| The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
2 June
2005
URGENT LETTER FROM DAVE COLTART, SHADOW MINISTER OF JUSTICE, ZIMBABWE
Dear Friends
In the course of last week
thousands of poor Zimbabweans living in Harare, Bulawayo and other urban centres
have had their lives destroyed by an increasingly vicious, brutal and paranoid
regime. On the pretext of a “clean up” the regime’s police and army have
systematically gone through our cities and towns arresting street vendors,
confiscating their goods and destroying homes of poor
people.
Whilst there is no doubt that some
of these road-side shops and shacks are an eyesore and unhygienic, and whilst
there is no doubt that virtually all are strictly speaking “illegal”, they have
to be seen in the context of the fastest shrinking economy in the world which in
turn is characterized by 80% unemployment and rampant inflation. The state of
the economy is a direct result of the insane policies implemented by the Mugabe
regime since 1997 when it first decided to send troops to protect its leaders’
interests in the Congo.
The chaotic land invasions
orchestrated by the regime from 2000, to secure its grip on power, have dealt a
near deathblow to the economy. Its dual exchange rate policy, designed to
protect the ruling elite’s standard of living (by giving the elite ready access
to cheap foreign currency), has devastated the productive sector. The low
interest rate policy, designed to lessen the State’s debt, has all but destroyed
the pensions of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans. The regime’s
excessive spending on protecting itself and maintaining the elite’s luxurious
lifestyle has resulted in greatly reduced spending on health, housing and
education.
The vast majority of the people
affected by this callous campaign are victims of these policies. Through no
fault of their own they have been driven out of the formal sector and to survive
have had to try to earn an honest living by street vending. Because the regime
has spent billions on a huge military and a bloated, inefficient and corrupt
cabinet, rather than on housing, hundreds of thousands have been forced to build
shacks so that they have a roof above their heads. What is more is that these
practices have been allowed to develop for years under a succession of Zanu (PF)
governments which have done nothing either to allocate sufficient resources to
build vending sites and low cost houses or to police these breaches of the
law.
What is particularly outrageous
about this pogrom is that no warning of it has been given and no alternative
arrangements have been made for homeless people to move to or for unemployed
people to get an alternative source of income. No plans have been announced as
to how these people will be provided with an income or where the dispossessed
will be housed. Indeed given the collapse of the economy it is hard to see how
this regime will be able to do either. This regime cannot even find sufficient
resources to pay for fuel so how is going to provide jobs and homes for the
thousands of people affected?
What is particularly egregious,
sinister and callous about this pogrom is that it has been done at the
commencement of winter and at a time when millions are already facing starvation
and are affected by Aids and have no access to medication.
I have no doubt that this pogrom
will dramatically increase the number of deaths of poor Zimbabweans afflicted by
the deadly combination of Aids, no access to drugs and malnutrition. The sudden
removal of a source of income and a warm bed will condemn many to death in the
coming weeks and months.
What is astonishing is the
callousness of this regime, graphically illustrated in the two recent extracts
from the regime’s Herald newspaper set out below. It is interesting that these
articles are written by journalists who owe their allegiances to the regime for
even they capture the desperation of the innocent poor. The words “panic
stricken”; “distraught”, “shocked” and “grim faced” are used to describe the
feelings of the poor. In contrast Robert Mugabe and the Police Commissioner use
dismissive and aggressive language. The poor are criminals whose “illegal source
of livelihood has been hemorrhaging the economy”. The poors’ “insatiable desire
for corruption” has permeated the economy. The poor areas are “havens for
illicit and criminal activity” in the words of Mugabe. He says there is a need
to “remedy such ills”.
