Zimbabwe Unity Government Principals Said to Resolve Crisis Over Arrests

http://www.voanews.com

 

 By Blessing Zulu & Thomas Chiripasi
  Harare and Washington
 05 May 2009

Zimbabwe's fragile national unity government appeared late Tuesday to have
defused a major threat to its survival after the three principals to the
power-sharing arrangement agreed that 18 opposition activists
controversially arrested earlier in the day should be quickly released.

The meeting involving President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara had been scheduled
before the activists were re-arrested in the course of a pre-trial hearing
despite their earlier release on bail, sparking outrage within Mr.
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change and among civil society
activists.

James Maridadi, a spokesman for Tsvangirai, told reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the re-arrests of human rights monitor
Jestina Mukoko and 17 others dominated the meeting called earlier to address
a range of troubling issues.

Maridadi said the three principals summoned Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa to ensure that the Office of the Attorney General followed their
directive for the release of the activists by Wednesday or Thursday. The
agreement calls for the activists to remain free on bail during their trial
on charges of plotting to overthrow Mr. Mugabe's previous government.

The activists and the MDC have rejected those charges as politically
inspired.

Correspondent Thomas Chiripasi of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe reported that
a Harare magistrate on Tuesday had remanded Mukoko and 14 others appearing
in court to custody pending trial in a move that their lawyers called an
abuse of the legal process. Three other accused not present in the courtroom
were placed under police guard at a hospital.

The release of political prisoners was among the issues yet to be resolved
in February when the unity government was formed, and it appeared to be well
on the way to resolution last month when the last of those known to be
detained were released on bail after extended efforts by their defenders -
explaining why their re-arrest caused such consternation.

Other issues on the table in the negotiations among the unity government
principals include the ongoing takeovers of white-owned commercial farms,
which Mr. Mugabe has encouraged but which Mr. Tsvangirai has urged be
halted, arguing that such farm invasions signal to the international
community that the rule of law has not yet been restored in Zimbabwe.

The MDC side of the unity government has also been calling for the
replacement of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, who has acknowledged
diverting funds in hard currency from private accounts to government use,
and of Attorney General Johannes Tomana. But Mr. Mugabe has resisted the
pressure to sack two two of his political allies.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Tsvangirai's MDC formation roundly condemned the
re-arrests saying that they constituted a violation of the global political
agreement for power sharing signed in September 2008, threatening the
"longevity and durability" of the inclusive government.

Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for Mr. Tsvangirai's MDC formation and minister of
information and communications technology, said Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF was
acting in bad faith.

Political analyst and University of Zimbabwe Professor John Makumbe
commented that the new arrests shook the foundation of the tenuous unity
government.

Zimbabwe: Drop Politically Motivated Charges Against Activists

U.S. calls jailing of Zimbabwe activists troubling

http://news.yahoo.com

By  Sue Pleming - Tue May 5, 6:25 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said it was troubling that 18
opposition activists in Zimbabwe were sent back to jail and repeated on
Tuesday that no major aid would go to the country until there were firm
signs of reform.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood questioned the pace of reform since
February when veteran President Robert Mugabe formed a unity government with
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

"These ... 18 leading Zimbabwean activists ordered back to jail is
troubling," Wood told reporters. "This is just another example of my concern
about the lack of democracy, democratic processes in Zimbabwe," he added.

"We've got a lot of concerns about what's going on there. And so, up until
we see changes, our position is going to remain," he said, referring to any
major U.S. aid kicking in.

The activists, who face charges of terrorism, were ordered back to prison by
a Zimbabwean court in a move that will spark new tensions in a government
formed after months of bickering and a crackdown by Mugabe's forces on the
opposition.

The activists say they were abducted by state security agents from their
homes last year and tortured to force them to confess to planning to remove
Mugabe from power.

The Obama administration has said repeatedly no significant aid can flow to
Zimbabwe until the government has implemented a string of economic,
political and democratic reforms.

Zimbabwe's finance minister, an ally of Tsvangirai, met senior U.S.
diplomats when he was in Washington at the end of last month to explain what
reforms were planned.

"Our position remains that we're not going to be able to provide development
assistance to the government of Zimbabwe until we see some steps toward
power-sharing toward democratic reforms, economic reforms," Wood told
reporters.

ECONOMIC CRISIS

Zimbabwe's economy is in tatters with hyperinflation and unemployment at
around 90 percent. The United States blames the decline on Mugabe's
mismanagement while the strong-arm African leader says Western sanctions
caused the economic collapse.

The former Bush administration lost patience with Mugabe during negotiations
to form the new government and then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said
it was time for the veteran African leader to go for the sake of his
country.

Asked whether the Obama administration thought Mugabe should step aside,
Wood said it was up to the Zimbabwean people to decide.

"We've, of course, you know, noted our concerns about Robert Mugabe and his
policies and how this administration wants what's best for the Zimbabwean
people, and that's for them to be able to determine their future in a
democratic and transparent way, free from all this harassment and violence
that's been perpetrated upon them."

