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Zimbabwe's Mugabe Calls for End to Political Violence

http://www.voanews.com


By VOA News
14 March 2009

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has called for an end to political violence
and said the new unity government should bring peace and stability to the
troubled nation.

President Mugabe made the comments Saturday as he spoke at a funeral for
Vitalis Gava, a former commander of Zimbabwe's military forces. Prime
Minister and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was also in
attendance at the funeral.

Mr. Mugabe thanked Mr. Tsvangirai and other former opposition members for
attending the funeral. He called for an end to violence between his ruling
ZANU-PF party and the long-time opposition Movement for Democratic Change
party, which is now part of the unity government, formed last month.

He said they are of different political parties but they must not fight.

Mr. Mugabe said those who believe they must keep fighting are enemies of
Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe began expressing conciliatory sentiments towards his
longtime political foe last week at the funeral for Mr. Tsvangirai's wife.
The president said he hoped Mr. Tsvangirai remains strong and urged all
Zimbabweans to support the prime minister in the new power-sharing
government.

Susan Tsvangirai was killed in a traffic accident one week ago.

As Zimbabwe's longtime opposition leader, Mr. Tsvangirai experienced
government intimidation and violence at the hands of the ruling party.

The unity government was formed after pressure from regional leaders for
Zimbabwe to end its political crisis.

Zimbabwe's economy is in ruins following years of declining farm output and
soaring inflation. Inflation, last measured at 231 million percent, has made
the country's currency virtually worthless


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Mugabe says coalition is 'brother to brother'

Associated Press

Mar 14, 11:31 AM EDT

By ANGUS SHAW
Associated Press Writer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- President Robert Mugabe and longtime political
rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai sat side by side Saturday at a state
funeral that was seen as a symbolic step for their parties' month-old
coalition.

The funeral was for former defense forces commander and Mugabe loyalist Gen.
Vitalis Zvinavashe and was Tsvangirai's first formal attendance at a shrine
for fallen guerrillas and political leaders. Mugabe had attended Tuesday's
funeral service for Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, who died in a car crash south
of Harare a week ago.

Most of the nation's military commanders are ex-guerrillas of the
independence war and have refused to salute Tsvangirai, a civilian and
former labor leader who did not take part in that war.

At Saturday's funeral, commanders sat near the coalition politicians at
Heroes Acre, a North Korean-built cemetery outside Harare, but only saluted
Zvinavashe's casket while Mugabe and Tsvangirai watched.

The 85 year-old president gave an unusually brief and muted 50-minute eulogy
for Zvinavashe.

Mugabe, who has frequently criticized Tsvangirai for his links with Western
governments, also said the new coalition was "between us, brother to
brother."

"Zimbabwe belongs to us. Let's walk the road that says no to the British and
no to sanctions," Mugabe said. "Those who want to be our friends and
partners are welcome. Let those who think they can use that road of
friendship to domination, we say: No."

Zvinavashe, a top official in Mugabe's ZANU-PF party who trained as a
guerrilla fighter a decade before independence in 1980, retired as overall
commander of the defense forces in 2003.

Mugabe said Zvinavashe fought British colonialism in the struggle for
independence from white rule.

"The fight was against the British and up to now it is still about them and
their sanctions," Mugabe said.

Mugabe blames Western economic sanctions for the nation's economic meltdown,
but critics point to the often violent seizures of white-owned farms since
2000, which disrupted the agriculture-based economy.

The president said some violence continued between rival political groups
after years of political and economic turmoil that spurred violence blamed
largely on Mugabe party militants against Tsvangirai's supporters, backed by
police, the military and state agents.

"Let's stop the fighting in some places. Go and tell them we are united and
to stop the fighting," he said.

The coalition government brokered by South Africa and regional leaders has
appealed for $2 billion in regional and international funding to kickstart
the shattered economy.

No funding package has been agreed by regional leaders or the African
Development Bank after talks in neighboring South Africa.

Britain, the former colonial ruler, the United States and other Western
nations argue the coalition agreement leaves too much power in Mugabe's
hands and the resumption of aid and investment depends on future measures to
restore democracy and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.


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Mugabe extends olive branch to West, says ready for partnership

http://www.apanews.net

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe extended an olive
branch to former colonial master Britain and other Western countries,
challenging them on Saturday to partner the newly formed unity government in
its drive towards economic revival.

Addressing mourners in Harare during a funeral of an army general who died
this week, Mugabe said Zimbabwe wanted to turn a leaf in the hostile
relationship with the West and would prefer partnership rather than the
hostilities that have characterised ties since 2000.

"It must be noted that what we want is partnership and those who want to be
our friends and partners are welcome to do so," Mugabe said during the
burial.

Relations between Zimbabwe and the West have been hostile since Mugabe
embarked on a controversial land reform programme under which he
expropriated plots from white farmers.

The veteran Zimbabwean leader has constantly blamed Britain and her allies
of a plot to topple his government in order to replace it with one headed by
former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai is now prime minister in a unity government with Mugabe since
last month, ending nearly a decade of hostilities.

The former opposition leader and senior officials of his Movement for
Democratic Change for the first time attended the burial of a senior member
of Mugabe's ZANU PF, an indication of thawing relations between the two
Zimbabwean politicians.

  JN/daj/APA 2009-03-14


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Zimbabwe opposition official detained over violence: MDC

http://news.yahoo.com

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe police on Saturday detained a mayor from Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party following political violence in the east
of the country earlier this week, a party spokesman said.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) spokesman Pishayi Muchauraya told AFP
Admire Mukorera, the deputy mayor for the city of Mutare (east), was taken
from his home early Saturday by detectives from the police law and order
section.

"They said his vehicle was used during political disturbances in Buhera but
they did not give details," Muchauraya said.

"He is detained at Mutare central police station but they plan to take him
to Buhera. When we went to see him he had not been charged."

In a reference to President Robert Mugabe's party, he added, "What surprises
us is that we have supporters who had houses burnt by ZANU-PF supporters
this week and we made reports to the police with names of suspects but
nothing has been done."

Lawyer Trust Maanda confirmed Mukorera was detained in Mutare.

"Initially they had said they were not going to charge him and that they
only wanted to record statements from him as a witness in connection with
some incidents in Buhera," Maanda said.

"Later they said they were locking him up and that they were going to charge
him. But for what? I don't know."

Mukorera's detention came as Mugabe urged Zimbabweans to refrain from
violence and work together following the formation of an inclusive
government with long-time rival Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, the leader
of a smaller splinter opposition group.

The state-controlled Herald newspaper reported on Saturday that violence had
occurred in Buhera, Tsvangirai's home district, between MDC and ZANU-PF
supporters.


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'Zim needs healing after years of violence, rights abuses'

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Charles Tembo Saturday 14 March 2009

HARARE - Human rights abuses and politically motivated violence have
left Zimbabweans traumatised and in serious need of rehabilitation to
achieve national unity, churches in Zimbabwe have said.

"What happened in the long past and immediate past left trauma in
large parts of the country," Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) president
Naison Shava said last week, adding; "There is trauma that needs to be
attended to so that the nation can realise true healing."

