Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 2:40 PM
Subject: Re: MDC
Statement
8th November 2005
An article in the Daily Mirror on 8 November, claimed that MDC Vice
President, Gibson Sibanda, when speaking at a campaign rally last week, had
called for the establishment of an Ndebele state.
Not only is this
allegation untrue it also appears to be a deliberate attempt by the newspaper to
fan ethnic tensions within the MDC and the country as a whole.
At the
rally in question, Sibanda, rather than calling for a new independent state was
urging the people of Matabeleland to turn out and vote in the senate elections
in order to prevent ZanuPF from regaining a foothold in the region. Not only
did the reporter from the Mirror fail to interpret such comments in their proper
context he also deliverately misquoted Sibanda's remarks.
Zimbabwe is
still recovering from the brutal Gukarahundi period. The wounds run deep but it
is essential that, as Zimbabweans, we move forward together and build a country
that is united and not paralysed by ethnic divisions.
Zimbabweans do
not want political leaders who play the ethnic card to advance a political
agenda. Propaganda of this game will take Zimbabwe down a path where chaos,
suffering and misery will be the order of the day.
We urge the media to
refrain from playing into the hands of those pursuing ethnic agendas and to
accurately report comments made by political leaders. Let all of us not forget
the basic truth: we are all Zimbabweans, irrespective of our ethnic origins,
and we should be proud of being Zimbabwean.
It is time we transcended
parochial agendas and looked at the bigger picture - how to restore Zimbabwe's
fortunes as a nation and how to end the suffering in all corners of the
country.
Paul Tyhemba Nyathi
MDC Secretary for Information and
Publicity
womensenews.org
Run Date: 11/10/05
By Nicole Itano
WeNews
correspondent
Zimbabwe's government has used state-sponsored brutality
to quash
dissent, and women on the front lines of protest are paying a heavy
personal
price. Sixth in a series on emerging female leaders in
Africa.
HARARE, Zimbabwe (WOMENSENEWS)--In an unlit park in
central Harare on
the night of Zimbabwe's March parliamentary elections,
more than a hundred
women gathered to sing and pray for peace.
In this increasingly authoritarian southern African nation even public
prayer is deemed a threat to public security.
Several dozen
police brandishing batons quickly arrived in tan Land
Cruisers and pushed
the women into the cars. By the end of the evening 300
women, most ordinary
mothers and grandmothers struggling to feed hungry
families, were in jail
and at least nine had been beaten so badly they
required
hospitalization.
Among the first to be dragged away was Jenni
Williams, a plump,
pale-skinned woman who helped to found Women of Zimbabwe
Arise, one of the
few organizations here that has been consistently willing
to take to the
streets in protest of their country's
destruction.
"The impetus really was that women were bearing the
brunt of the
instability in Zimbabwe and as the people who were suffering
most, they
should have been speaking out more and holding the regime
accountable," said
Williams, who has been arrested 18 times, mostly in Women
of Zimbabwe
Arise-related protests. "We call it tough love because we love
our country
enough to sacrifice being arrested and beaten."
Inspired by the methods of the U.S. civil rights movement,
anti-apartheid
protests in South Africa and the nonviolent resistance of
Mahatma Gandhi,
the women have prayed, marched and passed out Valentine's
Day roses affixed
with messages of peace. They say they take courage from an
anti-apartheid
slogan, "Strike a woman, strike a rock." When confronted by
police, they
quietly obey, hoping their silent bravery will shame the
authorities for
mistreating women who could be their mothers, daughters and
sisters.
A Dramatic Transformation
Williams first rose
to public prominence more than five years ago when
Zimbabwe's government
began seizing white-owned farms to redistribute to
landless blacks as the
spokesperson for the largely white Commercial Farmers
Union of Zimbabwe. She
has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent
years.
From
the public face of an organization seen to represent the views of
Zimbabwe's
wealthy and insular white farmers, Williams has since become a
street
activist and revolutionary in an organization of mostly poor, black
women.
She began working for the white farmers when they hired her public
relations
firm, but her work for Women of Zimbabwe Arise is personal. As
many white
Zimbabweans left the country she decided, she said, to stay and
fight. At
Women of Zimbabwe Arise protests she is often the only
light-skinned face in
the crowd. She is quick to point out, though, that
despite her pale skin and
an English name she is of mixed white and Ndebele
ancestry.
Williams said that Zimbabwe was her country and that she would fight
to keep
it safe. But her activism has taken personal sacrifice. Her husband
and two
sons have left the country for safety reasons, although she hopes
the
situation will soon stabilize enough that they can return.
"I have
requested a three-year leave from being a wife and mother,"
she said. It's
been difficult, but her family has been supportive. "They
really do
understand that we're trying to make Zimbabwe livable again."
After five years of political violence and oppression, most
Zimbabweans are
terrified to speak out against the government despite a
rapidly
deteriorating economy and devastating urban cleanup campaign called
"Operation Murambatsvina" or "clean up trash" that began shortly after the
elections and has left an estimated 700,000 homeless and tens of thousands
of children out of school. Robert Mugabe, the country's president, has led
Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 and continues to hold fast to
power.
Fighting Through the Courts
Williams and other
civil society leaders have been disappointed with
the opposition Movement
for Democratic Change's unwillingness to call for
mass action. The party has
now lost three elections under conditions
condemned by the international
community, but has chosen to fight through
the courts rather than on the
streets.
The political climate in Zimbabwe makes any kind of
protest extremely
difficult. A series of new laws--like the Public Order and
Security Act,
under which the women were arrested--restrict public
gatherings and make
criticism of the president and security authorities
illegal. The independent
press has been stifled and a state-sponsored
campaign of violence against
government critics and opposition supporters
has created a climate of fear.
While both government supporters and
critics are in theory subject to
the act, in practice the law has been
selectively enforced to prohibit any
public expression of dissent. Usually
it is simply used as an excuse to shut
down protests and meetings of
dissidents.
Arnold Tsunga, head of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights, which
represents Women of Zimbabwe Arise members in court, said that
in 2003 and
2004 there were at least 2,000 arrests under the act and related
laws. Not a
single person, he said, has ever been successfully prosecuted
under the law.
On the night of the election, for example, Women of Zimbabwe
Arise members
were eventually released after being charged with obstructing
traffic,
although they were in a park with no roads.