(Reporting by Sue Pleming; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Obama condemns jailing of journalists

Farm Workers Lose Livelihoods in Zimbabwe's Land Reform

http://www.voanews.com

 

 By Ish Mafundikwa
 Harare
 05 May 2009

President Robert Mugabe's "resettlement" policy in which property was
snatched from white farmers, has created a new problem. Workers left after
the farms had been seized are suffering from loss of jobs, income, homes,
and a place to produce food for their families.

Before the farm takeovers were launched in 2000, agriculture used to be
Zimbabwe's biggest employer. But the numbers of those employed in the sector
have plummeted along with production.

Gertrude Hambira of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of
Zimbabwe told VOA the new owners fire some workers once production falls.
But others are forced to leave the farms with their employers.

"I think it is also because of their alignment to their employers. When you
are at a farm and that is your only home and an employer has provided home
for you for a number of years or maybe for the rest of your life, when he is
kicked out you are accused of sidelining with him or her so you also face
the brutality your employer is facing," she said.

One such worker is Crispen who was a foreman on his employer's farm earlier
this year just after the forced eviction of his boss. He spoke to VOA in
Shona. "They were busy looting equipment on the farm. As the supervisor they
accused me of reporting what was going on," he said.

Crispen said he was beaten before he and the driver were run off the farm
which had seven permanent employees. His wife and more than fifty others
worked seasonally. He had been on the farm for 10 years and looked after his
five children. Two who were in school have now dropped out.

Crispen now shares a single room with his wife and six others behind a house
in Harare where his boss now lives. His former employer who asked not to be
identified, said he cannot afford to pay him, but he provides him with food.

"I see that he does not go hungry and I'd see him right so much as if I
could. If I got another business going I'd definitely accommodate him
together with my driver who is the other top guy," he said.

Though not all workers are forced off the farms or fired GAPWUZ's Hambira
notes that very few of those who remain are being paid enough or on time.

"The current statutory wage stands at $10 a month plus a food hamper for
general agriculture and we also have for horticulture timber and tea
plantations it goes up to $35. But we've had employers who haven't paid that
$10 for the past three months they are saying it's too high," she said.

Hambira said that the government is not doing anything to help displaced
farm workers and her union is working with humanitarian organizations trying
to help where they can. Some workers, Hambira said, end up as illegal gold
or diamond panners while their children, who should be in school, are forced
to look for work. Some single women choose to become commercial workers to
escape their destitution.

Disappointing Zimbabwe Maize Harvest Points To Early Food Aid Resumption

http://www.voanews.com

 By Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye
 Washington
 05 May 2009

The arrival of Zimbabwe's maize harvest has not done much to ease chronic
food shortages and some of the organizations involved in food assistance
efforts say they may have to resume distributions as early as next month to
stave off hunger.

Relief officials had hoped the harvest would meet food needs of rural
dwellers in particular until August or so, but maize yields have
disappointed hopes.

Rev. Forbes Matonga, national director of Christian Care, a main partner in
Zimbabwe of the United Nations World Food Program, told reporter Marvellous
Mhlanga-Nyahuye of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that even in areas where food
has become readily available in the marketplace, many lack the hard currency
that is needed to purchase it.

Zimbabwe unsafe for business: IMF

http://www.zimonline.co.za

by Charles Tembo Wednesday 06 May 2009

HARARE - Zimbabwe remains an unsafe for business, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) has said at a time the southern African country's new unity is
frantically courting international investors and donors to help kick-start
the stalled economy.

The IMF, which conducted Article IV consultations with government, business
and civic society in March, said a further deterioration in the business
climate exacerbated the economic decline in 2008.

"A tightening of price controls and exchange restrictions, a pick up in land
invasions, the confiscation of foreign currency deposits, and frequent
changes in business regulations made it more difficult to conduct business
in Zimbabwe," an IMF Staff Report for the 2009 Article IV Consultation said.

Zimbabwe - whose economic outlook the IMF said was uncertain with more than
70 percent of the population in need of food aid - ranked as the worst
business destination in southern Africa, worse than Mozambique, Malawi,
Zambia and South Africa.

"The country continues to rank low in terms of ease of doing business among
regional comparators," the IMF said.

The report, dated April 20 was scheduled for discussion at the IMF executive
board meeting last Monday.

The IMF cut balance-of-payments support to Zimbabwe in 1999 following
differences with President Robert Mugabe over fiscal policy and other
governance issues.

But Zimbabwe is under a new power-sharing government formed in February
between Mugabe and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has
promised to restore relations with the IMF and other international
institutions.

The power sharing government has appealed for international support and
unveiled an economic recovery blueprint - Short Term Emergency Recovery
Programme (STERP) - which among other key objectives aims to improve food
security, resuscitate public health, education and the manufacturing sector.