Gross human rights abuses and politically motivated violence and
murder have accompanied elections in Zimbabwe since the 1999 emergence of
the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as the first real threat to
President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF party's decades-long hold on power.

The country witnessed some of the worst political violence and torture
after a March parliamentary election last year that was won by the MDC while
the party's leader Morgan Tsvangirai defeated Mugabe in a parallel
presidential poll but with fewer votes to avoid a second run-off ballot.

In a bid to ensure Mugabe regained the upper hand in the second round
vote, ZANU PF militia, war veterans and state security agents unleashed an
orgy of violence and terror across the country, especially in rural areas
many of which virtually became no-go areas for the opposition.

Tsvangirai later withdrew from the June 27 run-off election because of
violence that left about 200 of his supporters dead, leaving Mugabe to win
uncontested in a ballot that African observers denounced as a shame and
Western governments refused to recognise.

A power sharing agreement was signed on September 15 to stop the
bloodshed, leading to the formation of an inclusive government last month
and a committee of senior ministers set up to begin the process of national
healing and reconciliation.

The ZCC - a grouping of the country's major denominations - said it
would work to compliment the government initiative at national healing and
would from next week begin to compute information on "what happened in the
past and how it can be resolved".

"We have set up a research committee that will look into the finer
details. We must have the truth and balance with forgiveness. Some people
are thinking revenge, an eye for an eye, but as the church we say we must
have compromises," said Shava.

"We are working out a package to offer ourselves as the church and we
hope to join the government team so that we work together," said Shava,
adding that the church wanted to play an active role in the economic
recovery effort, the national constitutional process and in governance.

Shava called on the inclusive government to "genuinely engage and
enhance areas of trust, confidence accountability and unity" so as to foster
an environment of tolerance.

The new unity government between has raised hopes that Zimbabwe could
finally turn the corner and emerge as a united country that respects the
rule of law and human rights.

Tsvangirai has stressed the need for national healing so as to foster
national unity and make the people work together again.

"This nation needs national healing. There can never be progress if
there is no national healing. I appeal to all Zimbabweans from the bottom of
my heart that we should heal this nation," he told MDC supporters at a rally
in Gweru in February.

Mugabe has also called for an end to political violence, telling
mourners on Monday at a Methodist church after the death of Tsvangirai's
wife, Susan, that the unity government was going to do its best create an
environment of peace and tranquility in the country. - ZimOnline


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Struggling NRZ fails to raise forex deposit for locomotives

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by By Lizwe Sebatha Saturday 14 March 2009

BULAWAYO - Zimbabwe's struggling rail parastatal has failed to raise deposit
money to take delivery of 10 locomotives and 64 inter-city coaches under a
deal signed with the Chinese five years ago, a company official said on
Thursday.

"Since 2004, we have failed to raise the 10 percent deposit of US$11
million. We have only managed to raise US$2.5 million to date," National
Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) chief Air Commodore Karakadzai told Zimonline.

The NRZ entered into a deal with the Chinese in 2004 that would have seen
the parastatal replace its aged locomotives and commuter coaches as part of
it recapitalisation efforts.

Under the US$110 million contract signed with the Chinese, the NRZ was
supposed to settle a down payment of 10 percent - about US$11 million -
while the remainder would be paid in installments over four years.

"We are into talks with various companies and the RBZ to get loans to settle
the deposit as we move up a gear to replace the locomotives and our coaches
that are well past their date," said Mike Karakadzai.

The NRZ, like other state parastatals, is confronted with numerous
challenges stemming from acute foreign currency shortages to import spare
parts and equipment to improve services and generate more cash.

Half of the NRZ's wagons are derelict because there is no hard cash to
import spares, including wagon wheels, and most of the diesel and electrical
locomotives are out of service while passenger and freight services are
constantly grounded.

Other challenges facing the parastatal include the deterioration in the rail
infrastructure, vandalised communication equipment and dilapidated yard
facilities.

Karakadzai said: "We also hope the dollarisation of the economy will improve
NRZ's cash flow situation in hard currency so that we purchase the
locomotives and coaches from China and at the same time repair vandalised
communication equipment."

The NRZ chief said the brain drain affecting all sectors of the economy has
not spared the parastatal as more than 70 percent artisans and 25 percent
train drivers have quit the NRZ since last year in protest over low pay and
the weak Zimbabwean currency.

Last month, the parastatal was forced to recall retired train drivers as a
result of the exodus of experienced train drivers.

"We are operating with a near skeleton staff when it comes to specialists
like artisans, engineers and train drivers. We have been hard hit in those
areas since last year as we could not afford to match regional salaries," he
said.

The NRZ was last month hit by a crippling industrial action over low
salaries but the employees who were pushing for monthly salaries of US$300
have since returned to work after they were promised US$120 for the least
paid employee, Fanuel Masikati, the parastatal's spokesperson told
ZimOnline.  - Zimonline


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Issue of Mugabe's successor may threaten Zim stability

http://www.sabcnews.com

March 14 2009 ,
5:12:00

Thulasizwe Simelane, Victoria Falls

The unsettled issue of President Robert Mugabe's successor may emerge
as a talking point in a high level meeting between the governments of
Zimbabwe and  South Africa this weekend.

It has emerged that the issue may arise as a potential threat to the
stability of the new unity government, especially as Mugabe's ZANU PF party
prepares for an elective congress at the end of this year.
It is  understood the identified threats include the role of hard
liners in the security services, who may oppose the MDC's efforts to reform
the sector. South Africa's high level delegation to the bilateral will
include the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture and Land Affairs and
Health.

Once a continental powerhouse, Zimbabwe's economy is on its knees. The
new government has inherited a bankrupt state, and the overwhelming
expectations of its people. And now, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's
crusade to restore it is set to get a major boost.

South Africa remains the largest contributor to the region's effort to
help Zimbabwe back on its feet. R300 million for Agriculture and R1.2
million in medical supplies to combat cholera has been promised.

To a large extent, this gathering is a natural progression stemming
from South Africa's long-standing commitment to the country. However
Pretoria also has the added responsibility of being the guarantor and main
advocate for the new unity government. It appears no effort will be spared
to prop up this fragile arrangement.

In return, South Africa wants a bilateral agreement, which will
provide legal protection for the assets and properties of businesses
investing in Zimbabwe.

South African para-statals and the private sector are also likely to
reap the rewards in lucrative joint venture projects in fields including
mining and energy.


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Zimbabwe's health care on critical list

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

New government believes it has only a couple of months to make dramatic
changes
GEOFFREY YORK

Globe and Mail Update

March 13, 2009 at 7:05 PM EDT

HARARE - At a clinic in a Harare suburb, the nurses squirm with
embarrassment when you ask about their doctors or ambulances - or their
salaries. There are none.

"The last time I saw an ambulance here was a year ago," says one of the
nurses at Kuwadzana Polyclinic, a shabby building where pregnant women have
to bring their own sheets and blankets for the sagging cots in the maternity
ward.

"We last saw a doctor early last year," the nurse says. "Because of
transport problems, he doesn't come here any more."

