ICC bans Zimbabwean
journalist
SW Radio
Africa is an independent station run by and for Zimbabweans. We are
based in
London. We broadcast on short wave to Southern Africa (on 6145 Khz
in the 49
metre band) and world-wide on the internet. We are not affiliated
to any
political party.
I arrived in Britain in October 2001, as the Mugabe
regime does not allow
independent broadcasting. Our station is the only means
of Zimbabweans
receiving non-partisan news. Every other broadcaster in
Zimbabwe is state
controlled.
The Mugabe regime banned my colleagues
and I (all Zimbabwean citizens) from
entering the country last
November.
As a news producer and presenter, one of the stories I have
been following
closely is the "cricket saga". People in Zimbabwe are very
interested in the
story, and want an unbiased view of the situation.
I
am on the ICC mailing list and receive regular communications from them.
Mark
Harrison is the person from the ICC who is dealing with all the
Zimbabwe
Cricket Union media relations whilst they are here. I phoned him a
few days
ago to tell him I wanted to attend the press conference with the
Zimbabwe
team at Lords today. I explained that I had been to press events at
Lords
before, and although I was not a member of the NUJ, a letter from my
editor
had sufficed. He said that would be fine and he would leave my name
at the
gate.
At the Wisden launch on Tuesday evening I introduced myself to
Harrison. At
the time I was wearing (as were several people in the room) a
black armband.
This follows the lead of Henry Olonga and Andy Flower who wore
bands
mourning "the death of democracy" in Zimbabwe. Harrison told me that I
would
not be allowed into the Zimbabwe press conference because I was not a
member
of the NUJ (a fact he was aware of because of our previous
conversation)
The following morning I joined the NUJ (membership number
G0914366). I then
sent Harrison an e-mail telling him this and asking to be
informed of the
time and whereabouts of the conference.
Late on
Wednesday evening I received a media advisory from him, saying,
"all
attendees must be in possession of either a valid ECB, MCC or
specific
newspaper, radio or TV media accreditation pass". As I had NUJ
membership
and a letter from my editor, had applied for ECB accreditation
(although
have not received it yet) and had pre-arranged with Harrison on the
phone to
be admitted, I duly went along.
I was stopped from entering
by the security staff. I left several messages
for Harrison telling him what
had happened. I also spoke to a member of
staff from the ECB who told me
there was nothing she could do. In common
with the security staff she did not
look at my documentation. I also
telephoned and left a message for Ian Wilson
the head of press for the MCC.
I got the NUJ to speak to the ECB
representative, and still nothing was
done.
By this time the press
conference was well underway. When my fellow
journalists starting leaving I
told them what had happened and that in my
opinion this made the ICC, the ECB
and the MCC as repressive towards the
media as the Mugabe regime. Harrison
then started get enquiries from the
press as to why I had been excluded. He
eventually came down to the gate,
with Peter Chingoka the manager of the
Zimbabwe team and Lovemore Banda, his
press officer. Harrison said there had
been a mix up and I could now come in
and speak to Chingoka.
In my
opinion, I was deliberately excluded from this conference. I would
have been
the only Zimbabwean journalist there, and possibly the only one
with an
in-depth knowledge of the situation in Zimbabwe. My questions
therefore could
have been potentially difficult for the Zimbabwe Cricket
Union (of which
Mugabe is the patron) and would certainly have focussed the
media attention
on the appalling acts being perpetrated by the ZCU patron
and his government
on the people of Zimbabwe.
In my interview with Chingoka, who predictably
said that sport and politics
are separate, I ended by quoting the great
cricket writer, CLR James. He
said, "What do they know of cricket, who only
cricket know". I put it to
Chingoka that this then did not auger well for the
Zimbabwe matches. His
reply....."No comment".
The Chingoka interview
will be broadcast during Newsreel this evening, and
outside the shortwave
broadcasting area can be heard on the internet between
6 and 7pm on www.swradioafrica.com <http://www.swradioafrica.com>
Georgina Godwin News producer/presenter SW Radio
Africa
0208 387 1411
07816 673 122
Zim
Independent
Mugabe reduced to prisoner at State
House
Dumisani Muleya
THE three-day stayaway that ended on
Friday last week shifted the balance of
power in local politics and set alarm
bells ringing for President Robert
Mugabe, analysts say.
They say the
strike triggered a sea change in the political relationship
between
government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
which
backed the industrial action.
The stayaway was organised by the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
in protest against the massive fuel price
increases by government.
Political analyst Brian Raftopoulos said the strike
reasserted the political
clout of opposition groups and trade
unions.
He said it also indicated that internal pressure against
government was
continuously building up.
"It reasserted that the MDC,
the ZCTU and other civic groups have the
capacity to mobilise people on a
large-scale for their cause," Raftopoulos
said.
"Pressure is building up
against government and this could lead to the
resolution of the economic and
political crisis around the negotiating
table.
The ruling elite has no
choice but to find a negotiated settlement to this
problem."
Commentators
say the rapid loss of grip on the situation by government has
resulted in the
MDC and allies stealing a march on the ruling Zanu PF and
its
leadership.
Mugabe is seen as becoming increasingly vulnerable as a
result of the new
political dynamics within and outside his party. The rising
tide of popular
anger against his regime and thickening political plots by
those within his
ranks battling to succeed him have also left him susceptible
in the current
power play.
While his opponents are gaining clout to
direct national events, Mugabe is
viewed as a prisoner in State House who is
unable to provide leadership. His
job now seems to be issuing threats or
reacting to the situation on the
ground over which he has less and less
control.
Although Mugabe last week denied insecurity during his widely
broadcast
interview with state television, his government's intensifying
repression
and his unprecedented conciliatory statements suggest that he has
become
unsafe in his besieged fortress of power.
Mugabe for the first
time last week said he was prepared to meet MDC leader
Morgan Tsvangirai if
he dropped his court challenge against his disputed
re-election.
He
also declared his succession debate open although with pre-conditions. On
top
of that, Mugabe also hinted directly that his date with retirement could
be
nearing after completing his land reform programme.
However, his remarks
provoked a furious denial from Information minister
Jonathan Moyo's office.
Moyo would be the first casualty of Mugabe's exit
and his remarks have been
discounted accordingly.
"All the president did in the recent interview
marking the 23rd anniversary
of Independence was to invite national debate on
a range of national
questions including that of succession," Moyo's
department said.
"But sadly, so far there has been no debate or debaters,
serve for flippant
speculations and crazy scenario building."
South
African President Mbeki said he was sure Zanu PF was engaged in the
process
of renewing its leadership. Seizing on Mugabe's remarks, he said:
"We want to
wait for them to finish that process before we can take
matters
up."
Mbeki was last week expected in Zimbabwe together with
Malawian president
Bakili Muluzi for talks with Mugabe. It is thought their
meeting would have
focused on Mugabe's exit plan. But Mugabe's office
postponed the meeting
while it attempts to buttress the president's
position.
Zanu PF sources say Mugabe wants to leave but he would like to
be given
guarantees of immunity from prosecution for human rights violations
and
other abuses of power committed under his rule.
Civic activist
Lovemore Madhuku said anyone could now organise a stayaway
because government
no longer commands the will of the majority and "people
are fed
up".
Mugabe's change of fortunes has been dramatic. Until recently, he
appeared
to be firmly in charge, but the strike showed his influence could
be
diminishing at an accelerated pace.
There have been a number of
setbacks for him recently. Just two months ago
it looked as if he was firmly
in control. The democratic gains of 2000 had
been rolled back, the repressive
apparatus of the state - including
legislation - firmly set in place, with
his authority stamped on his party
and the country. The MDC appeared
demoralised with resignations of MPs, no
idea how to resist repression, and
by-election reverses.
All that has changed. First the MDC-organised mass
action on March 18/19
shook the ground under Mugabe as the populace responded
to the strike call.
The wave of repression that followed simply fuelled
popular hostility. Then
two by-elections in Harare, won in the teeth of
bribery and intimidation,
showed Mugabe's blandishments and threats were
making no purchase on the
public mind.
That seems to have been the
turning point. While government becomes more
defensive, the opposition now
seems to have been adrenalised and is on a
roll. The success of last week's
stayaway and the failure of the state
propaganda offensive that emphasised
claims of MDC violence, has left Mugabe
stranded, evidently clueless about
how to solve the country's burgeoning
problems.
And with the economic
crisis deepening, there may yet be many twists and
turns in government's
unsettled economic policy that will reflect political
conflicts between the
diehard Zanu PF leadership and the party's reformists.
This would result in a
further loss of political turf by Zanu PF to the MDC
and its
partners.
Government's inability to tackle food needs, basic commodities,
fuel,
foreign currency shortages and other problems could deliver the coup
de
grace for Mugabe.
ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibhebhe said
the strike revealed a
growing discontent with government. He said while
government seems to be
backtracking, the unions, which were beginning to
appear as powerless, were
gaining clout.
"The strike showed the ZCTU
has muscle and that people have reached the
limit of elasticity," he
said.
Chibhebhe said the unions were not afraid of a government
backlash.
"We know there is going to be a lot of retribution but we are
prepared for
the consequences," he said. "People are committed to emancipate
themselves."
Government initially tried in vain to avert the stayaway, which
it said was
illegal. The Office of the President failed to prevent the strike
despite
flighting adverts which portrayed stayaways as violent events and
economic
sabotage.
Last Tuesday Moyo, Labour minister July Moyo,
Finance minister Herbert
Murerwa and their Local Government counterpart
Ignatius Chombo appeared on
ZBC warning strike organisers of serious
consequences. They were ignored.
After the stayaway, officials reacted
with a mixture of threats, denials and
conciliatory measures.
Moyo
adopted a combative posture. "In the interests of the rule of law,
relevant
authorities in government are compiling data on those industries
that have
illegally locked out workers for reasons that are manifestly
political and
have done so at great cost to many other third parties," he
said.
Moyo
warned that companies and those individuals who participated in the
mass
action would be punished.
The government also threatened to withdraw
permits of transport operators
who grounded their fleets during the
strike.
Last Friday Mugabe also adopted a belligerent stance against
his
adversaries. "Our enemies today seek desperately to divide and weaken us
and
to plunge this country back into the dungeon of colonialism
and
imperialism," he said.
He claimed the MDC had "clearly
proven to be lawless and deviant, but more
dangerously, an embodiment of
violence and terrorism".
On the same day, armed police raided MDC
headquarters in Harare and arrested
more than 30 people. Those arrested
included the party's director of
security, Tendai Nyamushayi.
But the
government also adopted conciliatory measures by fixing urban
public
transport fares and raising the level of minimum wages. However, the
unions
dismissed this as piecemeal appeasement. Instead, they warned
government of
further trouble ahead.
Whatever happens next, March and
April of 2003 will go down as a turning
point. Things will never be quite the
same again.
Zim
Independent
Eric Bloch
The economy can, and will, get
worse
IT is amazing that even the most depressed of the prophets
of doom and gloom
are now repeatedly stating that "It can't get any worse!"
or, "We've hit
rock bottom!" In saying so, they don't do it with a sense of
relief that the
economic decline during most of the last six years will not
continue, but
from a point of view that Zimbabwe's economic conditions have
reached such a
low that it is inconceivable that they can sink any
further.
