Financial Times
By Tony
Hawkins in Harare
Published: May 5 2006 03:00 | Last updated: May 5 2006
03:00
The Zimbabwe government remains under increasing pressure to
devalue the
Zimbabwe dollar despite announcing an effective 35 per cent
devaluation for
tobacco exporters last week.
The Bankers Association
of Zimbabwe recently warn-ed the central bank of
impending bank closures if
the current tight monetary policy and overvalued
exchange were maintained.
Last week, Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe, remain-ed
firm on his interest rate and money supply
policies but hinted at currency
devaluation to help offset escalating
business costs.
The authorities say
they are determined to tackle inflation, which is
expected to move above
1,000 per cent when the April figure is announced
next week, but the central
bank is being forced to pump trillions of
Zimbabwe dollars into the market
to finance subsidies for gold, tobacco,
maizemeal (the staple food) and last
week's 200 to 300 per cent pay award to
public servants, including the
police and army.
The public service pay increase is estimated to cost
Z$60,000bn to
Z$75,000bn (US$600m-US$750m, ?470m-?590m, £323m-£404m). The
entire national
budget for 2006 is Z$124,000bn so the pay award alone will
increase
government spending by about 50 per cent.
Economists say
this is only the tip of the iceberg and that when the gold,
maize, tobacco,
fuel and parastatal subsidies are in-cluded, government
spending is likely
to be at least double the budget. To mop up excess
liquidity, the central
bank has been paying interest rates of up to 525 per
cent for 91-day
Treasury bills.
These bills, which mature in May-June, will force the
authorities to print
still more money to repay the loans and associated
interest costs.
Some bankers believe the government is also using central
bank credit to
fund its US$2.5bn recovery programme announced last
month.
The explosion in government borrowing and spending is undermining
central
bank efforts to prevent inflation - already the highest in the world
by a
very wide margin at 914 per cent - from reaching hyperinflationary
levels of
more than 50 per cent a month.
Bankers think that within
the next six weeks the Zimbabwe authorities will
have to abandon their
multiple exchange rate policy with different rates for
goldand tobacco and
other exports and announce a substantial
across-the-board devaluation of at
least 50 per cent.
Growing recognition in official quarters that its
economic policies are not
working is thought to be behind the recent
announcement that the 300 white
farmers still working their land and those
who have been dispossessed will
be allowed to apply for 99-year leases under
the government's new land
tenure programme.
News24
04/05/2006 22:25 -
(SA)
Harare - Zimbabwean police in Bulawayo have released 73
children, rounded up
after a march against school fee increases. More than
100 demonstrators are
still in police custody.
The march was
organised by Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza).
On Thursday, Woza's Annie
Sibanda said: "The police are releasing the 73
children. The others have
been separated into four cells. There are still
approximately 120 adults in
custody."
Sibanda said lawyers had arranged for those arrested to be
brought food.
She said those arrested had not yet been
charged.
About 400 Woza demonstrators and their supporters, who included
men and
children dressed in their school uniforms, had marched to government
offices
in the city centre earlier on Thursday.
Sibanda said that
when the demonstrators began to disperse, they were
arrested.
The
school term in Zimbabwe resumes next week, after a protracted break for
Easter.
But parents are horrified at news of new school fees, hiked
by as much as
100%.
In a press statement before Thursday's march,
Woza said: "Many families
across the country can no longer afford the
exorbitant rates now imposed.
"As a result, many children will not be
returning to school next week."
Source: Action Contre la Faim (ACF)
Date: 04 May
2006
Executive Summary and Recommendations
In 2002-03, Zimbabwe
was the epicentre of the so-called Southern Africa
'food crisis' with over
six million people declared in need of emergency
food aid. The crisis was
triggered by a drought and compounded by the
consequences of the economic
decline, notably the poor availability and high
prices of agricultural
inputs. The Fast Track land reform programme started
in 2000 also greatly
contributed to the crisis, by reducing food production
and compounding
economical difficulties.
Despite some improvements in 2004, economical
difficulties, including low
food production, hyperinflation, shortage of
basic commodities and rising
unemployment, have continued since 2002,
threatening livelihoods of
millions. Fortunately, international assistance,
including a massive food
relief intervention, along with the subsidised
sales implemented by the
Government, have played a great role in preventing
hunger over these past
few years: malnutrition level in Zimbabwe has
remained one of the lowest in
Africa, and reported cases are actually mainly
due to diseases and primarily
HIV/AIDS.
Indeed, the words famine and
starvation have been often misused to describe
the situation of the country,
as emergency responses by the Government and
relief agencies have prevented
such a disaster to happen. As a matter of
fact, the decline of social and
health services combined with the HIV/AIDS
pandemic constitute far more
immediate threats to lives and livelihoods: the
life expectancy of
Zimbabweans has dropped from 61 to 34 years over the past
15 years. This
dramatic 27 years drop confirms that, so far, treatment has
not been
accessible for most of the affected people: out of 295,000 people
in need of
antiretroviral treatment, only about 9,000 receive it today. As a
result, in
this country of 12 million people, 170,000 die every year of the
disease
1.
Epicentre of the Southern Africa food crisis, Zimbabwe is often looked
at
throughout a regional lens, and it is true that one can find a lot in
common
with other countries in the region, including similar agricultural
patterns
and agro-ecological conditionsand a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
Yet,
Zimbabwe has faced a very unique situation over the past few years: the
land
reform and the resulting tense relations with some western countries
have
not only influenced the causes of the crisis but also shaped the way
responses have been provided. The human rights violations and political
tensions around the land reform have often obliterated the fact that a
meaningful land redistribution, accompanied with relevant financial and
technical support to resettled farmers, was essential to eliminate poverty
and food insecurity in a country suffering from a highly skewed land
repartition. Such support, necessary to the adaptation of large scale
commercial farms into smaller units requires significant levels of
investment and management, which have been lacking so
far.
Consequently, the land reform has resulted in a dramatic drop in
food
production and export earnings, which have induced food shortages and
reduced Government's financial capacity to address them through commercial
imports. 40% of the cereals were produced by the large scale commercial
farms and the newly resettled farmers haven't been able to restore
significantly former production levels. Reduced exports earnings may have
limited the ability of the Government to import food, though the Grain
Marketing Board 2 was still able to import more than 1 million tons of
cereals over the past few years, i.e. between 50 and 75% of the total food
requirement, the remaining being imported by relief agencies. Another
critical effect of the land reform is the serious deterioration of the
Government's relationship with some western countries and consecutive
restrictions to foreign aid. Indeed, whereas targeted sanctions were taken
against Zimbabwe and direct support provided to some opposition movements,
some major donors and financial institutions have restricted their
assistance in different ways after 2000:
- most of their cooperation
and development funding to the country has been
curtailed and the assistance
been concentrated on emergency relief,mostly
HIV/AIDS, food aid, water &
sanitation and only later on agriculture.
- the resettlement areas are
excluded from the main aid packages whereas
they have a greater agricultural
potential due to more favourable
agroecological conditions and the larger
size of the land holdings.
- all assistance is channelled through
international organisations, which
prevents any institutional support to
Government services.
- in spite of one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence
and death toll in the
world, the health sector, and primarily HIV/AIDS,
remains largely under
funded compared to other countries in the
region.
In a context of high political tensions and strong criticism over
the way
the land reform has been conducted, food and agriculture have been
politically charged in Zimbabwe: the Government is on the one hand held
responsible for the food shortages and on the other hand accused of not
addressing them properly because of inefficiency, politicisation and
discrimination of the public food distribution system and Government's
obstructions to foreign aid. This criticism was strongly voiced by an
increasing part of the international community and the opposition movements
during the past electoral year.
Today, relief agencies find
themselves trapped in this political arena:
- the overstated famine
situation described by some of them has been
extensively used to criticise
Government's policy and interventions.
- similarly, the high estimates of
food aid needs determined by relief
agencies have generally overlooked the
fact that the extent of these needs
actually depended on Government's
financial resources to import food and to
proceed to subsidised
sales.
The vulnerable people of Zimbabwe are the direct victims of these
tensions:
the debates around the humanitarian situation are so politically
charged
that it has become increasingly difficult to assess objectively
people's
needs and to design appropriate interventions. The mutual mistrust
between
the Government and the international community limits funding by
donors, but
also results in increased bureaucratic and practical
restrictions by the
government to the work of humanitarian organisations and
in a reduced
collaboration between them and Government services.
In
May 2002, the British Foreign Minister, Clare Short stated that "People
must
not be punished because their government is corrupt". Yet the Director
of
UNICEF noted in March 2005 that "despite the world's fourth highest rate
of
HIV infection and the greatest rise in child mortality in any nation,
Zimbabweans receive just a fraction of donor funding compared to other
countries in the region" and appealed to donors "to look beyond politics and
to differentiate between the politics and the people of Zimbabwe". Indeed,
HIV/AIDS and other diseases kill today far more than malnutrition which has
remained in Zimbabwe at one of the lowest levels in Africa. Yet, most media
and NGOs keep focusing on food issues, the bulk of the assistance remains
food aid, and a silent embargo is maintained on HIV/AIDS and institutional
support funding for health services. It seems essential today for NGOs to
depoliticize humanitarian issues in Zimbabwe. NGOs interventions may aim not
only at bringing assistance to the people but also at improving the working
environment in the country; this should include the promotion of a shared
understanding of the challenges faced by the communities and of the
priorities of the assistance.
In order to do so, it is paramount to
reject and to fight any form of
discrimination in the assistance, whether it
comes from the Government or
from donors. It is also essential to produce
and disseminate objective
information and analysis on livelihood situations
in order to generate
adequate funding and to promote appropriate relief and
recovery
interventions that will benefit to the vulnerable people of
Zimbabwe.
Recommendations
- to the international
community:
Western governments shall not impose sanctions to the
government that
adversely affect the vulnerable people of the country,
already strongly
impacted by the economic crisis and the climate
constraints. They shall
rather promote a non-discriminatory approach of the
assistance programmes.
- to the donors:
Rather than focusing on a
political approach of the issues faced by the
people's of Zimbabwe, the
donors' strategies shall integrate a
socio-economical analysis and avoid any
form of discrimination in the
assistance.
The community of donors
shall promote humanitarian programmes and recovery
activities aiming at
improving living conditions, so as to find sustainable
solutions for the
vulnerable people of Zimbabwe.
- to the NGOs:
Relief agencies
shall strive to get out of the political arena and give
priority to relief,
assistance and recovery activities. This can be achieved
through the
compliance with the humanitarian principles such as
non-discrimination and
impartiality, and through sharing information and
analysis related to
livelihoods situations.
Xinhua
www.chinaview.cn 2006-05-05
04:56:54
HARARE, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Associated Mine Workers'
Union of
Zimbabwe will be looking to negotiate a minimum wage increment in
line with
the poverty datum line for its workers, said the organization's
President
Tinago Ruzive Thursday.
Guidelines in their
negotiations for wage increments for the third
quarter of the year would be
based on the increments awarded to civil
servants by the government, said
Ruzive.
The government has awarded civil servants a 200 percent
salary
increase which was effective from May 1, 2006.
"The
government has paved the way for us. Employers in the mining
sector should
emulate how the government has awarded increments to civil
servants for
their third and fourth quarter increments," Ruzive said.
"We
are gearing ourselves for a tough round of negotiations and we
are not going
to budge," he said.
Ruzive said what they were asking for as a
union was reasonable
because many mining companies had enjoyed profits due
to the good prices
that minerals such as gold and platinum were fetching on
the international
market.
He refused to divulge the minimum
wage amount they would
recommend, saying this would pre-empt
negotiations.
The poverty datum line currently stands at 31
million Zimbabwe
dollars and miners get a minimum wage of 9 million Zimbabwe
dollars. (One
U.S. dollar equals about 101,000 Zimbabwe dollars.)
Enditem
Please send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1 - Gerry Whitehead
3rd May 2006
Dear Jag
Re: A white
betrayal?
If the statements purportedly made by the CFU and reported in
the Sunday
Mail concerning the U-turn made by their organization and their
change in
attitude to the Government Land Reform are true, and if we farmers
and ex
farmers accept this plan and attempt in anyway to reconcile with the
ZANU PF
government then we will really be in big trouble with the majority
of
Zimbabweans and the rest of the democratic world. We will be guilty of
a
great betrayal to all the people who have suffered, died and been
murdered
over the past six years, and further more this will mean that we
fully
accept rule by dictators.
What a let down I feel ashamed for
some people. I do not believe that
anybody or an organization has the right
to even suggest this U turn without
first asking all Zimbabweans if they
agree to it. Africa has suffered for
generations from these dictators, its
long past time to say no to them.
People worldwide are trying hard to bring
change to Africa and we whites
suddenly turn round and say its ok! Zimbabwe
is the example and we have to
win this war for the sake of all in Africa, I
firmly believe that there is a
lot more resting on the end result of this
dictatorship than we think.
My Statement.
I say no to any U TURN and I
am not doing this out of bitterness, but
because it is the right thing to do.
I do not want my ranch given back to me
by this government, I want democracy
and then I will get my ranch back or be
compensated for what was done to my
people and me.
Regards
Gerry
Whitehead
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
2
Dear Editor,
Fifty years ago ecologists Dale and Carter,
described man's efforts on
earth... "Man, civilized or savage, must conform
his actions to certain laws
of nature. When he tries to circumvent the laws
of nature, he destroys the
natural environment that sustains him. When his
environment deteriorates
rapidly, his civilization declines."
