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Police issue
arrest warrant against Zimbabwean editor over abductions story
http://www.apanews.net
APA-Harare
(Zimbabwe) Zimbabwean police have issued a warrant of arrest
against the
editor of an independent weekly paper and one of his reporters
after the
publication carried an article outlining the police's role in the
abductions
of political activists last year, sources told APA here on
Saturday.
Sources at the ZimInd Publishers, which publishes the
Zimbabwe Independent,
said the police wanted to interview the editor Vincent
Kahiya and senior
reporter Constantine Chimakure who authored the article
which was based on
court documents.
"They (police) have been to our
offices this morning with a warrant of
arrest for Vincent and Constantine.
We, however, believe they just wanted to
intimidate the journalists because
they surely didn't expect to see the two
here when staff from the Zimbabwe
Independent do not work on Saturdays,"
said a source at the Zimbabwe
Independent's sister paper, The Standard.
The Standard publishes on
Sunday while the Zimbabwe Independent hits the
streets on
Fridays.
The sources said the officers from the police's Law and Order
Section only
interviewed ZimInd chief executive Raphael Khumalo over the
matter on
Saturday.
In the article in question which was published on
Friday, Chimakure wrote
that several police officers and members of the
Central Intelligence
Organisation were implicated in the abduction of more
than 40 activists from
the former opposition Movement for Democratic
Change.
It is not clear at the time of writing this report whether Kahiya
and
Chimakure had been picked up by the police.
JN/daj/APA
2009-05-09
Job
Sikhala Quits MDC
http://www.radiovop.com
HARARE, May 9 2009 - Controversial former St Mary's
Member of
Parliament and MDC-M's secretary for defence Job Sikhala, has quit
the party
after a turbulent week, which saw six national executives being
suspended
for allegedly bringing the party into
disrepute.
In a three-page document titled "Free at
Last, Free Last" written in
response to his suspension, Sikhala said he was
leaving the party and had no
regrets.
"It was a hard
decision which I took notwithstanding the consequences,
because I know such
sentiments are shared by the majority of the party
members.
'And I want to publicly apologise to the people of Zimbabwe for my
association with this group of the most retrogressive forces of darkness,
who are worse off than the Abel Muzorewa retrogression," read Sikhala's
statement.
He said he would soon announce his plans for the
future.
"I am celebrating the fact that I am free at last. In
terms of my
political career at the moment I will leave it in the hands of
people. After
my national sensitisation tour I shall announce the political
direction I
wish to take," Sikhala said.
Party spokesman
Edwin Mushoriwa on Friday announced the suspension of
Abednico Bhebhe,
(Nkayi South), Norman Mpofu (Bulilima East and Njabuliso
Mguni (Lupane
East).
Also suspended are the party's secretary for defence Job
Sikhala,
youth national chairperson Gift Nyandoro and Matabeleland South
provincial
treasurer Alex Goosen.
The members were
suspended for allegedly bringing the party into
disrepute.
"MDC advises that it has suspended the under listed members from the
party
with immediate effect, pending their appearance before the national
disciplinary committee on charges of misconduct," Mushoriwa said in a
statement.
Meanwhile Member of Parliament for Nkayi
Abednico Bhebhe, who was also
suspended from the party, has dismissed his
suspension as a joke, insisting
that he is still a member of the
party.
"Whoever wrote that suspension letter I am sure must
have been
dreaming. The whole issue is just a joke. You cannot just wake up
in the
morning and announce to the whole world that you have suspended
someone
without telling the person his or her crime. This is rubbish and I
am not
bothered by the so called suspension," said Bhebhe.
Bhebhe pointed out that the clause, which was cited as the reason for
their
suspension in the letter was null and void as the letter is silent on
what
charges the suspended are being accused of.
"You see the word
indispline is broad. We need to know the actual
offence which we committed
rather than hiding behind a finger," he said.
Bhebhe said the
"suspension" has given him zeal to work for the party.
Sources
privy to the goings on in the Mutambara led faction said
Bhebhe or Mguni are
likely to be expelled from the party and that
subsequently one of them would
lose his constituency to pave way for the
party's Deputy president Gibson
Sibanda, who has to find a constituency
before the end of the month, failure
of which would result in him losing his
ministerial post.
According to the Global Political Agreement (GPA), any party which
loses an
MP, will appoint a replacement without conducting by- elections.
IMF demands urgent RBZ audit
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Nokuthula Sibanda Saturday 09
May 2009
HARARE - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has
demanded an independent
audit of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), saying
this was necessary to
enhance the credibility of the country's economic turn
around programme and
also to help attract key donor support.
Among
key concerns Western donor governments want addressed before they can
support Zimbabwe's unity government is reform at the central bank where
governor Gideon Gono is accused of stoking up the country's economic
meltdown through quasi-fiscal activities, including funding President Robert
Mugabe's political programmes.
In a statement released this week, the
IMF executive board slammed weak
governance and lack of transparency at the
RBZ, adding that Zimbabwe should
delay reintroducing its suspended currency
until a credible realignment of
the central bank's operations was carried
out.
The IMF board said "a significant strengthening of governance and
transparency, including through an independent audit, at the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe is urgently needed to enhance the credibility and durability of
recent macroeconomic policies".
Key governance weaknesses cited by
the IMF included lack of enforcement of
the RBZ Act's accountability
requirements and noncompliance with the
International Financial Reporting
Standards.
RBZ governor Gideon Gono has come under fire for printing
money to fund
activities ordinarily undertaken by government ministries
through
allocations from the national budget.
The IMF recommendation
comes in the wake of an attempt by finance minister
Tendai Biti to have the
central bank chief investigated for overshooting the
statutory limit of US$1
billion that he is allowed to borrow without Cabinet
approval.
Gono
has admitted to borrowing more than US$5.25 billion since June 2004 to
finance his activities although there is no tangible evidence that the money
went to good use. - ZimOnline
After
Brief Respite, the Cost of Living Is Rising Again for
Zimbabweans
http://www.voanews.com
By Patience Rusere
08 May
2009
Consumer prices are on the rise again in Zimbabwe according to
the Consumer
Council of Zimbabwe which reported an 8% rise in April in the
cost of a a
basket of key goods.
The monthly surge was led by a 28%
rise in rents, the Consumer Council said.
An urban family of six now
needs US$427 a month to get by - but civil
servants and many private sector
employees are earning just US$100 a month,
if that.
Economist Nyasha
Muchichwa of the Labor and Economic Development Research
Institute of
Zimbabwe told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for
Zimbabwe that
costs have risen in part due to a tightening in imports from
neighboring
South Africa.
Though the rate of inflation implied in the cost increases
measured by the
Consumer Council are quite modest compared with the
astronomical percent
increases in prices witnessed in the country earlier
this year as
hyperinflation raged, they are of concern in absolute terms
given the
limited purchasing power of average Zimbabweans. In addition, the
country's
Central Statistical Office had been reporting price declines in
recent
reporting periods.