The truth is that it is Robert
Mugabe’s regime that is primarily responsible for massive corruption which is
not only some of the worst type of criminal activity but has also destroyed the
economy and forced these poor Zimbabweans into penury. During the same period
that millions of Zimbabweans have been impoverished and rendered homeless Robert
Mugabe and his ruling elite have become fabulously wealthy, evidenced by their
construction of mansions costing billions of dollars. A photograph of Mugabe’s
new mansion, nearing completion in Harare, is attached. It should be stressed
that his mansion is just one of many built by the Zanu elite in the last few
years. The Governor of the Reserve Bank, whose recently announced policies
appear to promote and at least endorse this pogrom, has himself recently built a
mansion which according to reports rivals Mugabe’s.
The truth is also that this
exercise has very little to do with a genuine desire to improve the lives of
Zimbabweans. It has everything to do with a campaign of retribution against
people who are, correctly, perceived to oppose the regime. It has everything to
do with their fear that these same people will rise up in revolt against a
regime that has been responsible for the destruction of the lives, hopes and
dreams of millions of Zimbabweans. It has everything to do with instilling fear
in the hearts and minds of these people before they rise
up.
One thing is for certain: the good
Lord knows everything and sees everything. The Lord knows the truth and the real
motives behind these actions. The Lord also abhors actions by the rich and
powerful that trample on the poor. This regime should soberly consider the
application of Amos 5 to their actions:
“You who
turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground
You hate
the one who reproves in court and despise him who tells the truth.
You
trample on the poor and force him to give you grain. Therefore, though you have
built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush
vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
For I
know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.
You
oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the
courts.
Therefore the prudent man keeps
quiet in such times, for the times are evil.
Seek
good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just
as you say he is.
Hate evil, love good; maintain
justice in the courts.
Let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream.”
The Bible is replete with other
verses which set out the consequences for rulers who act in such a heartless and
callous fashion. History also shows that autocratic rulers who have employed
similar policies have been the authors of their own demise through their
actions. I have no doubt that the same fate is going to befall this autocratic
and brutal regime. Ironically actions such as these speed up a regime’s
end.
In
the interim we, for our part, will do everything possible to protect those
affected by the depredations of this regime. We will do all in our power to
expose the extent of the devastation, to use the courts to suspend these immoral
actions and to mobilize communities to oppose the regime lawfully, peacefully
and non-violently.
In
doing so we hope that people everywhere will also express their outrage and
condemn these actions. Now is the time for the international community to
intensify pressure on this regime to respect basic human rights, to restore the
rule of law in a just and humane manner and to respect the democratic will of
the electorate through the holding of free and fair elections that comply with
international electoral standards.
Let
Justice, indeed, roll on like a river.
Yours
sincerely
David
Coltart MP
Shadow
Justice Minister
Zimbabwe
Illegal homes destroyed
Herald Reporter
POLICE
Commissioner Augustine Chihuri warned yesterday that police would deal
decisively with anyone resisting the ongoing Operation Restore Order as illegal
homes built through bogus co-operatives around Harare were demolished.
Hours before the pre-dusk blitz on Nyadzonia and Chimoio housing
co-operatives near the Harare International Airport, and Hatcliffe Extension
near Borrowdale, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri said the ZRP had the
capacity to deal with anyone who chose to be combative and confrontational.
"I
would want to warn any miscreants within our society who may wish to show their
discontent against the current clean-up operations to stop the daydream
forthwith as the ZRP has adequate resources to ensure that peace and
tranquillity prevails.
"Let
no one be used as cannon fodder by criminals whose illegal source of livelihood
has been haemorrhaging the economy," Comm Chihuri said.
He was addressing senior police officers at a workshop jointly
organised by the ZRP and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in Harare.
At
Nyadzonia and Chimoio co-operatives, there was drama and pandemonium when about
250 police officers in 25 ZRP trucks and two bulldozers descended on the
settlement at about 4pm.
Within minutes, the two bulldozers had razed to the ground the illegal
structures while panic-stricken residents rushed to pull out a few of their
belongings.
