The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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CBS New York

Millions of Zimbabwe's poor face midwinter eviction from squatter shacks in
Harare
Tuesday May 24, 2005
By MICHAEL HARTNACK
Associated Press Writer
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) The government threatened Tuesday to demolish squatter
shacks in what it called an urban beautification campaign after the arrests
of about 10,000 street traders in the capital, a stronghold of the
opposition.

The opposition accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of trying to provoke
confrontations so it can declare a state of emergency before the tattered
state of the economy leads to riots.

``They are now going for broke,'' said Paul Themba-Nyathi, spokesman for the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change. ``It is obvious these are all
punitive measures aimed at urban people who voted against ZANU-PF.''

A five-day blitz against street vendors and flea markets already has sparked
clashes between the traders and police, and unrest has been reported
elsewhere. Police Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said Monday that
9,653 people have been arrested.

On Tuesday, the government set a June 20 deadline for demolishing
unauthorized buildings in Harare unless the residents appeal and receive a
grace period. The demolitions could evict more than a million urban poor in
the middle of the Zimbabwe winter.

``The attitude of the members of the public as well as some city officials
has led to the point whereby Harare has lost its glow. We are determined to
get it back,'' government-appointed Mayor Sekesai Makwavara said in a
statement.

She said all ``illegal structures'' would be demolished during the
operation, which was dubbed ``Operation Marambatsvina'' or ``drive out
rubbish.''

The crackdown on street traders who include teachers and other professionals
unable to make a living at their old jobs is aimed at crushing the black
market for scarce staple goods like maize meal, sugar and gasoline. The
government claims the traders are not licensed and blames them for
sabotaging the economy.

Lovemore Madhuku, a university teacher who leads the National Constitutional
Assembly, an umbrella group of organizations seeking radical reform, warned
the demolitions might ignite public anger on a scale unseen since the
African nation gained independence from Britain in 1980.

``I think now people are really going to react,'' he said.

The cleanup ultimatum revived memories of the 1985 elections when ZANU-PF
mobs, reacting to comments by longtime leader Robert Mugabe, forced
thousands of families suspected of supporting the opposition from their
township homes until they could produce ruling party cards. An unknown
number of people were killed while police refused to intervene.

Township resident Petros Nyoni said the mood in Harare's crowded suburbs was
tense Tuesday, with workers already angry at a police crackdown on the
commuter minibuses that are the mainstay of the transport system.

Hundreds of the taxis have been grounded by lack of fuel at filling stations
while many more have been impounded at roadblocks for allegedly being unfit
to drive.

``There is a very big crisis. People are so desperate they are jumping
through (minibus) windows or onto the roof carriers,'' he said.

After seven years of unprecedented economic decline, 80 percent of the work
force is unemployed and 4 million of Zimbabwe's 16 million people have
emigrated. Agriculture, once the mainstay, has been hard hit by Mugabe's
seizure of 5,000 white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks.

The government last week announced a 45 percent devaluation of the
Zimbabwean currency against the dollar, a ban on luxury imports and heavy
subsidies for agriculture and exporters.

Michael Davies, chairman of the Combined Harare Residents Association, said
more than half of the capital's population of 2 million to 3 million people
live in housing marked for demolition. He said in some cases rents from the
buildings were the only means of survival for elderly owners.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Reuters

Zimbabwe seen struggling to import food
Tue May 24, 2005 05:50 PM BST

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will struggle to import food to bolster
inadequate supplies as other requirements like fuel and electricity put a
strain on limited foreign currency resources, a U.S.-based monitoring unit
said on Tuesday.
Aid agencies say around 4 million people, or a third of the population, will
need food aid this year after a poor harvest blamed on drought and
disruptions to agriculture linked to President Robert Mugabe's controversial
land reforms.

In a report on the southern African country, the Famine Early Warning
Systems Network (FEWSNET) said the majority of Zimbabwe's farming households
would harvest nothing from the last crop season and would need to source
their requirements of the staple maize grain from the market.

"The food security problem facing Zimbabwe is of such a magnitude that
Zimbabwe will need to import substantial amounts of cereals during the April
2005-March 2006 consumption year to ensure sufficient food is available for
all," it said.

Analysts say the government requires more than $250 million (136.7 million
pounds) to import about 1.2 million tonnes of maize at a time when it faces
shortages of foreign exchange.

The country also needs to import fuel, electricity and medicines, which have
been in erratic supply over the past five years.

"Given the current shortages, importing adequate food for the nation in the
current consumption year is going to be an enormous challenge for Zimbabwe,"
FEWSNET said.

Food security continued to worsen in urban areas, with prices for a number
of basic commodities surging during April and draining the meagre disposable
income of poor households.

The cost of the monthly shopping basket for a low income urban household of
six, as monitored by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe had risen to
Z$2,123,121 in March from the previous month's Z$1,945,080.

Last year Mugabe said Zimbabwe had sufficient food to feed the country but
later acknowledged during campaigns for March 31 parliamentary elections
that the country faced shortages. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party won the disputed
election.

Mugabe has repeatedly denied critics' charges that his redistribution of
white-owned farms among landless blacks has destroyed commercial
agriculture.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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BBC

      Zimbabwe police target minibuses
      Zimbabwe police have been targeting minibus taxi drivers as they
continue a crackdown on the large informal sector.
      Eyewitnesses described about 100 minibuses being driven in convoy
under police escort in the capital, Harare.

      Police are manning roadblocks and searching cars in the city. Almost
10,000 people have been arrested since the police action began last week.

      Minibuses were also stopped in Bulawayo, and street traders' stalls
have been destroyed in both cities.

      Black market

      Some stallholders were fined for operating without licences or
possessing what the police said were scarce staple items, like maizemeal and
sugar intended for resale. The black market has thrived in Zimbabwe amid 80%
unemployment.

      In Bulawayo, most foreign businessmen had closed their premises by
early Tuesday afternoon, amid suspicion that they were being targeted on
account of alleged foreign currency dealing.

      The action against the minibus drivers was interpreted as a move to
keep commuters out of the cities, following protests in Harare at the
weekend. The drivers are also suspected of dealing in petrol on the black
market.

      "Police will leave no stone unturned in their endeavour to flush out
economic saboteurs," Police Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka told the
state media.

