Farai
Mudzengerere, Faith Kunaka, Chirikure-Chirikure, and unbeknown to you
Munashe Tanjani, and Tawanda Dhibhura (I suggested that these two child
musicians be involved in the album after reading about their work on
internet sites, but my colleagues in Zimbabwe are yet to locate them)

Chiwoniso’s set example should save as a challenge to anyone who wants to
see the lives of the underprivileged improved. Fellow Zimbabweans, we the
country prepares for elections, try as hard as possible to maintain the
peace that Chiwoniso sang about.

Heroine Chiwoniso, you made a mark in my struggle, a struggle that will be
pursued until final victory! You touched my life in a positive way. I will
always remember the good things that you represented. Younger than I as you
may have been, I will follow your footsteps.

May the Good Lord grant you eternal peace.

Driden Kunaka

Donor and Trustee, ZRSLT Zimbabwe

Trustee, ZRSLT New Zealand

Protest at Rigged Elections - 31/07/2013

Why the MDCs should form an electoral pact

The Breadbasket Is Still a Basket Case

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/

Zimbabwe is bouncing back from recent history's most shocking economic
slump. Or is it?

BY MARIAN L. TUPY | JULY 25, 2013

On July 31, 2013, Zimbabwe will hold regularly scheduled parliamentary and
presidential elections, the first under its brand-new constitution. Robert
Mugabe, the 89-year-old leader who transformed a country once known as the
breadbasket of Africa into an African basket case, hopes to extend his
33-year-long hold on power. But standing in his way is Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai is an imperfect leader who has committed many strategic errors,
splintering the opposition movement in the struggle against Mugabe. He is
also a man who, in defense of freedom and democracy, has survived numerous
alleged assassination attempts, and suffered both jail time and torture.
Importantly, Tsvangirai also understands the need for economic freedom. He
knows that in order to prosper, Zimbabwe will have to restore respect for
property rights, shut down money-losing state-run enterprises, and
dramatically improve the business environment. Zimbabwe could do much worse
than to elect him to the presidency.

Zimbabwe experienced a miserable decade between 1998 and 2008. During that
time, its economy contracted at an annual rate of -6.09 percent. Next door,
in Botswana and Mozambique, annual economic growth rates were 3.95 percent
and 4.94 percent respectively. Zimbabwe's per capita income fell from $1,640
to $661. In contrast, incomes in Botswana increased from $3,705 to $4,769.
In Mozambique they rose from $1,428 to $2,400. As a consequence of economic
contraction, Zimbabwe's unemployment rate rose to an estimated 94 percent in
2008. While Zimbabwe rebounded somewhat from the low of 2008, its economy
was 36 percent smaller in 2012 than it had been in 1998. The United Nations'
Human Development Index (HDI) -- an approximate measure of a standard of
living that is calculated on a scale from 0 to 1 -- saw Zimbabwe decline
from 0.376 in 2000 to 0.345 in 2008. The cholera outbreak of 2008 that
afflicted thousands and killed hundreds of people merely confirmed the
obvious: Zimbabwe was a failed country.

While the immediate cause of Zimbabwe's economic implosion was the violent
occupation and expropriation of white-owned commercial farms, the roots of
the country's economic problems were political. Robert Mugabe became prime
minister and, later, president of Zimbabwe in 1980. An avowed communist,
Mugabe was explicitly committed to turning Zimbabwe into a one-party Marxist
state. By defeating the white-minority rule in what was once known as
Rhodesia, Mugabe came to see himself as the supreme leader and his party,
the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), as the only legitimate political
force in the country. Opposing Mugabe was Joshua Nkomo and his Zimbabwe
African People's Union party (ZAPU). Thus, in 1983, Mugabe unleashed the
Zimbabwean military on Nkomo's supporters. At least 20,000 people died in
that conflict. After the bloodletting, the ZAPU was forced to merge with the
ZANU, forming the Zimbabwe African National Union -- Patriotic Front
(ZANU-PF), and Nkomo became Zimbabwe's powerless vice president.

There is little doubt that, as a liberator of the black majority from white
rule, Mugabe enjoyed considerable popularity. Throughout the 1980s and much
of the 1990s, Zimbabwe enjoyed relative stability; the small, but
economically vital, population of white farmers and businessmen flourished
unmolested. An important proviso of the entente between the white minority
and the black government was that the former would eschew meddling in
Zimbabwe's politics. The economy continued to grow, albeit at a slow pace of
1.18 percent per year, and Zimbabwe's HDI score reached a high of 0.427 in
1990, similar to that of Rwanda and Ivory Coast today. By the late 1990s,
however, Mugabe's magic started to wear off. Slow growth, rising
unemployment, and corruption, which inevitably flows out of the exercise of
absolute power, set in. In 1997, Britain discontinued its financial aid to
Zimbabwe's land resettlement program, which bought white-owned farms and
distributed it to black Zimbabweans, sighting corrupt practices that
included awarding of the newly-acquired farms to Mugabe's cronies.

