Dear Family and Friends, It is
with a very heavy heart and a tear stained face that I sit and write my
letter from Zimbabwe this week. Today is my sister's wedding day and I am not
able to be there. She is a Zimbabwean in exile and the air fare for my son
and I to go her wedding is 10 million dollars. A few months ago my brother
got married and I could not afford to go his wedding either. I now have two
brothers in law, a sister in law and a niece whom I have never met and it
hurts almost beyond words to keep missing all these momentous
family occasions because I choose to live in a country where inflation is
450%. The personal implications of the four and half year old crisis in
Zimbabwe have destroyed family life, broken up communities and made relations
into strangers.
When you read the statistic bandied about that 3
million Zimbabweans are now living in exile, it is just a number but when you
think about the impact that it is having on the social fabric of lives and
communities, it is heart breaking. Across Zimbabwe there are hundreds of
thousands of children who are living either with relations or with one
parent, as the other is outside of Zimbabwe trying to make money to send home
to keep the rest of the family alive. In our old age homes there are
thousands of elderly pensioners whose children and grandchildren have been
forced to leave Zimbabwe. In our schools there are thousands of children in
boarding hostels because their parents have been forced to leave Zimbabwe.
And outside of Zimbabwe there are three million people who can't come home,
they are victims of a government whose policies have brought the country to
the very edge of complete collapse.
A few weeks ago I wrote a letter
criticizing Zimbabweans in exile for not doing enough to speak up about the
diabolical state of affairs in Zimbabwe. I apologise for having said that,
they were words of frustration and despair. It is very hard to stay in
Zimbabwe now, but it is even harder to leave and go to a strange country and
start again from scratch with nothing but agonisingly painful
memories.
This week I should be telling the world that the Zimbabwe
government have just passed new detention laws. A Zimbabwean can now be
detained for 23 days without the ability to apply for bail and without a
court appearance. One of the "crimes" to which this detention applies
involves "planning to or taking part in civil disobedience." Zimbabwe now has
three pieces of legislation which are a part of daily life: POSA which
prevents us from meeting; AIPPA which prevents us from writing and now the
Criminal Proceedure Act which prevents us from talking or walking. While I
should be writing about such a disgraceful state of affairs, I find myself
rather weeping for families that have been broken up, friends that have gone,
grandparents that are alone and children that are without their
parents.
To my family and all the others who are living in forced
separation all I can say is we must not give up or lose hope because the end
of oppression is inevitable. Zimbabwe will rise up from this ruination and
again become the country we all love so much. Until next week, with love,
cathy.
SOUTH Africa's reputation and commitment to democratic
ideals is being seriously eroded by its reluctance to act against the
continuing abuses of Robert Mugabe's regime, the House of Commons was told
this week.
Several MPs who took part in a government debate on
Zimbabwe told Parliament that "quiet diplomacy" had clearly failed when it
came to dealing with Mugabe.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who
opened the conference, also bitterly rebuked the brutalities of the ruling
Zanu-PF regime.
He suggested that other, perhaps tougher measures
against Zanu-PF were being considered by Tony Blair's government. "[But]
there are two things we are not going to do," Straw said. "We are not going
to impose economic sanctions on the people of Zimbabwe and we are not
contemplating military action."
He also gave the go-ahead for
Zimbabwe's controversial, racially selected cricket team to tour England - a
move that some noted would please Mugabe and appeared to ignore the fact that
a sports boycott was imposed against apartheid South Africa in the 1970s for
much the same reason.
The debate was characterised by a sense of
frustration at the UK's apparent ineffectiveness in dealing with
Mugabe.
Straw said that despite the fact that Zimbabwe was regularly
raised within the UN, "regrettably, other African members have used
procedural motions to block discussion of
resolutions".
Conservative MP Henry Bellingham suggested that Presi
dent Thabo Mbeki's government be coerced into action. "South Africa," he
said, "has got to have pressure put on it by the United States." - Andrew
Donaldson, London
ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe has approved sweeping
electoral reforms because of pressure from his neighbours.
Diplomatic
sources said regional leaders forced Mugabe to usher in the reforms to avoid
embarrassment at next month's key Southern African Development Community
summit in Mauritius, where a "SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing
Democratic Elections" draft will be adopted.
The draft encourages
SADC member states to "establish impartial, all-inclusive, competent and
accountable national electoral bodies staffed by qualified personnel, as well
as competent legal entities including effective constitutional courts to
arbitrate in the event of disputes arising from the conduct of
elections".
It also says they must "safeguard human and civil
liberties of all citizens, including freedom of movement, assembly,
association, expression and campaigning".
SADC member states are
further encouraged to "take necessary measures and precautions to prevent the
perpetration of fraud, rigging, or any other illegal practices throughout the
whole electoral process".
President Thabo Mbeki has also been pushing
for the reforms in a bid to salvage his eroded credibility after he promised
Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis would be resolved by
June.
Mbeki met with Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) leaders last Sunday to chart the way forward ahead of the elapse
of his deadline on Wednesday.
Succumbing to pressure, Mugabe's
ruling Zanu-PF two weeks ago approved sweeping reforms to revamp the
country's archaic electoral system.
Consultations on the draft had
been under way for some time.
Zimbabwe is the only SADC country where
electoral officials are all appointed by Mugabe.
Official sources
said Mugabe agreed to the SADC draft to avoid censure at the summit. Zimbabwe
has in recent years been the focus of SADC attention. There has been
increasing pressure at home and abroad for Mugabe to modify the electoral
system.
The MDC has been demanding changes through public campaigns
and private talks with Zanu-PF.
The reforms will result in the
introduction of an independent electoral commission, voting over one day
instead of two, the use of transparent ballot boxes in place of wooden ones,
and the counting of votes at polling centres.
Although the reforms
were welcomed, analysts warned they would not level the playing field unless
the poisoned political climate was addressed.
Suspected Zanu-PF
militants disrupted opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's rally at Mvurwi
in Mashonaland Central Province on Friday.
The MDC said the militants
used "stones, knobkerries and axes" to attack Tsvangirai and other party
leaders.
But he
didn't even notice illicit forex going missing
SUNDAY TIMES FOREIGN
DESK
TWO domestic workers employed by Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank
governor went on a wild spending spree, apparently using foreign currency he
had stashed away.
A police docket states that Inetty Nyakonda, 42, and
Rudo Nemutenzi, 21, stole tens of thousands of US dollars, British pounds and
Zimbabwe dollars from Gideon Gono between 1999 and 2002. But, the docket
says, Gono did not know his money had been stolen.
Under
Zimbabwe's Exchange Control Act, it is illegal to keep foreign currency at
home.
The women were arrested after police received an anonymous
tip-off in November 2002. But charges against them were withdrawn when Gono
recovered some of the money - and sold one of the women's
properties.
Gono - who spearheads the country's economic recovery
efforts and an anti-corruption crackdown - was chief executive of the former
Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (now Jewel Bank) at the time.
The
Sunday Times recently reported that Gono had secured foreign currency to fund
President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace's trips abroad while he worked at
the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe. In one case, Gono allegedly authorised an
order to raise US100 000 for Grace Mugabe on January 11 2002.
His
former bank was also implicated in allowing Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri,
who is now in jail, to move R5.2-million illegally to South Africa to build a
mansion in Llandudno, Cape Town, and buy other properties.
Gono gave
banks amnesty for illegal foreign currency deals done before December 1 last
year, before he took office.
But a police report - titled CR
155/11/02 - shows that Gono did not only illegally procure money for
Zimbabwe's ruling elite.
In contravention of foreign exchange
controls, he also stashed foreign currency - apparently bought on the black
market - in his bedroom drawers at his opulent home in Borrowdale,
Harare.
According to the police docket, Nyakonda and Nemutenzi stole
from Gono for years, but he was unaware of it until the police received a
tip-off about their spending spree.
Both women admitted to
stealing money, including foreign currency, the docket said. Foreign currency
was found in Nyakondo's handbag.
The police report states that
Nyakonda stole US3 000, £520 and Z102 830 in December 2001 from Gono's home.
It also states that Nemutenzi "stole US500 and a lot of Zimbabwean dollars
[Z1.6--million]".