But the IMF said reviving Zimbabwe's economy will be impossible without
foreign assistance and private capital inflows, even assuming sound policy
implementation," the IMF said.

Once a model African economy Zimbabwe has suffered a severe economic and
humanitarian crisis that is marked by record unemployment, deepening poverty
and disease, while the country has avoided mass starvation only because
relief agencies were quick to chip in with food aid.

Western nations led by the United States (US) and Britain - Zimbabwe's two
biggest donors - have said they want the new government in Harare to
implement genuine and comprehensive political and economic reforms before
they provide financial support and lift visa and financial sanctions on
Mugabe and his inner circle. - ZimOnline

Second term off to slow start

http://www.herald.co.zw

  Wednesday, May 06, 2009

 Herald Reporter

 SCHOOLS in Harare opened for the second term yesterday with some
teachers at State schools reporting for work while others stayed away.

 Education, Arts, Sports and Culture Minister David Coltart had
indicated on Monday that Cabinet was expected to deliberate on revised new
fees yesterday after he announced new admission fees of US$5 for Government
primary schools in high-density suburbs and US$10 for low -ensity suburbs
and twice these sums for secondary schools.

 Minister Coltart was not available to shed light on the new fee
structure with his wife telling the Press that he had travelled to South
Africa.

 Secretary for Education, Arts, Sports and Culture Dr Stephen Mahere
declined to comment without a briefing from his minister on the Cabinet
deliberations.

 A snap survey by The Herald showed that some schools were turning
pupils away because teachers had not reported for duty while at other
schools the teachers did not conduct lessons, saying they were waiting for
direction from their unions.

 At Girls' High School in Harare students spent the day whiling up time
in the school grounds with no teachers in sight.

 According to Mashonaland East provincial education director Mr
Sylvester Machaka, schools in six of the nine districts in the province had
opened for the second term.

 Speaking to ZBC News, Mr Machaka said his office was not in a position
not obtain reports on the situation in the three other districts due to
communication problems.

 However, in Hwedza district teachers at some schools, notably Hwedza
High School, reported for duty but did not conduct lessons saying they
waiting for communication from their union, the Zimbabwe Teachers'
Association.

 At Louis Mountbatten Primary School in Belvedere, teachers were
reported to have indicated they could not come to work because they did not
have bus fare.

 At Zengeza 4 Primary School in Chitungwiza, pupils went home early
because teachers were not conducting lessons.

 Classes were in progress in other schools in the capital such as Allan
Wilson, Marlborough High School, Highlands Primary School and Haig Park
Primary School in Mabelreign.

 The School Development Associations at some schools, especially those
that opened yesterday, made transport arrangements for teachers.

 Teachers have been anxiously waiting to get feedback on Monday's
meeting between their unions, Government and the donor community.

 In the Monday meeting, Government exempted teachers from paying school
fees for their children this term as part of a package aimed at mitigating
their plight.

 The concessions by the State saw teachers' unions agreeing to call off
a proposed industrial action meant to coincide with the opening of schools
yesterday.

 Some teachers interviewed said while they agreed with the position
reached by their representatives with the Government, most of them could not
raise bus fare to return to their stations taking into account the US$100
monthly allowance they were getting.

  Minister Coltart said he would also announce a roadmap aimed at
improving conditions of service for teachers in a development he said would
revolutionise the education sector.

 Zimta secretary-general Mr Richard Gundani described Monday's meeting
as fruitful and said they had since rescinded an earlier resolution to go on
strike when schools opened for the second term.

 "We were in particular pleased by the goodwill shown by the donor
community. We felt that they genuinely wanted to assist us, some of them
said they had already started working on something for us," said Mr Gundani.

 "We urge all our members to go to work while we wait to see what the
donor community will prepare for us."

 He said Minister Coltart had also advised the donor community to
include a budget for trade unions since their sustainability hinged on
members' subscriptions which had since dried up.

 "This is a bridging facility to assist us and the donor community
understood our plight and the need for us to effectively represent our
constituency," said Mr Gundani.

 PTUZ secretary Mr Raymond Majongwe said his union had been impressed
by the efforts being made by Minister Coltart to improve teachers'
conditions of service.

 "We are therefore urging our members to go to work. This is the time
when teachers, parents and Government must speak with one voice, we have
reason to believe that continued interaction is fruitful," said Mr Majongwe.

Electoral Groups Urge Timely Reform of Zimbabwean Balloting System

http://www.voanews.com

 

 By Jonga Kandemiiri
 Washington
 05 May 2009

The Zimbabwean electoral system should be overhauled sooner than later to
ensure transparency, reduce conflict and promote wider participation by
women and minorities, say the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and the
Electoral Institute of Southern Africa.

A report issued this week by the two groups also recommended that an
independent body be established with a brief to increase the professionalism
of the country's security forces so that they will not intervene in
elections as they did during the 2008 election cycle.

