Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (Introduced in the Senate)
S 494 IS
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 494
To provide for a transition to democracy and to promote economic recovery in Zimbabwe .
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 8, 2001
Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. FEINGOLD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To provide for a transition to democracy and to promote economic recovery in Zimbabwe .
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America
in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001'.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to support the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle to effect
peaceful, democratic change, achieve broad-based and equitable economic growth, and restore
the rule of law.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act :
(1) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS- The term `international
financial institutions' means the multilateral development banks and the International
Monetary Fund.
(2) MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS- The term `multilateral development
banks' means the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the
International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the
Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American
Investment Corporation, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Multilateral Investment
Guaranty Agency.
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC
RECOVERY.
(a) FINDINGS- Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Through economic mismanagement, undemocratic practices, and the costly
deployment of troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Government of
Zimbabwe has rendered itself ineligible to participate in International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and International Monetary Fund programs, which
would otherwise be providing substantial resources to assist in the recovery and
modernization of Zimbabwe's economy. The people of Zimbabwe have thus been denied
the economic and democratic benefits envisioned by the donors to such programs,
including the United States.
(2) In September 1999 the IMF suspended its support under a `Stand By Arrangement',
approved the previous month, for economic adjustment and reform in Zimbabwe .
(3) In October 1999, the International Development Association (in this section referred
to as the `IDA') suspended all structural adjustment loans, credits, and guarantees to the
Government of Zimbabwe .
(4) In May 2000, the IDA suspended all other new lending to the Government of
Zimbabwe .
(5) In September 2000, the IDA suspended disbursement of funds for ongoing projects
under previously-approved loans, credits, and guarantees to the Government of Zimbabwe
.
(b) SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY- Upon
receipt by the appropriate congressional committees of a certification described in subsection (d),
the following shall apply:
(1) DEBT RELIEF AND OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE- The Secretary of the
Treasury shall--
(A) undertake a review of the feasibility of restructuring, rescheduling, or
eliminating the sovereign debt of Zimbabwe held by any agency of the United
States Government;
(B) direct the United States executive director of each multilateral development
bank to propose that the bank should undertake a review of the feasibility of
restructuring, rescheduling, or eliminating the sovereign debt of Zimbabwe held by
that bank; and
(C) direct the United States executive director of each international financial
institution to which the United States is a member to propose to undertake financial
and technical support for Zimbabwe , especially support that is intended to promote
Zimbabwe's economic recovery and development, the stabilization of the
Zimbabwean dollar, and the viability of Zimbabwe's democratic institutions.
(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF A SOUTHERN AFRICA FINANCE CENTER- The
President should direct the establishment of a Southern Africa Finance Center located in
Zimbabwe that will include regional offices of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and the Trade and
Development Agency for the purpose of facilitating the development of commercial
projects in Zimbabwe and the southern Africa region.
(c) MULTILATERAL FINANCING RESTRICTION- Until the President makes the
certification described in subsection (d), and except as may be required to meet basic human
needs or for good governance, the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States
executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against--
(1) any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the
Government of Zimbabwe ; or
(2) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe
to the United States or any international financial institution.
(d) PRESIDENTIAL CERTIFICATION THAT CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE
SATISFIED- A certification under this subsection is a certification transmitted to the appropriate
congressional committees of a determination made by the President that the following conditions are
satisfied:
(1) RESTORATION OF THE RULE OF LAW- The rule of law has been restored in
Zimbabwe , including respect for ownership and title to property, freedom of speech and
association, and an end to the lawlessness, violence, and intimidation sponsored, condoned,
or tolerated by the Government of Zimbabwe , the ruling party, and their supporters or
entities.
(2) ELECTION OR PRE-ELECTION CONDITIONS- Either of the following two
conditions is satisfied:
(A) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION- Zimbabwe has held a presidential election that
is widely accepted as free and fair by independent international monitors, and the
president-elect is free to assume the duties of the office.
(B) PRE-ELECTION CONDITIONS- In the event the certification is made
before the presidential election takes place, the Government of Zimbabwe has
sufficiently improved the pre-election environment to a degree consistent with
accepted international standards for security and freedom of movement and
association.
(3) COMMITMENT TO EQUITABLE, LEGAL, AND TRANSPARENT LAND
REFORM- The Government of Zimbabwe has demonstrated a commitment to an
equitable, legal, and transparent land reform program consistent with agreements reached
at the International Donors' Conference on Land Reform and Resettlement in Zimbabwe
held in Harare, Zimbabwe , in September 1998.