General prices eased about 3% in each of
the past few months, the CSO said.
Thousands
could be denied education
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16410
May 9, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - The United Nations says the unresolved grievances
of Zimbabwean
teachers have a potential to deny thousands of children a
decent
education.The United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) in Harare warned onThursday that many Zimbabwean
children
might be on the receiving end of the teacher's strike.
"An
impending strike by teachers in May threatens to stifle efforts to
revive
the education sector," the UN said in a monthly humanitarian report.
The
second term of the country's schooling calendar resumed on Tuesday but
on a
very slow note. Many teachers did not report for duty despite a call by
the
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) to return to work.
Teachers
had threatened to boycott classes when schools open for the new
term. The
United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) served the day
after it
promised to take care of the teacher's salaries.
"Unless the teacher
issue is addressed, the majority of children,
particularly orphan and
vulnerable children (OVC), will not access education
which is a basic
right," said the UN.
Teachers have been receiving monthly allowances of
US$100 since February.
They have of late started pushing for a proper
salary. They are pushing for
a monthly salary of US$
1500.
Educationists attending the Zimbabwe Teachers' Association (Zimta),
annual
congress held from 24 to 26 April, resolved not to return to work for
the
second term clamouring for a US$1500 salary. Initially teachers were
demanding a monthly salary of a staggering US$2300.
The situation is
also made worse by the fact that the inclusive government
has made it
blatantly clear that it is "broke" and is struggling to even put
together
the US$ 100 allowances that teachers are currently taking home.
At a UN
organised Education Working Group (EWG) meeting held on 22 April in
Harare,
teachers' unions reported that the situation is ambiguous and it
might not
be possible to open schools in May.
The teachers gave a picture of an
education sector in paralysis. Issues such
as lack of water, teaching
material and continuing fears of attack on
political grounds for teachers in
rural areas came up for discussion.
The UN has however pledged to source
and distribute teaching and learning
material to some 2 243 primary schools
in the country as part of efforts to
ensure the continued revival of the
education system.
Zimbabwe had the best education system in Africa in the
1990s. But now the
sector is tottering on the brink of collapse. Apart from
the primary and
secondary schools operating without essentials such as
functioning toilets
and running water, the country's tertiary institutions
are equally
dilapidated. The University of Zimbabwe once the doyen of
educational
excellence in the sub region is a shadow of its former
self.
It is now characterised by dilapidated buildings, blocked toilets
and
malfunctioning water and sewer system. The institution's Vice Chancellor
Levy Nyagura last week told the media that the institution will need in
excess of US$ 4 million to rehabilitate it to functioning
status.
Only 68 out of 12 000 students have so far managed to pay the
required
tuition fees.
Last month, the Deputy Prime Minister Arthur
Mutambara said the new
government had extended the country's humanitarian
cover to include the
payment of school fees and grants for tertiary
students.
The UN has the Zimbabwe Consolidated Appeal in place. It aims
to raise funds
to meet the humanitarian requirements of the
country.
Under the appeal to cover the humanitarian needs for 2009. The
UN requires
US$546 million but has only managed to raise only about 40
percent of that
amount.
The UN said the top five donors to the
Zimbabwe Consolidated Appeal 2009
currently are the United States, United
Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands and
Australia whose contribution is covering
nearly 13 percent of the total
requirements.
Britain warns Zimbabwe of need for further reform
http://www.africasia.com
LONDON,
May 9 (AFP)
Britain
welcomed early progress made by the fragile Zimbabwean unity
government on
Saturday, but noted that the ailing nation was in need of a
great deal of
reform.
Junior foreign minister Mark Malloch-Brown added that talks with
Zimbabwean
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Foreign Minister Simbarashi
Mumbengegwi
in Pretoria had been "open and productive" and pledged to
maintain a close
dialogue with the fledgling government in
Harare.
"My exchanges with both ministers were open and productive,"
Malloch-Brown
said in a statement after the meeting on the fringe of the
inauguration of
South African President Jacob Zuma, the first such talks
between a British
government minister and Tsvangirai since the latter became
prime minister.
"I welcomed areas of progress made by the inclusive
government to date and
assured both Mr Tsvangirai and Mr Mumbengegwi of the
UK's continued
willingness to help the Zimbabwean people to rebuild their
country. However
I also underlined the need for further
reform."
Malloch-Brown said areas of concern for Britain were the
continued detention
of political prisoners in Zimbabwe, the continued
invasion of commercial
farms and the unilateral appointment of
officials.
"Progress is needed in these and other areas before the UK and
the
international community as a whole can engage more fully. In the
meantime
the UK remains fully committed to helping Zimbabwe with its most
pressing
humanitarian and essential needs.
"Prime Minister
Tsvangirai, Minister Mumbengegwi and I agreed that our
respective
governments would continue to maintain a close dialogue as
Zimbabwe works
through this challenging transitional period."
Zimbabwe's Tsvangirai Takes Long View on Power-Sharing Government
http://www.voanews.com
By Benedict Nhlapho
Johannesburg
08 May 2009
Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday downplayed ongoing divisions in
the
national unity government he heads, saying that the principals in
power-sharing are making progress on resolving issues still outstanding
three months after the government was formed.
But Tsvangirai
acknowledged in an exclusive interview with correspondent
Benedict Nhlapho
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that setbacks to unity come
at a cost in
confidence.
"We are very satisfied with the performance of this
government," Tsvangirai
said, citing what he called "incremental gains" in
reopening schools and
hospitals, stabilizing prices, restocking store
shelves across the country
through import liberalization. "So Zimbabweans
see this as a positive step
and they are cautiously optimistic."
He
acknowledged political difficulties. "The challenges are many, mostly
economic, but there are also political challenges," Tsvangirai said. "You
know that we still have outstanding issues which we have been discussing and
(on) which we are making slow progress, but sometimes act as a damper to the
confidence of the people because they see this as a reluctance on (the part
of) some of the core signatories to implement the Global Political Agreement
(signed in September 2008) and that affects the confidence" of
Zimbabweans.
Tsvangirai referred only obliquely to the setback dealt to
the unity
government this week with the revocation of bail and re-arrest of
18
activists, mostly members of his formation of the Movement for Democratic
Change, after their indictment on charges they conspired to overthrow the
former government of President Robert Mugabe.
A spokesman for Mr.
Tsvangirai's MDC grouping described the arrests as a
breach of faith that
cast doubt on the longevity of the power-sharing
government. The attorney
general and magistrate in question quickly
backpedaled, releasing most of
the activists and a spokesman for Mr.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party said it was
committed to the unity government.
Touching on the vexed question of
continued takeovers of white commercial
farms, which are undercutting the
government's efforts to convince
international donors that the rule of law
is back in place in Zimbabwe,
Tsvangirai said the takeovers reflect the
strategy of a small group of
individuals who oppose the government - but
won't be allowed to block its
program.
