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Zimbabwe Must Settle Multilateral Arrears Before Getting New Loans - IMF Official

http://www.voanews.com/


By Blessing Zulu
Washington
10 March 2009

A senior official of the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday dashed hopes
of early IMF aid to Zimbabwe's reconstruction raised by a report in a
state-run newspaper, saying the country must clear outstanding arrears of
nearly US$140 million before getting any new loans.

IMF Africa Director Antoinette Sayeh dismissed a report in Harare's Herald
newspaper that the lender of last resort could be funding Zimbabwe's
economic recovery in short order. She was speaking to Reuters on the
sidelines of a summit in Tanzania looking at the impact of the international
financial and economic crisis on African countries.

In addition, the minister cited by the Herald said the newspaper misquoted
him.

Delegations from the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank
arrived in Harare this week to open talks with officials of the recently
installed unity government.

"The Fund is not in a position to disburse resources to Zimbabwe...because
Zimbabwe is in arrears," Sayeh told Reuters.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti also voiced concern that Harare's policies have
not changed much and this will make it difficult to get fresh funding.

President Robert Mugabe has differed sharply with the IMF in the past over
its policy prescriptions, saying it imposed excessively harsh conditions.
Zimbabwe's rights as an IMF member have been restricted due to its debt
arrears and economic policies.

Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that it is too early to say what the IMF will do
for Zimbabwe.

He said the Herald had misquoted him as saying the IMF would help
"immediately."


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Outburst of emotion as 15 000 crowd bids farewell to PM's wife

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

      

            by Own Correspondent Wednesday 11 March 2009

HARARE - At least 15 000 Zimbabweans gathered at a sports stadium
outside Harare to bid farewell to Susan Tsvangirai, wife of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai who died in a car crash last Friday.

Susan, who shunned the political limelight but somehow remained
popular among supporters of Tsvangirai's MDC party, died shortly after the
car she and her husband were travelling in was struck on the side by a truck
that veered onto their lane along the Harare-Chivhu highway. Her husband
survived the crash, only sustaining some neck and head injuries.

In a massive show of affection and support for Susan and her husband,
thousands of MDC supporters trooped to the stadium on foot and in cars, many
hours before Tsvangirai and the entourage bearing her wife's coffin were due
to arrive at the stadium.

And when Tsvangirai eventually entered the stadium along with the
coffin of his wife, the crowd erupted in one huge outburst of emotion,
ululating and cheering at their leader, as others waved placards in the air
declaring their undying love for Susan.

"Goodbye Mama", "We miss you mother," read some of the placards.

"She was a good person," said Ephraim Chikauro, a schoolteacher, who
travelled from Kuwadzana suburb several kilometers away to come to attend
the farewell rally for Susan.

"In a way, you could say Amai Tsvangirai knew she was going to leave
us . . . what were supposed to be preparations for a birthday celebration
have now turned out to have been preparations for her own funeral," the
teacher said.

He was referring to preparations Susan was known to have been making
for Tsvangirai's 57th birthday that would have been celebrated today.

And when senior MDC officials and other dignitaries rose to speak,
only the detail varied but the theme remained the same: Susan's steadfast
support for Tsvangirai as the former trade unionist-turned-politician led
the treacherous struggle for democracy and a better future for Zimbabwe.

MDC secretary general Tendai Biti described Susan as having been a
mother to the democratic struggle of the last 10 years.

"She was a mother to the struggle for democratic change in Zimbabwe.
She was an activist and revolutionary in her own right. She believed that
there must be democracy in Zimbabwe," said Biti.

Biti recounted how Susan had stood by her husband during the many
difficult and hazardous time she faced as leader of the country's main
opposition.

"The question in our hearts is: Why and why now?" Biti said, no doubt
speaking for many MDC supporters who have found it difficult to accept Susan's
death just when the struggle of the past decade appeared to be bearing some
fruit after the party entered a power-sharing government with President
Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party.

Lovemore Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
that Tsvangirai led before forming the MDC in 1999, said Susan had supported
the workers' struggle and called on the Prime Minister to keep up the
momentum of the struggle for better living conditions for workers.

He said: "Mr Tsvangirai must not lose the momentum that he had (with
Susan's support). His wife has been fighting for workers' rights, she was a
mother to all workers."

In a reminder that despite the massive show of support for Tsvangirai
from all quarters including by Mugabe and his wife Grace, suspicions over
the accident remain lingering in many people's minds, the national students
body took to the stage to call for inquiry into the cause of the car crash.

Zimbabwe National Students Unions leader Clever Bere told the
gathering: "The fatal accident that claimed the life of our mother and
injured the Prime Minister remains consistent with the patterns of the past.

"Zimbabwe's political history is riddled with a trail of politically
motivated accidents that remain an unresolved mystery to all of us. We join
the progressive world in calling for an independent impartial inquiry into
the circumstances that led to the death of Mai Tsvangirai."

Tsvangirai has himself ruled out the possibility of foul play in the
car crash while Mugabe speaking earlier in the day during a church memorial
for Susan called the accident an act of God.

However there are many in the country who remain unconvinced the car
crash was a genuine accident.

A raging battle between Tsvangirai and Mugabe for control of a
power-sharing government the two formed last month has helped feed this
speculation over the car crash. While a long history of deaths of prominent
political figures in mysterious road accidents has only helped exacerbate
suspicions over the accident.

Tsvangirai's son Edwin said as a family they remain committed to the
democratic struggle but pleaded for a short time after all public
proceedings to allow the family to grieve in privacy.

"We shall request for a time to withdraw from public life but not that
we have withdrawn from the cause of the country. We want to help our father,
to grief so that we can prepare him to take the nation forward," he said.