Regrettably, they are wrong. As disastrously distressed as the
economy is,
it can still deteriorate further. As much as the economy has
been
devastated, it is still possible (and, in fact, probable) that it is
going
to be weakened to a very considerably extent than is already the case.
In
practice, although it is almost impossible to imagine that the economy
can
worsen further, it can.
Zimbabwe still has some agricultural
activity, even if only a shadow of that
of a few years ago. And Zimbabwe
still has operating mines, although many of
them are fast approaching the
point at which they will have to close down.
Zimbabwe still has a
manufacturing sector, notwithstanding that most
companies are struggling to
survive. It also still has a distributive
sector, with wholesalers and
retailers continuing to operate, despite a
markedly reduced availability of
stocks and a steadily shrinking spending
power of its customer base. Zimbabwe
also still has a tourism industry,
surviving notwithstanding the endless
buffeting inflicted upon it by the
political and economic
environment.
The hard fact is that an economy only reaches a level of
total destruction
once none are employed, no enterprise exists, there is
neither domestic nor
external trade, the financial sector has completely
collapsed (in contrast
to the present where that sector is probably the most
virile in the
country), and where the only resources available to a dying
populace are
those provided by other countries as humanitarian
aid.
However, the underlying message of those suggesting that the economy
cannot
get any worse and that it has hit rock bottom is that the economy has
sunk
to abysmally low levels hardly ever experienced previously. That message
is
incontrovertibly correct. Never before has Zimbabwean inflation been
at
rates of 200% and above, and still surging upwards. Levels of
unemployment
are the greatest that Zimbabwe has experienced since a
formalised economy
came into being. Government's debts now exceed $320
billion, which is a debt
burden of greater magnitude than it has ever
been.
The entire infrastructure is collapsing as evidenced by ever
lesser
availability of electricity, absence of essential medical supplies in
almost
all government-owned hospitals and clinics, telecommunications which
cannot
service national needs, a rail system long overdue for essential
maintenance
of lines of rail and of rolling stock, inability of local
authorities to
service the cities and towns, and these are but a few elements
of
infrastructural collapse.
Poverty has become the order of the day
for all but a very few. Most are
without any source of income, and for those
who are fortunate enough still
to receive some income, the extent of that
income is, with relatively rare
exception, insufficient for essential needs.
(The poverty datum line for a
family of five now exceeds $60 000 per month,
whilst the newly set minimum
wage is only marginally over $47 000 of which
nearly $13 000 disappears in
income tax, so the recipient of a minimum wage
subsists on less than 57% of
the poverty datum line).
Pensioners who
thought that their pensions would fend for all their needs in
their old age
now cannot buy essential medicines and are reduced to selling
their household
furniture and clothing to sustain themselves.
Despite those abysmally low
economic levels, all indications are that the
economy must sink further, for
virtually no effective remedial actions are
being taken by government.
President Robert Mugabe and his minions persist
with their contentions that
all of the economic ills that have afflicted
Zimbabwe have been the result of
malevolent acts of Britain and others who
allegedly wish to recolonise
Zimbabwe, sabotage of the economy by whites in
general and white commercial
farmers in particular, and due to acts of
nature such as drought. All but the
gullible know that all these supposed
causes of the near demise of the
economy are without foundation and bear no
relationship to the
realities.
The economy has no prospect of recovery, or even of halting
its decline,
until those in authority are prepared to recognise facts, no
matter how
unpalatable those facts may be. And those facts include
that:
- Government doesn't know it all, it just thinks that it
does;
- A land reform programme founded upon racial malice, disregard for
justice
and equity, distortion of history, self-enrichment and intended
enrichment
of family, relatives, friends and colleagues, and devoid of
constructive
measures and inputs, is doomed to failure, as already proven,
removing the
foundations essential to a viable economy;
- No economy
can operate successfully in isolation; it must interact with
the economies of
other countries, which it is unable to do if its exports
are rendered
uncompetitive, it is unable to service its debts, and it abuses
those as
would be its suppliers or customers;
- Any economy which must supporta
growing population must grow apace, but
cannot do so if its environment is
not investment conducive. Such an
environment is one which is politically and
economically stable, welcoming
to foreign investors, incentivises and
facilitates investment, all within
the surrounds of democracy and law and
order.
- A country with a high dependency upon imports (be they fuel,
electricity,
industrial raw materials, agricultural and mining inputs,
technological
transfer, or much else) and with an insufficiency of exports to
generate
required foreign exchange can only fund such imports with
internationally
provided balance of payments support, which will not be
forthcoming if the
political direction is confrontational with the very
fundamentals of human
rights, justice, equity and adherence to
internationally established norms,
and if the economic direction is
determined by market forces instead of
dictates.
- Economic ills can
only be cured by addressing and ministering to their
causes, instead of the
symptoms. Whensoever an economic element becomes
uncontainable and a disaster
looms, government focuses upon that element
without regard to the causes
thereof, and without considering whether any
supposedly remedial measure will
have severe, negative, side-effects;
- No economy can survive, let alone
thrive, if confidence does not prevail.
Businesses are without confidence
when they are recurrently without the
essentials of operations, when their
personnel are demoralised and
demotivated as a result of the severe economic
afflictions which they face
repeatedly, when the country in which they
struggle to operate is an
international pariah, and when they can have no
expectations of any
meaningful protections in law against unjust acts against
them;
- Most of all, no measures can save an economy if the government
operates in
blatant disregard for its own, publicly-stated policies, and if
it emulates
the confidence trickster by resorting to shams and to empty
verbiage. The
best recent example of this duplicity is government's stance on
the
Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF). Government pretends that it is
in
partnership with private enterprise and labour in the TNF, but it
implements
agreements reached between the negotiating partners selectively.
It reviews
fuel prices without reaching agreement with its TNF partners, and
it allows
its parastatals to increase their charges unilaterally, despite the
Prices
and Wages Stabilisation Protocol of which it is a
signatory.
The most recent example of disdainful disregard for the
protocol is this
week's huge postage increases by Zimpost, which is a
wholly-owned
parastatal. But if any merchant has the temerity to increase
prices to
recover increased cost, he is prosecuted and vilified.
As to
a recent example of sham and empty verbiage, the best is the
National
Economic Revival Programme (Nerp). It would better have been
entitled the
National Economic Recurrent Demise (Nerd). Superficially Nerp
says all the
right things. It refers to deregulation, export incentivisation,
investment
facilitation, fiscal discipline, inter-active monetary policies,
and the
like, but 10 weeks after its launch most relevant ministries are
already
behind schedule, instead of deregulation there are additional and
increased
controls, the incentivisation of exports by a more realistic
exchange rate
has been wholly devoured by new electricity tariffs, no
investment
incentivisation is apparent, government continues with profligate
spending
of that which it does not have but must borrow, and inflation
soars
endlessly.
In such circumstances, not only can the economy
worsen further, but it will
do so.
Zim
Independent
Muckraker
Zimbabwe's First Shopper a
disgrace
ZIMBABWE'S First Shopper has once again found herself
in the news following
Radio 702's brief interview with "Her
Excellency".
It was very resourceful of them to track down our serial
spender to Caesar's
Palace, one of the most expensive hotels in South Africa,
at a time when her
husband's misrule has condemned his countrymen to
destitution. etv
interviewed a Zimbabwean refugee in Hillbrow who was trying
to eke out a
living by hawking on the pavement. Needless to say, he was
rather
unimpressed to hear about Grace's stay.
The Democratic
Alliance's Joe Seremane put it neatly: "DisGraceful".
It is not difficult to
understand the purpose of the trip. With shops closed
in Harare because of
the stayaway and further strikes looming, there was an
urgent need to restock
the Zimbabwe House larder. And what a treat: all
those items no longer
available in Zimbabwe because of forex shortages!
We would hate to see
the tab at the end of her stay at Caesar's Palace. Who
will be rendering unto
Caesar that which is Caesar's, we wonder? The
ordinary hard-pressed
Zimbabwean taxpayer you can bet!
While the rest of us are having to
economise owing to the pressure of forex
shortages and inflation, it is good
to see that it's not only Grace keeping
up appearances. Reserve Bank governor
Leonard Tsumba was spotted at
Washington's Dulles Airport on Sunday, April 20
checking in for a flight to
London, first class of course.
The first
class fare is around US$5 000.
Tsumba has served his two terms and is now due
to retire. So who will step
into those smart Gucci shoes?
Somebody who
seems to be advertising his candidacy is Dr Samuel Undenge who
describes
himself as an economic consultant. He has been paying for
full-page
advertisements attacking the RBZ for missing Nerp monetary targets
as agreed
by the TNF. His central message is that "people from a different
school of
thought cannot implement successfully ideas from another school
of
thought".
It is not difficult to see which school he supports.
Undenge is a favourite
"talking head" of the state media. While many of his
criticisms of Nerp's
failure to make headway are entirely justified, it is
not altogether clear
if he is speaking for himself or a wider constituency
that is critical of
the RBZ. Some clarification would be
welcome.
Jonathan Moyo was last Friday quoted in the Herald threatening
employers who
had closed their businesses during the recent stayaway.
Relevant authorities
were "compiling data on those industries that have
illegally locked out
workers for reasons that are manifestly political.," he
menacingly warned.
Criminal and civil liabilities would have to be sought
against the culprits
in terms of Posa, he said.
We hope employers will
have a suitably robust response for this ministerial
demagogue. Firstly, Posa
is in clear violation of constitutional guarantees
to freedom of expression
and assembly. Despite some bravado from Patrick
Chinamasa in this paper a few
weeks ago, the government is under intense
regional pressure to repeal it and
will have to do so as part of any
political accommodation.
Secondly,
employers should listen to their workers and not to self-inflated
ministers.
The future of this country lies in the hands of business and
labour, not Zanu
PF which is about to go down the toilet of history. Nobody
believes the silly
story about thousands of workers wanting to report for
work but finding their
premises closed. Ask your workers what they want and
act
accordingly.
Finally, remember that Moyo is a loser. He is good at
threatening people but
has not inspired a single successful prosecution, even
under his own
legislation.
If, by the way, the government assumes it
can prosecute employers for
"seeking to cripple the economy", what can be
done about ministers whose
depredations are responsible for forex shortages,
230% inflation, 80%
unemployment, institutional corruption, parasitic
parastatals, and
international isolation?
While we are at it, should
the Department of Information be spending public
funds on partisan adverts in
the Herald and on ZTV? Those carried by ZTV
border on incitement. Should
government officials be allowed to abuse
taxpayers' money to publish facile
accusations against the MDC that nobody,
except a handful of Zanu PF
fanatics, is going to believe anyway?
Which "elements", for instance, of
the MDC are, or were, Selous Scouts? This
is a charge that has in the past
been linked to David Coltart but, like
Philip Chiyangwa, he served in the
police reserve during compulsory call-up,
not the army.
We are told in
the Department of Information ads that on February 6 the
Daily News carried a
"shocking" article on its leader page under the
heading, "MDC must cripple
economy to dislodge Mugabe".
An excerpt from the article is quoted: "The
MDC has done it before (meaning
it has caused chaos!) and they should
complete the job. The situation is
historically ripe though the people still
need political drilling.chaos (not
democracy?) is what we need to remove
Mugabe."
Anybody reading the original article by Mkululi Dube would have
difficulty
recognising it from the Herald ad. The Department of Information,
whose
minister keeps warning the press about falsehoods, changed the words to
suit
its purpose.