Tsvangirai said he anticipates
a near-term solution to most, if not all the
outstanding issues he has taken
up with President Robert Mugabe in a recent
series of
discussions.
The former opposition leader, whose Movement for Democratic
Change claimed a
majority in parliament within a decade of its formation,
likened the
national unity government to a household in which there will
always be
issues - but which serves the nation.
"This is a marriage.
In marriage there are ups and downs, and its how you
manage your conflicts,
how you manage your disagreements, and I can assure
you that very shortly we
will be making an announcement, because we have
been talking," he said,
referring to his recent talks with Mr. Mugabe on
settling issues troubling
the power-sharing arrangement.
Tsvangirai offered similar reflections in
remarks Friday to an audience of
exiled Zimbabweans at South Africa's
University of the Witwatersrand.
"Don't be too paranoid about your
obsession with Robert Mugabe because he
isn't going to go away, he is
there," Tsvangirai declared. "Robert Mugabe
was part of the problem but he
is also part of the solution, whether you
like it or not."
Three Months
Into Power Sharing, Fault Lines Appear in Zimbabwean Parties
http://www.voanews.com
By
Ntungamili Nkomo & Blessing Zulu
Washington
08 May
2009
The Movement for Democratic Change formation of
Zimbabwean Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara moved Friday to quell a
revolt against Mutambara
and other party chiefs by suspending six officials,
including three sitting
members of parliament.
Parliamentarians
Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu are
accused with three
other party officials of organizing illegal rallies and
denouncing the party
and its leadership.
The Movement for Democratic Change split in 2006
leaving the main formation
headed by MDC founder Morgan Tsvangirai, now
prime minister, and
Bulawayo-centered grouping which eventually recruited
Mutambara as its
president.
The politicians suspended from the
Mutambara formation are also charged with
gross indiscipline and dismantling
party structures around the country.
Their suspension reduces the size of
the party's House caucus from 10 to
seven. The party could expel the rogue
members - but would risk losing the
seats if all political parties do not
respect the Global Political Agreement
of September 2008 setting out the
terms of power-sharing, under which
legislative vacancies would be filled by
the party holding the seat.
Lyson Mlambo, chairman of the party's
disciplinary committee, said that if
the legislators are expelled, the party
will simply choose replacements,
telling reporter Ntungamili Nkomo of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the
six officials went too far in
dissenting.
Lawmaker Bhebhe, among the suspended, dismissed the move as
meaningless.
President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has its own
problems, meanwhile.
Sources said divisions in the former ruling party
could undermine the unity
government.
They said the ZANU_PF faction
led by retired general Solomon Mujuru is
accusing the faction headed by
Emmerson Mnangagwa, said to be very close to
Mr. Mugabe and in line to
succeed him, of trying to sabotage the so-called
all-inclusive
government.
The Mnangagwa faction, backed by hardliners in the top ranks
of the security
services, is said to have flexed its muscle by ordering
Attorney General
Johannes Tomana to re-arrest rights activist Jestina Mukoko
and others this
week, and instigating new farm invasions.
Insiders
said the Mnangagwa faction fears the MDC will be credited with any
successes
of the unity government, reducing ZANU-PF's chances of regaining
political
control.
ZANU-PF insiders predict more strife with a five-year national
congress due
in December. Mnangagwa's faction is said to be aiming to remove
Vice
President Joyce Mujuru.
Reached for comment, Mnangagwa said talk
of factionalism and sabotage was
"nonsense."
Cape Town-based analyst
Glen Mpani told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
ZANU_PF does not seem to know how to mend the
divisions - which are not new
but have been sharpened by the new and more
fluid political
dispensation.
Zimbabwe PM: Get over obsession with Robert Mugabe
Associated Press
By
MICHELLE FAUL - 2 hours ago
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - In an impassioned appeal
Friday, Zimbabwe's
long-suffering Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai called
for people to get
over their obsession with his longtime enemy, President
Robert Mugabe.
And he urged the millions who have abandoned the southern
African nation to
return to help rebuild its ruined
economy.
Tsvangirai, who has been beaten up and tortured by Mugabe's
thugs over the
years, said victims of repression and the perpetrators of the
crimes should
reconcile.
He addressed white and black exiled
Zimbabweans in an audience at South
Africa's University of the
Witwatersrand, the first open forum Tsvangirai
has addressed since forming a
unity government with Mugabe in February, but
the message also was intended
for skeptical Western nations.
"Don't be too paranoid about your
obsession with Robert Mugabe because he
isn't going to go away, he is
there," Tsvangirai said. "Robert Mugabe was
part of the problem but he is
also part of the solution, whether you like it
or not."
He was
responding to a white man who declared, to applause, that Mugabe "has
almost
single-handedly destroyed the country, lost two elections and yet is
still
there ... Why do you have to sleep with the enemy? Is not the simple
solution that Mugabe goes?"
The United States, former colonizer
Britain and others have called for
Zimbabwe's leader of 28 years to retire
and, suspicious of Mugabe's
commitment, have not offered development aid
despite desperate pleas the
unity government could collapse. Neighboring
countries and an African bank
have pledged $650 million in credit lines -
far from the $2 billion the
government says it needs just this
year.
The power-sharing agreement was shaken badly Tuesday when a
magistrate
revoked bail for a human rights advocate and 14 others abducted
illegally,
and sent them back to the prison where they allege they were
tortured. They
are accused of terror charges widely seen as trumped
up.
Their re-detention was seen as a move by Mugabe to put pressure on
Tsvangirai after his party set a Monday deadline for resolving outstanding
issues that have dogged the unity government for months.
The
magistrate ordered them freed the following day, acting on orders from
Mugabe and Tsvangirai, who said "So far as I am concerned the issue is
resolved."
But he made no mention of a journalist and two of his
aides who remain under
police guard in the hospital for treatment from
alleged torture.
Tsvangirai said Friday that his and Mugabe's parties
have resolved nearly
all the outstanding issues and that an announcement
would be made Tuesday.
Zimbabweans, and others, will be looking to see if
Mugabe has made major
concessions or if Tsvangirai has again been forced to
compromise.
The former trade union leader and longtime opposition veteran
admitted
Friday that he had agreed to share power from a position of
weakness as tens
of thousands of Zimbabweans were infected with cholera -
more than 4,000
died - and schools and hospitals shut down as public
services collapsed.
Hundreds of people had been killed and thousands of
homes burnt in
state-sponsored violence, he said, while thousands were
starving as
inflation topped 500 billion percent.
"We could not be
the authors of death," Tsvangirai said, adding that he
keeps at the front of
his mind the greater good of the people of Zimbabwe.
While Tsvangirai
declared his country open for business and eager for
investment, he said the
need to share land and businesses with black
Zimbabweans is not in dispute
but that his government realizes it needs to
negotiate how that is
accomplished.