Susan, Tsvangirai's wife of 31 years and with whom she had six
children, will be buried today at her rural home in Buhera in Manicaland
province. - ZimOnline


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Zimbabwe: Will Unity Prevail? with Lucia Matibenga MP 11th March - MEETING CANCELLED

LUCIA MATIBENGA MEETING CANCELLED  - SEE EMAIL BELOW FROM ACTSA

 

Vigil co-ordinator

 

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights by the current regime in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Campaigns [mailto:Campaigns@actsa.org]
Sent:
10 March 2009 17:22
To: Campaigns
Subject:
Zimbabwe: Will Unity Prevail? with Lucia Matibenga MP 11th March

 

 

Dear All,

 

I regret to inform you that the ACTSA event “Zimbabwe: Will Unity Prevail?” with Lucia Matibenga MP has been cancelled. Lucia had to cancel her visit to the UK after the death of Susan Tsvangirai last week. The two were close friends and Lucia has remained in Zimbabwe for the funeral. Unfortunately we have been unable to find an alternative speaker at such short notice.

 

I sincerely apologise and will keep you updated on any similar future events held by ACTSA.

 

Warm Regards,

 

Rosie Moorsom

-----------------------------------------------

Rosie Moorsom

Campaigns

ACTSA

231 Vauxhall Bridge Road

London

SW1 1EH

tel: 020 3263 2001

fax:  020 7931 9398

email: campaigns@actsa.org

website: www.actsa.org

 

Access to sanitary products in Zimbabwe is worse than ever. Support ACTSAs Dignity! Period. campaign, visit www.actsa.org/dignity

 


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Dying at WHO's door

http://www.mg.co.za

MARA KARDAS-NEL - Mar 11 2009 06:00

The African regional office of the World Health Organisation (Afro) has done
little to help stem Zimbabwe's cholera outbreak, critics say, because of
mismanagement and cosy relationships with government.

Health activists and academics told the Mail & Guardian that Afro's response
to the outbreak has been disastrously slow, despite the fact that its
Southern Africa headquarters are in Harare and that it has a $1.2-billion
biennial budget at its disposal.

Afro's regional director, Dr Luis Sambo, first visited Zimbabwe to review
the cholera situation in December 2008, four months after the first cases
were reported in August. Outbreak surveillance and systematic coordination
of interventions are said by other health sector players to be completely
dysfunctional.

Médicins Sans Frontiér's (MSF) emergency coordinator, Marcus Bachmann says:
"There is a problem in the cleanliness and the completeness of the
reporting . without a strong surveillance system, you are not able to target
and direct limited resources.

"I would understand if [this was] not strong in the beginning of the
outbreak, but in the seven months of the outbreak there should be strength
in that. Cholera has very rapid kinetics, so you have no time to lose.

"The complete communication and supply chain are not working or working fast
enough. And it's critical because if cholera [medicines] don't come in time,
people lose their lives," Bachmann says.

He and others point out that Afro cannot blame the lack of funds for its
tardiness. Its $1.2-billion allocation is 28% of the entire WHO budget for
the 2008-2009 biennial period, making it the best-funded regional office
within the system. WHO and government insiders, however, say privately that
they regard Afro as the worst-managed office.

Civil society organisations requested a meeting with Afro in October 2008 to
"find out what they [Afro] actually do, because they get a very big budget",
according to David Coetzee, senior specialist with the Western Cape
provincial department of health and director of the infectious disease
epidemiology unit at the University of Cape Town.

Afro responded that they had received only 22% of the $1.2-billion and
"50%-100%" of the 2006-2007 biennial funding.
Asked to comment on these vague figures, Dan Epstein of the WHO head office
in Geneva was non-plussed. "That doesn't make sense. They're having problems
distributing the money or something."

Critics of the body say part of the problem is that Afro's insistence on
working primarily with the Zimbabwean government severely stunts its ability
to use the money to help patients. Because the WHO works within the United
Nations system, the organisation and its regional offices work most closely
with governments and ministries of health rather than civil society
organisations.

Although the WHO Geneva office has released several reports regarding the
severe impact of the epidemic, neither Geneva nor Afro have voiced any
criticism of Robert Mugabe's false statement that the epidemic is over.
Collins Boakye-Agyemang of Afro insists that "regardless of political
issues, we try to improve the health of the public".

Sharon Ekambaram of MSF South Africa counters that this approach means
internal politics and layers of bureaucracy trump the health needs of
populations. Failure to criticise government inaction is "not just
[respecting] sovereignty . it compromises your independence. They would
compromise people's health in respecting sovereignty," Ekambaram says.

Bachmann says, "WHO-Afro has the responsibility to acknowledge the realities
on the ground. In the context of a failing ministry of health, its role
should be not only supportive, but more developmental."

Other observers say that Afro is seen by many as an employment option in
retirement and that a network of cronies dominates the organisation.

Neil Cameron, former Director of Infectious Disease at the National
Department of Health, worked with Afro during his time at the DoH and noted
that "the regional director was inclined, so I've heard, to appoint
ex-ministers".

It is difficult to be critical when "you're sitting in cahoots with the
government", Ekambaram said.

WHO-Afro responds
Collins Boakye-Agyemang of Afro says criticisms like those levelled over the
Zimbabwe cholera outbreak stem from a misunderstanding of the organisation's
role.

"One of the wrong perceptions", he says "is that WHO is an implementing
agency.

"The perception is that WHO has to be seen to be providing health in a
country. The ordinary people see the agencies, not WHO-Afro. But the tools
and guidelines are made by Afro."