This is what a once-proud health system looks like in the midst of
near-total collapse. It's been five months since the nurses were paid a
salary. Almost a year since their telephones worked. A month since they last
had medicine for their HIV/AIDS patients.

They can't track down their medical supplies because their phones don't
work. Their water and electricity are erratic, often failing for hours or
days, forcing them to rely on candles, lamps and buckets. Almost half of the
nurses have quit. Their patients have to provide their own food - and even
latex gloves for the clinic staff.

Yet this is the main clinic for thousands of Zimbabweans, people who walk
for kilometres to reach the facility.

"We don't even know when we're going to be paid," says one nurse, who
doesn't want to give her name because she's still afraid of political
persecution. "We're working for charity."

Zimbabwe's fragile new unity government has managed to reopen most of the
country's closed hospitals since taking office last month, but the health
system is still on the edge of collapse, even as a cholera epidemic rampages
through the country, sickening 88,000 people and killing 4,000 so far.

After struggling for years to win a share of power, after enduring violent
attacks and even torture from ruling-party thugs, the Movement for
Democratic Change is now saddled with the almost impossible burden of trying
to resuscitate a ruined state, with health care as the most pressing of
several competing and urgent concerns.

The MDC, the long-time opposition party, holds only half of the cabinet
seats in the new government. It is begging for international loans or
donations to pay the government's bills. It reckons it has only two months
of breathing room before it faces the threat of another health disaster.

Its message to foreign donors is simple: Give us money, or accept the
government's defeat and the revival of President Robert Mugabe's
authoritarian ZANU-PF, the party that has steered Zimbabwe into economic
catastrophe during the past two decades.

"If they want us to succeed, let them assist," says Henry Madzorera, an MDC
leader and physician who became Health Minister in the new cabinet.

"The failure of this government would be a triumph of the old regime," he
warns. "If the donors don't come in to help us, they are supporting the
regime that they want to banish. If this government fails, the MDC is dead
and buried forever."

Dr. Madzorera has been working long hours at the decrepit Health Ministry
building, where the stairwells are unlit and the staff are so poorly paid
that the ministry's security guard begs for a dollar for his bus fare home.
"I don't have a single cent," the guard tells visitors at the entrance. "Can
you just give me a dollar for transport?"

A large portrait of Mr. Mugabe still hangs in the Health Minister's office,
like a looming reminder of the dominant power in the country. Every office
in the country is still obliged to keep his portrait on their wall.
Followers of the autocratic 85-year-old President have jeopardized the unity
government by arresting MDC activists and seizing control of the few
remaining commercial farms in the country. "They still have a stranglehold
on power," Dr. Madzorera says.

For months, Zimbabwe's hospitals were closed because they lacked basic
services and could not perform surgery safely. "Closing the hospitals was
better than killing the patients," the Health Minister says.

Now most health workers are back at the job after the government managed to
find enough money to pay them $100 (U.S.) in wages last month. But they are
still desperately short of equipment, medicine and staff.

At one of Harare's biggest hospitals, Parirenyatwa, a doctor speaks of the
anguish of doing surgery without proper drugs or equipment. All he can do is
warn the patients of the high risks.

"The monitoring machines are very old and can go out at any time," says Amon
Siveregi, an anesthetist. "The suitable drugs to put the patient to sleep
safely are not there, so you just have to take the risk."

Two weeks ago, he recalls, the monitoring equipment failed in the middle of
an operation on a pregnant woman who was bleeding internally. Luckily she
survived. "In such cases, we just have to pray that the patient is okay," he
says.

Often he lacks painkillers for patients after their surgery and he hears
them crying all night from the intense pain. "You don't feel like a complete
doctor," he says. "You feel like a failure."

The hospital's third-floor corridors are covered with water from a leaking
roof, and toilets overflow into the patient wards, he says. "Our patients
can die from infections they get at the hospital, not at home."

The hospital employees have waited for two months for emergency allowances
that were donated to them by foreign relief agencies. The money was given to
the hospital administration but never passed on to the staff, says Dr.
Siveregi, who is also the head of the Zimbabwe Health Workers Association.

When he spoke at a rally of hospital workers to demand the allowances, he
was arrested and taken into police custody for two hours. He is still too
nervous to meet a foreign journalist in the hospital and insists on meeting
in an abandoned coffee shop nearby.

Inside the hospital, 19-year-old Carlington has been waiting almost a week
to see a doctor for a spinal injury that crippled him. Now he is waiting to
be taken to another hospital where a doctor might be available. For five
days he was given no painkillers, no sheets or blankets for his flimsy cot,
and only the food that his relatives brought him.

"The nurses told me they can't give me any medical prescription without a
doctor seeing me, but I haven't seen a doctor in five days," he says.

At the main entrance, meanwhile, a sign warns that cars will be searched
because of "a spate of thefts" of "valuable property" from the hospital.

The district clinics are even more dilapidated than the hospitals. They are
financed by Harare's city government, where the MDC now has a majority on
council. But the city has no money for health care because most ratepayers
are unable to pay their utility bills or even the rent on their city-owned
houses.

Wilton Janjazi, a slight, unassuming MDC member and city councillor, is on
the front lines of the health struggle. He points to the huge heaps of
rotting garbage in the outlying districts - perfect breeding grounds for
disease. Less than half of the city's 35 garbage trucks are functioning, so
the garbage is uncollected. The water and sewage systems often stop working
for days at a time. It's little wonder that cholera has killed hundreds in
the city.

When the councillor visits Kuwadzana clinic, the nurses berate him for
failing to pay their wages. "Maybe you don't think we provide an important
service," one nurse tells him. "Last year you promised to give us maize, but
you never did. We doubt that we're going to get any payment. If it wasn't
for our husbands, we'd have to stop working here."

Mr. Janjazi looks miserable as he tries to explain. With unemployment now
topping 90 per cent, less than a quarter of city residents are paying the
full amount of their bills. The council can only beg them to pay.

"We've inherited a bankrupt city," he says. "We're living from hand to
mouth. When the ratepayers pay us, we can pay the health workers, but it's
very hard to convince them. They say, 'where will we get the money, we're
unemployed.' Obviously we can't evict them or turn off their water."

Last year, when gangs of ZANU-PF youths were killing scores of people in
election violence, Mr. Janjazi had to flee into a cornfield in a narrow
escape from thugs who tried to run him over in a car. Even now he hides at
night, sleeping in a secret location outside his ward. "We're only visible
in the day," he says. "Living such a life, when you're a city father, is a
problem."

One of his biggest frustrations is the sight of a nearly finished health
clinic in a nearby suburb. The clinic was built 15 years ago - and never
completed because of a lack of funds. Instead, the clinic was looted, the
electricity cables were ripped out, and the building was used as a torture
camp during the election violence last year.

Outside Harare, the health disaster is even worse. In the town of Norton,
about 40 kilometres from the capital, the residents of one neighbourhood
have gone without a water supply for the past six months. Some of them leave
their sewage in open pits behind their houses, despite the risk of cholera.

