Mail & Guardian,
SA
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=273259&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/
Harare, Zimbabwe
31 May 2006 11:59
A man who gunned down a white
Zimbabwean farmer four years ago has been sentenced to death by the Zimbabwe
High Court, reports said on Wednesday.
Munetsi Kadzinga (31) was
sentenced to death by high court Judge Bharat Patel on Tuesday after he was
convicted of murdering farmer Charles Anderson in 2002, the state-controlled
Herald newspaper reported.
"The court is of the unanimous opinion that
there are no extenuating circumstances in this case. It follows that I have no
option but to impose the morally invidious but legally inescapable sentence of
death upon the accused," Patel was quoted as saying.
Kadzinga and an
accomplice ransacked Anderson's farmhouse in Mashonaland central province in
June 2002. Kadzinga shot and killed Anderson, a father of two, as he arrived
back home with his family before escaping with a vehicle and looted
property.
More than a dozen white farmers have been murdered since
President Robert Mugabe launched his controversial white land seizures in 2000.
But very few of the perpetrators have been arrested or convicted in
court.
Earlier in the trial Patel dismissed Kadzinga's claim that he had
been told to carry out attacks on white farmers by senior government officials,
including the then-Home Affairs Minister, John Nkomo. -- Sapa-dpa
SWRADIO
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310506/uzfees310506.htm
By Tichaona Sibanda
31 May
2006
The University of Zimbabwe has hiked its tuition and accomodation
fees from Z$90 million to Z$150 million per semester and are almost certain to
be heading on a collision course with students. UZ Vice-chancellor Levy Nyagura
announced the new fee hikes in a circular sent out on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe
National Students Union co-ordinator Washington Katema said he was informed of
the ‘sad news’ on Tuesday and blasted the government for unilaterally raising
the fees when ‘almost all students were struggling to pay Z$90
million.’
‘What the government has just done is to add salt to injury. We
are sons and daughters of poor farmers and civil servants who are struggling to
get us to school with the little money they get from their salaries,’ Katema
said.
Katema strongly believes the fee hike is an attempt by the
government to close down universities in the country. Lately, students have been
on the ‘war path’ with authorities, clashing with the police over a number of
unresolved issues with the government. Chief among the students’ grievances have
been the fee hikes, that triggered violent clashes between law enforcers and the
students.
There are fears the latest hikes will fuel more disturbances
between the students and the authorities. According to Katema, the latest
increases will affect everyone at the UZ. He said the reaction from the students
was naturally to drop out of the college because none of them seems to have any
alternative.
‘This is a disaster, basically what this means is government
has killed our vision and hopes of having tertiary education. Government has
killed our future and destroyed our hopes. In fact they don’t deserve to be
called a government, they have failed to deliver and must go,’ said Katema.
SWRADIO
http://www.swradioafrica.com/news310506/saminister310506.htm
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
31 May 2006
South African officials have been dead silent
about the deteriorating Zimbabwe situation for a long time now and the country’s
policies on Zimbabwe have reflected a denial of the crisis next door. But this
week has seen a flurry of comments that seem to suggest they are finally
admitting Zimbabwe has a serious problem. There is still however no admission by
any of them that Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF are responsible.
Speaking in
parliament on Monday, Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the issues in
Zimbabwe remained a challenge but reiterated that it was up to the people
themselves to solve its problems. She said: "There is a problem, there is a
challenge, but I do not have all the answers about how to solve Zimbabwe. I
think equally none of us has all the answers. The answers do lie in the
Zimbabweans' hands." This was the first time a high-ranking South African
official had admitted this. But the foreign minister refused to commit to any
action such as targeted sanctions saying those imposed by the EU had failed.
Then on Tuesday South Africa’s Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
was reported to have said the country can do little to shield itself from an
eventual collapse of Zimbabwe's devastated economy but would step in quickly to
help recovery. This has been viewed as an admission that Zimbabwe is indeed
headed for collapse. According to The Cape Argus newspaper, Mlambo-Ngcuka also
said "I don't even know if we can shield ourselves in that way because we cannot
really close our border for instance." This was a reference to the estimated 3
million Zimbabweans who have already fled to South Africa. The majority of them
are living there illegally.