At about
the same time, the Federal Government of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
published the
Agro Ecological Survey of S. Rhodesia. It remains a benchmark
after half a
century.
The results of Zanu's policy of expediency and disregard for the
laws of
nature have been spectacular over the last six years, but by no means
a
surprise. Jag predicted the very situation that the country now finds
itself
in when others in office (who did know better) were focused on
befriending
the perpetrators of the damage (on the pretext of "dialogue") in
an attempt
to save their own skins, wealth and land.
History will
judge the expediators - and their friends - as to whether they
were
civilised, or savage, and whether Dale and Carter's observations on
"Topsoil
and Civilisation" have stood the test of time. Presently, another
baseless
capital injection of $61 trillion from the printing press - to buy
civil
service loyalty -is perceived as a quick fix for the bad housekeeping
of
man's most precious asset - the land.
The question remains - how much
more will the environment have to
deteriorate, and the civilization decline
before a clear majority come out
of denial? At this stage the
conservationists still have the watches and the
expediators, the time and
printing
press.
Conservationist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions of
the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
Zim Independent
Dumisani Muleya
PRESIDENT Robert
Mugabe's complex succession struggle took a
dramatic twist this week with
disclosures that he has given ministers orders
to amend the constitution to
move the presidential election to 2010 to
secure a two-year extension to his
hold on power.
Reliable official sources said Mugabe last
month gave Justice
minister Patrick Chinamasa, his point man on
constitutional issues, and his
Rural Housing counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa,
also Zanu PF's legal affairs
secretary, a fresh mandate to change the
constitution to delay the 2008
presidential poll until 2010 to allow him to
hang onto office for a further
two years.
"Mugabe has
given Chinamasa the go-ahead to work on the plan
with the assistance of
Mnangagwa," a well-placed source said. "The two
ministers are currently
working on it. The idea now is for Mugabe to remain
president until the next
harmonised presidential and parliamentary elections
in
2010."
An anonymous column in the government-controlled
Herald,
generally understood to be written by Mugabe's press secretary
George
Charamba, on Saturday suggested that Mugabe was not going anywhere in
2008.
Its revelations confirmed information filtering through from other
quarters.
Sources said Chinamasa and Mnangagwa were working
on the plan
which would see Mugabe in 2008 elected by both houses of
parliament sitting
as an electoral college - as happened in 1987 when the
executive presidency
was introduced - to continue until 2010 if his health
permits.
Mugabe was first elected president in 1987 by both
the lower and
upper houses of parliament until 1990, after the amendment of
the
constitution. This followed the unity accord between Zanu PF and PF Zapu
on
December 22 1987 in the aftermath of civil strife in the south-western
region of the country.
He was popularly elected president
in 1990, the year the senate
was abolished. Before that he had been prime
minister from 1980 to 1987.
Mnangagwa yesterday referred
queries on the issue to Chinamasa.
"Ask the Minister of
Justice," he said. Chinamasa said he was
not aware of the
issue.
"I told you (two weeks ago) there is nothing like
that. I still
maintain that. Nothing has changed," he said. "I'm also not
aware that the
secretary for legal affairs (Mnangagwa) has been told to work
on that."
Sources said the divisive succession plan -
initially meant to
benefit Vice-President Joice Mujuru - might fuel
infighting in Zanu PF where
two factions, which include Mujuru and Mnangagwa
on rival sides, are locked
in an increasingly bitter power
struggle.
Mujuru was expected to become the Zanu PF leader
when Mugabe
steps down during the 2009 party congress. In 2010 she would
then become the
party candidate in the presidential poll, but things seem to
have changed.
While Mugabe has hinted in the press he might
retire in 2008 and
Mujuru takes over, details obtained this week show Mugabe
was in fact
contemplating clinging onto power until 2010 when the
presidential and
parliamentary elections would be held simultaneously under
a new system in
which there would be only two terms of office for an elected
president.
The move is understood to have sent shock waves
through the Zanu
PF camp led by retired army commander Solomon Mujuru who
now fear Mugabe
might scuttle their plan to shoe in Joice Mujuru as he did
with Mnanagwa in
2004 in the run-up to the party
congress.
It has now emerged that Mugabe initially wanted
Mnangagwa to
come in as vice-president under the Tsholotsho Declaration
initiative but
changed his mind later to back Mujuru when he felt threatened
by the
proposal.
Insiders say Mugabe is playing
Machiavellian politics by
deploying Chinamasa and Mnangagwa to handle the
issue when he knows those
associated with the Tsholotsho group might
otherwise have opposed the move
because of the perception it was meant for
Mujuru's ascent.
Although Mnangagwa's faction is said to have
received the news
of the latest constitutional proposal with guarded
optimism, some were
beginning to entertain the idea that their leader might
yet bounce back in
the succession battle which, if Mugabe stays on until
2010, could once again
become an open race.
Zim Independent
Augustine
Mukaro
ZANU PF MP for Mudzi West, Joseph Christopher Musa,
has invaded
the lucrative Danish-operated Zengea Farm housing Red Dane Dairy
on the
outskirts of Harare in defiance of President Robert Mugabe's
undertaking to
uphold Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection
Agreements (Bippas).
A visit to the farm by the Zimbabwe
Independent on Wednesday
revealed that the MP's invading gangsters were
still camped at the farm and
had occupied the butchery manager's house, and
taken over the butchery and
store.
Farm owners, the Kirk
family, told the Independent that Musa
arrived at Zengea Farm last week
equipped with an offer letter dated
February 13, signed by Lands, Land
Reform and Resettlement minister Didymus
Mutasa.
Mass
Kirk said the Mudzi MP left four of his invaders squatting
outside Zengea
butchery.
"On April 26, the group became violent and
disruptive,
harassing customers and staff at the
butchery."
That afternoon the situation deteriorated forcing
the butchery
manager to flee giving the invaders an opportunity to snatch
both the
butchery and store keys from farm employees.
Kirk said he informed an Inspector Ndaba in charge of Beatrice
police about
the situation at the farm. He said the officer promised to act
after
consulting with a superior officer.
"At about 5pm, Musa's men
were still tormenting our employees at
the butchery," he said. "I stopped my
vehicle by the group and dispersed my
workers to their homes. However, this
infuriated Musa's gangsters who
charged threateningly towards me, forcing me
back into my vehicle to make a
hasty retreat," he said.
Kirk said he waited in his car at a distance until 6pm when Musa
arrived at
the scene but before he could speak to him, his men had
surrounded his car,
banging and kicking it forcing him to flee.
"The farm manager
Pieter De Klerk brought in four heavily armed
police details from Beatrice
police station. As they arrived at the butchery
they found Musa's men
assaulting one of our security guards having taken his
two-way radio and
handcuffs.
"The police attempted to arrest the men and get
them into the
vehicle but the men retaliated by pushing the officers away,"
Kirk said. "It
was only when Inspector Goromonzi cocked his pistol to one
man's head that
the situation came under control.
"This
calm did not last long as Musa later returned and his men
jumped off the
vehicle, taking control of the situation again."
After
leaving the first marauding group the MP went back to
Beatrice and secured
the release of the other group who immediately returned
to harass the farm
workers.
Senior government and central bank officials
including central
bank governor Gideon Gono, retired army general Solomon
Mujuru, and
officials from the Foreign Affairs and Lands ministries have in
the past
visited the farm. They encouraged the Kirk family to continue with
production and commended their positive thinking and involvement in
improving farming at the local and national levels.
"With
a proven track record of commitment to the country and
co-operation with the
government in power, we are confused by the scenario
we find ourselves in,"
Kirk said.
Red Dane Dairy is a farming company with a
majority Danish
shareholding protected from acquisition under the Bippa
agreement between
the government of Zimbabwe and Denmark signed in
1996.
Justice Paddington Garwe granted a court order on
January 6 this
year stating that the property was subject to continued
protection against
summary expropriation or nationalisation on the strength
of this agreement.
Another High Court order confirming that the property
falls under a
bilateral agreement and cannot be acquired was issued on
February 9.
Besides being protected under the agreement, Red
Dane was
allowed to continue operating because the farm is highly productive
in
dairy, beef, pigs and tobacco and includes a large milk-processing
factory,
Kefalos Cheese.
The farm is the founding home of
the renowned Red Dane cattle
breed, introduced to Zimbabwe by Wolle Kirk.
The breed has been very
successful in large-scale and small-scale commercial
farms. The factory
processes about 20,000 kg of milk every day, half of
which is produced on
the farm.
Over 1 500 head of cattle
are reared for slaughter, milking and
breeding each year. This season an
estimated 200 000 kg of Virginia tobacco
was produced.
Zim Independent
By James Elder
FROM an earliest
age children are told to reach for the stars.
Very rarely however does a
star reach out to them. Angelique Kidjo is one
such star.
During a break-neck schedule that criss-crossed the globe last
week, Kidjo
arrived in Zimbabwe and made a bee-line for Harare Children's
Hospital.
Going from bedside to bedside, Kidjo spoke at
length to
HIV-positive children and their mothers. Some of the children -
severely
malnourished and suffering infections - were too weak to talk;
others lit up
as Kidjo embraced them.
"The pain of these
children hurts me," Kidjo said while holding
the hand of a 12-month old baby
who weighed just seven kilogrammes.
"Children must not pay for their
country's politics. We need drugs to
prevent mother-to-child transmission,
we need ARVs. The developed world has
these drugs. Let us share
them."
More than 115 000 children (0-14years) are infected
with HIV in
Zimbabwe. Every week, a further 565 contract the virus (because
of a lack of
mother-to-child transmission preventative drugs). Due to the
dearth in ARVs
in Zimbabwe, 550 more children will die of an Aids-related
illness this
week. At least 550 more next week, and so on. As a result,
Zimbabwe suffers
the worst rises in child mortality
globally.
As she walked from cot to cot, amid children on
feeding tubes,
children too emaciated to lift their heads, and babies crying
from pain,
Kidjo lamented the lack of support to Zimbabwean women to protect
their
children.
"This country - this continent - is full of
enterprising,
hard-working, determined women," said Kidjo, a mother
herself.
"It maddens me to think they are denied drugs and
nutritional
care to help their children."
Her words were
echoed by one of the women she sat and spoke with
at the Harare Children's
Hospital.
"You pray very hard that your child won't contract
the virus
from you," said the mother, whose baby daughter contracted HIV
during her
mother's pregnancy.
"Some are lucky, some are
not. We need drugs to protect our
unborn children. Our challenges now are
huge - a lack of good food, not
enough drugs, good health care. But I do all
I can. Because of our economy,
most of the time I can't
help."
Fighting back tears as she listened to this and a
dozen similar
testimonies, Kidjo called on Zimbabweans to demand better care
within their
country, and for the world to understand "the incredible
resolve Zimbabweans
continue to show in the face of great
odds".
Advocating for their treatment and supporting orphans
and
vulnerable children is at the heart of Unicef's work in
Zimbabwe.
As part of the country's National Plan of Action
(NPA) for
orphans and vulnerable children, Unicef is supporting the Ministry
of Health
and Child Welfare to embark on a massive programme to improve the
health,
education, protection and nutrition of the country's orphans and
vulnerable
children. However, life-saving drugs remain in desperately short
supply.
"The vast majority of Zimbabwe's 115 000 children who
are
HIV-positive could have been spared this immense burden. They contracted
the
virus through mother-to-child-transmission," said Unicef's
representative in
Zimbabwe, Dr Festo Kavishe.
"The world
has the drugs that prevent this and yet less than 7%
of Zimbabwe's
HIV-positive pregnant women receive them."
Kidjo - who has
been nominated for four Grammys - was a huge hit
at the children's ward,
giving nurses tickets to her Zimbabwe show and then
performing an impromptu
jam session for more than 100 children and their
mothers.
"For me these children are much more than a reminder of how
fortunate we
are," said Kidjo. "Their tears and their strength should remind
us of our
obligation to support them. They are the real stars of this
world."
* James Elder is employed by Unicef in
Zimbabwe.
Zim Independent
Tendai Mukandi
SERIOUS
disagreements have emerged among commercial farmers
after government this
week refuted earlier claims by the Commercial Farmers
Union (CFU) that the
organisation was collaborating with the state to bring
back some of the
farmers who lost their properties since the start of the
land reform
programme six years ago.
The CFU had reportedly claimed that
it had changed its stance
towards government's land reform initiative and
had submitted up to 200
applications on behalf of its members for
consideration as A2 farmers.
The claim by CFU president Doug
Taylor-Freeme and his deputy
Trevor Gifford has attracted sharp criticism
from some of the affected
farmers, who have said it was a "great betrayal to
all the people who have
suffered, died and been murdered the past six
years".
Ministers of Agriculture Joseph Made, State Security,
Lands and
Land Resettlement, Dydimus Mutasa and Special Affairs Responsible
for Land,
Flora Bhuka have been widely quoted in recent media reports as
confirming
that farmers would be invited back.
But Mutasa
this week denied ever issuing such a statement on the
issue.
"Vanondinyepera (They are lying). I have never
spoken to any
foreign journalist and all their claims are wrong." Mutasa
said.
"No white farmer is being invited back. And why should
we offer
them such long leases?"
Mutasa said all
government was doing was rationalising the sizes
of properties still
occupied by remaining white farmers.
"If the state considers
that the farm is too big then it is
going to be reduced, "Mutasa
said.
"For instance farmers in Region 1 such as those in
Nyanga will
have slightly smaller farms than those in Region 2 and farmers
in Region 3
will also have slightly smaller farms than those in Region 4.