A new anti-Mugabe coalition emerged in 1999. The Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) consisted of disaffected urbanites as well as black farm
workers. Importantly, it enjoyed the financial backing of white commercial
farmers. The latter grew alarmed at Mugabe's increasingly vitriolic verbal
attacks on the whites, whom the aging leader tried to scapegoat for
Zimbabwe's declining fortunes. The leader of the MDC was a one-time Mugabe
supporter and a ZANU-PF member, Tsvangirai. Tsvangirai was a popular and
powerful trade union leader who became disenchanted with Mugabe's one-man
rule as well as the corruption of the ZANU-PF party elite.

That year, Tsvangirai led the opposition to a proposed new constitution that
would have given Mugabe more power and extend his rule. Crucially, it would
have legalized confiscation of white-owned land without compensation.
Zimbabwe's economy relied heavily on the highly productive white-owned farms
for domestic food supply as well as export revenue. Tsvangirai saw that by
expropriating the white farmers, Mugabe would undermine property rights and
ruin Zimbabwe's economy. The referendum on the new constitution took place
in February 2000; Mugabe's proposal was defeated by a 10-point margin.

With his supremacy challenged and hold on power threatened, Mugabe decided
to destroy the opposition. Even though the law prohibited expropriation of
farmland without compensation, Mugabe green-lighted the invasion of
white-owned farms by thousands of his war veterans. Many whites were killed
or fled and hundreds of thousands of black farm workers became destitute. He
then used the armed forces and the police to dislodge hundreds of thousands
of MDC supporters from urban areas by bulldozing their dwellings and chasing
them into the countryside. Last but not least, Mugabe passed
"indigenization" legislation that requires foreign-owned businesses to hand
over at least 50 percent of their shares to black Zimbabweans.

The violent theft of white-owned commercial land had predictable results.
Banks, which use land titles as collaterals when extending credit to
farmers, were suddenly saddled with a lot of bad debt and the financial
system froze. Most of the new occupants of the farmland had no knowledge of
commercial farming and returned, in the best of cases, to subsistence
farming. With much of the land uncultivated, agricultural production
dwindled. Companies that processed packaged, and exported agricultural
produce shut their gates. Zimbabwe's export earnings collapsed. Widespread
shortages of imported goods, including food and clothing, quickly followed
because of the lack of foreign currency.

Foreign direct investment dropped from a high of $444 million in 1998 to a
low of $3.8 million in 2003. Since the start of the power-sharing agreement
and the introduction of foreign currencies, foreign direct investment rose
and stood at $400 million in 2011. With the election approaching, however,
foreign investors have been growing increasingly jittery. Political
stability and future of property rights, it must be expected, will go on
being of major concern to any foreign companies looking at Zimbabwe as a
potential investment opportunity.

With the tax revenue in a propitious decline, the government decided to pay
its domestic and foreign creditors by unleashing the printing presses. What
followed was the second greatest hyperinflation in history. Professor Steve
Hanke of Johns Hopkins University estimated that hyperinflation reached 90
sextillion percent in 2008, with prices doubling every 24 hours. Only
postwar Hungary experienced a higher rate of inflation, with prices doubling
every 16 hours. The public's confidence in the Zimbabwe dollar evaporated.
With the people refusing to use the domestic currency, the government was
forced to change course. The Zimbabwe dollar was abolished and the people
were permitted to use whatever currency they pleased. Today, the South
African rand and the American dollar are widely used, though other
currencies, such as Botswana's pula, are also in circulation.

Under pressure from economic collapse, hyperinflation, Western sanctions
against the top ZANU-PF leadership and their commercial interests, and
diplomatic maneuverings by the neighboring African countries, Mugabe agreed
to share power with Tsvangirai, who became prime minister. Tsvangirai's MDC
received half of the seats in the cabinet. The rest was filled by members of
the ZANU-PF. Crucially, the 2008 power-sharing agreement allowed the ZANU-PF
to maintain control over the military and police. At previous elections,
Mugabe used both organizations to intimidate human rights organizations,
journalists, and ordinary citizens.

The ZANU-PF also retained control of the country's enormously valuable
natural resources. The South African, Chinese, and Russian state-owned or
government-linked corporations have obtained valuable mineral concessions in
platinum, diamonds, gold, chrome, and nickel. Some of the profits from those
mining operations are channeled to the ZANU-PF, which uses the money to buy
the loyalty of the police and military. With billions of dollars at stake,
there is real danger that, should the ZANU-PF lose the elections, it will
use force to stay in power.

Meanwhile, the ministries controlled by the MDC have seen some real
progress. Consider the Ministry of Education, which is run by David Coltart,
an MDC politician. In 2008, prior to the power sharing agreement, the
country saw only 28 full teaching days. The teachers were on strike, because
they were paid in a worthless currency or were not paid altogether. Some 98
percent of all schools were shut and 90,000 and exams from the previous year
were still unmarked.