"We don't know why the water suddenly stopped," says Simon Chaturiuka, a
construction labourer who lives with his wife and six children in a tiny
three-room brick house in Norton.

He shows his water faucets, completely empty. And he points to an open
sewage pit beside his house. "When you don't have water and sewage, that's
why there's cholera," he says. "You're vulnerable to disease. You can't
escape it. We've been very lucky so far, but I'm worried about my family.
We're only surviving through God's mercy."


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Morgan Tsvangirai is the face of suffering Zimbabwe

http://www.nehandaradio.com

14 March 2009

From the Australian

THE face of suffering Africa is generally a starving child, but it could
also be Morgan Tsvangirai. Mr Tsvangirai has long led the opposition to
Robert Mugabe's kleptocratic government in Zimbabwe. He has been
photographed bruised and beaten by Mugabe's thugs.

He has been photographed on his way to prison for opposing a regime where
millions face famine and cholera. He has been photographed in exile as
African leaders ignore his pleas for help against the Mugabe regime.

And now, just when Mr Tsvangirai has finally forced the Mugabe regime to
share power, he is being photographed in hospital, after a car crash that
killed his wife, with Mugabe staring balefully at him.

This accident -- and for once it seems the Mugabe Government was not
responsible for doing Mr Tsvangirai harm -- is a disaster for Zimbabwe.
Mugabe and his henchmen abhor the agreement that saw Mr Tsvangirai become
Prime Minister, but it was an improvement on the long years of Mugabe's
capricious rule.

Whatever happens next, Mr Tsvangirai deserves to be honoured, like Nelson
Mandela, as a stalwart soldier in the service of ordinary Africans. Yet he
has too long been ignored by Western aid activists and the developing world
lobby because the man he opposed was also a black African, a so-called
freedom fighter.

It is passing strange that faux friends of Africa have dared not denounce
Mugabe while they have left his opponent to rot. Perhaps Mr Tsvangirai will
soldier on when he recovers, but he would have every right to give up in
disgust.


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MDC 'shell shocked' at Mahlangu's comments

http://www.iol.co.za

    March 14 2009 at 02:30PM

Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change in South Africa
is "shell shocked" at Gauteng local government MEC Dorothy Mahlangu's verbal
attack on Central Methodist Church Bishop Paul Verryn.

"For Mahlangu to accuse a man of God, Bishop Paul Verryn of exposing
Zimbabweans to danger when he is in actually providing us shelter is very
regrettable," said MDC spokesman Sibanengi Dube.

"At least thousands of our people have somewhere to lay their heads
where no rain can soak. We now have a roof over our heads, isn't [that]
better than sleeping in the streets?" he asked.

On Friday, Mahlangu said that Zimbabwean refugees should not be
allowed to stay at Johannesburg's Central Methodist Church and that she
thought Bishop Paul Verryn was exposing them to more danger.

"I don't think its helpful for the Bishop to continue to do what he's
doing under the guise that he's simply helping vulnerable people," said
Mahlangu.

"We are not condoning what he is doing. We condemn it," she said.

Verryn responded by saying Mahlangu's comments were out of place.

"It is most unfortunate at this time for us to enter a mudslinging
match. There's plenty of mud lying around," said Verryn.

"[Mahlangu] hasn't had the decency to pick up the phone and call me."

Dube said: "We appeal to South Africa's senior government officials to
desist from the habit of making inflammatory statements which could trigger
a second round of xenophobic attacks.

"We expected the provincial government which Mahlangu is serving to
complement and not complicate the efforts being made by Verryn," Dube said.

"Mahlangu should know that when ANC cadres fled to Zimbabwe under the
heavy pursuit of apartheid operatives, we did not close our doors in-front
of them, but took them in our houses. We don't expect a senior ANC member of
Mahlangu's stature to exhibit clear insensitivity to the plight of
Zimbabweans." - Sapa


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Email chaos

From ZWNEWS, 14 March

The problems which have been bedevilling Zimbabwe's email system in recent
weeks came to a head three days ago when the network came close to total
collapse. TelOne, the government parastatal responsible for the internet
gateways to the rest of the world, had failed to pay the fees for their
external internet links - in particular a satellite link and a ground link
with South Africa. The links were disconnected, contributing to growing
congestion within the network. The TelOne links are not the only ones used
by Zimbabwean ISPs. There are a number of other links provided by licensed
Internet Access Providers (different from ISPs). However all the ISPs do use
TelOne bandwidth to a certain extent, and are not easily able to handle the
additional traffic on other links if they lose that bandwidth. Another more
technical problem was caused by TelOne's mismanagement of the top-level
Zimbabwean domains - those ending in .zw, .org.zw, .gov.zw and .mil.zw .
These had been incorrectly configured, and were difficult to access. As a
result, nameserver records disappeared, some Zimbabwean ISP's domains
"ceased to exist", and other ISPs inside and outside the country were unable
to deliver mail to them, and refused to accept mail from them.

The internal Zimbabwean internet was as badly affected as traffic with the
rest of the world. Commercial and personal email traffic has been slow, or
has disappeared altogether. Some journalists have been unable to file news
reports. At the Beitbridge border post, imported vehicles backed up when the
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) was unable to clear them, as the process
requires internet-based valuations. (In addition, it seems that someone had
lost the keys to the Zimra server equipment room.) The new MDC minister for
information and communications technology, Nelson Chamisa, summoned
officials from TelOne to explain the collapse of the internet system, after
representatives from the ISPs, Zimra and the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries complained about disruption to their operations. A partial
payment of US$200 000 for the external satellite link was made, and the link
to South Africa has been restored. By Friday afternoon email traffic had
begun to flow more easily.


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Mugabe's untouchable friend

From The Star (SA), 14 March

Former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu lives in lap of luxury while locals
starve

Basildon Peta

Forced political exile has impoverished and made many once-powerful
dictators idle. But not Mengistu Haile Mariam. The former Ethiopian
strongman, who fled to Harare in 1991 as Meles Zenawi's rebels closed in on
Addis Ababa, has not only remained active in helping his generous host
President Robert Mugabe sharpen tactics of repression and political
longevity. He has also flourished as a businessman. Mengistu is privileged
with around-the-clock security and two mansions in the affluent suburbs of
Gunhill and Borrowdale. Mugabe gave him the second so he could switch
between the two, after four Ethiopians on a grudge mission tried to kill him
as he took his daily jog around Gunhill on November 4, 1995. When Mugabe
begun his destructive land seizures in February 2000, Mengistu also got two
plum, white-owned farms in Mashonaland West province, although these are not
registered under his name directly, sources say. Those who watch his
movements say he drives the latest ML Mercedes Benz and travels to his farms
and other places with discreet escorts. All of this is financed by the
state. Although he does not travel often, he used his Zimbabwe government
diplomatic passport for a controversial visit to South Africa for treatment
for a heart problem in 1999 and for a few more surreptitious visits since,
according to sources. His four children are full Zimbabwean citizens and
travel the world on their passports issued on Mugabe's directive. Highly
placed sources say the special treatment accorded to him is because he is
not your ordinary political exile.