The
Brutality of Zimbabwe
Thabita Khumalo is a less visible face of
Zimbabwe's protest movement,
but she too has experienced the brutality of
Zimbabwe's regime first hand in
retaliation for speaking out against its
excesses.
One Saturday in July, the small, dark-skinned woman was
about to open
a meeting of female trade unionists at a Harare hotel when a
group of
outsiders stormed the room and began to beat the participants. A
man smashed
his fist into Khulamo's face, breaking several teeth and giving
her a black
eye. But the labor activist refused to run away or scream for
help.
"I wanted to assure them, we have to be brave," she said. "If
I ran
away as a leader then it means that I would have destroyed all the
work we
had done in recent years to encourage them."
Like
Williams, Khulamo has been arrested multiple times for political
protest.
She has also been beaten, her children harassed and intimidated.
Once she
was kidnapped by government supporters. She recognized her captors,
but was
told by the police it was a political affair and they could do
nothing about
it.
Still, Khumalo is determined to fight.
"This is
the only country I know. I was born in this country. I want
my kids to have
a better life here," she said.
Khumalo fears how her activism
is affecting her children, a
22-year-old daughter and 18-year-old adopted
son, who accuse her of ruining
their lives. "I want them to victimize me,
not my kids. I am fighting for
them, but this is not what they
choose."
Unlike Williams, she cannot afford to send her children
abroad, but
her dearest wish is to see them safely outside of Zimbabwe so
she can carry
on the struggle without fear for their safety.
"We women are very brave. But they underestimate their power. Women
don't
realize that they are very powerful," she mused. "The day they realize
their
power they will change this country."
Nicole Itano, a frequent
contributor to Women's eNews, is a
Johannesburg-based reporter who has
covered Zimbabwe since 2001 for Women's
eNews and other publications such as
The Christian Science Monitor, the
Associated Press and
Newsday.
Women's eNews welcomes your comments. E-mail us at
editors@womensenews.org.
Email: jag@mango.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
jag@mango.zw with "For Open Letter Forum" in the
subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1:
Hello Jag,
I am trying to contact an old friend called Glen
Houghton. Glen and his
family had been farming in Zimbabwe for a couple of
generations I think
near Bulawayo. Glen came down to SWA in about 1976 after
being shot up. He
ran the farm at the DeBeers mine at Oranjemund which is
where we met.
I believe he returned to Zim in the early eighties and is
still farming
there. I have come across his trail a couple of times on
websites like "Old
Hararians" but have never managed to establish
contact.
He was a great big larger than life individual and I would very
much like
to re establish contact with him.
Any help you can give me
would be much appreciated.
Kind regards
Tim Elster
(UK)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
2:
Dear JAG
Do you have any information regarding Dup and Hennelie
Muller and their son
F. C. from the Rusape district....have they been evicted
from their farms
and if so do you have contact details for them?
Mary
Willcock
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
3:
Dear JAG
Mukuvisi Woodlands have had a bush fire and cannot
feed the animals. Please
donate hay or veggies urgently to keep the animals
alive.
Geraldine
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
The Telegraph
By Peta
Thornycroft in Harare
(Filed:
11/11/2005)
Zimbabwe's cricketers, including national
captain Tatenda Taibu, have said
they will not turn out for their country
again unless Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC)
chairman Peter Chingoka and managing
director Ozias Bvute quit.
The players, and the six provinces, secretly
arranged a press conference
yesterday - a day after the dispirited team
returned from their tour of
India.
They all signed a statement, which
is a set of demands including player
safety after violence at a provincial
game last month, their lack of
contracts and concern that Phil Simmons, the
national coach, had been
sacked.
The players said: "In coming forward
in this way we realise we risk our
careers, especially as ZC has shown in
the past they will not hesitate to
bully players. But we have no choice but
to speak out."
A letter from the provinces was delivered to Chingoka
calling on him to
resign and for Bvute to be suspended "pending a forensic
audit on the
business and financial affairs of ZC before there is a total
collapse".
Taibu, the captain, said: "We are prepared to down tools.
There has been too
much interference in the game. This is not about race -
we are getting
behind the provincial stakeholders."
Cricket in
Zimbabwe has been in constant crisis since Heath Streak, the
former captain,
was sacked in 2004, while more than 30 top players have
since left the
game.
For more than a year, Chingoka played the race card accusing some
white
cricketers of being a "third force" determined to destroy the
sport.
But Taibu reiterated yesterday that the crisis has nothing to do
with race:
"It is about the administrators - they have two players on
contract and 75
people employed in administration."
Simmons, the
former Trinidad and Tobago batsman who was sacked last month,
said: "Until
those two go, cricket in Zimbabwe will not recover. If they
remain, cricket
will die."
He said he had been informed by the department of immigration
that he would
not be deported from Zimbabwe and was now trying to get his
contract, valid
until 2007, reinstated.
ZC was awash with money last
year from international match revenues, support
from the International
Cricket Council and a penalty payment by the English
Cricket Board after it
cancelled a fixture in Zimbabwe. Now its balance
sheet shows it is in
debt.
Chingoka's position as chairman does not come with a salary, but
the
provinces allege he is paying himself "a huge salary".
The Herald
Herald Reporters
HARARE
and Chitungwiza have been hit by an outbreak of dysentery with over
200
cases reported in Mbare and at three residential blocks in Chitungwiza
in
the last few weeks.
Chitungwiza is already enforcing a strict quarantine
of its patients as part
of efforts to prevent further
spread.
Disputes have arisen over the source, with the extreme
localisation of the
outbreaks suggesting specific sources while municipal
officials are laying
the blame on the Zimbabwe National Water Authority
(Zinwa) even though the
outbreaks have not spread or become
citywide.
Polluted open water is thought by health officials to the most
likely source
of the outbreak. The sewerage system in Chitungwiza has been a
cause of
concern with streams of human waste flowing in the town since the
beginning
of this year.
Chitungwiza General Hospital chief executive
officer and renal specialist Dr
Obadiah Moyo yesterday confirmed that the
hospital was under pressure from
an increased number of diarrhoeal patients
who have been flocking there for
treatment.
"We have so far dealt
with 43 cases from Chitungwiza alone in the last two
months. In all cases
the investigations we conducted showed we were dealing
with dysentery," Dr
Moyo said.
