Broke Zimbabwe asks world for 'stimulus package'

http://uk.reuters.com/

Wed Jun 24, 2009 5:04pm BST

UNITED NATIONS, June 24 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe appealed to the world on
Wednesday for a "financial stimulus package" for its devastated economy,
saying lack of foreign support imperiled a recovery plan drawn up by the
unity government.

Addressing a U.N. conference on the global financial crisis, Vice President
Joice Mujuru said no conditions should be attached to such a package.

The southern African country says it needs $10 billion to rebuild
dilapidated infrastructure and ease 90 percent unemployment.

But a three-week tour of the United States and Europe by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, who shares power with President Robert Mugabe, has
yielded mainly promises of aid only when Zimbabwe creates a democracy and
improves human rights after what critics say was Mugabe's repressive rule.

Since the new unity government took office in February, inflation has fallen
rapidly from its once astronomical 200 million percent after an effective
dollarization of the economy.

Mujuru said lack of access to financial resources had hit the country's
agriculture and social services, threatening attainment of U.N. anti-poverty
Millennium Development Goals.

Fluctuating commodity prices has slowed down mining and lack of investment
has hurt businesses, decreasing tax collection, Mujuru said.

"This situation is now seriously undermining progress by our inclusive
government ... to turn around our economy," she said. "The lack of external
support now threatens the success of our short-term economic recovery
program."

"I therefore take this opportunity to urge the international community to
support Zimbabwe, by providing the country with a financial stimulus package
to enable us to mitigate and offset the economic and financial crisis," she
told delegates from more than 100 countries.

Such packages should be designed to fit the priorities of recipient
countries, Mujuru said, adding: "As an honest broker, the U.N. system should
be the first to take a stand against conditional aid." (Reporting by Patrick
Worsnip; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

ANALYSIS-Tsvangirai drive gets no cash but pressure for reform

http://af.reuters.com

Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:43pm GMT

* Tsvangirai secures promises, but not enough funding

* Under pressure to make Mugabe more flexible

* Could take the blame for economic troubles

By Cris Chinaka

HARARE, June 24 (Reuters) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
tour of Western powers has yielded scant funds and put him under mounting
pressure to persuade unity government partner Robert Mugabe to agree to
reforms to secure foreign aid.

Tsvangirai winds up a three-week trip to the United States and Europe on
Thursday with a bag full of promises that they will only come to Zimbabwe's
economic rescue when it creates a democracy and improves human rights after
decades of what critics say was Mugabe's repressive one-party rule.

Some analysts say Tsvangirai can capitalise on their demands to push Mugabe
to become more cooperative in the new unity government which faces the
increasingly urgent task of salvaging the African nation's ruined economy.

Others say he could be the scapegoat if Zimbabwe does not get the cash it
needs and the economy collapses further.

Although still rivals, both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have to work together and
are running out of time after promising millions of Zimbabweans a new era of
political cooperation would ease their hardships.

Their credibility hinges on whether they can secure the $10 billion needed
to rebuild pot-holed roads, bare hospitals, dilapidated schools and ease 90
percent unemployment.

"It's true that the prime minister did not get the money the government
badly needs or even what he may have expected," said Eldred Masunungure, a
professor of political science at the University of Zimbabwe.

"It's true that he got more words and promisory notes than cash. But
Tsvangirai can use the demands for political reforms that he got all round
on this trip to press President Mugabe and (his party) ZANU-PF to concede on
outstanding reforms."

At the start of his trip, officials in Tsvangirai's party suggested he could
raise between $700 million and $1 billion from Western donors, but he has so
far managed just over $200 million -- most of which is going to NGOs -- not
the government, a sign of lingering mistrust.

Zimbabwe, once a regional breadbasket, has secured about $1 billion of
credit lines from Africa.

POLITICAL TENSIONS

Efforts to persuade foreign countries their money will be safe in Zimbabwe
have become a politicised and strategic issue.

Tsvangirai's critics in Mugabe's camp have been waving his failure to win
over Western leaders to pour money as a sign that he is an ineffective
leader.

"What does he have to show us after previously boasting that the MDC has
wealthy friends and that he has the key to their cash vaults?" wrote one
columnist in a government newspaper.

Some of Mugabe's supporters have even suggested that Tsvangirai had used the
government-sponsored trip to privately raise funds for his Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).

Such accusations, rejected by Tsvangirai, can only raise tensions in the
fragile new government formed in February after months of post-election
deadlock.

Analysts say while it was unclear how Mugabe would respond to the mounting
foreign pressure to free the media, reform the judiciary and the military,
Tsvangirai could now be blamed if the economy completely collapses for lack
of aid.

During decades of animosity most critical eyes focused on Mugabe. Tsvangirai
was generally free of scrutiny. Now he has to deliver to Zimbabweans who
want relief -- urgently.

"There is a limit to which he can now continue blaming things on the past.
If he fails on his own promises, he will be called to account on that," said
Lovemore Madhuku, chairman of political lobby group National Constitutional
Assembly.

"I am sure we are going to see a lot of that because people are struggling,
and things are not moving fast enough for many people."

Tsvangirai has no choice but to work with old foe Mugabe.

In a desperate bid for aid, Tsvangirai told his Western hosts there was no
longer any systematic political violence in Zimbabwe, despite repeated
warnings that ZANU-PF arrests of MDC activists could undermine the
government.

Tsvangirai learned he would also be held accountable after leading rights
watchdog Amnesty International said serious human rights violations
persisted.

Besides the United States, Tsvangirai also visited Denmark, Germany, Norway,
the Netherlands, Britain, France, Sweden and Brussels, seat of the European
Union. He is expected to end his tour in France on Thursday.

Many Western countries imposed sanctions on Mugabe's ZANU-PF government over
charges of human rights abuses, vote-rigging and its seizures of white-owned
commercial farms for redistribution to blacks without paying compensation.

Mugabe, 85, and in power since independence from Britain in 1980, says
Zimbabwe's once-prosperous economy has been wrecked by sanctions and his
land policy is aimed at correcting colonial injustices.

John Makumbe, a veteran political commentator and Mugabe critic, said the
president would have to eventually back down.

"In my view, Mugabe and his people may delay the reform process here and
there. But at the end of the day they have no choice because they need
foreign aid to get the economy going and Tsvangirai can capitalise on their
lack of co-operation," Makumbe said.

In defence of Morgan Tsvangirai

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=18756

June 24, 2009

By Farayi Maruzani, MDC Secretary for International Affairs, UK and Ireland

I WAS baffled at the Southwark Cathedral last Saturday.

Thousands of people booed their leader in an unprecedented move of defiance
and intolerance. The people in there stopped Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai midway through his speech and started chanting that 'Mugabe must
go'.