Unlike Uganda's Milton Obote, who died a virtual pauper in Lusaka, Zambia,
or even his compatriot Idi Amin, who complained that his $4 000 monthly
stipend from his Saudi hosts was inadequate to cover his expenses and those
of his 30-plus children, Mengistu "has had it all and still has it all",
said one Zimbabwean intelligence official. This is because when Mugabe's
grip on power came under heavy threat from a resurgent civic society and
opposition, the 85-year-old dictator turned to his old comrade for help. And
the fellow-Marxist, who has a death sentence hanging over him in Ethiopia
because of his murder of hundreds of thousands of his countrymen during his
"Red Terror" reign from 1974 to 1991, had the necessary experience and the
will to do so. "Mengistu did not only play an advisory role, he effectively
became an active employee of the CIO," said a source in the dreaded spy
agency. Mengistu worked closely with the security generals in the so-called
Joint Operations Command, the military junta that has run Zimbabwe over the
past few years. He advised them on the best tactics to keep the opposition
and civil society at bay as he had done for many years at home before his
enemies finally caught up with him. In fact, some sources claim the
murderous campaigns Zimbabwe has witnessed over the years are a direct
result of Mengistu's "wit". "Even though he has now slowed because of health
problems, he still spends long periods in private consultations with the
president at State House," another source claimed.

Mengistu has every reason to want Mugabe to stay in power. His next port of
call, should Mugabe be ousted, is said to be North Korea, which has already
approved his future asylum should the need arise. He routinely packed his
bags in readiness to flee there before Zimbabwe's elections "just in case",
sources say. But though he would be welcome in Pyongyang and secure, this
appears to be a last resort. Over the years, he has grown accustomed to
Zimbabwe and the lifestyle there. Because his residences are very close to
Mugabe's and he is looked after by the state, he does not have to suffer the
routine problems of power cuts, food and fuel shortages, and others that
most Zimbabweans have to live with. His farms are also said to be doing
well. Mugabe has for 18 years rebuffed the Ethiopian government's demands
that he hand over Mengistu to face justice for his crimes, arguing Mengistu
helped him more than most when he was fighting the liberation war. While in
opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), vowed to expel
Mengistu as soon as it came to power. And now that it is part of the
coalition government, it seemed Mengistu might be packing again for
Pyongyang. Instead it looks as though he can sleep easy again as the MDC has
other fish to fry. "What we now have is a government of national unity and
decisions are reached by consensus. I frankly don't know whether that
(extradition) is going to be possible," said MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa.


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Harare City Council channels large chunk of ratepayers’ money towards salaries

12 March 2009

 

The Combined Harare Residents Association has received disturbing reports from some sources at Town House (names withheld) that the Council is channeling most of the money received from ratepayers towards paying the salaries of its employees. These reports come after the City of Harare announced its 2009 proposed city budget on the 4th of March which was unfortunately approved by Councilors before residents could be consulted. Residents are not happy with the fact that the City of Harare is focusing on paying salaries while municipal service delivery continues to deteriorate.

 

The residents are cognizant of the fact that the City employees had been receiving paltry salaries that could not cater for their financial needs but it should also be noted that residents were not receiving basic municipal services from the City of Harare neither. Although there is a need for the Council to boost the morale of its employees through competitive remuneration, residents’ issues should also be addressed with the same urgency because they are the ones who pay the rates. CHRA officials who interviewed some senior members of the municipal police were shocked to discover that they had just been paid US$500 (ZAR5000) in salaries for the month of February. This is amidst revelations that the lowest paid worker at the City of Harare is getting a whopping US$290 (ZAR2900) per month.

 

The residents feel that the City of Harare should reconsider its priority areas and make efforts to improve municipal service delivery especially considering the fact that the Council has drawn up a whopping US$185 million of which US$100 million will be generated from ratepayers. Surely if residents are to part with their hard earned money they also deserve quality services from the city Council. The state of the roads in the city is deplorable, most of the traffic control lights are not working, street lighting in most suburbs is next to non-existent, community recreational facilities are in a sorry state and piles of uncollected refuse are littered at most shopping centres around the city yet the Council does not seem to make any efforts to correct these maladies. As much as the Council needs to cater for its staff welfare, there is also an urgent need to restore quality municipal service delivery. If the City of Harare is paying such hefty salaries, then they do not have any excuse for neglecting their core business of restoring Harare to its sunshine status.

 

CHRA urges Councilors, who are the representatives of the ratepayers (who also voted them into power), to critically question this issue of salaries as it is a pointer to serious matters of personal aggrandizement of funds at Town House. The City of Harare has sixteen employment grades. How much then, is the person who is at the highest grade being paid when the lowest grade is getting ZAR2900? Who gets the largest piece of the cake at the end of the day? The issue of who draws the salary regimes at Town House should also be looked into. Are these people really concerned about the welfare of council employees or they are just laying a foundation for their own personal gain? This is food for thought.

 

CHRA will continue to advocate and lobby for a democratic local government system and struggle for the provision of quality and affordable municipal services on a non partisan basis.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Combined Harare Residents Association

145 Robert Mugabe Way

Exploration House, Third Floor

Harare

www.chra.co.zw

 Landline: 00263- 4- 705114

Contacts: Mobile: 0912 653 074, 0913 042 981, 011862012 or email ceo@chra.co.zw

info@chra.co.zw, admin@chra.co.zw


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ZBH license fees: A cause for concern

12March 2009

 

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is deeply concerned by the exorbitant license fees that have been pegged by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) for the year 2009. ZBH, with the approval of the Ministry of Information and Publicity has released a notice in terms of section 38B (2) of the Broadcasting Services Act [Chapter 12:06] citing the new Listeners’ license fees where radio listeners in the rural areas are expected to pay as much as US$10 (ZAR100) while those in urban areas will be expected to part with US$20 (ZAR200) per annum. Below is a summary of the notice released by ZBH.

 

   (a) Listeners' licence (sound-rural), US$10 (ZAR100);

 (b)   Listeners' licence (sound-urban), US$20 (ZAR200);

 (c)   Listeners' licence (sound and television), US$50 (ZAR500);

 (d) Listeners' licence (sound-business premises), US$50 (ZAR500);

 (e)   Listeners' licence (television-business premises), US$100 (ZAR1000);

  (f)   Listeners' licence (sound-private vehicle), US$30 (300);

 (g)   Listeners' licence (sound-employer-owned vehicle), US$80 (ZAR800);

(h)  Listeners' licence (sound and television vehicle), US$100 (ZAR1000);

 

 These license fees are too high and they only serve to marginalise residents from getting broadcasting services as they are beyond the affordability of many. Other national broadcasters in the Southern Africa Region draw most of their revenue from advertisers and this lightens the burden on listeners and viewers. In South Africa, for example, the government subsidises the costs of its national broadcaster, SABC and residents only have to pay television license fees of ZAR225 per annum (while in Zimbabwe residents have to pay a whopping ZAR500). Unlike ZBH, SABC and other broadcasters rely on advertisers because they have explored ways to improve the quality of their programmes in order to attract advertisers. In Botswana, only broadcasters pay license fees while viewers and listeners get these services for free.