The biggest
farms are expected to be in Region 5."
Mutasa
said the remaining white commercial farmers were expected
to stay on their
properties long enough to satisfy government of their
commitment and may,
after getting offer letters be invited to apply for a
lease
later.
"That is what is happening. All the other claims that you
heard
are wrong."
Bhuka was quoted by the state media as
saying: "So far about 500
of the remaining 927 white farmers have applied
and their applications are
being considered."
Similarly,
Mutasa reportedly said: "We hope that these white
farmers will refrain from
doing agriculture in a political way, they must
just be farmers and resist
from politics on the farms."
Mutasa's denial throws the CFU
into a quandary as other farmers'
representative organisations have
distanced themselves from the initiative.
Last week, Marc
Crawford, president of the Southern Africa
Commercial Farmers Alliance,
lashed out at the CFU labelling the
organisation "Zanu PF puppets" for
failing to protect the interests of the
remaining farmers.
Zim Independent
Itai Mushekwe
FORMER Defence
Forces commander and Zanu PF politburo member,
Vitalis Zvinavashe, has
slammed government's inability to implement proper
agricultural planning and
avail adequate inputs and equipment to avert
biting food
shortages.
The senator for Gutu last week made startling
remarks in which
he said the state must be open and transparent about the
food crisis in
Zimbabwe by making "frank assessments of the country's food
requirements
because people have been starving".
"If
there is hunger let us make it clear so that the government
will plan
properly. To be honest there has been hunger in the past
agricultural
season. People have been starving," Zvinavashe told a
parliamentary
portfolio committee on Lands and Agriculture.
The senator's
remarks represent indirect criticism of President
Robert Mugabe's botched
land reform which has reduced the country to a
basket case, analysts
say.
Zvinavashe told the Zimbabwe Independent this week that
government needs to properly plan and make available adequate inputs and
equipment to deal with perennial food shortages since the land reform began
six years ago.
"What is lacking is proper planning," said
Zvinavashe.
"There is need for proper planning and adequate
farming
equipment. Kana musina equipment munorima sei? (If you don't have
farming
equipment, how will you till the land?")
Zvinavashe said government must monitor inputs and equipment,
adding:
"Without that there's no production to talk about."
He said
foreign currency availability was also a key issue
because "enough foreign
currency is required to import essential inputs".
Zvinavashe
said there was need for collective effort in food
production. "We must put
our heads together and identify where we're going
wrong, then move forward
by producing what needs to be produced in terms of
the national food
requirement."
The plunder of farm equipment by government
ministers has also
dealt a severe blow to agricultural recovery
prospects.
For instance, Communications minister Chris
Mushowe and State
Security minister Didymus Mutasa reportedly looted farm
equipment at Kondozi
Estate in Manicaland. They are among high-ranking
government officials said
to have stripped the horticultural farm of its
essential equipment.
Commenting on the case, Zvinavashe said
those involved should be
investigated and brought to book. He however said
he was not aware of the
alleged looting of Kondozi.
"I
can't confirm the looting because I've no evidence. Security
organisations
can investigate. Kana wadaro (upon doing that), if there's
evidence they
must be brought to book. But I'm not aware of that case."
President Mugabe and Agriculture minister Joseph Made last year
said
Zimbabwe was going to have a bumper harvest, with Mugabe telling food
aid
agencies not to "choke us with your food".
Only a fortnight
ago, government blocked a food assessment team
that had been sent by the
Food and Agriculture Organisation to investigate
the country's food
requirements.
However, government has since taken its begging
bowl to the
United Nations where it is appealing for US$111 million under
the United
Nations Consolidated Appeal process.
Zim Independent
Clemence Manyukwe
A TWO billion
dollar lawsuit filed by Tsholotsho MP and former
Information minister
Jonathan Moyo against two senior Zanu PF officials just
before the 2005
general election is expected to be heard at the Bulawayo
High Court on
Monday.
The independent legislator took Speaker of the House
and Zanu PF
national chairman John Nkomo and his politburo colleague Dumiso
Dabengwa to
court over allegations that they defamed him at a meeting in
Tsholotsho.
Moyo claims the two alleged that he had
"instigated, funded and
led the hatching of a coup plot against President
Robert Mugabe and others
in the top leadership of the
party".
Moyo said Nkomo and Dabengwa claimed he received
funding from
hostile nations.
His lawyer Job Sibanda on
Tuesday said the case was expected to
start on May 8 and go on until May
18.
"We think the time allotted for the trial is adequate,"
Sibanda
said.
The initial Tsholotsho meeting which
spawned deep divisions
still haunts the ruling Zanu PF party because of the
unresolved controversy
it stirred.
Legal papers filed so
far reveal that Moyo will call 24
witnesses, among them three ministers and
war veteran Joseph Chinotimba.
According to court documents,
Justice minister Patrick
Chinamasa, Environment and Tourism minister Francis
Nhema, and Land and
Resettlement minister Florence Buka, will all vouch that
Moyo never plotted
a "coup".
On the other side Nkomo and
Dabengwa filed papers urging the
court to dismiss Moyo's application because
he was never defamed.
The two veteran politicians will call
17 witnesses, among them
two deputy ministers Andrew Langa who is deputy to
Nhema, and Abdinico
Ncube, the deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and
Social Welfare, and
Bulawayo governor Cain Mathema, as well as his wife
Musa.
Documents say Mathema will say that he was present at
the
meeting and that Nkomo and Dabengwa attended but never defamed
Moyo.
Before going to court Moyo released a statement calling
the two
veteran politicians "primitive liars" and accused them of backing a
plot to
sideline him from contesting the Tsholotsho seat by reserving it for
a
female candidate.
A month after the release of that
statement, he submitted papers
with the Nomination Court to stand as an
independent candidate.
He went on to beat Musa and the MDC's
Mtoliki Sibanda.
Zim Independent
Tendai Mukandi
THE Ministry of Local
Government has commissioned two companies
that did not submit tenders to do
designs for the new parliament and senate
building amid complaints from
indigenous construction companies that
government had reneged on its earlier
undertaking to tender the project.
It has in the past
insisted that for any such large projects,
foreign companies would have to
subcontract some of the work to indigenous
companies or go into a joint bid
with locals.
Local government officials on Wednesday denied
reports that the
project was being carried out in unclear
terms.
The designs by Pantic Architects and Studio Arts
Architects were
approved by Cabinet late last year for a new building in the
Kopje area.
Although the principal director in the Ministry
of Local
Government, Joseph Mhakayakora, admitted that the companies
commissioned did
not tender for the project, he said "consultancies don't
tender or compete
for work."
He also denied that the
companies awarded the project were
foreign-owned.
"They
can be awarded consultancy work unless we decide to make
the project an open
competition for which rules and regulations are set by
the Architects
Council," Mhakayaora said.
"What we know is that the two
companies are both locally based.
Pantic Architects are situated at the Sam
Levy Village and Studio Arts is
actually owned by a black businessman and is
situated somewhere in
Borrowdale."
He said it was not his
ministry that comes up with ideas for a
project but the
client.
Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa revealed that the
2006
National Budget made some provisions for the
project.
He said "architects have been commissioned and there
was a
provision for the project in the 2006 National
Budget.
"We are working on a time frame to have the designs
approved by
the end of June," he said.
The exact amount
required for such a project to be put into
full swing could not be
ascertained but officials indicated that the money
was certainly not
enough.
On Wednesday the Ministry of Local Government
presented papers
to a committee chaired by the Speaker of Parliament to
assess the progress
being made.
Zim Independent
Augustine Mukaro/Paul
Nyakazeya
EVIDENCE emerging this week suggests that
government's recent
hike of public servants' salaries was a pre-emptive
action to defuse
potential mass action planned by the opposition MDC and
retain the loyalty
of the uniformed forces.
Highly placed
sources in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) said
the urgency to increase
army incomes came to the fore three weeks ago. This
was during ZDF commander
General Constantine Chiwenga's briefing to
President Robert Mugabe on the
forces' state of preparedness to deal with
mass protests being planned by
the opposition.
"Chiwenga told the president that defence
personnel were worse
off than many ordinary Zimbabweans and that while
soldiers were expected to
obey orders, incentives in the form of a higher
pay cheque was needed to
ensure the army rally behind the government," one
source said.
The sources said Mugabe asked Chiwenga how the
issue could be
resolved to ensure that soldiers follow orders in the event
of a mass
protest.
The ZDF commander is understood to
have suggested that
government bend to accommodate soldiers'
demands.
The sources said Mugabe promised Chiwenga that he would
instruct
Finance Minister Hebert Murerwa and Public Service Minister
Nicholas Goche
to see to it that soldiers' salaries were reviewed as a
matter of urgency.
It is understood that Reserve Bank
governor Gideon Gono is
reluctant to print more money following undertakings
he made to the
International Monetary Fund during his visit to Washington in
March. The
wage increases would inevitably mean government prints an
additional $60
trillion to finance the ballooning wage
bill.
Sources said Chiwenga is now overseeing events at the
Reserve
Bank to ensure that money is made available before public servants'
next pay
day.
This is not the first time that Chiwenga
has been at the helm of
an institution. Two months ago he was said to be
monitoring operations at
the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
The opposition MDC faction leaders, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara
recently called for the ouster of Mugabe for plundering the
economy.
Tsvangirai has embarked on a nationwide campaign
to drum up
support for mass protests to oust Mugabe whom he accuses of
rigging
elections and ruining the economy.
The protests
are expected to start this winter.
"There is no point in
continuing to watch with trepidation a
small nationalistic class, aided by a
corrupt and parasitic bureaucracy and
supported by desperate opportunists
wreak havoc on the national cake,"
Tsvangirai said in his Independence Day
message.
"From our experience during the past six years, it
is clear that
we are in for a hard transition. We are ready to pay the price
to liberate
ourselves," he said.
Mutambara on the other
hand is demanding that Zanu PF should
improve the conditions for ordinary
Zimbabweans now or risk being pushed
out.
"We demand the
immediate resignation of the entire Zanu PF
government today," Mutambara
said in his Independence Day message.
"The people of Zimbabwe
must rule themselves again. Today, the
hour has come for us to reclaim our
national birthright," he said.
Government has often resorted
to taking pre-emptive measures to
prevent protests. One such measure was the
widely condemned slum clearance
programme, Operation Murambatsvina, last
May.
Government also launched Operation Maguta to avert possible
mass
protests over food shortages created by its populist land reform
programme.
Zim Independent
Clemence Manyukwe
OFFICIALS from the Ministry of Mines,
accompanied by CID
officers, last month visited River Ranch Mine at
Beitbridge to assess the
situation at the project whose ownership is subject
to a long-drawn dispute.
The delegation was allowed to
proceed to the administration
block at the mine after clearance was obtained
from management in Harare.
The visitors were however not allowed to inspect
the mine.
In a letter dated April 14 and addressed to River
Ranch's
executive director, George Kantsouris, the mine's manager Munashe
Shava said
a five-member team that included the head of the Central
Investigation
Department (CID) Serious Fraud Squad (Minerals Division) Chief
Superintendent Allison Nyamupaguma and led by the Chief Mining Commissioner,
a Mr Mabhena, met him at the administration block.
Shava
said the team had said their visit was routine for "
familiarisation
purposes".
"The team also wanted to know any challenges and
constraints
that we are facing", Shava said.
"It also
wanted to visit the plant but was denied the
opportunity as they had not
made any prior arrangement," but an invitation
was extended to them to book
for a mine visit at a later date. The letter
concludes by stating that "the
meeting was very cordial and lasted about
half an hour".
River Ranch refuted claims by Bubye Minerals director, Adele
Farquhar, last
month that during the visit the police had ordered the
halting of mining
activities, saying they were still operating. There were
no court orders to
stop them from carrying out mining operations and as such
they were
conducting operations lawfully, they said.
But in an
interview on Wednesday Farquhar stood by her earlier
claims and said River
Ranch was now at the mine unlawfully.
"The court has ruled
against River Ranch Ltd in four High Court
actions to date despite River
Ranch putting up the same arguments each
time," Farquhar said.
Zim Independent
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has repeatedly turned down requests
for foreign
currency to buy vehicles for the 66 senators elected last year,
resulting in
some resorting to walking long distances in their
constituencies.
Senators who spoke on condition of
anonymity said since January
this year the RBZ had not provided them with
foreign currency, citing other
commitments.
They said
they risked seeing out the year without vehicles
because there were also 34
members of the House of Assembly who were on the
waiting list ahead of them
who would be given priority.
Clerk of parliament Austin Zvoma
yesterday said the RBZ had
promised to provide the foreign currency but
acknowledged there were
constraints.
"There was no
foreign currency. The RBZ was trying to take care
of other things," Zvoma
said.
"It is not everyone who can get foreign currency as and
when
they require it. Foreign currency is scarce and that is not a secret.
The
local currency is there," he said.
In January
parliament received $224 billion from the budget to
pay for the
vehicles.
Zvoma said they had been asked by the RBZ to
deposit local
currency for the equivalent of 20 vehicles into a local bank
that would go
to some of the 34 MPs who are on the waiting list.
Zim Independent
Paul Nyakazeya
THE
beleaguered National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) is
expected to come on
to the market to raise $6 trillion to service debts and
raise foreign
currency for fuel procurement, businessdigest established this
week.
But dealers said the move would put Noczim in a
serious debt
trap as it would be forced to fork out close to $36 trillion in
finance
charges at ruling market interest rates, above the principal sum
raised
through the market.