Here is the original version: "The MDC should simply
seek national consensus
and engage in well-organised mass action that will
cripple the economy and
inevitably force the government to its knees. They
have done it before and
they should complete the job. The situation is ripe,
though the people still
need political grilling. I would for once agree with
Munyaradzi Gwisai
(Sunday Mirror, 19 January 2003) that chaos is what we need
to remove
Mugabe, though it still has to be an organised noise."
In a
carefully argued piece, the author pointed out how the MDC leadership
had
discouraged its followers from pursuing the path of mass action. A
more
robust policy was needed, he argued, referring to Gwisai's statement.
This
was written well before March's MDC-organised stayaway.
We should
expect the Department of Information to distort what the writer
said. But
changing words like grilling - meaning discourse - to "drilling" -
meaning
military training - and inserting "historically", are very
serious
professional abuses by officials in the President's Office.
On
a related matter, the charge that school children were targeted in the
March
mass action is raised again in the ad.
Has anybody asked the police
whether school children were actually on the
bus at the time? Or indeed
anywhere near it? And why are police officers
shown looking at concrete
blocks lying exactly where they are supposed to be
lying?
In a report
on the decision of a number of countries to block a motion on
Zimbabwe by the
US and EU at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, the
Herald
inadvertently (we hope) managed to put Sweden in both camps. We can
safely
assume Sweden would be unlikely to condone murder, torture and rape!
An
editorial in the same paper also gave the impression that France was
on
Zimbabwe's side.
This is a matter that needs to be clarified.
France admittedly gave a poor
impression of its foreign policy by inviting
President Mugabe to a meeting
of African leaders in Paris earlier this year.
It did so on the grounds that
the meeting would expose Mugabe to the views of
his peers. While we should
exercise a healthy measure of scepticism about
France's motives, we should
not at the same time swallow state-media
explanations as to what transpired.
We know from Zimbabwean official
reports that, coming out of their meeting,
Mugabe said he had briefed
President Jacques Chirac on the land question.
But Zimbabwean officials were
never challenged to disclose what Chirac said
to him.
Muckraker
gathers that Chirac did not just sit and listen to Mugabe. While
the Elysée
has not officially commented on what took place, Muckraker is
assured by
sources in the French capital that it was not the one-way
monologue Mugabe
implied. He was told a few things as well. Despite a
reputation for Gallic
charm and courtesy, Chirac can be blunt when he wants
to be!
While
still on the subject of the Paris visit, Muckraker would like to ask
Stan
Mudenge the following: How many visas did you seek for the
Zimbabwe
delegation? And how many were approved? We heard three.
And
we were pleased to see deputy minister Sithembiso Nyonigetting a firm
rebuff
during her visit to Vienna recently. She used the waiver given for a
visit to
theUN Industrial Development Orga-nisation to try and contact
theAustrian
foreign ministry. "Sorry," they said. "We can't talk to you."
Note the
pattern here. Getting a waiver to visit the EU because it was UN
business.
And then trying to expand the scope of the visit to claim a
propaganda
victory. But the Austrians weren't playing ball.
Now for some light
relief:
Each year the Washington Post's Style Invitational asks readers
to take any
word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or
changing only
one letter and supply a new definition. Here are the
winners:
- Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts
until you
realise it was your money to start with.
- Foreploy: Any
misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting
laid.
-
Giraffiti: Vandalism painted very, very high.
- Sarchasm: The gulf between
the author of sarcastic wit and the person who
doesn't get it.
-
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
-
Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
- Osteopornosis: A degenerate dise-ase.
-
Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really
bad
vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a
serious
bummer.
- Glibido: All talk and no action.
- Dopeer Effect: The
tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come
at you
rapidly.
And, the winner of the Washington Post's Style Invitational:
-
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an a--hole.
Zim
Independent
Are the power-brokers up to the
task?
THE expected arrival on Monday of Presidents Thabo Mbeki,
Olusegun Obasanjo
and Bakili Muluzi to discuss the resuscitation of
Zimbabwe's long-dormant
inter-party dialogue provides a good opportunity for
the de-mocratic
majority to send a message to our would-be helpers regarding
the usefulness
of their mission.
MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai this
week referred to the "suspicion and
anxiety" felt by Zimbabweans after Mbeki
and Obasanjo had "subverted and
scuttled" the work of the Commonwealth
troika. In particular, Tsvangirai
accused them of shielding President Mugabe
from international censure after
they endorsed his fraudulent
reelection.
There must be no attempt, the MDC leader said, to incorporate the
opposition
into a wider Mugabe succession plan.
This is the core of
the problem. Zanu PF is seeking its own survival in
power. Despite
belligerent noises from the Office of the President, the
party is resigned to
an accommodation with the MDC. But, naturally enough,
it will try to define
the terms of that accommodation. Treating the MDC as a
junior partner in a
government of national unity is not the lifeline
Tsvangirai is about to throw
to Mugabe's sinking crew.
His speech on Wednesday to senior party
officials, councillors and MPs was
carefully phrased to avoid setting
specific preconditions. But it made clear
that meaningful political
engagement could only take place in a peaceful
environment.
This is
not an unreasonable requirement. No dialogue of any sort can proceed
in the
poisoned atmosphere that the government's low-intensity war against
the
opposition has emitted. The Mugabe regime must put a stop to all forms
of
state-sponsored violence, Tsvangirai said, uphold the rule of law and
respect
human rights. It must ensure the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, police and
the CIO
operate professionally in accordance with their constitutional
mandates and
cease participating in politics as organised units of Zanu PF.
Posa and Aippa
must also be revoked to permit freedom of expression and
assembly.
The
three visitors should be asked whether they agree or not that these are
the
minimal conditions in which dialogue can succeed. These are exactly
the
conditions the ANC required before they agreed to talk to FW de
Klerk's
regime at Codesa. And they accord with a number of Sadc commitments
South
Africa and Malawi have signed up to.
Also in keeping with the
Codesa precedent, the transitional period needs to
be defined with provision
for free and fair elections at the end that are in
accordance with Sadc
Electoral Norms and Standards. That will require an
independent electoral
commission responsible for drawing up a transparent
and accurate voters'
roll, the presence of local and international observers
with unfettered
access, and unrestricted media coverage so voters can make
an informed
choice.
It is now evident that Mugabe, who procured his own return last
year by
electoral manipulation and intimidation, cannot remain as head of
state when
he has violated his commitments to uphold constitutional
governance,
unleashed illegal militias upon the populace, and sabotaged the
economy to
perpetuate his grip on power. While the three leaders insist they
are not
coming here to negotiate Mugabe's exit, they concede they are
brokering a
process of dialogue that nearly all players, including many at
the top of
the ruling party, see as leading to Mugabe's departure well before
the end
of his term in 2008.
One reason for this consensus is the
self-evident conclusion that Mugabe has
no answers to the pressing problems
facing the country of which he is the
principal author, and any continuation
of his vengeful rule is likely to be
ruinous.
The MDC has in place a
national rescue plan that, given international
goodwill towards Zimbabweans,
is likely to attract immediate donor support.
This would involve a programme
of sustained recovery in the agricultural,
mining and tourism sectors which
have been hardest hit by Mugabe's
slash-and-burn tactics.
An emergency
plan of this sort to kickstart the economy needs to be given
the widest
possible publicity so Zimbabweans can look forward to a future
government
that has their interests, and not those of a corrupt clique,
at
heart.
In his speech on Wednesday, Tsvangirai promised that on the
morrow of a
democratic government, the pariah status earned by the Mugabe
regime would
evaporate and Zimbabwe would assume its rightful position in the
community
of law-abiding nations.
The MDC leader was in effect saying
there is a future beyond Mugabe. We have
to remember that.
If the
triumvirate visiting Harare on Monday - one of them fresh from a poll
in
which he won 100% of the vote in a district where 100% of voters cast
their
ballots - are to be of any use at all, they will have to drop their
redundant
plan to rescue Zanu PF by coopting the MDC and concentrate instead
on the
minimal conditions for a political dialogue that rescues Zimbabwe
from its
current crisis. Are they up to it?
Zim Independent
Power shortage hits
winter cropping
Blessing Zulu/Augustine Mukaro
THE impact of the current electricity shortage
has spread to the
agricultural sector, forcing farmers to reduce the
hectarage for winter
maize and wheat.
Zimbabwe normally grows between
85 000 and 100 000 hectares of winter crops
using overhead irrigation. The
water pumping engines used for watering are
driven by
electricity.
Agricultural experts this week said because of the power
shortage in the
country only a quarter of the winter crop would be
grown.
"At the moment industry, including the agricultural sector, is
operating at
only 30% of capacity because Zesa is unable to meet power
demands," one
expert said.
"There is no power for irrigation on
the farms."
Commercial Farmers Union economist Kuda Ndoro said the power
crisis would
severely affect the winter crop.
"Farmers use most of
their electricity during winter since there will be a
lot of irrigation,"
Ndoro said.
"If nothing is done to augment supply this will affect
the performance of
the winter cereals."
Many companies have been
hard hit by Zesa's load-shedding over the past few
weeks. This has compelled
some of them to shut down, scale down operations,
retrench or reduce working
hours.
This has worsened unemployment and poverty.
Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce chief executive Luckymore Zinyama
said
businesses had no choice but to adopt survival
strategies.
"There are many companies including our members who are
scaling down
operations," Zinyama said.
"Industries have now
resorted to a shorter working week and workers are
being told to commute
their leave days. Those who used to be on three-day
shifts now have only one
shift."
Zimbabwe is already facing a serious shortage of wheat caused
by the
destruction of the agricultural sector by government's chaotic land
reforms.
Government has been trying to make up for the maize deficits
by growing 100
000 hectares of winter maize at Nuanetsi Ranch.
"We
will be self-sufficient in maize this year by producing 2 100 000 tonnes
from
100 000 hectares on Nuanetsi Ranch," Agriculture minister Made was
recently
quoted as saying.
To encourage farmers to plant winter wheat, Made
increased the producer
prices of the crop from $70 000 to $150 000 per
tonne.
The producer price of maize was also hiked from $28 000 a
tonne to $130 000.
But agriculture specialists say all these efforts
at food self-sufficiency
could be sabotaged by the shortage of
electricity.
Although government's latest economic recovery
initiative, the National
Economic Revival Programme, has agriculture as its
foundation, farming
experts say the programme will not work so long as
shortages of power, fuel,
and foreign currency to import machinery and spare
parts persist.
The economic recovery programme has been widely
criticised as next to
useless because it does not have a holistic approach to
Zimbabwe's economic
and political crisis. Already the programme is failing to
take off due to
the country's catalogue of problems, including electricity
shortages.
Zim Independent
Cosatu warns on Zim
crisis
Blessing Zulu/Loughty Dube
THE Congress of South African Trade Unions
(Cosatu) says there is need for
urgent steps to resolve Zimbabwe's economic
and political crisis to avoid a
regional contagion.
Cosatu said the
Zimbabwe situation could end up drawing other countries into
its vortex if
not immediately addressed. The South African labour movement
made these
remarks after a three-hour long meeting with South African
President Thabo
Mbeki.
"If the economy of Zimbabwe is affected, it's going to affect
this country,"
said Joseph Maqhekeni, Cosatu president.
"It will
affect the workers of this country, as such we need something to be
done,"
Maqhekeni said.