Nyakonda allegedly used the money to buy two
residential stands in Kuwadzana, a high-density suburb in Harare, and a video
recorder. She paid a deposit of Z140 000 for one of the stands and Z115 000
for the other. She paid Z300 000 later.
Nemutenzi allegedly used
the money to build a house at her rural home in Murehwa.
She also
bought a double bed, a three-CD changer, a 55cm colour television, a video
recorder, a black metal TV stand, velvet sofas, a coffee table with four
stools, a solar panel with a 24V battery and electrical accessories, and two
cellphones.
An affidavit by Gono - stamped by the police on May 2
2003 - confirms the thefts.
A statement by Gono's wife, Helen,
says money and household goods had gone "missing" from 1999 to 2002, but "'I
did not report it, because I had no evidence.
"Then on 4 November
2002 we were told by the police who had phoned my husband that our employees
were stealing."
After the domestic workers were arrested, Gono
insisted on selling the property to recover his money - which is against the
law because the women had not been convicted. Gono withdrew the charges after
the money was recovered, making it difficult for courts to try the
case.
Government secretly pleads with World Bank By Savious
Kwinika
BULAWAYO - Financially-crippled Zimbabwe, which is failing to
service its US$280 million foreign debt to the World Bank, on Friday
unsuccessfully begged the bank to resume assistance to Zimbabwe, especially
in the agricultural sector where new farmers complain of lack of money
and resources, The Standard has established.
Official sources said
Joseph Made, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,
unsuccessfully pleaded with the World Bank country director for Central
Africa, Hartwig Schafer, for financial assistance to buy farm equipment and
inputs for the new farmers.
Schafer was in Zimbabwe as a follow-up to
a visit by the RBZ Governor Gideon Gono to the World Bank offices in
Washington where he appraised the bank of his efforts to sort out the current
financial crisis.
"He (Made) was begging the World Bank to assist the new
farmers. Made said agriculture was the backbone of the economy of the country
and without support from the World Bank it would not succeed," said a source
familiar with proceedings at the meeting.
"However, the World Bank
told them that no funds would be forthcoming until they (government) settled
their arrears," added the source.
Schafer also met Gono, acting Finance
Minister, Herbert Murerwa, and several permanent secretaries, in an effort to
try and explore options to intensify dialogue and ways in which the crisis
ridden Zimbabwean government could be assisted.
Contacted for a
comment, Schafer who was in Johannesburg on Friday, confirmed that he had met
Made, Gono and other government officials but said the World Bank would only
consider giving substantive financial assistance to Harare when Zimbabwe
settles its debt.
He said the international lending institution would, in
the mean time, assist Zimbabwe with limited technical
assistance.
Schafer said he had urged Gono to continue intensifying his
economic policy which he described as "encouraging" when
implemented.
"These are steps in the right direction and our team
encouraged the Governor to stay the course and continue the process that was
started earlier this year," he said.
"At the same time we emphasised
the need to expand the economic reforms to the fiscal sector and address the
other structural obstacles to economic recovery," said Schafer.
"The
financial support is not the main objective at this time and will be very
limited," he said.
MIDLANDS Zanu PF stalwart and Speaker of Parliament, Emmerson
Mnangagwa, was on Friday night jeered by revellers at the Joshua Nkomo gala
at Ascot Stadium in Gweru.
The Zanu PF Politburo member, who is being
touted in some circles as President Robert Mugabe's heir-apparent, attracted
boos and shouts from a disgruntled crowd when instead of just introducing
Nkomo's daughter - Thandiwe, - he started chanting his party's
slogans.
Had king of sungura music Aleck Macheso's popularity not
rescued the day, the powerful politician would have been left with more egg
on his face.
The crowd had got "into the groove" following some lively
performances by Harare based hip-hop group, Xtra Large and Prince Mafukidze
when the master of ceremony interrupted the proceedings to introduce Zanu PF
officials, much to the chagrin of the restive crowd.
The bumper
gathering, among whom were some waving the MDC's open palm symbol, ignored
Mnangagwa's pleas to exhort the "Third Chimurenga"
through slogans.
Earlier, Cephas Msipa, the Governor for the Midlands,
had been snubbed by the crowd which demanded the music play on rejecting
attempts by the party leadership to make them chant Zanu PF's slogans and
endless introductions.
In the end Mnangagwa used the popularity of Aleck
Macheso's name to win back the support of the revellers.
"Pamberi
naMacheso. Pamberi nekufara," shouted Mnangagwa, to the instant delight of
the crowd.
Macheso has dominated the local music industry for the past
three years and was clearly a crowd favourite.
During the 2002
presidential campaign, Zanu PF used popular musicians like Simon Chimbetu and
Andy Brown to win the support of voters. However, these musicians' fortunes
have since taken a nosedive.
OPPOSITION
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, and other top
party officials narrowly escaped serious injury in Mvurwi on Friday when
about 200 Zanu PF militia attacked an MDC Mashonaland Central provincial
assembly meeting.
Other top MDC officials who fled for their lives
include the party's national chairman, Isaac Matongo, deputy
secretary-general Gift Chimanikire, national women's organising secretary,
Anna Chimanikire and legislator Fidelis Mhashu.
Tsvangirai and the
other senior officials were not injured but several party supporters, who
tried to protect them, were hurt.
Some are nursing broken arms and legs
from the attack and have been admitted to a private hospital in
Harare.
MDC secretary-general, Welshman Ncube, said the attack by Zanu PF
militia was so vicious that it was designed to "injure, maim or kill
someone".
"They had all sorts of weapons including iron bars, stones,
bricks and knobkkerries. Some of the youths had guns, but did not use them,"
said Ncube, who added that at least four people were seriously
hurt.
"One of them is Mhashu's driver, Samuel Mapingure, who was
seriously injured," said Ncube.
He said the opposition party was still
conducting an audit of the number of people injured because many fled in
different directions after the attack.
Henry Chimbiri, MDC vice-chairman
for Mashonaland Central province, who witnessed the brutal attack - said
several people, mostly women - were assaulted. Some of the women who had
travelled from areas such as Dande, Mkumbura and Kanyemba wards, suffered
multiple injuries. Several cars were damaged, including Mhashu's
car.
Chimbiri said the Zanu PF youths fled when the MDC delegates
numbering about 120, retaliated.
The rowdy Zanu PF supporters
regrouped later after the MDC executive had left for Harare and severely beat
up Biggie Chigonera, the MDC chairperson for Mashonaland Central province,
before burning his house and two vehicles - a Kombi and
Landcruiser.
"The MDC condemns this unprovoked thuggery. It brings to
serious question Zanu PF's seriousness about creating conditions for free and
fair elections," said a statement from the opposition party.
"We call
upon the international community in general, the SADC region and the people
of Zimbabwe in particular to continue to apply pressure on this regime to
change from its path of thuggery and destruction."
Police spokesperson,
Wayne Bvudzijena, however said it was the MDC youths who provoked the Zanu PF
supporters who were on their to Guruve by throwing two tear smoke canisters
at one of their cars, a claim immediately dismissed by the opposition
party.
Ncube said the MDC could not hold political rallies in Mashonaland
East, West and East without being attacked by Zanu PF
supporters.
"There cannot be a likelihood of free and fair elections in
this country when the situation is like this. The question of electoral
reforms is not enough because we are dealing with a regime which has
perfected the art of repression," said Ncube.
Meanwhile, Tsvangirai
says the new electoral reforms proposed by the ruling Zanu PF are far from
meeting his party's expectations.
Addressing a Mashonaland East
Provincial Assembly Convention in Harare yesterday, Tsvangirai said the
reforms were not sufficient enough to ensure a free and fair
election.
"It (Zanu PF government) has never had electoral reforms
before, why now? It 's a way yekutibata kumeso. (It's an attempt to hoodwink
us). We won't buy what they say until they meet our conditions," said
Tsvangirai.
He said the MDC wanted the government to address issues like
the rule of law, secrecy of the ballot, appointment of an independent
electoral commission and allowing international observers who should come six
months ahead of the poll, among other things.
"We will prepare for the
elections but the decision to participate will come later," he said.
ZIMBABWE faces expulsion from the 184-member International
Monetary Fund (IMF) when the fund's executive board meet this week following
the surge in its official debt obligations to US$309 million.