This would put Noczim's total debt
burden from the loan at a
staggering $42 trillion, including the principal
loan, they said.
Most major money market instruments are
attracting interest
rates above 500%.
Sources said Noczim
had already approached merchant bank,
Syfrets, a subsidiary of the Finhold
Group, to structure the deal.
No comment was immediately
available from Syfrets yesterday.
Noczim spokesperson,
Zvikomborero Sibanda, could not be
contacted for comment since Tuesday.
Messages left for her were not
returned.
But
businessdigest understands that the deal is now at an
advanced stage of
execution, and that Syfrets will lead the team of
financial advisors to the
deal, the most significant cash-raising initiative
by Noczim this
year.
Sources indicated that Noczim's coffers were dry. The
government-owned oil procurement company had been selling fuel at
significantly low prices, resulting in huge losses that were now bleeding
its books.
Government subsidies are understood to have
been weakened by a
recent salary hike for civil servants and uniformed
forces, which was not
budgeted for.
The new civil
servants' salaries are expected to push the
government wage bill to well
over $120 trillion, from $30 trillion
government had budgeted for during the
year to December 31.
Sources have indicated that government's
budget for 2006 has
already been spent, and Finance minister Herbert Murerwa
was expected to
come up with a supplementary budget any time
soon.
As a result, Noczim has been strapped for
cash.
In a desperate move aimed at scraping a little bit of
cash from
available fuel supplies, Noczim last week increased fuel prices to
$75 000
and $80 000 per litre for diesel and petrol respectively, from $22
000 and
$23 000 per litre for diesel and petrol.
Market
prices are currently pegged at between $185 000 and $210
000 per litre for
petrol and $180 000 and $200 000 per litre for diesel.
Noczim
sells its fuel to government and its departments as well
as other
quasi-government institutions and operations.
The parastatal
also sells fuel to farmers at low prices under a
Reserve Bank-supported
scheme, as well as to a few selected fuel stations
which distribute
exclusively to public transport operators.
This has resulted
in huge loss for Noczim, whose fuel prices
have remained significantly low
despite rallying international oil prices.
The low prices for
fuel from Noczim have created arbitrage
opportunities for many of the
beneficiaries of the parastatals' fuel
supplies who divert the scarce
commodity to a thriving black market at
higher prices.
Zim Independent
Dumisani Ndlela
THE central
bank's response last week to spiralling inflation
spells doom for the
country's industrial sector, a stock broking firm said
in its weekly
commentary this week, warning that interest rates had become
"overly high
and therefore unproductive".
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
last week hiked the accommodation
rates to between 800% and 850% for secured
and unsecured lending
respectively, from between 750% and 785%, after
inflation surged to 913,6%
for the year to March.
"This
policy rate stance coupled with a statutory reserve ratio
of almost 60% for
commercial and merchant banks constitutes a very tight
monetary policy,"
said Kingdom Stockbrokers in its weekly report to
investors.
"A comparison of the current interest rate
regime with annual
inflation by converting the rates into their annual
equivalents shows that
borrowers are paying through the nose," the equities
trading firm said.
Real interest rates, said Kingdom in the
commentary, were now
"overly positive and lenders are making a killing while
the policy rate is
unjustifiably high".
"For instance, at
800% compounded daily, the secured
accommodation rate gives an annual
equivalent of 273 319%. A bank that
consistently borrows at such rates will
definitely go bust," Kingdom said.
The 91-day treasury bill
(TB) rate of 525% translates to an
annual rate of 2 768%, Kingdom
said.
This, Kingdom said, represented an unjustifiable
transfer of
wealth to the investor, which the central bank had no control
over, while
punishing the bank that it could control.
"This is an indirect weakening of monetary policy as this
increases asset
price inflation, a situation that results in the
co-existence of high
interest rates and high inflation. The minimum lending
rate of 550%
translates to an annual equivalent of 9 250%, a development
that explains
why credit to the private sector has fallen as banks have
scaled down on
lending to reduce credit risk," Kingdom said.
"A
comprehensive economic policy package that provides for a
relatively smaller
positive real interest rate is what is needed not such a
crushingly tight
monetary policy that is counterproductive," the stockbroker
said in the
commentary.
Zim Independent
By Admire Mavolwane
AGRICULTURE is, for a variety of economic, political and
sentimental
reasons, a highly emotive issue. According to the official
figures, the
sector accounts for as much as 18% of the country's gross
domestic product
(GDP); 22,8% of foreign currency earnings and about 23% of
total formal
employment. (This was before the disruption of commercial
agriculture
starting in 1999.) The above statistics underline the "economic"
importance
of the sector.
It is for this reason that real GDP growth
estimates are based
on the recovery, or otherwise of this all important
sector. The main reason
being that agriculture as a primary industry is
highly linked to
manufacturing and other value adding activities in the
economy and has a
huge bearing on food security, exchange rate stabilisation
and inflation
control. Given the fact that farm output has declined
significantly over the
years it has thus become more crucial than ever
before for agriculture to
recover hence the increasing role that is being
played in its activities by
previously non traditional agents like the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Since the turn of the millennium
the Reserve Bank has provided
concessionary funding in an effort to try and
breathe life not only into
agriculture but the whole productive sector. In
2000, the central bank put
up a $100 billion facility for the export and
productive sectors (PSF), of
which $35,5 billion went to agriculture. By
June 2005, the PSF facility had
been expanded to $3,1 trillion with
agriculture's share increasing to 40,3%.
In May 2005, a month
before the expiry of the productive sector
facility, the RBZ set up the
Agriculture Sector Productivity Enhancement
Facility (Aspef) with $7
trillion being set aside for lending to agriculture
and export sectors. The
interest rates applicable under the facility are 20%
for irrigation, beef
cattle, dairy, other crops and livestock, and piggery
and poultry support
activities whilst 5% was applicable to horticulture and
other
exports.
By December 2005 a cumulative $5,62 trillion had
been disbursed
to some 2 560 applicants under this facility. In addition to
the cheap
funding, farmers were supposed to access fuel from Noczim at $20
000 per
litre compared with the economy- wide price of between $185 000 and
$210 000
per litre.
In the past couple of weeks, an
emotionally charged debate has
been raging regarding tobacco and seed cotton
pricing structures, with that
on tobacco, in particular, being played out in
the press. The central bank
on April 7 unveiled the 2006 Tobacco Support
Framework, which would have
seen the farmers who got the 20% funding and $20
000/litre fuel being
guaranteed a minimum price of
US$1,80/kg.
For every kilogram sold on the auction at less
than US$1,80, the
grower would have been entitled to a top up differential
payable in local
currency. As a sweetener, those who would have delivered
their crop before 1
July were entitled to a $40 000/kg bonus. In other
words, the Reserve Bank
had reincarnated the tobacco support price
arrangement at the same time
hiking the price from $5 000 to $180
000/kg.
A simple sum worked on the current average price of
US$1,35/kg,
and the inter-bank rate of $99 201,58 showed that the central
bank would
have paid around $2,5 trillion for every kilogram of the 55
million
kilogrammes expected to go under the hammer this year. On April 24,
on the
eve of the commencement of the selling season, the central bank
announced a
new, modified framework which scrapped the complicated price
guarantees and
support prices and replaced them with a more "transparent"
scheme. Under the
new arrangements, farmers would be entitled to a delivery
bonus of 30% of
the crop value sold before July 31 which reduces to 15% up
to August 31. The
US dollar proceeds will be converted in full at the ruling
inter-bank rate.
Cotton farmers, who theoretically should
have benefited from the
20% money, through either the input schemes or
directly from the banks, are
also clamouring for a support price of $60 000
per kilogramme. This would be
in addition to the $23 000/kg that cotton
merchants are offering. Last year,
a similar arrangement was in place with
the Reserve Bank essentially buying
the seed cotton from farmers as it paid
$3 500 out of the $4 500 the farmers
were receiving from merchants. The
support price arrangement was abolished
at the end of December 2005
following the introduction of the inter-bank
foreign currency
market.
It appears on the one hand, that our farmers have
either a short
memory or have developed an embedded lopsided mentality and
on the other
hand, state interventions in the sector are mistimed and not
fully
explained. Prior to the commencement of the planting season in October
or
November, farmers "demand" cheap this and cheap that. Come April, when
they
are supposed to deliver their crops, all of a sudden they start
demanding
premium prices and real exchange rates.
The
whole economic model becomes flawed and highly inflationary
especially given
that the money for the subsidies and support prices is
straight off the
printing press. Cheap money should supposedly be a
substitute for a fair
value exchange rate. There has to be a "give and take"
scenario in the whole
set up. In his January 2006 monetary policy statement,
the Governor alluded
to Apsef as having been one of the major causes of
money supply growth in
the July to December period of 2005. In essence, the
central bank is now the
main financier and buyer of agricultural output.
What the
whole tobacco and cotton farmer scenario highlights,
however, is that there
is something wrong with the agriculture value chain
and also the pricing of
foreign exchange. At one end of the chain, the
farmers exist and operate in
this subsidised economy both at planting and at
harvesting level, whilst the
merchants at the end of the local value chain
play the game at international
level competing with both subsidised and non
subsidised farmers from other
economies.
As an economy, there is something we are missing
in the way the
value chain is structured. When and at what point should the
government
intervene in the chain and what role does the exchange rate,
whether fair
value or not, play in the whole exercise. Some would say tongue
in cheek;
"the government needs to set up a commission made up of all
stakeholders to
analyse the agriculture value chain and come up with fair
and workable
proposals".
Zim Independent
Comment
ZIMBABWE celebrated World Press
Freedom Day on Wednesday by
closing the Bulawayo Press Club to the United
States ambassador because his
views on Zimbabwe's crisis might have
contradicted those of the regime.
The previous day two
Botswana television staff were charged with
evading immigration controls and
"practising journalism without
accreditation". They were following up a
foot-and-mouth outbreak story.
A week earlier an Australian
journalist covering Hifa had been
given 24 hours to leave the country
because his accreditation papers were
not in order.
US
ambassador Christopher Dell was due to address journalists on
issues
relating to press freedom and governance. This was the topic of his
address
at Nust earlier on Wednesday. He made the point that economies
develop where
there is a free trade in ideas. Famines occur in societies
where there is a
muzzled media.
This is particularly pertinent as Zimbabwe
faces extensive food
shortages at a time when the press has been emasculated
by a regime mouthing
nationalist mantras about land and sovereignty but
hiding from the truth -
that its policies have spawned unemployment, poverty
and decay.
"The best test of truth," US Chief Justice Oliver
Wendell Holmes
remarked, "is the power of thought to get itself accepted in
the competition
of the market."
Zimbabwe's rulers are
frightened of that competition. They have
closed down newspapers whose views
- liked Dell's - proved unpalatable. This
enables their monopoly of the
daily press and broadcasting to thrive amidst
the devastation their policies
have wrought. And they lie about its causes.
"Everyone has
the right to freedom of opinion and expression,"
the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights says. That includes the "freedom
to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through
any media and regardless of frontiers".
What is the situation
in Zimbabwe? Only those accredited with a
state-appointed media commission -
virulently hostile to a free press - are
permitted to impart ideas. And that
commission interferes regularly with
newspapers whose opinions offend those
in power.
There has even been a fiction propagated that
Zimbabwe's
draconian measures promulgated in 2002 match those of Sweden or
pale in
comparison with the US Patriot Act and Britain's anti-terrorist
legislation.
Sweden exposed that attempted deception by
inviting journalists
to see for themselves. And any visitor to the US or UK
would realise
immediately that the media in those countries are sharply
critical of their
governments.
Even in the Sadc states,
where President Mugabe finds kindred
spirits, there is greater freedom of
expression and impressive economic
growth.
Only Zimbabwe
has gone backwards and a captive government press
must take responsibility
for its betrayal of the promise of 1980.
Meanwhile, those
responsible for a series of bombings at the
premises of the Daily News and
Voice of the People radio go unpunished -
and, by the look of it, unsought.
This is a regime where the president's
officials view their role as
threatening independent papers rather than
attending to their employer's
tattered image. President Mugabe has initiated
a raft of legislative
provisions protecting him from incisive comment while
he feels free to abuse
his critics without constraint. The courts have in
many cases failed to
uphold the liberties they are charged to protect.
The public
media has been privatised by the ruling party which
abuses its control by
dissembling about the crisis besetting the nation and
settling scores with
the opposition. Worse still, ideas that could rescue
the country from the
economic morass the state has created are ignored.
Freedom of
expression is fundamental to the protection of other
freedoms. So long as
Zimbabweans hear only one voice across the land they
are unable to make
informed electoral choices. They need a free press to
learn what options are
available to them as they seek to find an escape
route from tyranny and
penury which represent the pervasive legacy of
totalitarian control,
censorship and closure.
Zim Independent
Editor's Memo
By Joram Nyathi
WORLD Press
Freedom day has come and gone. Unlike other social
maladies like Operation
Murambatsvina, it has left no footprints in the
media industry in Zimbabwe
except for self-serving apologia from mendacious
state
propagandists.
What I always find debilitating about the
debate on media
freedom and freedom of expression in Zimbabwe is the way it
is framed as if
we have to apologise for our liberty. This inclination is
evident in the way
everyone in the state media tries to demonstrate to us
how Zimbabwe's media
laws compare to those of the United States, especially
the much-maligned
Patriot Act passed after September 11.
There are similar and equally misleading efforts to tell us how
well our
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act compares to
media laws
elsewhere or even how statutes limiting foreign investment in the
local
media compare favourably with those of countries like
Australia.