 

This is not so with the Zimbabwean national broadcaster, ZBH. The previous government heavily polarized the programmes that were being aired both on radio and television and turned the national broadcaster into a political mouthpiece that focused on propagating State propaganda. The ‘100% local content’ campaign saw ZBH broadcasting stale programmes of the liberation war struggle and political talk shows; a situation that repelled many advertisers from conducting business transactions with the national broadcaster and thereby depleting its revenue base. Moreover, most of radio and television owners purchased satellite decoders to get access to other broadcasters outside Zimbabwe. Thus advertisers lost their market and cut their ties with ZBH.

 

CHRA feels that ZBH should first conduct a market research to find out what residents want on their television sets and revamp its programming in order to attract and regain the confidence of advertisers so as to get revenue. The license fees that are being charged by ZBH do not correspond with the services that the national broadcaster is giving to residents. For example, the issue of cholera has not been adequately covered by ZBH (except for the adverts that are being flighted by UNICEF). At one time, residents complained that the cholera statistics that were being released by the national broadcaster were being censored and that they did not reflect the true picture and the gravity of the cholera crisis in Harare and the nation as a whole. ZBH has not owned up to the residents in terms of providing quality entertainment neither as most programmes are being repeated and they focus on State propaganda.

 

It should be noted that residents also have to deal with other utility bills from the City Council, ZESA, Tel One and ZINWA. CHRA urges the inclusive government to intervene in this situation where service providers seek to clear their deficits by imposing exorbitant service charges on residents. The Association is cognizant of the fact that the government allowed the use of foreign currency in order to curb inflation but there is a danger of the worsening of this situation if service providers are allowed to charge residents anyhow. Taking into consideration the fact that service providers like Tel One are serving residents with bills that amount to as much as US$500 (ZAR5000), there is a possibility that an average resident would have to budget for at least US$1000 (ZAR10 000) to pay utility bills every month which is outside the income brackets of most people. Moreover, residents in rural areas cannot afford to pay ZAR100 as license fees as most of them do not have any formal sources of income.

 

CHRA urges other Residents Associations around Zimbabwe and concerned stakeholders to lobby for the provision of affordable services to residents. CHRA will continue to advocate for good, transparent and accountable governance as well as lobbying for the provision of quality and affordable municipal (and other) services.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Combined Harare Residents Association

145 Robert Mugabe Way

Exploration House, Third Floor

Harare

www.chra.co.zw

 Landline: 00263- 4- 705114

Contacts: Mobile: 0912 653 074, 0913 042 981, 011862012 or email ceo@chra.co.zw

info@chra.co.zw, admin@chra.co.zw

 


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Veteran broadcaster Tich Mataz arrested

http://www.newsnet.co.zw/index.php?nID=15215

Posted: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:18:09 +0200
Veteran broadcaster Tichafa Matambanadzo popularly known as Tich Mataz
together with Dr Raymond Tendai Chamba, a businessman, have been arrested
for allegedly defrauding the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe- RBZ.

Veteran broadcaster Tichafa Matambanadzo popularly known as Tich Mataz
together with Dr Raymond Tendai Chamba, a businessman, have been arrested
for allegedly defrauding the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe- RBZ.

Inspector James Sabau confirmed the arrest saying the two were allegedly
given funds by the RBZ in November last year to supply 1 551 food hampers
which they failed to deliver to date.

This prompted the RBZ to report the case to the police resulting in the duo
being arrested.

Inspector Sabau said the two are currently detained at Harare Central Police
station.

Last year the RBZ embarked on a programme to distribute food hampers to the
people.


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Take the biscuit - twice

From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 13 March

Stanley Kwenda

Everything around the streets of Harare seems to have changed, the hordes of
people changing wads of cash have disappeared and there are fewer cars on
the road. Life seems to be getting back to "normal". But the spirit of
enterprise is stronger than ever. "Dollar for two, dollar for two" go the
symphonies of street vendors. Whether you are buying a drink, grabbing a
taxi home or buying bread, everything is "dollar for two". This is thanks to
the introduction of the dual currency system in Zimbabwe. If you have US$1,
you are a king, especially when it comes in cents. If you only have a note,
however, your "dollar for two" will force you to buy two even when you want
one because of the change shortage. "Dollar for two" has seen imported South
African assorted biscuits becoming the bestseller in town; Marie, Lemon
Creams, Galaxy, Choice Assorted, you name it, you can get it.

Clutching their small white boxes at every street corner, the traders are
unmistakable. South African biscuits are the bite of choice, but all
biscuits are a sell-out success. "Biscuits are the in thing," one Harare
office worker told me. "Because that's what many people in town can afford
to buy for lunch. They're the cheapest food in town. If I go home without
biscuits, my wife will ask me why I don't have them because they are the
cheapest product in town," says another worker. I asked one street vendor
why biscuits? "That's what the people of Harare are eating; it's now the
biscuit city. You can enjoy them anywhere, in a taxi, working in your office
or walking around town. They keep the hunger away." With a plate of sadza or
pap going for US$2 and a kilogram of meat for US$3, biscuits remain the
cheapest item in town at "dollar for two". Just three months ago the streets
of Harare were infested with currency dealers, but the goalposts have
shifted. The money is now in biscuits: if you have them, you are king.


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Report: Air Zimbabwe B762 at London on Aug 3rd 2008, overwing slide deployed in flight

From The Aviation Herald (UK), 13 March

By Simon Hradecky

An Air Zimbabwe Boeing 767-200, registration Z-WPE performing flight UM-722
from Harare (Zimbabwe) to London Gatwick, EN (UK) with 206 passengers and 10
crew, was on final approach to London Gatwick, the crew just selected flaps
15, when the crew noticed an unusual roll motion, the airplane however
quickly stabilized. A normal landing followed. The AAIB released their
report stating, that during post flight inspection the crew noticed the
right overwing escape slide compartment open and the slide itsself missing.
The activating mechanism was hanging out of the compartment and had caused
dents and perforations in the adjacent fuselage skin. The deflated overwing
slide was found several days later in the approach path to Gatwick Airport.
The airplane however had already been repaired and dispatched again without
a detailed inspection to determine as to why the compartment had opened.
Boeing was able to perform a limited investigation establishing, that the
opening actuators had not fired and the escape hatch was still securely
locked. However, as the slide came out of the compartment, the inflation
cylinder had discharged. Boeing was able to determine, that the slide had
not inflated inside the compartment and blown the compartment door open as a
result, and concludes, that a combination of incomplete latching, misrigged
or worn components prompted the release of the slide.


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The International Criminal Court Spreads Its Tentacles



Last week  the 4th of March 2009 will go down in history as a day of
reckoning in the short life of the international Criminal Court [ICC].The
issuing of an arrest warrant for the sitting head of state of Sudan Omar
Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir is unprecedented both legally and politically. Not
only that, it has implications that might be severe for the future.