      Shortages

      The country faces shortages of many basics like petrol, maize and
toothpaste, and the head of the UN's emergency relief agency is visiting
this week to discuss importing food aid.

      The police chief said informal business operators had been arrested
and fined for operating without licences or possessing scarce staple items
such as maize meal, sugar and petrol intended for resale on the black
market.

      But many of the flea market traders selling second-hand goods have
been licensed.

      Police have destroyed 34 flea markets and netted some Z$900m
($100,000) in fines and seized some Z$2.2bn of goods.

      Weekend clash

      Harare residents are said to be furious at the police operation
codenamed "restore order".

      Angry demonstrators clashed with police at the weekend in what AP news
agency described as the most serious unrest seen since the ruling party won
March parliamentary elections.

      In recent days only a few government buses have been running, leaving
thousands of commuters stranded.

      Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change, said President Robert Mugabe was seeking an excuse to impose a State
of Emergency and had ordered the crackdown to stop second-hand dealers
undercutting cheap imports from China.

      The Zimbabwean dollar was devalued by 45% last week.

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IOL

Zimbabwe to control fees in private schools
          May 24 2005 at 11:29AM

      Harare - The Zimbabwean government has published a bill that would
allow the government to set fees for private schools, a state-run newspaper
reported on Tuesday.

      The Education Amendment Bill is expected to be debated when parliament
resumes next month reports said.

      Last year 46 of the country's private schools were forced to close
temporarily by the government for hiking school fees without permission, but
this year a court ruled that the schools were allowed to hike their fares
without consulting the government.

      However, the new bill would give the Ministry of Education the
authority to fix school fees "after considering an application from the
school concerned". Schools which defied the fee stipulations would be fined.

      Private schools have defended charging high fees, saying they are the
only way the institutions can remain viable in Zimbabwe where inflation is
over 129 percent. - Sapa-dpa
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Business in Africa

It's as you were in Zimbabwe

Published: 24-MAY-05

By Alfonce Mbizwo

Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections have come and gone, demonstrating once
again that President Robert Mugabe's grip on power is total and unshakable.

Not that Zanu (PF)'s 78 seats to the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change's 41 is reflective of the wish of Zimbabweans: it simply shows that
as long as Mugabe remains president of Zimbabwe, the opposition can forget
about electoral victory. But Mugabe is 81 and cannot live forever, and in
his aftermath, his ghost will haunt Zimbabwe for a long time. This all means
that Zimbabwe is basically back where it was before, probably worse.

But Mugabe now faces up to the challenge that has proved beyond him since
2000: that of building Zimbabwe's economy. The devastation wrought by a
years-long drought has been compounded by the collapse of the formal
agricultural sector, in part because of Mugabe's violent landseizure
programme. On top of all that, the country suffers from one of the highest
rates of HIV/Aids infection in the world while the international community
remains unimpressed with Mugabe's antics.

The 81-year-old president opted to retain most of his trusted old guard when
he nominated 30 non-constituency MPs, meaning that Zimbabweans should not
expect anything new from his new government.

Already analysts say Zimbabwe is likely to miss key inflation and growth
targets for this year due to worsening food and foreign currency shortages
and declining industrial production.

But Mugabe has projected a change in fortunes this year and has forecast
inflation between 20 and 35% (after peaking at 620% in 2004) and gross
domestic product (GDP) growth of between 3 and 5%, following a contraction
of more than 30% since 1999.

Analysts have predicted a worsening of economic woes as the country seeks to
import 1.2 million tonnes of grain at an estimated cost of US$250m this year
to feed a third of the population.

Zimbabwe was back in the throes of food shortages days after Mugabe's ruling
party won the elections. Prices shot up by as much as 100% after the March
31 parliamentary elections but the government swiftly moved in, ordering
businesses to reverse the increases, triggering the shortages and a re-birth
of the black market for food stuffs where prices are higher.

"Increases were actually delayed to avoid harsh criticism of the government
ahead of the elections but now the government is saying you can not increase
prices without consulting us," said the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries
(CZI).

A poor harvest due to drought, and inadequate seed and fertiliser support to
small rural farmers who benefited from Mugabe's seizures of white-owned
farms, has worsened Zimbabwe's food crisis.

Zimbabweans have already started hoarding basic commodities. Staples like
maize-meal, sugar and cooking oil have disappeared from most shops around
the country while fuel and foreign currency shortages continue, forcing
industry to reduce production.

"There have been serious foreign currency shortages and industry has found
it increasingly difficult and has adjusted by lowering production," Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce president Luxon Zembe told local media.

Analysts said there was need for the central bank to devalue the Zimbabwean
dollar, which is trading at ZW$15 000- 18 000 to the greenback on the black
market against the official rate of 6 200.

The business community in Zimbabwe want Mugabe to talk to the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change to pull the country out of economic slump,
saying the prospect of going though another five years of international
isolation was "frightening".

"Now that these elections are behind us, we should all focus on moving the
economy forward. We need to put Zimbabwe ahead of other personal or
political considerations.

If collaboration between the two parties is what is required to bring
economic revival then we should pursue it wholeheartedly.

"We only need to reflect on what happened during the last three years of
inter-party disagreements to realize that as Zimbabweans we should all work
together in the interest of progress in our nation," said CZI president
Patison Sithole.

"We want to move forward but the country is too polarized politically and
there is nowhere in the world that a country can develop with that kind of
atmosphere," said Nigel Chanakira, a banker who founded Kingdom Financial
Holdings, one of the successful indigenous owned banks in the country.

"Zanu-PF only won as a result of the rural vote but MDC controls the cities
and the economy of the country is in the cities so the two have to come
together and map the way forward. There has been enough bickering and it is
not helping the country at all," said Chanakira.

Mutumwa Mawere, a self-exiled Zimbabwean businessman, said the country
needed to mend fences with the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank to regularize its foreign currency portfolio.

"We need cohesive policies to enable economic growth but the fact that the
country is still facing foreign currency shortages means that it needs
support from international financiers. Economic revival will not be possible
without outside help," he said.

About 400 companies have closed since 2000, leaving four in five Zimbabweans
unemployed.

"How we manage the foreign currency issue is going to determine the
performance of the economy. Right now we are relying on the export sector,
but we need foreign direct investment and other capital inflows. We need to
improve the image of the country," said economist Witness Chinyama.