There was no money for education in the government's budget, and the
textbook-to-pupil ratio was 15-to-one. Coltart allowed parents to pay
performance incentives to teachers whose salaries, when they were paid, were
a measly $100 per month. Today, even the lowest paid Zimbabwean teacher can
expect to earn over $300. While it is not much -- a teacher in neighboring
South Africa has an average salary of $1,800 a month -- it is a great
improvement from 2008. The teachers returned to work. Coltart also set up an
education transition fund that allowed Western aid to bypass Zimbabwe's
government and help finance the education system directly. He broke up a
domestic textbook publishing cartel and held an international tender that
brought the cost of textbooks down to 70 cents from five dollars. Zimbabwe's
textbook-to-student ratio is now one-to-one, the best in Africa.

Since the power-sharing agreement, Zimbabwe has experienced relative
political stability. Not surprisingly, growth has picked up. Between 2009
and 2012, economic growth has averaged over 7 percent and GDP amounts to
just over $6 billion. Some of the growth, no doubt, simply represents a
rebound from a thoroughly depressed state of affairs in the preceding
decade.

But even though things are looking up, a fundamental question lingers: Can
high growth be maintained as long as Zimbabwe remains one of the least
economically free countries in the world? In 2010, Zimbabwe came in 142nd
out of 144 countries surveyed in the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of
the World report; in 2013, it came in 172nd out of 185 countries surveyed in
the World Bank's Doing Business report; 132nd out of 144 countries surveyed
in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, etc.

Craig Richardson, associate professor of economics at Winston-Salem State
University in North Carolina, has recently analyzed the sources of
Zimbabwe's economic growth in a 2013 Cato Institute study entitled
"Zimbabwe: Why is One of the World's Least-Free Economies Growing So Fast?"
According to Richardson, Zimbabwe's growth is largely artificial, and he
gives three reasons why. First, two-thirds of Zimbabwe's nominal GDP growth
was the result of increases in government expenditures, augmented by
hundreds of millions of dollars in International Monetary Fund grants and
Chinese loans. Second, rich Western countries dramatically increased their
infusions of "off-budget" grants to Zimbabwe, and this foreign aid now
accounts for nearly 9 percent of its GDP. Third, Zimbabwe's economy is
becoming increasingly dependent on the production and export of raw mineral
commodities, which have experienced rapid worldwide price hikes.

In addition, Richardson has calculated that between 2008 and 2011, for every
$1 paid off to international lenders, Zimbabwe took on an additional $11 in
new debt.

That is not a solid base on which to build long-term growth and prosperity.
What Zimbabwe desperately needs are structural reforms including tax
simplification, labor and product markets deregulation, and privatization of
loss-making state-owned enterprises. Above all, the Zimbabweans need to find
a way to restore the rule of law and a respect for property rights. For
decades, Zimbabwe's rulers have benefited from government monopolies and
parastatals, sale of permits and licenses, and outright theft and fraud. All
the while, the majority of the Zimbabwean people are suffering. That is why
Mugabe's party can never be a reliable partner in reforming the country's
economy. Only a clean break with the past will return Zimbabwe on a path to
a sustained rate of high growth.

Poll dancing

http://www.economist.com/

Zimbabwe’s vote

A long-delayed election now looks worryingly hurried
Jul 27th 2013 | JOHANNESBURG |From the print edition

IF TRAFFIC jams are any guide to vitality, then Harare is thriving. A local
politician in Zimbabwe’s capital complains that his commute used to last 20
minutes but now takes twice as long. As the country prepares for general and
presidential elections on July 31st, its economy is in better shape than
when it last went to the polls in March 2008. Then hyperinflation was raging
and goods were scarce. Now the shops are full and prices are stable.

The poll offers the best chance yet of ousting Robert Mugabe and his Zanu-PF
party after 33 years of misrule. But the odds would be shorter if election
preparations had proceeded at the pace of Harare’s traffic. Until a few
weeks ago it was thought elections would take place in September to allow
time for more reforms. But Mr Mugabe wrong-footed the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), a regional body charged with smoothing the
path to elections, by decreeing an earlier date. An appeal to Zimbabwe’s
constitutional court to delay the vote by two weeks was struck down. A
rushed election will favour the incumbent.

Mr Mugabe’s main challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai, won the first round of the
previous presidential contest despite blatant electoral trickery by Zanu-PF.
Mr Tsvangirai’s party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), also won a
majority in Zimbabwe’s 210-seat parliament. But weeks of post-election
violence which claimed the lives of around 200 MDC supporters persuaded Mr
Tsvangirai not to contest the second round.