The often-violent seizures of white-owned commercial farms
was the start of
Zimbabwe's plunge into an economic, political and lawless
morass that today
has most people in the former food exporter dependent on
foreign handouts.
Mugabe said the farms would go to landless peasants but
instead gave them to
generals and cronies who let fields fall
fallow.
Tsvangirai said an independent land commission must be set up to
redistribute land.
When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, after a
guerrilla war to end white
supremacist rule, some 4,500 farmers owned
two-thirds of the richest land.
"Land is an unfinished national agenda
which means that until it is resolved
... it will continue to be an emerging
issue every time there is conflict,"
Tsvangirai said.
"Don't continue
to be stewing in your own hatred," he urged his people.
"Zimbabweans must
never forget that if we do not reconcile and rebuild and
look to the future,
this country will be forever trapped in this history of
tribal violence, of
political violence."
Breast-feeding
court clerk arrested in Zimbabwe
http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk
Saturday, 9th May 2009.
8:47am
By: Kumbirai Mafunda.
HARARE Magistrate
Catherine Chimanda on Friday granted bail to
Constance Gambara (26), a Clerk
to High Court Judge Justice Chinembiri
Bhunu, who is charged with criminal
abuse of duty as a public officer.
Gambara, who is breast-feeding
her nine-month old baby, appeared in
court on Friday following her arrest on
Wednesday on charges of violating
Section 174 (1) (b) of the Criminal Law
Codification and Reform Act.
The State alleges that in April
Gambara went to the High Court's
Registry with Justice Charles Hungwe's
Order granting bail to three
political prisoners namely Kisimusi Dhlamini,
Gandi Mudzingwa and Andrison
Manyere knowing fully the existence of another
High Court Order issued by
Justice Bhunu, which had the effect of suspending
Justice Hungwe's judgment.
As a result of Gambara's actions, the
State alleges, the Registrar of
the High Court processed bail for the
political detainees resulting in their
discharge from Chikurubi Maximum
Prison, where they have been detained since
December 2008.
Magistrate Chimanda ordered Gambara to pay US$100 in bail money, to
report
once a week to a nearest police station and not to interfere with
State
witnesses.
But in what is becoming a normal trend, State Prosecutor
Public Mpofu
immediately invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act
(CPEA) -- a counter-measure, which government prosecutors often
invoke to
effectively defeat the bail order and retain the accused persons
in custody
for a further seven days to allow the State the opportunity to
file an
appeal against the positive bail ruling.
By noting an
intention to appeal, Magistrate Chimanda's order to
release Gambara was
immediately suspended, and she was remanded in custody
to Friday May 12,
2009.
AG's office wants to charge
Muchadehama
From Radio VOP, 8 May
Harare - The Attorney General's office is reportedly
plotting to charge
human rights lawyer Alec Muchadehama for allegedly
facilitating the improper
release of political prisoners. The Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZHLR)
said Thursday that the AG's office was
trying to lay charges on Muchadehama
linked to the release of the prisoners.
"Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
(ZLHR) is dismayed and deeply saddened to
learn about the machinations of
the Attorney General's (AG) Office and some
police officers in plotting to
arrest human rights lawyer Alec Muchadehama
for allegedly facilitating the
improper release of three political
detainees, Andrison Manyere from
Chikurubi Maximum Prison and Gandhi
Mudzingwa, Kisimusi Dhlamini," ZLHR said
in a statement. ZLHR said as part
of the plot, several law officers and
defence lawyers are also being
targeted. "ZLHR is reliably informed that
Justice Bhunu's clerk and the
Assistant Registrar, who signed the Warrant of
Liberation for Manyere,
Mudzingwa and Dhlamini on 17 April 2009, which
caused their discharge from
prison were interrogated for several hours by
Chief Inspector Henry Dowa,"
said ZHLR.
Dowa was in 2003 withdrawn from the United Nations
peacekeeping mission in
Kosovo owing to his past involvement in human rights
abuses and torture in
Harare. "ZLHR is also aware that certain law officers
in the AG's Office are
being forced to implicate defence lawyers for
improperly aiding the
discharge of the three political prisoners from
Chikurubi Maximum Prison,"
said ZLHR. Dhlamini, Manyere and Mudzingwa have
been held in detention since
November 2008. High Court Judge, Justice
Charles Hungwe, granted them bail
on Thursday 9 April 2009. However, the
order was suspended for 7 days
following the invocation of Section 121 of
the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Act (CPEA) by the AG's office,
preventing the three from regaining
their freedom. The State however failed
to comply with the mandatory
provisions of Section 121 of the CPEA, as they
did not file their appeal
within the prescribed time limits. The suspension
of the Order granting bail
to the three political detainees therefore fell
away and the Order of the
High Court became active by operation of the law.
The three political
prisoners were released on bail in terms of the Order
granted on 09 April
2009 by Justice Hungwe. They were later re-arrested. A
bail application for
the three will be heard Friday.
Mbeki to thank for Zimbabwe's political
gains, says Tsvangirai
From Business Day (SA), 9 May
Wilson Johwa
Zimbabwean Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday credited former
president Thabo Mbeki
for the formation of the country's unity government,
whose work he described
as irreversible. Tsvangirai said although he had had
"personal fights" with
Mbeki, he still respected him. Zimbabwe's global
political agreement, which
formed the basis for a unity government, was due
to Mbeki's efforts, he
said. "All parties owe him a debt for those efforts."
In a candid talk to a
mainly business audience in Johannesburg, Tsvangirai
took stock of his time
in the inclusive government, now almost 100 days old.
"I'm pleased to report
that we've made progress in a range of areas," he
said. Inflation had fallen
from a record 500-billion percent to -3% at the
end of March, he said.
Income values were being restored, while previously
empty supermarket
shelves are now a thing of the past. Tsvangirai
acknowledged the persistence
of market distortions, however. He also said
the restoration of the rule of
law had been "frustratingly slow". He blamed
this on "residual resistance"
by a faction of the ruling Zanu PF accustomed
to a culture of "entitlement
and impunity". Tsvangirai said the inclusive
government "is here to stay"
and those who could not live with it were
rendering themselves irrelevant.
He found it frustrating as the country
could do much more a lot faster if
the spirit was that of partnership rather
than opposition.
Yet the
small improvements made in people's lives proved the Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) was correct in joining the unity government. "I'm
confident
that we will pull this process through until the people of
Zimbabwe can
choose their government freely," said Tsvangirai. The MDC
president
described the first time he went to dinner with President Robert
Mugabe as
the most difficult one-and-a-half hours of his life. "I thought of
running
away." However, he had since mustered the courage to face up to what
was
required. "Previously I could not countenance a situation where I could
say
'President Mugabe' . but now we can sit down and laugh ... it requires
patience." Although the country needed huge injections of international aid,
this would largely depend on what Zimbabweans themselves do, particularly
with regard the rule of law. There were still massive challenges, especially
in the health and education sectors, he said. Despite being aware of the
odds, Tsvangirai said he was not discouraged. "The will of the people is
stronger than the resistance of the few," he said.