It is unprecedented in that it’s the first time that a sitting head of state
has been issued with a warrant of arrest for ‘serious crimes of concern to
the international community’. There is a common misconception among some
that Slobodan Milosevic and Charles Taylor set the precedent of being tried
at The Hague. The correct position is that Slobodan Milosevic was indicted
by the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, a tribunal set
up by the United Nations Security Council to deal with atrocities committed
during the breakdown of the federation. On the other hand Charles
Taylor[former president of Liberia] was indicted by the Special Court for
Sierra Leone, a hybrid court set up by a treaty between the UN and Sierra
Leone after the mayhem of the  civil war in that country. Both courts
however use/used the premises of the ICC at The Hague, hence the
misconception.

The second issue is that Sudan is the first country referral from the
Security Council to the ICC.For a referral, a resolution would not pass with
a veto by any one of the permanent 5.It is interesting that the United
States principally does not recognise the ICC and is not party to the Rome
Treaty that borne the ICC but allowed the referral. A resolution of the
Security Council has the effect of binding all members of the United
Nations. Once a case is before the ICC, all high contracting parties to the
ICC are also bound. What this means then is that the Security Council by
referring Sudan to the ICC means all parties to the United Nations are
obliged to cooperate even if some of the countries are not party to the Rome
Treaty.UNSC Resolution 1593 urges ‘all states, whether or not party to the
Rome Statute, as well as international and regional organisations to
cooperate fully with the ICC on Sudan.’ That obligation now translate to
making sure that if he sets foot in their territories he should be
arrested.Ofcourse that’s the theoretical aspect of it. In reality probably
most countries, serve for those in the west and their allies will not arrest
him. Already Sudan has failed  to comply with arrest warrants issued to
minister Ahmad Harun and a well known alleged Janjaweed militia leader, Ali
Muhammad Ali abd Ali Rahman [ Ali Kushayb] since 2  May 2007.

Basher is charged with 5 counts of crimes against humanity and 2 counts of
war crimes. In addition the Pre Trial Chamber 1 indicated that he could
still be charged with genocide if the prosecution furnishes further
evidence. At the same time it should be borne in mind that there are
currently peace efforts underway in Sudan with the proposed referendum on
Southern Sudan autonomy in 2011.The question then is whether political
pragmatism will override criminal responsibility. Would the Security Council
defer prosecution to give way for political settlement?
Indeed the Rome Statute allows the Security Council to request a deferral
both for investigations and for prosecutions [article 16] for a year if it
deems that’s its necessary for international peace and stability. Deferrals
have to be renewed annually by a SC resolution through a positive
resolution. That’s means none of the permanent members of the SC can
exercise their veto power to defer an investigation or prosecute. This power
to defer requires a UN chapter 7 situation [a threat to or breach of
international peace].
Uganda is posing  the same problem both to the ICC and the United Nations
Security Council. Though Uganda was a self referral by the Khartoum
government regarding the Northern Uganda situation, it is the peace efforts,
including campaigns by the local Acholi leadership for the ICC to suspend
arrest warrants issued for Joseph Kony and seven other leaders of the Lords
Resistance Army. They argue prosecutions do not bring about peace and
reconciliation. They are advocating for the SC to use a deferral so that
peace initiatives continue.

Already we have heard some states calling for the Sec Council to use this
deferral also in Sudan. The African Union has also called for the warrant to
be boxed. To those in the human rights movement it is just not acceptable.
Individual criminal responsibility has to override any settlement that
allows despots to get away with such atrocities. If the ICC is to serve the
purpose of its creation, the SC should not intervene. To intervene is to
give a passport to would be despots that they can get away with anything if
they are prepared to negotiate. It is the need to end a culture of impunity
that necessitated the creation of a permanent international criminal court
to bring such perpetrators to justice. If political settlements are allowed
to scupper criminal justice why then was the court created?

If basher is not arrested, and Sudan does not comply, the ICC statute on
article 87[7] stipulates that the court would have to refer the issue again
to the Security Council. It remains to be seen whether the SC will press
ahead and pass another resolution on enforcement.

For now it is difficult to envisage Zimbabwe at the ICC, firstly because
Zimbabwe has not ratified the treaty, secondly because it is highly unlikely
the Sec Council would pass a resolution without a veto from China or Russia.
Self referral? Possible if the MDC wins next election and forms the next
government. Unfortunately the crimes committed in Matabeleland during the
Gukurahundi era would not be under the ICC’s jurisdiction if at Zimbabwe
becomes an issue because the ICC only has to try crimes committed after its
inception. [July 2002].
Interesting times ahead!

SANDERSON MAKOMBE
Can be contacted at smakombe@btinternet.com

 


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Susan Tsvangirai: a country mourns the First Lady of hope

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

March 14, 2009

In life Susan Tsvangirai was a force in her own right. In death she has
inspired an entire nation

Jan Raath in Harare and Ben Macintyre
A week after her death Susan Tsvangirai, the wife of Zimbabwe's Prime
Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, has emerged as a powerful symbol of hope in
this shattered country.

In life Mrs Tsvangirai was an important though reluctant politician in her
own right who played a pivotal role in the opposition movement. In death she
has become a tragic heroine of the campaign for democratic change in the
crumbling kleptocracy presided over by Robert Mugabe.

Roy Bennett, the MDC treasurer released from remand prison this week,
described her as "the backbone of the family". He said yesterday: "She was a
very, very strong woman. Morgan is going to find it very difficult."

Mrs Tsvangirai was killed last Friday when a truck hit the Prime Minister's
car. Mr Tsvangirai suffered head and neck injuries. He has since insisted
that his wife's death was an accident, although rumours of foul play abound.

The Tsvangirais were married for 31 years but Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai (her
middle name means comfort) was more than simply a dutiful politician's wife.
Since her death, friends have painted a portrait of a woman at the forefront
of Zimbabwean politics, widely regarded as the unofficial leader of the
women's opposition movement.
They describe her as unobtrusive but remarkably resilient, juggling her
family responsibilities with a rising political profile of her own.

Her modest character and simple tastes offered a stark contrast to the
extravagance and arrogance of Grace Mugabe, the shopping and luxury-loving
wife of the President. Mrs Tsvangirai, who was 50 when she died, is now
referred to popularly as "our first lady" - in implied contrast to Mrs
Mugabe, who formally owns the title.

At the Ngezi turn-off, 60 miles south of Harare, where the collision
occurred, a large wreath honouring Mrs Tsvangirai has been strung from a
road sign. "Our idol, our rock, our mother," read T-shirts worn by
supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

Mrs Tsvangirai, who was buried at the couple's rural home on Thursday,
always carefully concealed the strain of living under Mr Mugabe's brutal
rule but she found the repeated assaults on her husband hard to bear.

"She was an intelligent woman and a very dignified person. She hid whatever
she was thinking and whatever her fears were behind a smile," said Tendai
Biti, the Secretary-General of the MDC and now Minister of Finance in the
new Mugabe-Tsvangirai unity Government. "I think the one thing that gave her
away was her eyes; you could see that this woman was worried. We could tell
she was crying but she would never show it publicly."