A jubilant Mugabe urged the opposition to accept the result and work with
Zanu-PF for the good of the nation but the MDC spurned Mugabe's overture,
describing it as a public relations exercise, and has gone to court top
challenge the results of 13 constituencies which it says are symbolic to
demonstrate that the election was rigged.

The MDC claims massive rigging of the ballots in at least 35 constituencies.
It says the fraud came to light after the electoral officials could not
reconcile the figures of the total number of people who voted and the number
of votes cast for each of the candidates.

But local analysts say that unless the stalemate between Zimbabwe's main
political parties is broken, the situation in the country will only get
worse. Mugabe has also announced that he will use his two-thirds majority in
parliament to change sections of the constitution to re-introduce the
senate, which was abolished in 1989, and run presidential elections
concurrently with parliamentary polls.

This might mean that instead of 2008 when his current term expires, and he
has hinted he might retire, the next presidential elections will only be
held in 2010. Whether Mugabe will retire in 2008 and appoint a successor to
run the country until 2010 is not yet clear but the MDC says Mugabe was
seeking safe exit for himself.

"Zanu-PF has been able to change the constitution at will even since 2000,
so the two-thirds majority is of no material importance. What it means is
that Mugabe will now be able to engineer a safe exit for himself and
entrench his successor, denying the people of Zimbabwe the right to choose
their own leader," said MDC's Paul Themba Nyathi.

He said Mugabe long ago crossed the despot's line of no return: he has
created so many enemies during his rule that for the sake of his life and
liberty he cannot step down.

For the people of Zimbabwe, though, the pain continues.
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News24

      Zim farm invasions 'worse'
      May 24 2005 09:25:25:337AM
      By: Nicolize Mulder
      Harare - Zimbabwe has fewer than 700 commercial farmers left and their
numbers are decreasing by the week.
      "The farmers across the border say that land occupation so far has
been just a drop in the bucket. Only now are the taps fully open," Bennie
van Zyl, general manager of TAU SA, said on Monday.

      TAU SA has regular contact with Zimbabwean farmers and as recently as
a week ago held discussions with organised agriculture.

      Van Zyl said the situation is worse than ever before, now that the
election and planting time are over.

      Meanwhile white farmers in Zimbabwe reacted sharply to a proposal by
Doctor Gideon Gono, governor of the Zimbabwean Reserve Bank, that they
should return to their land.

      This invitation on television on Friday night is regarded as an
acknowledgement from the Zimbabwean government that its land reform policy
has failed, the British media reported.

      White farmers called it "madness". "They seem to think they can hit
us, murder, plunder our houses and attack our wives and then expect us to
come waltzing back to help them after they have messed up everything,"
farmers told the British newspaper the Sunday Times.

      Beeld's correspondent in Harare reported earlier that Zimbabwe, which
is being crippled by drought again this year, would have to spend about
R2,5m on grain imports to supplement its supply.

      A maize harvest of only 600 000 is projected for the 2004-2005 season.
Zimbabwe needs an average of 150 000 tonnes a month. Another 500 000 tons
are needed to maintain the reserves.

      About 400 000 households in the country need food aid and research has
shown that less than half the agricultural land taken from white farmers
since 2000 is being used these days. Production on these farms is declining
even further.

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Filling food gap an 'enormous challenge', says report

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 24 May 2005 (IRIN) - Vulnerable Zimbabweans will need
assistance to overcome another failed harvest, but a foreign currency
shortage remains a stumbling block to importing adequate food stocks, says
the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).

Already struggling to cope with the combined impact of HIV/AIDS and an
economic crisis, smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe were hit by a dry spell
that wiped out much of their crops, and commercial farming has not recovered
from the controversial fast-track land reform that began in 2002.

The World Food Programme (WFP) spokesman in Zimbabwe, Makena Walker, told
IRIN the agency was already providing food aid to around one million
beneficiaries.

"This includes people affected by HIV/AIDS, schoolchildren, supplementary
feeding for malnourished children under five - which is being done in 40
health centres in Bulawayo and Harare cities - and we are also supporting
orphans and vulnerable children," she said.

In December last year WFP conducted a once-off food aid distribution to
another 1.5 million people.

FEWS NET noted that the number of people in need of assistance could rise
this year.

"The majority of farming households will harvest nothing and are already
dependent on the market for all their food requirements, at a time when own
crop production would normally be their dominant source of food," FEWS NET
said in its latest report, which classified the situation in Zimbabwe as an
"emergency".

Compounding the problem is the fact that "income opportunities in rural
Zimbabwe will be more limited this year than they were last year, making it
difficult for many to compensate for their crop losses through purchases,
even if the food is available on the market", because poor cash-crop
production has limited rural incomes.

"Cotton and tobacco normally provide important seasonal cash income to
smallholder farming households, but production ... is expected to be down
this year," the report observed.

A combination of poor rainfall and limited credit support to cotton farmers
by marketing companies during the 2004/05 cropping season "resulted in a
smaller area planted to cotton, as well as a decline in yields," the
US-funded network said.

The Zimbabwe Cotton Producers Association estimates the 2004/05 cotton
harvest at between 140,000 mt and 150,000 mt, down from last season's
harvest of about 333,000 mt.

"While this will reduce cash income for better off cotton farmers, it also
limits the capacity of these households to pay for casual labour supplied by
the poor households, thereby reducing poor households' capacity to make up
for the food gap they are facing this consumption year," the report
explained.

In urban areas, shortages of basic commodities on both the formal and
informal markets during April meant consumers had to pay "exorbitant prices"
for cooking oil, sugar, milk and maize-meal. "The price increases have
continuously drained the meagre disposable incomes of poor urban
households," FEWS NET noted.

In March 2005 the cost of the monthly basket for a low-income urban
household of six, monitored by the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, stood at
Zim $2.1 million (US $233). "Given recent fuel shortages, transport costs
are likely to go up as well," the report added.

To counter deepening levels of vulnerability in both urban and rural areas,
the bulk of Zimbabwe's 1.8 million mt maize requirement will have to be
imported.

"It will be critical for the government, private sector and the humanitarian
community to create effective partnerships to ensure adequate in-country
distribution of this food," said FEWS NET, as this would require
"substantial foreign currency resources".

The early warning unit added that "considerable improvement" would be needed
in the "operational efficiency of the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and its
capacity to move and distribute grain within the country, and a widening of
the range of players in the distribution of food in the country to include
greater private sector participation".