(4) FULFILLMENT OF AGREEMENT ENDING WAR IN DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF CONGO- The Government of Zimbabwe is making a good faith effort to
fulfill the terms of the Lusaka, Zambia, agreement on ending the war in the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
(5) MILITARY AND NATIONAL POLICE SUBORDINATE TO CIVILIAN
GOVERNMENT- The Zimbabwean Armed Forces, the National Police of Zimbabwe ,
and other state security forces are responsible to and serve the elected civilian
government.
(e) WAIVER- The President may waive the provisions of subsection (b) or subsection (c), if the
President determines that it is in the national interest of the United States to do so.
SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS, THE FREE PRESS
AND INDEPENDENT MEDIA, AND THE RULE OF LAW.
(a) IN GENERAL- The President is authorized to provide assistance under part I and chapter 4
of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to--
(1) support an independent and free press and electronic media in Zimbabwe ;
(2) support equitable, legal, and transparent mechanisms of land reform in Zimbabwe ,
including the payment of costs related to the acquisition of land and the resettlement of
individuals, consistent with the International Donors' Conference on Land Reform and
Resettlement in Zimbabwe held in Harare, Zimbabwe , in September 1998, or any
subsequent agreement relating thereto; and
(3) for democracy and governance programs in Zimbabwe .
(b) FUNDING- Of the funds made available to carry out part I and chapter 4 of part II of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for fiscal year 2002--
(1) not less than $20,000,000 is authorized to be available to provide the assistance
described in subsection (a)(2); and
(2) not less than $6,000,000 is authorized to be available to provide the assistance
described in subsection (a)(3).
(c) SUPERSEDES OTHER LAWS- The authority in this section supersedes any other provision
of law.
SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN
AGAINST INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLENCE AND THE
BREAKDOWN OF THE RULE OF LAW IN ZIMBABWE .
It is the sense of Congress that the President should begin immediate consultation with the
governments of European Union member states, Canada, and other appropriate foreign countries
on ways in which to--
(1) identify and share information regarding individuals responsible for the deliberate
breakdown of the rule of law, politically motivated violence, and intimidation in Zimbabwe
;
(2) identify assets of those individuals held outside Zimbabwe ;
(3) implement travel and economic sanctions against those individuals and their associates
and families; and
(4) provide for the eventual removal or amendment of those sanctions.
zda.2001.311
A British priest has been murdered during a robbery at his church in Zimbabwe.
The Foreign Office said the Rev Peter Wagner was found dead at St Michael's Church in Masvingo, about 190 miles south of the Zimbabwean capital Harare, on February 27. He was reportedly strangled while praying.
Mr Wagner, 68, emigrated to the African state in 1970 after serving several parishes in Birmingham.
A Foreign Office spokesman said the killing was not thought to be political, adding: "His body was found by a church warden on his way to a parish council meeting."
The Anglican clergyman's family, based in Britain, have been notified of the death and were given assistance by the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Office is awaiting the results of a post-mortem. One man is understood to have been detained by police in connection with the death and another is being sought.
From The Financial Gazette, 15 March
Fears over Mugabe's health
President Robert Mugabe's health is deteriorating and he has stepped up plans to ensure that the Speaker of Parliament, Emmerson Mnangagwa, succeeds him as head of state in case he himself opts out of presidential elections due next year, it was learnt this week. Authoritative sources close to State House - the President's official residence - said despite Mugabe's somewhat robust appearance in public, his health was failing.
Although Mugabe had predictably kept matters about his health a closely-guarded secret and had not shared this information with even some of his closest aides, the sources said obvious evidence of his failing health had manifested in symptoms which resembled epileptic fits which caused him to collapse unexpectedly. "Much as Mugabe himself might want to remain at the helm, his health is failing him," said one top source. Mugabe, 77 last month, had six stitches above his right eye after he collapsed in Malaysia last November. His officials said he bumped against a rail and slipped to the ground. He also reportedly collapsed while in Libya en route to the UN in New York in September last year. The government strenuously denied this report at the time.
