• The Master Of Survival
• Why tourists shouldn't support Mugabe
• Harare needs peer review, says Masire
• Zim set for 'bruising succession struggle'
• JAG Communiques dated 07 November 2003
• JAG Open Letters Forum No. 181
• Summit hopes to avoid Zimbabwe split
• Mugabe appoints loyalist as central bank chief
• Water Woes Continue to Dog Harare
• Land Havoc Hurts Milk Supplies
• Masvingo water crisis imminent
• Byo commuter bus operators up in arms against motorists
• Gono: Much ado about nothing
• Squabbles delay Harare city budget
• Mugabe ‘did not convene’ NECF talkshop
• Suspended SRC leaders say State agents following them
• Bush says Zimbabwe now a rogue State
• Comment - Govt suffers from a paralysis of analysis
• Striking doctors quitting
• No sex please, we are nemotodes
• Playing ‘mahumbwe’ with people’s lives

The Master Of Survival
President Robert Mugabe's latest crackdown on dissents is driving the opposition underground

By STEPHAN FARIS | BULAWAYO

AP REBELLION: Police disperse anti-Mugabe protesters in Harare

Samuel Khumalo's dreadlocks once reached down to his chest. All that remains of them now are prickly halos of hair that surround several centimeters of split, swollen scalp. The 40-year-old postal clerk and member of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions was among the first to arrive last month outside the governor's office in downtown Bulawayo for a peaceful protest against Zimbabwe's high taxes and cost of living. Several dozen demonstrators had barely begun to gather when police charged the crowd. Khumalo received two cracks to the head before police officers dragged him by his dreadlocks for nearly a kilometer, until they reached a police station where they thrashed him with their batons and ripped out his matted tresses with their bare hands. Khumalo and two other protesters were then blindfolded and driven 20 km out of town, beaten again and dumped in the bush. "They were saying, 'What you chaps started is war,'" Khumalo says.

Khumalo's ordeal is just one skirmish in President Robert Mugabe's long, bloody war on dissent. Over the past six weeks, Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party (ZANU-PF) has closed the country's only independent daily newspaper and stepped up its violent crackdown on political opponents and dissidents. The next target: nongovernmental organizations. Mugabe's parliament has drafted laws requiring aid groups to register with the government and allowing it to suspend their leadership. "They want to do to civil society exactly what they've done to the media," says John Makumbe, a professor of political science at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. "They want to close them down. Any voice that is not a ZANU-PF voice is harmful to ZANU-PF, that is their thinking." The crackdown is forcing the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) underground. The party is reorganizing its communication structure, relying more on door-to-door campaigning and radio stations that beam broadcasts in from outside the country.

Seven months ago, wishful reports from within and outside Zimbabwe suggested that Mugabe, 79, a freedom fighter turned dictator, might finally be close to stepping down. Instead, he's been tightening his grip. Many take this to mean he is planning to stay. But since ZANU-PF is embroiled in a succession struggle after the death in September of Vice President Simon Muzenda, others believe Mugabe's crackdown is a negotiating ploy meant to strengthen his hand for transition talks with the MDC. The aging President may yet be looking for a way out.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Last week the MDC took its case to overturn the 2002 presidential election result to the high court in Harare. The party argued that Mugabe's victory is invalid because the government packed the electoral commission with its supporters, reopened voter registration without telling the MDC and limited the number of polling stations in cities, where the opposition is strongest. But almost nobody expects a Zimbabwean court to rule against Mugabe, and the MDC's real audience will be in South Africa, where President Thabo Mbeki has been one of the President's most faithful apologists. "As long as Mugabe thinks he is being supported by his African brothers, he will see himself as a victim, not as the perpetrator," says MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. "If the African countries were to stop supporting Mugabe, there would be a sea change."

Of course, you won't read about that in the Daily News, Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper. The publication was shut down in September after the Supreme Court ruled that it had broken the law by not registering under the country's tough new media regulations. "There is a reign of terror against all journalists," said Bill Saidi, editor of the Daily News on Sunday, at a meeting last week of his paper's supporters in London. "The independence we thought we were entitled to is not the independence we have." Publishers and journalists can't look to the courts for redress either. In the rare cases when a court does rule against the government, the decision is often ignored. After an administrative judge ordered that the Daily News should be allowed to reopen — citing bias on the part of the agency in charge of media registration — the police closed the paper down again as soon as the first issue hit the stands. They also arrested four of the paper's directors.