Zimbabwe's foreign currency shortage "has been deteriorating steadily since
1999, with a deficit of over US $600 million reached in 2004".

Since the beginning of 2005, the demand at foreign currency auctions has
grown to about US $215 million, far outstripping the US $11 million usually
made available by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

"The low average prices for tobacco so far this year, and the fall of world
cotton prices from about US $0.75 last year to about US $0.58 this year,
puts further constraints on the foreign currency reserves," FEWS NET pointed
out.

Apart from needing forex to import food, the county also has to find enough
money to bring in fuel, electricity and medical supplies.

"Given the current shortages, importing adequate food for the nation in the
current consumption year is going to be an enormous challenge for Zimbabwe,"
the report concluded.

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Horror Story


Dear All
 
The BBC have been reporting on the continuing arrests in Harare and nation-wide all day.  The number of arrests now stands at close to ten thousand over the last five days.  It was reported earlier that the arrested people have been taken to a farm on the outskirts of Harare where they are being "processed".
 
Moving around the suburbs this morning, I noted that not one vendor or flower seller can be seen selling produce anywhere.  Avondale Plaza fleamarket continues to operate in a reduced capacity, but the Borrowdale flea market that operated on a Sunday only is completely gone...stalls and all.  I was met by an empty carpark where it used to be.  There is a palpable anger in the air, as is apparent from the information below from one of my contributors who writes under the alias "Wingnut".  To my knowledge, none of the new Chinese aircraft have "fallen out of the sky" - yet - but I have heard a rumour that one of the new fighters is already grounded.
 
Regards
 
M.
 
Hey there World
 
This message comes to you from a regular person, just like you, whose country happens to be held to ransom by a handful of terrorists. We are peaceful loving people, who have put up with this for many years; but the time has come when we no longer wish to have this awful  adversity in our lives. We cannot rise up against this dreadful evil, as we are simply shot, or, if not immediately killed, arrested and tortured. Our wives and daughters have been raped!!! Our homes have been burnt. This sounds totally ridiculous, but it is true.
 
This was once a viable prosperous country, a breadbasket for the entire region. It has been totally destroyed by the tyrannical corrupt regime which presently holds us all to ransom.
 
At the moment we are sitting on a time bomb. The population is virtually at it's wit end!
 
Tonight I witnessed a situation at a fuel station. A rumour went around that petrol was to be delivered to a particular filling station in the city. The queue started by dawn. By midday when the fuel tanker arrived, it was several kilometers long. Word went out that this petrol was not for the public, but only for NGO's.  NGO cars were coming in the wrong way and filling with petrol, the others weren't allowed. Well - the queue refused to move. Late that night there was chaos. A forecourt "ramjam" full with cars and people. A queue three or four blocks long;  and angry, angry people. Can you imagine many many HUNGRY dogs sitting at a table where humans are filling their faces???
 
Early this week our "Government" went on the rampage. They arrested informal traders and stole -"confiscated"- their merchandise. This was because the Chinese  (the people trying to "buy" this country at present) complained that Zimbabweans who import and sell quality goods are causing them to not be able to sell their Zhing Zhang Zshit quality rubbish goods!! They sell shoes guaranteed to last for 10 miles. This equates to one walking trip to work and, in some cases back home!! That is if you are lucky enough to have a job in this country at present. They have "sold"  us buses that have all fallen apart already (one month old) and aeroplanes that have fallen out of the sky! They don't fly in them themselves, they buy Boeings!!   
 
There is no doubt that a bloodbath will shortly take place in this country.
 
Wingnut
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You are invited to attend the launch in Durban of Geoff Hill's new book:  "What Happens After Mugabe - Can Zimbabwe Rise from the Ashes?"  It is being held at Adams Book Shop in Musgrave Centre on Wednesday 25 May at 17h30.  Please pass on the invitation to anyone else who is from Zimbabwe or who is concerned about the ongoing crisis.  Please respond to Adams Books, details below. Many thanks, Glyn 

 

ADAMS MUSGRAVE BOOK LAUNCH:  “WHAT HAPPENS AFTER MUGABE” BY GEOFF HILL

WEDNESDAY 25 MAY AT 5.30 PM AT ADAMS BOOKSHOP, MUSGRAVE CENTRE, DURBAN

 

Geoff Hill, Africa correspondent for the Washington Times, is already well known for his research on Zimbabwe and its decline, which he presented in The Battle for Zimbabwe.

 

Now is the time, he believes, to look ahead to the prospects for the country after Mugabe. The shocking statistics of Zimbabwe’s decline highlight the problems but also the potential, provided aid can be effectively deployed, educational standards restored, law and order re-established and returning exiles find work.

 

Geoff’s new book - What Happens after Mugabe - is meticulously researched, with material drawn from hundreds of interviews inside Zimbabwe and among exiles around the world. It takes a realistic look at the possibilities, and underlines the importance of early planning.

 

The danger, as he writes in the preface, is that, since 1990, Africa has undergone a revolution as long-time leaders, under pressure to reform, let go of their one-party states and military dictatorships and held multiparty elections.  But, when change came, it was often so fast that, before much could be done, a new elite had entrenched themselves as solidly in power as those they had replaced.

 

This is a timely and important study.  We hope you and a colleague will wish to join us for the launch, which is to be held at Adams Musgrave bookshop, Musgrave Centre at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday 25th May.

 

To assist us in our planning, we do ask that you respond to us direct:

 

Tel: Beverly on Durban (031) 304 8571.

E-mail:  padams@adamsbooks.co.za

 

Yours sincerely

 

Peter Adams

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BBC
 
Leaving behind Zimbabwe's land
By Grant Ferrett
BBC News

For Lewis, a softly-spoken commercial farmer living west of Harare, it's the $100m question - will he still be able to farm in Zimbabwe in five years' time?

A black farmer in Zimbabwe tills the land
New farmers often have little business knowledge and few assets

Now five years into the government's land redistribution programme, he says is taking things year by year.

"I feel sometimes that maybe I should stop at the end of the next season. Let's wait and see."

Reflecting his mood of caution, Lewis has cut back by a quarter the production of his main money earner, tobacco.

Role model

He also finds he's distracted from running his own business by requests for help from his new farming neighbours.