The sources said Mugabe's health had remained problematic in the past few months. One claimed that the problem of him collapsing at State House had now become a "routine thing". But no one could explain exactly what caused this condition, the sources said, pointing out that it was something only Mugabe himself, his wife or his doctor could explain. "Unless you see his medical card or unless he tells you himself, there is no way you can describe the disease," another source said. "All one can talk about are the signs of his illness which resemble epileptic fits. That the man is not well is not in doubt to those who stay close to him," the source added. Some suggested that the President had further developed heart complications and a bladder-related ailment, claims which could also not be verified this week.
Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, became furious when approached to explain the President's health yesterday. He refused to say anything in connection with our inquiries and banged the telephone down on this reporter. "Thanks for the information and goodbye," was all Charamba said before terminating the brief conversation. Charamba has however previously stated that Mugabe's health is not in doubt. "Unfortunately we seem to have a lot of April fools around," he told the Daily News in response to allegations that Mugabe had collapsed in Libya last September. "He (Mugabe) is well enough to attend the funerals of those April fools," he added at the time.
But the sources said this was not so. All Mugabe wanted now was to secure Mnangagwa's position as his successor before he himself steps down on health grounds, they said. They said an ongoing campaign by Mugabe's new trouble-shooter Border Gezi to dissolve provincial executives of the ruling ZANU PF party was meant to entrench Mnangagwa's position in the party. Mugabe elevated Mnangagwa to the powerful post of ZANU PF's administration secretary at the party's congress last year after earlier on orchestrating his ascension to the position of Parliamentary Speaker. This was despite the fact that the former justice minister had been rejected by all but one of the ruling party's provincial executives in polls for the party's chairmanship eventually won by Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo at another party congress in 1999.
The sources said Mnangagwa was now using his muscle and influence as administration boss to ensure that his supporters were elected to key positions in the party's provincial executives to facilitate his bid to succeed Mugabe. Virtually all provincial executives that voted against him except the one in Mashonaland East are now out of office. One source said if Mugabe did not put in place structures that would guarantee Mnangagwa's ascendancy to power, he would probably "hobble on" at State House until he achieved that objective.
Wednesday, 14 March, 2001, 18:32 GMT
Zimbabwe was expected to cash in on the once-in-a-life-time 21 June solar eclipse, which will be visible in much of the country.
But tourists have moved en bloc to neighbouring Zambia - not as developed as the Zimbabwean side of the border, but considered more peaceful.
Invasions of commercial farms by war veterans and the violence that ensued in the run-up to last year's parliamentary elections, have put Zimbabwe on the list of unsafe destination for visitors.
 Farm occupations have scared tourists
away |
At least 30 opposition supporters and eight white commercial farmers have been murdered by suspected independence war veterans who have forcefully occupied more than 1,600 farms.
Earlier this year, a group of ex-combatants descended on the resort town of Victoria Falls, home to the majestic falls, where they harassed tourists.
These attacks have been given extensive international media coverage. And the effects are showing.
Job losses
Of the 1.4 million tourists in 1999, industry figures say less than a quarter visited Zimbabwe last year. By December, less than 20% of hotel rooms had been occupied.
 Those who rely on the tourist trade are having are
hard time |
As the hard times roll, some floors at the five star world-acclaimed Sheraton Hotel have been closed and workers laid off.
To date, about 5,000 jobs have been lost and more than 100 tour operators have closed down, while hotel groups have suspended expansion programmes.
''Very few tourists are visiting. Those who come are mostly bitter and complain about the political crisis in the country,'' says a worker at A'Zambezi River Hotel in Victoria Falls.
 International airlines are pulling out of
Harare |
Recently published results of operations and profitability of one of the country's major hotel groups, the Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG), are indicative of the harsh reality that Zimbabwean tourism firms are facing.
The hotel and tour group experienced a turnover decline of 14% which meant an operating loss of 104 million Zimbabwe dollars ($1.9m).
Passenger crisis
Prospects for the revival of the tourism industry depend on the way the government tackles the fundamental issues affecting the country.
A number of measures have to be taken into consideration, such as granting the tourism industry export status, improving the supply of fuel and tackling the violence on farms.
Zimbabwe's tourism sector contributes up to 6% of the country's GDP and employs some 200,000 people. It also generates $400m yearly in foreign currency earnings.
The country has already lost the construction of a multi-million dollar resort complex to Zambia as well as other developments planned for Victoria Falls.
 Tourism was once Zimbabwe's fastest growing
sector |
''The economy has worked very much against those in Harare, while the political climate has also affected those who want to travel there," Alan Burnett, British Airway's regional manager for Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands told a local private weekly.