Nothing could be more misleading and further from
the truth.
More importantly, there is a tendency to conflate the letter and
the spirit
of the law, a danger from which only an independent and
non-partisan
judiciary can save us.
Press freedom need
not necessarily be about comparisons. It is
our freedom as citizens of an
independent Zimbabwe. If the US government
chooses to close down newspapers
using the Patriot Act - which needless to
say it cannot do - it should not
expect to get any support from us. But that
is not the point. The point is
that the spirit and letter of that Act was
never to shut down newspapers or
to turn all journalists into propaganda
mouthpieces in the fight against
terrorism.
Any state will impose limitations on the media or
even people's
movements in an emergency. I have therefore been shocked by
media
practitioners pretending that government's economic mismanagement and
the
hunger it has spawned are national emergencies that require us to speak
with
one voice.
The other such national emergency was the
MDC. One minister went
so far as to talk of "a national ethos" to safeguard
the interests of the
country. This is a shameless parody.
What World Press Freedom did remind us of was the psychological
damage
wrought on this country by Aippa, the Broadcasting Services Act, and
the
Public Order and Security Act. Everybody is afraid. All of them have
badly
constricted the democratic space over the past six years. Their
combined
effect has been the closure of four newspapers since September 2003
and the
consequent loss of employment for hundreds of journalists, most of
them
trained at a huge cost to the state. Nothing has been gained in return
for
this vindictive action.
While the Zimbabwe Constitution
guarantees freedom of
expression, it is remarkably silent on the media and
the press. This has
enabled the government to whittle away most of these
rights through
iniquitous subsidiary legislation such as Aippa. What the
basic law gives
us, Aippa snatches away through artifice. And the courts
have not objected.
It is evident that more people have been
deprived of their
freedom to receive and impart information by the closure
of the Daily News.
If the law was not meant to be vindictive, the Daily
News, its sister paper
the Daily News on Sunday, the Tribune and the Weekly
Times could easily have
been sanctioned by a lesser penalty than closure for
their alleged violation
of an unnecessary and profoundly defective
law.
This is where Aippa differs fundamentally with Swedish
media
law, often cited as a template. The point is to regulate and manage,
not to
shut down newspapers because their ownership structure has changed.
It is
patently self-serving that the government enacts a law and immediately
becomes the foremost complainant. One cannot avoid the feeling that the law
was target-specific and the ANZ gave a hostage to fortune by refusing to
register. Quite conveniently, the Minister of Information has now no power
to reverse the ban on the Daily News despite a High Court ruling indicating
that the Media and Information Commission was biased in its dealings with
the ANZ application for a licence.
There is another
embarrassing paradox. While Zimbabwe wants to
boast having the highest
literacy rate on the continent, it remains about
the only country that still
has one state-controlled television station.
While we boast that we are the
most educated, we don't want our graduates to
be free and to engage in
enterprises that challenge the political status
quo. The National
Development Assembly launched by Mutumwa Mawere was
quickly shut down as
soon as its National Agenda on ZTV asked politically
inconvenient questions
of the national leadership.
Its greatest crime was to be
all-inclusive by allowing for live
interactive phone-in questions from the
public, which could not be brushed
aside. When the ZBC tried a similar
project by encouraging live debates
between Zanu PF and MDC officials, it
was stopped. It was too embarrassing
for incompetent
apparatchiks.
BBC's Hard Talk is my favourite programme. It
reflects media
freedom at its best by putting politicians on the spot to
justify why they
have to eat taxpayers' hard-earned money. It would be
interesting for
instance to have Sekesai Makwavarara of the Harare
Commission explaining her
excesses and why refuse isn't being collected in
the suburbs. I have no
doubt residents would relish such an encounter with
her.
Another candidate would be the enterprising minister who
dreamt
up the expensive new vehicle number plates. To this day I don't know
why
they were necessary. Was there a public tender to print the number
plates?
Zim Independent
Muckraker
'WE believe in dialogue with
employers," Joseph Chinotimba told
the Herald this week. "Employers should
learn from government and give their
workers money."
So
that's what dialogue is all about? Employers have to give
their workers
"money" irrespective of their ability to do so! The government
recently
hiked pay for teachers, nurses, soldiers and others in the state
sector. But
it will do this by printing money. Private-sector employers
cannot follow
suit because they don't own the printing machines.
They will
be squeezed by the rising costs of production, spurred
by 1 000% inflation,
and the demands of workers to keep up. Many will
understandably consider
conducting business in Zimbabwe today an unrewarding
exercise.
And who can blame them with people like
Chinotimba around?
He heads an outfit called the Zimbabwe
Federation of Trade
Unions. It was set up specifically to counter the
influence of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions and provide a
state-friendly union that would mask
mismanagement of the economy and
transfer the blame for the country's
decline to the private sector and the
opposition. This strategy also
involved piling political pressure on
employers, invasion of company
premises, and threats to the
judiciary.
Advertising his economic illiteracy, Chinotimba
believes that
workers will be better off because the state is paying them
more. He is
unable to grasp the elementary truth that printing money is the
chief cause
of inflation and that this latest move will further erode the
value of wages
in his members' pockets. Inviting the private sector to
participate in this
suicidal race to keep up with the cost of living will
result in further
company closures and mass unemployment.
This is called reinventing the wheel. Most societies have learnt
that
raising wages to match inflation merely fuels more inflation. Only
Zimbabwe,
it seems, is determined to go down this road again!
Ignoring
the role of the state in borrowing, spending and
printing money is like
ignoring the elephant in the living room. Inflation
will continue to rocket,
and at an exponential rate, until cabinet
understands the need to rein-in
expenditure, attract investment and generate
forex. It would be the easiest
thing in the world to cut back on state
spending, particularly by cutting
the cost of government itself - getting
rid of all that dead wood - but
where you have a populist regime determined
to bribe its employees to keep
them sweet, you have a recipe for disaster.
Watch this
space.
The many Yugoslav exiles working in this country say
"you ain't
seen nothing yet". Under Slobodan Milosovic inflation was 20
times what it
is here. For them, this is a breeze!
We
were interested to see Caesar Zvayi's proposal to declare
April Zimbabwe
History Month. This is a noble enterprise to which a number
of historians
can contribute. But if Zvayi wants to take part he must first
brush up on a
few details.
He referred to British High Commissioner Lord
Alfred Milner, who
was responsible for authorising the execution of the
architects of the First
Chimurenga, as "one A Milner", thereby suggesting he
hadn't heard of him.
Referring to the Battle of Chinhoyi in
1966, Zvayi claims:
"Eyewitness accounts say four jet fighters, several
helicopters and scores
of Rhodesian soldiers were gunned
down."
Zvayi appears to be claiming more here than war
veterans
themselves. Perhaps he has his own sources.
It
is important to note that the intention of the seven cadres
who entered the
country from Zambia was to "cut off power coming from Kariba
and plunge
Rhodesia into darkness".
They would be proud to know that
their mission has been
fulfilled 40 years later as Zesa plunges an
independent Zimbabwe into
darkness on a nightly basis. We will no doubt be
commemorating this
achievement not just in April but every
month.
Meanwhile, Zvayi claims that on February 6 2002 the
Zimbabwe
Independent carried a 995-word "piece of fiction" by Basildon Peta
titled
"My ordeal as Mugabe's prisoner".
In fact it was
carried in the London Independent.
As Zvayi's error was
published in an article where he criticised
"outright falsehoods in some
sections of the media", we are sure he will
want to apologise for this
particular falsehood which is as flagrant as
George Charamba's claim that
the Independent is opposed to self-regulation.
Muckraker
notes that Noczim has "put in place watertight
mechanisms" to ensure that
subsidised fuel is utilised for productive
instead of speculative
purposes.
Are these the same "watertight" mechanisms used
when the last
allocation of fuel was handed out? And what has happened to
those "farmers"
who took advantage of the offer to resell it on the black
market? Any news
there?
Fuel allocations will ensure
winter wheat production, Joseph
Made has assured us.
"Analysts believe that if the government maintains its present
resolve,
wheat output for this year's winter growing season would be
significantly
higher than last year's," the Herald informed us.
This is one
of the paper's famous "if" stories. A recent article
headed "Zim's economy
expected to recover despite challenges", provided no
evidence whatsoever of
the fabled recovery. It turned out to be an "if"
story. If the authorities
do this and that then all will be well. And of
course you know they
won't.
If ministers were serious about investment and
recovery why didn't
they attend the Zimbabwe International Business
Conference held at the ZITF
in Bulawayo? Only deputy ministers Patrick
Zhuwao and Samuel Undenge made
it.
Delegates attending
spent much of their time debating a suitable
brand name for Zimbabwe which
would reflect the country's history and
aspirations.
Among the proposed themes were "Truly Zimbabwean", "Prosper
Zimbabwe",
"Genuine Zimbabwe" and "Great Zimbabwe".
"Truly Zimbabwean"
sounds borrowed from Malaysia's "Truly Asia".
Unashamedly
borrowing from both Malaysia and South Africa, Dr
Ruth Labode suggested
"Truly Proudly Zimbabwean".
This was because "most
Zimbabweans are very apologetic for being
Zimbabwean to the extent that they
are afraid of identifying themselves as
Zimbabweans," she
said.
And why are they afraid of identifying themselves as
Zimbabwean,
does she think?
Hifa organisers were last
week compelled by the Media and
Information Commission to hand over a list
of journalists who had been
accredited for this year's event. An Australian
who has been covering Hifa
for five years was given 24 hours to leave the
country as a result.
There is the answer to Dr Labode's
question. A clearly
demarcated civic space invaded by a predatory state in
front of an
international audience. And then they have the cheek to talk
about "negative
publicity", as if it is the invention of the independent
press!
Muckraker was surprised to see our government could
only manage
to send a Foreign Affairs ministry official, Godfrey Magwenzi,
to South
Africa's Freedom Day reception last Thursday.
The South Africans were told the day before that Minister
Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi was "abroad", his deputy Obert Matshalaga would be in
Bulawayo
touring the ZITF with the president, while permanent secretary Joey
Bimha,
who normally stands in on these occasions, would also be in the
president's
party.
Not a single minister or senior official was available
to
attend, it would seem. What does this tell us about the current status of
relations with Tshwane? This by the way didn't stop a large cross-section of
Zimbabwean society plus diplomats from having a party and enjoying some good
food and music.
We noted Tafataona Mahoso's prurient
piece in defence of sexual
promiscuity. His argument was as shallow as they
come. So far as he is
concerned, there was nothing wrong with former South
African deputy
President Jacob Zuma not using a condom in his alleged rape
case. This is
all an imperialist argument being advanced by NGOs to get
money from donors,
we are told.
The basis of his
reasoning was that nobody ever talked about
Aids when former US President
Bill Clinton was claimed to have had several
sexual liaisons. He also said
Elizabeth Taylor married nine husbands and
this obviously must be sufficient
proof that there is no Aids.
"If perceived immorality and
sexual promiscuity were the primary
causes of the HIV and Aids pandemic then
the entire North American and
European population would have been extinct
from the pandemic by now,"
concluded Dr Mahoso pompously.
It would help if someone would tell the good doctor that there
are more
chances of infection if a person has sex with an infected partner.
Or has
Mahoso finally found enough evidence to support Thabo Mbeki's theory
that
HIV doesn't cause Aids? What is imperialistic about warning people
against
multiple partners and saving lives in this age of Aids?
Returning to calls by trade union leaders for the private sector
to follow
the example set by government in awarding huge salary increases,
embedded in
the story was one on the Cold Storage Company failing to pay its
workers for
two months. The company said it was facing viability problems as
it was
operating at less than 20% of capacity.
The company said its
problems started as far back as 2001, which
is the time the mayhem on the
farms intensified and cattle were being
slaughtered at will in the name of
"fixing" white commercial farmers. The
outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease
has only made a bad situation worse.
But it would be very
naïve of trade unions to assume that every
company is making "super profits"
as claimed by ZFTU president Alfred
Makwarimba.
The
contrast between government and private sector companies is
that the latter
have to earn their money under very difficult trading
conditions. Government
can pay any salary it wants provided it is in its
political interests to do
so. Which is what happened with the uniformed
forces and teachers last
week.
Muckraker feels compelled to comment on the catty
remarks coming
almost weekly from the Financial Gazette's CZ
columnist.
He can't resist having a go at this newspaper and
in particular
at its proprietor. And there appears to be a note of
bitterness in his
voice. How do we explain this?
Well, CZ
- who many readers hadn't noticed was missing due to
what the editor called
"an extended holiday" - should do the professional
thing and declare an
interest when he attacks this paper. He should explain
to his readers that
he had to part company with the Zimbabwe Independent
because of a bad case
of indolence. Rather like a permanent "extended
holiday" at our expense! But
no hard feelings here. Just sorry that he hasn't
got over
it!
Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono is pulling no punches
in his
dealings with tobacco farmers. This week he all but told those
farmers
threatening to withhold their tobacco crop from the auction floors
to quit
farming.
He has a point. Government provided the
farmers with virtually
all inputs, from fuel to fertilisers. Now they want
more subsidies before
they can sell their crop. This is despite the fact
that tobacco production
has fallen from as much as 236 million kg in 1997 to
a mere 50 million kg
this year. One is left wondering what is going on. What
happened to all the
subsidised fuel that the farmers got last
year?
But Gono is not deterred. He said those farmers
committed to the
task should produce enough to ensure food self-sufficiency
as a signal to
the world that our land reform programme was not in
vain.