Official
sources in Washington, the headquarters of the Bretton Woods institution,
told Standard Business last week that as of last month, Zimbabwe's arrears
had shot to US$288 million while its total outstanding debt to the IMF
(including arrears on principal and interest) stood at US$309
million.
The increase in Harare's debt commitments could end the
country's 24 year-old tempestuous relationship with the IMF as the issue of
arrears and co-operation with the fund are some of the issues to be
considered at IMF's Wednesdays meeting. Zimbabwe joined the IMF on September
29 1980. The fund's executive board will meet on Wednesday specifically to
discuss the deteriorating economic situation in the troubled southern African
country.
It will also discuss the report on the Article IV consultation
visit, which took place in Harare and the country's overdue debt obligations
to the fund.
A biting foreign currency crunch has contributed to cause
the cash-strapped government to fail to meet its pledges to amortise the huge
debt hence the rise in the arrears.
Since the beginning of 2004,
Zimbabwe has only made payments totalling US$9,0 million to the IMF while
devoting the little hard currency to food imports and energy
requirements.
Zimbabwe has been in continuous arrears since February 2001
when it was declared ineligible for IMF loans. By then its arrears stood at
US$53 million before rising to US$273 million, about 53% of its quota in the
IMF.
Zimbabwe is the first and only country to have protracted
overdue obligations to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF)
Trust.
Washington has substantially downgraded Zimbabwe's membership over
the past two years, withdrawing most financial and technical assistance
and suspending its voting rights.
In February, IMF issued a complaint
against Zimbabwe, initiating procedures that could lead to the compulsory
withdrawal of the country. The fund's executive directors will have to
consider this complaint and any further action on President Robert Mugabe's
administration.
Since the departure of Jerry Johnson, the resident
representative in 2003, the IMF says there are no specific plans to appoint a
new resident representative to Zimbabwe. Its Harare office faces closure
later on in September.
Moyo, Nkomo to lock horns in Tsholotsho By Savious
Kwinika
BULAWAYO - After splashing millions of dollars to woo Tsholotsho
villagers ahead of the 2005 parliamentary elections, Information Minister,
Jonathan Moyo's hopes of sailing through to become the next elected MP for
the constituency could be in jeopardy as it emerged that he could face Zanu
PF national chairman, John Nkomo, in the primaries.
The State
broadcaster - the ZBC which falls directly under his control - announced that
Moyo was the sole candidate for the party who had been endorsed by grassroot
supporters in Tsholotsho a few months ago.
However party sources in
the district yesterday told The Standard that jostling for the post has
reached intense proportions.
They said there were indications that Zanu
PF national chairman, John Nkomo, was also keen to represent the area in
Parliament. Nkomo, comes from Tsholotsho and is currently a non-constituency
MP.
"Since President Mugabe has announced that there will be primary
elections in all constituencies we are now bracing for a bruising encounter
in Tsholotsho," said a district official in this rural Matabeleland
north constituency.
Moyo, who has made several donations in the
constituency, has made his intentions to contest in Tsholotsho clear while
Nkomo is keeping his cards close to the chest. Several times on Friday and
yesterday, Nkomo kept on telling The Standard reporters who sought his
comment on the matter that he was in a meeting and could only attend to them
afterwards.
Contacted for comment on the matter this week, Moyo
immediately switched off his mobile phone after the reporter introduced
himself. The Zanu PF National Political Commissar, Elliot Manyika, could
neither confirm nor deny the two' s interest in Tsholotsho but said that
possible candidates should wait for primary elections that are due
soon.
"We have not yet sent letters to provinces advising them on when
the primary elections should be held. However, whoever is interested in the
Tsholotsho seat can declare his interests but at the same time should wait
for the primaries," said Manyika.
Commenting on the same issue, deputy
party political commissar Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said: "No one is being stopped
whether it's Nkomo or Jonathan Moyo. The process of primary elections will
decide that and the person chosen by the people is the one who will represent
the party in Tsholotsho."
He claimed Zanu PF was being run
"democratically along party principles" noting that anyone rushing to claim
to be the party's candidate prior to the primary elections could be deluding
themselves.
A GROUP of war veterans and some Zanu PF supporters in Mashonaland
West Province yesterday demonstrated against party provincial chairman
Philip Chiyangwa saying they were fed up with his leadership.
The 1
000-plus demonstrators, waving placards and banners blasting Chiyangwa,
charged that the flamboyant politician was trying to impose himself as the
party's candidate for Chinhoyi in the 2005 general election. They also
accused him of corruption.
Chiyangwa is the Member of Parliament for
Chinhoyi.
The demonstrators, escorted by the police, moved around the
small town peacefully singing Zanu PF songs.
Party sources said they
were drawn from Chegutu, Hurungwe, Kadoma, Banket, Zvimba Karoi, Makonde and
Kariba districts that constitute Mashonaland West Province.
Some of
the placards read: "Chiyangwa, your dirty money does not make you a better
politician", "Pasi naChiyangwa", "Chiyangwa, your money is yours and not to
buy Zanu PF".
Eaneas Mangeya, the provincial war veterans' chairman, said
party supporters in the province were "fed up" with Chiyangwa and wanted him
to relinquish all his posts.
"The war veterans also accused Chiyangwa
of being boastful and arrogant because of his relationship to President
Mugabe," one of the demonstrators told The Standard.
Chiyangwa
yesterday said he had no business with the war veterans' association since he
was a Zanu PF leader.
"I have not been to Chinhoyi for the past week and
I do not know what is their intention in that demonstration. I head Zanu PF
in the province not war veterans . these are two different groups. Those guys
have no material impact to the party," said Chiyangwa.
"My
parliamentary seat cannot be removed by a wild group of people who do not
have something to do and decide to sit somewhere and discuss my downfall," he
said.
Daggers drawn for Byo Zanu PF polls By Loughty
Dube
BULAWAYO - Zanu PF political heavyweights here are set to clash
again today in elections to choose the party's provincial executive, a few
days after district co-ordinating committee (DCC) polls were
aborted.
Elections for the province's DCC failed to take place last week
after two factions - allegedly owing allegiance to former provincial chairman
and war veterans' national leader, Jabulani Sibanda, and another Politburo
member Dumiso Dabengwa - clashed.
However, tensions have risen
ahead of this weekend's polls after Sibanda announced that he would once
again stand for the provincial chairman's post in today's
elections.
Other candidates include Elliot Ndlovu and Abu Basuthu, both
said to enjoy the support of senior Zanu PF Politburo members in the
Matabeleland provinces who are opposed to Sibanda.
"The elections are
definitely going on because the party wants the national restructuring
process to be completed as a matter of urgency," said Zanu PF deputy national
commissar, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.
Questioned how the provincial elections
would take place when DCC polls have not been completed, Ndlovu said Zanu PF
had a criteria to ensure that the elections go ahead
uninterrupted.
"Despite last weekend's setback this weekend's elections
would go ahead," Ndlovu stressed.
The Standard understands that the
elections might be stormy because some senior party leaders had once again
brought up the issue of Sibanda's eligibility to contest elections while
under suspension.
Sibanda was suspended from Zanu PF last year on 14
counts of misconduct that included lack of respect of the local leadership
and running the party without following laid down procedures.
"As far
as I am concerned he (Sibanda) was thrown out of the party on
the recommendations of Bulawayo province and a disciplinary committee chaired
by Manyika found him guilty of 11 of the 14 charges that were being
levelled against him," Ndlovu said.
He said he was not aware of any
decision passed to lift the suspension on Sibanda, thereby allowing him to
contest today's elections.
The war veterans' leader fell out of favour
with senior party leaders in Matabeleland after accusations that he was
backing Emmerson Mnangagwa in the succession issue in a province believed to
be heavily campaigning for the Zanu PF national chairman John
Nkomo.
Party sources said senior members feared Sibanda, being an
influential person in all the three Matabeleland provinces because of his
position as the national chairman of the veterans' association, which has
better grassroot support, would influence the Matabeleland vote.
If
Sibanda wins the chairmanship post, the sources said, some senior politicians
feared Mnangagwa would have an upper-hand in the region when it comes to
choosing President Robert Mugabe's successor.
Sibanda later told The
Standard that he was not backing Mnangagwa for any post.