After the 2000 parliamentary elections, which were described by international observers as tainted by violence and intimidation, the MDC challenged the results for 37 seats, including one for which Tsvangirai had stood. Tsvangirai originally won his suit, but after the government appealed, the high court announced that the record of the trial had been stolen. Without it, the case cannot go forward — so the ZANU-PF candidate continues to hold office. Thirty-six other ZANU-PF M.P.s are now holding similarly contested seats. And Tsvangirai's treason trial, for allegedly plotting Mugabe's assassination, was again postponed two weeks ago. As long as it hangs over him, he can't leave the country.

Mugabe's crackdown is chopping out the knees of an already crippled economy. Zimbabwe was once a model of development. But since 2000, when Mugabe began his land-reform program — seizing white-owned farms and giving them to black Zimbabweans, mostly Mugabe's own supporters — the standard of living has plummeted. The country has lost one-third of its gdp, unemployment tops 75% and inflation runs at over 455%. Those who can flee the country have done so. Land reform has crippled the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and the ensuing instability has scared away tourists. Donors and foreign investors won't return until the crisis is over. The country still has infrastructure and human capital that would be the pride of most African countries — good roads, reliable electricity supplies and, despite the brain drain, a well-educated work force — but recovery is unlikely without a change of government. "The economy can't be negotiated with," says Makumbe. "You can't legislate it. You can't imprison it. It just keeps going down."

Human-rights organizations worry that the government intends to use food aid as a political weapon. Mugabe's land reform has turned Zimbabwe from one of the region's largest grain exporters to its most needy. The World Food Program estimates that nearly half of Zimbabwe's 12.5 million people will run out of food in the months before the April harvest. In August, the government — which has funneled nationally subsidized grain to its supporters — announced it would take over the distribution of international aid as well. It backed down only after the wfp threatened to cancel its programs. "ZANU-PF is going to keep coming after the food," says Shari Eppel, a human-rights activist. "In a nation where everyone is starving, he who controls the food holds the key."

The Mugabe regime relies on graduates from its youth-training camps to intimidate its critics. Trainees — who are instructed in weaponry and a history of Zimbabwe based on ZANU-PF campaign material — wear green, military-style uniforms and are among the greatest human-rights violators, according to a report by the Solidarity Peace Trust, a regional human-rights group. Despite the pressure, the opposition remains defiant. While campaigning for the MDC during the 2002 presidential elections, Prisca Sibanda, 28, was abducted by youth-camp recruits, who beat her with sticks, stones and boots and burned her with a hot wire. She was three months pregnant at the time. Sibanda still hasn't recovered from the attack. A rift of scar tissue extends from her abdomen to the side of one thigh, where the boys dripped flaming plastic from a burning trash bag. Her baby, now just over a year old, survived the attack but her legs are weak and she can't crawl. Unable to walk long distances, Sibanda sat out August's local elections, but she says that once she recovers she will campaign again. "I won't change," she says. "I'll stand and do what I believe."

Mugabe's opponents have few options. While some say mass protest is needed to oust Mugabe, few believe that Zimbabweans have the stomach for it. "I see no way of getting him out right now," says Pius Ncube, the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo and an outspoken critic of the President. "He's got the army. Nobody wants to risk his life in Zimbabwe. If the present impasse continues, people are going to perish."

"It's very important that the organization survive this onslaught," Tsvangirai says. "It has survived before, but I think this final round will be a test of wills." Tsvangirai says he favors a Truth and Justice Commission that would offer amnesty for those who confess their crimes. "We want a solution to the national crisis, not to pursue some old guard who for some reason didn't see the writing on the wall," he says. "This is the carrot that we hold: not retribution, but reconstruction." They'd better hope the government bites — because Mugabe holds the stick.

With reporting by Helen Gibson/London

Next week 190 countries and more than 5,000 exhibitors will parade their
wares at London's annual World Travel Market (WTM), now established as one
of the world's biggest travel trade shows. Among the countries trying to
lure British travellers abroad on holiday will be Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

International travel generally improves goodwill among nations - a much
needed quality in these difficult times. But the appearance of Zimbabwean
tourism officials at an event that ostensibly stands for harmony and
understanding between peoples of different creeds, cultures and religions is
hypocritical in the extreme. It also plays directly into the hands of
Africa's most pernicious Big Man since Amin, Obote and Moi.

If this sounds hyperbolic, consider the fact that when Robert Mugabe began
his scorched earth policy just over three years ago, Zimbabwe was an
economically viable country. It not only fed itself but many of its
neighbours, and was rightly known as the breadbasket of central Africa.
Zimbabwe also enjoyed a thriving tourist industry which provided a constant
revenue stream to national parks and wilderness areas regarded as among the
best run in Africa.