These comments by the foreign minister and
the deputy president come just days after South Africa’s president Thabo Mbeki
had told another newspaper that UN secretary general Kofi Annan had devised a
plan to resolve the Zimbabwe crisis and had agreed to visit the country. He
suggested that it would be wise to await the outcome of Annan’s initiative
before pursuing other avenues. Observers have said all of this activity suggests
a solution for Zimbabwe has become a priority for South Africa.
IOL
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=84&art_id=qw1149029281826B251
May 31 2006 at 01:38AM
Harare - Zimbabwe's central bank has secured and signed a pact with a
European bank for a $50-million revolving fund to import fuel to ease shortages
gripping the southern African state, the bank chief said on
Tuesday.
Zimbabwe is struggling with a severe economic crisis which many
critics blame on President Robert Mugabe's government and which has led to
chronic shortages of food and foreign currency to import essential commodities,
including drugs and fuel.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono
said on state-run television he had on Tuesday signed a one-year deal with
French bank BNP Paribas and a South African financial institution, Loita Capital
Partners, for a $50-million revolving fund to buy fuel.
The
loan deal had been "secured and leveraged" with mineral exports from Zimbabwe's
largest nickel producer Bindura Nickel Corporation and also been underwritten by
two private Zimbabwean commercial banks, he said.
"The facility is for
the importation of fuel by NOCZIM (state National Oil Company of Zimbabwe) and
is initially for a period of 12 months but on a revolving basis," he said,
adding that the deal had taken a year to secure.
Gono did not say whether
the deal was linked to an agreement that the West African petroleum producer
Equatorial Guinea signed last week to supply oil to Zimbabwe.
The
Zimbabwean central bank governor and his officials were not available for
immediate comment.
In his comments on Zimbabwe televesion, Gono said the
$50-million revolving fund he had secured was not enough to meet Zimbabwe's fuel
requirements but that Harare would try to forward sell some of its minerals to
access foreign loans.
Industry officials say Zimbabwe needs to secure
about $120-million worth of fuel a month to comfortably meet its requirements
and to start building crucial strategic reserves.
"In the context of the
National Economic Development Priority Programme we must try to leverage exports
to allow Zimbabwe to access international finance," he said.
Many
international donors, including the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund, have cut aid to Zimbabwe over Mugabe's controversial political and
economic policies, especially his seizures of white-owned farms for
redistribution to blacks.
The policies have left Mugabe - 82, and
Zimbabwe's sole ruler since independence from Britain in 1980 - largely isolated
and counting Equatorial Guinea among some of his few friendly
countries.
Receiving oil from Equatorial Guinea, sub-Saharan Africa's
third-largest oil producer, would be a welcome boost for Zimbabwe's struggle
against the economic meltdown and diplomatic isolation.
Equatorial Guinea
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema visited Zimbabwe in March, consolidating ties
forged two years ago after Harare helped break up a suspected international coup
plot against his government.
Mugabe and Obiang share the distinction of
being labelled by Western critics as two of Africa's most repressive leaders.
31 May 2006 17:27:08
GMT
Source:
IRIN
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/de5bf99c5195cfdc4b45c3cb9b8cdadf.htm
Printable
view | Email this article | RSS [-] Text [+]
LUSAKA, 31 May (IRIN) -
//This is the first in a three-part series on the impact of the Zimbabwean
meltdown on its neighbours. The series kicks off with a report on the influence
of the Zimbabwean implosion on Zambia. On Thursday 1 June, IRIN will look at
Mozambique, followed by the impact of the Zimbabwean crisis on South Africa and
Botswana on Friday 2 June.//
Frustrated by more than five years of
faltering economic growth, Zimbabwean skills and investors have sought other
markets in the region. The gamble by migrant Zimbabweans to start afresh in
neighbouring countries has paid off for some, but been less profitable for
others.
The relationship between migrant Zimbabweans and their neighbour
to the northwest, Zambia, has generally been mutually beneficial. According to
the state-run Zambia Investment Centre (ZIC), Zimbabweans have made business
commitments worth more than US$73 million since 2002, creating almost 10,000
jobs.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, two of the
world's leading multilateral lending institutions, estimate that harsh economic
conditions may have forced a quarter of Zimbabwe's 12 million people to seek
survival elsewhere.
Zimbabwe has suffered acute shortages of food, fuel
and foreign currency since its fast-track land reform programme began in 2000;
housing, education and transport costs have jumped and, according to the IMF,
the country has the highest inflation rate in the world.