All patients diagnosed with dysentery had been quarantined and
were
receiving treatment to make them regain strength following acute
dehydration.
"Sometimes after making follow-ups to where our patients
stay we have come
across other cases either at the home of that particular
patient or at a
neighbour's house.
"It is important that while making
efforts to address the sewerage issue we
must embark on an awareness
campaign to ensure that residents, particularly
children, stay away from
sewerage ponds," Dr Moyo said.
All the cases of dysentery referred to the
hospital were from Zengeza 3
Extension, Unit "D" and St Mary's.
Mbare
recorded at least 80 cases a week in October, prompting the acting
director
of city health services, Dr Stanley Mungofa, to notify the Minister
of
Health and Child Welfare, Dr David Parirenyatwa, of the outbreak.
Dr
Mungofa reportedly appealed for Government intervention in dealing with
the
problem after he told the minister that numerous tests of water samples
taken from various points had indicated that the water was not adequately
treated.
Dr Mungofa wrote the letter on October 20, 2005.
The
cases were attended to at Harare Central Hospital.
However, the hospital
superintendent, Dr Chris Tapfumaneyi, yesterday
refused to
comment.
"I do not talk to The Herald. My marriage with you people
ended," he said
before hanging up his phone.
Town clerk Mr Nomutsa
Chideya confirmed the outbreak but refused to comment
further, saying he had
directed officials in the city health department to
investigate the causes
of the outbreak.
He, however, advised that residents should boil their
drinking water.
Contacted for comment, Deputy Minister of Health and
Child Welfare Dr Edwin
Muguti referred all questions to the minister, Dr
Parirenyatwa, who could
not be reached.
Officials at Town House said
initial investigations on the origin of the
outbreak pointed to poor water
treatment by Zinwa.
Efforts to get comment from Zinwa officials were
unsuccessful as chief
executive officer Mr Albert Muyambo and chairman Mr
Willie Muringani were
reportedly out of town.
However, the health
crisis in Chitungwiza began a week ago following the
disconnection of water
supplies after the municipality failed to pay bills
to the water authority
running into billions of dollars.
Dysentery, which is characterised by
blood-stained stool, can kill if a
patient does not quickly seek treatment
or can cause some perforation in the
intestines, resulting in long-term
health complications.
The unhygienic environment that has seen
Chitungwiza residents getting water
for domestic use from unprotected wells
and rivers which, in some instances,
are polluted by sewage, is being blamed
for the outbreak.
The Government this week took over the running of the
town council after
mounting evidence that the municipality had failed to
deliver essential
services.
The State also pledged to provide $5
billion to the municipality for it to
buy pumps and motors for sewerage pump
stations as a measure to halt the
collapsing service delivery
system.
The Herald
Court
Reporters
CHITUNGWIZA executive mayor Mr Misheck Shoko, National
Constitutional
Assembly (NCA) chairman Dr Lovemore Madhuku and four other
members of his
group were yesterday released from police custody after the
Attorney General's
Office declined to prosecute them.
Mr Shoko and Dr
Madhuku were arrested under the Public Order and Security
Act on charges of
inciting public violence and agitating for the removal of
Government through
violence.
However, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Mr
Lovemore
Matombo and secretary general Mr Wellington Chibebe, who were
arrested on
Monday for organising an illegal demonstration, remained in
police custody
pending their court appearance.
In the case of Mr
Shoko, Dr Madhuku and the NCA members, the AG's Office
advised the police to
proceed by way of summons in the event that new
evidence against them
cropped up.
Acting director of public prosecutions in the AG's Office Mrs
Fatima Maxwell
yesterday confirmed that her office had declined to prosecute
Mr Shoko, Dr
Madhuku and the other NCA members. She said documents presented
to her
office by the police indicated that they had sanctioned the meeting
addressed by Mr Shoko in Chitungwiza.
As such, she said, the
Chitungwiza had no case to answer.
Their lawyer, Mr Alec Muchadehama of
Mbidzo, Muchadehama and Makoni,
confirmed the release of his clients last
night.
Mr Muchadehama said Mr Matombo, Mr Chibebe and the other 33 ZCTU
members
would appear in court today.
"They are detained in
Chitungwiza and I have been promised that they will
appear in court tomorrow
(today). If they do not take them to court, we will
proceed with our urgent
application at the High Court, seeking their
release."
Business Day
Posted to the web on: 11 November 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TODAY
is the 40th anniversary of Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of
independence
(UDI). While it was to last only 15 years, UDI drew southern
Africa directly
into the Cold War, and precipitated a sharpening of racial
divides across
the subcontinent.
Over the coming months several academic conferences
will provide a chance to
rethink UDI and its politics.
This
interest has been driven by three developments:
?First, recognition
that Rhodesia was the archetypal developmental state.
Embedded within the
policy frameworks of Keynesian economics, its government
developed a strong
infrastructure, especially in education.
?Second, the new insights into
contemporary international relations which
have followed upon the flowering
of Cold War Studies.
?Finally, recently opened archives - in SA and
beyond - are providing fresh
interpretations of the impact of the Rhodesian
issue on southern Africa's
history.
The story of UDI begins with
British colonialism but its energy, and the
drama around it, was driven by
the once fashionable idea of
self-determination.
Caught between
the gathering pace of African nationalism and white SA's
obsession with
racial domination, Britain dithered over its sovereign
responsibilities
towards Southern Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was then known. At
the time, the
country was an artifact of settler colonialism, which had been
bequeathed to
the British crown by Cecil John Rhodes.
But in the city then called
Salisbury (now Harare), 40 years ago today, two
other historical events hung
in the air: they mirrored the ambivalent
relationship towards Britain that
had marked Rhodesia's history since its
founding in the
1890s.
One of these events was the declaration of Armistice in 1918
with its solemn
invocation to remember the fallen of the First World War at
the eleventh
minute of the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the
eleventh month.
Ironically, this was never intended to be a central
motif in the drama that
followed. The prominent historian of Rhodesia and
its affairs, Richard Wood,
says that the declaration had been planned for
the day before, the tenth.
However the rebel government, hoping for a last
minute concession from
Britain, held the formal announcement back for 24
hours. The resulting
coincidence between Armistice and UDI enabled the
Rhodesian government to
ambiguously claim that their act of rebellion was
aimed, not so much at the
crown, but at Harold Wilson's Labour
government.