Zanu PF
national commissar, Elliot Manyika, and his team that includes Nicholas
Goche, Patrick Chinamasa and John Nkomo, is expected to supervise the weekend
elections.
Ironically, this is the same team that formed the core of the
disciplinary committee that suspended Sibanda from the party last year.
No pay for NRZ workers as cash crisis
deepens By our own Staff
BULAWAYO - The debt ridden
National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has once again failed to pay its workers
June salaries on time as the financial crisis at the parastatal
persists.
Workers were supposed to be paid their June salaries in
two tranches starting from Friday June 25 to Monday, June 28. However, as of
yesterday none of the workers had received their salaries.
Company sources said the NRZ was only able to pay June salaries after the
intervention of the Ministry of Transport who pleaded with Zimra to lift a
bank garnish order against the railway firm. This was on the
understanding that the Ministry of Transport would ensure that the NRZ met
its tax obligations.
This is the third month in a row that the
NRZ has failed to pay its workers salaries on time due to financial
problems.
NRZ paid its workers May salaries in mid-June after Zimra
effected a garnish order on the parastatal for unpaid tax. The company owes
Zimra billions of dollars in unpaid tax.
NRZ employees said they
were given notices this week by management explaining that the organisation
was still frantically looking for cash to pay their salaries.
"We still do not know when we are going to be paid but a special notice from
the general manager, Sheunesu Munodawafa, says the company is still looking
for ways to ensure that we are paid on time every month," said one NRZ
employee speaking on condition of anonymity.
A statement from
Munodawafa, a copy of which was made available to The Standard, says: "I must
advise with deep regret that the payment of the June, 2004 salaries will be
delayed and will not be paid on the due dates i.e. 28 June, 2003 for grades
11 to 12 employees and 29 June, 2004 for grades 4-10 employees."
NRZ's wage bill for its 9 000-plus employees is understood to be hovering
around $33 billion a month.
Press, public barred from Bennett hearing By our own
Staff
THE hearing into allegations of misconduct against Chimanimani
Member of Parliament, Roy Bennett, opened on Thursday at Parliament but
journalists and members of the public were barred from
attending.
Bennett, a member of the opposition MDC, is alleged to have
attacked two government ministers during a scuffle in Parliament in
May.
His lawyer, Advocate Eric Matinenga, who attended the hearing,
told The Standard that Thursday's meeting sought to decide whether or not his
client should appear before it.
"The committee agreed that Bennett
should answer charges that he was in contempt of Parliament and we started
viewing the video of what happened in Parliament on the 18th of
May.
"Although he kicked Justice Legal and Parliamentary Minister
Patrick Chinamasa and left him lying on the ground, he did not kick
Anti-Corruption Minister Didymus Mutasa as had often been suggested," said
Matinenga.
Matinenga said Bennett started giving evidence saying that
State agencies had caused a lot of trauma since April 2000 despite several
High Court orders barring them from entering his Charleswood farm in
Chimanimani.
"We gave the committee several articles showing the
ill-treatment of Bennett and made available a medical report of Bennett's
wife who had a miscarriage after an attack by government supporters," he
said.
The committee heard about the destruction of Bennett's property
by pro-government supporters and the brutality suffered by his farm
workers, Matinenga said.
Public Welfare, Labour and Social Welfare
Minister, Paul Mangwana, is chairing the committee investigating
Bennett.
Water Resources Minister Joyce Mujuru (Zanu PF), Chief Jonathan
Mangwende (Zanu PF), Harare East MP Tendai Biti (MDC) and Bulawayo North MP
Welshman Ncube (MDC) are the other members of the committee.
Matinenga
said Mangwana moved the motion for the setting up of a committee to probe
Bennett's conduct raising suspicion that his committee would reach a biased
view.
"First, the proceedings were being heard in camera and the Press
and members of the public have been told to apply to the High Court for an
order granting them access to the hearing.
"Again it is unfair to
Bennett that the committee has not called Chinamasa and Mutasa to appear
before it," he said.
UZ evicts students to accommodate Zanu PF youth By our
own Staff
SOME medical students at the University of Zimbabwe say they
have been denied accommodation by authorities to create room for delegates to
the Zanu PF Youth Conference to held at the campus this week.
The
conference will run from July 8 to 11 and will see thousands of Zanu
PF youths from throughout Zimbabwe converging at the UZ.
Some of
the students who spoke to The Standard said the conference organisers were
inconveniencing them because they would now have to commute daily to and from
college.
"They just told me that I could not be accommodated here without
telling me why. Now I have to spend a lot of money on transport," said one
student who declined to be named. He added that most of his colleagues had
encountered similar problems in the past. Most of the affected students stay
at Swinton and Carr Saunders halls of residence.
Emmanuel Maponda, the
UZ dean of students, denied there were some students failing to get
accommodated because of the huge Zanu PF conference.
AN alarming trend has emerged in Zimbabwe where being a
successful black businessman carries with it a price.
Any government
worth its salt has a responsibility to ensure that business is conducted in a
manner that does not imperil the economy of a country. Equally, governments
are there to create a conducive environment for its citizens to indulge in
their endeavours unfettered by official prejudice.
While the crusade,
spearheaded by the recently appointed oddly named Ministry of Anti
-monopolies and Anti-corruption ostensibly to rid the country of corruption
is commendable, the methods being used have the potential of undoing the
tremendous achievements in the country's indigenisation
programme.
When perceptions arise, rightly or wrongly, that specific
individuals are being targeted for persecution because of who they are,
people begin to wonder whether the authorities are genuine in their desire to
correct what everyone knows has gone wrong.
We are not referring here
to the people who have grabbed farms and businesses for which they have not
paid a single cent. No. God forbid! We are talking about people who through
self-effort, determination, endurance and a staunch willingness to succeed
have surmounted most barriers - but are now being hounded out of existence by
a system which celebrates the pull-him-down syndrome.
It pains to say
this, but it must be said: the moment a black Zimbabwean is on a path to
success, questions begin to be raised whether chicanery and fraud are not
involved. This is the first instinct that people have and tongues begin to
wag everywhere. It is as if for a black Zimbabwean, success is an
impossibility. Almost reflexively, this attitude pervades the Zimbabwean
society as a whole and has led to persecution of all kinds
of individuals.
We are not of course condoning corruption and
wrongdoing on the part of any businessman. If people commit crimes, the law
must naturally take its course.
Vindictiveness and personal vendettas
is what we are taking issue with. We do not know what it is that makes
Zimbabweans want to literally dance the moment misfortunes or alleged
misfortunes befall fellow Zimbabweans. But we do know that this frightening
phenomenon is prevalent in this society.
Because of this and many other
reasons, Zimbabwe has lagged behind in terms of development and wealth
creation. Witness the many sons and daughters of this country who are making
it in foreign lands particularly South Africa. Names that immediately come to
mind are those of Strive Masiyiwa, Mutumwa Mawere and Nigel Chanakira who,
understandably, are now resident in that country because of hostile
conditions in Zimbabwe.
The loss of business acumen and skills to this
nation is indeed inestimable. In many cases, we are taking ourselves out of
the game - in our self-destructive quest to detain and arrest people willy
nilly and before investigations have established their offence.
Given
the government record in dealing with those it perceives to be enemies, the
recently adopted Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill that allows
the authorities to detain suspects of corruption or externalisation of funds
has frightening implications for many Zimbabweans trying hard to survive in a
hostile economic environment.
The point must be made that in this new
millennium the countries that go right ahead are those that let the creative
potential of the people flower and flourish.
Witness the tremendous
development that is currently going on in countries such as South Africa and
Botswana in our part of the world. The political leadership in these
countries does not talk ad infinitum about sovereignty and second or third
chimurenga. They talk about freedom for all - 10 years of freedom in the case
of South Africa - and not ten years of sovereignty and chimurenga as would be
the case with you know who.
Clearly, Zimbabwe's loss is South Africa's
gain. It is opportunities galore in South Africa and one does not have to be
a member of ANC to succeed. People are judged not by their colour of skin or
political affiliation but by what they can contribute to the sustainable
development of South Africa.
Is it any wonder that as an economic giant,
South Africa has spread its wings and tentacles everywhere in Southern Africa
and beyond. Multi-national companies such as Multichoice, Vodacom, MNT,
Anglo-American, De Beers to mention but a few, are household names in much of
Southern Africa and beyond.