Last week, African Institute of International Affairs
chairperson, Fred
Phaswana, said it was imperative to resolve the Zimbabwean
crisis to avoid
an economic meltdown.
"One of the greatest factors
of Africa's current problems lies in too little
effective and constructive
criticism of its leaders, not too much," Phaswana
said.
Phaswana
said this had clearly not brought about a change or halted the
accelerating
downward political and economic spiral in Zimbabwe.
He said the New
Partnership for Africa's Development offered not only a
vision but also a
path to African development.
"The need for African societies to
foster good governance regimes, greater
accountability of leaders to the
governed, and more effective socio-economic
development for all citizens -
goals of both the AU and Nepad - can only be
achieved by a more vibrant
debate across the continent by all elements of
the population," he
said.
Meanwhile, Cosatu has congratulated the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Union
(ZCTU) on last week's three-day mass stayaway in protest against
massive
fuel price increases by the government.
Cosatu said the
fuel price hikes would impact negatively on workers. It
promised to continue
to support the ZCTU in any further action it would take
to press for price
reductions and an end to human rights abuses.
"The federation fully
supports its fellow workers in Zimbabwe in their
struggle against an
excessive 200% fuel price increase, which means that
many workers have to pay
more each day to travel to and from work than they
earn in a day," Cosatu
spokesperson, Patrick Craven, said in a statement.
Cosatu also
condemned the continuing arrests of trade unionists, including
the over 20
ZCTU activists arrested in Bulawayo and Gweru during the
mass
stayaway.
"We demand that the (Zimbabwean) government
immediately and unconditionally
release all those still in detention and
refrain from any further arrests of
trade unionists and politicians, "Craven
said.
Zim Independent
Govt abandons plans
to sell state firms
Ndamu Sandu/Shakeman Mugari
DESPITE a public commitment to privatisation,
government has abandoned the
programme in favour of commercialisation of
state-owned companies.
Sources said government has ditched the programme
and no state-owned company
is likely to be privatised in the near
future.
"The state is no longer committed to privatisation and is now
concentrating
on merely restructuring and commercialising parastatals," a
source said.
Privatisation Agency of Zimbabwe (Paz) director Andrew
Bvumbe confirmed
government has directed his organisation to now focus on
restructuring and
commercialisation, instead of
privatisation.
"Government has indicated that at the moment we should
commercialise and
restructure until the economic environment has changed," he
said.
"The major challenge is how to effectively implement the
programme under
existing conditions which have reduced the privatisation
pace. The focus is
now on effective commercialisation and restructuring of
parastatals before
privatisation."
Privatisation, which has
ostensibly been part of government economic policy
since the advent of
economic reforms in 1991, was meant to make the
companies more efficient and
to raise funds for government. It was also
designed to reduce the financial
burden on the fiscus.
Most of the parastatals such as Noczim, NRZ,
Zesa, Air Zimbabwe, and the
CMED are making serious losses and are heavily
indebted. They are currently
surviving on taxpayers' money.
Under
the current New Economic Recovery Programme (Nerp), government puts
emphasis
on "indigenous economic empowerment and agrarian-driven
socio-economic
transformation", and not on privatisation.
Bvumbe said the
loss-making Zesa, which has been on the priority list for
privatisation for
the past four years, would now be unbundled into five
strategic business
units and not privatised.
Initially, the state had directed Paz to
privatise the power utility but
later made a policy U-turn in keeping with
its record.
Government recently rejected the privatisation of the
three demerged Astra
Holdings companies, Cairns, Tractive Power, and Astra,
despite initially
inviting tenders.
The state is expected to
relinquish its shareholding in Finhold and Cold
Storage Company. It was also
expected to dispose of its controlling stakes
in NRZ, Agribank, and Wankie
Colliery Company and some subsidiaries of the
Industrial Development
Corporation but nothing has happened.
Parastatals are seen as a
millstone around the neck of government as they
continue milking the fiscus
of billions of dollars. Presenting the budget
last year, Finance minister
Herbert Murerwa cited Air Zimbabwe and Zesa as
examples of parastastals
draining public funds.
Successfully privatised companies include
Dairibord, Cottco and Rainbow
Tourism Group.
Economic analyst Tony
Hawkins said Paz has to be autonomous if it was to be
effective like similar
agencies in Mozambique and Zambia.
"For Paz to work effectively, it
has to be autonomous which is not the case
in Zimbabwe," he
said.
In 2001, the then Minister of Finance, Simba Makoni, had set
the target for
privatisation at $40 billion but the agency raised only $10
billion.
Zim Independent
Mahofa/Maseva farm
dispute rages on
Augustine Mukaro
THE dispute over Lothian Farm between Gender,
Youth Development and
Employment Creation deputy minister Shuvai Mahofa and
slain war veteran Amos
Maseva's family remains unresolved two years after the
conflict claimed its
first victim, the Zimbabwe Independent heard this
week.
The two families clashed again earlier this year after Mahofa
destroyed
crops planted by the late Maseva's brother and planted her
own.
In an interview over the weekend, Maseva's father said he was
contemplating
exhuming and dumping his son's coffin at Mahofa's
home.
"It was all my fault to bury Amos before Mahofa had done
something about the
matter," Maseva's father said.
He said Mahofa
had intensified her efforts to push his family off the
controversial plot
number 19 where the farmhouse is situated.
"Earlier this year Mahofa
destroyed the maize that had been planted by Amos'
brother using tractors
from the District Development Fund," he said.
"She proceeded to plant
her beans on the same piece of land but we never
disturbed
it."
The late war veteran is alleged to have died of injuries
sustained when
Mahofa teamed up with other people and assaulted him at
Lothian Farm after a
dispute over occupation of the
farmhouse.
Relatives of the deceased, led by the Masvingo war
veterans leadership,
dumped Maseva's body at Mahofa's house at Mpandawana
growth point.
The family reportedly demanded $2 million and 20 head
of cattle as
compensation before they could bury the body. The burial was
done after the
intervention of Vice-President Simon Muzenda, local chiefs,
war veterans and
other politicians.
"It's two years now since my
son died and there is nothing happening to
bring Mahofa before the courts.
Chief Gutu who is handling the matter seems
to be dragging his feet about
setting dates for the hearing," said the late
war veteran's father at the
weekend.
Maseva (Sr) said Mahofa was evading the hearing through
excuses.
"She told Chief Gutu that she could not attend the first and
second hearings
that were set by the traditional court because she would be
out of the
country. We now realise that she is buying time so that we abandon
the whole
thing.
"We are going to Muzenda this week to tell him
that there is no progress on
the issue," Maseva
said.
Zim Independent
FSI builds empire
renting A2 farms
Augustine Mukaro
MORE names of Zanu PF cronies renting out farms
taken under the fast-track
land reform programme emerged this
week.
Investigations by the Zimbabwe Independent revealed that of the 634
model A2
farmers whose properties are being operated by FSI Agricom, over 400
are
allocated to either ruling-party officials, war veterans' leaders,
or
businessmen with close links to government.
FSI Agricom
Holdings (Pvt ) Ltd and CFI Holdings (Pvt) Ltd have entered
contractual
agreements with A2 beneficiaries to run theirfarms. The
contracts are,
however,bound by a government Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) of September
17, 2002 signed by the two companies.
In Mashonaland West province,
where provincial chairman Phillip Chiyangwa
was among the first people to
offer his farm to FSI Agricom, over 150
farmers are sub-letting their
farms.
Prominent figures renting out their farms include war
veterans' chairman
Patrick Nyaruwata and secretary-general Andy Mhlanga who
are both occupying
Bramfield Farm.
Sources said FSI had planted
about 105 hectares of soya beans on the farm,
which is ready for
harvesting.
"The two started benefiting from the FSI contract last
year when the company
planted about 100 hectares of wheat," sources at FSI
said.
"We will be harvesting the sum-mer crop in the coming weeks and
making the
land ready for wheat."
FSI provided financial support
to the two war veterans' leaders covering
inputs, planting and harvesting of
the crops.
Another beneficiary of the A2scheme with close links to
govern-ment in the
same province is Tsitsi Mugabe, the wife of Davison Mugabe
who is the
chairman of the Indige-nous Commercial Farmers
Union.
Papers seen by the Independent show that in Mashonaland
Centralbeneficiaries
from the FSI arra-ngement include Agricultural
perm-anent secretary Ngoni
Masoka and writer Alexander
Kanengoni.
In Manicaland, Zesa boss Sydney Gata is a beneficiary and
in the Midlands,
deputy minister of Home affairs Rugare Gumbo is also a
beneficiary.
Sources said the Mashonaland West scenario was a
microcosm of the wider
national scenario in which senior ruling party and
government officials
seized farms only to rent them
out.
"Provincial chefs are manipula-ting loopholes in the land reform
programme
with a good number of them renting out their farms to
government
organisations such as Arda and the District Development Fund where
FSI has
not come into picture," a source said.
Documents seen by
the Indepe-ndent show that FSI Agricom, which has quickly
become an
agricultural giant, divided the country into four regional areas -
Central,
Northern, Eastern and Western - for its purposes.
In a statement to
the Independent, FSI Agricom managing director Ivan Savala
said the September
17, 2002 MOU has given his company a mandate to produce
for the country to
ensure food security.
"In terms of this MOU, FSI Agri-com was
required to produce the following
quantities of crops: 30 000 tonnes of
maize; 30 000 tonnes of soya beans; 30
000 tonnes of sorghum; 90 000 tonnes
of wheat, and 60 000 tonnes of seed
cotton," Savala
said.
"Pursuant to this agreement FSI supported 634 A2 farmers
growing the first
three crops.
"Under our cotton out-grower scheme
alone we supported 25 000 A1 and A2
farmers," he said.
Savala said
that the agreement provides for FSI assisting A2 bene-ficiaries
with inputs
as well as management where necessary to ensure that the
objective of food
security and production is met.
Savala said FSI as an agro-processor
has provided a window of opportunity
for A2 beneficiaries. Precise
contractual agreements are tailor-made to suit
individual requirements of
each beneficiary, he added.
Zim Independent
Zimpapers editors
fight over vehicles
Tracy Mpofu/Cynthia Mahwite
A WAR of words has erupted between
controversial Chronicle editor Stephen
Ndlovu and his Sunday News counterpart
Brezhnev Malaba over the allocation
of vehicles to their reporters, the
Zimbabwe Independent has established.
Sources at the Chronicle said
Ndlovu and Malaba - the two Bulawayo-based
government-controlled newspaper
editors in the Zimpapers stable - clashed
after Ndlovu hijacked four delivery
vehicles and gave them to his staff
members.
The sources said
Ndlovu overrode the newspapers' transport manager Edward
Tshuma when he
unilaterally grabbed the vehicles which had come from head
office in
Harare.
Ndlovu recently caused a row between Information minister
Jonathan Moyo,
Foreign minister Stan Mudenge and Zanu PF spokesman Nathan
Shamuyarira after
attacking South African President Thabo
Mbeki.
In seizing the cars, he by-passed all managers, including
chief executive
Justin Mutasa.
The Chronicle and the Sunday News,
whose profitability is declining with the
fall of their holding company
Zimpapers' fortunes, are facing a critical
transport crisis. More than 30
reporters are using only two vehicles for
their assignments.