I went out of the hall at that time to answer the call of nature but some
MDC supporters followed me up the corridors and pulled my jacket. They
demanded to know why the MDC UK leadership had 'failed to advise Tsvangirayi
properly'.

As I started to respond a group of other youths wearing 'vigil' attire
started singing around me: 'Tsvangirai usaite fun fun nevanhu' (Tsvangirai,
don't play games with the people.)

I left the cathedral grounds and I made an early trek to the venue of the
dinner that evening. At the hotel I had a one-to-one discussion with Prime
Minister about what he had said at the cathedral and his views about Mugabe.
He explained that Mugabe is committed to the deal but does not trust him. He
said the sporadic attacks on people and farm invasions were the brainchild
of remnant forces who want to see the failure of the inclusive government
because they know that the success of the transitional government means
their death.

He said these people were in the minority and they will shortly fizzle out.
The acts of banditry were not sanctioned by government but by some criminal
gangs sponsored by hard-line remnants in Zanu-PF.

The same happened in 1980 when remnants of the Rhodesian security forces and
Selous Scouts and Pfumo Revanhu continued to brutalise people until 1982
when Smiths' hard-line remnants stole aeroplanes from Thornhill Air Base to
Apartheid ruled South Africa. They did not want the will of the people to
prevail but they fizzled out. They also planned to assassinate Mugabe in an
operation code named 'Operation Quartz'. They were against Mugabe becoming
the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

So what was behind the cathedral defiance to Tsvangirayi by his supporters?

The area of contention was the way Tsvangirayi says things about Zimbabwe
dictator Mugabe and how he seems to have downplayed human rights abuses in
Zimbabwe, giving information which if picked by the home office would
devastate asylum applications and put at risk the ability of those who fail
to regularise their stay to claim benefits, housing, get jobs and live
normally in Britain.

Some people want to bring their families to the UK which is only possible if
they get asylum something they feel is being threatened by Tsvangirai's
statements. Many Zimbabweans expected Tsvangirai to actually come and assist
them to get asylum by demonising Mugabe and painting a bleak future for the
inclusive government.

That's where the fire is mostly coming from.

I understand the problems faced by asylum seekers in the UK. They live as
second class citizens. I understand and their grievances against the party
but I must also say that it is undemocratic to silence anybody from airing
their views and this includes everyone, king or pauper, rich or poor, prime
minister or asylum seeker. It is, therefore, very unfortunate that people at
the cathedral Saturday afternoon decided to silence someone from airing his
views.

Tsvangirayi was supposed to be allowed to finish and answer questions about
all our grievances and his relationship with Mugabe and we decided to deny
him his democratic right to do so.

But he managed to do that at the dinner in the evening. Most people who
attended the dinner now back what he is doing unconditionally. This is so
because we allowed him to speak and we asked him all the questions we had
and as usual he did not disappoint.

A young lady asked Tsvangirayi what he will give her if she takes his advice
and go to Zimbabwe. She said she is looking after five people. Tsvangirai
said that he was inviting people to Zimbabwe not to give them things but for
them to give something to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is a "non-runner" state and
nothing can be taken from it.

The problem is that we want someone to do the work but not ourselves. We
want to go there when Zimbabwe roads are all tarred by someone, when clinics
are working and when schools and universities are flourishing. We want God
in heaven to offer Tsvangirayi the personnel to sort the country for us then
we fly back just to enjoy. We have been wired to look up to donors and
foreign leaders like Mbeki and Bush to sort our problems for us.

I was born in Buhera South at Muzokomba Clinic. The clinic was built by
donors. My father and mother survived on food donated by foreign donors. I
grew up doubling breast feeding and donated powdered milk which was donated
to the Ministry of health by the European Economic Community in Brussels,
Belgium. When I was one year old I started feeding on donated cereals from
the department of Social Welfare at Murambinda Growth Point.

I received free medical immunisation and I do not even know where all those
vaccines came from. My mother does not know who donated the vaccinations
that saved my life either. From the age of two to seven I had food at
feeding points and we ate very highly nutritious porridge donated by Kellogg
Foundation based in London. At the age of seven I went to Primary School.
Here again there was popular mahewu donated by the Red Cross Society whose
Headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. That was my main diet. The water
that all the school children drank was wholly pumped and piped to school by
donors who provided the funds to DDF.

I had this donated mahewu for seven years at Primary School. I then went out
to secondary school. The secondary school was started by missionaries but
all the important building like the laboratory, the administration block and
dormitories were built by funding donated by the Japanese government. The
equipment and chemicals in the laboratory were also donated by the Japanese
Embassy in Harare using funds from Tokyo.

After this I went to the University of Zimbabwe. The donors paid my fees and
payout. There were many other students whose fees were paid by donors, both
local and international ones. We preferred foreign donors to local ones
although The Harare City Council was actually a better donor than some
foreign sponsors at UZ.

After graduation I went to work but there again my office and all the safes,
vehicles, tents, were donated by UNICEF. All the fuel I used was donated. My
salary and the salaries of my eight subordinates came from donors. Even my
boss's salary was paid by donors.

Then Mugabe became a problem in Zimbabwe.

We started looking up to George Bush, Tony Blair, Kofi Annan and Thabo Mbeki
to sort Mugabe out. Instead of joining mass action and final pushes we hid
in our houses and looked out through the windows to see if someone was on
the streets when demonstrations were called. We decided to run away from the
country and plan to go back when Mbeki, Obama, Bush and Blair have sorted
Mugabe and the country. I am not the only one like this.

There are many like me.

Many, as evidenced by some of our comments at the Cathedral. We have a
warped thinking that someone must do the work and I must go there to enjoy.
Someone must sort the sewerage pipes in Chitungwiza before I set foot there.
Many are like this.

The Prime Minister is saying; let us build our country together. Let us
together fight for our freedom. Let us not be selfish. People inside
Zimbabwe want their clinics to function and he wants to deliver. The quality
of lives of people must improve. But all the skilled workers are gone.
Unless sacrifices are made then clinics wont open and services won't be
delivered and cholera will worsen. He is doing the correct thing and he is
not selling out.

The Prime Minister said that groundwork is being prepared for free and fair
elections with international supervision in the next 18 months. The choice
is yours. If you want to assist rebuild you country this is the time. We
need to make a clean break from depending on donations to doing our own
things.

Those who are out of step are being left behind as we continue to journey
towards or freedom.

Zimbabwe starts hearings on new constitution

http://af.reuters.com/

Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:00pm GMT

HARARE, June 24 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe began hearings on Wednesday on a new
constitution to comply with a power-sharing deal and usher in elections.