Dan Epstein, spokesperson at WHO headquarters in Geneva, says that
accountability concerns are being addressed. The entire organisation is
"embarking on a global budgeting and management system that's designed to
make everything completely transparent, and that is in the process of being
implemented", he says.

"The principle behind this, is that ... everything will be transparent. You
will see how the money is being spent and by whom . down to the last level
of detail."

Epstein concedes that this monitoring and evaluation programme is "having
teething problems", which are "affecting the implementation rate" of all WHO
work, "not just in Afro but in other regions".


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Precedent set for ICC to target Mugabe, says former war crimes prosecutor

http://www.abc.net.au

This is a transcript from The World Today. The program is broadcast around
Australia at 12:10pm on ABC Local Radio.

The World Today - Wednesday, 11 March , 2009  12:42:00
Reporter: Eleanor Hall
ELEANOR HALL: A distinguished South African judge and former international
war crimes prosecutor says last week's decision by the International
Criminal Court to issue a warrant against Sudan's President sets a precedent
for action against Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe.

Justice Richard Goldstone said that President Mugabe's conduct over many
years warranted the attention of the International Court's prosecutor and
that he would like to see the members of the Security Council make a
reference to the ICC for Mr Mugabe to be charged with crimes against
humanity.

Justice Goldstone is a former judge on South Africa's Constitutional Court
and is in Australia this week to deliver the annual John Bray oration. He
spoke to me from Adelaide a short time ago.

Now, Justice Goldstone, you have a long association with the International
Criminal Court. What was your reaction when it took the unprecedented step
of issuing an arrest warrant for a sitting president, the leader of Sudan,
Omar al-Bashir?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Well, I applaud the issue of the arrest warrant for
President al-Bashir. In my view it's very important when a huge crime, such
as genocide and crimes against humanity or serious war crimes are committed,
that the people most responsible should be brought to justice.

I think the world's getting away from the pre-Second World War situation of
complete impunity for war criminals. They are now amenable to justice and it
should be brought home as high in the hierarchy as possible, and that's
what's happening in Sudan.

ELEANOR HALL: The next step of course is to actually arrest him. What do you
think is the most likely scenario there?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Well, you know, it's got to be a crystal ball gazer when
Milosevic was indicted by the International Criminal Court for the former
Yugoslavia. He was a sitting head of state. People said he'll never be
arrested, but you know, there was a revolution - that was unanticipated and
his successor bundled him onto an aeroplane and sent him to The Hague where
he stood trial and unfortunately died before the trial was over.

And similarly Karadzic - I was responsible when I was chief prosecutor in
1995 for issuing two indictments against Karadzic and Mladic. It looked like
they would evade arrest. It took 13 years to get Karadzic and I'm still
hopeful that I'll get Mladic. So, you know, one never knows what's around
the corner.

ELEANOR HALL: In the meantime, though, aid groups in Darfur have raised
concerns that the warrant prompted a retaliation from the President against
them and those they help in Darfur. I mean, do you have concerns that the
legal pursuit of figures like President al-Bashir could in fact result in
more harm to those the Court is trying to act for.

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: You know, that's always one of the risks of justice, I
think, domestically and perhaps even more so in the international community.
But President Omar al-Bashir is really, in my view, is continuing his most
serious criminal conduct by kicking out these groups and endangering the
lives, I see from UN statements, of over a million Darfurians, and this
makes it all the more important to bring him to justice.

ELEANOR HALL: Well, US President Barack Obama has spoken about Sudan today
and says it's unacceptable this reaction from him, but he says there's now a
potential crisis of even greater dimensions that we already saw. Isn't there
an argument there that it may have been better for the Court to wait until
he was out of power before issuing the warrant?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: I mean, how long do you wait? I mean, take the position
of Zimbabwe with Robert Mugabe. If a similar situation had arisen, does one
wait a decade, two decades, and allow him to continue to oppressing and
persecuting the people of Darfur because he continues to do so.

ELEANOR HALL: Well, you've raised Zimbabwe, that's another place where a
terrible humanitarian crisis has erupted. Does the issuing of a warrant for
the President of Sudan set any precedents for action against Robert Mugabe
from the International Criminal Court?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Well, in theory it does. Look, it'd have to be a Security
Council referral. I certainly think that there's a lot of conduct on the
part of Mugabe that warrants the attention of the prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court.

Zimbabwe is obviously is not a party to the Rome Treaty, so that the
International Criminal Court would not have jurisdiction over Zimbabwe
unless the Security Council was to makes a reference. I would hope that it
would consider that, but whether it does or not, is obviously an unknown
quantity.

ELEANOR HALL: What sort of charges would you consider laying?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Well, I think certainly crimes against humanity committed
by - and here I must emphasis there were many crimes that could be laid at
the door of Mugabe going back many years.

But the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction prior to 2002. But
since then the Mugabe regime has been responsible, for example, for
virtually the complete breakdown of the health system. This is costing
lives, I've no doubt, as we speak.

ELEANOR HALL: Are you optimistic about this power-sharing arrangement
between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Well, not really. It really seems to me as long as
Mugabe's on the scene it's unlikely you're going to get true democracy in
Zimbabwe.

ELEANOR HALL: Do you think that the international community should be taking
greater steps against Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe?

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Well, I think a lot of steps have been taken. Sanctions
have been imposed certainly by some countries. I'm disappointed that the
Africa Union and African leaders have been so mute in this regard, and
especially the leaders of my own country, South Africa.

I think a great deal more could have been done in Africa and that would be
much more meaningful than pressure from the West.

ELEANOR HALL: Justice Goldstone, thanks very much for joining us.

RICHARD GOLDSTONE: Pleasure.