The
confrontation escalated after Malaba wrote a memorandum, a copy of which
is
in the possession of the Independent, to Mutasa last Friday complaining
about
Ndlovu's behaviour.
"We draw attention to the chaotic utilisation of
company vehicles at this
branch," Malaba wrote in the memo dated April
25.
"Trucks which we received recently from head office have been
diverted to
personal use, instead of strengthening our dilapidated
newspaper-delivery
fleet. Clearly the trucks are not meant for personal
use."
Malaba accused Ndlovu of being selfish by seizing the vehicles
for private
use.
"The Chronicle editor, Mr Ndlovu, has allocated
one of the delivery trucks
to his deputy (Paul Mambo), yet this gentleman
already has a vehicle," he
said.
"When I expressed reservation on
the grabbing of the delivery trucks, Ndlovu
even had the audacity to say to
me: 'Don't forget that Mambo is in the same
grade as you'."
Malaba
said Ndlovu's behaviour was shocking.
"If indeed this chaotic
approach is all about grades as the Chronicle editor
claims, why is it that
the assistant editor of the Sunday News (Thabani
Mpofu) has no vehicle yet
the news editor of the Chronicle, who is in a
lower grade, has a car?
Moreover, our news editor has no car," he said.
"Mr Ndlovu must not
appease his subordinates at the expense of production."
Ndlovu was
said to have reacted with venom to the letter and summoned the
Sunday News'
news editor to his diary meeting where he attacked Malaba for
writing a
"stupid letter" to him.
Ndlovu is also said to have phoned Malaba and
scolded him. The two editors
were reportedly summoned by Information minister
Jonathan Moyo to Harare
this week to discuss the matter. Efforts to get
comment from them were
unsuccessful.
Zim Independent
Residents prepare
lawsuit over Mudzuri
Augustine Mukaro
THE Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA) will soon file papers at
the High Court demanding an urgent
reinstatement of suspended Harare
executive mayor Engineer Elias Mudzuri, the
Zimbabwe Independent heard this
week.
CHRA chairman Mike Davis said
his organisation is engaged in a series of
consultative meetings with
residents, councillors and legal advisors on the
prospects of taking a legal
route.
"We will be filing papers in the High Court early next week,"
Davis said.
"We will be challenging the legitimacy of the suspension
and seeking an
urgent reinstatement of the mayor because we reject
it."
CHRA was instrumental in forcing government to hold Harare local
council
elections when it won its case challenging the legitimacy of the
Chanakira
Commission last year. The elections were subsequently held
concurrently with
the hotly disputed presidential election.
A
five-member delegation from Harare's long-time twin city, Munich,
currently
in the city, also demanded the reinstatement of the mayor saying
that: "The
decision to suspend the mayor on the grounds of general and
unproven
allegations is contrary to our understanding of basic
democratic
principles."
Munich vice-mayor Hep Monatz-eder told
journalists that only a
democratically legitimised city government in Harare
can be a partner of the
city of Munich.
In a statement yesterday
CHRA said it was rejecting the Minister of Local
Government, Ignatius
Chombo's latest move to suppress the democratic process
in the City of Harare
and would not hesitate to challenge it.
"As residents we will not
accept the situation," CHRA said.
"We went through the courts to
achieve a democratically elected council and
we will not hesitate to do so
again to defend our democratic space.
"The suspension of the
executive mayor of Harare is a culmination of
numerous attempts by the
ministry to deny residents the right to participate
in the decision-making
process," CHRA said.
"In one bizarre case the executive mayor has
been arrested together with
residents for discussing issues that affect them
in Mabvuku.
"The city must not be disrupted by people bent on scoring
political points
at the expense of real issues such as the water situation,
housing, sewerage
reticulation and waste removal," CHRA said.
It
said these problems date back to the Solomon Tawengwa-led council and
were
not caused by the democratically elected council the city now
has.
"If the minister was concerned about the residents and
ratepayers, then he
would engage them in discussions with the mayor over
these matters," CHRA
said.
CHRA said the real reason for the
concern in Harare's affairs by the regime
lay in the loss of the patronage
opportunities that exist in the city, from
contracts to employment. These
have been denied to the regime as a result of
the elections last year and the
regime is eager to reclaim looting
privileges, it
said.
Zim Independent
Govt directs
workers' fury at employers
Conrad Dube
GOVERNMENT'S recently-announ-ced new minimum
wages will fur-ther undermine
the already battered industrial sector,
analysts said this week.
The move is seen as burdening industry with the
cost of recent fuel price
hikes.
With some companies having
significantly reduced working hours due to the
shortages of electricity and
foreign exchange, government's decision was
widely seen as a political move
to appease restive workers who are
threatening to revolt in protest against
economic hardships, while
penalising employers for siding with their workers.
The pay awards had been
agreed in February but government waited until the
stayaway before
announcing them.
Although the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU) said the new wage
levels were way below the poverty datum
line, the labour movement believes
the government decision was politically
motivated.
"The announcement was a ploy to divert workers' attention
from the stayaway
with a view to portraying ZCTU as not being co-operative so
that workers
would not see much in the job action," ZCTU information officer,
Mlamleli
Sibanda, said in an interview.
The ZCTU indicated that
new minimum wages, in which workers in the
agricultural sector, agro
industry, and industry and commerce would get $23
070, $42 168, and $47 696
respectively, were still way below the poverty
datum line wage of $53 020 as
at March 2003 for a family of five.
Yet the labour body also
acknowledged that companies would not be able to
pay the new wages because of
the impact of the national economic decline.
With price controls
production has also been affected and resultantly
companies would not be able
meet the new wage levels.
Prices of end products have been frozen in
an environment where salaries and
wages, costs of inputs such as raw
materials, insurance, electricity and
transport have been allowed to
rise.
Industrialists say there is need for strong institutional
support and a
social contract between labour, business and government to
create confidence
in the economy that would allow self-regulation on the part
of concerned
players.
However, the social contract is now facing
collapse after the ZCTU pulled
out of the Tripartite Negotiating Forum citing
"arbitrary and unilateral
decision-making by the
government".
Zim Independent
Labour Act millstone
around workers - lawyers
Blessing Zulu
ZIMBABWE Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has
called upon the government to
enshrine collective job action in the
constitution as is the case in other
countries.
ZLHR cordinator, Irene
Petras, said this in a statement released ahead of
the May Day celebrations
held yesterday.
"The right to collective action, though recognised,
is limited by the
provisions of the Labour Relations Act," said
Petras.
"Whereas in South Africa collective job action has been
elevated to a
fundamental right enshrined in the constitution, in Zimbabwe it
is contained
in the Labour Relations Act with limitations," she
said.
The issue of collective bargaining is closely aligned to
collective actions
such as strikes, stayaways, picketing and
lock-outs.
Petras said the new labour legislation was restrictive in
its dealings with
issues affecting workers.
Petras said labour has
insisted that it has a right to engage in collective
action of its choice to
press its demands. Petras said on the other hand the
government, whilst
reluctantly recognising the right, maintains it must be
governed in terms of
the parameters that it has set.
She said the process of collective
action is the only way that pressure may
be brought about by the employees on
the employee. She said without the
ability to stay away from work, it would
be futile for employees to engage
in collective bargaining.
"The
attempt by government to curtail the right to collective action
is
ill-conceived and counter-productive. It only serves to
underscore
government's lip service to the issue of economic and social
rights. The
government is prepared to advance the rights of those that it
perceives to
be on its side and to destroy the rights of those who hold a
different view
or philosophy to it," she said.
This year's Workers
Day comes after the ZCTU called for a three-day mass
stayaway which brought
the country to a standstill. The ZCTU also pulled out
of the Tripartite
Negotiating Forum which brings together labour, business
and
government.
Government has been accused of trying to stifle workers
by forming
counter-labour bodies such as the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade
Unions
fronted by Joseph Chinotimba, a member of the ruling Zanu PF
party.
The country, in its fourth year of recession, has an
unemployment rate of
75% and the ZCTU said 80% of workers' salaries are
gobbled up by transport
alone while the poverty datum line had shot up to
$125 000.
Zim Independent
Botswana probes
border officials
Loughty Dube
BOTSWANA'S Department of Immigration is
investigating some of its officials
for allegedly receiving bribes from
Zimbabwean immigrants seeking to prolong
their stay in that
country.
Botswana's acting chief immigration officer, Fred Majola,
confirmed in
reports over the weekend that his department was conducting
internal
investigations into the bribery cases.
The latest
investigations will add to already worsening relations between
the two
countries.
The allegations came to light after a tip off to
immigration officials that
some Zimbabweans were paying as much as 120 pula
for extending their stay in
that country.
"We certainly will
follow this one and investigate. we cannot have a
department manned by
criminals," Majola said.
He said the results will be passed to the
Directorate on Corruption and
Economic Crime before appropriate action is
taken.
A sizeable number of Zimbabweans arrested in Botswana are
finding their way
back to the streets after producing travel documents with
extended periods
of stay.
The Batswana accuse Zimbabweans of
engaging in criminal activities while in
that country while the Zimbabweans
accuse the Batswana of ill-treating them.
The trading of accusations
between the two countries' nationals began
immediately after Botswana
criticised President Mugabe's land reforms and
then demanded payment for a
20-million-litre fuel credit line it extended to
the government in March
2000.
Two Zimbabweans were killed in a Botswana prison after Batswana
inmates
teamed up with other African inmates to assault
Zimbabweans.
Last month a Botswana traditional court summoned
Zimbabwe's High
Commissioner to Botswana, Phelekezela Mphoko, and several
other Zimbabweans
to warn them about illegal
activities.
Zim Independent
Zim courts IMF -
again
Shakeman Mugari
A YEAR after President Robert Mugabe announced
that his government had
abandoned all dealings with the Washington-based
Bretton Woods institutions,
the Minister of Finance and Economic Development,
Herbert Murerwa says
Zimbabwe is courting the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) for economic
help.
Murerwa and a delegation from Zimbabwe,
including Re-serve Bank of Zimbabwe
governor Leonard Tsumba, are understood
to have held a secret meeting with
IMF managing director Horst Kohler.
Murerwa's delegation sought a private
audience with the IMF head on the
sidelines of the annual spring general
meeting held in mid-April in
Washington.
The sideline meeting was held to try and persuade the
financial institution
to bail Zimbabwe out of its financial crisis - the
worst since Independence.
Murerwa confirmed he led a delegation to the
IMF meeting in the United
States.
He however refused to say
whether the delegation had held a private meeting
with the IMF managing
director.
Murerwa said: "The only time we met the IMF managing
director was during the
sessions of the annual meeting. Apart from that there
were no secret talks
between my delegation and the IMF."
It is
however reliably understood that Murerwa and Tsumba held a meeting
with IMF
officials at which they discussed Zimbabwe's precarious
economic
situation.
An official based at the IMF offices in
Washington confirmed that the
minister and RBZ governor were involved in
private talks with the managing
director.
She said: "Murerwa and
Tsumba requested a meeting with the head of the IMF
soon after their arrival
in Washington and the meeting was held on April
14."
Gerry
Johnson, seniorIMF representative in Zim-babwe, confirmed that
Mure-rwa led a
delegation to Washington and indeed held a meeting
with
Kohler.
Johnson said: "Zimbabwe did have a word with the IMF
but I have no idea what
the agenda was."
Although details of the
private meeting are still sketchy it is reliably
understood that during the
meeting the Zimbabwe delegation asked the IMF to
help Zimbabwe solve its
economic crisis.