Women in a tobacco field in southern Africa
It's just pure jealousy. They see what I have on the farm and wonder why I have it
Lewis, a black commercial farmer

Hundreds of people have been resettled on the farms surrounding Lewis, most of them illegally.

They often have little business knowledge of farming and few assets.

Lewis lends tractors, ploughs fields and even provides basic lessons in agronomy.

But in spite of all the assistance he provides, Lewis thinks some of his neighbours want to bring him down.

"It's just pure jealousy," he sighs.

"They see what I have on the farm and wonder why I have it and they don't. But I've been in many difficult situations and I've learned to put on a thick skin."

Instead of being harassed, Lewis could reasonably expect to be a role model for the Zimbabwean authorities.

That is because Lewis is a highly successful black commercial farmer.

Safety worries

When I first interviewed him more than five years ago, he explained how he hoped to set an example for other would-be farmers.

Zanu-PF supporters
Lewis was forced to attend Zanu-PF rallies

"I need to live an exemplary farming life," he told me.

Now he's considering leaving farming altogether. He's not only worried for his business, but for his personal safety.

In March, during the parliamentary election campaign, he was forced to attend rallies in support of President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party.

As someone who bought his farm long before the government began seizing white-owned land without paying compensation, Lewis thinks he is viewed with suspicion.

Five years ago I interviewed him at home on the veranda of his large farmhouse.

This time he preferred to meet in the anonymity of a parked car in the suburbs of Harare. Lewis is not his real name.

Future in Africa

One of his former neighbours, John, who also didn't want to be identified, moved into Harare three years ago after being forced off his farm.

As a white man in Africa if you get involved in politics your days are numbered
John, a white ex-farmer

The battle for land

"My grandfather built our home in 1921. Then, one weekend, the police gave us 48 hours to get off.

"They had no paperwork. It was mind-numbing. But a threat's a threat.

"On the back of six or seven farmers being shot in the previous months, we decided to leave."

In spite of the upheaval, John still believes there's a future for him and other white ex-farmers in Zimbabwe.

"My feeling is that if you keep your nose clean and decide that as a white man in Africa you're here to make money and provide development, then you'll be able to stay.

"But if you get involved in politics - then no - your days are numbered."

Safety

Another former neighbour, Rob, has joined the exodus of millions of Zimbabweans who've left the country over the past five years.

He and his wife and four children have moved to the thriving coastal town of Mackay in Queensland, Australia.

War veterans threaten a farmer in a truck in Zimbabwe
Here in Australia the biggest worry is whether the washing will be dry
Anna, wife of an ex-farmer

They have a large house close to the beach and are particularly pleased that in contrast to the electrified fences and security alarms of their previous home Zimbabwe; in Australia they can leave all their doors unlocked.

"When you see what we've got here and the friends we've made, there's no way I'd go back to that nonsense in Zimbabwe," says Rob.

His wife, Anna, agrees.

"It was just the uncertainty of not knowing what was going to happen next. Here the biggest worry is whether the washing will be dry."

Back in Zimbabwe, on the day I spoke to Lewis he was arranging to meet his daughter, who is now studying in Australia.

Lewis suspects that even if he is able to carry on farming in Zimbabwe, there's no future in the country for his daughter.

He recently employed an armed guard to protect his cattle after six of his herd were stolen in a single night.

"Land reform was necessary, but not in the way it has been done," he says.

"I wasn't an economic decision, it was a political one."

Grant Ferrett's programme Leaving the Land, will be broadcast on Tuesday 24 May at 20.00 BST, repeated Sunday 29 May at 17.00 BST, on BBC Radio 4.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Mudede gives up 2002 ballot boxes

Clemence Manyukwe
issue date :2005-May-25

THE Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede, yesterday finally gave in to High
Court demands to surrender ballot boxes used in the 2002 Presidential
Elections for use in the MDC's petition against President Robert Mugabe's
victory.

Mudede's capitulation came less than a week after High Court judge, Yunus
Omerjee reserved judgment in an application by the MDC president Morgan
Tsvangirai to have the Registrar General jailed for five years for contempt
of court after failing to comply with seven orders to release the boxes.
The first order to have the ballot boxes surrendered was issued in September
2002.
Charles Nyatanga, the Master of the High Court who also doubles as the
Registrar of the Electoral Court, yesterday confirmed Mudede's compliance
with the High Court orders.
"The ballot boxes started arriving today (yesterday) at 10 am, and they are
very secure. We have received boxes for 17 constituencies in Harare and they
are being kept in one of the courtrooms. We are just receiving them as they
arrive and we are expecting more," Nyatanga said.
On whether the submission of the boxes would have any bearing on the
contempt case, Nyatanga said:  "I have no idea."
Tsvangirai's lawyer, Bryant Elliot of Coghlan Welsh and Guest law firm
yesterday told The Daily Mirror that Mudede was still in contempt of court
despite surrendering ballots.
 "He (Mudede) is still in contempt of court. He should have brought them a
long time ago. You must be aware that we have also made an application to
inspect all the voting material once they have been brought to court," said
Elliot.
Part of the application submitted to the court by Tsvangirai's lawyers read
in part: "It is respectfully submitted that the respondent's failure to
comply with the order of this honourable court constitutes contempt of
court, for which . . . respondent (Mudede) must personally be committed to
gaol and for which a fine must be imposed on him in his official capacity."
Efforts to get a comment from the Registrar General were fruitless at the
time of going to press yesterday.
The MDC intends to use the ballots to prove that President Mugabe did not
win the 2002 presidential polls that were characterised by violence.
President Mugabe beat Morgan Tsvangirai by slightly over 400 000 votes in
the hotly disputed poll.
In his petition, Tsvangirai contends that an examination of the ballot
papers would show that  President Mugabe cheated his way into State House in
an election whose outcome he described as " daylight robbery."
However, in defence of Mudede in the contempt of court charges, State
lawyers contended that the Registrar General had failed to comply as a
result of economic hardships.
They however said they appreciated the importance of obeying court orders.