Tony Hawkins, a
professor at the Graduate School of Management of the University of Zimbabwe,
said recently that until 2002, Zimbabwe was the second largest economy after
South Africa in the 14-member Southern African Development Community; now only
Malawi and tiny Swaziland and Lesotho are worse off.
Zimbabwean street
traders, farmers, investors and professionals have settled in Zambia: Peter
Moyo, 28, earns a living selling fruit juices, peanut butter, biscuits and
chocolates on the busy streets of Zambia's capital, Lusaka.
"Out here
life is a lot easier", he remarked. "By bringing in cheap products from Zimbabwe
without paying tax, I make enough money to buy many things I need back home."
Low costs make it possible for him and other Zimbabwean street vendors to sell
their goods at half the price charged by Zambian stores.
Moyo and a host
of other small traders have infiltrated Lusaka, earning up to US$20 a day, or
about $600 a month. They only have to take care of their daily expenses, such as
food and accommodation, but a room in Lusaka's high-density townships can be had
for $3 per night. With a good turnover, they return to Zimbabwe as often as
every two weeks for more stock.
President Levy Mwanawasa's government has
also kept its doors open to investors from across the Zambezi. Between January
2002 and April this year, the ZIC issued 78 investment licenses to Zimbabweans
in various sectors. Of these, over 50 were in the agricultural sector, covering
machinery supply, horticulture and the production of tobacco, maize and wheat.
Others have invested in manufacturing, construction, health, services, tourism
and transport.
"Most Zimbabwean investors came between 2003 and 2004,
when we recorded 30 and 19 investment projects, respectively. So far, we have
not had any revocations of investment certificates held by Zimbabwean investors
over this period, an indicator that they are satisfactorily implementing their
projects," said ZIC's acting director of marketing and investment promotion,
Sharon Sichilongo. "Since 2002, Zimbabweans have made investment commitments
worth $73,491,141 and their 78 projects have created 9,771 jobs for the local
people."
Zambia has proved to be an attractive investment destination to
Zimbabweans because of the government's emphasis on private-sector participation
in the economy, and the removal of subsidies and price controls, explained
Sichilongo.
Abolishing foreign exchange controls and the policy of
allowing repatriation of profits have been further incentives, while a steady
decline in inflation and a stable gross domestic product growth rate over the
last few years have created a favourable foreign investment climate and made
Zambia a regional competitor. In April, single-digit inflation of 9.4 percent
was achieved for the first time in over three decades, according to the Central
Statistical Office.
Although the Investment Centre has registered only 50
Zimbabwean agriculture investors, many of them are white commercial
farmers.
Songowayo Zyambo, executive director of the Zambia National
Farmers' Union, said more than 120 former Zimbabwean commercial farmers were
members of the organisation. "They are contributing greatly to Zambia's improved
agricultural production by cultivating huge hectares of the land that was just
lying idle in the past."
Zambia has been recording bumper harvests since
2002, except for the 2004/05 farming season when rainfall was erratic. The
arrival of foreign farmers has boosted production in the Mkushi district in
central Zambia.
"These Zimbabwean white farmers have employed a lot of
local workers - some have over 400 workers, which is why we are seeing an influx
of people from other parts of the country coming to seek employment here. Our
standards of living have tremendously improved ever since they settled here,"
said district commissioner Sydney Chileshe.
The Zimbabwean meltdown has
had a disastrous effect on tourism at its prime destination, the Victoria Falls.
Zambia, which shares the Falls, has run an aggressive marketing campaign to
attract tourists not only to view the 'Smoke that Thunders' but also to sell
other lesser-known spots.
Erol Hickey, chairperson of the Zambia National
Tourism Board and patron of the 'Visit Zambia Campaign', commented, "The private
sector has really benefited so much from the Zimbabwean situation. Although we
cannot put figures to it just now ... most tourists are coming in through
Livingstone [in Zambia] and it is true that the profits for all tourism
operators have doubled since the year 2003."
Hickey said the recent
appreciation of the kwacha against major foreign currencies had affected the
success of the sector this year, but Zambia was still gaining in popularity,
even in non-English speaking countries.
Though it is open to debate,
many analysts say the country owes its steady economic improvement to the
confusion in neighbouring Zimbabwe, which has made Zambia a favourite
destination in the region.