As the clock struck eleven, the cabinet signed the
Declaration of
Independence.
Two-and-a-quarter hours later, at 1.15
(11.15 GMT), Ian Smith, Rhodesia's
Prime Minister, used the regular
lunchtime newscast to relay the decision to
the country's 275000 whites. He
set out the case for independence, stressing
the patience of Rhodesians in
the face of treachery on the part of the
Labour government. These words
echoed another declaration of independence,
America's; like the one from
Philadelphia in July 1776, the message from
Salisbury was cast within a
republican spirit.
Smith's broadcast was not well received elsewhere.
The ministry of foreign
affairs in Pretoria (according to an officer then in
the Africa Division)
was in shock. Cables from Salisbury had suggested that
many Rhodesians had
hoped for a different outcome: influential ones, the
same diplomat
remembers, even entertained the hope that SA might absorb
Rhodesia as its
fifth province.
If taken, this option would have
reversed the outcome of the 1922
referendum, when 8774 Rhodesian settlers
had voted for "responsible
government" against the 5999 who had wanted
"their country" to join its
strong neighbour to the south.
But
Pretoria never seriously considered this option. For one thing, it would
have infuriated London at a time when the air force hoped to purchase
British fighter aircraft. But another issue mattered more: the Nationalist
government was incensed with Rhodesia's condescending approach to the policy
of apartheid. This had been biting during the years of the ill-fated
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland whose collapse had precipitated UDI.
Like all federal systems, the Central African Federation - as it was also
known - was premised on liberal tolerance.
One strand of this, a
policy called "partnership", aimed to promote good
relations between black
and white but never tackled the redistribution of
wealth.
Spurred
on by Rhodesia's energetic envoy to the republic, John Gaunt, SA's
white
electorate rallied to support the independence of their northern
cousins. In
every city and sizable South African town a pro-UDI rally was
organised;
funds for Rhodesia were also collected.
Official South African
leadership was not enthusiastic, however. The
parliamentary record shows
that Helen Suzman, for the first (and, perhaps,
only) time in her remarkable
career, was of the same opinion as that of
Hendrik Verwoerd, SA's prime
minister, and her arch foe. But not for the
first time (or the last) in its
unhappy life, the United Party, then SA's
official opposition, miscued the
moment: they joined the celebratory chorus
insisting that UDI would make SA
more secure. It didn't, of course.
Supported by China and the Soviet
Union, Zimbabwe's black majority
intensified the "chimurenga" - war of
liberation. This brought the region
into the eye of the Cold War. Borrowing
from American strategists, the
Rhodesian military perfected the cross-border
raid: this tactic would later
be exported to SA and deployed as regional
destabilisation.
Then, on a Sunday in Pretoria in late-September,
1976, Henry Kissinger, the
US Secretary of State, John Vorster, SA's Prime
Minister, and Ian Smith
hammered out a breakthrough to end UDI. This
agreement acknowledged the
principle of majority rule for the country.
However, after the British
fumbled a follow-up conference Smith drew back,
and UDI limped on for
another four years.
By this time sanctions,
first proposed in the late-1960s as a means to end
the rebellion, had become
effective. These hobbled, but did not destroy,
Rhodesia's resilient economy.
In retrospect, these sanctions were important
for another reason: they were
forerunner of the international pressure that
would be used to end another
southern African deadlock, apartheid, a decade
later.
Given
geopolitics, not to mention the mood among the electorate, apartheid
SA
became entangled in what many still insist on calling "the Rhodesian War".
By grim irony, it was military support - or, rather, the threat of its
withdrawal - that finally enabled SA to deliver Rhodesia to the British. The
Lancaster House Agreement which followed paved the way for majority rule,
and the presidency of Robert Mugabe, whose initial 20-year success has,
tragically, been overtaken by the unravelling under way in
Zimbabwe.
The decision to declare UDI inevitably meant that white
Rhodesians lost
their country. In the decades that have followed, all but a
few have
emigrated from it. However their memories of the drama around UDI
and its
tragic consequences for everyday life continue.
Recently,
a younger cohort, born in Rhodesia during the UDI years, but who
have lived
most their lives elsewhere, have begun to reflect - in art and in
literature, especially - on the loss of the country that they were promised.
One of their number, the Eastern Cape writer Dan Wylie, argues that their
work is characterised by "loss and mourning" and demonstrates "a longing for
a genuine truth and reconciliation process".
This suggests a fourth
reason for the growing interest in Rhodesia. These
"diasporic white
Zimbabweans" - as Wylie calls them - enable us to see UDI
through the eyes
of those it utterly failed: the children of the parents
whom Smith had once
promised that there would be no majority rule for a
thousand
years.
Vale is Nelson Mandela Professor of Politics at Rhodes
University and
member of the South African Academy of Sciences.
News24
11/11/2005 12:46 -
(SA)
Harare - Inflation in the crumbling Zimbabwe economy surged to
411% in
October, one of the highest rates in the world, the government's
Central
Statistical Office confirmed on Friday.
The office said a
fall in the value of Zimbabwe's currency was the main
reason for the
increase from 359.8% in September. The Central Bank devalued
the Zimbabwe
dollar last month from Zim$26 000 to Zim$60 000 to the US
dollar.
Acute shortages of hard currency have spurred black market
deals that fetch
Zim$100 000 for the US dollar.
The official
inflation figure is calculated on a basket of foodstuffs and
essential
goods. The statistical office said goods and services normally
purchased by
an average household have increased five fold in price since
October last
year.
The highest price increase last month was on air fares on the
national
airline, Air Zimbabwe, which rose by more than 1 600%, the
statistical
office said.
The cost of a round trip to London soared to
Zim$140m (US$2 300) and return
flights to the second city of Bulawayo, 450km
southwest of Harare, rose to
Zim$20m (US$330).
Independent analysts
blame the meltdown in the agriculture-based economy on
the chaotic and often
violent seizures of more than 5 000 white-owned
commercial farms since
2000.
The United Nations estimates that at least 4 million of the
country's 12.5
million people are suffering severe food shortages. Gasoline
shortages have
crippled industry and transport services.
The state
railroad company said on Thursday just 13 of its 175 locomotives
were fully
operational because of financial difficulties and shortages of
fuel, spare
parts and equipment.