At Hatcliffe Extension, many settlers were also caught unaware as about
150 officers descended on the settlement to effect the demolitions. By late last
night, most of the settlers were busy removing items of moveable property from
the houses as the police waited to raze the structures down with poles and
mattocks.
Those who were coming from various workplaces were shocked to find some
of their structures razed to the ground while others immediately joined their
families in removing furniture from their homes and other building materials
such as asbestos.
ZRP
and Harare City Council trucks could also be seen making several trips as they
ferried people to their preferred destinations or to Caledonia Farm near
Mabvuku.
In Chitungwiza, tuckshop owners and furniture manufacturers
began removing their goods as word spread that police would today bring down
their illegal structures.
At around 7pm, The Herald observed truckloads
of furniture being carried to safe houses.
Mr Elia Chinheya, who owns
Elch Furnitures in Zengeza 4, said he had nowhere to store the at least 48 sets
of sofas and several other furniture items he has.
His sofas sell at an
average price of $10 million a set. The sofas were being loaded into a truck
under police guard.
The situation was the same in Unit J, K, D, H and B
where tuckshop owners and furniture manufacturers were removing their goods.
There were, however, no signs of resistance at the time of going to
Press.
Officer Commanding Harare Senior Assistant Commissioner Edmore
Veterai said the affected people were to be taken to a farm near Mabvuku.
"There is no going back and we are going to pull down all the illegal
structures. They must go back where they came from," he said.
He said
those who were still residing at some of the illegal settlements should pack all
their valuable goods as the police would not spare them.
Snr Asst Comm
Veterai said some of the settlers were made to pay money to bogus housing
co-operatives.
"We are going to crack down on the top officials of the
bogus housing co-operatives and bring them to book," he said.
Earlier,
Comm Chihuri said the actions by greedy vendors and vagrants had almost resulted
in the cities of Harare and Bulawayo being branded "filthy shack townships",
which was unacceptable by any standards.
"This
discussion comes at a time when the Zimbabwe Republic Police, city councils and
other stakeholders have stepped up efforts against belligerent and unscrupulous
businesspeople whose misdirection and insatiable desire for corruption has
permeated the entire economic fabric of our beloved nation," he said.
Police storm Mbare
By Nelson Chenga
A DARK cloud of doom and gloom hung over Harare’s oldest suburb, Mbare,
yesterday as police demolished some illegal structures in their clean-up swoop
dubbed Operation Murambatsvina (No Tolerance to Filth).
It was a hive of activity as shack dwellers — mainly in Mbare’s Jo’burg
Lines section — ripped down structures, jam-packed their bags and headed for
various destinations.
Police said the operation in Mbare would be
intensified today.
Mbare — the country’s most densely populated urban
settlement — has been a notorious criminal hideout for decades. Police last week
recovered 30 tonnes of sugar worth $300 million, 8 000 litres of diesel and 13
500 litres of petrol at an illegal warehouse.
This comes at a time when
the former illegal settlements of Tongogara Park in Whitecliffe, Hatcliffe
Extension, Nyadzonia, Chimoio and New Park near Mt Hampden in Good Hope now
resemble the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.
Officer Commanding
Harare Police Senior Assistant Commissioner Edmore Veterai yesterday vowed to
clean up all the illegal settlements around Harare and its satellite towns of
Chitungwiza, Ruwa, Epworth and Norton.
He urged residents to pull down
any prohibited structures on their properties, adding the clean-up campaign was
at full throttle in Mbare and other suburbs.
He said the demolition of
illegal structures would continue today in Glen View 7, New Park near Mt Hampden
in Good Hope and Chitungwiza.
Hundreds of distraught people still adjusting to the situation were busy
going through the debris picking up their belongings and organising transport
yesterday.
Still in shock and grim-faced, others were milling around their former
homes that were now just heaps of rubble.
"I have no idea where to go
and I have been told that they (police) don’t want to see me here again," said
one settler at Tongogara Park, moving about a thriving garden of cabbages and
carrots.