A deal brokered by SADC led to the creation of a coalition government with
Mr Mugabe as president and Mr Tsvangirai as prime minister. A new
constitution was supposed to pave the way for another election but
foot-dragging by Mr Mugabe delayed its passage until March this year. The
cohabitation has been loveless, with Zanu-PF the dominant partner. The MDC
is able to claim some credit for the economy’s recovery: it supplied the
coalition’s finance minister, Tendai Biti. But it was a switch to the US
dollar that provided stability. The official change in January 2009 amounted
to belated recognition that the local currency was worthless. “The dollar
chose Zimbabwe, not the other way around,” says a Harare-based economist.

Having played along with the SADC-sponsored reconciliation, Mr Mugabe has
now changed tack in a bid to extend his presidency. He has made sure there
is not enough time to monitor voter registration or put in place promised
changes that would give MDC candidates access to the broadcast media
controlled by Zanu-PF. Mr Tsvangirai has complained he is forced to fight an
“illegal” election. If that seems defeatist, a senior MDC figure said the
grassroots think even an unfair contest is winnable, so should be fought.

Not everything is working out in the president’s favour. Early voting for
security officials who will be on duty on election day was hampered by a
shortage of ballot papers and other bungles. Though 63,000 regulars are
registered to vote, only 37,000 could do so in time. The Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission says they should get a second chance on July 31st, but even that
looks doubtful. The security forces are deemed more likely to vote for
Zanu-PF, the party that controls them.

But incompetence will not always favour the opposition. Even in the week
before the election an updated electoral roll is not ready. Observers fear
it is bloated with the names of the deceased, leaving scope for fraud. The
Research Advocacy Unit, an independent body based in Harare, looked at the
rolls as they stood in June and found a number of discrepancies. Young
voters were hugely under-recorded. The rolls contained the names of over
100,000 voters aged 100 or older.

Lindiwe Zulu, a senior adviser on Zimbabwe to Jacob Zuma, president of South
Africa, said on July 18th that prospects for a well-run election were “not
looking good”. That prompted vitriol from Mr Mugabe, who had already called
Ms Zulu a “stupid, idiotic woman” and threatened to leave SADC if it tried
again to force a delay to elections. Mr Zuma failed to defend her. After a
meeting of SADC officials on July 20, he instead censured Ms Zulu for her
“regrettable” comments.

Much depends on the line Mr Zuma takes in the next few weeks. Officials from
rich countries are banned from monitoring Zimbabwe’s elections, leaving
observers from SADC and the African Union as the main external checks
against vote-rigging and strong-arm tactics by Zanu-PF loyalists.
Domestically the Zimbabwe Election Support Network has 7,000 local
observers. The MDC will have polling agents at each station to report local
results speedily by text message so any falsification at national level can
be spotted.

Most independent observers reckon the MDC would win a clean election, even
if the compromises of power have dulled some of its shine in the past five
years. A recent survey by Williams and Associates, an American polling firm,
suggests that Mr Tsvangirai would win the presidency in the first round in a
fair fight. Intriguingly, almost two-thirds of respondents thought Mr
Mugabe, who is 89, should make way for a new Zanu-PF candidate, such as
Joyce Mujuru, his deputy.

But “Bob”, as he is called by some fans, wants to hang on. His control of
the security forces is an important factor. Memories of the violence in 2008
will make some voters think twice about ticking the MDC box. The media are
partial to Zanu-PF and have worked hard in recent years to smear its
opponents. The state broadcaster is running Zanu-PF attack ads focusing on
Mr Tsvangirai’s rather tangled love life, which depict him as a foolish and
heartless womaniser. The MDC leader has overcome bigger obstacles in the
past. But he will need help from Zimbabwe’s neighbours if he is at last to
push Mr Mugabe from power.

Don’t let the crocodile cheat again

http://www.economist.com/

Zimbabwe’s election

It is time for Africa’s other leaders—especially Jacob Zuma—to hold Robert
Mugabe to account
Jul 27th 2013 |From the print edition

IT IS conceivable—and we would be naive to put it more strongly—that Robert
Mugabe’s reign of 33 years may at last be coming to an end. The evidence
suggests that if the general and presidential elections due on July 31st
were tolerably free and fair, Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) would wallop Mr Mugabe and his thuggish, incompetent
and corrupt Zanu-PF.

Last time, in 2008, the MDC won the parliamentary poll and Mr Tsvangirai
comfortably defeated Mr Mugabe in the first round of the presidential race,
though hamstrung by chicanery and violence. It was only after 200-odd MDC
campaigners had been murdered that Mr Tsvangirai opted out of the second
round, and even then Mr Mugabe was obliged to let Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC
join an awkward coalition government. This time, despite sporadic violence
by Zanu-PF and the efforts of the army, the police, the state-owned media,
the courts, the electoral commission and the registrar of the voters’ roll,
which are all in cahoots with Mr Mugabe and his party, the Zimbabwean people
have a chance, however slim, of booting out their ageing despot.