President Robert Mugabe formed a unity government in February with arch-foe
Morgan Tsvangirai, now prime minister, after disputed elections last year
and agreed to write a new constitution within 18 months.

Zimbabweans hope a new charter, replacing one inked in 1979, before
independence from Britain, will strengthen the role of parliament and
whittle down the president's powers, and guarantee civil liberties and
political and media freedoms.

If the any constitution is adopted after a referendum, elections could
follow but Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) may agree to defer the vote to a later date.

The constitutional process had appeared to be derailing after ZANU-PF
legislators sought to delay hearings because they said they were not
prepared.

But on Wednesday members of parliament held separate meetings with civic
society groups, churches and political parties in the country's 10 provinces
to identify delegates to would attend a major conference next month.

"The constitution-making train is leaving station and I want you to be on
board," Douglas Mwonzora, who co-chairs a parliamentary select committee
coordinating the process, told hundreds of delegates attending a hearing in
Harare.

Up to 5,000 delegates will attend a national stakeholders' conference in the
capital in July choose members for various committees that will travel
around the country soliciting people's views on the constitution.

Civic groups want to ensure politicians do not have an undue influence on
the process to push their own agenda at the expense of the people.

Mwonzora said all draft documents, including those produced by churches, the
MDC and lobby group National Constitutional Assembly would all be
considered.

ZANU-PF has requested that a draft agreed between it and MDC in 2007 be used
as the discussion document.

The draft was never used because ZANU-PF and MDC were bitterly divided on
the timing of its adoption. Mugabe had sought to have it adopted after last
year's elections while the MDC had wanted it used before those elections.

The official Herald said in an editorial that using the 2007 draft would
save money.

Zimbabwe's new administration has struggled to get aid from sceptical
Western donors who are pressing for more political and economic reforms.
Harare says it needs up to $10 billion to fix an economy shattered by a
decade of recession.

"The constitution making process is taking place in an environment of acute
resource constraints," Lovemore Moyo, speaker of parliament, told foreign
diplomats.

"We call upon you ... to lend your support to this process." (reporting by
MacDonald Dzirutwe)

ZANU PF & MDC headed for clash on new constitution

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
24 June 2009

The MDC and ZANU PF parties, who entered into a coalition government 4
months ago, are heading for a potential clash over the framework for a new
constitution. Robert Mugabe has told his ZANU PF Central Committee this week
that the inclusive government will come up with a new constitution, in line
with the widely criticized Kariba Draft document. On Tuesday the MDC however
issued a statement saying they will reject any attempts to have this draft
adopted as a roadmap. 'The MDC believes in a truly people-driven
constitution-making process where the unfettered will of the people must be
reflected,' their statement read.

Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa reports that a provincial all-stakeholders
conference was held in Harare on Wednesday at the Rainbow Towers hotel in
the morning. Present was Masvingo MP Tongai Matutu the Chairman of the House
Legal and Procedural Committee in Parliament and Nyanga North MP and lawyer
Douglas Mwonzora, among others. Representatives from civil society,
students, churches and labour unions were also there. But Muchemwa says top
officials from the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) boycotted the
meeting, although they sent representatives to observe proceedings.

Under the process, a series of provincial hearings will lead up to a
National All-stakeholders Conference in July this year. After that 70 teams
from each province will hold 3 meetings per ward and come up with reports
that are forwarded to what is called a 'provincial thematic committee'. This
committee will then forward its recommendations to the parliamentary team. A
draft constitution is expected in February 2010 and a further month will
pass while it is debated. A referendum is expected to be conducted 3 months
after the debate is over, meaning a new constitution is only likely some
time in July 2010.

Groups like the NCA and the recently launched Democratic United Front (DUF)
are opposing this parliament controlled process. DUF for example was
distributing pamphlets in Harare during the stakeholder's conference,
accusing MP's of abusing the Global Political Agreement and its provisions,
to marginalize ordinary people. Mike Sambo, the national coordinator, told
Newsreel there are many parties and interest groups who are not in
parliament and their views will not find a voice under the current process.
He said they want the new constitution to address social and economic rights
including what he called 'attacks on the working class.' The group says it
will participate in the process but 'under protest'.

Zimbabwe to get $100m support from Britain

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
24 June 2009

The United Kingdom government announced on Wednesday that it will be giving
a total of $100million (£60m) to Zimbabwe, in humanitarian support in 2009
and 2010. The announcement was made by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
when he pledged an additional $8 million (£5m) for food security and
educational textbooks, during a meeting with Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai on Monday.

The UK's International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, said: "Our
£60 million package will provide support directly to Zimbabwe's poorest
people. Our assistance has already helped one million people in Zimbabwe get
access to clean water and has enabled two million to grow more food, as well
as helping get the worst cholera outbreak in the country's history under
control."

 "The new inclusive Zimbabwean Government presents a real opportunity to
help the Zimbabwean people and to support economic, political and social
reform. We stand ready to provide more support should we see further
progress towards reform."  The UK said the funds will be channelled through
non-governmental organisations and the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tsvangirai winds up his three week long
re-engagement and fundraising tour in western countries this week, with a
final visit to France. The Prime Minister has reportedly raised $150million,
mostly in humanitarian aid, but this is much less that the more than $8
billion the coalition needs to rebuild the country, over a five year period.

Furthermore, western governments have insisted that aid pledges will go
through specific NGO projects and not directly to the government. They say
full developmental aid will only be given when the Zimbabwean government
shows proper democratic reforms. Most of the promised aid will be in the
form of humanitarian assistance in areas of health and education.

Economists such as Tony Hawkins say the aid pledges provide little comfort
for the government, which faces a growing financing problem. He says
frustrated civil servants are demanding a return to "proper salaries" to
replace the existing $100 a month allowance being paid to all public
servants. "These allowances absorb almost a third of projected revenue of
$880m. In May, revenue was estimated at $60m and it is estimated that by the
end of this month the Treasury will have raised less than 35 per cent of its
revenue target for the whole year."

Hawkins says the situation is exacerbated by wage awards in the private
sector, where workers are being paid more than double their public service
counterparts.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai told reporters in London this week that the money
pledged so far is sufficient to support basic services like health,
education and food production. He said there have been significant changes
in Zimbabwe since the formation of the unity government in February, adding:
"As a society, we were near death, and we have come back to life."