Proudly South Africa is what they always
say. They do not say proudly ANC precisely because they see South Africans as
South Africans.
Here, if you are not Zanu PF, you must be an enemy. What
kind of thinking is this? How can a fellow Zimbabwean black or white be
considered an enemy? If we think differently, it does not mean we have become
enemies, locked in some kind of mortal combat. No. We are thinking
differently in the interest of our country, Zimbabwe.
As Zimbabweans,
we must change our thinking about our country and our place in it. We must
stop thinking that Zanu PF is synonymous with Zimbabwe. Our lack of success
on many fronts comes primarily from our own destructive ways and the delusion
that in order to succeed in this society you have to pay homage to the ruling
Zanu PF party.
We must break out of this trap. We can no longer afford to
waste precious time trying to rekindle the old flame of racism or second and
third chimurenga.
We have what it takes to make this country great
again - if only Zanu PF allows us to think or do things freely, without let
or hinderance.
Weekend in jail? make it a month! overthetop By Brian
Latham
IT has been a busy week in the troubled central African nation.
The most equal of all comrades announced electoral reforms ahead of next
year's parliamentary violence.
The reforms will replace the electoral
supervisory body appointed by the most equal of all comrades. with another
body appointed by the most equal of all comrades.
This display of
staggering transparency is meant to bring the troubled central African banana
republic into line with guidelines established by the Southern African
Disaster Community.
Meanwhile the justice for the Zany Party minister
pushed a law through parliament allowing police to detain suspects for up to
21 days. He said his legal conscience was clear, probably because it brings
the troubled central African police State into line with such shining
democracies as North Korea, Cuba and Libya.
The new law was
immediately condemned by the More Drink Coming Party which said it expected
its candidates to be arrested shortly before next
year's election.
That's if they get that far. Parliament in the
troubled central African basket case also called for the More Drink Coming
Party to be investigated for treason on the strength of a comment made by the
British Prime Minister Mrs Emily Blair.
Mrs Blair said that there
would be "no salvation" for the people of the central African regime until
the government was changed.
Unsurprisingly, she made no mention of how
that change was to be brought about.
Analysts pointed out that Mrs
Blair's government was likely to be changed long before the government of the
central African nation. With popularity at an all time low and party
infighting at an all time high, it is difficult to tell the difference
between Britain's ruling party and the troubled central African country's
ruling party.
Meanwhile the confused leader of a confused southern
African nation was also doing nothing to affect change in the troubled
central African basket case. Mr Barking told Over The Top this week, "We are
disappointed that talks between the Zany Party who are our friends and the
More Drink Coming Party, who are our enemies, are taking so long.
We
are investigating ways of not making them move any faster."
Meanwhile
spokesmen for both the More Drink Coming Party and the Zany Party said, "What
talks?" when asked how talks were progressing. Both parties have consistently
denied being in talks for over a year, contradicting reports from the
confused southern African nation.
Political analysts who cannot be named
for fear of 21 days in police cells or death (whichever comes first) said Mr
Barking was the only man on the African continent who was aware of
talks.
"The talks are so secret that even the people at the talks don't
know they' re talking," said an analyst.
Still, an eminent
psychiatrist said it was possible that there were talks going on - inside Mr
Barking's head. The psychiatrist said this was a common symptom of a close
association with Messrs Glenfiddich, Teachers and Bells.
OTT is
disinclined to believe the psychiatrist's explanation in case he needs a visa
in a hurry one day. As far as OTT is concerned, Mr Barking is a fine,
upstanding leader of a great African superpower and if he wants to colonise
his troubled central African neighbour, he can be our guest.
In the
meantime, if he's considering giving away any more homes, make mine in KZN
because the Cape seems to have been taken over by Zany politicians and
Anglo-trash. The former are likely to steal the gin, while the latter smell
so foul the gin curdles.
Zimbabweans in Diaspora can help remove
Mugabe regime
MAY I firstly salute the Zimbabweans in the United
Kingdom who demonstrated against Gideon Gono during his recent visit to that
country.
It is estimated that over three million Zimbabweans are in the
Diaspora. While the majority of these are economic refugees who have been
forced to leave their country for purposes of seeking means of survival, some
have left for political reasons as they were targeted by the Mugabe regime
and have sought asylum.
Some of these sons of the soil who escaped
for fear of being killed or victimization have been warned never to set foot
in Zimbabwe again by Mugabe and his supporters.
However, it is common
knowledge that the majority of Zimbabweans living outside the country would
want to return to their country of birth at some point in their lives. But
for those who are being hunted down by the regime, the current situation may
not permit them to return as they risk being arrested upon return, or worse,
killed for having been active in opposition politics, mostly in the MDC. For
this group of people, their safe return home can only be guaranteed through a
regime change.
But regime change cannot only be brought about by the
Zimbabweans resident in the country. Those in the Diaspora can also help
bring about regime change by supporting activities back home. Assistance can
be in various forms, either in cash, in kind, or by contributing
ideas.
The MDC has emerged the most formidable opposition party which is
the only hope for regime change in Zimbabwe as we approach the 2005
elections. While some of the Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora who may find
it difficult to safely return to Zimbabwe under the Mugabe regime may not
support the MDC, they need to put aside their political differences and help
the party which is the only hope for regime change at the moment if they ever
hope for a safe return home.
An MDC government, I think, will be in a
position to understand the circumst ances under which Zimbabweans fled and
may grant them unconditional terms to return to their motherland.
MDC
officials and activists in the Diaspora should take the lead in
this initiative; divide themselves into groups that will support
specific constituencies. Each group will focus on the assigned constituency
and should support that particular constituency in all respects;
morally, materially, financially and with strategies and ideas.
Other
Zimbabweans who are not necessarily MDC supporters may join in out
of realization that this could be the only way they can be guaranteed a
safe return to Zimbabwe.
I REMEMBER reading about President Mugabe addressing a
gathering (Independence Day, I think) and wondering why many Zimbabweans were
leaving the country, kuenda kuno geza machembere. (To care for the sick or
elderly in the UK))This letter is intended to tell him why.
I am in
the UK and the standard of living is very high for everyone. Everyone can
afford food, a car, travel etc and there is absolute respect for all people.
It is absolute freedom that you cannot describe - you can only experience it.
It's a good life. Even Grace Mugabe knows that.
We are far more
independent here than we ever were. Only recently, we were voting to elect
the Mayor (London), councillors and EU MPs. Everyone is allowed to vote. The
voting itself is ever so peaceful and you get this feeling of real freedom
and you feel wanted because you are involved in the decision-making
process.
You never have to look over your shoulder before you say
anything. There is no intimidation. I could write a book on the liberties we
enjoy over here.
In any case, President Mugabe is not getting any younger
himself. He will soon be a chembere himself (If he isn't one already) and
will need looking after. As for minda yake, ngaarime iye. (As for the land,
he can till it himself)
IT appears that the "rural party" has not properly explained
its election strategy to some of its members like Titus Mukhungulushi Chauke
who was recently reported criticising President Mugabe for saying the country
would not be needing any food aid this year when facts on the ground
suggest otherwise.
Of course, there will be a continuing food
shortage, due to the brilliantly executed Land Reform programme. What most
people probably do not realise is that the shortages may in fact have formed
part of the grand agricultural plan.
But the "Rural Party" does
not want foreigners dishing out food to all and sundry who need it, for some
may be members of the dreaded MDC!
That's why the World Food Programme
(WFP) have been sent packing, and that is why Zimbabwe is borrowing money to
import maize.
The electorate will be clearly told: vote for the "Rural
Party?" or starve to death. And the really nice thing is that the people of
Zimbabwe and overseas exiles will pay for the food used to persuade them to
vote "correctly".
Outcry over growing urban pollution By Caiphas
Chimhete
AFTER draining the greasy oil from ramshackle vehicles he
repairs in the streets every day in Harare's Kopje area, Tawanda throws it,
along with other discarded vehicle parts, into the nearby storm-drain
oblivious of the repercussions of his actions.
Tawanda is one of
scores of street corner motor mechanics who are to be found prowling the
seedier and less affluent end of Harare, whose trade has caused an outcry
among environmentalists and the general public, concerned that these oils
will later be swept into the city's water bodies.