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5032826.stm
Hyperinflation currently stands at more than
1000%
Zimbabwe is introducing a bank note worth 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to
help consumers as inflation exceeds 1,000%.
The note will be worth about $1
at the official exchange rate, but only $0.30 on the informal market.
The 50,000 Zimbabwe dollar bill, introduced only four months ago, is not
enough to buy a loaf of bread.
The government on Tuesday used its
mineral exports to gain access to a $50m loan from a European bank, to pay for
essential fuel and drugs.
"It is not the first and last time to see us
introducing bearer cheques and we will not hesitate to introduce higher
denominations," Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono said, according to the
state-run Herald newspaper.
The bills are known as bearer cheques since
they are promissory notes rather than official legal tender, but are used in
Zimbabwe in the same way as money.
Bundles of money
The issuing
of bearer cheques began with a note worth 10,000 Zimbabwe dollars, to reduce the
need to carry large bundles of paper money.
The government has announced
a National Economic Development Priority Programme (NEDPP) in order to deal with
the economic problems.
Zimbabwe is suffering from shortages of food,
fuel and foreign currency. In April, inflation passed 1,000% per annum for the
first time.
President Robert Mugabe blames domestic and foreign enemies
for the problems, while his critics point to the collapse of agricultural
exports following a controversial land reform programme.
The country is
struggling to pay civil servants and is thought to owe money to neighbours such
as South Africa and Mozambique from whom it has been importing electricity and
fuel.
EMBARGOED FOR TRANSMISSION UNTIL 00.01 HRS GMT, 31 MAY 2006.
These images
are available for download under the following terms and conditions -
Before |
After |
© Digital Globe, Inc. (2006)
|
© Digital Globe, Inc. (2006) |
Satellite image of Porta Farm, Zimbabwe, 22 June 2002 |
Satellite image of Porta Farm, Zimbabwe, 6 April 2006 |
IOL
May 31 2006 at
04:34AM
By Jeremy Lovell
London - The human rights group Amnesty
International released satellite images on Wednesday showing the obliteration of
a large community during last year's settlement clearances in Zimbabwe that made
700 000 people homeless.
The particularly graphic "before" and "after"
shots show the destruction of the Porta Farm settlement west of Harare that was
until last year home to up to 10 000 people.
Where once stood 850
structures, including homes and schools, is now empty scrub land with only the
outlines of the former streets to hint at what used to be there.
"These
images are a graphic indictment of the Zimbabwean government's policies. They
show the horrifying transition of an area from a vibrant community to rubble and
shrubs," Amnesty Africa director Kolawole Olaniyan said.
The
pictures from Digital Globe were acquired, processed and analysed by the
American Association for the Advancement of Science with funding from the John D
and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, and given to Amnesty. The Zimbabwean
government said it launched Operation Murambatsvina (Restore Order) in May last
year to remove illegal settlements that had mushroomed around Harare.
It
was widely condemned as brutal and inhumane, and critics accused President
Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF government of using it as an excuse to victimise urban
opposition strongholds.
Amnesty, noting that government supporters also
lost homes, said the clearances and forced dispersal of the inhabitants back to
rural villages was at the behest of the security services who feared the
settlements were set to explode.
Inflation in the former breadbasket of
Africa is now running officially at 1 040 percent - but unofficially at 1 800
percent - and 90 percent of the population are below the poverty line.
So
catastrophic are conditions in the former British colony of Rhodesia that
average life expectancy is now just 34 years compared with 55 when it won
independence in 1980.
The irony of Porta Farm is that it was established
by the government in 1991 as a temporary home for thousands of squatters whose
shacks had been demolished in Harare in clean-up exercises ahead of a
Commonwealth summit hosted by Zimbabwe.
Although their stay at Porta was
meant to be temporary, the settlement expanded over the years as rising poverty
in the capital Harare drove people to the settlement where they eked out a
living from fishing and working on neighbouring farms.
Porta farm
residents clashed with police while resisting eviction from the settlement in
2004. Police however denied a report by Amnesty that some 10 people died as a
result of teargas fired during the clashes.
Cape Argus
WORLD
May
31, 2006
South Africa can do little to shield itself from an eventual
collapse of Zimbabwe's devastated economy but would step in quickly to help its
neighbour recover, Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has said.