Then it all went wrong. In February 2000 Mugabe, who had been president for
the previous 20 years, held a referendum asking Zimbabwe's citizens to
approve a change in the constitution that would extend his presidency. The
citizens voted no rather resoundingly and the president went ballistic,
unleashing so-called war veterans on the commercial farmers (thus derailing
the agricultural sector), turning the police and army on political
opponents, and giving gangs of thugs licence to murder, torture, kidnap and
rape anyone who did not appeal to their particular prejudices. Overnight, he
created a society of terror.

Today, there is famine looming in Zimbabwe, with more than seven million
people on the brink of starvation, and the country's economy is barely
functioning. And, to add to the horror, according to a Human Rights Watch
report last month, Mugabe's regime is now manipulating the international
food aid programmes to prevent communities that are not perceived to be
government supporters from receiving help. So, having reduced his people to
starving masses through catastrophic economic mismanagement, he is now
condemning them to death by hunger for failing to support him.

Make no mistake. Robert Mugabe and the 50 or 60 insiders who are currently
running this once prosperous, picture-postcard country, have created a
nasty, dangerous tyranny. Their purpose is not, as they themselves claim, to
return the country to its rightful owners, but rather to increase their own
personal wealth. A published list of the beneficiaries of the land-grab of
the past three years is compelling evidence of this. And yet, here we are,
meekly providing the appointed officials of Mugabe's regime with a platform
upon which they will try to persuade travel agents, tour operators and
tourism organisations that theirs is a normal country. They will argue that
Zimbabwe may be undergoing "some small political difficulties that have
emerged as a result of the colonial legacy" (as one Mugabe supporter told me
last year) but that these are as routine and democratic as those experienced
by most other countries exhibiting at the World Travel Market.

At a WTM press conference two years ago, Zimbabwe's minister of tourism,
Francis Nhema, raged at the British press for what he said were gross
exaggerations about his country's state of affairs. "Come and take a look
for yourself," he said. "I invite you to come and see what is really going
on in Zimbabwe."

I accepted the minister's offer, then waited for the formal invitation to
come through. Nothing materialised and, as the months passed, so Mugabe
clamped down heavily on foreign journalists operating in his country,
expelling many, including the Daily Telegraph's man in Harare. Finally, I
did what most curious Western journalists were inclined to do; I sneaked
into Zimbabwe, cunningly disguised as a tourist.

On my first trip I travelled through the wildlife sanctuaries that had once
been rich with game and full of tourists. I visited the Save Conservancy, an
internationally-acclaimed, award-winning conservation project that had
pioneered self-help programmes in rural communities with some success. At
Mugabe's instruction, the region had been invaded by a ragtag army of
squatters and "war veterans". Among other things, they had dismantled more
than 20 miles of perimeter fencing that separated the wild animals from
domestic cattle and rural communities, and turned the wire into tens of
thousands of snares. These crude wire traps hooked up any animal that passed
by, catching them anywhere from hoof to throat. If the animals were lucky
they died immediately, but most suffered long and painful deaths. According
to local conservationists in some areas, entire species had been wiped out
by these ghastly contraptions.

I also travelled through some of the main wildlife tourism areas in the west
of the country. Many of the operators and lodge owners, who had spent years
building up their businesses, had closed up shop and moved into neighbouring
Zambia. At the 100-room Hwange Safari Lodge, I was one of only five guests.
It was like a ghost town and the despairing manager, Fungai Makani, told me
he was not even bothering to put mosquito repellent in the rooms any more.
"It is very, very painful," he said. "I am just house-keeping, just staying
open." Most of the Safari Lodge staff have subsequently been sacked.

On my next trip six months later - still uninvited and still cunningly
disguised as a foreign tourist - I covered the run-up to the 2002
presidential elections. It was on this trip that I interviewed an
18-year-old boy who had been a member of the government's youth brigade, the
feared Green Bombers. He revealed how he had been recruited by Mugabe's
ministers to murder, rape and kidnap people who were regarded as supporters
of the Movement for Democratic Change, the official opposition party. He'd
agreed to the interview because he said he was ashamed of what was happening
in Zimbabwe and of what he had become.