While the
first three months were about consolidating the government, the
next step
was about setting tangible targets for government departments. He
said
economic stabilisation and democracy were mutually dependent.
Tsvangirai,
who has executive authority over the security agencies, said he
was not
worried about their initial reluctance to accept him. "I'm not going
to
waste my time worrying about who salutes me when people have no food and
the
country is collapsing," he said. Various commissions were on the cards
to
implement the changes that were needed. For instance, next week the
parliament was due to set up a media commission. Another initiative that had
got off the ground was the creation of a mechanism to engage Zimbabweans on
what process they wanted to follow in bringing about national healing.
Tsvangirai said failure to heal would trap Zimbabweans in a history of
hatred and acrimony. But reconciliation could not be achieved without truth
and justice, he said.
Chelsy Davy's father receives major Dubai investment in Zimbabwe game
reserve stake
A game reserve in Zimbabwe part-owned by the father of Chelsy Davy, Prince
Harry's former girlfriend, has a new majority investor, in a deal that
demonstrates his closeness to Robert Mugabe's regime.
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare and Richard Spencer in Dubai
Last Updated:
12:28AM BST 09 May 2009
Charles Davy, along with the other owners of the Bubye Conservancy in
Matabeleland South province, has accepted an investment in the 720,000-acre
property by a consortium led by Dubai World, the sovereign investment company of
the Arab emirate.
No other white landowner in Zimbabwe is known to have managed to raise such
investment for years.
Among locals in the area, about 40 miles north of the South African border,
it is said that around £10 million was paid for the stake in Bubye, which teems
with game and luxury lodges and remains a favourite haunt of American big game
hunters, who can shoot buffalo, leopard, lion, elephant, giraffe and rhino.
Mr Davy, who is in his sixties, has remained on the conservancy to manage its
camps. He is listed as a director of at least one safari firm operating there,
Mazunga Safaris, which bills the land as "a hunter's paradise".
He is one of only a few hundred white landowners who remain in Zimbabwe.
Despite the Movement for Democratic Change's entry into government most are
still fighting land invasions and fast-track prosecutions for trespass.
Virtually all white-owned commercial land has been listed in the state press
since 2000 as to be acquired by the government and in 2006 a constitutional
amendment nationalised land designated for acquisition, depriving the farmers of
legal title to their properties.
In the meantime thousands had already been dispossessed, usually violently,
in a campaign that began the downward spiral of the economy under Mr Mugabe.
Mr Davy, though, has a long-standing business relationship and friendship
with one of Mr Mugabe's cabinet ministers, Webster Shamu, who is now information
minister in the inclusive government.
The Bubye deal, agreed last year when Mr Mugabe's party was in sole charge
but only publicly confirmed this week, could not have gone ahead without at
least tacit approval from the authorities.
Trevor Gifford, president of the Commercial Farmers' Union, sought to
contrast Mr Davy's position with that of ordinary white farmers.
"It is extraordinary that white farmers, even those on land covered by
bilateral trade protection agreements are not safe from seizure, let alone white
Zimbabwean farmers," he said. "Many farmers have operated as companies; none of
their companies have been safe, they couldn't sell shares because they were
targeted and have been evicted and chased.
"And yet here we see foreigners walk in and buy land and shares. But some
whites are protected by Zanu-PF."
Mr Davy, who is not on either the European Union or American lists of Mugabe
cronies subject to sanctions, did not respond to questions about how the sale
was able to go through. The Daily Telegraph put questions to Mr Davy in January
this year and again this week, after it was announced by Dubai World.
Last November he confirmed that he was one of "many shareholders" in the
property. "The Bubye Conservancy was never owned by me, I am one of many
shareholders. I have not sold and remain a shareholder," he said.
It was not clear whether Dubai World had bought its stake from existing
shareholders, or new shares had been issued. The sale was brokered by a Russian
financial firm, Renaissance Capital, which also took a stake in Bubye.
A Dubai World company official confirmed that it had bought into Bubye, and
its chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said: "Africa is a very interesting place.
"It is a place where you can see growth. In Africa, you will see double-digit
growth.
"Africa is virgin, Africa has so much charm, nature."
Dubai World is one of the world's most active sovereign investment companies,
running businesses from finance to real estate, and even the P&O shipping
company.
Its principal shareholder is the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
al-Maktoum, who is best known in the West as one of the world's leading
racehorse owners.
Dutch
minister urges Zimbabwe to reform
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/
Published: Saturday 09 May 2009 20:01
UTC
Last updated: Saturday 09 May 2009 20:01 UTC
Dutch Development
Minister Bert Koenders has told Zimbabwean Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai
that the Netherlands will only give his country funds if
it releases its
political prisoners and introduces reforms. On Tuesday Prime
Minister
Tsvangirai will name the conditions which will enable Zimbabwe to
cooperate
with Europe. Mr Koenders will then discuss the possibility of
European aid
for Zimbabwe with other European ministers in the near future.
Zimbabwe
has requested billions of euros in aid from Western countries to
get the
country back on its feet. There is a huge economic crisis in
Zimbabwe and
the country is practically bankrupt. Minister Koenders and
Prime Minister
Tsvangirai met during the inauguration of Jacob Zuma as
president of South
Africa.
Mr Koenders said President Zuma has to address South Africa's
huge
unemployment and poverty. He says the Netherlands will watch
developments in
South Africa critically especially with regard to press
freedom and
anti-corruption.
Govt yet to calm investor fears
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by Andrew Moyo Saturday 09
May 2009
HARARE - The operating environment in Zimbabwe
remains uncertain despite
"some positive policy changes" by a three
months-old power-sharing
government, according to the country's largest
platinum producer, Zimplats.
Urging shareholders to exercise caution in
share dealings in Zimbabwe, the
platinum miner said a drive by the
power-sharing government of President
Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara to address the
country's myriad problems was being hampered
by a lack of
funds.
"Shareholders are advised to exercise extreme caution in their
share
dealings due to the very uncertain conditions prevailing in Zimbabwe,"
the
firm said in a report for the quarter ending March 31 2009.
"A
coalition government involving all three parties with representation in
the
Zimbabwe Parliament took office in February 2009. In the short period of
its
existence, the new government has made some positive policy
changes.
"However, government operations and therefore its ability to
address
Zimbabwe's myriad problems are currently hampered by a lack of
funds," the
company said.
Zimplats said in addition to problems
related to the difficult and uncertain
operating environment, operations for
the company could also affected
negatively "should the current level of
metal prices be sustained".
On a positive note, Zimplats, which is
majority-owned by neighbouring South
Africa's Implats, said it a US$340
million expansion programme at its Ngezi
operation south west of Harare was
on course while it had secured an
additional 300 rand million (about US$35
million) from a South African bank
to see the project through.