"An IMF mission was in Zimbabwe in March. They are
well-informed about our
crisis. Murerwa was trying to improve Zimbabwe's
relationship with the
Fund," an RBZ official said.
Analysts this
week said the private meeting was an attempt by Zimbabwe to
mend its frosty
relationship with the Bretton Woods Institutions.
"The private
meeting with the IMF is simply an indication that Zimbabwe is
once again
turning to the Bretton Woods institutions for assistance," an
economic
analyst said.
Sources said government was trying to sell the New
Economic Revival
Pro-gramme (Nerp) to the Fund.
When the IMF was
in Zimbabwe in March it gave a damning report on the
country's economic and
political situations, saying the country needed to
improve its
performance.
Zim
Independent
ZTA to market Zim at Indaba
THE
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) says it will use the annual travel fair
in
South Africa, the Indaba, to market the country as a safe
tourist
destination.
The Indaba to be hosted in Durban from May 3 to 6
brings together tourism
promotion organisations and companies involved in
tourism worldwide.
ZTA marketing and communications director Givemore
Chidzidzi said they would
use the Indaba to promote the country's
tourism.
He said the ZTA case had been made easier as there would be
25 Zimbabwean
companies at the ZTA stand.
"Twenty five companies
will exhibit on the Zimbabwean stand and these
include hotels and transport
companies among others," he said.
Chidzidzi said last year's Indaba had
brought in business as well as
contacts.
"Contacts were made
throughout the year and business relations were
renewed," he
said.
The fair is held annually in South Africa.
"When we
go to South Africa we will deal with tourism players, convincing
them that
Zimbabwe is a safe tourist destination," he said.
Tourism, one of the
country's major foreign currency earners, has been in a
slump as a result of
the bad publicity caused by the violent land seizures.
The seizures
extended to conservancies with the Save Conservancy becoming
a
casualty.
Events such as the solar eclipse last year failed to
bring in the foreign
currency needed to resuscitate the ailing tourism
industry. - Staff Writer.
Zim Independent
Sugar crisis set to
worsen
Ngoni Chanakira
ZIMBABWE'S sugar crisis seems here to stay and
could worsen this year as
sugar-cane production is likely to decrease, says
Hippo Valley Estates Ltd
(Hippo) the country's major sugar cane-producing
company.
Hippo Valley is a member of the South African-based
conglomerate, Anglo
American plc group, which is currently reviewing some of
its business
operations in Zimbabwe to concentrate on mining
activities.
The company recorded a loss before tax of $11,2 billion
for the year ended
December 31 2002 compared with a profit before tax of $5,3
billion for 2001.
Turnover declined by 17% from $38,1 billion in 2001
to $31,5 billion in
2002, largely due to the implementation of price
controls.
Hippo chairman Len Bruce said the decrease in sugar
production was because
traditionally some 30% of his company's cane output
was purchased from
private farmers.
"However, large areas of A2
resettlement cane are in poor condition and will
yield at very low levels,"
he said.
"Consequently, sugar production in 2003 is likely to be some
30 000 to 40
000 tonnes lower than the 284 100 tonnes produced in 2002. The
2003 milling
season is scheduled to begin mid-April and close at the end of
November."
The year 2002 saw a greater resolve by government to
redistribute land and
wind up the fast track phase of the programme by August
31 2002.
This was intended to be in time for the 2002/2003
agricultural season.
During this time government set aside $8,5 billion
for inputs to support the
new farmers and $7,2 billion was raised through
Agro Bills.
The reforms have, however, been hampered by the
prospective farmers' failure
to take up allocated land.
Analysts
said the success of the agrarian reforms was heavily dependent on a
clearly
defined tenure system, adequate technical and financial support to
the new
farmers and a more systematic countrywide
infrastructural
development.
They said in the current agricultural
season, returns from the programme
could also be hampered by the uncertain
weather conditions.
Bruce took a swipe at the decision by government to
grow winter maize at
Hippo Valley.
He said the winter maize
project had delayed the company's intention to
normalise its cane-growing
cycle, following the "illegal cane-cutter's
strike of May
2000".
Bruce said: "The winter maize project has, however, delayed
achievement of
this objective by disrupting the cane plough-out and
replanting programme.
In view of the continuing food shortage it has been
decided to again grow
the maximum possible area of winter maize for
consumption by employees".
He said last year a total of 2 320 200
tonnes of cane was milled, compared
with 2 038 000 tonnes in the previous
season.
Bruce said a total of 284 100 tonnes of sugar was produced at
a cane to
sugar ratio of 8,17:1, which compared with 248 600 tonnes produced
in 2001
at a ratio of 8,19:1.
"The quality of sugar produced was
satisfactory," he said.
He said national raw sugar production for 2002
amounted to 580 000 tonnes,
an increase of 13% on the prior year's production
of 512 000 tonnes.
Some 63% of the sugar produced was sold on the
local market while the
balance was exported.
Bruce expressed
concern on government's inability to closely monitor illegal
sugar exports to
regional countries.
He said: "In spite of the country's efforts to
ensure sugar availability on
the formal domestic market, leakage into both
the informal local market and
neighboring countries continues to be a major
cause for concern. Setting a
realistic sugar price structure based on market
forces of demand and supply
will discourage speculative purchasing, hoarding
and the illegal trade in
sugar."
Zim Independent
Declining prices
plunge Zim deeper into the red
Ngoni Chanakira
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) says low and
declining prices of mineral
and agricultural products have worsened the
country's balance of payments
position and subjected the economy to an uneven
flow of foreign exchange.
Zimbabwe's balance of payments position remains
under severe stress,
propelled largely by the continued decline in export
receipts and the
absence of offshore lines of credit and multilateral and
bilateral support.
The current account has suffered from protracted
shrinkage in export
revenues.
Bankers said coupled with reduced
current account inflows and higher import
requirements to fill the large
cereal gap, the current account was estimated
to have ended 2002 with a
deficit of US$800 million.
They said Zimbabwe's capital account on
the other hand was estimated to have
registered a deficit of US$350 million
in 2002 from a deficit of US$420
million in 2001.
NMB Holdings Ltd
said the country's foreign payment arrears continued to
build up during 2002
and were forecast to have ended the year at US$1,5
billion up from US$700
million in 2001.
In its latest Weekly Economic Highlights for March
2003, the RBZ said
tobacco prices fell from more than US$3,50 per metric
tonne in 1997 to below
US$2,70 per metric tonne in
2002.
"Similarly, gold prices also plummeted from above US$800 per
ounce in the
early 1980s, to around US$260 per ounce in 2002, before
recovering to US$350
per ounce in the first quarter of 2003," the RBZ
said.
"Reflecting this, export growth fell from 13,8% in 1995 to
minus 28,5% in
2001. Low mineral and agricultural commodity prices have
reduced incomes in
the mining and agricultural sectors."
The
Central Bank said this had also adversely affected performance of
other
downstream manufacturing sub-sectors such as metals products
and
agro-processing industries.
It said the impact of low
international commodity prices clearly
demonstrated the need for developing
countries to institute bold measures to
reduce over-reliance on primary
commodities.
"Zimbabwe should, however, take advantage of the vast
agricultural and
mineral resources to increase production and exports,
particularly in view
of the anticipated recovery in commodity prices this
year," the RBZ said in
its report.
It said a long-term sustainable
solution, however, was to increase
production and export of manufactures,
whose prices are less susceptible to
fluctuations in global
demand.
The RBZ pointed out that the developing world's reliance on
primary
commodities, which are prone to fluctuations in world demand and
unstable
prices, had resulted in "deteriorating terms of trade, unsustainable
balance
of payments and persistent foreign exchange
problems".
"The cumulative effects of these problems, in most
developing countries,
have been falling investment, low economic growth, high
unemployment and
increasing poverty," the RBZ said.
NMB Holdings
painted a similar scenario, saying Zimbabwe ended 2002 in a
severely weakened
condition after experiencing a fourth successive year of
economic
decline.
The diversified group said the main problems were a
declining gross domestic
product (GDP), hyperinflation and high money supply
growth, a high domestic
debt, weak balance of payments position, and foreign
currency shortages.
Trust Holdings Ltd said resolution of the current
crisis required that
Zimbabwe as a country mapped out a comprehensive
programme of action
encompassing government, business and
labour.
The diversified financial institution said: "Major areas
where commonality
of purpose and compromises will have to be struck include
sustainable
exchange rate management, prudent monetary and fiscal management,
inflation
stabilisation, poverty alleviation and food
security."
The group said efforts should also be made to improve
relations with the
international community and enhance international
relationships.
The relations between Zimbabwe and the United States,
the European Union and
various donor organisations have been strained for the
past two years,
resulting in more suffering for the already impoverished
population led by
79-year-old President Robert ......... (the article ends
here!! B)
Zim Independent
Private sector could
solve Zim's power problems
By Sukoluhle Nyathi
IT is disheartening to see a country such as
Zimbabwe being forced to resort
to load-shedding and power outages when it
has the proven capacity to
harness sufficient power locally as well as export
to the rest of the region
thereby boosting exports and increasing foreign
currency inflows.
Most of Zimbabwe's contracts to import power from Eskom
(SA), Snel (Zaire)
and Hydro Cahora Bassa (Mozambique) are due to expire in
the current year.
Zesa is mired in debt as a result of importing
electricity to supplement its
power needs. Most of the country's plans to
develop new electricity projects
and increase capacity hang in the balance
because of inadequate funds. I ask
myself whether it's not time for the
private sector to step in and get
involved in the provision of electricity in
Zimbabwe.
Traditionally the provision of electricity has been in the
hands of the
public sector and in many countries utilities were nationalised.
The
rationale for this was that infrastructure is regarded as a
natural
monopoly.
Simply defined, a natural monopoly is a
situation whereby it is cheaper for
one firm to supply the market rather than
the production of the same
quantity by two or more firms.
The
electricity industry was considered a natural monopoly because it
exhibited
the following characteristics: tendency towards declining
long-term costs,
high threshold investment and technological conditions that
limit the number
of potential entrants.
However, as the industry has evolved, flaws in
this concept are becoming
apparent as many developed and developing countries
have opened up the
provision of electricity to the private
sector.
This is because new technological developments have reduced
the minimum size
of competitive power plants and lowered transaction costs.
Competition in
generation of electricity is now widely accepted though
transmission and
distribution networks are still highly regulated in some
countries.
The next challenge posed is that of how to integrate the
private sector into
power provision. There are three main tried and tested
approaches that have
been used, either alone or simultaneously. These are
unbundling and
deregulation, divestitures and privatisation.
The
African continent has seen countries like Egypt unbundle its sector
whilst
Senegal and Mali have chosen to privatise.
As outlined in the
Electricity White Paper of October 1999, unbundling and
privatisation are the
favoured approaches for Zimbabwe. Zesa would be
vertically unbundled,
separating generation from transmission and
distribution.
The
generation sector would then be split into several competing firms
thus
allowing competition from independent power producers (IPPs). The IPPs
would
then sell electricity wholesale to Zesa and other large
companies.
A good example of Zimbabwe's first IPP is the Russitu
Hydro Power project,
which was commissioned in 1996. Its successor, the Gokwe
North Project,
failed to take off.