The election was, of course, rigged and the result entirely fraudulent but
Mugabe's will prevailed and he was reinstalled as president. In the 18
months since that election, human rights abuses have continued apace and
shortages of food and fuel have grown worse. The country described to me as
"perfectly normal" by minister Nhema at the World Travel Market has
staggered from one crisis to the next with no solution - and no food - in
sight.

This week, the organisers of the World Travel Market defended the presence
of Zimbabwean officials, claiming the show is "apolitical" and saying that
"we prefer to encourage dialogue and understanding among all countries
involved in travel and tourism, which we hope fosters universal cultural
understanding". This is all well and good when you are dealing with
reasonable, balanced countries where governments allow dialogue and
understanding among their own citizens. Mugabe does not. Two weeks ago, for
example, he had a former High Court judge, Washington Sansole, arrested and
locked up simply because he was a director of an independent newspaper that
did not support the government. Although Sansole was eventually released,
friends and relatives feared for him as he is in his mid-sixties and suffers
from high blood pressure.

But there is more to this than turning a blind eye to tyranny. By allowing
Zimbabwean government representatives floor space at Britain's biggest
travel show, the organisers are providing Mugabe with a significant
propaganda coup. Much of the torture, kidnapping and human-rights abuse of
Mugabe's opponents has taken place under the pretence of adjusting the
imbalances created by more than a century of colonial occupation. With every
foothold the regime gains in legitimate international forums, so this view
will be accepted as legitimate. Thus, when the French government allowed
Mugabe and a vast entourage to attend a Franco-African summit in Paris
earlier this year, it was splashed across his newspapers as a diplomatic
triumph. When his corrupt police chief, Augustine Chihuri, was invited to an
Interpol meeting in Lyon, the state-owned newspapers claimed another
victory.

The World Travel Market is an important international showcase and
Zimbabwe's presence provides apologists for Mugabe with another straw of
legitimacy to grasp. Although it is unlikely that Francis Nhema will sneak
into the country and attend - he is one of 19 Mugabe cronies who have had
travel bans imposed by the European Union - another of the tyrant's
under-managers will doubtless be in attendance next week. Last year, James A
Mushore, a banker with no experience of the tourism industry, was sent out
to represent the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority; he spent his time at the
Zimbabwe stand, trying to avoid difficult questions about the state of the
industry in his homeland.

There is much to celebrate about international travel and tourism - and most
of the time, this is an industry that does immeasurable good to both
travellers and the countries they visit. However, until the tyrant Mugabe is
removed from what remains of his country, any tourism transaction with
Zimbabwe is worthless. The starving millions in that country will not thank
us for prolonging his rule by as much as a single second.

The time has come for Britain's tourism industry to take a stand and banish
Mugabe's Zimbabwe.

Dumisane Hlophe

Former Botswana president Ketumile Masire says Zimbabwe must be subjected to
the African Union's peer review mechanism.

Speaking to the Sunday Times in Johannesburg this week, Masire urged the AU
to act on Zimbabwe, arguing that the significance of the continental body
"will be determined by the way it holds its member states accountable" to
its principles.

The peer review mechanism is an attempt by African governments to encourage
one another to pursue good governance and democratic practices.

"The AU has good guidelines on democratic principles that determine whether
a country or leader is democratic or not," he said.

Masire was in South Africa to attend a conference on election management in
the Southern African Development Community region, organised by the
Electoral Institute of Southern Africa.

Asked about the political situation in Swaziland, he said the kingdom must
find a way to adjust to change.

"Swaziland cannot afford to forget that the whole political scene in the
region has changed." He added that while the SADC must help, "Swazis must
decide their own future".

Masire was optimistic about the progress made in the Democratic Republic of
Congo. He said that while the two-year transitional period was set to end
"some time in August next year", critical issues still needed to be
resolved. These included electoral mechanisms such as "the type of electoral
system, regional demarcation and the provision of identification documents".

As well as playing the role of peacemaker in his retirement, Masire has also
become a commercial farmer. But he was quick to add: "I am not making a
profit yet. I am still new."

      By Basildon Peta

The stage is set for a bruising succession struggle in Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF after General Vitalis Zvinavashe, Zimbabwe's army
commander, unexpectedly announced that he would be retiring next month.

Zvinavashe, who is in charge of both the Zimbabwe National Army and the
Zimbabwe Air Force, has been a key player in the country's politics with
Mugabe's heavy reliance on the military to maintain his grip on power.

Zvinavashe shook Zimbabwe's body politic earlier this year when he publicly
said Zimbabwe was in crisis and that a way out needed to be found quickly.