Although opinion polls suggest Zanu-PF still has chunks of support among the
rural poor, fear of speaking out against the government probably understates
the opposition to Mr Mugabe. Most people seem keen to get rid of him. He has
made a mockery of the unity government, flouting every key clause in the
agreement that was supposed to underpin it. He has refused to reform the
army or the security service, the courts and the media, or to remove
repressive laws. Prominent MDC people are frequently beaten up, put behind
bars and even murdered. Yet Mr Mugabe has retained his vicious security
chiefs as well as the useless central bank governor who presided over a
world-beating inflation rate in 2008. Some of the MDC’s people proved to be
neither angels nor geniuses in government, but an impressive MDC finance
minister is credited with steadying a dollarised economy.

Mr Mugabe has for too long been protected by other Africans. But hope is
rising that, even though he has refused to let in United Nations or European
Union (EU) monitoring teams, those being deployed by the African Union (AU)
and by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an influential
15-country South African-led club, will be more robust than they were last
time round (see article). The AU team is led by Olusegun Obasanjo, a former
Nigerian president who still carries weight in Africa. SADC is sending many
more watchers than before. Indeed, the biggest hope for Mr Mugabe’s demise
is that South Africa under Jacob Zuma may at last have had enough of the
reptilian 89-year-old.

Africa’s belated moment
Mr Zuma’s task will be easy if Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC are allowed to win.
The victors would probably draw some of the least vile Zanu-PF types into a
unity government, though this time with the true winners properly in charge.
Mr Mugabe may well be gently put out to grass rather than into the dock.

Sadly, the old man and his thugs will probably try to bludgeon their way to
a bogus victory. If they do, America and the EU should renew the targeted
sanctions against prominent people in the regime that they largely lifted
earlier this year as a reward for Mr Mugabe’s belated agreement to pave the
way to the election by amending the constitution. And the rest of Africa
should join the condemnation. Africa’s standards of governance have
generally been improving. It is high time its leaders, especially Mr Zuma,
felt honour-bound to help erase this blot on their continent.

Why South Africa won't try tough love approach with Zimbabwe's Mugabe

http://www.csmonitor.com/

South Africa is hoping to avoid further isolating Zimbabwe and repeating the
refugee crisis that followed the country's 2008 election.

By John Campbell, Guest blogger / July 25, 2013

•A version of this post first appeared on the blog Africa in Transition. The
views expressed are the author's own.

It is no secret that Zimbabwe’s two days of early voting for the country's
security forces on July 14-15 did not go well. Lindiwe Zulu, former
ambassador to Brazil and current international relations adviser to South
Africa president Jacob Zuma, had the temerity to say so.

She commented publicly that the polling in the general election, slated for
July 31, would be challenging. In response, Zimbabwean President Robert
Mugabe, who previously called Ms. Zulu “an idiotic street woman,” demanded
that President Zuma “stop this woman of [his] from speaking on Zimbabwe.”
Whereupon President Zuma, through his spokesman, promptly disavowed Zulu, as
did South Africa's governing African National Congress.

Knuckling under to Mugabe recalls the Zuma government’s failure to issue a
visa to the Dalai Lama for fear of offending the Chinese in 2011. How do we
account for it?

Writing in the South African Daily Maverick, Greg Nicolson provides one
credible explanation. Zuma has consistently followed a “soft diplomacy”
approach to Mugabe, appeasing him in public while (presumably) talking
sternly in private. The thrust of Mr. Nicolson’s piece is that South Africa
and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have failed to reform
Zimbabwe politics in the aftermath of the 2008 post-elections bloodbath.
Looking toward the upcoming 2013 Zimbabwean elections, if South Africa and
SADC want to stay involved, they know they will need to work with Mugabe.
So, he writes, “Lindiwe Zulu was sacrificed on the altar of diplomacy.”

South Africa's official political opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA),
sent election observers to Zimbabwe for the special polling earlier this
month. Unsurprisingly, the observers reported serious irregularities in the
polling, including the police and the army campaigning for Mugabe’s ruling
ZANU PF party.

In response, the DA argues that Zuma should abandon his diplomatic soft
approach: “It is clear that the South African government’s quiet diplomacy
has done nothing to curtail poor pre-election preparations and continued
aggression towards voters, especially in rural constituencies. It is now
time for President Zuma to consider a hard line approach," they wrote.

What happens in Zimbabwe, of course, has consequences for neighboring South
Africa. Not least because, if there is widespread violence following the
upcoming elections, there could be a new refugee flow from Zimbabwe to South
Africa. That's what happened after the last election, in 2008, helping to
trigger a wave of xenophobic attacks across South Africa.

Zuma, Zanu and the simple truth

http://www.fm.co.za/

EDITORIAL:

Editorial | 25 July 2013

The struggle of Zimbabwe was once a struggle for freedom. It is now, among
many other things, a battle between the simple truth and the aggressive lie.