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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Tempers flare in Kuruneri trial

Clemence Manyukwe
issue date :2005-May-25

TEMPERS flared in the High Court yesterday after the State prosecutor in the
trial of former Finance Minister Christopher Kuruneri accused the defence of
putting words in his mouth.
The high charged emotions prompted High Court judge Susan Mavangira to
reprimand the lawyers.
Mavangira chastised Joseph Jagada of the Attorney General's Office and
defence counsel Jonathan Samukange after the former interjected and
protested at submissions he said were being wrongfully attributed to him.
"Both of you sit down. I consider you as senior counsels and I would expect
the conduct of senior counsels from you... You are placing the court in a
very difficult position," said Mavangira shortly before adjourning the court
to tomorrow.
The misunderstanding arose when Samukange sought the court's permission to
postpone ruling on Jagada's application for a witness, Ronald van Niekerk,
to testify on the contents of travel and bank documents submitted as
exhibits by the State.
Van Niekerk, a captain in the South African Police Services, testified
yesterday, but was yet to be cross-examined.
 In his testimony, Van Niekerk assisted his Zimbabwean counterparts to carry
out investigations into the dealings of Kuruneri in his home country last
year.
Samukange had argued that although he was not opposed to the placing of the
documents before the court, he was against having the witness dwelling on
their contents as the defence could challenge their admissibility.
He argued that Van Niekerk could not vouch for the accuracy of the documents
and would rely on hearsay if allowed to go into the contents of the
documents.
Samukange also added that the documents containing Kuruneri travels to South
Africa and alleged financial deposits he made with one of the country's
banks was at the core of the ex-cabinet minister's trial.
This prompted Jagada to make an application to have the witness delve into
the contents of the documents and sought Mavangira to rule in his favour
saying Van Niekerk intended to leave the country yesterday.
Jagada said it was proving costly for the State to keep the witness in
Zimbabwe until tomorrow.
But Samukange sought a postponement saying he wanted to respond to the
application tomorrow arguing that the State counsel had misinterpreted the
law.
He said if Jagada thought otherwise, he intended to leave no room for the
court to make an objective judgment.
This prompted Jagada to fire back saying he was "tired" of Samukange making
insinuations of things he had not said.
Earlier on, Jagada had complained that Samukange was abusing Niekerk by
referring to him as "an overzealous witness" leading to the latter to
withdraw the remark.
The trial continues tomorrow.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Zanu PF headhunting for Bulawayo mayoral candidate

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-May-25

ZANU PF in Bulawayo is headhunting for a suitable candidate to represent the
party in the city's mayoral poll expected to be held before December.
Sources in the ruling party here told The Daily Mirror yesterday that Zanu
PF had already approached a number of potential candidates, some of them
said not to be in the party's structures.
According to the sources, Zanu PF were eyeing former National University of
Science and Technology vice chancellor Professor Phineas Makhurane,
educationist Pathisa Nyathi and the ruling party's acting provincial
chairman Zenzo Nsimbi.
"The party has approached Nsimbi, but he has rejected the offer because of
business commitments. As a result of previous experience, the party this
time around is looking for a candidate who is not necessarily a die-hard
party member, but someone who is professional and respected in the city,"
said one party source.
The source added that a high-powered delegation, including members of the
politburo in the province has been set up to approach Nyathi and Makhurane.
Nyathi yesterday said the delegation has not yet approached him.
"What you are saying is news to me. Nobody has approached me over that
issue," said Nyathi.
Professor Makhurane who is now with the Ministry of Higher Education could
not be reached for comment yesterday while Nsimbi also disassociated himself
from the city's top job.
"I am not interested in that job.  As far as I know the party is still
consulting its structures on the issue," Nsimbi said.
The MDC has already endorsed incumbent executive mayor Japhet Ndabeni Ncube
as its candidate for the elections whose date has not been announced.
Ncube was elected in 2001 after he beat Zanu PF's candidate, George Mlilo by
over 40 000 votes.
Zanu PF national political commissar Eliot Manyika told The Daily Mirror
recently that the party would soon select its candidate for the coveted
post.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

ZCFU defends absentee farmers

Godfrey Mutsago
issue date :2005-May-25

SEVERAL new farmers who acquired land under the fast-track land reform
programme are deliberately not making improvements on the land in fear of
possible eviction, as the country does not have a clear land tenure law.
Most land beneficiaries comprise senior company executives, business persons
and senior government officials, among others.
The new farmers are reluctant to invest large sums of money due to
uncertainty that surrounds their fate on the land as some of them have lost
land in unclear circumstances.
Although government last year, and lately last week, announced that it would
be offering 99 year leases to the farmers, up to now no leases have been
issued.
The Minister of State for National Security, with added responsibility on
land issues, Didymus Mutasa, could not be reached for comment yesterday, but
the president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union (ZCFU) Davison Mugabe
confirmed that the issue of tenure had become a bone of contention.
He urged government to urgently address the issue as a way to encourage the
farmers to make meaningful investments on their farms.
"We have large numbers of new farmers who were issued with land offer
letters and are willing to invest in agriculture," said Mugabe.
"However the farmers are unsure of their fate on the land and feel
uncomfortable when it come to investing. Although there is a feeling in
government circles that the new farmers were not making any headway in
agriculture, the issue of land tenure remains a problem for many new
farmers.
"The farmers are unsure if it would be wise to commit themselves to
investing large sums of money when their future is uncertain."
Mugabe made the remarks in response to the governor of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono's attack on absentee farmers.
Gono hit out at the farmers when he presented the 2005 Post Elections and
Drought Mitigation Monetary Policy Framework last Thursday.
In a supplement of the policy statement titled: Drought mitigation and
resuscitation programmes for the agricultural sector in Zimbabwe, Gono said:
 "It is disquieting to note, as was noted by the (Charles) Utete
Presidential Land Commission in 2003, that some farmers have not managed to
justify their existence on the land and have cost the country dearly in
terms of reduced output, employment and foreign currency."
Nevertheless Gono had earlier on also hinted on the need for security of
tenure and title to farmers, as the agricultural sector required extensive
funding.
"It is for this reason that the
 issues of tenure and title are imperative so as to make farming a bankable
business," said Gono, who added that the financial sector was ready to
finance agriculture to farmers who had collateral.
Mugabe said other problems the new farmers were facing included lack of
adequate farming implements like tractors. He said farmers should be
equipped with the implements.
"You do not expect a farmer to walk on to a farm without required farming
needs like tractors .and to succeed.
"There are a number of issues that must be addressed before we think of
evicting new farmers from the land. Let us equip the farmers first.
"Yes we now have the money but most new farmers still lack necessary
implements as well as land tenure agreements.
"When farmers become fully equipped, then we can talk about the issue of
eviction," Mugabe said.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