His remarks were preceded by allegations that Zvinavashe and Emmerson
Mnangagwa, the speaker of parliament, had sent an emissary, Colonel Lionel
Dyke, a retired army officer, to Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader,
to sound him out on a transitional mechanism to end the crisis.

      Mnangagwa is hugely unpopular among party cadres
Jonathan Moyo, Mugabe's chief spin doctor, railed against Zvinavashe and
Mnangagwa, accusing them of plotting a coup. Dyke later said he had
approached Tsvangirai in his personal capacity as a concerned Zimbabwean,
though few believed him.

Zanu-PF insiders said Zvinavashe's announcement had "complicated" the
succession issue. It comes after the death of Simon Muzenda, the
vice-president, whom Mugabe is yet to replace. Muzenda's replacement is the
man most likely to succeed Mugabe.

Although Zvinavashe has not yet publicly stated his political ambitions,
these have become known in Zanu-PF circles. He is a loyal Zanu-PF cadre and
is said to be holding secret political meetings to prepare his candidature
for the presidency.

Insiders said Zvinavashe wanted to fill the gap left by Muzenda in Masvingo
province. Once he becomes the new kingmaker in Masvingo, he is well placed
to succeed Mugabe. Zvinavashe hails from Masvingo.

Party insiders said Zvinavashe had complicated the succession struggle in
many ways. If he decides to run himself, he will certainly derail
Mnangagwa's chances.

      'The last thing we can afford is to have war veterans fighting each
other in the succession race'
Mnangagwa, widely believed to be Mugabe's personal choice, is already
behaving like an heir apparent.

But Mnangagwa is hugely unpopular among party cadres.

Alternatively, Zvinavashe could decide to back Mnangagwa and become his
running mate. This would create even more problems in the party as those
opposed to Mnangagwa would rally forces against his "strengthened camp".

John Nkomo, the special affairs minister, another candidate believed to be
in the running for the succession, is fiercely opposed to Mnangagwa.

So too is Solomon Mujuru, who led Mugabe's forces in the liberation
struggle, and is backing Sydney Sekeramayi, the defence minister.

"The last thing we can afford is to have our liberation war veterans
fighting each other in the succession race," said one insider who preferred
not to be named.

"Unfortunately it looks increasingly likely to happen." Other party
officials blamed Mugabe for the succession chaos.

"Through his failure to lead, he is throwing the party into problems. If he
appointed a new vice-president fast enough, we would have known his choice
and it would have been easier for him to rally the party," said a Zanu-PF
MP.

      Leading Commonwealth countries and officials of the 54-member
organisation are trying to avoid a damaging summit split over the continued
suspension of Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe.

      "I think we've got a few possibilities of dealing with it," Don
McKinnon, the Commonwealth secretary-general, told the Financial Times. "The
underlying fact is that no-one wants this issue to divide the Commonwealth."

      Members - mostly former British colonies - are anxious to prevent
argument over Zimbabwe from dominating a meeting of heads of government in
Abuja, the Nigerian capital, on December 5-8.

      Diplomats said a compromise might involve leaving the suspension in
place but setting up a review process to advise on when it might be lifted.

      Nigeria has made it clear that President Mugabe will not be invited to
the summit, avoiding a predicament for Tony Blair, the British prime
minister, and Queen Elizabeth, the Commonwealth's official head, who is due
to open the meeting.

      Zimbabwe was suspended in March last year for an initial 12 months
after being condemned for violence and vote-rigging in Mr Mugabe's
re-election. The measure was carried forward to the summit after an
acrimonious clash in the "troika" dealing with Zimbabwe's case, between John
Howard, the Australian prime minister, and the two African presidents, South
Africa's Thabo Mbeki and Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo.

      Mr McKinnon agreed there had been "no consensus" on extending the
suspension, but argued that there was a clear majority in favour.

      The argument sets the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada against
southern African countries. Other African members regard Zimbabwe as an
embarrassment but are reluctant to break ranks.

      Mr McKinnon also hinted the summit would be unable to decide on
reinstating Pakistan, suspended in 1999 after the military coup led by
General Pervez Musharraf, now president. The UK and other "white"
Commonwealth countries want to recognise Pakistan's support in the war on
terrorism. African countries argue, however, that the Commonwealth should be
consistent in rejecting military governments.

      Mr McKinnon said Pakistan had moved back towards democracy with last
year's parliamentary elections. But there were "a couple of outstanding
issues" - Gen Musharraf's dual role as head of state and army chief and his
powers to dissolve parliament.