In many ways,  this is typical of failed states.  The human devastation
caused by the failure of the state sannot be endured or explaine without an
increasingly  shril dictator who is able to develop a form of national false
consciousness. The result is a population which has, at least partly,
seemingly  succumbed to a state of  something akin to  mental  collapse

But to maintain this state of mental collapse, the remnants of the failed
state must keep delivering its potion in increasingly powerful jolts. It
must have horrible bogeymen to "pedestalise" and degrade; it must have
righteous anger to vigorously cast about, preferably with a heavily
underlined subtext; and it must have someone to blame for the state it is in
other than, naturally, itself.

To everybody else, the simple truth is obvious. As Hannah Arendt noted in
The Origins of Totalitarianism: "One of the greatest advantages of the
totalitarian elites ... (is) to turn any statement of fact into a question
of motive."

Consequently, it's immensely depressing that President Jacob Zuma found it
necessary to upbraid a member of not only his own delegation but also that
of the SA region for stating the simple truth.

In doing so, he has become yet another victim of the overweening disaster
that is modern Zimbabwe. The simple truth is that Zimbabwe has been
devastated by economic policies so brainless any informed person could
easily see their folly. Even if the destruction of the economy were not
enough to demonstrate this simple truth, the fact that Zimbabwe's economy
improved immediately when the country was forced to depart from these
policies ought to demonstrate the point.

This was obvious enough for Zuma himself on entering office. He
distinguished himself from his predecessor by suggesting a "tougher line"
with originators of the disaster on SA's border. At the time, ANC
secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said Zuma would be "more vocal in terms of
what we see as deviant behaviour by our neighbours".

Compare and contrast that statement to the one released at the weekend in
which Zuma expressed regret about "unauthorised statements" by an unnamed
member of the facilitation team. There are only three people on the team:
Charles Nqakula, SA's high commissioner to Mozambique; Zuma's spokesman Mac
Maharaj; and Lindiwe Zulu, his own foreign affairs adviser.

The sin committed by Zulu was, of course, to state the simple truth. In this
case it was that there appeared to be problems with the early voting
process. The response, of course, was virulent. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's
89-year-old quasi-dictator who has ruled the country for 33 years, called
Zulu a "street woman" from SA who he said had tried to block the holding of
polls by the end of July.

More ominously, he actually threatened the Southern African Development
Community (SADC). "Let it be known that we are in SADC voluntarily. If SADC
decides to do stupid things, we can pull out."

As it happens, the real issue is transparent. Because their own country has
been made uninhabitable, a large number of Zimbabweans now live outside
Zimbabwe. They are, not surprisingly, generally not Zanu-PF supporters.
Having been forced to allow these economic exiles the right to vote,
Mugabe's strategy has been to try to force the elections to happen as fast
as possible to make it difficult for them to cast their ballots. The
strategy would be cunning if it weren't so transparent. But it's entirely
consistent with Mugabe's modus operandi, which has been the chief reason he
has been able to cling onto power.

That is depressing enough. But for Zuma to choose to support Mugabe over his
own adviser is doubly depressing. He was once an independent voice. But now
he is just another Zanu-PF plaything. That, sadly, is the simple truth.

Analysis: Maybe we expect too much from SADC on Zimbabwe

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

SIMON ALLISON  AFRICA 24 JUL 2013 01:39 (SOUTH AFRICA)

Every time Robert Mugabe says or does something outrageous, critical eyes
are cast in the direction of SADC – who are meant to be guaranteeing free
and fair elections, and shepherding in genuine political reform. SIMON
ALLISON argues that, in a region where no one likes to rock the boat, SADC
are more interested in maintaining the status quo in Zimbabwe.

It’s rather touching, the faith that we put in our regional body – even if
it is misplaced. In all the furore over Robert Mugabe’s comments about that
“idiotic street woman” Lindiwe Zulu, and her subsequent scolding from Jacob
Zuma, there has been plenty of debate about the role of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), and whether indulging Mugabe’s narcissism is
really the best way to guarantee free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. There
has been rather less debate about whether that’s what SADC really wants to
achieve.

The evidence does not necessarily support this conclusion. SADC, remember,
is a representative body, except it doesn’t represent the likes of you and
me. It represents governments, specifically those of its 15 member states
(14, if you take into acount Madagascar’s suspension) – and those
governments aren’t exactly the most progressive or enlightened around. In
fact, with a couple of notable exceptions, the record of SADC member states
for holding genuinely competitive elections is dismal.