The
report by Zimplats appears cautious on prospects of doing business in
Zimbabwe but the country has generally seen a surge in interest from
potential investors following formation of the unity government last
February.
Once a model African economy, Zimbabwe is in the grip of an
unprecedented
economic and humanitarian crisis marked by acute shortages of
hard cash,
deepening poverty and record unemployment.
With formation
of the unity government hope has returned that Zimbabwe could
finally end
years of decline to regain its former status as a regional
breadbasket.
But failure by the government to attract direct
financial support from
Western donor countries coupled with a determined
push by hardliners in
Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party to collapse the
administration have intensified
doubts about its durability. - ZimOnline
Looking forward to ‘Operation Allow the Police to be Professional
Again’
As much as it galls me, one has to be sympathetic to the police in this
country.
I sometimes give police men and women lifts if I feel like getting their take
on the situation in Zim. A few months ago I gave a particularly thin constable a
ride into town, for of course they cannot afford transport, and I asked him if
he was getting food from the police. Obviously it was no. I then asked about his
pay, again disgruntlement. Then I had to ask if the reason he stayed in police
was if he enjoyed the power, again no. But, when I asked if he had ever beaten
anyone, he shamefully nodded his head.
Although it made my bile rise, I could see he was thoroughly remorseful. When
I read the story on Biggie Chitoro yesterday begging for forgiveness I thought of
this skinny constable and wondered if he sleeps well at night. These people have
been used and even the despicable Chitoro said,
“Mugabe made us believe the British and Americans wanted to invade Zimbabwe
through the MDC and we went on rampage to destroy the MDC. We killed and
tortured our own people.”
This week I again gave a lift to a young police woman and inevitably the
conversation turned to the economic and political situation. This 22 year old is
supporting her mother, grandmother and two siblings on US$100 a month. I don’t
know how she does it. She could not tell me why she stays in the police, but she
did say things are getting better. I decided to ask if she had ever beaten
anyone, thankfully she hadn’t. I then inquired if she would salute the Prime
Minister if the occasion arose, her answer was an emphatic yes, adding that in
the police they are trained not to be political!
One sees how Commissioner Chihuri has masterfully deployed the police, never
keeping them in their own communities. So they have never fallen into the trap
of sympathising with the people in their districts. Instead the police have
undergone intensive training to be dehumanised so as to be able to dissociate
when carrying out the directives given to them from their superiors, the likes
of Chinamasa, Chihuri and Zimondi.
The low ranking police have often found themselves caught in a vice – follow
your orders and you keep your precious job. Even if the pay is poor, you can fall back on
bribery and corruption. After all it is the Zanu way.
Take all the “Operations” that have plagued our country. There has been a
litany of them over the last 9 years, in fact so many that I cannot remember
them all. But a few really stick out.
Operation Murambatsvina is one that we will never
forget, weeks of heart breaking, vindictive, malicious, wanton destruction. Only
to be followed by Operation Garikai, rebuilding houses. Well that’s a
joke, we know how many houses they did not build for we see the homeless on our
streets every day and the overcrowding is anathema.
Operation
Chikorokoza Chapera, get rid of gold panners. A time when thousands of
small scale panners and miners were either robbed or detained for trying to
desperately eke out a living from the ground; some even murdered in the most
horrific of circumstances.
Operation
Satellite Dish last year, when the police were going door to door to
order people to take down their dishes. This coincided with the 2008 farcical
elections, when JOC were desperate to block all information coming in or going
out.
Operation Where Did You Get Your Rand was one that found the police
on bicycles particularly active over, racing about to sneak up on unsuspecting
victims. I was told by a friend how he was seized by one of the uniformed
cyclists on walking out of a shop that sells cell-phone top-up cards. This was
before the Randisation of the economy, yet the cell-phone operators were only
selling air-time in forex. His cards were confiscated as he could not prove how
he got his forex. Many rural folk were also caught by the police for illegally
carrying rands or US$.
But the one that has most amazed me is Operation Where Did You Get Your
Cow – oh really, please, come on. Apparently some villagers have actually
had their beasts taken away from them. It boggles the mind, but I suppose the
police also have to eat!
Soon it’s going to be Operation I Want Your Car or Operation Why
Are You Living In That House Instead of Me? The possibilities are
endless.
As far as I am concerned there is only one final operation needed in this
country and it is Operation Surgically Remove JOC so that we can all
breathe a collective sigh, for then we can start Operation Allow the Police
to be Professional Again.
The sooner it is done, the sooner we can start to heal the cancer in our
land.
This entry was posted by Still
Here on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Zimbabwe needs total media revolution
http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com
9th
May 2009 14:53 GMT
By Chenjerai
Chitsaru
NOT surprisingly, Edwina Spicer's documentary, Dancing Out
of Tune, has
never been screened on state television, although it is a vital
vehicle for
anyone with a desire to understand the history of the media in
Zimbabwe.
ZTV may have screened it in the last eleven months - when some
of us in many
high-density suburbs have had no electricity, hence no
TV.
In Kariba recently, there was a gathering of journalists and others
with a
responsibility for the media to map out the future of freedom of
expression
in view of the "new dispensation".
I put the last in quotes
because, in many vital respects, what has happened
in the months since last
September has not signified any real change in
terms of the media. Four
newspapers banned nearly six years ago under AIPPA
remain banned today, the
most significant of them The Daily News and its
Sunday sister, The Daily
News On Sunday.
Moreover, the ham-fisted attitude of the government
towards the independent
media remains as Cold War-like as ever - the
slightest criticism of the
government is treated as if it were an act of
treason.
Journalists who dare perform their tasks with the requisite
sense of
integrity and balance are routinely black-balled, black-listed or
hauled off
to the courts or to jail - or six feet under this good
earth.
Even within the independent media fraternity, journalists who dare
to step
out of line, as far as maintaining cordial relations with the
government are
concerned, are victimized, almost routinely
too.
Edwina Spicer's documentary concerned itself mostly with the
resurgence of
an independent media determined to tell the other side of the
story - not
just the government's. A remark by one of those interviewed was
a poignant
reminder of that old adage that the more things change, the more
they remain
the same.
Before independence, most of the media was
owned either by the government or
by a private media hardly distinguishable
from the government, in terms of
what it stood for.
This would serve Zanu
PF's purposes any time: the papers banned under AIPPA
were all considered so
unalterably anti-government, they just had to be
silenced, as far as Zanu PF
was concerned. This suggested, logically, that
those not touched by the long
arm of censorship were on the government's
side.
The Financial Gazette
was singled out.
Gideon Gono, the governor of the central bank, is a
major shareholder. If
any proposals for a media revolution don't include the
repeal of AIPPA, then
many advocates of a media transformation will be
understandably
disappointed, if not outraged. South Africa remains the
finest exemplar of
an African country not frightened of a completely free
media the way a
vampire of scared of daylight.
The ANC, even under Thabo
Mbeki, resisted strenuously any efforts by its
Communist Party and COSATU
allies to tamper with the freedom of expression
enshrined in the
post-apartheid constitution.