The government insists drought and sanctions imposed
by Western nations have
led to the worst economic crisis since independence
in 1980.
The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, received a
formal protest
from the Foreign Ministry Wednesday for comments he made
about the country's
economic plight.
Dell had said government
mismanagement and corruption were most to blame for
the situation and not -
as President Robert Mugabe contends - drought and
the limited travel and
visa sanctions on ruling party leaders.
Sapa-AP
By Lance
Guma
11 November 2005
The Ward Chairman for the MDC in
Nkulumane, Samuel Musaka was brutally
assaulted by pro-senate youths in
Bulawayo on Friday losing all his front
teeth. According to the party's
National Executive Member for Bulawayo
Province, Gertrude Mtombeni, Vice
President Gibson Sibanda's official driver
led the assault. Musaka was
ambushed on his way to the central railway
station to collect fliers and
posters for Morgan Tsvangirai's Sunday rally
at White City
stadium.
He was initially questioned by the gang of youths on why
he was
talking to Tamsanqa Ncube, a former Chairman of the Bulawayo Province
Youth
leadership. The Vice President apparently dismissed Ncube a few months
ago
under unclear circumstances. The interrogation on the street was then
followed by a mob assault leaving Musaka needing hospital treatment. As is
usual practice in Zimbabwe, he first had to get a letter from the police
confirming the assault before he could get treatment.
Mtombeni
condemned the assault and said there is a clear and
deliberate strategy by
the pro-senate camp to employ violence in the
Matabeleland area. She alluded
to a meeting conducted this week at which
youths were openly urged to deal
with anyone 'selling out on the cause of
the region'. Musaka holds a senior
position in Gibson Sibanda's constituency
and is a known Tsvangirai backer.
This apparently is what also made him a
clear target.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
11 November 2005
02:40
A war veterans' organisation said on Friday that
customs
officials in Zimbabwe impounded thousands of red paper poppies sent
from
Britain for ceremonies commemorating the end of World War
I.
Red poppies are traditionally worn in the lapel in the
run-up to
Remembrance Sunday, the closest Sunday to November 11, honouring
the
armistice that ended World War I in 1918.
British and
allied veterans hold parades and memorial services
around the
world.
The Legion, a British veterans' group, said Zimbabwe
customs
demanded Z$53-million Zimbabwe (about R5 900) in duty and tax for
about 20
000 poppies donated by an affiliated British
group.
A Legion official said the group has appealed to the
controller
of customs to release the poppies, but does not expect to receive
them by
Sunday. He said poppies left over from last year will be
used.
No comment was immediately available from customs
authorities.
The Legion official said the poppies are not
sold, but are given
out -- usually in return for cash donations used to run
ex-servicemen's
welfare and charity groups.
Veterans and
military attaches from allied embassies lay wreaths
at a monument in Harare
on Armistice Day each year. -- Sapa-AP
Reuters
Nov 11, 2005 - By Stella
Mapenzauswa
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean war veterans demanded on Friday
that U.S.
ambassador Christopher Dell leave the country, accusing him of
trying to
cause unrest and threatening to demonstrate against him if he
stays.
President Robert Mugabe's government threatened on Wednesday to
expel Dell
after he gave a public lecture in which he blamed the southern
African
country's economic and political crisis on mismanagement and corrupt
rule.
a.. Bush Honors Veterans, Cheney Lays Wreath
b.. Couple
Says Vet Faked Dog's Death
c.. Granny Shoots Intruder
Veterans of
the 1970s liberation war - who have emerged as the backbone of
the ruling
party after spearheading the invasion of white-owned farms in
2000 - accused
Dell of trying to sow divisions in the country.
"We advise him to leave
this country. He must understand that in attacking
the Zimbabwean
leadership, especially the president of this country, he is
attacking all
Zimbabweans," war veterans' leader Andrew Ndlovu said on state
television.
"I am calling upon all Zimbabweans to rally . against
Christopher Dell who
has a mission . to destroy our country to cause more
division, to cause more
havoc or even to an extent of creating a war amongst
ourselves."
Accusing Dell of working to further the interests of
the
main opposition party, the MDC, Ndlovu said "Can he please leave
before we
stage a national demonstration against America and
him."
U.S. embassy officials could not immediately be reached for
comment.
ACCUSED OF INCITING REVOLT
Foreign Minister Simbarashe
Mumbengegwi has accused Dell of trying to incite
a political revolt against
Mugabe, citing Dell's lecture remark that the
government was responsible for
plunging Zimbabwe into a crisis marked by
widespread poverty and chronic
food shortages.
Mumbengegwi warned that the government would invoke
provisions of the Vienna
Convention governing diplomatic relations "should
at any time in the future
the U.S. ambassador again act in violation of the
laws of the country."
The Vienna Convention allows host countries to
expel diplomats or demand the
withdrawal of diplomats believed to be
interfering in the domestic affairs
of their hosts, or acting in an
undiplomatic manner.
Cricinfo staff
November 11,
2005
The seriousness of the struggle for power inside
Zimbabwe became all too
clear with the news that Tatenda Taibu, the
country's captain, was forced
into hiding last night after receiving threats
from an individual known to
have close links to both Zimbabwe Cricket and
Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.
Yesterday, Taibu had been involved in a
press conference where almost all
Zimbabwe's players had lambasted the
performance of the board and warned
that unless there were changes, there
could be another strike. ""The players
have stood together in this," he
said. "And we will always be together. If
nothing materialises, then I am
afraid we won't play."
In the evening it is understood that Taibu took a
call at home from a known
hardliner which left him shaken. The Sports &
Recreation Commission moved
Taibu, his wife, Loveness, and their four-week
old baby to a hotel for their
safety and he is now staying with friends. "I
am taking the call very
seriously," he said. "So much so I have decided to
go and stay somewhere for
a while. I will not be deterred by the threatening
phone call in pursuing
what I and all the others believe in, and what is
right for us. But I left
home for and while for my own safety."
That
the players called the media conference to support claims made against
Zimbabwe Cricket by leading administrators left Peter Chingoka, the ZC
chairman, and his board isolated.
"They [ZC] want to use it as a
racial issue," Taibu explained. "It's not.
About 90% of the cricketers in
this country are black. You are hearing it
from the horse's mouth now, as
the captain representing the players. The
concerns [of the provincial
chairmen] have our full support."