Zimbabwe's security forces were implicated in the widespread political
violence that followed the March 29 first round and continued through the
June 27 presidential runoff.

Executive Director Dennis Kadima of the Electoral Institute of Southern
Africa told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that
the nation should not wait until the next election comes around to launch a
debate on how balloting is conducted.

Raw sewage continues to spill into water supply of Zimbabwe capital

Zimbabwe Cholera Epidemic Persists in Harare Amid Continued Water Woes

http://www.voanews.com

  By Patience Rusere
 Washington
 05 May 2009

Cholera infections continue to occur in Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare, and
in the nearby satellite town of Chitungwiza, despite a steep decline in
other parts of the country, according to the latest World Health
Organization report on the nine-month epidemic.

The WHO reported 105 new cases in Harare, Chitungwiza and the Harare suburb
of Budiriro in the five days through Monday, though listing no new deaths.
But the Harare region has accounted for 19,232 cases and 653 deaths since
the epidemic began in late 2008.

Cases nationally totaled 97,795 resulting in 4,265 deaths from the disease.

WHO attributed the persistence of the cholera epidemic in the capital region
to disruptions in the local water supply and continued unhygienic disposal
of waste.

Executive director Itai Rusike of the Community Working Group on Health told
reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the capital
region risks another major outbreak of cholera when heavy rains resume in
September.

Threading the Needle

 

By Tom Woods, Roger Bate

Posted May 2009

How to give Zimbabwe the boost it needs without propping up Mugabe.

JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images

The odd couple: Donors need help getting aid to Zimbabwe -- without Mugabe's hand in the foreign aid cookie jar.

Slowly but surely, Zimbabwe is showing signs of life. A unity government that married the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF was finally created earlier this year. And though a bitter and crippling power struggle continues, often publicly, there is one profound difference that gives hope: Individuals in positions of authority are now actively trying to help the people of this shattered country. The MDC leader-turned-prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, seems keenly aware that he is in a race against time. But as he put it during May Day rallies, "This government is broke," and it's increasingly clear that without serious reform, help may not be on the way.

This is bad news for everyone, particularly Tsvangirai and his MDC. If these newcomers do not improve matters relatively quickly, they risk being seen as parties to Mugabe's misrule. Frantic to find funds, Tsvangirai and other MDC ministers have begun a world donor tour asking for help. Zimbabwe's finance minister, Tendai Biti, says the country will need $45 billion over the next five years to bring down hyperinflation, keep up emergency food assistance, reopen schools and hospitals, pay civil servants, and rebuild a tattered infrastructure.

There's just one problem: After years of despotic rule and thuggery, no one wants Mugabe to get his hands on the handouts. Western donors do not trust Mugabe or his cronies in Zanu-PF, and they are not yet convinced by the power-sharing agreement. Sending aid through nongovernmental organizations (thereby bypassing the government entirely) is only a band-aid solution. And though South Africa and Botswana, and a few other African states, have announced credit lines of $400 million, these lifelines are a far cry from the $5 billion pledged. Worse, the region's promised aid seems to rely almost entirely upon Western donors' willingness to foot the bill. The European Union and the United States have stated clearly that they will not step forward until there are irreversible signs of democratic and economic reform. In fact, neither will lift the targeted economic and travel sanctions imposed against Mugabe and his cronies. Multilateral donors such as the World Bank are sticking close to the same script, as its president, Robert Zoellick, made clear in March in the run-up to the bank's spring meetings.

Still, some 2,800 miles northwest, one African country could offer some hope and, more importantly, advice. In 2005, Liberia was a devastated country emerging from a brutal civil conflict. International donors were eager to help, but were fearful that the transitional government would misuse -- or even pocket -- aid money. (Such fears were not poorly founded: Then president Gyude Bryant was later accused of stealing $1.3 million from the state.) In response, officials within the U.S. State Department -- including the lead author of this article -- worked with the country to create the Liberian Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP).

Under GEMAP, revenue from Liberia's abundant diamonds and timber resources, as well as from taxes from ship registries, were collected at the Central Bank of Liberia, where they were overseen by a new chief administrator, an international expert recommended by the International Monetary Fund. Previously, these revenues had been collected in multiple banks both within and outside Liberia and had long been plagued by private- and public-sector "leakages" in which government officials and industry magnates kept many of the revenues for themselves.

GEMAP also launched reforms of Liberia's budget and expenditure reporting, designed to make more information on government contracts and tenders public. Internationally recruited accounting advisors from reputable firms were placed in key ministries and were required to cosign with Liberian officials on major transactions. Privately funded "fellows" were recruited to advise cabinet officials.

Encouraged by these new accountability mechanisms, the U.S. government loosened its aid spigot, pouring more than $750 million into the country, with all major socioeconomic indicators, notably health, improving steadily ever since.