ELEANOR HALL: That's Justice Richard Goldstone, a former judge on South
Africa's Constitutional Court, and a former international war crimes
prosecutor.


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MDC's condolence message on the death of Retired Army-General Zvinavashe

http://www.nehandaradio.com

11 March 2009

The MDC conveys its most sincere condolences to the Zvinavashe family and
the people of Zimbabwe at the untimely death of Retired Army General Vitalis
Zvinavashe.

The Retired Army-General is a distinguished son of Zimbabwe who has
selflessly and honestly dedicated his life to the service of his country as
a freedom fighter, a service chief and a legislator.

The MDC hopes that his dedication, selflessness, conviction and patriotism
will engender the same spirit in all of us at a time when we have resolved,
despite our political differences, to have common purpose and vision to save
Zimbabwe.

As a freedom fighter, the Retired Army General wished for freedom for the
people of Zimbabwe; freedom for the people to pursue their dreams in an
atmosphere bereft of fear and repression; the same values which the people
of this great country continue to cherish and respect.

It has been a terrible week for the people of Zimbabwe, with the Retired
Army General's death coming barely a week before the nation had fully wiped
its tears following the tragic death of Amai Susan Tsvangirai in a car
accident last Friday.

The MDC mourns with the Zvinavashe family in their moment of grief, calling
on them to derive strength and fortitude from his selfless service to his
country.

MDC Information and Publicity Department


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Mugabe says death of PM's wife was act of God, but doubts remain

http://news.scotsman.com

Published Date: 11 March 2009
By JANE FIELDS
IN HARARE
THE chant echoed around the stadium: "Why? Why? Why?"
Thousands of supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's new prime minister,
yesterday voiced their anger and disbelief at his wife Susan's death.

At a funeral service in the morning, President Robert Mugabe had begged
mourners to accept that Mrs Tsvangirai's death in a car crash was "an act of
God".

Mr Tsvangirai, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, has said the
chance of foul play being involved in last Friday's accident is "one in a
thousand". But many of his supporters are far from convinced.

Mrs Tsvangirai, 50, died when a lorry carrying Aids drugs slammed into the
4x4 she and her husband were travelling in on the way to a rally.

In a show of support that would have been unthinkable just six weeks ago,
ministers from Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party joined about 1,000 mourners crammed
into a small white Methodist chapel in the middle-income Mabelreign suburb
of the capital Harare.

Armed police took up positions around the chapel as Mr Mugabe arrived with
his wife, Grace, to deliver a keynote address for the wife of a man he used
to call a "teaboy" and a puppet of the former colonial power, Britain .

"We are sincerely saddened by the death of Susan and we hope that Morgan
will remain strong," Mr Mugabe, 85, said.

Despite the unprecedented show of unity, anger simmered below the surface.
"Grace said Susan would never get into State House and look, now she won't,"
whispered an MDC official in the congregation.


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SWRA's Lance Guma speaks to Dr Fay Chung

http://www.nehandaradio.com
 
 

Uploaded 10 March 2009

Dr Fay Chung on Behind the Headlines
Interview broadcast 05 March 2009

SW Radio Africa Producer/Presenter Lance Guma speaks to former Education Minister Dr Fay Chung, in a wide ranging interview. How does she see the prospects of success for the new coalition government, given the constant violations by ZANU PF? Lance also asks her about the problems rocking Dr Simba Makoni’s Mavambo Movement, which she is part of. Dr Chung explains why she made the decision to support Makoni’s presidential bid last year. Would she ever be tempted to join the MDC?

Lance: Hello Zimbabwe and welcome to another edition of Behind the Headlines. My special guest this week is Dr Fay Chung as you will know is a former Education Minister serving 1988 right up to 1993. Dr Chung thank you for joining us on the programme.

Dr Chung: My pleasure.

Lance: Right now…the starting point, political developments in Zimbabwe. We have a coalition government that has hit the ground running, what do you think are the prospects of this new arrangement. Is it going to work?

Dr Chung: I very much hope that it will work because it will give the country a breathing space. I think all parties have talked about an election in about 2 years time and I think a 2 year breathing space when we have peace and we can recover from some of the drastic suffering…..(inaudible) valued by Zimbabweans as a whole and makes me optimistic and hopeful that this inter-party agreement will work.

Lance: Mm this new arrangement obviously has been blighted by what have been described as violations. We’ve seen the detention of people like Roy Bennet, Jestina Mukoko till recently before she was released. Do you think all these are issues that will harm the arrangement?

Dr Chung: Well I think they are very unfortunate, because I think it is important for these abducted and detained people to be released as soon as possible. I think that is absolutely essential. But I guess what is happening is each side is flexing its muscles to show they are still in power or they can make a difference and this is what we see.

Lance: But obviously Zanu PF has focused on trying to get targeted sanctions removed and they are not doing enough some would argue to convince skeptical western countries that things have changed. For example, I mean why would you be asking for targeted sanctions to be removed while you have Roy Bennett locked up in Mutare jail? I mean what’s the reasoning there.

Dr Chung: Yeh, well I think each side is trying to please its constituency to show that they still have power to do what their particular constituency thinks is important. But I do agree with you that the targeted sanctions will remain as long as we have people in imprisoned without trial. I think it is essential that these people be released as soon as possible. I don’t see these targeted…ah what are called restrictions, I don’t think they will go away, without some movements being taken along those lines.

Lance: Now looking at your C.V, Dr Chung, very impressive in terms of your contribution to Zimbabwe. Minister of National Affairs Employment Generation and Cooperatives, Minister of Education Sport and Culture, Deputy Secretary for Administration in the Ministry of Education Sport and Culture. What is your relationship now that you are in a sense out of Zanu PF, how are you interacting with your former colleagues?