"We want to make our service to Harare profitable but this is not the case at the moment.''
He says the airline is considering pulling out of Zimbabwe if the government continues to refuse it to remit its earnings to the UK.
Australia's Quantas and Germany's Lufthansa have already left Zimbabwe. Austrian Airlines will do so on 14 March.
And just as tourists shun Zimbabwe, thousands of its nationals are leaving the country in droves for greener pastures overseas.
From the Financial Gazette: Thursday 15 March 2001
No joy for Zim from IMF
By Abel
Mutsakani, Assistant News Editor
3/15/01 10:14:22 PM (GMT
+2)
TALKS between the government and a visiting team from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) dragged on in Harare yesterday, but sources
close to the negotiations said it looked unlikely that Zimbabwe would get any
financial rescue package any time
soon.
They said the IMF delegation led by
assistant director for Africa Paulo Neuhaus was unlikely to recommend a
resumption of aid to the crisis-hit country, under siege from a political and
economic crisis and a gathering international boycott.
The IMF
delegation arrived in Harare last Wednesday and has met Finance Minister Simba
Makoni. Yesterday it was talking with officials from the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe, the central bank.
The sources said the team had so far
preoccupied itself with gathering economic data on Zimbabwe and assessing
first-hand the damage that has been wrought on the economy by the government’s
skewed policies.
"They are really just looking at the numbers. The
chances of these talks resulting in a surprise release of aid are nil and the
chances of the IMF agreeing to a shadow programme are worse than doubtful," one
source told the Financial Gazette.
Makoni, upon whom crisis-weary
Zimbabweans are pinning hopes of convincing the IMF to bankroll the collapsing
economy, has since his appointment last year fought to have the Bretton Woods
institution agree to a shadow programme for the country.
Under such a
plan Zimbabwe, which has persistently failed to meet fiscal targets agreed with
the IMF, would implement economic reforms with set targets and under the
supervision of the IMF but without financial aid from the fund.
A
successful implementation of the programme usually leads to a release of aid.
But the sources said the failure by Harare to uphold the rule of law and
its disruptive fast-track land reforms were the key obstacles to the IMF
resuming balance of payments support to Zimbabwe or agreeing to a shadow
programme.
The Supreme Court, Zimbabwe’s highest court, has declared the
fast-track land reform plan illegal while agricultural experts and economists
are unanimous that the plan is too hasty and disruptive and could destroy the
mainstay agricultural sector.
Under the controversial land scheme, the
government is seizing at least 3 000 commercial farms from white Zimbabweans to
resettle blacks who were dispossessed of their land by previous white minority
regimes.
The IMF and all international donors want the government to
implement an orderly and lawful land reform plan which sticks to principles that
were agreed with donors at a 1998 land conference in Harare.
IMF
managing director Horst Kohler and World Bank president James Wolfensohn, in
separate meetings with Makoni in Washington last month, told him that the
government must first restore the rule of law before aid is considered.
The sources said the handing over this week by the government of its
response to proposals made to it by United Nations envoy Mark Malloch Brown on
how to resolve the land problem could, provided the response was positive, help
ease Makoni’s task to win favourable treatment from the IMF.
But they
said even an acceptance by the government of Malloch Brown’s proposals would not
mean an immediate release of aid nor the approval of a shadow programme because
old impediments that forced the IMF to suspend aid in 1999 still remained.
"It was a clever move by the government to submit the response at this
time, but a lot depends on how positive that response is," another source said.
"Even then, the same old impediments are likely to spoil Zimbabwe’s
chances of getting new aid."
The IMF halted its aid over a range of
issues, including Harare’s failure to rein in its runaway spending and thus
reduce a burgeoning budget deficit; a weak monetary policy and the slow pace of
selling off loss-making state-owned companies.
The IMF’s refusal to
release its aid has blocked other aid worth several billion dollars meant for
Zimbabwe from other donors who take a cue from the Bretton Woods body.
The aid cuts have exacerbated a grinding economic crisis that has
manifested itself in crippling shortages of foreign currency, fuel and
power.
C’wealth bids to end land row
Staff
Reporter
3/15/01 10:11:48 PM (GMT
+2)
ZIMBABWE has agreed "in
principle" to allow a Commonwealth delegation to visit the country as part of
international efforts to find a solution to its political and economic problems,
it was established this week.