Think about it. In Angola, Jose Eduardo dos Santos has held onto power since
1979 in what remains, effectively, a one party state. Botswana has been
ruled by just one party since independence, with no serious opposition –
this is also true for Mozambique, Namibia and Tanzania. The last election in
the Democratic Republic of Congo was highly problematic and clearly fixed,
at least in part. Swaziland is an absolute monarchy, one of the last
remaining in the world. The ruling party in the Seychelles seized power in a
coup in 1977 and created a one party state; they haven’t lost an election,
or come close, since the return to multiparty politics in the early 1990s.

And in South Africa, despite an obvious commitment to the democratic
process, the ANC has strolled to election victories in every national poll
since 1994.  The party has no experience, yet, of an opposition that poses a
genuine threat to its power, or elections in which something other than a
two-thirds majority is at stake.

That leaves Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius and Zambia as the only real flag
bearers for the kind of oppositional democracy in which elections are more
than just a rubber-stamping exercise, each having experienced at least one
vote in which the people decided to install a new government – and were
allowed to do so.

Yet, despite this obvious lack of experience with oppositional democracy,
SADC has taken the lead in facilitating and overseeing Zimbabwe’s upcoming
elections. This is a bit like letting Kenny Kunene run the gender
commission, or putting Lance Armstrong in charge of drug testing at the Tour
de France. If we’re surprised when SADC leaders aren’t falling over
themselves to criticize Zimbabwe’s chaotic poll preparations, or elicit
guarantees that violence won’t be used, or publicly investigate claims that
the vote has already been fixed in Zanu-PF’s favour – well, that’s only
because we’ve forgotten who SADC really represents.

Nonetheless, SADC’s leaders – Jacob Zuma chief among them, in his role of
Facilitator – need Zimbabwe’s elections to go well. SADC has invested just
about all of its political and diplomatic capital in overseeing Zimbabwe’s
rehabilitation, and were instrumental in establishing the government of
national unity which has just about kept Zimbabwe from complete anarchy. The
interim government’s most notable achievement has been rescuing the
Zimbabwean economy by replacing worthless Zim dollars with the altogether
more reliable US dollars – an achievement for which SADC, by laying the
groundwork, deserves some credit.

All this, however, will have been for nothing if the elections are obviously
rigged or if there is a return to the kind of post-election violence which
precipitated Zimbabwe’s political crisis in 2008. Unless Zimbabwe pulls off
a credible election, SADC will have failed spectacularly after five years of
assuring everyone who asked that its ‘quiet diplomacy’ had everything under
control.

Credible, of course, does not mean free and fair. It does not mean
transparent. As the 2011 elections in the DRC demonstrated, it’s a term that
can incorporate a certain amount of ballot stuffing and its converse, the
disappearance of votes; a certain amount of government intimidation; and an
electoral commission that is far from impartial.

These are all things we’re likely to see in Zimbabwe, given the chaos in the
build-up to the polls and Zanu-PF’s tight control over the key levers of
power: the electoral commission and the security forces. And all will
mitigate in favour of another Robert Mugabe election victory, thereby
preserving the status quo so beloved of SADC leaders, and, oddly, decreasing
the chances of widespread violence, which is far more likely if Mugabe loses
(as was the case after the first round of the election in 2008).

It’s a win-win situation for Mugabe and his fellow southern African leaders,
who prize regional stability above all else. Zimbabwe’s long-suffering
citizens have less to gain. DM

Zimbabwe elections: Q&A

http://www.bbc.co.uk

 

25 July 2013 Last updated at 10:36 GMT

Mr Mugabe - who has served as president since independence - is hoping for another term

Continue reading the main story

Zimbabwe - New Era?

• Cartoon characters stir up politics
• Faith in the future
• Preserving colonial farmhouses
• Why are police seizing radios?

Zimbabweans go to the polls on Wednesday to elect a president and parliament, in an election that will mark the end of the troubled coalition government between veteran President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Mr Mugabe, leader of Zanu-PF, is seeking to extend his 33-year rule. His main rival is Mr Tsvangirai, who helped form the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999 and has been Mr Mugabe's only credible challenger at the polls since independence in 1980.

The election will be the first to be held under the new constitution approved in a referendum in March this year. Parliamentary elections are to be held on the same day.

What happened at the last elections?

Morgan Tsvangirai has promised to fix the economy if elected

Mr Tsvangirai won the first round of the last presidential elections in 2008 but, according to official results, not enough to win outright. He pulled out of the second round, accusing pro-Mugabe militias of attacking his supporters.

Mr Mugabe went on to win the run-off and under international pressure agreed a power-sharing deal with Mr Tsvangirai, who became prime minister.

Mr Mugabe has made no secret of his distaste for the arrangement and Mr Tsvangirai has complained of a lack of co-operation in the coalition.

Who are the candidates?

There are five presidential candidates, with Mr Mugabe, 89, and Mr Tsvangirai, 61, being the front-runners.