An
economic meltdown in Zimbabwe would have a wide effect throughout southern
Africa, she said in an interview yesterday.
Asked if Pretoria was taking
any measures to protect itself from a possible collapse, she said: "I don't even
know if we can shield ourselves in that way because we cannot really close our
border for instance."
But she added: "What South Africa can do is to give
Zimbabwe the best support possible to be able to reconstruct if something like
that were to happen."
She emphasised that she had no information on
how critical Zimbabwe's economic situation was.
Analysts say about 3
million of Zimbabwe's 12m population have already fled to South Africa, many of
them illegally.
Last week President Thabo Mbeki spoke of a UN effort to
help end Zimbabwe's crisis.
Mbeki told a news conference that the world
should await the outcome of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's diplomacy instead
of prescribing solutions for Zimbabwe.
But both Harare and UN officials
played down suggestions of UN intervention. - Reuters
The Chronicle of Higher Education http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/05/2006053104n.htm
Dozens of university students in Zimbabwe have been arrested -- and a number of them tortured -- in recent weeks, following a spate of protests on campuses across the country over tuition increases of as much as 1,000 percent introduced earlier this year, according to student groups and human rights lawyers.
Zimbabwean police reportedly have been hunting for student leaders and keeping close watch over universities across the country, after angry students burned down the computer laboratory at the Bindura University of Science Education during a riot on May 10. One of those being sought, Promise Mkwananzi, said on Tuesday that he planned to surrender on Wednesday to the police in Bindura.
The Zimbabwean
BULAWAYO - Commuters woke up
to a hefty 50% increase in public transport fares this week as the cost of
living spirals out of control.
A single trip from Bulawayo city centre to the
nearest low-income residential suburb now costs Z$80 000, up from the previous
$50 000.
The chairman of the Bulawayo Public Transport Association (BPTA),
Strike Ndlovu said the latest increase was due to the difficult economic
environment they were operating under.
"I will not comment much on this issue
but transport operators are also feeling the economic pinch. They also have to
survive, why are other business entities not stopped from effecting price and
fare hikes in this tough economic climate?" Ndlovu said.
Public transporters
in the capital Harare and other cities were also expected to hike fares within
the week.
But the police, who in the past have arrested public transport
operators for hiking fares, immediately threatened to descend on the operators
saying they should increase fares only after first seeking approval from the
government.
"Fare increases can only be effected when they have been
gazetted by the government and commuter omnibus operators who over charge will
be dealt with," said Bulawayo police spokesman Andrew Phiri.
In a sign of
more trouble to come for Zimbabwe, a leading regional financial services firm,
Imara Asset Management, last Thursday said data collated from Zimbabwe's key
industrial sector indicated a sharp rise in inputs costs which could see annual
inflation jumping to 2 000 percent.
The Botswana-based Imara was in
mid-April able to predict that Zimbabwe's inflation would breach the 1,000
percent barrier. The figure was confirmed when the Central Statistical Office
announced at the end of last month that annual inflation had surged to 1,042.9
percent up from 913.6 percent in March. - ZimOnline
The Zimbabwean
Spiralling price rises
mean textbook arithmetic doesn't work, while schoolteachers make their own
calculations about how to survive.
BY SIBONGILE MATHUTHU
BULAWAYO -
Zimbabwe's skyrocketing inflation, with annual rates of over 1,000 per cent
making it the world’s highest, is having a damaging impact on the education
system as well as on other sectors.
For eight-year-old Chipo Gumbo, the
inflation factor makes the task of grasping basic mathematical concepts a
nightmare. "In my maths books, a boy called Tendai buys sweets with cents. I
don't know what cents are. When I buy sweets and chips from my teacher at break
time, I use bearer's cheques," explained Chipo.
"Bearer's cheques" are a type
of paper money which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced when the country
ran out of banknotes. The cheques, denominated in thousands of Zimbabwean
dollars, Z$, but worth only a few US cents each, are printed on plain paper with
no security features. They also expire after a given period.
In the textbook,
Tendai is happy with the 50 Zimbabwe cents he gets as pocket money from his
parents. He can spend it on sweets, a packet of crisps and an ice lolly and
still have some change left over. But real-life pupils like Chipo need a lot
more money to buy much less. On average, primary school children now get
Z$50,000 as weekly pocket money - but despite all the zeros, the sum is worth
about 50 US cents, enough to buy a handful of sweets, and no ice
cream.