Forum on elephant conservation opens today

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-May-25

A THREE-DAY African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF) workshop opens in
Victoria Falls today to discuss national and regional issues impacting on
the conservation of elephants in the continent.
National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson, retired major
Edward Mbewe yesterday said experts in elephant conservation have been
invited to present papers on the subject.
"One of the major
challenges impacting on
the conservation of elephants in African parks is animal overpopulation and
poaching," Mbewe said. "Managing elephant populations is extremely
difficult, requiring long-term research and advanced management techniques."
He said elephant overpopulation was a serious threat to parks
because of the cost of difficulties of animal management.
"Parks rarely have the money to acquire and maintain the necessary personal
and equipment," Mbewe said.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

MDC, ZCTU deplore clean-up operation

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-May-25

THE Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the opposition MDC have
described the current blitz on flea market operators by the police as
treacherous, grossly unfair and ill-timed.
ZCTU secretary general Wellington Chibebe yesterday said the labour union
deplored the "arrogant and brutish" manner used to carry out the operations
dubbed "Restore Order" and "Murambatsvina."
Chibebe said authorities should have considered the country's current
macro-economic situation before pouncing on the hapless informal traders.
"What is more irritating is that the police did not warn or give the
informal traders the opportunity to round up their activities. But in a
brutal and vindictive warlike manner, the traders had their merchandise
confiscated and their stalls razed down in a very insensitive manner, making
millions poorer in the process," said Chibebe, who is also the chairperson
of the Crisis Zimbabwe Coalition (CZC).
He added: "While the ZCTU appreciates that there should be cleanliness and
order in the city, it should be noted that the majority of Zimbabweans are
now in the informal sector and as such, efforts should be made to organise
them instead of harassing them. Actually 75 percent of Zimbabweans are
unemployed and survive on the informal economy activities."
The ZCTU said authorities responsible for the clean up exercise should have
consulted other stakeholders on how the situation could be handled instead
of employing the heavy handedness to "cow the informal traders to give in
without a whimper."
"It is such unilateral decision-making and adoption of skewed policies that
affect the generality of Zimbabweans that the ZCTU will not embrace,"
Chibebe said. "These actions go against the nationally embraced poverty
alleviation strategies and instead perpetuate poverty."
On behalf of the Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations (ZCIEA),
the ZCTU called for a stakeholder based approach to the informal trader
plight "so that each and every Zimbabwean will be able to put bread on the
table for the family in a hassle free environment."
Chibebe added: "We also call upon the City Council and the government to
stop harassing people going about their business and look at ways and means
of solving the economic crisis facing the country that has forced thousands
of people to engage in informal trading".
The MDC's secretary for finance, Tapiwa Mashakada, concurred with the ZCTU.
"The macro-economic situation and poverty has forced people to resort to
informal trading and vending. It is not the people's fault. It is a symptom
of the general economic meltdown. Everyone has now turned into commerce in a
bid to survive," Mashakada said.
He said the informal traders have been in existence for years now with
authorities doing nothing over it, adding, to remove them violently was
grossly unfair.
"Government should have built new market places for the informal traders
before chasing them away," said Mashakada.
On the contrary, the police and the city fathers vowed to continue with the
operation this week arguing vendors and flea market operators were engaging
in illegal activities, including hoarding basic commodities and indulging in
illegal foreign currency deals.
The officer commanding Harare province, Edmore Veterai last week said the
police had no obligation to warn people engaged in illegal activities.
He said: "Police do not have a legal obligation to warn people. Ours is a
duty to arrest and maintain order," Veterai said.
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Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe

China seeks ways to widen economic ties

The Daily Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-May-25

A CHINESE delegation led by the People's Bank of China deputy governor, Li
Ruogu, arrived in the country yesterday to explore greater ways of economic
cooperation between China and Zimbabwe.
In welcoming the eight member delegation at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ) head office, RBZ governor, Gideon Gono said given the country's own
limitations, Zimbabwe would look at joint ventures in the fields of mining,
agriculture and infrastructural development.
"We shall strive to let the Chinese assist us in such areas as platinum,
where Zimbabwe has the second largest deposits of the mineral after South
Africa. Our platinum is valued at US$500 billion but it is still in the
ground and we hope that the Chinese can aid us in extraction," Gono said.
He added that he hoped the Chinese would assist in enabling Zimbabwe to
increase agricultural production through the development of irrigation
systems that would enable Zimbabwe to escape the vagaries of drought.
He thanked Li's country for according Zimbabwe a preferred destination
status and said this would go a long way in cementing the two country's
relationship that dates back to the liberation struggle.
Li said Zimbabwe and China shared the same history that included the
provocation from colonial powers.
"When the new China was born, the country was blockaded, but we were able to
navigate through the rough seas. We are ready to give lessons, knowledge and
our own experiences," Li said.
The visit by officials from the Chinese central bank is a reciprocation of a
visit that Gono made to China in October last year, where there was a pledge
by both sides to deepen their economic relationship.
From 1980 to October 2003, China has made investments worth a total of
US$99.9 million, most of them in the form of grants, loans that were
interest free or at concessionary rates of 3 percent.
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Be Patriotic, State Tells Doctors

The Herald (Harare)

May 24, 2005
Posted to the web May 24, 2005

Harare

GOVERNMENT has appealed to medical professionals to show their patriotism by
remaining in the country to avert the crumbling of the health delivery
system.

In an interview, the Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Edwin
Muguti, said the time had come for medical professionals to rise above their
own personal interests and serve the nation.

Because of what they term poor working conditions, medical professionals,
including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, have been leaving the country in
droves.

Out of more than 100 doctors that graduate every year, Zimbabwe loses close
to 60 percent for what are termed "greener pastures" in countries like the
United Kingdom.

Dr Muguti was addressing more than 100 final year medical and dental
students at the weekend.

"I am not saying you should not think about making a living for yourselves
because that would not be fair. However, if you all do not serve your
country, who do you expect to do it for you?

"Although we have problems with several things not going the way you would
wish them to, you have to realise that as medical personnel yours is a
crucial duty to the people," he said.

Medical professionals, said Dr Muguti, were different from everybody else
primarily because their service often spelt the difference between life and
death.

"Love should govern you in your operations. If you love your country and
people, you will stay and that is what we wish, " he said.