Yesterday, police patrolled all the settlements around Harare
which were razed to the ground last week to ensure the illegal former occupants
moved out as required.
For the past few days, police have been moving
around Mbare, which thrives on the formal, informal and black markets, with loud
hailers ordering all illegal settlers to move out immediately or face the wrath
of the law.
Original houses that once formed the suburb are now slowly emerging from
the maze of wooden and brick dwellings that had sprouted around them over the
past 25 years as the illegal settlers comply with the police order.
Still coming to grips with the unfolding new reality, many were too
stunned to speak while those who could, said there was just one option still
open.
That was to head back to their rural homes.
Although the
numerous illegal vendors have virtually disappeared, it was business as usual
for others who are keeping their fingers crossed that there might be a change of
heart from Government.
"We were told they would be coming here today and
when they come we will move out. What can we do but to comply, difficult as it
is given that we have children still in school?" said one resident who
identified herself only as Mai Chapungu.
However, police clad in riot
gear again patrolled the suburb’s narrow streets in several trucks indicating
that the operation would go ahead as planned.
The operation -- turning
out to be the biggest clean-up ever carried out in the country since
independence in 1980 -- has seen several cramped and sprawling illegal dwellings
around the capital and across the country razed to the ground.
Police
have arrested more than 11 000 people for engaging in various illegal
activities, and goods worth billions of dollars have been confiscated since the
launch of Operation Murambatsvina in tandem with the Harare City Council’s
Operation Restore Order.
Substantial amounts of local cash, foreign
currency and several firearms have also been recovered.
President Mugabe
on Friday threw his weight behind the clean-up campaign as police razed to the
ground Harare’s biggest illegal settlement – Tongogara Park at Whitecliffe Farm
along the Harare-Bulawayo Road.
Cde Mugabe, who was addressing the 162nd
Zanu-PF Central Committee extraordinary session in Harare, said Government was
fully behind the clean-up campaigns by the police aimed at restoring the status
of the towns and cities to their previous famed cleanliness and safety.
"Our
cities and towns had deteriorated to levels that were a real cause for concern.
Apart from failing reticulation systems and broken roads and streets, our cities
and towns, including Harare, the capital, had become havens for illicit and
criminal practices and activities which just could not be allowed to go on,"
said President Mugabe.
Cde Mugabe, in his wide-ranging speech, said even during the election
campaigns for the March 31 parliamentary polls, he had reiterated the need to
provide a remedy to such ills.
” From the mess should emerge new
businesses, new traders, new practices and a whole new and salubrious urban
environment.
"That is our wish and vision. Our tourists and visitors
first look at our capitals and towns. Capitals, cities and towns are what shape
the impressions of a country," he said.
Although it is still not clear how long the exercise will take,
police have indicated that once through with the urban areas, the clean-up would
immediately move to the farms, where thousands of people have been resettled, to
deal with the "culture of lawlessness".
Ends
|
African Immigration to
Europe |
| Jan Lamprecht was born and raised in Zimbabwe, then
called Rhodesia, during the "Bush War", which resulted in Robert Mugabe coming
to power. He was educated in Harare, the capital of the country, before leaving
for South Africa, where he spent some time in the Navy. He wrote a book called
"Government
by Deception" about African politics related to Zimbabwe and the effects
Mugabe's policies may have on other countries. He publishes a popular, highly "politically-incorrect" web site AfricanCrisis.org |
|
Foreign Aid to Africa: Waste of
Money |
| Jan Lamprecht was born and raised in Zimbabwe, then
called Rhodesia, during the "Bush War", which resulted in Robert Mugabe coming
to power. He was educated in Harare, the capital of the country, before leaving
for South Africa, where he spent some time in the Navy. He wrote a book called
"Government
by Deception" about African politics related to Zimbabwe and the effects
Mugabe's policies may have on other countries. He publishes a popular, highly "politically-incorrect" web site AfricanCrisis.org |