Dr Chung: Oh, I am still very friendly with colleagues who are working with me. I think we feel that change is needed at this time. I think if I look at people who were with me in the liberation struggle, who were with me in the early years of the independent government, I still have very good relationships with them. I don’t have any problems with them and they don’t have any problems with me. So I don’t see personal relations as a problem.

I think most of them do feel that Zanu PF somehow lost its way over the last decade I think and I think this is a consensus opinion, not just myself but within Zanu PF people, I think people are quite critical of the fact that we have not had succession over the last 10 years when obviously succession was necessary, that we allowed a lot of decay to take place. You know, I mean the cholera is one, the decay of the medical system, the decay of the education system, the closure of so many industries, I think all that is noted by everybody. It’s not a secret, you know it’s staring you in the face.

Lance: Last year you were one of the early public supporters of independent presidential candidate Simba Makoni, a decision that maybe surprised a few. Any particular reason you chose to back Dr Makoni?

Dr Chung: Oh I thought it was very important to come out with people who are serious about solving the countries problems in Zimbabwe in a technically sound way. In a way Simba is an extremely brave person to have come out the way he did. And also he is a technocrat, I mean he is a competent person and it was important at our stage of development to say lets look at the problems we facing in the country rather than which party are you and we are going to bash you down if you are the other party.

And we are saying no there are solutions and we have to go for the solutions. So I think it was very important to move away from the polarization of the two party system were each side feels….on the Zanu side they say the MDC is a representative of the imperialist forces and from the MDC side they say Mugabe is a dictator and so on, so we have to move from that kind of over-zealous, over simplified and half truths really on both sides to go to find ways to solve the real problems we face and I think Simba is offering that way.

Lance: And are you still involved with Simba’s project or you doing something else?

Dr Chung: Oh yes I am still heavily involved and in the midst of working out how to form a political party, cause so far we have Zanu PF and the two MDC formations but we feel its important to have another political party which is independent of both and that is what we are in the midst of doing.

Lance: In terms of problems that have rocked the Mavambo project. I mean we had retired Major Mbudzi convening a press conference with his colleagues and saying Dr Simba Makoni had been removed at the helm of the organization. Umm how has that matter been resolved so far?

Dr Chung: Ah well I don’t think it’s resolved because Mavambo had not yet been formed into a political party so I don’t know how you can remove someone from a non existent political party that’s one problem. I think the other is fighting over resources particularly money and cars. I think Simba is by nature a very cautious person in terms of how money is used, in terms of the regulations Vis a Vis cars. So that is very much the quarrel that he was too slow in forming the party and he was too release the money and cars to people.

As you know in Zimbabwe people fight over these cars and I think that is one of the issues we have today. So I think it’s a good thing really that Major Mbudzi and Ibbo Mandaza and others have chosen to leave Simba. Simba on his side is continuing with the formation of the party. So I don’t see..I guess in the end we might have two parties coming out but with Simba we still have the majority of people who followed him through the bid he made to challenge Mugabe and Tsvangirai for the presidency.

Lance: Now last year I spoke to former Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa, in fact I think it’s this year, and he said the reason why he supported Simba Makoni, it was a rescue operation and they wanted to prevent either Morgan Tsvangirai or Robert Mugabe from winning outright and this is what led to the run-off some are saying. Is that a fair assessment of the role Simba Makoni played because some are saying he acted as a spoiler and created the run-off?

Dr Chung: I don’t think he was a spoiler, I don’t believe that at all. I think the issue was that he saw that neither of those two candidates was offering a solution. You know they were kind of organizing against each other mainly on the basis of personality. Up to now you know I think I can say without fear of contradiction that neither Zanu PF nor the MDC have clear long term policies or strategies for improving the situation in this country. And what you hear really is we want a return to what it was like in the 1980’s but I think that is not a proper solution. We can not return to the so-called good times of the 1980’s. I think actually that is a delusion. I think we need some new solutions which neither have come upwards. That is were Simba comes in, to offer a new vision of where we are going to.

I think the older generation really harks back to restoring the good times which of course were based on the good inheritance of the Rhodesian days but I think there are problems with the Rhodesian days because the Rhodesia was perfect only for a minority, at that time a white minority. But after independence you had a black minority enjoying all these advantages but the majority of the people were not able to gain very much from either the Rhodesian system or from the post independence system. I mean of course in the education, health, clean water supply they were better off for lets say the first decade or so. But after that even that went backwards you know, health care is gone backwards, education has gone backwards, and off course water supply has ended up in cholera. So I don’t think we have a clear vision of were we go to from those two parties.

Lance: Well those two parties as you say are now in a coalition government. Clearly both are eyeing the elections in 2 years if we are to have a new constitution. Who do you think will come out the winner from this, Zanu PF or the MDC?

Dr Chung: Well I think if MDC plays its cards well and shows a lot of progress in the two years its future will be very comfortable. So I think it’s very much up to the MDC to show what it can do in two years. I think if it does not show great progress in the next two years then the kind of doors open for new parties and in fact that’s what I foresee really at the next election we will have more parties than we have now. I can see new candidates coming in. New parties forming because the old parties may not be offering proper answers to the challenges we have.

Lance: Would you ever be tempted to join the MDC?

Dr Chung: Well I think MDC has a very solid working….the urban working class and I think it has had very good support from the trade unions. So in that way I do see it as a progressive party. I think because it formed as an opposition to Zanu PF and based on an analysis that the problem is a person, that is Robert Mugabe. It became fairly confused because, you know, it seems very often the policy is if Robert Mugabe is removed all the problems will be solved, so I don’t believe that at all. I think there is much more to be done in Zimbabwe than just removing one person. And I think also kind of focusing on a personality muddies the analysis because I think we have very poor analysis on both sides you know and in some MDC side you kinda of hear if we had not done land resettlement we would be okay, that is wrong analysis.