IPPs are developed on a project
finance basis where the lenders to the
project look primarily to the cash
flows of the project to service their
loans and provide a return on their
equity.
IPPs are largely debt financed with equity only constituting
25-30% of the
capital mix. Despite having a well-developed financial sector,
debt capital
is scarce in Zimbabwe.
Commercial banks are unable to
provide medium to long-term finance because
of the profile of their deposits.
In countries like Malaysia it was
commercial banks that raised all the debt
and equity capital for their 1
300MW Lumut Project.
Institutional
investors in Zimbabwe, despite having long-term funds, are
exceedingly risk
averse and would rather place their money in safer assets
such as property
and prescribed assets.
Another financing constraint is that Zimbabwe
has a highly underdeveloped
bond market and there is no secondary market for
debt instruments.
The local bond market has been limited to
government and municipal bonds and
even these have been undersubscribed in
most instances. For these reasons,
IPPs would have to seek foreign
funds.
Besides being extremely expensive this avenue carries the
risks of currency
mismatch and fluctuation due to
devaluation.
Furthermore, sourcing funds from the international arena
could prove
exceedingly difficult especially as Zimbabwe is considered to
have high
country risk. Investors are disinclined to invest their money
here.
Once upon a time multilateral organisations (the World Bank,
International
Finance Corporation) and bilateral organisations (USAid) may
have been a
source of funds but most of these institutions have since
suspended any
concessional forms of funding to Zimbabwe.
Besides
the financing hurdle, the regulatory framework of the electricity
sector
would have to be reformed and new legal framework instituted.
In
conclusion, it can be said that as desirable as private sector
participation
in the power sector might be, Zimbabwe has several milestones
to achieve
before this can become a reality.
First and foremost, as a country we
need to address macroeconomic reform so
as to restore exchange rate
stability, reduction of inflation and interest
rates.
A sound
political climate is of the essence because as long as the investor
community
perceives us to be politically unstable we may not be able to
attract
investment into the country.
Thirdly, there is a need to further
develop the local capital market and
establish a viable bond market.
Unbundling and privatisation of the
electricity sector are a must as the
current system of a vertically
integrated monopoly is inconsistent with a
competitive environment.
However, this should be accompanied by a
proper regulatory and legislative
framework.
Then Zimbabwe would
have an ideal environment to attract private sector
participation in the
provision of power.
Sukoluhle Nyathi is an investment analyst
with TN Financial Services.
Zim
Independent
Letters
The political economy of
plunder
THERE are so many brand new luxury vehicles seen on the
streets of Harare
these days. How does this incredible distortion of wealth
distribution occur
in a starvation economy?
The answer lies in the
systematic political economy of plunder that Zanu PF
has developed in order
to strip the nation of its wealth.
The strategy is essentially very
simple:
l Identify or create a shortage of any basic commodity - eg
forex, fuel and
maize meal are just not available in the formal market place
to the ordinary
buyer.
l Enact legislation so that movement of the
commodity is controlled by a
parastatal eg RBZ, Noczim and GMB.
l
Restrict trade in that commodity to licensed traders only and
selectively
grant licences to political cronies. Since the shortages began,
many new
banks and fuel companies have opened up despite the hostile
trading
environment.
l Introduce price controls for the commodity
that are way below the market
value, or even below the cost of
production.
l Preferentially (or exclusively) sell the commodity at
the controlled
prices to the licensed political cronies.
l Allow
these traders/political cronies to resell the commodity on the black
market
at prevailing free-market rates, hence fuelling inflation and reaping
massive
profits. Forex, fuel and maize meal are readily available on the
black market
at many times the controlled price.
The latest shortage is
electricity. Load-shedding is upon us, but seems
selectively aimed at the
heavy industrial sites in Southerton in order to
"persuade" them to pay in
forex.
Zimbabwe's economic collapse is not just an unfortunate side
effect of
President Robert Mugabe's chaotic land reform policies and his
desire for a
life presidency. It is a strategy, carefully planned at the
highest levels
to create a black market economy designed to enrich the
gangster elite that
is the Zanu PF leadership.
T
Chimurenga,
Harare.
Zim
Independent
Letters
Successor will come from Sabhuku's
gravy train
I READ with a mixture of joy and anger recent media
reports that after all
the horror and damage has been done, Sabhuku Handiende
finally feels like
stepping down to be replaced with one who seems to be more
evil than the man
himself.
I was thinking recently about Sabhuku's
intolerance of the opposition and
one thing became crystal clear in my mind -
that he probably vowed in his
heart such words as "Takaitora negidi, vanoda
kutitorera vanotoitorawo
negidi" (We got this country through the gun and
those wishing to rule will
have to do so through the gun).
Because
of that Chimurenga, they want to hold the nation to ransom and rule
it for
ever like their traditional village - a property of theirs and those
of the
"Zanu PF clan".
This reminds me of what one of their fanatics said
about their party, that
it's like oxygen, the air we breathe, which is here
to stay.
I remember one female reporter saying that of the big cats,
the man in
question is the most fearsome to interview. I wouldn't be
surprised to hear
that the man probably has more skeletons in his wardrobe
and one or more on
wheelchairs than all those on Handiende's gravy
train.
Again, it's not surprising that Sabhuku himself might be
scared of the man
considering how the man has always been entrusted with key
positions in both
the ruling party and government.
Hence Sabhuku
would not allow an individual who is cleaner or less of a
dictator than
himself to replace him, not even from his own party, let alone
the
opposition. There is fear that they would uncover his wicked deeds and
force
him to face the music.
Another dictator would effortlessly forgive
Sabhuku in appreciation for all
the above and much more than what you and I
know.
Most of us were insensed by the sending of our soldiers to the
DRC. Do you
think those who benefited from diamond deals there would share
the same
feeling? Such characters would want to protect Sabhuku until the end
of
time.
Is someone breeding democracy or bleeding it to
death?
B Slough,
UK.
Zim
Independent
Letters
Interference in council affairs
disastrous
IT is high time that the Minister of Local Government
stopped interfering
with the running of the City Council in Harare. It is not
his brief to
interfere but to ensure that things run
smoothly.
Suspending the executive mayor is not going to solve a thing.
The decline in
Harare started when then mayor Solomon Tawengwa was in the hot
seat.
It continued on a far bigger downward spiral when the Zanu
PF-appointed
Chanakira Commission was brought in.
Does the
minister realise that he is interfering with the legitimate choice
of the
people and that once elected, it was his job to facilitate the smooth
running
of the city and not block the mayor at every turn.
If the president
has any moral standards, he should censure Chombo for his
actions. It is
becoming more and more obvious that change is necessary in
government for
change to take place in the city councils because the
Chanakira Commission
employed a bunch of inept workers just before the
election as a vote-catching
exercise and they are contributing to the
financial problems within the
council.
Meanwhile, on another matter which is the result of the
previous councils
and commissions, we have an extremely haphazard garbage
collection set-up.
There are meant to be certain days when garbage
should be collected which
are almost never adhered to.
For the
last 10 days we have had our garbage bags outside awaiting
collection and
nothing has happened. Then, when it is a holiday, May 1, when
nobody expects
them to be working and so bring the bags in to stop dogs
spreading garbage in
the streets, they pitch up extra early before anyone is
awake.
We
should go back to the old idea where this is not done by private
contractors
who are a law unto themselves. Let the council do it and ensure
that the
council has enough fuel to do it efficiently.
This present idea was
introduced by people who had a vested interest and
that amounts to the sort
of corruption we see influencing our society every
day.
I might
add that come Christmas time, the garbage collectors find the fuel
to stop
for long periods at each gate asking for a "Christmas box".
I shall
remember this year, when that time comes around and I would
encourage all
people who feel strongly about this poor service to remember
it
too.
Anti-Interference,
Harare.
Zim
Independent
Letters
What is Campfire/WWF doing about
slaughter?
FOR many years one of the criticisms levelled at
Zimbabwe by the outside
world has been that despite all the posturing on the
international stage
about our "rational" approach to wildlife management, we
run for cover as
soon as there is trouble.
The events of the past two
years have more than proved these people right.
Wildlife is being
decimated in this country, but there has been a dead
silence from all those
who should have an interest in protecting it.
Organisations like
Environment Africa, the Zambezi Society, WWF and Wildlife
and Environment
Zimbabwe, far from speaking out boldly about this crisis,
sit cowering in
their offices, presumably hoping that it will all just go
away. And what
about Campfire?
From their literature one would surmise that they
depend totally on healthy
wildlife populations for their very survival, but
not a word from them
either.
What are all these groups doing? One can
only imagine that they are riding
out the storm, hoping that one day a new
government will be voted in, and
then they will step bravely forward to
assist with the reconstruction of the
wildlife estate (if there is any
wildlife left to reconstruct).
I recently read an article in a
publication by Safari Club International in
which they named names and
revealed the level of corruption and collusion
amongst
officials.
But you can bet that, as soon as this is over (whatever
form that may take),
they'll be sweetly smiling at government officials and
begging for quotas
once more.
The same thing happened during the
1980s when thousands of elephants were
slaughtered in
Gonarezhou.
Poaching in this country is now completely out of control
and the fact that
half the population is starving and needs food doesn't
help. It also doesn't
help that National Parks refuses to acknowledge that
there is a poaching
problem.
They are still selling hunts without
first counting the animals to establish
whether or not we have enough animals
left to allow any hunting to take
place.
If they really had
conservation at heart, they would put a total ban on
hunting for a year and
they could use the year to carry out population
surveys and allow the
remaining animals to multiply, if that is possible in
view of the extent of
the poaching problem.
It is estimated, from reports received, that
conservancies have lost over
60% of their animals and most of the private
game farms have lost 100% of
their wildlife. National Parks areas have lost
around 30% of their game.
Just in the past five weeks, nine black
rhino, an endangered species, have
been killed by poachers. Four of these
were slaughtered in National Parks
areas.
With no law and order
and with both National Parks and the NGOs turning a
blind eye to the
decimation of our wildlife, what hope do we have of saving
it?
You
don't have to be a "bunny-hugger" or even a conservationist to think
that
wildlife matters.
Wildlife tourism is one of this country's economic
mainstays. According to
the World Tourism Organisation, Zimbabwe earned over
US$200 million from
tourists in 1999, the last year for which reliable
figures are available.
When the time comes to reconstruct this
country, we will bitterly regret the
absence of strong and viable wildlife
populations for tourists to pay top
dollars to see.
The people of
this country, not to mention overseas supporters, are paying
conservation
NGOs to protect wildlife.
If they do not have the courage to speak
out against what's happening in a
time of unrest and turmoil, we should all
remember that when times are
better.
Sue
Burr,
Harare.
Zim Independent
Editor's
Memo
When and how?
Iden Wetherell
WILL he, won't he? Go that is. Newspaper
readers must be rather confused
with the conflicting headlines that have been
appearing of late.
It all started (again) with his interview with Supa
Mandiwanzira last week.
Musing aloud that with the resolution of the land
issue, "people can
retire", the president was surprised when everybody took
him at his word.
We carried a story entitled "Personal security key
in Mugabe exit plan". We
quoted commentators saying this represented a
dramatic shift. He now
appeared ready to go, they said, so long as he could
be guaranteed personal
security. This was in reference to immunity from
prosecution.