The players flagged contentious matters
such as player contracts, the
funding of the players' representative and
players' safety after the pitch
invasion by Mashonaland officials at a
league game at Harare Sports Club.
Despite the incident being reported to
ZC, no action has been taken against
those responsible.
"We do
understand the difference which exists between player issues and
governance
issues," a statement issued on behalf of the players explained.
"However
when we find ourselves, as we do now, directly affected by
governance issues
which are impacting adversely upon our performance and
living, we believe we
have not only a right but a duty to speak out.
"We have also read
that ZC is now planning to establish a further five
provinces, and introduce
people into cricket with dubious cricketing
credentials. How can people such
as Cyprian Mandenge, Themba Mliswa and
Tawengwa Mukuhlani with their past
history be good for the game? How will
they portray our nation in good light
in world cricket? Specifically, we are
concerned by Mliswa, after his
involvement with Zimbabwe rugby, when we see
where rugby is
now."
Mandenge is one of those accused of the pitch invasion where,
it is claimed,
he racially abused players and threatened others. Mliswa's
track record in
sport in dubious, and in a letter sent to the ICC by the
provincial
chairmen, he was accused of making threats against them and the
future of
Zimbabwe cricket.
"We realise that by coming forward in
this way, we may risk our careers,
especially as ZC has shown by its past
that it will not hesitate to bully
players. But we have no choice but to
speak out. "We continue to play
cricket, but are told we have no right to
interfere in the administration of
the game, even though that is having a
marked and direct effect on our
ability to perform. How can we sing in tune
when our backing band is playing
with no harmony?
"We are tired
of being threatened by ZC, we are tired of the way ZC has
sought to split us
and attack us individually. We have lost confidence in
the ability of the
current incumbent chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, Peter
Chingoka, and the MD,
Ozias Bvute."
© Cricinfo
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
11 November 2005 05:46
Zimbabwean authorities on Friday freed more than 100 protesters,
including
top labour leaders, arrested in the capital on Tuesday for
demonstrating
against economic hardships and shortages in the country.
"They are being released now," lawyer Alec Muchadehama said in a
telephone
interview.
The group was charged for taking part in
potentially riotous
activities after the protesters gathered in Harare to
stage street marches
against the ever-rising cost of living, unemployment
and shortages of
basics.
Muchadehama said the 109 were
released before being taken to
court because the state needed more evidence
for it to proceed with
prosecution.
"They were charged,
but have not been taken to court because the
attorney general's office needs
more evidence.
"So, while the police continue with their
investigations, they
have agreed that they will be released and when they
are ready they can do
so by way of summons," he said.
The
group had been transferred from the capital to holding cells
in the
dormitory town of Chitungwiza, about 23km away from the scene of the
marches.
The protests were organised simultaneously for
six main cities
and towns across the Southern African country and were meant
"to remind
government and employers that workers are hungry, angry and
tired".
A small group of 37 arrested in the eastern city of
Mutare was
released by a magistrate's court on bail on
Thursday.
The executive mayor of the Chitungwiza town,
Misheck Shoko, and
a pro-democracy activist, Lovemore Madhuku, who faced
separate charges of
inciting violence, were also freed on
Thursday.
The protest marches were organised by the Zimbabwe
Congress of
Trade Unions, whose entire leadership was among the group
released at
Chitungwiza.
Opposition Movement for
Democratic Change leader Morgan
Tsvangirai angrily reacted to the arrests,
warning that the Harare "rogue
regime" was declaring war against Zimbabweans
by criminalising "an action to
express displeasure, anger and disgust over
the state of affairs". --
Sapa-AFP
|
Sokwanele - Enough is Enough -
Zimbabwe PROMOTING NON-VIOLENT PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE DEMOCRACY |
|
Sokwanele is an activist, pro-democracy, non-partisan movement, committed to confronting tyranny, exposing corruption and bad governance and promoting peaceful change in Zimbabwe by non-violent means. It is important that we set out our credentials thus and say precisely where we are coming from before we comment on the contentious issue of the Senate elections - a subject which to date has generated more heat than light and has sadly proved hugely divisive among those who are otherwise united in their commitment to ending ZANU PF misrule. So that we are not misunderstood, we repeat that we are a non-partisan group. We hold no brief to speak for any person or group either within the MDC or civic society. Our core commitment however, from which we will not be moved, is to the principle of non-violence. In confronting the most violent regime which has ever ruled this land, and which knows no other means to defend its hold on power than by violence, we have consciously and deliberately opted for the weapon of non-violence. This is our strength, not our weakness, and we would persuade as many as possible of our partners who walk with us the long and difficult road to freedom, to affirm the same core principle. For in this rather than in any threat of a violent uprising is ZANU PF most vulnerable and most threatened. They are never short of an answer to violence, for here they are playing on their "home turf". On the other hand they have no answer to active, imaginative, persistent, non-violent resistance. We have been amazed at the amount of confusion caused by the Senate elections issue. But more seriously we have been appalled by the extreme intolerance shown by one side of the debate for the other - and remember, we are referring here to those who have a common cause in ending ZANU PF tyranny. Indeed there has scarcely been what we might dignify with the name "debate" at all, for instead of a mature discussion between those lobbying for and against participation in the Senate elections, we have witnessed only hot blasts of vitriolic name-calling, demonizing of those holding a contrary view, and the exchanging of blatant threats of all manner of reprisals. Objectively speaking we have to say that most of the vitriol and threats have come from those who are passionately committed to non-participation and are directed to those are persuaded in favour of participation. Robert Mugabe and his cohorts are no doubt rubbing their hands in glee. Just when ZANU PF was under the most intense pressure internationally on the food issue and locally due to the collapsing economy, and when the cracks within their own divided house were most apparent, the opposition has generously provided an alternative spectacle of abrasive disunity and confrontation. The result of all this has been that almost the only words heard above the uproar in the opposition camp, have been words of abuse such as "gravy train", "sell-out" and "traitor". Yet if only those who were hectoring and sloganeering would just pause for a moment and actually listen to what the others are saying, they would find that they share a great deal of common ground. From the arguments we have heard both for and against participation in the Senate elections it is our observation that the following fundamentals are agreed by most if not all on both sides of the argument