      A ministerial group would review Pakistan's progess on the eve of the
summit, he said, but indicated that it would be too late for a decision on
reinstatement.

      On Zimbabwe, Mr McKinnon said "a series of markers" had been laid down
for allowing the country back into Commonwealth ministerial meetings. These
were reconciliation between the ruling Zanu-PF party and its opponents in
the Movement for Democratic Change, the repeal of repressive laws, an end to
systematic violence, a response to recommendations made by Commonwealth
electoral observers and involvement of the United Nations Development
Programme in land redistribution, which has been at the centre of Zimbabwe's
economic and political crisis.

      He said discussions with African leaders had indicated broad support
for these principles. But there was "by no means total unity" on how to
proceed. Presidents Mbeki and Obasanjo have both have argued for suspension
to be lifted.

      "Our view is that isolation has not helped. It has hardened [the
Zimbabwe government's] positions," Aziz Pahad, deputy South African foreign
minister, told the Financial Times in Pretoria.

      South Africa has been facilitating low-level contacts between Zanu-PF
and the MDC, but no clear negotiating path has emerged.

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

November 9, 2003
Posted to the web November 9, 2003

Caiphas Chimhete

JACKELINE Murombo slips off her high-heeled shoes, puts on flat ones, grabs
a 20-litre container and starts her half-kilometre journey to fetch water
from a nearby stream.

Zig-zagging her way down to the stream to avoid her dress getting caught up
by shrubs that stand in the way like sentries, she looks much like a rural
woman somewhere in the remote parts of Dete.

But Murombo is an urban working class woman residing in Zimbabwe's capital
city, Harare - where "taps in the house" used to provide clean drinking
water.

"Here in Mabvuku hardly a day passes by without water supplies being
disrupted. That's why you find that most people now get their water from
this stream," said Murombo.

"But this is not good for our health because most people do not boil it
before drinking. They just wait for dust to settle down."

As the water crisis continues in Harare, some residents have resorted to
fetching drinking water from contaminated streams and open wells in vleis
near their suburbs.

Others fill up "drums and any other containers available" whenever the water
runs down their taps.

"Kana yauya tinongozadza madrums edu toishandisa zvishoma nezvishoma (If the
water comes, we fill up drums and use it bit by bit," said Ambuya Hlatswayo
of Highfield in Harare.

Areas that that have been critically affected by frequent water supply cuts
include Budiriro, Tafara, Mabvuku, Kuwadzana, Ruwa, Highfield, Glen View and
Mbare.

A few weeks ago, water problems were also experienced in the leafy suburbs
of Greendale, Chisipite, Highlands, Borrowdale and Greystone Park.

However, the magnitude of the problem is less evident in the posh suburbs as
most of houses have boreholes.

Apart from that, many residents in such areas can afford to buy bottled
water for drinking from supermarkets unlike people in the high-density
suburbs, who expose themselves to water borne diseases by drinking water
straight from open wells.

The chairman of the Combined Harare Ratepayers' Association (CHRPA), Mike
Davies, urged the council to urgently address the water crisis to avoid a
looming health disaster.

"It is critical that this problem is addressed, otherwise we will have a
health crisis," said Davis.

Acting Harare executive mayor Sekesai Makwavarara declined to comment
referring all questions to council public relations officer, Cuthbert
Rwazemba, who could not be reached for comment.

However, Harare City Council has on several occasions admitted failure to
supply clean water to residents citing the shortage of purifying chemicals
as well as its limited pumping capacity. Presently, Harare can only pump 580
megalitres per day yet demand is over 700 megalitres.

"The population of Harare has tripled in the past 10 years while the pumping
capacity has not increased. This is what has aggravated the problem," noted
Davies, who urged the council to revamp the waterworks as well as improve
its water distribution system.

In an effort to control water use by residents, the council introduced water
rationing at the beginning of August. It has also imposed fines of up to $1
million for the illegal use of hosepipes by industrialists and $100 000 by
residents.

Harare's water woes however did no come over night. Warning signals started
quite a few years back.

A recent parliamentary report of the portfolio committee on Local
Government, Public Works and National Housing indicated that Harare was
warned of the impending water crisis way back in 1997 when it was pointed
out that water demand would outstrip supply by 2001.

"This brought about the need to have Kunzwi and Musami dam projects on
stream," said the report tabled in Parliament last September

The construction of Kunzwi dam and the increased supply of water to Harare
should have been completed by last year according to a 1997 plan, said
suspended mayor Elias Mudzuri, early this year.