The Zimbabwe government however
immediately said that the delegation would concentrate only on issues involving
land reform and would not investigate allegations of human rights abuses as
sought by Britain.
George Charamba, a spokesman for President Robert
Mugabe, said Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth secretary-general, had resisted
British pressure to investigate Zimbabwe as part of the former colonial power’s
efforts to galvanise international support to isolate the southern African
country.
Charamba said the government had agreed to receive the
Commonwealth delegation because its brief was now limited to finding a solution
to the land reform problem. The delegation might meet Mugabe depending on his
schedule, he said.
"Zimbabwe, as a matter of principle, will never
refuse an audience with any meaningful delegation," Charamba told the Financial
Gazette.
A statement from the Commonwealth e-mailed to the Financial
Gazette this week said McKinnon was finalising the composition of "a small
secretariat team" that would visit Zimbabwe to discuss how the organisation
"could assist the Zimbabwe government in resolving the land issue".
The
Commonwealth is a grouping of English-speaking countries that once belonged to
the now defunct British Empire.
Zimbabwe is in the throes of an economic
and political crisis largely triggered by last year’s invasions of white-owned
commercial farms by a ragtag army of veterans of the country’s 1970s
independence war and supporters of Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party.
The
invasions, used by ZANU PF to cow voters from supporting the opposition, have
continued well after last June’s watershed ballot and degenerated into
state-sanctioned lawlessness that has killed at least 35 people.
British
Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, alarmed by the deteriorating political and
economic events in Zimbabwe, last month urged the Commonwealth to send a
delegation to Harare to assess the situation on the ground.
The team was
supposed to report its findings to a meeting of the group’s foreign affairs
ministers scheduled to be held in London within weeks.
The ministers’
meeting is expected to discuss the possibility of some sanctions against the
Zimbabwe government over its human rights abuses and make recommendations to the
heads of state meeting to be held in Australia later this year.
McKinnon’s statement said the Zimbabwe government had accepted the
proposal "in principle" for the Commonwealth delegation to visit the country but
that the dates of the visit were still being worked out.
McKinnon last
year visited Zimbabwe just before the June ballot after widespread reports of
state-sponsored violence against supporters of the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC).
He was later heavily criticised for an insipid
response that did not measure up to the widely-expected condemnation of Mugabe
and his party but he later sent observers led by former Nigerian military ruler
General Abdulsalam Abubakar to witness the poll.
Abubakar’s report said
violence and intimidation had marred the poll, controversially won with a slim
majority by ZANU PF after a spirited challenge from the MDC.
Zim officials face US ban
From
Sydney Masamvu, Political Editor
3/15/01 10:12:36 PM (GMT
+2)
WASHINGTON — President
Robert Mugabe and officials of his government could be subjected to visa
restrictions or barred from entering the United States if a Bill that has been
introduced in the Senate is approved by American legislators.
The Zimbabwe Democracy Bill was
introduced in the US Senate last Thursday by senators Russell Feingold, a
Democrat, and Bill Frist, a top Republican who is influential in President
George W Bush’s administration.
"Today in Zimbabwe, members of the
ruling party led by President Robert Mugabe have conducted a systematic campaign
to intimidate judges and to silence dissent in the opposition and the media,"
Feingold said in remarks introducing the Bill.
"US assistance cannot be
used to prop up a government that has turned against its people. This
legislation puts the US firmly on the side of those working to protect
Zimbabwe’s democracy," he told senators.
The Bill, which if passed will
lead to the enactment of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of
2001, targets a range of sanctions against government officials responsible for
promoting political violence and the breakdown of the rule of law in the
southern African country.
It specifically calls for entry visa
restrictions to be imposed on officials behind the wave of violence sweeping
Zimbabwe in which at least 35 people, most of them opposition members, have been
killed since February last year.
"The Bill also urges the president to
consult with other nations regarding ways to implement visa restrictions and
other targeted sanctions against those most responsible for political violence
and the breakdown of the rule of the law in Zimbabwe," the Bill says, signalling
possible isolation of Mugabe and his officials by the Western world.
Although the Bill does not name Mugabe and his ministers and officials,
the officials who drafted it say it specifically targets them.
It is
understood that the visa restrictions could be waived if Mugabe is attending
United Nations meetings in New York.
The Bill outlines clear benchmarks
relating to a return to the rule of law and the democratic process which must be
met by the Zimbabwean government before assistance by the US, currently
suspended, is resumed.