On the above points there is very little disagreement among those whom we may broadly call the opposition, including the MDC and all pro-democracy civic groups. The differences of opinion only emerge when those intent on challenging the Mugabe hegemony move on from these "given" factors towards developing a strategy of response. At this point those against participation argue that we have reached the end of the road on the electoral route to change. They say that the time has come - indeed it is long overdue - to develop alternative strategies, such as civil disobedience and mass action programmes, to deliver change which will not come otherwise. They argue that it would be inconsistent to fight against the 17th amendment to the constitution in Parliament, as the MDC did, and then participate in the process that they have (rightly) called a farce. And they claim that any contesting of seats in the Senate would have the effect of legitimizing the process - and, with it, the other ground acquired and now held by ZANU PF fraud. In our view these are valid and powerful arguments against participation, and of course there are others. We do not claim this to be a comprehensive list. Yet the fact is that those who are in favour of participation can also advance strong and persuasive arguments for their stance. Again we do not seek to canvas all the points they raise, but would just mention the following. They claim that, despite all the odds stacked against the MDC, there may still be some mileage in the electoral route. They refer to the acute embarrassment caused to ZANU PF by some of the revelations made by MDC legislators in Parliament, for example on food security issues and on the favouritism shown to Mugabe protégées in the matter of land distribution, and point out that these revelations could not have been made outside Parliament without exposing individuals to very great risk. Moreover they are clear that they are not advocating the flawed electoral process as the only route to change. Rather do they put it forward as one of several different, non-violent means to be pursued along with others. To the civil disobedience, mass action proposals they say, yes, these too must be assessed and deployed, and as a matter of urgency. They assert that there is nothing inconsistent in voting against an Act in Parliament and then, when it is implemented against their wishes, using it as a weapon to strike at Mugabe's monopolistic powers. They say that not one inch of MDC-held political space should be surrendered to the dictator without a fight. And finally they strongly dispute the notion that to contest the Senate elections is to legitimize the whole process. This and more, those in favour of participation say. Now we are not rehearsing their arguments, or the counter arguments, with a few to persuading anyone to change her or his mind. We merely make the point that there are good and sound reasons which can be advanced both in favour of, and against, participation. Indeed in making a difficult decision in an almost no-win situation the arguments for and against must be set one against another to decide where the balance of advantage lies. Having done that people of both insight and integrity will still come to different conclusions on this issue, and hence it ill becomes anyone to rubbish the arguments of those who hold a contrary view. This is where we have to take issue seriously with those, particularly within the MDC, who are displaying just such an intolerance. We are dismayed for example at the public stance of Morgan Tsvangirai. Granted that he holds passionately to the opinion that his party should not participate in the elections, and granted that he has excellent reason for so thinking, by what right, we ask, is he entitled to impose his view on the party. The MDC is to be congratulated on consulting as widely as possible within the extremely limited time available on the views of its grass-root supporters. The process was hardly adequate but it was the best they could do in the given time. We are not aware that any other party or civic group consulted as widely on this issue, or at all. Moreover we understand that the debate in the National Council meeting on October 12 was conducted in a mature and open way, and then Council members voted - narrowly in favour of participation. What happened next, with the MDC President refusing to accept the vote, rushing out and lying to the international media, both about the nature of the debate and the outcome of the vote, was quite astonishing. If he could not persuade his party, represented by its highest policy-making body, to accept his counsel as leader, and if Morgan Tsvangirai could not bring himself to accept the democratic decision of the party, then he should have done the only honourable thing and resigned his leadership. We find Tsvangirai's conduct then and subsequently, totally unacceptable - and would expect that others committed to democracy and the rule of law would take a similar view. What now transpires is that some of those committed to ensuring the MDC does not participate in the Senate elections have resorted to the kind of tactics normally associated with ZANU PF. Reports are surfacing of the use of threats of violent reprisals, both before and after the October 12 National Council meeting. Indeed our information is that some of those making the threats, and in some instances using actual violence against those perceived to be opposed to Tsvangirai, have purported to be acting with his authority. Nor has Mr Tsvangirai sufficiently dissociated himself from these bellicose youths. Which brings us back to the dark and so far unresolved issue of violence in the MDC. One of the core values of the MDC since its inception six years ago has been the party's commitment to non-violence. It is this commitment which more than anything else distinguishes the party from ZANU PF, the party of violence. Indeed we would suggest that it has been the MDC's hitherto unswerving commitment to non-violence which has brought it the huge support it enjoys with the people of Zimbabwe. Recent events within the party however have cast doubt on its continued adherence to this core value - perhaps we should say, the adherence of some of its leaders to non-violence. Granted that within every political party of significant size there will always be some who will be tempted to try violence as a short-cut to success, the key question becomes, does the party leadership show any tolerance of this method? If the party leadership is united in affording zero tolerance to such delinquent elements within its ranks there is a good chance the party as a whole will remain resolutely against violence. Sadly that has not been the case with the MDC. In October 2004 for instance the MDC's Director of Security, Peter Guhu, was viciously assaulted by a gang of youths within the precincts of Harvest House, the party's headquarters in Harare. Guhu was severely beaten and his assailants then tried to kill him by throwing him down the stairwell from the 6th floor of the building. Surprisingly this assault and attempted murder were not reported to the police. There were at the time strong suspicions that the perpetrators of this crime enjoyed the patronage and support of some senior, non-elected officials who were known to be close to Morgan Tsvangirai. The matter was investigated by an internal independent enquiry, but their findings were not revealed to the party and, until the delinquent youths had committed a further blatant crime of violence, they were not subjected to any form of discipline. On May 12, 2005 and the days following some of the same youths who had assaulted the Director of Security went on the rampage again in Harvest House and elsewhere, attacking members of staff. The attacks caused mayhem and threw the party into disarray. The timing of the attacks, coming just a few days before the start of the infamous Operation Murambatsvina, was almost certainly not coincidental. Here was the main opposition party, reeling under the impact of this "internal" strife at just the moment it should have been ready to respond with energy and passion to this gross human rights outrage. In the event we now know that the response of the MDC leadership to this major challenge (and political opportunity) was patchy and hardly inspiring. It had lost focus at just the time it most needed to remain focussed in order to