Tsvangirai in Paris on final leg of fundraising tour

From France 24, 24 June

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Tuesday he had formed a
working relationship with Robert Mugabe and saw scope for the long-serving
president eventually to make a dignified exit from power. Tsvangirai joined
a unity government with rival Mugabe in February to end a political and
economic crisis. Mugabe has ruled the southern African country since
independence from Britain in 1980 and critics say he has ruined a once
prosperous nation. "It's too early to say I trust him wholly, but where we
differ, we differ respectfully," Tsvangirai told an audience after a speech
in London. "I'm prepared to work with him for the good of the country,"
added Tsvangirai, who said in 2007 he had been beaten at a police station
after he was arrested at an anti-Mugabe rally. Asked whether Mugabe might
make a "dignified exit", Tsvangirai said the transition process provided a
platform for him to go quietly, adding that Mugabe had the chance to restore
his legacy as a founding father of Zimbabwe.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai have agreed on an 18-month timetable for political
reforms, with a referendum on a new constitution to be held in little over a
year. Tsvangirai is on the final leg of a tour to Europe and the United
States to drum up cash from Western donors, but the trip has yielded only
small contributions towards the $10 billion Zimbabwe says it needs to
rebuild its shattered economy. Most donors are choosing to channel money
through charities or UN agencies rather than give it to a government where
Mugabe still wields influence. Tsvangirai said the money received was
sufficient to support basic services like health, education and food
production. "I think it's quite substantial," he told reporters. Tsvangirai
said Zimbabwe had made huge strides since the unity government was formed in
February. "Zimbabwe has become a totally different place, a significantly
better place, in the past four months," he said. "As a society, we were near
death, and we have come back to life."

That echoed comments from the minister for economic planning who told
Reuters on Tuesday that Zimbabwe's economy had turned around, with
employment and industrial capacity use doubling and once record-breaking
inflation under control. But back at home, Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change party said police were arresting its legislators and
senior party members, while public media had increased hostile reporting to
discredit and undermine the prime minister. Senior MDC official Tapiwa
Mashakada said Southern African leaders could meet next month to mediate in
what the party says are continued violations by Mugabe's Zanu PF of a
political pact signed last year. Zimbabwe remains subject to Western
sanctions. Britain denied Zimbabwe's mines minister a visa for a mining
investment conference in London, angering Zanu PF. Tsvangirai said he hoped
sanctions could be removed if Zimbabwe proved it was committed to political
reform. "Eventually sanctions must be removed. It would be
counter-productive to punish progress," he said.

Mugabe has a chance to leave politics with dignity: Tsvangirai

http://www.sabcnews.com

June 24
2009 , 7:11:00

Muntu Lukhozi, London

Zimbabwe's Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, says that the unity
government provides a good opportunity for President Robert Mugabe's
dignified political exit. Addressing diplomats and political experts in
London, Tsvangirai said it would be in the Mugabe's interest to grab this
opportunity with both hands.

"For now the support we have received on this tour has been sufficient
to consolidate the government in terms of it's delivering in education and
health, water, sanitation and those are the basic services."

Tsvangirai says the new government has provided the platform for
Mugabe's exit. "If there was no inclusive government, there was no way
Mugabe would have a dignified exit. This gives him two possibilities, to
restore his legacy as the founding father of Zimbabwe, and secondly to allow
for the transition to take place without allowing the country to slide back
into chaos."

Re-engagement with international community

Tsvangirai says his whirlwind visit to London is about re-engagement
with the international community, but the sanctions against Zimbabwe remain
in place. While some feel this visit didn't yield what he had hoped for -
there are calls for some understanding.

Chatham House's Thomas Cargill says: "I think it's true that the Prime
Minister has a big hill to climb, and a lot of work to do to convince people
outside Zimbabwe and certainly in the UK that this government of national
unity is meaningful and can deliver the kind of reforms that are so
desperately sought by Zimbabweans." Tsvangirai has urged Zimbabweans in
Diaspora to take their skills back home where they are much needed.

MDC expects SADC to discuss Zimbabwe

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

Wednesday 24 June 2009

HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC party said Tuesday that it
expected regional leaders to meet next month to discuss problems bedevelling
Zimbabwe's power-sharing government.

The South African Development Community (SADC) brokered last September's
power-sharing agreement between the MDC and President Robert Mugabe's ZANU
PF party that led to formation of a unity government last February.

The regional bloc is guarantor to the agreement and promised to review the
pact six months after formation of a unity government between Mugabe,
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who heads a smaller
MDC faction. The government has been in office for about five months.

MDC acting secretary general Tapuwa Mashakada told ZimOnline that the party
had referred what it regards as "ZANU PF's insincerity in implementing the
power-sharing agreement and a fresh crackdown on MDC members" to the SADC,
adding that a regional summit could take place by early next month.

"We expect another meeting soon to discuss the outstanding issues. I am
informed that the meeting might be called in early July but I don't have the
actual dates," said Mashakada said, speaking moments after a meeting of the
MDC national executive in Harare to discuss problems and developments in the
unity government.

The MDC accuses Mugabe of insincerity because the veteran leader - who still
wields immense power - has refused to fire controversial Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana who he
appointed to their posts without consulting his coalition partners as
required under the power-sharing agreement.

Tsvangirai's party also says Tomana and the police have intensified a
crackdown against MDC officials and activists which has seen several of the
party's legislators arrested and charged in court.

The courts have convicted some of the MDC legislators but the party insists
they were framed as part of a drive by Mugabe to whittle down its
representation in Parliament.

Tsvangirai did not attend Tuesday's meeting of the MDC executive council as
he was yet to return from a tour of Western capitals to try to raise
financial support for the unity government.

The United States and its European Union allies visited by Tsvangirai
promised more humanitarian support for Zimbabwe but held back on direct
financial support until Harare implements more reforms and acts to uphold
human rights.

Meanwhile the MDC national executive resolved to oppose plans by ZANU PF to
have a draft constitution known as the Kariba Draft used as the working
document in writing anew constitution for Zimbabwe.

The Kariba Draft was prepared by ZANU PF and MDC representatives well before
formation of the unity government. It has remained secret, while civic
society groups have said they will mobilise Zimbabweans to reject use of the
document as the foundation of a new constitution.  ZimOnline

We facilitated unity govt: China envoy

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Andrew Moyo Wednesday 24 June 2009

HARARE - Last year's decision by China and Russia to block United Nations
(UN) sanctions against Zimbabwe paved way for power-sharing negotiations to
continue leading to formation of a unity government in the African country,
Beijing's top diplomat in Harare said on Tuesday.

The drive to rally the UN community against President Robert Mugabe and his
old government flopped after Beijing and Moscow, allies of the Zimbabwean
leader, vetoed a United States-sponsored draft resolution for the Security
Council to impose an arms embargo on Zimbabwe as well as visa and financial
sanctions on top government officials.

Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Yuan Nansheng said had the US proposals
passed power-sharing negotiations that were taking place in neighbouring
South Africa could have collapsed because the sanctions resolution would
have banned UN member countries from allowing representatives of Mugabe's
ZANU PF party into their territory.