Under Jacob Zuma, things may turn out to be
different, but so far, he has
not indicated freedom of expression as one of
the early targets of his
ubiquitous machine gun.
For Zimbabwe, all four
newspapers banned under AIPPA must be allowed to
return to the streets. If
it has to entail a vote in Parliament, so be it.
There is no way in which
Zimbabwe can claim to have achieved even a
semblance of change with the
undemocratic, anti-people AIPPA still on the
Statute books. To many cynics,
of course, that is not likely to happen as
long as Zanu PF and its present
leader, Robert Mugabe, have the remotest
chance of determining anything that
happens in this country for the
foreseeable future.
One obvious
reason is that there are newspapers who will - routinely, it
must be
emphasized - want to catalogue the series of events, political and
otherwise, which resulted in the advent of real political change.
In
doing so, they will want to be faithful to the truth - to go beyond just
the
rhetoric of the liberation struggle and the heroism of those people who
genuinely contributed to independence.
In other words, they will wish
to "tell it like it is" - which may choke
some of the people who insist
their real role ought to be camouflaged in
flowery language - and not the
truth.
In many countries which underwent a transformation such as we are
confronting - Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Malawi and Zambia - there were few
residues of the old regime.
Not many of the countries went through the
transition without hitches or
hiccups. Yet the people were determined, in
most cases, not to tolerate the
excesses of the previous regimes.
In
Zimbabwe, we cannot contemplate such a complete transformation without
taking account of the determination of Zanu PF to retain a grip - however
tenuous - on power.
Most of the top leaders of the party realize they
will have a lot to answer
for. For instance, the refusal of the uniformed
chiefs to salute the Prime
Minister is utterly puerile.
If it is a
gesture founded from a last-ditch attempt to display contempt for
the change
all Zimbabweans are eager to realize, then it has to be condemned
utterly.
If it has any rationale, then let us hear it rationalized -
or the Minister
of Defence, Emmerson Mnangangwa must tell Parliament why the
nation has to
be subjected to this massive insult to their choice of
leaders.
If it is out of the personal pique of the individuals concerned,
then it is
absolutely urgent for Zanu PF itself to spell out to the men why
such a
gesture might endanger the future of the inclusive
government.
Zanu PF has been doing more than dragging its feet in
sticking to the letter
and spirit of the GNU agreement. In some respects,
the party has moved two
steps backwards for every one step forward the MDC
has taken.
Some people believe the overall plan is to so frustrate the
opposition that
it will throw up its arms in despair and call off the whole
thing.
Where would that leave Zimbabwe? Perhaps that is what Zanu PF is
gunning
for - a return to the chaos, squalor and violence of the days before
last
September, when there were killings, accompanied by an economic
meltdown
which was halted only after the MDC and the ruling party agreed to
form the
inclusive government.
Today, most of the world has responded
positively to the appeals for help.
Tendai Biti's latest announcement of new
lines of credit available to the
country can surely not be viewed by Zanu PF
as something to be sniffed at,
or to be dismissed as a minor
triumph.
Things can be said to be moving forward, but we must all recognize
that the
stakes are so high for Zanu PF, the party may prefer failure to
success - if
it can postpone its own Day of Judgment.
The role of the
Sadc leaders, who must take credit for bringing things as
far as they have
gone must continue, with the emphasis to Zanu PF that this
process is more
important than the mere survival of one party.
Zanu PF may want to
reflect on what has happened to our independence since
1980. For a start, 20
000 people were killed hardly a year after 18 April.
By the mid-1990s, the
economy was teetering on the brink of collapse and by
the beginning of the
millennium, things had fallen apart completely.
It is excusable, to some
extent, for Zanu PF to blame everyone else except
the party, for all this
destruction. It is excusable only because people of
goodwill in Zimbabwe can
appreciate that a Mea Culpa from Mugabe's lips
would be completely out of
character: all of us now know the 85-year-old man
is beyond seeking
redemption for his faults.
In the interests of saving Zimbabwe from total
collapse, the people have
mostly decided that to forgiver is indeed divine.
The least they can expect
from Zanu PF is a reciprocal gesture of
conciliation. Any other response
could doom this country to eternal
squalor.
Why
GNUs always collapse in Africa
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16400
May 9, 2009
By George B.N.
Ayittey
FED up with gratuitous mayhem and wanton destruction after years
of
senseless civil war, the international community may apply maximum
pressure
combatants to reach a cease-fire or peace accord.
Such peace
accords have a dismal record in Africa.
They are shredded like confetti
even before the ink on them is dry. However,
when they hold successfully for
some time, the combatants - government and
rebel/opposition forces - are
urged to come together and form a "government
of national unity" (GNU). The
notion of former enemies sitting down together
to govern a country sounds
infinitely appealing but it is fraught with grave
dangers, which explains
why the experience with power-sharing in Africa in
recent times has been
anything but salutary.
The first major hurdle to clear is how former
mortal enemies, who in the
past plotted to kill each other, can bury their
intense hatred and work
amicably together. This requires rekindling a heavy
dose of trust among
these former enemies. Second, a GNU is essentially a
formula for joint
state-sanctioned plunder of the country. GNU is often
proposed to "bring
rebels and opposition leaders into government."
A
number of ministerial or government positions are reserved for rebel
leaders.
At the 1999 Lome Peace Accord to end the civil war in Sierra
Leone, for
example, rebel leader Foday Sankoh got Minister of Lands and
Mines. At the
peace accord struck in January 2003 in France to resolve the
crisis in Ivory
Coast envisioned a power-sharing deal between the government
of President
Laurent Gbagbo, which controlled the southern half of this
country, and the
rebel groups, who controlled the north and much of the
west. But the formula
seldom works.
Bitter squabbles erupt over the
distribution of government posts as nobody
is satisfied with the eventual
distribution. Though a peace accord is an
exercise in "give and take," each
side feels it is "stronger" and should,
therefore, be awarded more
ministerial positions. In the case of the Ivory
Coast, a peace accord was
signed in Ghana in January 2003, to establish a
government of national
unity. It would include members of the ruling party
of President Laurent
Gbagbo, the main rebel group (the Côte d'Ivoire
Patriotic Movement) and
other political parties and rebel forces.
"There have been disagreements
over the distribution of cabinet posts and
the January peace accord was
greeted by a week of anti-French and anti-rebel
demonstrations in parts of
the country " (Africa Recovery, Vol. 17, No. 1,
May 2003;
p.3).
Government supporters bitterly opposed the allocation of two key
ministerial
positions (interior and defense) to the rebel groups. At the
March 7, 2003
peace conference in Ghana, the rebel groups said they will
drop their claims
to the two pivotal cabinet positions in exchange for
"other concessions from
Mr. Gbagbo's government, including an assurance that
it would guarantee the
safety of their leaders and cede power to the man
both sides have agreed
would lead the unity government as prime minister, a
veteran politician
named Seydou Diarra" (The New York Times, March 8, 2003;
p.A3).