A Zimbabwean version of GEMAP would not only demonstrate a commitment to break from the corruption and cronyism of the past -- it would provide the technical expertise and outside accountability to do so. Under "ZEMAP," such abuses as Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono's "borrowing" of $1 billion from private bank deposits would not be possible; Zimbabwe's 71 ministers and deputy ministers would be less able to leverage their new roles for personal gain. 

ZEMAP could begin by working only in MDC-run ministries: Finance, Economic Planning, Education, and Labor. Targeted donor assistance in these places could go a long way in helping Zimbabwe's poor and struggling population -- all without the perils of working through Mugabe. Given the program's potential impact, finding political will also seems possible. The World Bank was instrumental in developing Liberia's GEMAP, and it is likely to support a similar approach for Zimbabwe.

That is not to say that a program of checks and balances on revenue streams and government expenditures would be a quick fix. Popular opinion might be one of the first obstacles. In Liberia, critics of GEMAP argued that the program usurped the country's sovereignty. Mugabe's government has long justified its existence through anti-Western rhetoric, and making the MDC dependent on Western donors could allow Zanu-PF to smear it as a puppet of the West (as it has already begun to do). Nevertheless, an international framework such as ZEMAP could provide donors an avenue for reengagement with Zimbabwe and help make the country less dependent upon Mugabe-era concessions to the likes of Russia and China.

Ideally, Zimbabwe's imperfect power-sharing arrangement will be a temporary solution to a profoundly unstable political and humanitarian situation. While that situation is being resolved, however, ZEMAP can help the unity government -- and everyday Zimbabweans -- get back on their feet. And most importantly, it can ensure that things don't get worse for a state now on the brink of collapse.

Tom Woods is senior associate fellow in African affairs at the Heritage Foundation. He helped create Liberia's GEMAP while deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs.

Roger Bate is Legatum fellow in global prosperity at the American Enterprise Institute.

Personalisation of state a cause of corruption

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=16274

May 6, 2009

By Chenjerai Hove

OVER the past 29 years, Zimbabwe has degenerated into one of the most
corrupt countries in the world. Many years ago, in a discussion with a
Zambian diplomat, I wondered how Zambian authorities could have allowed the
country's economy to collapse and thrive on corruption.

His answer was simple: 'Wait, you will understand after ten years of your
own independence.'

Now I understand Mr Matoka.

Corruption begins with the corruption of the currency of language in use by
those in power. The recent utterances by President Robert Mugabe are
symptomatic of this language decay.

"Zimbabwe is mine. I will not sell my Zimbabwe,' he said, to the stunning
applause of his die-heard party stalwarts. Notably, he did not say "ours".
He preferred to say, "mine" and "my". That means he claims sole ownership of
the whole country, as if it were his personal property, some kind of
personal farm in which he can do virtually anything he desires.

Personalization of the state is the first sign on the road to corruption,
especially as the national economy collapses and the President continues to
believe that since he still has food inside State House, the country is
prospering.

"Our economy is better than in most African countries," he once said as if
to say: "Look, I am a better murderer. I murdered only one man, the other
guy murdered two.'

But I have observed, through my travels and reading, that African economies
do not collapse as long as there is food in State House. As long as the
presidential limousine has enough fuel, the whole nation can grind to a halt
for lack of petrol and other essential fuels.

What follows after such a personalization of the state is interesting. In
Zimbabwe, President Mugabe then unashamedly appoints his own personal banker
as the national banker. Despite the possibility of conflict of interest,
Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono, unashamedly announces that the President
is his personal friend. So, the central bank becomes the President's own
personal bank, run by his personal banker. Can the governor, a close
personal friend,  be trusted to give the President critical advice on
monetary policy in such circumstances? Can he refuse the President excessive
expenditures like dishing out money to the First Lady whose unquenchable
thirst for luxurious shopping is well-known?

Can the governor (governor wenyu - your governor) have the courage to tell
our President that there is no hard currency to finance his thirst for
travelling with a huge entourage of loiterers, sycophants and
praise-singers?

Gideon Gono has become a de facto Prime Minister. He does not even hesitate
to address a Zanu-PF rally where he throws new farm machinery around like
confetti for the cheering party faithful. He does this despite the knowledge
that previous governors of the Reserve Bank, Leonard Tsumba and Kombo
Moyana, had never attended political rallies or distributed farm equipment
and other goodies.

The other day, it was another sorry sight - the Minister of Agriculture in
overalls working on President Mugabe's farm as if he were the President's
personal farm manager. Ministers are government officials, not private farm
managers paid with public funds to work on private ventures. Mugabe should
employ his own personal farm managers and not use public officials for
private work.

I would not be surprised if the youth militias are not the farm workers that
Joseph Made was supervising on the farm. Paid from public funds, the youth
militias become personal although draining empty the already dry fiscus as
if they were public servants.

Even prisoners become personal so that ministers can have them herded to
their farms and used for cheap labour. Free labour, easy profit!

Many more public officials are now personal servants; totally devoid of any
sense of public responsibility to the citizens they should serve.