From Zanu PF they think that MDC spoilt everything by getting too much support from Britain and America. Well I think that is partially true in that some of the kind of confused messages that we get from MDC is from getting too much support from too many different groups both inside and outside the country. You know there have been very favoured in terms of those internal and external support and I think these different groups have wanted their different messages to be the most dominant ones, you know. Let’s take the two main groups, the trade unions on the one side and the white commercial farmers on the other side. In a way they are very disparate groups but they are the two groups which are the most prominent in supporting MDC. So I think there certain types of mixed messages which come out. Umm….so your question is would I join MDC, well I think at the present moment I definitely would not.

Lance: That was Dr Fay Chung joining us on Behind the Headlines and certainly she has a lot to say on Zimbabwe and we hope to get her again for a part two. Dr Fay Chung, thank you for joining us.

Click here to listen to the programme


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MDC lifts Chaibva suspension

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=2860

By Moses Muchemwa

Published: March 10, 2009

Harare  - Leader of the MDC's splinter group, Arthur Mutambara has
reinstated his former spokesperson and national executive member Gabriel
Chaibva.

Chaibva was suspended from the party in July last year for 'conduct likely
to bring the party into disrepute.'

This was after he attended President Mugabe's inauguration ceremony at State
House last year.

The party's national chairman Jobert Mudzumwe confirmed the lifting of Mr
Chaibva's suspension.

"Chaibva's issue was discussed. He was on suspension pending a disciplinary
hearing that should have been conducted within a certain period of time
according to the party's constitution. That time elapsed without a hearing
and the suspension fell off," he said.

"As of now I can confirm that Chaibva has been readmitted into the party as
a national executive and national council member."


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Zim ISPs tell a story not otherwise reported


From Utande:

Internet Performance Report: Updated 5th March 2009

Most of Zimbabwe relies upon two possible ComOne provided paths for data
traffic flowing out of the country. At around 10:30 pm on Monday 2nd March
the most important of these links, a 17 Mb/s Intelsat connection shown as
GlobalConnex on our live Internet Weather Report, ceased operating. We are
reliably informed that it was disconnected for non-payment of account but
have no official word on this from ComOne.

As a result, the only outbound route available is through the 6 South
African connections of 2Mb/s each. Unfortunately these microwave links have
for a long time been unreliable as they are frequently affected by load
shedding. Thus, when these SAIX links are down e-mails will not flow in to
nor out of the country. Browsing to sites outside Zimbabwe, or outside the
.zw name space is not possible either.

.... and when they are up the nation has only 40% of normal outbound data
capacity.

Our systems remain fully operational but have been under stress at times
from the accumulation of mail waiting for onward delivery. We have taken
measures to ensure that local mail is delivered as efficiently as possible.
However, international mail flow will remain a challenge and you are urged
to avoid sending lengthy or unnecessary mails to reduce the impact this
national problem has on the flow of important and useful messages.

As at 7am today there is no mail backlog.

We have been given no indication of when normal service will resume but past
experience suggests it could easily drag on another week or more. We are
also investigating alternative bandwidth sources but given the requirement
that ComOne be the only gateway out of Zimbabwe this may prove difficult to
achieve. In addition, alternative bandwidth of our own will not resolve the
problems caused to the .zw namespace as seen from outside Zimbabwe and will
not provide complete relief.

A further update will be available here as and when the situation changes.

-------

From M-Web:

9 MARCH 2009

Dear MWEBBER

Please be advised that mid morning on Monday 2nd  March 2009 (last week) one
of the most important Telone outgoing data links ceased operating. As a
result the majority of international sites were unavailable, and some mail
delays for international email were experienced. MWEB systems remained fully
operational although on occasion, there was a build up of mails for
delivery.  Normal service for local sites and local mail were maintained.
This situation affected most ISP's and fortunately was partially resolved by
the morning of  Thursday  5th March. Browsing is still not as stable as
normal whilst we wait for a full resolution from Telone. Whilst this
situation was out of our control, we do apologise for the inconvenience
caused and do appreciate the frustration it caused. As highlighted
previously, we are looking at alternative back up solutions to minimize such
disruptions to your servic e.

-------

From ZOL

11 March 2009

You may have felt the Internet speed has been quite slow over the past few
days.  Emails have also had delays during business hours. We are aware of
the problem and are expecting a partial solution this week, with a full
solution by the end of next week  Please accept our apologies for the
inconvenience caused by this - we really do understand how bad it affects
you.

We have put on hold all new customers and any existing customer upgrade
requests.  We will not add more load until our links have been expanded.  We
are adding a little more capacity this week, and a large amount next week -
which will solve all congestion.

This issue has been caused by two problems - both of which are partly our
fault.  Firstly we underestimated the effect these ridiculous phone prices
would have on Broadband.  Suddenly Internet and Email have become relatively
cheap.  Hence the usage levels of all our users have dramatically increased
as outrageous phone bills have been received.  It is suddenly cheaper to
call a TelOne landline from Skype (via the USA) then it is from another
landline! We should have anticipated this better, and upgraded our links
faster.

The second problem is TelOne has effectively been offline for nearly
2 weeks.  They are experiencing "problems" of a non-technical nature, which
appear to be very hard to resolve.  We are assured they are working very
hard to resolve their issue.  Although most of our users are not connected
via TelOne bandwidth, it is used for low priority overflow traffic - of
course encrypted for security.