"The veto by China and Russia has provided a good foundation for the
formation of the inclusive government," said Nansheng in his last briefing
to reporters before leaving Zimbabwe to take up a new diplomatic post in
Suriname.

Yuan said: "SADC and the African Union (did) not wish to see the resolution
through. China and Russia wanted to create a good environment for Zimbabwe.

He added, "China and Russia vetoed the US proposals in line with the SADC
and African Union position. I do not think the inclusive government would
have been established if Russia and China had not vetoed the US resolution."

While negotiations between ZANU PF and the then two MDC opposition
formations would have most likely continued at another venue, sanctions
would have certainly hardened Mugabe and his lieutenants and make them less
inclined to agree to have their grip on power diluted through coalition
government with their former foes.

There was also likelihood that pro-Mugabe military commanders could have
ordered a crackdown against the MDC, which they would have blamed for the
sanctions because of its perceived close ties with Western governments.

Meanwhile Yuan praised Mugabe's "Look East" foreign policy for helping
strengthen relations between China and Zimbabwe but he urged the Harare
authorities to also pursue relations with other countries.

"The look East Policy ensured the strengthening on friendship between the
two countries. It does not mean when you adopt a Look East Policy you
exclude relationships with others. Zimbabwe should also promote relations
with other countries," he said.

Zimbabwe has since 2000 promoted an aggressive "Look East" policy premised
on the need to find new trading partners and markets after traditional
investors from Western nations turned against Harare in protest over Mugabe's
human rights abuses, repression against political opponents and violent
land-grab programme. - ZimOnline

Vice Presidents threatened to quit

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=18687

June 24, 2009

By Our Correspondents

HARARE - Zimbabwe's two vice Presidents, Joseph Msika and Joice Mujuru,
almost quit President Robert Mugabe's Mugabe government  in protest at his
decision to include favoured politician Oppah Muchinguri in the cabinet in
February.

Sources in the Zanu-PF politburo revealed this week that Msika, elderly and
ailing, and Mujuru fiercely resisted plans by President Mugabe, first, to
allocate a non-constituency seat to Muchinguri and then a cabinet post in
the inclusive government.

The two are said to have threatened to quit if Mugabe went ahead with his
plans to include Muchinguri, long regarded as a Mugabe favourite, in the new
government after she lost her parliamentary seat in the March 20008
elections.

Muchinguri (51) served as Minister of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community
Development from 2005 to 2009. Previously she was governor of Manicaland
Province.

She is said to be now gunning for the position of vice-president of Zanu-PF,
challenging incumbent Mujuru. Muchinguri is said to have the backing of
Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, a rival of Mujuru's husband Solomon
Tapfumaneyi Mujuru. Solomon Mujuru, the wealthy former commander of the
Zimbabwe National Army is an influential figure in Zanu-PF.

The Zimbabwe Times sources said in challenging Mugabe's decision to appoint
Muchinguri to the cabinet, Msika and Mujuru argued that she could not play a
role in the new government since she had lost her parliamentary seat in
March 2009. President Mugabe warned his ministers before that election that
whoever lost their constituency was not guaranteed to return to cabinet.

His proposal to appoint Muchinguri despite her loss is said to have
therefore infuriated his two top lieutenants. Muchinguri lost to the MDC's
Trevor Saruwaka in Mutasa Central Constituency in Manicaland.

"Msika and Mujuru were livid and made it clear they would quit if Mugabe
went ahead with plans to appoint Muchinguri into the new government," said a
politburo member. "The President immediately retreated after realizing the
two were serious."

In fact the inclusive cabinet includes a number of Zanu-PF ministers who
lost their seats in Parliament in 2008. They include Patrick Chinamasa, the
party's chief negotiator during the talks which culminated in the signing of
the Global Political Agreement in September 2008. All ministers representing
the breakaway faction of the MDC, including party leader Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara were also defeated at the polls.

Mugabe's special regard for Muchinguri goes back to the liberation struggle
in Mozambique in the 1970s. She was a personal assistant to Zanla commander
Josiah Tongogara, who died in a car crash on the eve of independence in
1980.

Muchinguri survived the fatal accident that killed the popular guerilla
commander.

"If anyone tries to remove President Mugabe from power we will march in the
streets and we are prepared to remove our clothes in support of his
candidature in next year's election," Muchinguri said at Zanu-PF
headquarters in 2006.

After he failed to appoint Muchinguri to cabinet, Mugabe appointed her to
the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) which supervises
the operations of the inclusive government.

The sources say Muchinguri was so bitter with this turn of events that she
now wants to challenge Mujuru at the Zanu-PF special conference to be held
at the end of the year.

"Battle lines were drawn after Muchinguri realized Mujuru had thwarted her
appointment into Cabinet and the friendship between the two has turned
 sour," said one source.

Muchinguri was instrumental in canvassing for Mujuru's bid to become vice
president ahead of Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2004. Now she is said to be aligned
with Mnangagwa. Both Muchinguri and Mujuru (54) saw active service with
Zanla, the armed wing of ZANU in Mozambique during Zimbabwe's liberation
struggle.

"During the women's league congress, Joice Mujuru is going to be denounced
for allegedly working with (Morgan) Tsvangirai's party and for furthering
the political interests of her husband instead of those of the party,"  The
Independent newspaper reported last week.

Friction Within Zimbabwe Government As Britain Bars ZANU-PF Minister

http://www.voanews.com



By Blessing Zulu
Washington
23 June 2009

The news that British authorities denied Zimbabwe Mining Minister Obert
Mpofu a visa to take part in a London conference on the sector has sharpened
divisions within Zimbabwe's unity government as Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai nears the end of a Western tour.

Sources in the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe said party
hardliners were urging Mr. Mugabe to call Mr. Tsvangirai home, but that
support for that position was limited.

But Britain's enforcement of European Union travel sanctions on Mpofu, a
ZANU-PF member, has angered those in the longtime ruling party who say Mr.
Tsvangirai has been raising funds that will go to non-governmental
organizations not to the power-sharing government.

They also say Mr. Tsvangirai has allowed ZANU-PF ministers traveling with
him to be slighted by Western leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama,
who refused to receive ZANU-PF Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi with Mr.
Tsvangirai on June 12 in Washington.

Mpofu is especially controversial among human rights activists because he
dismissed reports of mass killings by the armed forces in the Marange
diamond fields in Manicaland province.

Rights activists say more than 200 died as troops shot suspected diamond
poachers.

Britain has not uniformly applied EU sanctions, though: it waived sanctions
to grant visas to Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and
Tourism Minister Mzembi.

Following the mining conference in London on Friday, Mr. Tsvangirai urged
investors in all sectors to consider ventures in Zimbabwe.