It is corruption when the Minister of Health becomes the President's
personal physician. The "jobs for the boys" syndrome then encroaches on
junior officials.

Who is the veterinarian taking care of President Mugabe's cattle on his
farm? I understand it is the Government's director of veterinary services
himself, at government expense, of course.

Corruption in Zimbabwe is no longer a thing of shame. Many corrupt officials
are no longer making the slightest effort to conceal it. They actually boast
about it, displaying the loot without any conscience at all while disease
and hunger decimate the population.

With such a reportedly low salary, how does the President afford to rent a
whole apartment block in Hong Kong for his daughter?

And who funded the Borrowdale mansion? "Gifts from friends," we are told.
But did the ministry of public construction not do the job? And even if the
building materials were gifts, does the nation have no right of access to
gifts given to the President in his official capacity? In normal countries,
public officials declare all gifts they receive, with an imposed maximum
value on the gifts. How can we accept that the President received gifts of
millions of dollars worth of building materials without making them public?

Would he have received such huge gifts were he still a school teacher in
some school in Zvimba?

Hopefully, this issue will be dealt with in the new constitution: all gifts
given to public officials are public property which can only be given to the
individual with the approval of Parliament.

Zanu-PF toyed around with some kind of leadership code which eventually got
swallowed by the storm of corruption within the ruling party. The gravy
train was so powerful that the ruling party had to throw away the document.
Greed had taken over and swept every principle away.

The so-called land redistribution has been turned into a big sham. The
monster of greed took over right from the beginning. The reason for the land
reform was that whites were too greedy by owning large tracts of land while
the peasants hungered for land to grow food for their families. What we have
now is replacement of white greed with a more vicious black greed, which
even shamelessly invades farms when the white farmer's crops are ready for
harvesting.

Outright profit through plunder! After invading one farm and looting it,
President Mugabe's allies search for the next farm to invade and plunder.
Soon after harvesting the stolen crops, the so-called new farmers don't know
what to do with the bare land and disabled farm machinery.

During the early days of farm invasions, The Herald published a full colour
picture of cattle grazing on the lush green wheat fields on a farm that had
just been invaded. Zanu-PF readers of the newspaper boasted that 'varungu
tazovapfidzisa manje' (Now we have fixed the whites). But at the same time
they sent their children to the empty bakeries in search of bread from
closing bakeries which had no wheat supplies. Most of those invaded farms
are now new forests, with wild animals returning to their old habitats.

Breeding stock (bulls and cows) was barbecued on the farms. Tractors and
combine harvesters were dismantled and spare parts sold for peanuts. Many of
the new farmers are queuing for food donations to avoid starvation. And
still the song is, "Grab some more farms and you will be in control of the
economy."  What use if a farm where nothing grows? Productive land is the
economy. Idle land is as good as a piece of the Sahara desert.

I hear there is a new profession in the land: professional farm invaders.
Farm scouts are sent out by the big chefs to search for the next farm to
invade. They locate it and invade at the appropriate time. After being paid
for their job, they move on for more invasions.

With the shortage of more white-owned farms to invade, they have even turned
on successful black farmers' land, claiming to possess dubious offer letters
or that the black farmer in question was not a genuine Zanu-PF cadre.

Meanwhile, government ministries still remain personalized. State security
is Mugabe security. The army is reduced to being a personal militia whose
generals refuse to salute a legitimately elected Prime Minister who should,
in normal countries, be the President after winning elections. It is naked
corruption for army generals to refuse to do their constitutional duty of
saluting the legitimate Prime Minister.

Imagine what a scandal it would have been if the American generals had
refused to salute President Obama on the basis that they do not like him. It
can only be a personal militia of generals who take the Constitution into
their own hands, not a professional army.

Shamelessly rich through plunder and looting of national and regional
resources (Mozambique and D.R. Congo), the Services Chiefs will not salute
anyone who might want to find out how they got the massive wealth. But then,
the Commander-in-Chief, powerless and a hostage of the generals, does not
dare command them to observe the Constitution. Their indoctrination training
included paying allegiance to one man, Robert Mugabe, the father of their
wealth, not to the Constitution of the Republic.

They will not resign for their own safety from prosecution for crimes
committed on a daily basis. And Mugabe will not allow them to resign because
they violently put him in power as they declared publicly: "We will not
salute anyone without liberation credentials."

This brings us to words, to the corruption of language. The word
 "liberation" should never be equated with freedom.  A freed man is not a
free man. Liberation can mean being let out of one prison gate to another. A
freed man owes his freedom to the liberator, and would soon be required, by
force, if necessary, to be grateful to the liberator through further
humiliation, torture, imprisonment and fear.

Zimbabwe time running out

http://www.abc.net.au

This is a transcript from AM. The program is broadcast around Australia at
08:00 on ABC Local Radio.