However, the two projects have been hampered by lack of funding.

The parliamentary report also blames Harare's perennial water problems on
its dependence on Zimphos, a local chemicals manufacturer. It says Zimphos
has failed to supply the council with aluminum sulphate.

In its desperation, Harare has even gone as far as Zambia to court private
companies there to supply water-purifying chemicals.

Harare is not alone in this water supply crisis. Most Zimbabwean urban
centres including Bulawayo, Mutare, Masvingo, Chinhoyi and Chiredzi face
intermittent water cuts.

The Zambezi River Water Project, which was supposed to end Bulawayo's water
woes, is stillborn, more than three decades after it was first mooted.

Although some urban councils like Mutare and Masvingo have reliable sources
of water from Pungwe and Mutirikwi dams respectively, they still face water
problems.

According to the parliamentary report, the piping system in many of the
cities, which was installed during the colonial era, is too old resulting in
frequent pipe bursts.

"About 40 percent of the water that is supposed to be piped to residents is
lost due to leaking pipes and regular breakdowns," said Davies.

For example, the problems bedeviling Harare and Chitungwiza are compounded
by the frequent breakdowns at Morton Jaffray and the Prince Edward water
works, which are the major suppliers of water to both cities.

The Morton Jaffray works, Harare's main purification plant, has one modern
half section and a far older one that dates back to the 1950s and 1960s.

Other than the dilapidated pipes, urban councils have a problem of
non-payment for services by both residents and government departments and
ministries. Harare only is owed billions of dollars in unpaid rates by both
residents and government.

To solve the water problem, the parliamentary report recommends that city
councils be granted borrowing powers to raise funds for the development of
capital projects.

"Since most cities have no borrowing powers it has been difficult for them
to embark on any significant development projects. Government should also
construct dams that will service the urban areas," says the report.

Zimbabwe Standard (Harare)

November 9, 2003
Posted to the web November 9, 2003

Liberty Chirove

THE Zanu PF government's chaotic land reform programme has led to major
decreases in farming production with dairy farming activities declining by
more than 40% and shortages of milk now beginning to bite.

Zimbabwe's major milk processor, Dairibord Zimbabwe Limited (DZL), says
while the supply of raw milk remains below optimum levels, it has been
relatively stable given the support and efforts of stakeholders in the
industry.

StandardBusiness has learnt that raw milk supplies declined by 27% in the
six months to June 30 compared to last year. In turn, the supply in 2002 was
13,25% lower than that of the previous year (130 million litres).

DZL chief executive, Antony Mandiwanza said the land reform programme has a
role to play in the reduction of milk supplies in respect to change of farm
ownership.

"Whilst core milk production remains stable, the new farmers are still to
cope up so as to increase production levels," he said.

"Producers have continued to face challenges related to drought,
hyperinflation and shortages of critical inputs," said Mandiwanza.

Officials at the company said of major concern were the issues of
non-availability and escalating prices of stock feed, which affects the milk
supply.

Robert Van Vweren, the Commercial Farmers Union's dairy executive officer,
said milk production had been reduced following disruptions that occurred
within the commercial farming sector by farm invaders starting 1999, which
led to many productive herds being butchered for meat.

"The lack of security of tenure is preventing the normal development and
expansion on many dairy farms and the disruptions made because of the
invasions have had a negative impact on the dairy industry," said Van
Vweren.

"Traditionally, most dairy farmers produce fodder crops such as maize silage
and hay, for optimal use of veld grazing and the new settlers have prevented
producers from carrying out their normal fodder production and utilisation,"
added Vweren.

According to the Central Statistical Office, the national herd has been
gradually decreasing since 1999.

In many cases, new settlers have prevented milk producers from carrying out
their normal fodder production and utilisation at the farms.

The high cost of commercial stockfeeds and sporadic shortages has had a
major impact on the viability of milk production and the actual production
levels on dairy farms for delivery to the formal processor.

The decrease in milk production has seen a rise in the fast growing informal
market, which is a major concern as the milk is reaching the consumer
without undergoing the regulatory tests to meet health requirements.

Justice for Agriculture's Ben Freeth said the number of commercial farmers
has decreased by more than 80% and this has led to major milk falls.

The reduction in milk supplies is likely to have a profound effect on the
country as supermarkets and shops are already complaining of poor milk
supplies and many people have limited access to the commodity.

In an effort to maintain the viability of the dairy industry, DZL initiated
the Producer Finance Scheme in 2001 through which $300 million was made
available to assist dairy farmers to buy critical inputs needed.