Tsvangirai spokeman James Maridadi told VOA reporter Blessing Zulu that Mr.
Tsvangirai also met with British members of parliament and other officials

Political analyst Glen Mpani said ZANU-PF must institute sweeping economic
and political reforms if it is to realistically expect sanctions to be
lifted.

Media hangman Charamba crafts new regulation laws

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
24 June 2009

Concern is being raised over the future of media freedom in the country, as
two new media laws, which are set to replace the controversial Access to
Information and Privacy Act (AIPPA), are said to be the brainchild of media
'hangman' George Charamba.

The draconian AIPPA, which has been used by Robert Mugabe's regime to
strangle media freedom, will fall away and instead make room for the
proposed Freedom of Information Act and the Media Practitioners Act. It's
understood that the Media Practitioners Act will outline procedures for the
regulation of journalists, while the Freedom of Information Act will
regulate access to information and privacy issues.

The proposed laws are currently being crafted by the unity government, and
will be placed before Parliament for adoption. The acts were apparently
agreed upon at the recent media conference held in Kariba last month, which
was a coming together of the country's most notorious media 'hangmen'. The
event was boycotted by the majority of independent media groups, who
therefore have had no say in the drafting of the new laws. Of most concern
however is the apparent involvement of ZANU PF's George Charamba, who is
said to be the brains behind the formation of the new acts.

The chairperson of a parliamentary portfolio Committee on Media, Information
and Communication Technologies, Gift Chimanikire, has admitted that the
introduction of the laws is a 'compromise', saying in recent interviews that
"what we are working on is not the ideal situation."

Loughty Dube, the chairman of the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA), told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that "there is no
more time for compromises." He said the unity government has a small window
of opportunity to implement real reforms, and that missing that opportunity
could be 'disastrous'. Dube expressed concern over Charamba's involvement in
the formation of the new laws, and added that media role players such as
MISA crucially need to be involved in any formation of media regulatory law.

MDC minister denies mass killings in Chiadzwa diamond fields

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
24 June 2009

Deputy Mining Minister Murisi Zwizwai has denied there were any killings in
the eastern Marange diamond fields last year, telling a meeting of the
Kimberley Process in Namibia on Wednesday that claims were a result of
'unsubstantiated reports'.
There have been widespread accounts of killings in the Chiadzwa area, which
has been the centre of controversy since last October when the army was
called in to disperse thousands of illegal diamond hunters. But Zwizwai told
Wednesday's meeting of the Kimberley Process, the international scheme to
curb the sale of 'blood diamonds', that the situation in Marange had been
brought under control.
"Contrary to allegations in the media, nobody was killed by security forces
during an operation at Marange, where about 30,000 people descended onto the
alluvial mining field," Zwizwai told the 200 delegates at the conference.
"These people comprised of cunning, die-hard illegal diamond diggers,"
Zwizwai said. "This compelled government to conduct a special operation to
flush out the illegal diamond miners and to bring order and sanity to the
area."

The government had originally, illegally, seized the Chiadzwa diamond claim
in 2007, and set off a diamond rush when it encouraged locals to help
themselves. But the arrival of the army last year resulted in violence and
murder, after the area was sealed off with military roadblocks and troops.
Accounts from survivors of the military onslaught detailed the killings,
speaking of machine-gun attacks by helicopter and armed attacks by troops on
the ground. Civilians in the region also reported that anyone attempting to
enter Chiadzwa was arrested and often tortured and killed.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have said that about 5,000 people were
arrested during the army operation, with three quarters of them showing
signs of having been tortured severely. The MDC has also claimed that
hundreds of people were buried in mass graves "to hide the regime's
murderous activities," and that the soldiers sent to 'guard' the fields had
become illegal diamond dealers themselves.

Human rights groups have called for Zimbabwe's suspension from the Kimberley
Process, over claims of forced evictions and other abuses in Marange. The
World Federation of Diamond Bourses in April banned the sale of diamonds
from Marange, but Kimberley has resisted taking a tough stance.

Sibanda's days as minister numbered

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=18702

June 24, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - The days of National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration
Minister Gibson Sibanda as a cabinet minister are numbered.

He has ceased to be Member of Parliament following his failure to secure a
parliamentary seat within the constitutionally stipulated three months from
his appointment as minister.  Sibanda became a cabinet minister in February
as a non-constituency Senator and was required, in terms of the
Constitution,  to secure a parliamentary seat by May 19, or he would forfeit
his cabinet post.

There had been anxiety within the breakaway faction of the MDC led by Deputy
Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara over how to resolve the predicament of its
deputy president, Sibanda, and secure a seat for him in Parliament.

The crisis has defied solution and Sibanda is now required to vacate his
ministerial office.

The root cause of the party's dilemma was the failure of its entire
leadership to win parliamentary seats in the elections held in March 2008.
They were then appointed cabinet ministers in February in terms of the
Global Political Agreement signed by the parties in September 2008. Special
non-constituency seats were set aside in the Senate and in Parliament in
order for them to be eligible for ministerial positions.

The Mutambara faction immediately exhausted its allocation of
non-constituency seats. It allocated a parliamentary seat to its president,
Mutambara, who is now Deputy Prime Minister. Then it allocated its  two
senatorial seats to Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga - the
party's secretary general and deputy, respectively.

Sibanda, who lost his parliamentary seat in Bulawayo's Nkulumane suburb to
Thamsanqa Mahlangu of Tsvangirai's mainstream MDC, was left high and dry.

Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma was quoted in the press on  Monday as
saying the Constitution was categorically clear on the provision relating to
the peculiar circumstances that Minister Sibanda finds himself in.

"You just need to read the Constitution; it is self explanatory," said
Zvoma. "He can no longer continue attending parliamentary sessions without
regularising that.

"He could only attend parliamentary proceedings during the three-month
period within which he was then supposed to secure a seat."

If Sibanda has no place in Parliament now, after expiry of the deadline, he
cannot legally serve as a government minister. Sources within the
Mutambara-led MDC say the party tried to circumvent the sticky problem by
seeking to appoint Mangwe Member of Parliament, Edward Mkhosi, as governor
and resident minister for Matabeleland South Province to vacate his
parliamentary seat and make way for Sibanda.

In terms of the Global Political Agreement signed between Zanu-PF, MDC-T and
MDC, when a constituency falls vacant, the party holding that seat can
nominate a successor to fill the vacancy.

Sibanda's predicament is not without precedent.

In 2002, Minister Sithembiso Nyoni of Zanu-PF failed to secure a
parliamentary seat within the stipulated period when she found herself in
similar circumstances.

She was forced to relinquish her ministerial post until she finally secured
the parliamentary seat.