The Senate action adds to growing international
pressure on Mugabe to act against state-sponsored lawlessness in Zimbabwe or
face tough sanctions from much of the West.
Mugabe, his 21-year hold on
power threatened by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), has
launched a crackdown on the MDC, the country’s judiciary and independent media
ahead of a crucial presidential ballot due next year.
Feingold said the
Bill, if passed, will support Zimbabweans to achieve peaceful democratic change,
attain broad equitable economic growth and restore the rule of law.
"This downward spiral of lawlessness and economic collapse is tragic
because it is occurring in a remarkable country ¾ one that is rich in natural
resources, human capital, had a sophisticated economy and boasts a vibrant civil
society," he said.
He said the collapse of Zimbabwe is a threat to the
entire region of southern Africa which cannot evade the spillover effects of
"its economic ruin and political upheaval".
The Bill was first mooted in
September last year but could not make it through the US legislature at the time
because of the then impending US elections.
Currently it is receiving
wide support of lawmakers from both the Democratic Party and the Republicans who
are concerned about Zimbabwe’s deteriorating political climate and the
government’s human rights abuses.
The date for the Senate vote, when the
Bill is expected to sail smoothly, is yet to be set. Sources at Capitol Hill,
seat of the US legislature, say senators want the Bill passed without much
debate as there is unanimity on it.
Frist, the co-sponsor of the Bill
and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Africa, told senators:
"President Mugabe has effectively implemented a totalitarian regime which has
grown over his 20 years of leadership. If stability is to return to Zimbabwe,
democracy must be strengthened.
"The farm invasions are nothing but a
cover for an assault on democracy and the rule of law."
Frist warned
that if US lawmakers ignored the crisis in Zimbabwe, they risked allowing
further instability in southern Africa.
Frist, one of influential
senators backing Bush on Capitol Hill, said that with serious reform and a
renewed commitment to democracy, Zimbabwe could recover from collapse because it
had unlimited and untapped potential.
The Bill proposes to offer
incentives for the restoration of democracy and the rule of law by providing
funding for land resettlement, debt review and investment by US firms.
Unions condemn death threat on Fingaz staffer
Staff Reporter
3/15/01 10:13:37 PM (GMT
+2)
UNIONS representing
Zimbabwean journalists this week condemned a death threat made on Njabulo Ncube,
the Financial Gazette’s Bulawayo bureau chief, by a notorious war veteran called
Abel Mahlangu.
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists
secretary-general Basildon Peta and Abel Mutsakani, head of the Independent
Journalists’ Association of Zimbabwe, said they were taking the threat on Ncube
seriously and would hold Mahlangu fully responsible for anything that might
happen to Ncube.
The Financial Gazette’s publisher and chief executive
Elias Rusike said he condemned Mahlangu’s behaviour in the strongest possible
terms and urged Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo to ask police chief Augustine
Chihuri to provide security to Ncube and other journalists who have been
harassed and attacked by mobs of self-styled war veterans.
Mahlangu at
the weekend stormed into the Bulawayo Press Club and accused Ncube of being a
supporter and mouthpiece of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
He told Ncube that he would be dead by the time of the presidential
elections next year because of his alleged MDC links.
"You are a fool.
You will be killed for nothing. You will not last up to 2002," Mahlangu shouted
at the Financial Gazette staffer in full view of other journalists at the club.
Ncube has made clear that he is not an MDC follower.
Peta said
police should seriously investigate Mahlangu as he could not be allowed to get
away with such threats.
"Our constitution guarantees everyone’s right to
life and if somebody makes such a threat on another person and is allowed to get
away with it, then it only exemplifies the depths to which we have sunk as a
nation. We are back to the dark ages," he said.
Mutsakani said his
association was trying to talk with leaders of the war veterans over their
continued attacks on journalists from the independent media.
Rusike said
the government should guarantee the safety of all journalists to ensure that
they did their work without fear or hindrance from any quarter.
He
rejected charges that the Financial Gazette is an MDC mouthpiece.
"It
(the Financial Gazette) is independent of the government, the ruling party, the
MDC and big business. Our mission is to provide a forum for debate and discourse
to people and groups with different and at times conflicting viewpoints," he
said.
"We are guided by the pursuit of the truth. We are balanced and
objective and go out of our way to give both sides of the story," he said.