AM - Wednesday, 6 May , 2009  08:18:00
Reporter: Andrew Geoghegan
TONY EASTLEY: Zimbabwe's unity government has been trying to convince other
countries and investors that real political and economic reform is underway
in the country.

But the arrest of a group of prominent human rights activists overnight has
only reinforced opinion that little has changed in Zimbabwe and that the
heavy hand of Robert Mugabe is there for everyone to see.

Human rights lawyer David Coltart is Zimbabwe's Education Minister.

He's been telling Africa correspondent Andrew Geoghegan that time is running
out for the Government.

ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: Are these charges trumped up? Certainly these people who
have been detained say they were beaten up, they were tortured into
confessing as being part of this plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.

DAVID COLTART: I have got no reason to dispute the allegations that they
were tortured, which we all condemn unreservedly, but if there are
allegations that have some basis in truth, well let the courts decide as
soon as possible and let's get it out of the way.

ANDREW GEOGHEGAN: David Coltart, is progress being made in Zimbabwe? Foreign
investors are very keen to see something happen before they commit any money
to the country.

DAVID COLTART: Well, it's not surprising that foreign donors are reluctant
because the agreement in some respects has not been implemented in its true
spirit and sometimes even the letter of the agreement hasn't been adequately
implemented so in that context it's hard to justify why western taxpayers
money should be spent.

Having said that, to answer a number of your questions, has there been any
progress, well yes there has been some progress.

Zimbabwe is a far more peaceful place this year than it was last year but of
course we have not achieved much that we hoped that we would have achieved
by this stage and that is largely because the international donors haven't
come to the party yet and there are clearly elements who are determined to
derail this process and that is setting us back.

TONY EASTLEY: Human rights lawyer David Coltart, who is also the Zimbabwean
Education Minister, speaking there with Andrew Geoghegan.

Zimbabwe's coalition close to collapse

http://www.theglobeandmail.com

Leading human-rights campaigner among those whose bail was revoked

GEOFFREY YORK

Globe and Mail

May 5, 2009 at 7:34 PM EDT

Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's unity government tumbled closer to collapse
Tuesday when 18 political activists were sent back to prison, triggering a
furious protest from the former opposition party in the coalition.

The new wave of imprisonment is a severe blow to the great experiment of a
coalition between President Robert Mugabe and his long-time foes in the
Movement for Democratic Change.

By jailing the activists, who had suffered torture and abuse in their
earlier imprisonment, Mr. Mugabe's supporters are sabotaging the coalition
and destroying the chances of international help for Zimbabwe's devastated
economy, the MDC warned Tuesday.

It hinted that the coalition might not survive much longer. The jailing of
the 18 activists "seriously threatens . the life and health" of the unity
government and "slams shut the door of international goodwill," the party
said in a statement.

Foreign donors, including Canada, have been reluctant to offer any financial
support to the new government, aside from humanitarian aid, because of
concerns that Mr. Mugabe and his cronies are keeping a stranglehold on
power, allowing human-rights abuses and blocking the release of political
detainees.

Without financial help from foreign donors, Zimbabwe will remain mired in an
economic catastrophe after decades of Mr. Mugabe's autocratic rule.
Unemployment is more than 90 per cent, the health system has collapsed, a
cholera epidemic has killed thousands and three-quarters of the population
is dependent on food aid.

In an unusual step, the MDC abandoned its usual politeness to Mr. Mugabe,
blaming him and his party for the "continued flagrant and blatant
 violations" of the political agreement that created the coalition
government in February.

The MDC, headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, already has a long list
of grievances with Mr. Mugabe. In addition to the 18 activists who were
ordered back to prison Tuesday, seven others are still being detained in
unknown locations after being abducted by state security agents last year,
the MDC says.

The 18 activists, including MDC members and civil society leaders, were held
in secret locations for months last year after being abducted in late-night
raids by state security agents. Many of them gave detailed accounts of how
they were beaten and tortured repeatedly.

They were eventually transferred to a maximum-security prison. Some had
bloodied and swollen faces when they later appeared in court. They were
finally released on bail in late February and early March, but Tuesday a
judge revoked their bail after prosecutors formally charged them with
terrorism and bombing, allegations that are widely seen as fraudulent.

When they were ordered back to prison Tuesday, three of the activists were
still receiving medical treatment for injuries suffered during their last
imprisonment. They were put under custody at their hospital Tuesday.

Defence lawyers warned that the conditions in Zimbabwe's prisons are so
horrendous that they are "death traps" for the political activists.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, condemned the judge's
decision to send the 18 activists back to jail. It said it considers all of
them to be potential prisoners of conscience.

"The trial of these human-rights activists has all the hallmarks of a
political trial," said Veronique Aubert, deputy director of Amnesty's Africa
program, in a statement Tuesday. "The charges appear to be similar to the
charges used during the 2002 treason trial of Morgan Tsvangirai."