The other contenders are Welshman Ncube, the current industry and commerce minister and leader of an MDC breakaway party called MDC-Mutambara; Dumiso Dabengwa, leader of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (Zapu), a former Zanu-PF rival that merged with it in 1987 but broke away again in 2008, and Kisinoti Munodei Mukwazhe, who represents the small Zimbabwe Development Party (ZDP).

Economy

Zimbabwe experienced a boom after independence in 1980. But critics accuse Mr Mugabe of ruining one of Africa's most promising economies by seizing white-owned farms and giving them to landless blacks with little farming experience. Inflation reached an annual rate of 250,000,000% in late 2008. An estimated two million Zimbabweans left to seek work abroad.

Since the coalition took over, hyperinflation has ended and the economy at least stabilised at an annual average growth rate of about 5%, largely as a result of a 2009 decision to allow the US dollar and South African rand to circulate instead of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar.

But the economic bounce from dollarisation has faded, with growth slowing to 4% last year and only a modest 3% forecast for 2013. Dollarisation has also had downsides, making Zimbabwean exports more expensive and thus keeping growth low by regional standards.

According to Tony Hawkins, business professor at the University of Zimbabwe, real incomes are still lower than they were in the 1960s and 25% below their peaks of the mid-1970s and late 1990s.

Widespread corruption also remains a sore point, particularly in the crucial diamond export sector. Last November, the campaign group Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) alleged that at least $2bn (£1.3bn) worth of diamonds had been stolen from the Marange mines to the benefit of officials, gem dealers and traders. Zimbabwean mining officials denied the accusation.

Where do the parties stand on the economy?

President Mugabe wants black Zimbabweans to own more of the economy

Mr Mugabe has said that his Zanu-PF party wants to push through its plans to increase black ownership of the economy, in what is known as its indigenisation programme, and thus promote growth. A 2010 law requires foreign firms to sell a majority stake to local people.

Mr Tsvangirai is promising that he will fix the continuing economic problems, clean up corruption, revive industry and attract much-needed investment in order to create jobs. He has also promised to promote transparency in the diamond mining sector. He rejects indigenisation as a political gimmick and tantamount to expropriation.

Election process

Elections are held every five years by universal adult suffrage.

By 23 July, about 6.4 million voters had been registered, according to officials. Zimbabwe has a population of some 13 million, according to the 2013 census.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) oversees the electoral process and demarcates constituency boundaries. It is headed by Rita Makarau, a former Supreme Court judge.

To be declared a winner, a presidential candidate must win more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate reaches this mark, a run-off will be held on 11 September.

Will the elections be free and fair?

Opposition and rights activists have expressed concern about the transparency of voter registration, the possibility of intimidation and pro-Mugabe bias in the state media.

Members of the security forces voted last week amid logistical problems

A local campaign group, the Research and Advocacy Unit, claimed in June that the voters' roll includes a million people who are either dead or have left the country, as well as 116,000 people over the age of 100.

ZEC's deputy chairwoman, Joyce Kazembe, has insisted the vote will "be credible, free and fair".

Mr Mugabe has called for peaceful conduct during and after the elections, and Mr Tsvangirai has also expressed optimism, seeking to allay fears of a repeat of the violence that marred the 2008 polls. However, violence continues to be reported across the country.

Will there be election observers?

Some 600 foreign election observers - mainly from Africa - have been accredited to monitor the polls. They will join about 6,000 local observers.

Zimbabwe did not invite Western observer missions because of sanctions imposed on President Robert Mugabe and his top officials for rights abuses.

Security forces

Some observers have voiced concern about the role of the security forces, alleging that Mr Mugabe may be merely a figurehead for powerful generals running the country behind the scenes.

New York-based campaign groups Human Rights Watch said in a recent report that some security chiefs had declared allegiance to Mr Mugabe ahead of the polls, casting doubt on their impartiality.

In May, the International Crisis Group think-tank said that the police chiefs "openly support" Zanu-PF and frequently organise the harassment of opposition and independent activists.

Media

Radio is the main source of information in Zimbabwe. The state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has a near monopoly over both radio and television and has a long history of supporting Mr Mugabe and Zanu-PF.

Earlier this year the police announced a ban on short-wave radios capable of receiving foreign broadcasts, saying they were being used to communicate "hate speech" ahead of the elections.

In addition, broadcasts by overseas-based radio stations transmitting into Zimbabwe, such as the Voice of America's Studio 7 and UK-based SW Radio Africa, have been jammed.

The state-run newspapers are tightly controlled by the Information Ministry. The private press, which is relatively vigorous in its criticism of the government, has come under severe pressure, and cover prices are beyond the reach of many readers.

The internet is considered to be nominally free from government interference, but it is relatively expensive and prone to disruption because of power cuts.

Parliamentary poll

Zimbabwe has a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate and a House of Assembly.

The 210 members of the House of Assembly are elected by popular vote for a five-year term.

In the 2008 parliamentary elections, the MDC won with 51% of votes over Zanu-PF's 45%.