Teachers say the huge gap between reality and textbook economics is
making learning much harder.
"There's no link whatsoever between what we want
them to learn and what's happening around them, so children are confused and
that makes the whole learning process a struggle," said a primary school
teacher. But many teachers no longer have the energy to address these issues,
because their enthusiasm has also been undermined by the effects of inflation.
To supplement starvation wages, they use teaching time to sell sweets, pencils
and snacks to pupils.
Although educational standards are suffering as a
result of the erosion in salaries, school fees have now been increased to keep
up with inflation. From May, parents with children at state primary schools in
urban will have to fork out at least Z$2.5 million (25 US dollars) for one
term's tuition fees and other school levies, ten times the amount they paid last
term. Secondary schools are now charging Z$10 million a term.
For the
majority of parents, who earn less than 10 million Z$ a month, the higher
charges will be beyond their means. Although pupils at rural schools pay lower
fees than those in the towns, their parents earn less as well. Fatima Sibanda
from Mahole village near Insiza, east of Bulawayo, worries that the hike in fees
will force many children, especially girls, to drop out of school.
"Who can
afford to pay such amounts of money?" asked Sibanda. "I have to feed and clothe
my children, and prices keep going up. Many children will stop going to school.
Girls will get married, or look for men and get AIDS. Our sons will become
criminals and die in jail."
Organisations working to safeguard children's
rights predict that more and more children will drop out of school and, in a
country where the unemployment rate is now more than 80 per cent, they will
resort to begging, prostitution or child labour to survive.
"Inasmuch as
people struggle to send their children to school even in these difficult
circumstances, we have come to a point where people just want to give up," said
Leonard Nkala, former president of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association. Even
though the higher fees are unaffordable for many, they do not cover the real
cost of buying the most essential textbooks for each pupil. Those parents who
remain determined to ensure their children get a basic education are finding
ways to keep them at school until they complete their "Ordinary Level"
examinations at the age of 16.
But every year thousands of pupils fail to
get their O-level certificate when their parents are unable to find the money
for examination fees. Even those who do sit the exams in the mandatory five
O-level subjects have recently had nothing to show for their efforts, because
the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council, ZIMSEC, has been unable to print
certificates because there is not enough foreign currency to buy paper and ink
for them. As of May this year, students who did their O-level and Advanced
level examinations in November 2004 had yet to receive their certificates. They
complain that the delays are disrupting their career plans, since it is hard and
often impossible to get a job or start a higher education course unless you have
a certificate. - IWPR
The Zimbabwean
BY LITANY BIRD
Dear Family and
Friends,
They say that there is no smoke without fire and if that is true
then there is a big bonfire burning somewhere very close to home this week. It
has been a very confusing few days in Zimbabwe with a number of different media
reports about diplomatic manoeuverings that are going on to help us.
First
we heard that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was putting together a plan to
rescue Zimbabwe from its political and economic crisis. Then, insinuating that
something was already well underway by Annan, South African President Thabo
Mbeki said "We are all awaiting the outcome of his intervention".
Then came
reports on South African television that Kofi Annan was going to visit Zimbabwe
and that international aid would be given in exchange for President Mugabe's
retirement. Those reports on SABC TV even went as far as to say that President
Mugabe would be given immunity from prosecution for human rights abuses. As the
days passed the reports seemed to become more speculative than factual and the
atmosphere got smokier.
Things got confusing when Zimbabwe's state-owned TV
announced that both Zanu (PF) and the MDC would accept Annan as a mediator.
Whew, I must have missed something, where did the question of mediation come
from all of a sudden? A few days later the mediation theme popped up again but
this time it wasn't Annan's name being fronted but that of former Tanzanian
president Benjamin Mkapa.
Just as things had started getting interesting
someone must have poured a bucket of water on the fire. The smoke got thicker
than ever and from all sides came denials, back tracking and classic claims of
"I Am Not The One."
Ibrahim Gambari, the UN under secretary-general for
political affairs said : "I think it is premature to talk about any package, and
certainly even more premature to talk about that package including the possible
departure of President Mugabe."
Zimbabwe then said that the invitation
extended to Kofi Annan to visit the country was no longer valid or applicable.