The Government was fully cognisant of the fact that much needed to be done
to give the doctors incentives and, hopefully, stem the brain drain.

Besides addressing the issue of salaries, there was need to ensure that
medical professionals had decent housing and transport.

"We have a vehicle loan facility but it is for $70 million, which I am aware
might be inadequate, but there is a big problem with housing. While there is
some money that doctors get for housing, it would never buy them houses.

"We are seriously looking into ensuring that our medical professionals get
decent housing because, honestly as a doctor myself, I know that it does
something to the dignity of a doctor to rent two rooms at the back of
someone's house and board a (crowded) Kombi (common commuter omnibus make)
with their patients," said Dr Muguti.

Faced with such a situation, the professionals did not hesitate to leave,
which left the country's doctor-patient ratio much lower compared to other
countries.

One doctor can see more than 300 patients in a day.

"We are continuously trying to come up with solutions and are happy that we
now have the Health Services Act which allows for the creation of a Health
Services Board, which we are hoping to announce soon.

"That board will look at such issues as conditions of service for our
staff," he said.

To alleviate the serious shortage of doctors, Zimbabwe also had to resort to
recruiting practitioners from other countries.

Dr Muguti said several Cuban doctors were currently on orientation at
Parirenyatwa Hospital following which they would be deployed to different
district hospitals countrywide.

"That may not be the best solution, but at least it helps our people. We
will have to continue doing it until we can get as many of the professionals
we are training to stay," he said.

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The Herald

Council Needs $168bn for Water

The Herald (Harare)

May 24, 2005
Posted to the web May 24, 2005

Harare

HARARE City Council needs about $168 billion in the immediate and long-term
to upgrade its water and sanitation system in line with its turnaround
strategy.

Perennial water problems that have dogged the capital would be a thing of
the past when the project is complete.

Rehabilitation and upgrading of the pipe network in the capital began this
month and is expected to end on May 30.

Work is on-going for the rehabilitation and upgrading of water and sewer
reticulation along Kelvin and Yotamu roads, Lezard Avenue, Mukuvisi
crossing, Mufakose suburb among others.

The initial phase of the programme will see the repair of leaks and
non-functional pressure reducing valves around the city.

Repair work has already commenced on trunk valves at Warren Control, Viking
Ganges, Marimba pipe, Churchhill School pipe and valves on the Morton
Jaffray pipes. This is expected to cost about $2,2 billion.

This is intended to reduce pipe bursts and water loss.

Ageing water distribution infrastructure has resulted in council losing
millions of dollars worth of treated water.

However, the amounts have to be reviewed following the takeover of water
pumping and purification by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa).

About $2 billion will go towards strengthening of security systems at
council facilities.

This will involve erecting security walls, facilitating on site
accommodation for security personnel and strengthening security on all
distribution facilities that are prone to vandalism.

A water crisis management committee of five persons to drive the turnaround
programme for the reticulation system and revision of the threshold on which
the director of works can spend without going to tender first have been put
in place.

Council has also budgeted about $2,8 billion for establishing alternative
and emergency water supply for prone areas such as Mabvuku, Tafara, Budiriro
and Msasa Park among others within the next two months.

This involves drilling about 15 boreholes in targeted areas and procurement
of 10 tractor-drawn water bowsers and four tractors.

Residents in the eastern suburbs have endured intermittent water supplies
over the years.

About $150 million has been budget for cleaning all water reservoirs such as
Letombo, Donnybrook, Hogerty Hill, Marimba High and Low, Highlands,
Ventursburg and Philadelphia.

This, council expects to do in about two months.

To ensure effective billing, council has budgeted $18 billion for the
installation of reliable water metres. Council also plans to decentralise
response teams that will be adequately equipped to service their areas
whenever an emergence arose.

Harare has been failing to effectively and efficiently supply residents with
clean water prompting Government to intervene by giving water pumping and
purification responsibilities to Zinwa.
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Comment from The Cape Times (SA), 24 May

Too much indelible ink spoiled Zimbabwe's impeccable election

By John Scott

So the Zimbabwe elections in March weren't impeccable, as claimed by ANC MP
Nthabiseng Khunou, after all. There was too much splashing of indelible ink
in the polling stations. No wonder the majority of observers in South
Africa's parliamentary mission refrained from calling the elections free and
fair, only that they were a credible reflection of the will of the people.
Total freedom and fairness depend on a voter's ability to leave a polling
station without looking like a junior schoolboy whose pen has leaked all
over his shirt and hands. "It was the one blot on our election," agreed a
senior member of the ruling Zanu PF party. "We readily concede that the use
of indelible ink to identify people who have already voted can be improved.
We are grateful to our South African friends for pointing out one of the
very few defects in our democracy." What happened is that voters were simply
asked to dip a finger into the indelible ink. Those with any kind of nervous
shake or involuntary hand movement then splattered the ink on to the floor.
The 60-page South African report earnestly recommends "a more economic use
of indelible ink". There has even been a suggestion that the Zimbabweans do
it the South African way and merely paint a dot of indelible ink on each
voter's thumbnail, though this is vulnerable to abuse. "That makes it easier
for someone like an MDC supporter to vote twice," explained the Zanu PF
official. "All he has to do is pull out his thumbnail. He won't be so keen
to chop off his whole finger."

But if Zimbabwe had something to learn from South Africa in the indelible
ink department, South Africa could certainly learn from Zimbabwe how to run
elections, said Ms Khunou. She saw no evidence of intimidation or
gerrymandering or vote-rigging or the withholding of food aid from
opposition supporters, and refused to dignify with a reply Elinor Sisulu's
comment that it would have been difficult to see any of these things from
Harare's Sheraton Hotel. Another thing South Africans could learn from
Zimbabwe was the shutting down of five independent newspapers and the law
requiring opposition parties to apply for police permission to hold
meetings. Khunou said this was necessary to enforce law and order. That is
what the predecessors of the ANC's partner, the NNP, used to say, too. Maybe
Zimbabwe learnt how to run impeccable elections from them in the first
place. Finally, Khunou thought South Africans could copy Zimbabwe's queueing
system at the polling stations. "It was very pleasing," she announced. This
is probably because Zimbabweans have to queue for everything these days and
are world experts. They stand in line first and then ask what is in short
supply. At least they had liberal access to free indelible ink.
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