A few metres from
Tawanda's street "garage", a group of giggling streets kids are engulfed in a
thick cloud black smoke from burning vehicle tyres which they light up to
warm themselves against the chilly weather.
Though unrelated, both
activities have become a source of concern among environmentalists and town
planners, struggling to maintain low levels of pollution in urban
environs.
A senior programme officer with the Municipal Development
Partnership (MDP), Shingi Mushamba, said pollutants such as oils, chemicals
and burnt tryes were a major problem in the country's urban
centres.
The problem is being exacerbated by the growth of the informal
sector, which has no capacity to deal with environmental challenges, as
people devise means of ekeing out a living.
"It's a growing problem
which should be tackled as soon as possible. For example, the developed world
is dumping used tyres here because they are such a problem getting rid of
them," said Mushamba, whose organisation researches on environmental issues
in the country.
Apart from the informal sector, big corporate companies
have also been found wanting as far as the discharge of industrial waste such
as chemicals and oils into water bodies is concerned.
Last month,
Harare metropolitan Governor Witness Mangwende, lambasted the corporate world
for being responsible for the bulk of water pollution in the capital
city.
Mangwende noted that of 1 500 companies in Harare which discharge
effluent, only 700 can be billed for discharging effluent into the water
system and only 120 firms were charged due to shortage of transport and
manpower.
The chairman of the Zimbabwe Institute of Regional Urban
Planners, Percy Toriro, said the problem of industrial and sewerage pollution
was very rampant in towns and cities that "sit on their catchment" such as
Harare, Chitungwiza and Ruwa.
"Whatever is discharged by residents and
industry in these centres ends up as pollutants in our water sources," he
said.
Toriro said the most dangerous pollutants, which find their way
into water bodies include nitrites, sulphates and heavy metals such as lead,
which have the potential to cause cancer.
Bulawayo, Mutare, Masvingo
and Gweru which have refuse collection problems, also experience water
pollution, said Toriro.
The City of Bulawayo, though not "sitting" on its
catchment area, also experiences water pollution because "its sewerage
infrastructure is old and raw sewage matter frequently spills into water
bodies".
In Harare, water pollution is also linked to the old and
dilapidated sewerage works at Firle near Glen Norah and Crowborough Water
Works. Presently, the two works are serving double the number of people they
were created to serve.
"The end result is that the water purification
bill goes up and will continue to go up because the population of Harare is
increasing rapidly and so is the demand for water," said a Harare City
Council official in the Department of Works.
As a result about
two-thirds of Harare's annual budget is consumed by waste management and
water purification.
According to the 2003 annual report of the City of
Harare's City Department of Health, the bulk of the wastes received at Golden
Quarry dumpsite were from soaps and edible oils manufacturing companies
followed by wastes from asbestos firms and leather processing
industries
"People need to be more innovative because it has been
established that 70 percent of waste sent to dumpsites are bio-degradable,
which means that they can breakdown into manure. Why not turn it into manure
and sell," queried Toriro.
He said while local authorities were busy
taking "waste" to dumpsites, poverty-stricken Zimbabweans were carting it
back in suburbs for resale.
Analysts said pollution in urban centres
could only be reduced if stiffer penalties were enacted and enforced. They
called for awareness campaigns by companies and individuals.
Shamiso
Mtisi, a projects co-ordinator with the Zimbabwe Environment Law Society,
said the penalties stipulated in the Environment Management Act were not
prohibitive enough.
"There are certain companies that would prefer to
pollute and pay later because to them it would be more economical. But the
important thing is to sensitise them of the environmental dangers," said
Mtisi, an environmental lawyer.
Under Section 57 of the Environmental
Management Act, promulgated in 2002, a person or company found guilty of
polluting water bodies is liable to a fine not exceeding $5 million or five
years in jail or both.
The same Act also penalises an individual or
company $15 million or five years in custody or both for polluting the
air.
"In addition, a person or company would be ordered to bear the cost
of removal of the pollutant under what is called the polluter pays
principal," said Mtisi.
But culprits are rarely caught and brought to
book.
Harare City Council public relations manager, Leslie Gwindi, was
unable to shade light on the number of companies that have been taken to
court by the local authority for pollution related offences.
AU slams abuses in Zimbabwe Beauregard Tromp July 04
2004 at 12:38PM
Addis Ababa - The African Union has lambasted
President Robert Mugabe's government for flagrant human rights abuses. It is
Africa's most damning condemnation of Zimbabwe yet.
A report
adopted by the AU executive council on Saturday slams the government for the
arrests and torture of opposition members of parliament and human rights
lawyers, the arrests of journalists, the stifling of freedom of expression
and clampdowns on other civil liberties. This is the harshest criticism
Mugabe has had to bear from his continental peers.
The report was
adopted on Saturday by the AU's executive council, which comprises foreign
ministers of the 53 member states, despite strong opposition from
Zimbabwe.
It was compiled by the AU's African Commission on Human
and People's Rights, which sent a mission to Zimbabwe from June 24 to 28
2002, shortly after the presidential elections.
The report was
apparently not submitted to the AU's 2003 summit because it had not been
translated into French.
It will now be considered by the AU's
annual summit of heads of state and government that begins in Addis Ababa on
Tuesday.
After speaking to victims of political violence and other
victims of torture in Zimbabwe, the mission said that "at the very least"
human rights violations and arbitrary arrests had occurred.
It
was particularly alarmed by the arrest of Stenford Moyo, the president of the
Law Society in Zimbabwe. "The mission is prepared and able to rule that the
government cannot wash its hands from responsibility for all these
happenings," read the report.
"It is evident that a highly charged
atmosphere has been prevailing, many land activists undertook their illegal
actions in the expectation that government was understanding and that police
would not act against them.
"Government did not act soon enough and
firmly enough against those guilty of gross criminal acts.
"By
its statements and political rhetoric, and by its failure at critical moments
to uphold the rule of law, the government failed to chart a path that
signalled a commitment to the rule of law," the report said.
The
mission was not able to find definitively that the human rights violations
were part of an orchestrated plan by the Zanu-PF government. But the report
said the Zimbabwean state did acknowledge to the observers that "excesses did
occur".
Stan Mudenge, the Zimbabwean foreign minister, protested
vehemently against the adoption of the report at the meeting on Saturday,
stating that the Zimbabwean government had not been given an opportunity to
review and respond to the report.
But Oluyemi Adeniji, the
chairperson of the AU executive council, and Oluyemi Adeniji, Nigeria's
foreign minister, disagreed and allowed the report to stand, with the
minister's objections noted.
The report recommended that Zimbabwe
needed mediators to help it "withdraw from the precipice".
It
suggested that religious organisations were best suited to this task and
further suggested that "the media needs to be freed from the shackles of
control to voice opinions and reflect societal beliefs freely".
The
report also called for a repeal of draconian laws and asked the government to
abide by the judgments of the supreme court, which should be free of
political pressure.
The report said the whole the mission found
Zimbabwean society to be highly polarised.
"The land question is
not in itself the cause of division. It appears that at the heart is a
society in search of the means for change and divided about how best to
achieve change after two decades of dominance by a political party that
carried the hopes and aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe through the
liberation struggle into independence," the report said. - Foreign
Service
Mugabe rules out new talks 04/07/2004 13:24 -
(SA)
Harare, Zimbabwe - President Robert Mugabe ruled out any new
talks with Zimbabwe's opposition on the country's economic and political
crisis, citing its alleged ties with Britain, the former colonial power, the
state Sunday Mail reported.
Addressing a ruling party assembly, Mugabe
alleged the Movement for Democratic Change was taking orders from British
Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government.
Southern African
countries that have called for the resumption of dialogue with the opposition
"should have realised by now the MDC is an agent of Mr Blair", Mugabe was
quoted as saying.
"We cannot have serious discussions with the MDC as
they don't have any authority to decide. They still have to report to their
masters in Europe," Mugabe said Saturday, according to the
newspaper.
He said Blair had acknowledged in the British Parliament last
week that Britain was trying to help bring about "regime change" in Zimbabwe,
the newspaper reported.
"If there are any talks that need to be done,
they have to be between the British and the Zimbabwean governments," Mugabe
was quoted as saying.