The couple met in 1978, when Mr Tsvangirai was the foreman of a nickel mine
in Buhera, south of Harare. Gradually, as his role in the opposition to Mr
Mugabe expanded, she was drawn into politics, particularly after 1989, when
Mr Tsvangirai was arrested and detained without trial for six weeks for his
criticism of Mr Mugabe's proposals to establish a one-party state.

In December 1997, after a successful national strike, Mr Tsvangirai was
again assaulted, when his attackers attempted to throw him out of a window
of his tenth-floor office with the national trade union.

"It was a real shock for Susan," Mr Biti said. "He was lucky to be alive. At
this stage she would have realised this was not going to be a normal life at
all."

A s the pressure on the MDC intensified, Mrs Tsvangirai's political role
expanded, particularly after a damaging split within the opposition movement
in 2005. "From then on she had the pulse of what was going on in the party,"
Mr Biti said. "She began to be more visible, and she really felt that she
had to support him. Before, she never came to his rallies, it was his
business. Then she made it her business. She also began to take a keen
interest in the goings-on in the party."

In traditional Shona custom, women are expected to greet male visitors with
a glass of something to drink, offered while on their knees, but Mrs
Tsvangirai was not one to kowtow.

"She was someone with dignity. She was an equal with Morgan," Mr Biti said.
"She would not kneel to you, she would not kneel to Morgan, no way. If you
were having a meeting at her house she would take a chair and sit in. She
wouldn't run away. She made it very clear it was as much her business as
ours, but she was never intruding."

Although Mrs Tsvangirai held no official political position, she was revered
within the opposition, particularly by women.

"She was an incredibly down-to-earth person," a senior aide said. "The
Wednesday before she died I was talking to her in the kitchen. She had
wanted a glass of Mazoe [a local cordial] and water. She went and fetched
the glass, the bottle, the water out of the fridge. She could easily have
clicked her fingers and got someone to do it for her."

Yet the danger and violence were ever-present. "On 10th March 2008 we had a
party at her house. The next day we were beaten up, all of us who had been
at the party," Mr Biti said. "A few days after, she came to the hospital to
see us - she had already seen Morgan - you could see she was crying."

A few days after the Zimbabwean elections, the threat of murder became
explicit.

"Morgan got a call that they were about to assassinate him," Mr Biti
recalled. "The next thing, we had to drive him to Botswana; one of the cars
rolled and was written off. You can imagine, she was hearing all these
things. It was a disaster. They wanted to kill him, she knew it."

As the political situation deteriorated, Mrs Tsvangirai found herself having
to juggle the demands of her husband's career and the needs of her children
living abroad. "She had to constantlymake a decision, who was more
important, Morgan or the children? Her children were sacred." Mrs Tsvangirai
became the mid-fielder, coordinating the family and their six children from
long distance. "The children were in Canada, Australia, South Africa, and
Morgan was everywhere and anywhere. The only person who knew what was
happening to everyone was Susan," Mr Biti said.

T he death of Mrs Tsvangirai has raised her husband's stature dramatically,
affirming the faith of ordinary Zimbabweans in the indomitable and
long-suffering leader who has once again survived to fight on against
President Mugabe.

The presence of numerous ambassadors and Southern African ministerial
representatives at her funeral on Wednesday has also been seized on to give
Mr Tsvangirai enhanced official status, and the words "our President
Morgan" - of Zimbabwe, not just the MDC - have suddenly become common
parlance.

"People really respected her. She was far more than just the wife of a
politician," Georgina Godwin, a close friend of Susan Tsvangirai, said.
"Susan's death has shown what enormous support the MDC has, and how Zanu
(PF) has been prepared to stand up publicly and mourn her."

Mr Tsvangirai is expected to attend the burial next week of Vitalis
Zvinavashe, a former army general and veteran member of Mr Mugabe's inner
ring. His presence is likely to be seen as the Prime Minister assuming the
functions of the head of state from Mr Mugabe.

Yet among Mr Tsvangirai's closest friends there are fears that the
psychological shock of losing his wife of three decades may affect him in
ways that 30 years of brutal treatment and physical violence never could.

The vital public and private roles played by Mrs Tsvangirai in her husband's
life have left many wondering how the MDC leader will cope without her.

Constant companion

1958 Susan Mhundwa born in Buhera, south of Harare
2002 While Morgan Tsvangirai goes on trial for treason she runs a soup
kitchen in her house
2003 Mr Tsvangirai says that Susan will one day serve tea in State House
10 February 2009 Susan is by her husband's side as he is sworn in as Prime
Minister of Zimbabwe
8 March 2009 Susan dies after being thrown from a car in an accident south
of Harare. Her husband escapes with injuries. She had been due to launch the
Susan Nyaradzo Tsvangirai Trust, to support women and children

Source: Times Archive


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Susan Tsvangirai would be pleased

http://www.timesonline.co.uk

March 14, 2009

Georgina Godwin: First Person
Susan Tsvangirai would have been surprised by the impact her death has had
on this country. The unifying effect and the sense of hope to come out of
this awful tragedy would, I am sure, have pleased her.

In Zimbabwe, when someone dies a mourning vigil is held at their home.
Traditionally, friends and relatives gather at the family home as soon as
possible until after the burial. Therefore, on Monday, along with hundreds
of others, I made my way to the suburban Harare home of the Tsvangirais to
pay my respects to my friend Susan.

From a mile away cars were abandoned along the potholed roads and the sound
of drumming drifted through the early evening. There was a group of women in
red-and-white Methodist church uniforms standing at the gate singing
Tichasangana kudenga, neropa raJesu. Sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, the
hymn translates: "We will meet again in Heaven, Through the Blood of Jesus."

I took a seat in the queue waiting to enter a room where I believed we would
contribute to the condolence book. In front of me was Stan Mudenge, the Zanu
(PF) Minister of Higher Education. On the opposite side, both physically and
politically, was a representative from ZUM, the Zimbabwe Unity Movement that
Mr Mugabe effectively crushed in the 1990s.

I entered the darkened room and found the Prime Minister there, dressed in a
dark suit. Selfishly my own grief took over and I wept as he hugged and
comforted me. "There is nothing to be done," he said. "What can you do?"
I recalled my work with Susan, before my political broadcasts made me an
undesirable in Zimbabwe, and her trip to London in 2002 when we had believed
she would be First Lady soon. By the time I left him, darkness, always swift
in Africa, had fallen and the garden was alive with cooking fires.

David Coltart, the MDC Minister of Education, called me over to meet his
colleague, Herbert Murerwa. Mr Murerwa is the Zanu (PF) Minister of Lands
and a man I have been very vocal in criticising publicly. As we were
introduced, he told me: "I hear what you say and I see what you do."
Sinister at any other time, his words seemed oddly benign in an atmosphere
of real unity. I don't believe the Zanu (PF) presence was cynical. I,
perhaps naively, think that they joined in this intimate part of the
occasion in a spirit of genuine grief and togetherness.

Susan was an unassuming and gracious lady who possibly had no idea how much
her work with the poor and sick achieved. Susan's contribution to the nation
in life was great. In death it may be greater still - genuinely bringing
true unity to the Zimbabwean people.

- Georgina Godwin is a Zimbabwean journalist and broadcaster

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