"It's high time our farmers learn to be grateful," Gono
said.
It's high time they were productive too, we might add.
Why
should they be continuously pampered with subsidies while companies like
the
CSC are expected to fend for themselves like everybody else? What's
their
claim to a special dispensation?
'Council workers
on a go slow," the Mirror reported last week.
Muckraker's
question: How can we tell?
Zim Independent
By Eric
Bloch
FRONT-PAGE headlines were struck last week on the
announcement
by government of markedly increased salaries for the public
service in
general, and for teachers and nurses in particular. Not only did
that
announcement provoke much media coverage, but it also became a key
discussion theme among the population as a whole, and especially so between
members of the business community.
At the outset, it
must be acknowledged that the salary
increases were very necessary and
justified for, not only have Zimbabwe's
civil servants long been
under-remunerated, but they have been as
severely affected by the ravages
of inflation as have all other
Zimbabweans.
For decades
the employees of the state have not received
market-related emoluments;
with the rare exceptions at upper echelons'
levels, they have received
incomes which have been appallingly low.
Despite the "protectionism" of
employment within the public service, the
paucity of civil servants' pay
packages was unwarranted. Although in
alignment with much of the private
sector, remuneration above prescribed
minima should be
performance-related, as will apparently now partially be
the case, for the
first time.
With inflation over the past year approximating 1
000%, it was
very necessary that there be significant upward revision of
governmental
salaries and, somewhat belatedly, that has now occurred.
However,
although the civil servants appear, by and large to have welcomed
the
announcement and to have received it positively, many still bewail
that
the new salaries are below the poverty datum line (PDL). In so doing
they
overlook that invariably, in families wherein the principal income
earner
generates income below the PDL, there is at least one other income
earner.
Essentially, in a family of, say five, one income
earner
should be receiving at least two-thirds of PDL, whilst one or more
of the
other family members produce a further one-third or more of
PDL.
However, although the state's pay increases were very
necessary
and overdue, they are also a cause for very great concern for, to
all
intents and purposes, the state is already insolvent. Its revenues are
vastly exceeded by its expenditures and it is very heavily
borrowed.
It cannot readily increase its revenue flows
without severely
harming the extremely distressed economy and
population. The aggregate
of direct and indirect taxation is
exceptionally heavy, with individuals
being taxed from income levels far
below the PDL, at rates which progress
to as high as 40%, and corporates
paying taxes as high or greater than
those payable elsewhere within the
region.
The tax burden upon the populace is exacerbated by
heavily
increased charges for governmental services such as education and
hospital
facilities, by massive indirect taxes such as Value Added Tax
(Vat), carbon
tax, impending road toll fees, customs duties, and very much
else.
Therefore government cannot, or must not, resort to further taxes,
which
would oppress the populace untenably.
But it would
be as catastrophic for government to worsen further
its gargantuan debt
burden by resorting to additional borrowings to finance
the increased
salaries. It is already very hard-pressed to service its
debts, and is
repeatedly having to seek new borrowings to repay old ones.
Its immense
deficit revenues against expenditures is increasingly
intensified by an
unavoidable recourse to borrowings at rising rates of
interest, responsive
to the rates of inflation. Its borrowings
frequently crowd out the
private sector from the money market, to the
prejudice of economic
revival, and its deficit and concomitant reliance
upon borrowings are
major fuellants of inflation.
The Minister of Finance, Dr
Herbert Murerwa, has already
intimated that, at variance to his declared
intents when he tabled his
2006 budget to parliament last December, he will
have to revert to
parliament with a supplementary budget, necessitated by
the impacts of
inflation.
The announced salary increases
render such a supplementary
budget unavoidably necessary, with governmental
expenditures aggravated and
intensified by not only the higher costs of the
public service, but also
increased operational costs due to inflation and
exchange rate movement
despite the near "freeze" in rate since January, and
rising costs of
borrowings.
However, that supplementary
budget must not, under any
circumstances, impose new or additional taxes
upon the straitened
circumstances of the Zimbabwean taxpayers, for they are
already greatly
over-burdened.
Similarly, the minister
must not seek to access increased
borrowings, for the consequences will be
devastating.
There is, therefore, only one substantive course
of action
available to government, and that is to reduce other
expenditures very
markedly. It will, inevitably, plead an inability to cut
expenditure, but
such pleadings will be unacceptable, for there is no
viable alternative
and there is scope for expenditure cuts, if the
governmental will to effect
them exists.
Opportunities of
expenditure reduction are numerous. First and
foremost, the huge size of
government must be contained. Zimbabwe does not
need 59 ministers and
deputy ministers!
How can a population of about 11,4
million require 59
ministers to direct the operations of the state? That
is a greater number
than in US, any of the countries in Europe, Russia and
most other
countries. Not only is each and every one of them a direct cost
to the
state, but so too are their massive support
infrastructures.
Similarly, it defies credibility and fiscal
responsibility for a
country of Zimbabwe's population size to have a
two-tiered parliamentary
system. The creation of the senate was not a
measure to ensure good
governance, but to create "jobs for the boys"!
Zimbabwe's impoverished
circumstances dictate that the senate is a luxury
that Zimbabwe cannot
afford, and therefore the constitution should be
amended and the senate
disbanded.
And how can Zimbabwe
justify the size of its defence forces,
the continuing purchase of military
aircraft and other ordnance, and the
overwhelming other costs of
maintaining a huge defence infrastructure?
Zimbabwe is not at war with, or
under threat from any other country. Its
only war is an economic one, and
its only enemy is itself or, to be more
precise, the governmental
mismanagement of the economy. Its defence forces
are only used for
ceremonial purposes and for such specious internal
security purposes as
controlling many of the state's economic and fiscal
arms for which the
defence forces are totally unqualified. A substantial
cut in the
overly-sized militaristic wings of the state would go a long
way to
balancing the budget.
Yet another very major cost of
government is the plethora of
diplomatic embassies and missions around the
world, many being in countries
with which Zimbabwe has minimal trade
relations and very few other
interactions. The international representation
of Zimbabwe should be
consolidated and streamlined in alignment with the
availability of funding.
And positive measures to curb
corruption, instead of endless
talk about doing so, without commensurate
action, would also very
significantly contain governmental expenditures,
assist in balancing the
budget, and thereby aid the long overdue, very
greatly needed, economic
recovery.
Concurrently,
government will have to take a vibrant role in
convincing labour in
commerce and industry, and other economic sectors,
that the salary
increases given by it cannot be regarded as a blanket
precedent for the
private sector as a whole. As deserved as substantial
salary and wage
increases may be, in many instances, a large number of
enterprises cannot
sustain the necessary increases and will collapse if they
have to pay them,
thereby intensifying the already very pronounced levels
of
unemployment.
Zim Independent
Candid Comment with Joram
Nyathi
ANYBODY who has read literature on self-motivation or
personal
mastery will tell you there is nothing as psychologically damaging
as
nurturing a victim mentality to explain your problems.
I haven't read much on this subject, but enough to be able to
notice these
traces of self-denial and perpetual hopelessness.
Why this is
damaging is because by assimilating the victim
mentality, we are saying
there is nothing we can do about our situation.
Instead of fighting to alter
our condition, it is easier to find somebody or
something to
blame.
We are reduced to crying and waiting for a saviour to
pluck us
out of a very bad situation. We are in fact powerless to do
anything. But so
long as we can find somebody to blame, it is convenient. It
is, in the final
analysis, an attitude thing. Instead of adopting the
attitude that God helps
those who help themselves, we would rather kneel
down and shut our eyes in
front of a lion and pray for
salvation.
I found an article in the Sunday Mail by Dr
Tafataona Mahoso
this week very instructive in this respect if not very
dangerous. He was
responding to a Herald article on April 26 which was
critical of a report
done by NGOs which said some Tonga cultural practices
promoted the spread of
HIV and Aids and other sexually transmitted
infections.
These practices include not using condoms, elderly
men having
affairs with minors and people having multiple
partners.
All this was imperialist hogwash, said Mahoso. How
come nobody
talked about Aids when actress Elizabeth Taylor married nine
husbands? he
asked. Or when Bill Clinton was accused of having a chain of
mistresses?
Mahoso is not worried about the disease and its
impact on
society and the economy. He wants researchers to focus their
attention on
the "primary causes" of the disease so that we have someone to
blame for the
social and economic devastation wrought by it. His thesis is
based on the
discredited claim that Aids was the result of an experiment
that went
horribly wrong. It was imperialists who wanted to exterminate
Africans whose
fast growing populations posed a threat to their "global
interests", he
says.
Even if that bunkum were true, where
does it leave the poor
victims of imperialist machinations and genocide?
Those already afflicted by
the scourge who want relief, not somebody to
blame?
Unicef research shows that 115 000 children between
the ages of
0-14 are HIV-positive while over 500 contract the disease every
week. Over
500 others die a week. That is the amount of sorrow and tears
flowing across
the nation daily. There are thousands of orphans across the
country left
under the care of private institutions or individuals. How are
these
supposed to benefit from researchers telling us about the origins of
Aids?
How will such knowledge help prevent more people getting infected
without
behavioral and attitude change?
"Why should
President Thabo Mbeki's views (on the causes of
Aids) or Vice-President
Jacob Zuma's personal behaviour (having unprotected
sex with an HIV-positive
person) or the culture of the Tonga people be used
to excuse the failure of
HIV and Aids activists to curb the pandemic (Aids)
which they claim they are
being paid to curb," asked Mahoso.
You don't know how to
react to this level of frivolity in one
occupying such a high position in
society. But then the issue is so serious
in Zimbabwe some of us can't
afford to derive pleasure in fashioning
imperialist conspiracies. If such
theories led us towards a quick remedy we
would indulge them. I have already
explained why some sexual practices, not
just Tonga, predispose people to
infection. The point about Mbeki and Zuma
is about what are called role
models for society, in case Mahoso doesn't
know. Which should be very
worrying. Are we not supposed to learn something
from the behaviour of our
national leaders?
But I was even more shocked that in seeking
to entrench the
victim mentality Mahoso, instead of helping to reduce the
spread of Aids,
wants to blame NGOs. He says Aids activists have failed to
do their job of
stopping the spread of the disease and that is their
problem. Can anything
be more callous and reckless?
So
some people are paid to fight the Aids scourge while he is
paid to give us
excuses for inaction? What does it mean to say Aids
activists have "failed
to do what they are paid to do"? Here you have
activists talking about
attitude change and safe sex and on the other hand
people like Mahoso, who
should know better, declaring that if "sexual
promiscuity was the primary
cause of Aids" North Americans and Europeans
would be extinct by
now.
This is an extravagant claim that can only be made by
one who
has done sufficient research on the rates of Aids infection and the
sexual
habits of the people concerned. But if Mahoso is extrapolating from
the
single case of Elizabeth Taylor and her nine husbands, there is
definitely
nothing for me to learn about Americans. It serves neither his
propaganda
purposes nor the interests of the Tonga or Africans that he wants
to turn
into perpetual victims of an evil imperialist
world.
It would be interesting to know for how long Africans
leaders
are expected to remain in this comfort zone of blaming colonialism
for their
mismanagement of national affairs and the suffering of their
people.
Sooner rather than later we will discover that the
world owes us
nothing and that those who know the purpose of history have
grasped its
lessons and moved on. Africa was not the only continent to be
colonised. Why
are the others doing so much better?
We want polls not mere change of
faces at Town House
THE Combined Harare Residents Association
(CHRA) rejects the
idea creeping into the ruling party's agenda of having to
replace a failed
commission with another one to run the affairs of Harare at
the expense of a
democratically-elected council.
The
residents of Harare are clear on what they want. For the
record, the
residents were loud and categorical at the Girls' High School on
April 25
before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Local Government
that
conducted a public hearing into the state of service delivery by the
city of
Harare.
Commissions with unlimited terms - no matter where
they come
from - are unwelcome in Harare and any other local authority. What
we demand
are elections for a people's council now.
CHRA
is not hoodwinked by the vilification of the Makwavarara
Commission by some
people in government who are leaking information to the
media as a
pre-emptive strategy.
We are aware that the plot is to get
residents to endorse the
removal of Makwavarara and celebrate a new
commission. Service delivery and
legitimacy are non-existent in the current
strategy.
While we welcome the inevitable exit of Makwavarara
and her
fellow commissioners, CHRA demands that Local Government minister
Ignatius
Chombo and Justice minister Patrick Chinamasa urgently organise the
holding
of fresh mayoral and council elections for Harare in line with
Section 80
(4) of the Urban Councils' Act (Chapter 29:
15).
The prolonged administration of Harare by commissions
that
clearly lack the mandate of residents will further prejudice residents
of
their democratic right to choose leaders of their
choice.
The principle of re-appointing commissions beyond the
mandatory
nine months has been ruled illegal by the High Court and the
Supreme Court
(Makarau's judgement in Case Number HC12862/00 of Christopher
Magwenzi
Zvobgo versus the city of Harare.
Supreme Court
judge, Justice Wilson Sandura in the case of
Lottie Stevenson versus the
Minister of Local Government and others in case
SC 38/02, and High Court
judge, Justice Hungwe's judgement in case Number HH
210/2001 of CHRA and
another versus the Registrar-General, have made similar
judgements.
What we want is not changing faces at the
helm of the city, but
more significantly, a lasting solution to local
government structural
problems - locally and nationally - starting with
democratic elections.
CHRA,
Harare.