South African President Thabo Mbeki has been trying
to broker new talks in Zimbabwe after a first round collapsed after disputed
presidential elections in 2002.
Mbeki had predicted new talks on an
internal political deal would be completed by June this year.
No
formal talks have taken place since the first round collapsed when
Mugabe demanded the opposition recognise his disputed victory in the
presidential polls.
Opposition leaders and independent observers say
Mugabe, the only ruler since independence in 1980, used intimidation and vote
rigging to win re-election and continue his authoritarian rule.
The
opposition refused to drop a court challenge on the poll
results. Neighbouring South Africa's policy of "quiet diplomacy" toward
Zimbabwe has drawn domestic and international criticism.
Zimbabwe
faces its worst political and economic crisis since independence from
Britain, with soaring inflation and acute shortages of food, fuel, medicine
and essential goods.
Mugabe has also intensified a crackdown on dissent,
arresting opposition and labor leaders and shutting down the country's only
independent daily newspaper.
Hiding
behind a car, his head bleeding, as a terrifying armed band of Robert Mugabe
supporters clubbed and stoned people taking part in a peace march in central
Harare four years ago, journalist Andrew Meldrum wondered what had happened
to the Zimbabwe that promised freedom and liberation. It was something that
Meldrum, who was seized by police, driven to Harare airport and illegally
expelled in May 2003, had cause to ponder often in 23 years of reporting in
Zimbabwe. His book, "Where We Have Hope," is, however, far more than a
chronicle of disillusion by an idealistic white American who arrived in the
country a few months after independence in 1980. It is a compelling first
hand account, part personal, part political history, of what went wrong: the
sheer cruelty and brutality that has enabled Mugabe to cling to power; the
politicisation of the police, military and top judiciary; the strangling of
press freedom; the corruption; the attacks on whites, gays, church leaders or
whoever to try to bolster waning support; the rigged and violent elections;
South African protection of Mugabe; and, through it all, the enduring courage
and dignity of many Zimbabweans as their hopes for change were dashed by an
ever-more repressive regime.
Two points stand out. First, how much
worse it is now than it was even after Mugabe started seizing white-owned
farms in 2000 in response to losing a constitutional referendum. For example,
Meldrum describes crowds of opposition Movement for Democratic Change
supporters booing and jeering Mugabe as he arrived at Parliament after
claiming election victory (any public gathering now forbidden without police
permission); a news conference marked by tough questions from foreign
correspondents (all now expelled); and, a bit earlier in 1999, an
unprecedented letter to Mugabe from senior judges (all now removed) urging
his government to uphold the rule of law and obey court orders. Second,
Meldrum's unshakeable belief that democracy, respect for human rights, a free
press and sound economic management will be restored in Zimbabwe under a new
government. But when and at what cost? "I cannot say," concludes Meldrum,
correspondent for Britain's Guardian newspaper and now based in South Africa.
"It is not known how many Zimbabweans will be beaten, tortured and killed in
the struggle to regain their freedoms. But I am absolutely sure that the
country will return to its democratic ideals . The Zimbabwean electorate will
emerge from the struggle strengthened and considerably
wiser.
Meldrum, a hands on reporter, combines political and economic
analysis with memorable human stories. During the killings in Matabeleland by
Mugabe's 5th Brigade in the 1980s, Meldrum went to see for himself. At a
mission hospital he and three other journalists were saved from detection by
troops when a brave doctor hid them in a cupboard. On the day of the Harare
peace march, with Mugabe's men screaming "Hondo, Hondo," (War, War), Meldrum
was rescued by a young black computer programmer. "They were attacking all
the whites. I saw they were coming back so that is why I helped you," the man
said, driving Meldrum from the melee. "We have all got to fight this."
Violence and human rights abuses in Mugabe's Zimbabwe are so widespread that
the words can sound threadbare. Meldrum's descriptions, however, of
individual victims and attacks are truly shocking. James Zhou lying face down
in Zvishavane hospital before the June 2000 parliamentary elections. With
his brother, Finos, MDC candidate for remote Mberengwa West, James had
been abducted by the war veteran terrorising the inaccessible area,
Biggie Chitoro. Finos was tortured and died. James survived - with two
gaping bloody craters where his buttocks should have been. "He had burns,
cuts and bruises everywhere on his body, but his backside had been completely
flayed off."
There's the big-spending Grace Mugabe at a Zanu PF
election rally, viewing the crowd with contempt as she played with her gold
sunglasses; grinning policemen waving to the killers of white farmer Martin
Olds as they drove away; Mugabe in an early interview - "stiff, starchy and
distant at all times." Meldrum sees Mugabe and his immediate predecessor, Ian
Smith, the country's last white leader, as "two sides of the same coin," both
using "similar political cunning and brutality to maintain their rule." Smith
now justifying all the wrongs of his rule by pointing to Mugabe, and
Mugabe justifying his violent rule by citing Smith, and saying he is just
ridding Zimbabwe of Rhodesia's past. This book, with its depiction of the
heroism of doctors, teachers, trade unionists, housewives, lawyers and many
others who refuse to accept Mugabe's repression, makes it difficult to avoid
a sense of hope. It also makes it impossible to escape a sense of dread as
Mugabe gears up to claim another victory in parliamentary elections scheduled
next year.
Where We Have Hope. By Andrew Meldrum. Published by John
Murray
CHAOS
still reigns supreme in the country's accelerated land
redistribution programme, with the latest revelations indicating that the
Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement is in a quandary over what to
do with multiple farm owners.
Concern also prevails over some of the
decisions that a presidential committee on resettlement is making. Critics
say the decisions are bound to further undermine the speedy decongestion of
communal areas, one of the basic guiding tenets of the land reallo cation
programme that was adopted in 2000.
The Presidential Land Resettlement
Committee, chaired by Minister John Nkomo, who is in charge of the Lands,
Land Reform and Resettlement portfolio, has admitted through a report
presented to President Robert Mugabe in April, that it is being frustrated by
multiple farm owners, some of whom are cabinet ministers, who are not willing
to surrender the extra farmland they grabbed.
The Committee was set up
immediately after another presidential land review committee led by the
former secretary to the President and cabinet, Charles Utete, compiled a
report chronicling how land had been allocated under the fast track and A2
programmes and made some recommendations. It had as one of its arms a
national inspectorate team whose brief was to identify vacant plots and farms
for allocation to people on the waiting list and those who wanted to swap
their plots. There was a furore recently when a local daily, The Herald
reported that Nkomo's ministry was seeking to reverse the gains of the land
reform programme by giving back land to white farmers who had been
dispossessed of their farms to make way for thousands of landless blacks, by
allegedly cancelling offer letters.
Nkomo, in what was perceived as an
inter-ministerial fallout, hit back, saying the claims were being made by
some malcontents who had criminally acquired more than one farm each. The
allegations sought to absolve the ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development, headed by Joseph Made from the untidiness relating to offer
letters.
In February, Nkomo warned those holding on to more than one farm
to surrender the rest or face prosecution. Even President Mugabe has in
the past raised the whip to the culprits, but this has largely fallen on
deaf ears.
Mystery surrounds the demonstrated cheek of the offenders,
leaving many wondering why no action is being taken against
them.
Observers say their defiance could indicate that they wield a lot
of power whose balance higher authorities are reluctant to unsettle,
especially now that most attention is trained on the parliamentary elections
to be held in March next year.
The Land Resettlement Committee has a
legal sub-committee that could be used to find ways of addressing the issue
of multiple farm ownership.
Many powerful people, among them cabinet
ministers and other top government officials, military and police bigwigs,
prominent bankers and business persons reportedly took advantage of the
confusion that accompanied the fast track exercise to amass farming plots for
themselves, relatives and friends.
In some cases, the culprits drove
former peasants from lucrative farms where they had been resettled. This has
been cited as one of the major reasons why most intended beneficiaries of the
programme, particularly those living on unyielding land in rural areas,
remain congested there.
Ironically, there are vast tracts of land that
remain idle, with Nkomo apparently undecided over what to do with them, even
when preparations for the next main planting season are supposed to be
underway.
"There are 1 513 plots, which were established, as vacant.
These plots had either not been offered to anyone or had been vacated by the
initial beneficiaries," read the Land Resettlement Committee
report.