'Zimbabweans still pouring into SA'

http://www.zimonline.co.za/

by Own Correspondent Wednesday 24 June 2009

JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe's temporary political stabilisation following
formation of a unity government in February has neither stopped nor slowed
new arrivals of Zimbabweans in South Africa, a Johannesburg-based
non-governmental organisation (NGO) representing refugees and migrants has
said.

The Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa (CORMSA) said in a
recent report that similar levels of migration should continue for the next
two to five years, and could rise if the power sharing government between
President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai collapsed.

But CORMSA urged South African authorities not to restrict migration into
the country, adding this would hamper the country's development because most
migrants were self-sufficient bringing in skills and resources that
generated jobs.

"We will find no answers to South Africa's problems by halting migration,"
said CORMSA.

"As such, migration is not a threat to South Africans' economic or physical
security. Managed properly, it could lead to investment, job creation and a
more productive economy.

"To realise this end, we need to move beyond the deceptive goal of sealing
off the South African border."?

CORMSA has urged newly installed South African President Jacob Zuma to
prioritise the security of all people resident in the country and work
closely with civil society to avert a repeat of the suffering and deaths
experienced last year.

The NGO which brings together refugee and migrant workers service providers
in Africa's economic powerhouse said as shown by the May 2008 xenophobia,
South Africa could not protect the migrants within its borders which could
make it struggle to recruit the people it needed.

South Africa - the continent's most prosperous country - hosts millions of
immigrants from other African countries among them an estimated two million
Zimbabweans who have fled their home country because of political violence
and hunger after a decade-long economic crisis, critics blame on Mugabe's
controversial policies.

The unity government is yet to convince rich Western nations that the
southern African country is firmly on the path to genuine reform for them
give it much needed financial support to resuscitate its shattered
economy. - ZimOnline

Morgan's dilemma

http://www.ft.com

Published: June 24 2009 20:35 | Last updated: June 24 2009 20:35

Morgan Tsvangirai is putting on a brave face. In search of the financial
support Zimbabwe needs to recover from years of catastrophic misrule, he has
spent three weeks shuttling between western capitals. He has been warmly
welcomed at the highest levels. Yet he returns to Harare with little to show
for it.

He has raised $150m in humanitarian aid. But none of this will be channelled
through government. This leaves him with the impossible choice of cutting a
slender budget and facing industrial action, or raising taxes from
businesses suffering diminishing returns. Worse, Mr Tsvangirai's efforts to
persuade global opinion that President Robert Mugabe has accepted change - a
prerequisite for aid - is costing him the support he has won back home
during many tough years in opposition.

Sadly, this was inevitable. Mr Tsvangirai is courageous. He has been
battered, jailed and robbed of election victory. There is no doubt that by
agreeing to serve as prime minister under the man responsible for many of
his woes, he hoped to save his country. Yet good salesmanship alone was
never going to convince opinion of Mr Mugabe's good intentions.

Foreign donors are confronted with a difficult calculation. If they continue
to withhold financial support, Mr Tsvangirai will inevitably fail to
transform Zimbabwe's fortunes. He could emerge a much diminished figure. Yet
there is no guarantee he will succeed in marginalising Mr Mugabe, even with
a multi-billion-dollar rescue package.

To be fair, there have been improvements in the months since the coalition
government was formed. Dollarising the economy has halted hyper-inflation.
There are more provisions in the markets and a cholera epidemic has been
stalled. Businesses are finding it easier to operate.

Yet on the evidence so far, Mr Mugabe is still very much in control, using
the cover of the coalition to rehabilitate his ruling Zanu-PF. His thugs are
still hounding Mr Tsvangirai's supporters and invading farms. Even Gideon
Gono, the architect of Zimbabwe's economic collapse, is still in place as
governor of the central bank. And while Mr Tsvangirai was pleading for
Zimbabwe, state media were ridiculing him back home.

Southern African leaders, who promoted the power-sharing deal, are failing
to ensure that Mr Mugabe keeps his end of the bargain. So long as this is
so, and there is no clear endgame for his rule, the case for rescuing the
government with aid will be weak.

Zimbabwean newspaper campaign turns worthless banknotes into gold

 

Campaign to boost sales of the Zimbabwean using useless currency wins top award at Cannes Lions advertising festival

• Mark Sweney
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 June 2009 07.05 BST

 

Ad for the Zimbabwean printed on worthless banknotes. Click bottom right to see full image. Photograph: TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris/Johannesburg

A campaign to boost sales of the Zimbabwean, a newspaper that attacked Robert Mugabe's regime by using the troubled country's almost worthless bank notes to make billboard adverts, has won the top award in the outdoor category at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

The campaign to promote sales of the newspaper, which is published in the UK and South Africa, used the Zimbabwean currency as an advertising medium on posters and billboards to raise awareness of the dire state of the country under Mugabe.

Straplines used in the poster campaign included "Thanks to Mugabe this money is wallpaper", "Z$250,000,000 cannot buy the paper to print this poster on", "It's cheaper to print this on money than on paper", and "Fight the regime that has crippled a country".

The ads, by South African agency TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris/Johannesburg, won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix award for outdoor advertising. The Zimbabwean campaign also won a gold lion in the media category.

The agency said one of the most "eloquent symbols" of the state the country is in, with rampant inflation, was to use the Zimbabwean currency.

The newspaper faces a 55% "luxury import" tax to get copies into Zimbabwe, making it unaffordable to most locals.

To get more copies of the paper into the hands of Zimbabweans it has to be subsidised, which is done by raising awareness and sales outside the country.

The Zimbabwean newspaper, which carries the slogan A Voice for the Voiceless, targets the more than one million Zimbabweans who live in the UK and two million who live in Southern Africa, mainly South Africa and Botswana.

Wilf Mbanga, the founder, editor and publisher of the Zimbabwean, lives in Britain after being forced to leave Zimbabwe when he was branded an enemy of the people. He has written for the Guardian's Comment is Free blogging website.

UK ad agency DDB London won a bronze lion at Cannes in the outdoor category for a campaign for Harvey Nichols in Bristol.

‘Mugabe and the White African’ wins award for World Feature at SILVERDOCS

Zimbabwe's Hope

http://online.wsj.com

JUNE 24, 2009

Tentative signs of progress in Zimbabwe could and should pave the way for
private investment.
By JAMES A. HARMON | FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE
Zimbabwe is tentatively emerging from a decade of international isolation.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is currently on a tour of major capitals to
drum up support for his fragile, yet promising, four-month-old unity
government.