---------
Jonathan Moyo
misunderstood
PEOPLE who have reacted to Jonathan Moyo's
series of articles on
events surrounding the Tsholotsho Declaration,
"Tsholotsho saga: the untold
story", (Zimbabwe Independent, April 14, 21 and
28) have almost always
failed to confront the fact and substance of the
articles, preferring
instead to attack the man and question his integrity
and motives.
It is easy for armchair critics to punch their
keyboards and
write opinion pieces criticising the government and the ruling
party when
they have a very faint understanding of how the system
operates.
I personally found Moyo's chronicle of events to be
enlightening, as they clearly show us how Zanu PF can abuse power and use
fear as a weapon to silence dissent.
The fine details of
what really transpired in Tsholotsho would
obviously be of interest to Zanu
PF enthusiasts, but the fact that the party
had to bend the rules to please
President Mugabe and powerful people in the
party shows us that as a country
we are still miles away from understanding
the meaning of democracy, let
alone embracing all that it entails. It is
difficult not to draw parallels
with the events leading to the split of the
opposition
MDC.
While I do not agree with Moyo's verdict that had the
Tsholotsho
Declaration been adopted, Zimbabwe would have been a better
country, I
believe his exposure is a valuable lesson for Zimbabwean
politics.
For as long as we are afraid of challenging the
status quo and
allow leaders to do as they please, we will forever be taken
for granted and
our miseries will never end. If one is comforted by the
knowledge that there
were some people in Zanu PF who tried to make a
difference, one is quickly
disappointed to learn that the "dissidents" were
swiftly silenced and never
did anything about it.
People
can accept that power and politics are always
inseparable. However, I do not
believe that wilful violation of rules and
protocols is acceptable under any
circumstances.
In the MDC, those who strongly felt that rules
had been bent
decided to break away from the powerful bloc. That the
breakaway faction
proved to be less popular than the powerful bloc is
immaterial. Sometimes
politics is not just about numbers, it is also about
principles.
Hudson Yemen Taivo,
Birmingham,
UK.
----------
Just a glimpse into ZC's
achievements
ZIMBABWE Cricket (ZC) would like to respond to
the letter by JM
of Harare, "Tennis piece was spot-on", (Zimbabwe
Independent, April 28).
Anyone looking with an open mind at
the history of cricket in
Zimbabwe since Independence will include on the
list of major achievements
two things:
* The
implementation of a development programme that saw the
game transformed from
an exclusive preserve of a privileged minority to the
national heritage of
all Zimbabweans regardless of race, colour or creed;
and
* The attainment of Test status.
Previously, cricket was
played in less than 20 schools but
today, thanks to the development
programme, there are over 250 junior and
senior schools that play the game
throughout the country.
ZC drives this programme through the
building of cricket
facilities, the manning of these with over 80 full-time
coaches around the
country, the donation of playing equipment to the
disadvantaged and the sale
of subsidised equipment to
others.
A key component of the development programme is the
scholarship
scheme. Boys from disadvantaged backgrounds who show cricket
potential are
offered these scholarships to fund them through high school
and, because we
believe in contributing to the national human resource base
through the
production of a well-rounded being, even through tertiary
education.
For the first term this year, we spent almost $1
billion on the
scholarships.
A number of Zimbabwe senior
"A" team and national age-group
players have benefited from this programme.
JM is not correct to say that
the likes of Tatenda Taibu "just went to the
kind of schools that played the
game".
We gave them
scholarships and sent them to specific schools such
as Churchill in Harare
(where Taibu went), Jameson in Kadoma, Milton in
Bulawayo, Mutare Boys' in
Mutare and Victoria High in Masvingo where we have
set up Centres of
Excellence.
A phone call to any one of these schools will
confirm this.
But ZC is not an island. Yes, we have run the
scholarship
programme as part of our honest endeavour as the body mandated
to run the
game in the country, but it would be amiss of us not to
acknowledge the
support of the likes of the Tobacco Industries Cricket
Supporters
Association (Ticsa), the Ministry of Education, Sport and
Culture, the heads
of the relevant schools and, of course, the parents of
the beneficiaries for
the success of the programme.
We
invite JM to view our development documentary, a copy of
which we have given
the Independent.
We invite him/her after that to reflect on
the thought from
Albert Einstein that has inspired us: "All that is valuable
in human society
depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the
individual."
Zimbabwe Cricket,
Harare.
---------
Trade with Chinese
taking Africa backwards
IT is a little-known fact that
around 1950 "Made in Japan"
was synonymous with shoddy low-quality,
low-durability goods. The Japanese
fixed that problem, as everyone
knows.
Nowadays goods produced in Mainland China are
very
variable: some are of high quality, but many are
not.
China is now flooding Africa not only with
consumer goods
but also industrial goods and durable consumer
items.
The problem arises when governments and
wholesalers
engineer a situation where only Chinese goods are available for
political or
financial reasons.
Typically, a
Chinese soldering iron in Zimbabwe is sold
with the caveat and when it
breaks soon after, there will be no replacement
or refund while a Chinese
bicycle develops all kinds of mechanical problems
after a few months of
modest use.
This situation is taking hard-earned
foreign currency out
of the hands of poor Africans in poor African countries
and giving it to
rich Chinese and their African and other collaborators -
political and
commercial.
Trade in many Chinese
goods is taking Africa backwards but
it is making lots of money for a
few.
What is required is for an independent study of
the
situation, and with appropriate measures taken after the results of that
study, by the Chinese and African governments.
But
as long as the few are feeding at the trough, there is
little chance of such
a sensible solution, and of course the ineffectual and
corrupt UN is of
little use.
Alex Weir,
Harare.
---------
Russian planes' safety
levels just as good as Western ones
WITH all due
respect to the freedom of the press in
general and to the independent status
of your weekly newspaper, I've got a
sound reason to assess once more the
responsibility of editors and
journalists of any media
source.
I can't but do this after running through the
"hot"
article by Dumisani Ndlela and Shakeman Mugari "Govt orders 'flying
coffins'
for Airzim", (Zimbabwe Independent, April 28). I am referring to an
attempt
by the authors to cast a strong doubt over the safety of Russian
aircraft.
According to the article, Russian planes "had
many
technical problems over the past few years". Moreover, the authors
labelled
the planes "flying coffins".
Such acute
methods of information war waging by
competitors could misguide some
readers. Regrettably, truth is the first
casualty of that kind of war. Still
most of the readers capable of reading
between the lines can clearly realise
whose interests are put forward.
Since the article
touched on the certain types of
airplanes produced by the world-famous
Ilyushin Corporation, let us look
through the international statistics of
flights' safety.
It clearly shows that Il-96 has the
safety level as good
as its best Western analogues A-34-200 and
Boeing-747.
The achievements of Russian producers of
safe airplanes
are recognised among specialists across the world. A recent
example is the
international roundtable "The Civil Air Fleet in Russia:
Tasks and
Prospects" organised by the famous Fipra experts
company.
The executive vice-president and senior
adviser of Gecas,
David Lloyd, in his remarks to the roundtable emphasised
that until now,
there have been no crashes of Il-96 aircraft which have been
on regular
flights since 1993. And only one Il-86 jet (used since 1980) was
lost
because of the mistake of a pilot, with no passengers on
board.
True professionals highly appreciate Il-96. It
is
reliable, precise in piloting and has efficient
avionics.
In comparison with the Airbus which has an
exterior
similar to the Il-96-400M, one can see some advantages of Russian
aircraft.
For example, its wider body provides
additional comfort
for passengers especially during long-range
flights.
Moreover, such characteristics as take-off
weight of 250
tonnes and flight distance of 1 300km made it possible to
convert this
passenger aircraft into a cargo plane
Il-96-400T.
By the way, it is well-known that Tupolev
and Ilyushin
aircraft are essentially cheaper than the Airbus and
Boeing.
Aren't these reasons making Russian aircraft
more
competitive on the market?
O
Scherbak,
Ambassador of the Russian
Federation, Harare.
----------
Expose
Mutambara's pro-Mugabe mindset
PROFESSOR Arthur
Mutambara's continued reference to MDC
president Morgan Tsvangirai's having
lost elections persuades many to
suspect that Mutambara's plan is to tarnish
the image of Tsvangirai while
endorsing President Mugabe's election
fraud.
Mutambara has repeatedly told his audiences that
Tsvangirai is not a capable leader because he has lost previous
elections.
If the article "Probe team vindicates MDC
claim",
(Zimbabwe Independent, April 21) in which David Coltart, the MDC
former
secretary for legal affairs, reported that after analysing 12
constituencies, the MDC team which investigated the 2002 presidential poll
concluded that at least 490 000 fraudulent votes were stuffed into ballot
boxes to give Mugabe victory is anything to go by, doesn't Mutambara
realise that he is not saying the truth?
Go back to
the year 2000, when Tsvangirai contested
parliamentary elections and "lost"
to Kenneth Manyonda in Buhera; the
results of that election were nullified
by the High Court, yet Mutambara is
still convinced that Tsvangirai lost the
election which also saw the loss
oflives.
Mutambara
is, instead, telling the world that Mugabe has
conducted free and fair
elections throughout. If that is what he really
believes, then this kind of
thinking needs to be exposed. It should be the
responsibility of every
progressive Zimbabwean to expose such pro-Mugabe
thinking.
I understand Mutambara's level of
desperation, but trying
to credit Mugabe with election fraud will certainly
turn many well-meaning
Zimbabweans away from his
party.
Benjamin Chitate,
New
Zealand.
Zim Independent
By Brian Raftopoulos
LISTENING to
debates on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
(TRC) at the tenth
anniversary conference organised by the Institute for
Justice and
Reconciliation last week, and reading various recent reflections
on the
event, I was struck both by the differences and similarities of the
democratic transitions in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
In
both countries there was a clear similarity in the language
of
reconciliation and the political compromise it was meant to
encapsulate.
The emphasis on forgiveness for past injustices
as a basis for
future nation-building was seen as a necessary compromise to
"move forward"
in the context of international pressures that favoured such
a dispensation.
The structural and political legacies of
different colonial
pasts combined with contemporary pressures of global
neo-liberalism provided
strong pressures for such a
compromise.
In the 1980s the Zimbabwean transition was often
hailed as a
model of reconciliation in post-settler societies and the
changes in both
Namibia and South Africa drew in some ways from the
Zimbabwean example. In
sum, the politics of reconciliation became a modality
for the transfer of
power for those societies moving out of white
domination.
There is no doubt that the policy of
reconciliation in these
southern African countries had a good deal of merit
in avoiding broader
conflagrations and opening up democratic spaces for the
consideration of new
options in these societies.
However,
the legacies of enormous inequality remained as
potentially explosive
questions waiting to be resolved, and therefore
available for both
progressive and dangerous forms of popular mobilisation.
Within
this context, as many analysts have pointed out, the TRC
was both a major
achievement and a distinctive evasion.
In important ways it
gathered vital information about the human
rights abuses of the apartheid
era and provided a forum for public testimony
and, to a more limited extent,
"confession".
Its major limitation, as other scholars have
pointed out, was
its silences on the institutional effects of apartheid and
the limited
notion of victims. Notwithstanding such limitations, the TRC
provided a
valuable space for the discussion of accountability and
questioning of
impunity.
Zim Independent
Dumisani Ndlela
THERE is
no hope left to salvage Zimbabwe's faltering economy
from an inflationary
abyss despite public posturing by government which
launched a fresh economic
revival blueprint a fortnight ago.
The government two weeks
ago launched the National Economic
Development Priority Programme (NEDPP),
which it says will rescue the
country from economic
meltdown.
Under the NEDPP, the government plans to mobilise
US$2,5 billion
within the next three months, boosting efforts to stabilise
the economy,
reduce inflation and increase agricultural
production.
The NEDPP is expected to create economic
stability within the
next six to nine months and to enhance savings and
trigger investment
inflows.
But evidence just a week
after the launch of the blueprint
suggests that the economy is continuing to
slide over the precipice.
Last week, government awarded civil
servants a 300% salary hike,
pushing its wage bill to well above 50% of
gross domestic product (GDP) and
raising the prospect of increased money
supply growth and consequently
further inflation through unbudgeted
expenditure.
Inflation, which peaked at an all-time high of
913,6%
year-on-year for March, appears to be roaring towards the 1 000% mark
and
analysts believe this could be breached in a month - if it has not done
so
already.
The government in January awarded civil
servants salary
increments of 230%, slightly above the $30 trillion it had
budgeted for its
entire wage bill.
The latest increases,
effective from this month, will push the
wage bill up by 300%, raising the
prospect of increased note-printing.
Money printing stokes
money supply growth that provides an
impetus for higher
inflation.
Money supply expanded from 177,6% in January 2005
to 411,5% in
November of the same year, according to the latest figures
released by the
central bank.
There are real fears among
economic players that money supply
growth figures might be understated, and
a number of factors might
contribute to this.
Money
supply is the generation of new money, in other words, an
additional stock
to money already in circulation.
Sources indicated that the
national budget for 2006 had already
been largely exhausted and a
supplementary budget was expected in a few
weeks' time to cater for new
expenditure requirements arising from new
salary
payments.
Since 2005, when the country experienced a
500-percentage points
decline in inflation, the inflation rate has soared
unabated.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Gideon Gono, in
January made
a rare admission that the central bank had printed a whopping
$21 trillion
to purchase United States dollars for repayment of IMF arrears
to stave off
an imminent expulsion of the country's membership to the
institution.
This is besides cash printed to raise money for
grain and fuel
imports, as well as for other quasi-fiscal operations by the
RBZ.