A total of 65 farmers benefited and this scheme was succeeded by another
facility where a $2 billion Special Purpose Vehicle was introduced in March
2003 as extra support to new dairy farmers.

      THERE was need to do this and that … there is need to review this and
that … we have also to look at this and that … there was also need to
reflect on the past … it is important to examine this and that … Other areas
discussed include … the list of needs was endless.

      This is what came out of participants attending the so-called National
Economic Consultative Forum dialogue in Harare this week – a meeting
involving government and business leaders which was held under the theme
‘Resolving the Economic Crisis”. It was as if the economic problems had
suddenly visited us. What a nauseating paralysis of analysis of problems
that even a kindergarten toddler can say them out in his or her sleep.

      Listen to this from David Chapfika, Chairman of the Parliamentary
Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development: “We need to
look at where we came from and our achievements and failures through the
policies that we have enacted in the past … we also have to look at the
black market, the root causes and how we can solve the problems.”

      Really Chapfika!

      On what planet are you living? Do you have to take a look at the black
market in order to solve problems? Are you honestly unaware of the root
causes of the black market?

      The mind boggles! Do you have to waste your time analysing things that
are so obvious?

      Enter our celebrated Minister of Finance and Economic Development,
Herbert Murerwa: “Major challenges affecting the economy include high
inflation, declining savings and investments, foreign currency shortages,
high unemployment, rise in corruption, rapid development in parallel markets
and the decline in the economic performance.

      “Hopefully, through this dialogue process, constructive and practical
measures will be fully articulated to come up with well considered
strategies to turn around the economy and bring it back on a sustainable
rapid growth.”

      We have heard these tired stories many times before Murerwa.

      Just do things! Do not waste time uttering worn-out shibboleths. We
repeat once more: Just do things.

      Who does not know that inflation has to be reduced quickly from the
triple-digit that it is at the moment to a single digit.

      One does not have to have studied economics or rocket science to know
this. This is plain common sense which unfortunately does not appear to be
that common in the government. What is important at this stage is to
implement decisions not to endlessly talk about them.

      When a house is on fire, it would be naive and stupid to start
analysing how the blaze started or what to do about it. The crucial and only
thing to do is to put out the fire first. The analysis of where the fire
came from and where it was going can be done when the house has been
secured, not before. There is too much talking in this government and very
little action. Words cost very little. It is actions that talk best, you
crazy lot!

      If there has to be some analysis before action, then such an analysis
has to be honest and short and then get on with the job of implementation.
But we think that there is no need for such an analysis as Zimbabweans are
living through the problems on a daily basis.

      Everybody knows that we have an economy that is terminally ill and a
cure has to be sought. To merely say as Murerwa did at the NECF meeting that
there was need to improve viability and competitiveness of all sectors that
generate foreign currency without coming up with measures that are
implementable, is quite frankly, unhelpful.

      The serious and worsening crisis in the Zimbabwean economy needs
urgent attention and solution. But there is no political will on the part of
this government to be part of the solution to our crisis.

      Zanu PF is concerned with strategies of survival rather than
addressing an economy which is in a critical condition. Whenever they attend
meetings, mere posturing is the name of the game. There is no genuine
commitment to economic and political reform which is imperative in our
current situation.

      For John Nkomo, the Minister of Special Affairs in the Office of the
President, to talk about mending fences with the international community and
in the same vein repeating the tired cliches about preserving Zimbabwean
sovereignty, is a massive contradiction in terms. Are you serious, you
people?

      Zimbabwe is a country that has eternity before her and talk of
sovereignty is totally uncalled for posturing. Zimbabweans do not eat
sovereignty. Siege economies have never worked anywhere in the past and will
not work anywhere in the future.

      Good governance, respect for the rule of law, openness, transparency,
fair and free elections — these are the things that matter both nationally
and internationally. Investment naturally floods into such an environment.
Values are universal. Truth is truth whether you are in Australia, Thailand
or Zimbabwe. Freedom and democracy are not solely Western values.
Zimbabweans deeply cherish these ideals.

      Talk of sovereignty is cheap. Successful countries in both good and
bad times are those which genuinely combine political and economic freedoms
and are prepared to do things and implement decisions not dwelling on
platitudes and politics as an end in itself.

      Listen to John Nkomo once more: “We must, through dialogues such as
this one, develop the necessary consensus on how to navigate the political
forest restraining the capacity of our economy to respond to present
challenges.”

      What on earth does that mean? — sounds like rocket science to us!