However, Nkomo is insisting that no land shall be allocated to
waiting identified beneficiaries until a full audit of available property is
made. It is not clear how soon those who need to be resettled will have to
wait.
"During the Presidential Land Resettlement Committee's consultative
visits to meet stakeholders in the provinces, all Provincial Land
Committees expressed concern with the increasing number of people who owned
more than one farm while there continued to be a lot of people still on the
waiting lists," observed the Nkomo committee.
There is a total of 129
444 applicants on the waiting list throughout the country, according to the
report, but the general perception is that the figure could actually be
higher than that, given the inefficiency in the data capturing process. The
report says the scenario obtained as a result of a combination of factors,
among them the conflict of roles between provincial committees and the lands
ministry over the commercial A2 allocations, double allocations emanating
from Made's office and cases of senior government and Zanu PF officials who
took more than one farm each.
The report blames Made's ministry for
allocating land to beneficiaries who would not have been recommended by
provincial committees, a revelation that points to underhand dealing in the
agriculture ministry. "There are also cases of senior Party and Government
officials who grabbed more than one farm using their positions of influence.
In most cases, these officials would have received only one offer letter.
These officials have clandestinely held on to numerous other farms through
their relatives," says the committee report.
A total of 1 397
beneficiaries had gone on to settle on farms without offer letters, even
though they had been recommended by provincial land committees.
The Theft of Private Assets Written by Eddie Cross, Bulawayo, June 6,
2002
As NEPAD activity reaches new heights in global forums, the
full implications of the economic delinquency of the Mugabe government and
its effects on investors in the continent have still not been spelt
out. Businessmen understand the implications and we act accordingly, but it
seems as if African leaders, including Mbeki and Obasanjo, for all
their sophistication, do not.
Perhaps its time to spell out just what
it means.
In the past two years, the Mugabe government, with the tacit
support of the entire continent, has taken away from several thousand private
investors in Zimbabwe, assets worth at least one trillion Zimbabwe dollars.
For those who do not know what that sort of sum means, its Z$1 000 000 000
000.00 or US$18 billion in private assets. In Zimbabwean terms that is three
times the annual GDP and more than the entire continent received in foreign
aid in the past year (US$14,6 billion).
These assets were largely
created after independence in 1980, with 83 per cent of the owners acquiring
them since 1980 - the majority with specific government approval, which
stated in clear terms that the properties they were buying, were not required
for land resettlement. What were those assets? The full list is too long to
publish here but it includes 8,5 million hectares of land, 258 000 hectares
of irrigated land, 48 000 hectares of planted timber. 1,5 million head of
beef cattle, 60 000 head of dairy cattle, 12 000 hectares of citrus orchards,
2 700 hectares of deciduous fruit orchards, 12 000 homesteads, 350 000
workers houses. 2 800 dams of various sizes, 3 500 automatic tobacco curing
facilities, 37 000 tobacco barns. 2,5 million square meters of storage space,
20 000 tractors of 75 horsepower and some 1 700 tractors of greater
horsepower. Thousands of implements, ploughs, harrows, planters, fuel storage
facilities, combine harvesters, hay balers and thousands of kilometers of
fencing, water pipelines cattle handling facilities, spray races and dip
tanks.
These investors spent up to Z$120 billion a year on inputs, were
supported by 3 000 industrial and commercial firms, borrowed Z$30 billion
last year to finance the crops grown during the summer of 2001/02. When they
made money most of these investors simply spent it on their farms. Many were
highly intensive and well developed properties that would be the pride of
any country in the world. They funded research and training, marketing
efforts that reached across the world, they made Zimbabwean tobacco, cotton,
flowers and beef amongst the best known products of Africa.
They not
only invested their own money, but borrowed money to invest. They also
invested their time and knowledge and many were active in their communities
helping the peasant communities in their districts to improve their output
and quality. They took out Zimbabwe citizenship and paid taxes. They obeyed
the law of the land in all respects. Their reward for trusting Africa? Their
government comes under threat from democratic forces in their own country and
decides that the white farmer is an easy target and can be used, ruthlessly
and without regard to the rule of law or any other standard of human
behavior, that they should be sacrificed on the alter of
political expediency. They have been killed (12 have died since the
dispossession campaign started) beaten, imprisoned, harassed, expelled from
their properties by unruly mobs with weapons while the police watched. They
have been vilified and dammed by the state media, accused of every crime in
the book and a lot that are not listed. Now they are watching helplessly
as their hard won assets are stolen, vandalized or worse - simply given
to people with no experience of farming who qualify simply because they
are connected to the ruling party.
Not a single farmers association in
the rest of the world has come to their assistance. Not a single government
in Africa has condemned this wholesale theft of private assets in Zimbabwe
and no one has proposed any form of assistance for the people who are being
dispossessed of everything they own in many cases. Many of these farmers are
literally sitting in car parks with their personal effects wondering what to
do next. They are being forced in some cases to take their children out of
school because they cannot afford school fees and most are planning to move
to another continent where this nightmare will not happen to them
again. Would you trust Africa with your money - if leaders who do this are
allowed to get away with it and in fact are lauded by the ignorant and
prejudiced in other countries, for taking action which will "correct the
injustices of the past"? Start talking that language and where would any of
us be? Land is at the core of the Zimbabwe crisis - I agree, but what crisis?
The crisis of governance, human and legal rights, the security of investment
in a foreign land? If you add this litany of theft and abuse to the issues
of sound fiscal and macro economic policy then you have an outlook for
investment in Africa which only the completely blind and deaf could ignore.
If you owned a pension in Zimbabwe and it was invested in the money market
here, it would be shrinking at the rate of about half its value annually at
present. If you retired on a pension after 35 years of faithful service to
your company, your pension would not buy you groceries in three
years.
If you invested in an export industry and intended to attack world
markets with your finished product, when you were paid, the State would take
40 per cent of your gross receipts and convert it at 25 per cent or less, of
its true value. If you invested in a gold mine, they would take 80 per cent
of your gross receipts and pay you 40 per cent of its true value. Then if
after all that you made any money, you would be subject to some of the
highest tax levels in the world - Zimbabwe collects over 30 per cent of its
GDP in taxes each year. If you were employed on a standard contract of
employment you would start paying taxes on an income of US$85 per month and
pay up to 80 per cent of what you earn to government in one form of tax or
another. You would get nothing back - no free education, no free health, and
no long-term security of any kind.
On top of that you might be told
who to employ, denied residence permits for essential staff, obligated to
take into your company, partners who would contribute nothing but demand to
be treated as principals. Or you might be faced with price controls which
prohibit you from making a profit, or be faced with demands for bribes in
order to get your trading license or a health certificate or even an import
permit. If you wanted a telephone line into your new factory you might have
to wait 5 years or pay a bribe to have a line taken from another customer and
given to you. You might be faced with a state-sponsored trade union that will
make impossible demands on you for wage increases and other perks. Dismissing
an employee who fails to turn up to work or simply is incompetent might prove
to be impossible. Investors in Zimbabwe today face every one of these
problems every day - no matter how large or how powerful. Foreign ownership
does not protect you from these pressures and in fact sometimes is a
liability, because you have no local political sway.
Mbeki says that
Africa is changing - I agree, but if they allow Mugabe to get away with this
outrageous behavior in economic and political terms, then what guarantee can
Mbeki give that it will not happen tomorrow in South Africa, or Zambia, or
anywhere else on the continent. Globalisation means that people who want to
invest can place their money anywhere in the world and they can choose to do
so. Choice means that Africa has to attract investment and to do so it must
protect and succor the investors who are already here. Not treat them as
economic prisoners behind prison walls where they can do what they want to
them and the rest of the world will not give a damn.
During the
struggle for independence, dignity and freedom in Zimbabwe, the liberation
movements claimed they were working for democracy (one-man one vote),
freedoms of association and expression, human rights and dignity and equality
before the law. One of the things that distresses me most in the present
crisis in Zimbabwe is that so few African intellectuals and leaders are
speaking into our situation in defence of those principles. They
remain silent, and by implication, they silently give Mugabe legitimacy
and acceptance of activities that are undermining everything they stood
for during the years of struggle. If this does not change, NEPAD is dead in
the water, before it begins.