The government last year borrowed heavily from the
central bank
mainly for grain imports against a backdrop of declining
agricultural
production in combination with erratic rains as well as for
fuel imports,
implying that cash from the central bank was used again to buy
foreign
currency.
Although the government projected that
the budget deficit
out-turn for 2005 had been 3% of GDP, the IMF board
revealed that it was in
fact 60% of GDP.
Analysts said
this emphasised Zimbabwe's economic crisis was far
worse than projected by
government statistics, warning also that this made
the challenge to
turn-around the country's economy significantly more
difficult.
While the misery endured by Zimbabweans
provide ample proof of
the threat of large-scale money printing on people's
livelihoods, the
government appears indifferent.
Zimbabwe
has experienced a major humanitarian emergency due to
the deteriorating
economy, immense policy constraints, and devastating
effects of HIV/Aids
since the crisis set in the economy in 2000.
Economists say
"structural unemployment" is nearly 80% in an
economy that has been
dominated by critical foreign currency and fuel
shortages as well as
shortages of basic food commodities for the past six
years.
In any case, Zimbabwe's business sector has faced
serious
problems ranging from high borrowing rates and operational costs,
shortages
of fuel and foreign currency to import spares and equipment,
forcing them to
reduce the size of their workforce or simply shut down. Most
companies are
said to be operating at below 50% of
capacity.
Persistent high inflation rates have also created
pressure on
businesses, with disposable incomes shrinking, prompting demands
for higher
wage increases.
The Central Statistical
Office, a government department under
the Ministry of Finance, has put a
realistic minimum wage level for a family
of five at nearly $35 million for
March.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions says the average
wage in
Zimbabwe for many employers stood at $5 million per month by
March.
President Robert Mugabe earlier this year pledged to
print more
money, arguing that government could not watch while people
starve.
But printing notes will neither improve the
production of goods
nor generate foreign currency for essential
imports.
The recent award of unbudgeted salary increases to civil
servants provides an insight into the government's thinking on the
issue.
Large-scale money printing propels high inflation,
which is the
equivalent of a drastic loss of the purchasing power of
money.
This is exactly what the latest round of salary hikes
will do to
the country's economy, making it unattractive to hold the local
currency
when costs for goods and services go up almost every
day.
What this means is that rather than saving, people are
now
making sure they spend their little incomes as fast as they can, on
goods.
The population, in order to avoid the inflationary
effect, flees
the domestic currency as a store of value, and instead shifts
their wealth
into hard currency and durable goods.
Zim Independent
Itai Mushekwe
THE just-ended
Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa)
has left an indelible mark
on the country's arts and entertainment scene as
evidenced by the army of
enthusiasts who attended the six-day fiesta.
The
scintillating event was well-organised resulting in a week
of electrifying
shows, that gave Harare a first-world life, thus casting the
economic woes
of many a fan away, albeit for only 144 hours.
Under the
catchy theme Hand in hand, the festival indeed managed
to bring together
artists of various genres such as music, poetry, theatre,
dance and visual
arts, thus forming a spirit of synergy and synchronisation
which will prove
difficult to dismantle.
On the musical front, celebrated
musicians such as Benin-born R'n'B
jazz supremo, Angelique Kidjo and
combative reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly,
gave a good account of
themselves.
Both artists have a rare quality of lyrical
intelligence and
stage appeal which left revellers musical thirst
quenched.
Theatre had its fair share with the likes of
Ugandan-American
Ntare Mwine's play Biro capturing the imagination of many
hearts and souls.
Bulawayo-based local theatre outfits,
Amakhosi Township Theatre,
Bambelela Arts Ensemble and Qhube productions
amalgamation proved beyond
reasonable doubt that they are the best theatre
group in the country by
presenting an insightful political satire,
Tomorrow's people, a hard-hitting
play about contempory
Zimbabwe.
As for dance, visual arts and poetry, one needed to
be present
to witness artistic excellence at its best. Operatic highlights
and "The
Magic Flute" exposed Zimbabweans to the best of European
culture.
Hifa has without question become the premier arts
and culture
extravaganza in Zimbabwe, whose annual showcase transforms the
country's
entertainment terrain.
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 23 March 2006
Farm Manager
Farm located 12km from Gweru
city centre. We are looking for a horticultural
manager with experience in
flowers mainly roses. Will also be required to
assist in
potatoes,
tomatoes, cabbages and paprika. Good accommodation is provided on
the farm,
also good perks for the right candidate.
Interested qualified persons
should contact Evans/Bongi +263 9 889420 fax
+263 9 889421, goldsoil@adtech.co.zw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 30 March 2006
Tobacco Manager
If you were a successful
former Tobacco grower now sitting in town but
wanting to get back into
Tobacco, please make comms and write to:
agri.joe@hms.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 30 March 2006
Vacancy - Citrus Farm
We have a vacancy for
a managerial couple on a well-established citrus farm,
good package for the
right couple with usual farm perks. Please send C.V to
fergs@netconnect.co.zw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
Ad
inserted 5 April 2006
POSITON AVAILABLE - MOZAMBIQUE
Assistant
farm manager wanted for farming set up in Mozambique 60km from
Mutare border,
growing 60ha tobacco and 15ha paprika. Position would suit a
school leaver
with farming background or Blackfordby leaver. US$ package,
medical aid,
vehicle and usual farm perks.
PHONE LISA- 011
420805
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 5 April 2006
Wanted
We are looking for the impossible....
someone to fulfil a job that can be
hectic, boring, frustrating, inspiring,
and humorous, depressing,
challenging, tiring, easy and impossible. We have a
small camp and bar in
Kariba.
The applicant will be coordinating 6
staff. Sometimes they are outstanding;
sometimes they are comatose. Sometimes
we can get stock; sometimes we can't.
Sometimes we can afford repairs;
sometimes we can't. Sometimes we're busy;
sometimes we're not. We always have
fun. Ideally the applicant will be
single and (semi-) retired and wanting to
keep him/herself busy. A handy man
would be fantastic and the ability to
socialize with all and sundry is
imperative. Salary will be commission based,
according to sales/profit. We
provide food and very basic accommodation,
beautiful surroundings,
elephants, zebras and hippos.
Email relax@warthogs.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 5 April 2006
Job opportunity
I am looking for a retired
farmer to help oversee my small dairy and do odd
jobs whilst I am away for
two months at a time. Accommodation available, in
a
lovely
setting.
Replies to email: gillian@zol.co.zw or telephone for
an
appointment on 073 2737 or 011 607
275.
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Ad
inserted 13 April 2006
WANTED: JUNIOR BOOKKEEPER
Preferably an
enthusiastic school leaver who has done a Pitmans course or
Accounting to "O"
level, willing to learn. We are a new, growing group who
need staff to take
up accounts clerk positions. Successful candidate could
start
immediately.
Contact Jean at 369800 or jean@westfoods.net
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Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
ADMIN AND LOGISTICS CO-ORDINATOR
We are a
young, dynamic & rapidly growing organisation focussing on
the
facilitation of short-term mission teams working in Southern & East
Africa.
This position would involve all of the associated logistics and
bookings for
inbound teams. A suitable candidate will be a committed
Christian, Microsoft
office literate, gifted administrator, financially
literate. Offices in
Harare, competitive salary offered. Contact barry@africanencounter.org
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Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
WANTED
ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER - ANTELOPE
PARK, GWERU, LION REHABILITATION
PROGRAM
This position would involve
assisting the Project Manager to manage all
volunteer operations.
The
position is unique in that you would have the opportunity to work with
a
variety of people from around the world who have come to work in Africa
and
want first hand experience in Conservation. You will be chosen for
this
position because of your enthusiasm and passion for this project as well
as
other skills needed to ensure that this remains one of the most
successful
volunteer programs in the world. For more information please
email
sarah@africanencounter.org please
send
CV.
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Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
Position Vacant
Looking for an honest
semi-retired man, needing to supplement pension funds,
to help with stock
control / grading of frozen meat in Harare.
Basic salary and usual perks
offered. Part time as hrs vary with quantities
received.
Contact
Bob.
email; tiko@zol.co.zw
Tel ;
480568
Cell; 091
253617
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Ad
inserted 27 April 2006
SITUATION VACANT
Dairy Manager Wanted - for
medium size dairy on mixed farm in Midlands.
Must have some dairy
experience. Be hard working and responsible. Good
package and accommodation
offered to a suitable candidate.
Send C.V. to P.O. Box 805, Gweru or Tel
054-229020 or Cell
011607611.
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Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
Wanted
Zambia: Short term opportunity in
August
I need an experienced surveyor to peg out contours on about 800 ha
of
existing arable land and supervise the grading of these contours. Might
suit
ex-farmer or retired consultant who would like a few weeks break in
Zambia.
Must have lots of contouring experience.
Free meals and
accommodation plus fee of USD50/day.
The farm Lwimba Ranch is 60km east of
Lusaka.
Phone Keith Clubb at 0027 11 4477477 or email details to kclubb@polka.co.za.
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Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
Bookkeeper Wanted
"GROUP BOOK KEEPER wanted as
soon as possible
The right candidate must have experience using the Pastel
accounting
package; must be able to work under pressure.
Competitive
salary offered to the right person.
Please apply to evelyn@furnitureman.co.zw with your
cv and
references."
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Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
Vacancy
The bakery located in Sam Levy's
village Borrowdale is looking for a
Manager.
The ideal person should
be an energetic lady with knowledge of cake
preparation and good managerial
skills.
Please call: 851 729 or 091 775544 / 011
607045
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Ad
inserted 4 May 2006
THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS ARE AVAILABLE IN CHIMOIO
MOCAMBIQUE
POSITION ONE
" Immediate vacancy exists for an
experienced FLEET MANAGER at our Chimoio
factory. The incumbent must have
traceable references and preferably a
working knowledge of Shona or
Portuguese. The company runs over 40 vehicles
throughout central Mocambique.
Units from 30 ton to pick ups mainly Mercedes
Benz and Freightliner.Expat
terms and conditions apply. Pse contact the MD
Mr Euan Kay DECA Lda, on +258
820697840"
POSITION TWO
Immediate opportunity for a fully
qualified Mercedes Benz Truck mechanic
exists at our Chimoio factory.
Incumbent must have extensive experience on
Merc trucks 2636, 2626, 1017 and
Unimog. Knowledge of Century class
Freightliners and Toyota Hino would be an
advantage. This position will
involve extensive travel throughout central
Mocambique on breakdowns.
Only applicants with traceable references and
genuine Mercedes experience
will be considered. Expat package
applies.
Contact Mr Euan Kay
DECA Lda
Phone +258
820697840
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Employment
Sought
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad
inserted 5 April 2006
Employment Sought
Tania (Aged 27). She has
finished her IATA course & is waiting for the
results. She has completed
her schooling up to "O level standard, with
Executive Secretarial Pitman's
Qualifications which include.... English for
business communications, Level
one and two Book-keeping & Accounts, and
Typewriting. She has worked for
several different companies in the past; her
experience was as a personal
assistant to various persons in different
companies, secretarial and
receptionist. Her most recent employment was as a
Trainee Travel
Consultant.
Daniel (Aged 22). He has completed his schooling up to 'O
level standard,
doing various studies. Previous employment experience
includes, Supervisor,
Trainee Manager, Control room operations, Vehicle
Surveillance operator,
Product manager and administrator. His current
employment is as a part time
Headwaiter until he finds full time employment.
He is very arty and business
minded. Social, motivated, hard worker and
willing to learn.
Ron (Aged 19). he has completed his schooling up to 'O
level standard, doing
various studies. Previous employment experience
includes, Trainee
Computer/printer technician, Control room operator, Trainee
motor mechanic,
vehicle Surveillance operator, Floor manager/supervisor and
administration.
His current employment is as a vehicle Surveillance operator
(After hours).
He is hard working, willing to learn and social.
These
three young people are looking for well paid jobs, and are willing to
give it
their all given the right employment opportunities that so fit
their
experience, or in companies that are willing to take them on and train
them
as to how it would best suit the companies needs. They are hard
working,
fast learning, and social, Independent and motivated. Please could
you let
everyone know as it is a necessity for them to find employment as
soon as
possible.
Please contact Miss Carmen VanWyk for further
details or to view their cv's
using the following details.
cell: 091 615
656 Tel: 575 431 - 3 E-mail: carmen@avis.co.zw
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Ad
inserted 13 April 2006
Anyone seeking a Cook
I have an old cook
who has been with me for 8 yrs; he is a family cook and
can cook any thing
from pie's to pan cakes.
We have to leave, is there any one out there who
would like to take him. He
has done every think from house washing and
ironing. we are sorry to let him
go, but been born bred Zimbo's and with out
a job we have to. May be there
is somebody out there who is looking for an
couple to manage their farm or
lodge, have been in farming all our lives,
well it was worth a try.
You can contact Tony at 091 404
449
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Ad
inserted 20 April 2006
Employment Sought
Very knowlegeable and
experienced ex-commercial agricultural representative
with farming experience
in Zimbabwe and Mozambique seeks position,
preferably external, Mozambique or
further afield. Contact Stu Taylor Odzi
2288 (0204), cell 091 - 650997, or
(Mozambique)
00258-8240407490.
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Ad
inserted 20 April 2006
Handyman Wanted
IS THERE AN EX FARMER WHO
IS A HANDYMAN - I HAVE SEVERAL SMALL JOBS TO BE
DONE AROUND THE
HOUSE?
PLEASE CONTACT MRS. D"Elia 303056 or email
sherrols@zol.co.zw
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For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 4 May 2006)