During his visits to Washington, Brussels, Berlin and London, Mr. Tsvangirai
has been asking for more development assistance. The response has been
variations on a theme: "We support you in your struggle for democracy but
need to see more progress before any real money is forthcoming."
International donors are wary because Robert Mugabe -- who systematically
destroyed his country's economy to stay in power and whose lieutenants have
arrested and beaten Mr. Tsvangarai several times -- remains president.
Mugabe's thugs are also still in place, looking over Mr. Tsvangirai's
shoulder.

Yet despite this imperfect political deal, Zimbabwe has made significant
progress in just a few months that provides signs of hope for the future.
The worthless Zimbabwean dollar has been scrapped as of June 1, and the U.S.
dollar and South African rand are now legal tender. This helped eliminate
Zimbabwe's hyperinflation, which is now effectively zero, compared to
billions of percent between mid 2008 and January 2009. Dollarization,
combined with new rules allowing exporters to retain their foreign exchange
instead of having to convert into Zimbabwean dollars at official rates,
instantly made more businesses profitable. This also has diminished the
ruling party's patronage machine and reduced the policy-making clout of the
central bank governor, Gideon Gono, an old Mugabe comrade. An emergency
budget has allowed civil servants to start receiving their salaries again,
and has begun to restart essential services.

The man primarily responsible for these positive steps is Tendai Biti, the
new finance minister and longtime deputy to Mr. Tsvangiari. What's more,
other capable, decent people have replaced Mugabe's yes-men in most of the
critical ministries, such as energy and power development, education and
health. Although the government is short on supplies and materials, it has
reopened schools and hospitals and has put food and other commodities back
on once empty store shelves. It has also identified and prioritized
investment goals in key areas of power generation and transmission,
education, health and infrastructure.

These moves have caught the attention of international donors, and they have
opened the door a crack toward normalization. Zimbabwe will receive some
additional humanitarian aid from the World Bank, Britain, the U.S. and
others to get schools and clinics running again. But nearly all of this
money will remain outside government channels. For the donor community to
open the aid floodgates to budget support, debt relief and major
reconstruction funds will require much more political progress.

Perhaps more important for Zimbabwe's long-term economic revival, private
investors are also taking notice of a possible turnaround. Despite the
global economic crisis, there is still considerable foreign capital -- 
including in my own fund, which specializes in portfolio investment in
publicly listed companies in the developing world -- ready and willing to
invest in Zimbabwe's future. Capital is already starting to flow again into
mining of gold, platinum and diamonds, and the market capitalization of the
stock market, with 80 listed companies, is up 127% since March. Fund
managers and foreign CEOs are visiting Harare and Bulawayo, the
second-largest city, again.

But for significant private money to come, investors will need more
confidence that the reforms are irreversible and that political change is
gaining momentum. Putting an end to land seizures, clarifying land ownership
and protecting private property would be crucial steps in that direction.
Mugabe starved his country when he seized farmland from those who knew how
to farm it and redistributed the land to partisans in his Zanu-PF Party.
Aside from the immediate economic consequences, the move also sent an
alarming signal about his lack of respect for property rights.

Similarly, the restoration of the rule of law is essential. Zimbabwe's
courts will once again need to be independent, and the once-professional
police will have to be de-politicized. Lastly, the water and power
infrastructure must be rebuilt. This is a prerequisite for the country's
once-vibrant farms and factories to reopen and become sources of jobs and
economic growth.

If Prime Minister Tsvangirai and his team can accomplish these ambitious
steps, both public and private money will come. Donors and investors are
understandably cautious given the risks and inevitable setbacks ahead. Yet
the progress that has been made in just the past four months should give us
all a reason to take a serious look at Zimbabwe's opportunities.

Mr. Harmon is chairman of the Caravel Fund and served as president and chief
executive of Export-Import Bank of the United States during the Clinton
administration.

Press Statement from ROHR ZIMBABWE

FROM THE ZIMBABWE VIGIL

Guest Voice: Cry Zimbabwe: World Media Mucks It Up While Mother Africa is Murdered

The Re-Birth of David Scobie

AWARD-WINNING Zimbabwean singer, David Scobie, has unveiled his long-awaited website, http://davidscobie.org/

He made the announcement via his Facebook profile recently."The new website is finished and we hope to get some interest in the old music again," says David.The multi-media website features David's profile, discography, photos and singles released, among other great features.

Visitors to the site can preview and purchase his best selling 1981 album, "Cleaning Up!" for the first time in 28 years which features hit songs like Gypsey Girl, Taking The Easy Way Home, Maybe Life Don't Care and On The Phone. The CD is also available for download.Other albums will be available to preview and download in due course. These include: Reborn (1983), Photograph (1984) and David Scobie Special Edition (1989). These albums will be re-released on CD and downloads for 2009.

Brogue Music CDs are also available for purchase and download on the site. Brogue is David's new music group (of two people). He teamed up with Zimbabwean singer, Brigitte Rodrigues to form the group - producing Celtic music. They have released two albums to date: Rhythm Of The Celts (2007)  (which has already gained silver disc status in UK and is very close to gold) and Girls And Strong Whisky (2008).

Visitors can register for a newsletter to keep up-to-date with tour dates, gossip and album release dates.Visitors to the site are struck by its ease of use, especially as it includes all content areas that are integral to David's brand. It has been designed to be the premiere destination for all his fans.It is fresh, interactive, and of high quality competing with all other big artist websites.David aims to reach his growing fans through the site and other multimedia outlets available now.The highly interactive site has already garnered tremendous interest and responses from David's fans.The Guestbook, especially, has already attracted a lot of attention.

Born in Dundee, Scotland, David was exposed to traditional Scottish folk music from the age of six. His parents took him to his first live concert held in Dundee where popular folk Duo "The Corries" blew David away. In 1973 the Scobie family moved to Harare Zimbabwe. From the age of ten, under the instruction of a close musical family friend, David began learning rudimentary chords on a guitar his parents had bought him. In 1980 David, aged fifteen had a hit-single in Southern Africa called "Gypsey Girl". The single was released in October 1980 and it went to No.1 in Zimbabwe that November, staying there for the next four months. It was then released in South Africa in April 1981 and it bounced up and down the Springbok charts for nineteen weeks.
The single went Gold in both countries and David became an over-night celebrity. His next single "Taking The Easy Way Home" was recorded in April 1981 and by that June it had reached the Top Ten in both territories again. He went on to release four albums.
From 1983 to 2004 he endured a fruitful career in advertising jingles, producing and engineering. Over the years David repeatedly earned Zimbabwe Advertising Awards for his efforts. In 1998, he staged two musicals and two comedy theatre productions to full houses around the country.

David has teamed up with Brigitte Rodrigues producing Celtic music and call themselves Brogue and they are now based near Edinburgh in Scotland.  http://www.broguemusic.com

PEACE WATCH of 24th June [Jestina Mukoko's Case inSupreme Court on Thursday]