Unfortunately these two problems combined at a time when satellite space is
in very short supply.  Therefore we have had to join a queue waiting for our
own capacity upgrades - in fact we will have to get additional capacity
spread over several satellites as a temporary solution.

Once again we apologise for this and we look forward to a solution very
soon.


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Statement by torture survivor's spouse on anniversary of 11 March 2007

Today, 11 March 2009, is the second anniversary of the day that Mugabe's
thugs brutally beat a 64 year old grandmother causing her extensive,
appalling injuries. Doctors identified 80 separate bruises all over her
body, a broken leg, a broken arm, cracked ribs, damaged hands and
fingers, and a punctured leg. Her treatment involved months of
hospitalisation before she could walk, write and talk coherently again.
Her crime?  Attempting to attend a prayer meeting calling for peaceful
change in Zimbabwe. That brave woman is my wife Sekai Holland, now
fittingly appointed as one of three Ministers of State responsible for
National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration in the new Zimbabwe
Government of National Unity.

Sekai was one of a group of 140 senior civil society and MDC-T members
and sympathizers who were arrested that day and held at Machipisa Police
Station. Most of them also suffered severe torture over a period of nine
hours at the hands of state agents who were gleefully boasting about the
million dollar bonus that they were being paid by Reserve Bank Governor
Gono as they carried out their mission. (That was a significant amount
at the time even though paid in Zimdollars.)

My own feelings then were of extreme anger at the regime responsible for
organising this brutality with total impunity, combined with thoughts of
horrible ways in which those responsible could die.  However Sekai took
a more positive view.  During her therapy and long recovery in Zimbabwe,
South Africa, New Zealand and Australia she started thinking of ways
that the appalling violence and hatred that had come to characterize
Zimbabwe could be brought to an end.  It involved more than simply
overthrowing a dictatorship.  A change of regime would itself guarantee
nothing - as we saw with 1980.  What was needed was a systematic,
inclusive, grassroots-based healing process for individuals, families
and communities, with reconciliation between and among former enemies,
families and political parties.  This would also require positive steps
to achieve justice and recompense for those that had suffered
state-sponsored violence, not just in recent years but over the
lifetimes of survivors still living today.

The fact that all three parties have now agreed to the formation of a
national body to deal with healing and reconciliation as well as
building an integrated society is a very positive first step towards
achieving Sekai's vision of a country at peace, with its people able to
put the past behind them without ever forgetting what has happened;
people with a focus on building a new, prosperous and just nation that
will be an example to the world - the dream Zimbabwe that so many have
dedicated their lives to and worked for so long to achieve.

Jim Holland


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Mutambara wrong on high-clearance vehicles

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=13208
 

March 10, 2009

2008 Toyota Land Cruiser

2008 Toyota Land Cruiser

By Geoffrey Nyarota

I CANNOT be the only Zimbabwean who completely failed to come to grips with the exact message that Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara wanted to deliver when he called a press conference Monday.

He accused the government of national unity of failing to provide adequate security to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, resulting in Friday’s tragic accident in which his wife, Susan, lost her life. Tsvangirai received treatment for head and neck injuries.

Mutambara, described as fuming at the press conference, told journalists that the accident could have been avoided if Tsvangirai had been provided with a police escort. Tsvangirai is Prime Minister in the government of national unity. He should be accorded the best security arrangements available by the state.

Mutambara also said the government, presumably the Central Mechanical Equipment Department (CMED), had turned down a request by Tsvangirai for a high clearance vehicle to use to travel over the weekend. For purposes of this article I am making the assumption that the Deputy Prime Minister was referring to a vehicle with high ground clearance.

“The reason why Morgan Tsvangirai was in a party Land Cruiser with his wife was because he could not get two high clearance vehicles from the state of Zimbabwe,” Mutambara said, and declared the whole episode a travesty of justice.

He disclosed that he too had been denied a similar vehicle to travel to his rural home in Chimanimani.

“We are in government now,”  Mutambara said, “and we are going to investigate that and see how it can happen for a country if a Prime Minister is denied two high clearance vehicles for a weekend.”

It is pertinent to point out that at the time of writing, Tsvangirai’s own mainstream MDC has strangely made no mention of a request submitted to the CMED for such high clearance vehicle having been rejected.

Unfortunately or conveniently for him, Mutambara refused to disclose further details, only saying, “Those are details to be discussed in latter conversation”.

Of course Mutambara is right to point out that the Prime Minister and his two deputies deserve state protection. If any of them has serious reservations about the ability of  the government in which they are key figures, to offer them protection then it is obviously necessary that their very participation in the government of national unity should undergo serious review.

The Deputy Prime Minister is, however, completely off the mark when he assets that the Prime Minister travelled in an MDC Land Cruiser because the government, rejected their request for a high clearance vehicle.

This statement simply does not make any sense.

The Tsvangirai Land Cruiser after the accident

The Tsvangirai Land Cruiser after the accident

The Toyota Land Cruiser, the vehicle that the Tsvangirais were travelling in represents about the highest that the modern all-terrain vehicle can go in terms of ground clearance. If a vehicle with much higher ground clearance exists, it cannot be a make or model that is readily available or in commercial production anywhere in the world.

The Toyota Land Cruiser is currently Toyota’s flagship four-wheel-drive vehicle; the Japanese vehicle manufacturer’s off-road icon. Now in production for 50 years and one of the original and genuine 4×4 vehicles it is rivaled only by the American Jeep and the British Land Rover.

The 2008 Land Cruiser model has a minimum ground clearance of 9.8 inches, which compares favourably to the Range Rover’s 8.4 inches. These are both top-of the range luxury off-road vehicles. Incidentally, the generally dilapidated condition of Zimbabwe’s current road network  would rate as off-road in most developed countries.