Full stop. End of manoeuverings? Who knows, as they say there's no smoke without
fire. In the midst of a confusing week, and to make everything seem even more
delusional, there was another earthquake.
Most of us can't ever remember
earthquakes in Zimbabwe or at least not for the last 30 years but now all of a
sudden we've had two series of quakes and aftershocks in the past three months.
At around midnight on Sunday two earthquakes measuring 3.9 and 4.0 on the
Richter scale shook eastern parts of Zimbabwe. This time the epicentre of the
quakes was much closer to home and near the Nyamudzi River in Wedza. Some
people are saying that all these earthquakes are a sign that God is
coming.
Others are saying that they are a sign from God. So from the country
of smoke signals and shaking beds and mysterious signs, until next week, Ndini
shamwari yenyu.
The Zimbabwean
Ever since the Zimbabwean economy
collapsed, the Mugabe regime has been misleading the nation, other SADC leaders,
and indeed the world to believe that the problem stems from "international
sanctions" imposed by Britain, her European Union partners and the United
States. This is a lie.
The fact of the matter is that no country in the
world has imposed economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. Our problems are
home-made, by Mugabe and Zanu (PF).
The only trade embargo is military -
whereby the army and airforce cannot buy weapons of war from these countries.
Which is just as well because we know from bitter experience that the government
would not hesitate to use them against its own people. They would be used for
repression - not for defence or aggression - hence the arms embargo.
Nobody
in the region wants to fight against Zimbabwe. Mugabe is the only aggressor. Not
content with sending his troops into Matabeleland in the 1980s, he has caused
mayhem in Mozambique and the Zimbabwean army, backed by the airforce, marched
into the DRC years ago.
The looting of diamonds and other precious resources
that took place under cover of this armed aggression, purportedly to prop up a
fellow African dictator, continues to this very day.
The government is even
embarrassed to tell us how many Zimbabweans were killed during the DRC war, and
are now buried somewhere in the jungles there.
More than 200 British
companies have investments in Zimbabwe and they continue to do businesses in the
mining, banking, financial services, construction, manufacturing and agro
industries - without any hindrance from "economic sanctions".
Zimbabwean
firms can buy anything they require from Britain, the EU or the USA - provided
they can find the foreign currency of course. In fact, despite Mugabe's
much-touted Look East policy, Britain and the EU remain our latest trading
partners.
They are also the largest donors - both to government and the NGO
community - and have been ever since independence. Many Zimbabweans are alive
today only thanks to the generosity of these countries.
The only sanctions
that have ever existed against the Mugabe government are targeted, personal
travel and financial restrictions against Mugabe himself, his wife and his
cronies. All this means is that they cannot travel to he countries concerned,
nor access their ill-gotten gains stashed away in foreign bank accounts located
in those countries.
The president can no longer purchase his hand-tailored
suits at Saville Row and the First Lady can no longer indulge her passion for
shopping at Harrods. That's all these "sanctions" mean.
For Mugabe to
continue to pontificate that the Zimbabwean economy is in trouble because of
these sanctions is patently ridiculous.
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18409-2195427_2,00.html February 2001 saw myself and a friend arrive in Harare, Zimbabwe en-route to Malawi. This was just before the delightful 'elections' when the economy was collapsing at a rapid pace. As a result, our Sterling currency was laughed out of the 'banks' and onto the black market for some adrenalin money changing! The only accepted currency was US$, so we could not even get a flight out with credit cards. The only way out of the country was by local bus through Mozambique - a very colourful and sensory experience. The bus caught fire half way through Mozambique and we were told to sleep under the tree and hopefully another bus would come tomorrow! As word got out about two white stranded women, the village boys arrived to 'price us up'. Flagged down a grain truck and begged a ride to Malawi. As truck hobbled across border to no-mans land, it promptly broke down. Slept inside truck with driver and mosquitoes for safety, and eventually walked across Malawi border the next morning. Made way for a much needed rest and swim in Lake Malawi whilst our belongings were being stolen by a local worker at the resort. Local police easily apprehended him as he was the only indiginous person in the village drinking imported beer. Relieved to see our passports again, but no money, we were then told we would have to bribe the police to actually get them back! After much shouting and threats of imprisonment, we managed to borrow some money to get passports back, change flights and fly gratefully back to Blighty - Debbie Wapshott, St Albans, Herts