The most famous of the 18 activists is Jestina Mukoko, head of the
well-respected Zimbabwe Peace Project, which documented abuses in the
election campaign last year when thousands of MDC supporters were brutally
attacked by government thugs.

"Jestina Mukoko is being detailed solely for her legitimate human-rights
work," Ms. Aubert said.

Another of the activists ordered back to prison is 73-year-old Fidelis
Chiramba, a regional MDC official, who told The Globe and Mail in March that
he was kept for almost two months in secret torture camps, including long
stints in solitary confinement. In one camp, he was forced into a deep
freezer and then had boiling water poured over him.

New Book - An African love story that fascinates

Media Release

May 2009                                                                   THORNYCROFT/book

AN AFRICAN LOVE STORY THAT FASCINATES

A family biography, recording the lives of Nigel and Corona Thornycroft, both of whom were born into privileged English backgrounds, but gave this up to pioneer a tobacco and game farm under eccentric conditions in Africa, has been accepted for distribution in the United Kingdom.

‘Nigel & Corona – a Family Story of Adventure, Sport, Wilderness & War from England to Africa’, took Durban-based lecturer and communications consultant, Verity Thornycroft, and a cousin of the family, UK- based writer, David Thornycroft, 14-months of research, interviews, visits and correspondence across two continents to produce.

The 80-page book, with 70 wildlife sketches from Corona’s game book, has now been accepted for publication by Coch-y-Bonddu Books, a specialised field sports publishing company based in Wales.

The publisher plans to combine the script in a double feature book together with ‘Fowler’s Moon’- a novel written (and smuggled out!) by Nigel Thornycroft while in a Gestapo P.O.W. camp, using an illegal pencil and scraps of toilet paper.  ‘Fowlers Moon’ has been published twice in the UK since 1955 and established Nigel as an icon of English coastal wildfowlers.

‘Nigel and Corona’ moves from ‘civilised’ early 20^th century England, with weekend visits from King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, to the trials and triumphs of pioneering a tobacco, game and cattle farm in rural Rhodesia,  raising five sons and living, along with their ancestral oil paintings,  for the first years in a mud and daub hut, because a so-called investor had embezzled every last cent of their inheritance. 

                                                                                                                        more….

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                THORNYCROFTBOOK/page2

This slim volume is filled to the brim with stories, anecdotes and tales of a world most of us would not even remember or could hardly imagine. 

Corona and Nigel were by all accounts a powerful team who shared a great love for life and the outdoors and all that it offered. 

It includes numerous stories of punt gunning with Sir Peter Scott, son of Captain Scott of the Antartica;  Nigel’s 11 attempted escapes from the Gestapo (on the final attempt he was picked up on the road by General Mark Clark who flew him in his private aircraft to Rheims where he was due to attend a conference with General Eisenhower);  fishing camps for tiger and bream on Kariba or for trout on the Pungwe and Gareizi in the Eastern Highlands;  wildfowling, canoeing and spearfishing down the Zambezi Valley (family silver and china sometimes in tow!);  fighting off trypanosomiaisis (sleeping sickness) caused by tsetse fly,  bouts of malaria, as well as the occasion when they were both nearly killed by a charging buffalo. 

Corona Thornycroft’s life was no less ordinary and quite unusual for a woman of her day.  As a mother, wife, archaeologist and artist in Africa she made her mark in a number of ways.  Her archeological discovery of a carbon dated 1450 AD gold burial in the Wedza mountains (the earliest to date in Zimbabwe), is on display in the Harare National Museum, as well as pottery 1260-1280AD,  identified by David Coulson, world renowned rock art expert, now based in Kenya. 

Colourful descriptions of life on their family farm Merryhill and of the tight-knit Wedza, Marondera, Zimbabwe farming community, make the pages come alive for the reader.  From vivid images of Googly, the hippo, who played hide-and-seek with the dogs in the dam to the dassies, kudu, bush pig, duiker and baboon running free and descriptions of the granite koppies, the open savannah and the msasa and munondo trees; and then sadly to the onset of the horrific war-time farm attacks.  Corona Thornycroft stayed on her beloved Merryhill for 55 years, well into her nineties, until Meryhill was lost to the invaders in 2002.

…/more

THORNYCROFTBOOK/page3

Corona and Nigel Thornycroft, admired for their robust independence, unfailing standards of courtesy and integrity that some regarded as eccentric, left an incredible legacy that will live on in the hearts and minds of their family and readers of ‘Nigel & Corona – a Family Story of Adventure, Sport, Wilderness and War from England to Africa.’

For more information or to buy a copy of the book at R400 (includes sketches from Corona's game book, 60 black and white photographs) contact Verity Thornycroft at verityt@vodamail.co.za.

PREPARED FOR:    Family Thornycroft

PREPARED BY:                   Joanne Hayes, Tumbleweed Communications

                                    Cell:  +27 83 6277249            e-mail:  weeds@iafrica.com

                                    Fax:  086 5147729