Initially extremely popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Sports Utility Vehicle or SUV, as the 4×4 all-terrain vehicle is called in some markets, has declined in popularity due to criticism regarding excessive fuel consumption, pollution, cost, and – significantly - poor safety.

The safety issue with regard to the SUV emanates from its high center of gravity, which renders SUVs more prone to rollover accidents than lower vehicles, especially if the vehicle leaves the road or during emergency maneuvers. Figures from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that most passenger cars have about a 10 percent chance of rollover while for most SUVs the figure ranges between 14 and 20 percent, or even higher.

So Mutambara’s claim that vehicles with higher ground clearance offer greater safety margins runs in the face of current conventional wisdom.  Mutambara is a professor in the sciences, and should surely understand the physics of rollovers better than his outbursts suggest.  Perhaps it was just his grief that was speaking, and not his intellect.

The Tsvangirais would have been much safer had they been travelling in a regular sedan, say a Mercedes-Benz. While capable of easily achieving high speeds the Toyota Land Cruiser is simply not designed for the excessive speeds which Zimbabwean official vehicles usually travel at, ostensibly for security reasons, and certainly not on roads such as the stretch between Harare and Chivhu, a known hell-run for more than a decade.

To counter the enhanced prospect of roll-over, many modern SUVs are equipped with a device called electronic stability control (ESC) to prevent rollovers on flat surfaces, but the experts say 95 percent of rollovers are “tripped” - meaning the vehicle strikes something low, such as a curb or shallow ditch, or is struck by something, as was the case last Friday, causing it to tip over.

In 2004, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States released results of a study that indicated that people traveling in SUVs were 11 percent more likely to die in an accident than people in ordinary cars.

Richard Alexander a lawyer in San Jose, California, who is a specialist in personal injury litigation, published an article “Sports Utility Vehicles: Dangerous propensities in an emergency - 4×4 Rollovers”.

He writes: “Sports utility vehicles have a high center of gravity and are the most unstable vehicles on the road.

“The chief hazard occurs when taking emergency action after steering in one direction and then being forced to rapidly correct in the opposite direction. The result is a rollover.

“Rollover occurs because of the absence of a lower center of gravity and a wider track width, which allows automobiles (ordinary cars) to skid, spin and recover. But when taking a common evasive maneuver that car drivers safely complete every day, rapid corrective action causes SUVs to trip and roll.

“Rollovers occur with all sports utility vehicles but the condition is worse with the Japanese vehicles. In the event of an accident on the highway occupants are safer in a speeding sedan or limousine than they are in an SUV with a high centre of gravity.

The U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires that all SUV have on display a “higher roll-over risk” warning. In some models a warning in front of the driver states: “Avoid abrupt manoeuvres and excessive speed,” or “If you make sharp turns or abrupt maneuvers, the vehicle may roll over or may go out of control and crash.”

Alexander says such warnings obviously fail to warn that if a driver, inadvertently, makes a common safety movement, the SUV will roll and the likelihood of a roll is greatly increased if the vehicle is loaded with suitcases, passengers, full tank of gas and a roof carrier.

SUV occupants are urged to wear seat-belts at all times. It has reported that Mrs Tsvangirai’s belt was not fastened.

Generally speaking, the road-holding of a 4×4 vehicle is different to that of a sedan. On the road, it is necessary to anticipate. Most of the larger SUVs such as the Land Cruiser are heavy vehicles. Braking of a heavy vehicle takes longer, taking account of its weight. Above all, the higher centre of gravity renders the SUV less stable if the driver suddenly swerves violently.

Sports and racing cars rely on their very low centre of gravity to achieve high speeds. The predicament of Zimbabwean government officials such as Mutambara and Tsvangirai is that the Mercedes Benz limousine will be hard put to negotiate the last stretch of dust road from the highway to their village.

The solution would be for the dignitaries to transfer from the limousine to a high clearance vehicle in the convoy for this last stretch of their journey.

SUVs travelling at high-speed on the highway do not offer the best protection for our dignitaries, contrary to Prof Mutambara’s perception. In saying this I am mindful that a number of government ministers have died in Mercedes-Benz sedans on the highway. But that’s a matter for another day. Meanwhile, Daimler AG executives cannot be too enamoured by the image that their otherwise fine product has acquired in Zimbabwe, where the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and E-Class are now associated with the death of countless government ministers.

In the process of apportioning blame for the fatal accident that caused the death of Mrs Susan Tsvangirai Mutambara should not exclude himself from among the culprits.

If he and his party had not caused a split in the ranks of the opposition on March 29, 2008, the mainstream MDC would have secured a clear majority. Mrs Tsvangirai would have become First Lady of Zimbabwe and, instead of riding in a high-clearance Toyota Land Cruiser, she and her husband would have been flown to Buhera in an Air Force helicopter.

While I am mindful that it is his democratic right to lead a political party and contest in an election, I am merely seeking to explain why the thousands of mourners at Glamis Stadium on Tuesday refused to listen to an eulogy to Mai Tsvangirai delivered by Prof Mutambara.

State of Harare-Chivhu highway at scene of accident

State of Harare-Chivhu highway at scene of accident and the USAID vehicle involved.

I agree entirely with the Deputy Prime Minister’s sentiment when he says: “Susan Tsvangirai’s blood must be used to unite all Zimbabweans. Her blood must irrigate this nation of Zimbabwe towards a common purpose. Let us not allow her to die in vain.”

It would be a fitting tribute to her if the first funds available for road reconstruction were allocated to repair the former Harare- Chivhu highway.

May Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai’s soul rest in eternal peace.

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