But Mr. Gbagbo was reluctant to spell out the powers he would hand
over to
Mr. Diarra until France exerted massive pressure. On September 23,
the
rebels, calling themselves the New Forces, pulled out of the "national
reconciliation government" set up in March, claiming they had been denied
real power. Indeed, out of the 42 ministries, only 11, all run by President
Laurent Gbagbo, had budgets (The Economist, October 4, 2003;
p.46).
Fighting resumed on September 25, threatening to re-ignite the
civil war.
In most other cases, resentment inevitably builds over
allocation of posts
and the composition of the government of national unity
or reconciliation.
Squabbling over posts may lead to the resumption of
hostilities and conflict
again - Angola in 1992, Congo in 1999, Sierra Leone
in 2000, and Ivory Coast
in 2004.
As The New York Times (March 9,
2003) reported, "The ink had not yet dried
on another promise for peace in
Ivory Coast as fighting broke out in its
unruly west overnight, with
civilians fleeing their ransacked villages and
men firing at French soldiers
who were there to enforce a cease-fire"
(p.A10). The French had to send in
more troops to enforce the cease-fire.
Third, even a final agreement is
reached on the distribution of posts,
African despots never honor
power-sharing agreements to which they append
their signatures. Their
promises and signatures are just for show as they
lack sincerity or
commitment. They may agree to the creation of a post of
prime minister but
deprive it of power or a budget to enable him to
function. Or they may try
to kill the prime minister. Such was the case with
Ivory Coast's Prime
Minister Guillaume Soro. On June 30, 2007, three rockets
hit his plane as it
was landing at Bouake, killing four people. Mr. Soro
escaped death but John
Garang, the prime minister in Sudan's GNU, was not
lucky.
For these
reasons, a GNU seldom lasts. Angola's GNU did not last for more
than six
months in 1992. In South Africa, former president de Klerk pulled
out of the
GNU after barely one year when apartheid was dismantled in 1994.
Congo's
GNU in 2003 created four vice-presidents but did not bring peace to
eastern
Congo, especially the Bunia region. Burundi's civil war flared up in
August
2003 again, despite the establishment of a GNU, brokered by former
president
Nelson Mandela and Ivory Coast's GNU established in January 2003
collapsed
in less than a year.
Sudan's GNU, brokered in Kenya in 2005 barely lasted
a year. After battling
the tyrannical regime of President Omar el Bashir of
Sudan, the late Dr.
John Garang of the Sudanese People Liberation Army
(SPLA), decided to join a
GNU. The agreement was supposed to foster peace by
melding SPLM with the
ruling party, the National Congress Party, in a
national unity government
that would rule Sudan until multiparty elections
in 2009. But within nine
months, he had perished in a mysterious helicopter
crash. Though the
mystery was never solved, his widow blamed the Beshir
regime. Six months
later, the rebel movement - now called Sudan People's
Liberation Movement
(SPLM) abruptly pulled out of the national unity
government on Oct 12, 2007.
The former rebels said "the move was intended
to press Sudan's ruling party
to live up to the multifaceted agreement,
which has been hobbled by disputes
over borders, troop movements and sharing
Sudan's oil profits" (The New York
Times, Oct 12, 2007;
p.A8).
Following Kenya's violent December 2007 elections in which 1 300
people
perished, a peace deal was reached and GNU created in February 2008.
But
that deal has been floundering. The tribunal to try those suspected of
organizing the violence is yet to be created. Ominously, Prime Minister
Raila Odinga has been complaining bitterly that he has been sidelined and
excluded from major decision-making. He said President Kibaki has the habit
of "embarrassing" him publicly by failing to consult him on important
decisions.
They made an effort to reconcile in Kilaguni in April,
2009 but the fence
mending never got off the ground because the parties
couldn't even agree on
an agenda. The bloated government of 44 ministries
and 53 assistant
ministers has achieved little in a year. On April 6, 2009,
Justice Minister,
Martha Karua, one of Kibaki's staunchest supporters,
resigned, claiming that
she could not institute reforms.
Against this
backdrop, Zimbabwe's GNU doesn't stand a chance. First, Mugabe's
Zanu-PF
shows no interest in living to the letter of the Global Political
Agreement
(GPA) reached on Sept 15, 2008. There has already been predictable
squabbling over the distribution of government positions. Article 20 of the
GPA stipulated 31 ministers and 15 deputy ministers, with 15 coming from
Zanu-PF, 13 MDC-T and 3 MDC-M for a total of 46. The most asinine GPA
proposition was the joint control of the Home Affairs ministry by Zanu-PF
and MDC-T.
However, Mugabe's Zanu-PF set out to grab all the key and
important
ministries. It was originally allocated 15 but seized 22 anyway.
A furor
erupted and 15 additional ministries were created, bringing the
total to 61.
Still, Mugabe is still not satisfied and transferred major
portfolio powers
from Communications Minister Nelson Chamisa of MDC-T to
Transport Minister
Nicholas Goche of Mugabe's own Zanu-PF
party.
Confusion still reigns over who got what and the GPA is not being
adhered
to. As soon as Roy Bennett, the deputy Agriculture Minister,
returned from
exile to take up his post, he was promptly arrested and
charged with
treason, although he has subsequently been released but has not
been sworn
in.
Farm invasions are still continuing, as well as
violence, abductions and
murders. And it is the police themselves and land
officers and senators who
are going around illegally invading farms, looting
and beating up farm
workers and farmers.
Second, a Joint Monitoring
Implementation Committee or JOMIC was set up with
the mandate to monitor the
implementation of the Global Political Agreement
and ensure that that
Agreement is implemented to the fullest extent possible
in letter and
spirit. But JOMIC started off without any resources nor
funding from the
state. It does not even have an office or secretarial
staff. Even then,
JOMIC has no power of enforcement; only an authority of
persuasion.
Third, it is unlikely the military generals, who vowed
they will never
accept an MDC electoral victory, would support the unity
government. Indeed,
hardliners in Zanu-PF, Joint Operations Command (JOC),
the military and air
force have formed a clandestine group, the Social
Revolutionary Council
(SRC), which operates from the president's office with
the aim of sabotaging
the GPA.
Its members include Defense Minister
Emmerson Mnangagwa, State Security
Minister Didymus Mutasa, Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and
the commanders of the army and air force.
The Social Revolutionary Council
is said to be behind the recent wave of
invasions of white-owned commercial
farms and the continued detention and
harassment of officials and activists
of MDC-T. Making matters even worse,
MDC-M has itself split.
The fundamental flaw in Zimbabwe's Global
Political Agreement is the fact
that it was brokered by government and
opposition forces. Civil society was
excluded, which is
"un-African."
(George B.N. Ayittey, Ph.D., Free Africa Foundation,
Washington, DC)