The Sunday Times of South Africa picked up the story
reporting Presidents
Thabo Mbeki, Olusegun Obasanjo and Bakili Muluzi were
due to visit Mugabe in
the next few weeks "to work out an exit plan for the
ageing leader". (They
are now due on Monday.)
South African
officials said the trio wanted to "keep the momentum going"
following
Mugabe's "very positive signals this week". Among other issues,
the leaders
are to work out a "safe exit plan" and immunity from prosecution
for alleged
human rights abuses, the Sunday Times said.
The Daily News then took
up the story citing the Sunday Times report. It
boldly announced "Mugabe
ready to go".
Many of us wondered how long it would be before the
other shoe dropped. We
didn't have long to wait.
"President not
leaving office" insisted the Herald on Tuesday. Quoting the
Department of
Information and Publicity, it said "all the president did in
the recent
interview marking the 23rd anniversary of Independence, was to
invite
national debate on a range of national questions including that
of
succession".
But there had been no such debate, the department
said. Only "flippant
speculation and crazy scenario building". It then
proceeded to pretend that
the government was committed to "democratic
processes" in order to justify
Mugabe clinging to power until
2008.
This isn't going to happen. Leaders who cheat have a penalty to
pay in terms
of legitimacy. And the department was being disingenuous in
trying to
reinterpret what Mugabe clearly said.
Whatever the case,
everybody, including Zimbabwe's closest friends in the
region, are now
focused on regime change in Harare. When and how are the
only
questions.
President Thabo Mbeki was unusually adroit in this
respect. He pounced on
reports of what Mugabe had said in his interview to
tie him firmly down.
This was not the first time the subject of Mugabe's
retirement had arisen,
Mbeki told reporters on Sunday. The Zimbabwean leader
had indicated
previously that he was ready to go, he said. Zanu PF was in the
process of
renewing its leadership, Mbeki added, and South Africa would only
come in
when that process was complete.
The news that Zanu PF is
undergoing "leadership renewal" will come as a
surprise to many including
Mugabe who evidently had not expected his remarks
to have such far-reaching
consequences. What is clear now is that he is no
longer in control of
events.
There is a process underway linked to the restoration of the
rule of law and
presidential legitimacy in which a number of parties and
governments are
involved.
The more Zimbabwe's economy crumbles the
more he is hostage to that process,
as the events of last week demonstrated.
Every now and again there will be
an indignant outburst from Zanu PF
spokesmen or the Office of the President,
no doubt authored by those with
most to lose from his exit, but the fact is
Mugabe can no longer dictate
either the pace of change or the date of his
departure.
That much
at least is clear.
My Editor's Memo last week ("Banking and Barging")
attracted a large number
of phone calls from readers wanting to tell their
own banking horror
stories.
Most spoke of impersonal treatment.
One lady said she had banked with her
branch for 29 years but was still
required to produce an ID when collecting
a cheque book. She did not have her
ID card with her.
When she asked the manager to confirm her identity
the manager had no idea
who she was!
Another reader, a retired
doctor, wanted to know why it took a week for
e-mail transfers to be
effected. This should be instantaneous, she pointed
out.
She said
she had waited eagerly to qualify for Barclays' free service
charges accorded
to customers who had banked with them for 40 years. It was
clearly designed
to assist pensioners.
The concession was scrapped on January 1 2002,
just before she qualified!
I would like to know why that concession
was withdrawn and whose decision it
was. Barclays can well sustain the cost
of current accounts of customers who
have shown them loyalty over 40
years.
I wonder how many would have stayed with the bank had they
known the
cavalier treatment that would be meted out to
them.
Anyway, keep those complaints coming in. Given the margin of
profits in the
banking sector, it is not unreasonable to ask finance houses
to be more
customer-friendly when they are managing our
funds.
Zim Independent
New labour law seeks
to undermine unions
By Brian Raftopoulos
SINCE 1993 there has been pressure to bring
public sector workers into the
same labour law as those in the private
sector. How far does the new Labour
Relations Amendment Act passed in January
2003 address these pressures?
There are clearly important changes that
the labour movement has been
lobbying for over the years. Prior legal
restrictions on trade unions
representing "managerial employees" have been
removed.
The current law makes a link between workers committees at
enterprise level
and trade unions for the first time in labour law. It
provides that if more
than half the workers in a workplace are members of a
union, every member of
the workers committee shall be a member of the trade
union concerned.
If there is more than one union in a workplace,
there will also be split
representation of the unions in the workers
committee.
The law reverses previous ex-clusion of labour law in
export-processing
zones, an important breakthrough for the Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions
(ZCTU) which has consistently argued that "the continued
exclusion of EPZ
workers from mainstream labour law is as unacceptable as it
is
unjustifiable".
The new law provides for speedier resolution of
disputes through collective
agreements and through conciliators and
arbitrators chosen by workers and
employers. It introduces a conciliation
stage in the procedure for dealing
with retrenchment disputes.
It
also distinguishes between disputes of right and disputes of interest.
For
rights conferred by the Act or by a collective agreement, the new
law
provides for compulsory arbitration and rights to strike. It does
not
provide this for disputes over areas that the unions or employers have
no
legal right to but have an interest in securing, such as an increase
in
wages.
There are however problem areas. Both the old and the
new law do not protect
protest action and thus leave unions and employees
vulnerable to being sued
for damages or for a material breach of contract if
they take such action
over their socio-economic interests.
This in
itself is a breach of ILO Convention 87, which gives employees and
their
organisations the right to take collective action to promote or defend
their
socio-economic interests.
The new Act appears to be somewhat
contradictory. On the one hand it
includes progressive features that the
labour movement has fought for. On
the other hand it contains substantial
limitations on rights of association
for unions, and the state, through the
minister, retains major controls over
union activities.
This
apparent contradiction signals that the Act seeks to win over workers
through
seemingly progressive laws, while at the same time increasing
controls over
workers' organisations, in particular the relationship between
union
activities and politics.
It seeks to take politics out of the
workplace, and thus the ZCTU out of
politics. It does this to undermine the
central role that the ZCTU has
played since the late 1980s in coordinating
and articulating the demands of
democratic forces in
Zimbabwe.
This is a response to the achievement of the labour
movement over the last
two decades in countering the authoritarian
nationalism of the ruling party,
and in building an alternative national
alliance around democratisation.
This shook the ruling party to its
very roots and forced it since 2000 to
restructure its party and state
structures to entrench its power.
This effort to accommodate and
control the labour movement combines with
other strategies used by the state
to politically disempower organised
labour.
The Public Order and
Security Act has been used to prevent stayaways and to
intimidate trade
unionists. The state has established the splinter ZFTU to
undermine the ZCTU,
and allowed it to operate outside industrial law through
factory occupations
to pursue its own political agenda.
The government is also using
agreements such as the "Prices and Incomes
Stabilisation Protocol" and the
tripartite negotiating forum to co-opt the
ZCTU into a broader survival
strategy, while undermining its capacity to
take independent
action.
Developing such a social contract without addressing the
political and
governance issues discussed by the tripartite partners in 2002
would be
disastrous for the labour movement.
In its current form,
the government is attempting what the great Italian
Marxist Antonio Gramsci
characterised as a "passive revolution" - to
re-organise state power to
preserve control of the elite over the majority,
and to perpetuate the lack
of control by the working people over the
political and economic
spheres.
Hence even while the labour movement consolidates and uses
the rights and
platforms that it has won through its past struggles, it also
needs to take
forward a more active process of building positions around the
economy and
democratisation that can command a wider national audience and
build
alliances needed to challenge elite control in both the political
and
economic spheres.
Brian Raftopoulos is associate
professor at the Institute of Development
Studies, University of
Zimbabwe.
Zim Independent
After tobacco
battles, it's sugar's turn
By Gwynne Dyer
THE tobacco industry waged a two-decade
fighting retreat against the medical
evidence that linked smoking to cancer,
heart disease, emphysema and other
illnesses.
Millions died
prematurely who might well have quit if the tobacco lobby's PR
people and
tame scientists had not laboured day and night to fudge the issue
and confuse
the customers.
Big tobacco may now be facing its Waterloo in the
United States, as the
courts award bigger and bigger settlements to its
victims or their
survivors, but the long rearguard action did keep the
profits rolling in for
20 extra years. And now it's big sugar's
turn.
Last Wednesday in Rome the World Health Organisation and the UN
Food and
Agriculture Organisation jointly launched an independent expert
report on
diet which stated, among other things, that free (that is, added)
sugar
should not exceed 10% of the calories in normal daily food
intake.
The US-based Sugar Association has gone into overdrive to
discredit the
report, demanding that US Health secretary Tommy Thompson use
his influence
to get the WHO-FAO report withdrawn, and "sugar caucus"
Congressmen are
threatening to cut off the annual contribution of US$406
million that the
United States pays to the WHO if it doesn't back
down.
You have to admire the cheek of industry representatives who
can maintain
with a straight face that it's perfectly all right for 25% of
the average
person's calories to come in the form of free sugar, even as they
have
watched an alarming proportion of the US population turn into
blubbery,
lumbering Michelin-tyre men and women over the last
generation.
But then, if the pay was right they'd probably be willing
to argue that 25%
ground glass in the diet was all right.
Most
people intuitively understand that there is a link between obesity and
some
chronic and ultimately fatal ailments like diabetes and
cardiovascular
diseases: you see a lot of very fat people around these days,
but not that
many very old fat people. The science is there to back these
observations
up, but people hardly need it.
What is less visible
is the link between excessive sugar consumption and
obesity, because most of
the sugar is consumed invisibly in the form of fast
foods and soft drinks.
And the sugar industry will do whatever it can to
stop that link being made
public and official.
This is not the first round in the struggle.
Professor Philip James, the
British expert who headed the International
Obesity Task Force that wrote
the first WHO report on diet and nutrition in
1990, discovered that the
sugar industry had hired one of Washington's top
lobbying companies when it
realised the expert committee was going to
recommend a ten percent limit.
"Forty ambassadors wrote to the WHO
insisting that our report should be
removed, on the grounds that it would do
irreparable damage to the
developing world," he recalls, and there was also
enormous pressure from the
US State Department. But the WHO didn't back down
then, and it hasn't backed
down this time either.
The WHO
assembled thirty international experts to draw up its report,
including the
leading US scientist on obesity, and it is in no sense an
attack on sugar by
the health nazis.
It is about the health benefits of a diet that is
relatively low in
saturated fats, sugars and salt, and high in vegetables and
fruits - hardly
revolutionary stuff.
Its recommended 10% limit on
sugar intake duplicates guidelines that have
already appeared in 23 different
national reports. But if people followed
those guidelines, a huge proportion
of the sugar industry's market would
disappear, so of course it fights
it.
It fights using the strategy that was pioneered long ago by the
tobacco
industry, and later copied by the industrial interests that wanted to
deny
the phenomenon of global warming.
Set up one or more
institutes with misleading names to throw doubt on the
evidence - the
International Life Sciences Institute, founded by Coca-Cola,
Pepsico, General
Foods, Proctor and Gamble, and Kraft, is now accredited to
both the WHO and
the FAO - and use the Washington lobby system for all
it's
worth.
Big sugar will probably lose the argument in the long
run, but twenty extra
years of profits are worth fighting for. "Deceive and
delay", as President
Bush said in another context.
The only odd
thing is this. It is not the poor countries where people live
from the sugar
that are leading the fight. It is the sugar industry in the
rich countries,
where people are dying of it.