confront the fascist state with the terrible reality of their crime against humanity. In the months following, as the suffering of the victims intensified, the voice of the President of the MDC was hardly to be heard. And when speaking of this major dislocation of the party we put the word "internal" in inverted commas advisedly because the evidence suggests strongly that the strife was introduced to the heart of the party by outside forces. Who but ZANU PF benefited from this violence? And who had a better motive therefore to instigate the violence than the CIO, now recognised as the enforcement arm of ZANU PF? For which reason many in the MDC are convinced that the party has been infiltrated to the highest levels by the CIO. So we have a party that is suffering an increasing number of violent attacks upon its own staff and members. That violence has the effect of weakening and dividing the party just when the party should be united and strong. There are strong indications that the violence is neither spontaneous nor originating from sources within the party, but is rather planned and orchestrated from outside. And, perhaps most significant of all, the party leadership is slow to respond to the threat. The culprits are not immediately expelled from the party (though 14 of the youths were expelled by the National Executive after the May 12 attacks). In short we have a situation developing in which a party once unequivocally committed to non-violence is starting to give violence a toe hold. It would call for strong leadership from the very top echelons of the party to snuff out this dangerous trend, but that leadership is not being given today. On the contrary the threats made to those who refuse to rally behind the President of the party on the Senate issue, are increasing daily. Which brings us back squarely to the question of violence and suggests to us that the real issue facing the country today is not whether the opposition should participate in the Senatorial elections but rather whether we, collectively, will resort to the ZANU PF tactics of intimidation and violence in order to ensure that our view prevails. As we have already made the point, the Senate is of no consequence. It is a non-issue. What matters is whether the opposition can remain united around a non-violent policy and programme. For consider how the history of this land has been bedevilled by violence from earliest times. By violence (and trickery) Cecil Rhodes took the land from Lobengula. By violence (and the threat of violence) Ian Smith perpetuated racist, minority rule. By the unbelievable violence of Gukurahundi, Robert Mugabe crushed ZAPU and forced Joshua Nkomo into an alliance that saw the effective disappearance of that party. And, after three recent fraudulent elections, by violence and intimidation Robert Mugabe continues his disastrous misrule. So if we ask, what has violence ever achieved for Zimbabwe, the answer has to be, nothing. Precisely nothing. On the contrary violence has only prolonged the suffering of the people, replacing one brutal dictatorship with another. Which is why it is now so critical that the MDC should close ranks and once again affirm the principle of non-violence, both as a means of conducting its own business and as a means of challenging and confronting the violent regime of Robert Mugabe. For, make no mistake, the MDC as a party of violence would offer no threat to ZANU PF at all. Indeed it would offer ZANU PF just the pretext it wants to destroy the party once and for all. Only as a party resolved to follow the path of open dialogue, of consensual decision making, of tolerance, and above all of non-violence, does the MDC offer a radical alternative and therefore a real threat to the party of intolerance that is ruled by fear, violence and personal greed. Violence is the real enemy, not those who take a different view to our own about the strategic value of participating in the Senate elections. And we would be pleased to see the MDC leadership, from Morgan Tsvangirai down, acknowledge this and begin to focus on the real enemy. Visit our website at
www.sokwanele.com We have a fundamental right to freedom of expression! Sokwanele does not endorse the editorial policy of any source or website except its own. It retains full copyright on its own articles, which may be reproduced or distributed but may not be materially altered in any way. Reproduced articles must clearly show the source and owner of copyright, together with any other notices originally contained therein, as well as the original date of publication. Sokwanele does not accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising in any way from receipt of this email or use thereof. This document, or any part thereof, may not be distributed for profit. |
canoe Canada
HARARE, Zimbabwe
(AP) - Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka agreed
Friday that concerns
raised by players and administrators in a letter
demanding his resignation
need to be addressed with "urgent and full
replies."
The board of
directors is scheduled to meet Nov. 19 to try and resolve a
showdown between
Chingoka and managing director Osias Bvute, and an angry
alliance of
professional players working jointly with all the provincial
chairmen.
The urgent board meeting was called by Chingoka after
players threatened to
strike because contracts, two months late, have not
been resolved, and the
provinces demanded detailed replies to their lengthy
queries about finances,
including huge losses, which they regard as
dubious.
The crisis was caused, say the seven chairmen, because Chingoka
and Bvute
have ignored repeated requests for straight answers, in particular
to their
13-page dossier of 80 questions on Zimbabwe Cricket
finances.
In a somewhat contrite statement, Chingoka said: "These replies
cannot
unilaterally come from me alone. There is need for the board of
directors to
meet and collectively respond."
Chingoka, who was
accused by the chairmen of being dismissive over their
concerns, received a
letter from their spokesman Charles Robertson on
Thursday demanding his
immediate resignation. The letter was accompanied by
a demand to the
directors to fire him and also to suspend Bvute until a
forensic audit on
the board's financial affairs has been independently
carried out.
He
said it had been difficult to call a directors' meeting recently because
he
could not raise the necessary quorum (eight from 12). In fact the last
meeting of directors was July 9 this year.
In a written reply to the
players, Chingoka said negotiations continue with
management over their
contracts.
"As we have met all the conditions you requested, it is my
hope that
negotiations can be concluded at the earliest, so you can carry on
with your
core business. It is my hope that reasonable heads will prevail,"
he told
the players.
Robertson said he had not yet seen the Chingoka
statement but would respond
as soon as he had.
Mail and Guardian
Godwin Gandu |
Harare
11 November 2005 11:05
Alarm
bells have been raised over the safety of hundreds of
Zimbabwean workers,
trade union leaders, students and civil society
activists detained during a
wave of protests in the country this week.
Zimbabwe Congress
of Trade Unions information officer Mlamuleli
Sibanda said on Thursday that
at least four HIV-positive workers have been
denied access to medication or
medical assistance since their arrest on
Tuesday. He said all the detainees
were denied lunch on Wednesday, have been
forced to remove their shoes and
are being kept in filthy cells.
On Wednesday, the
International Confederation of Trade Unions
said it had received reports
that the congress general secretary Wellington
Chibhebhe "may have been
tortured while in detention". Sibanda denied
knowledge of this but expressed
concern that, 48 hours after their arrest,
the detainees had not been
brought to court.
Chibhebhe and congress president Lovemore
Matombo are among the
118 people arrested in the capital of Harare. More
than 200 unionists and
workers were arrested around the country under the
notorious Public Order
and Safety Act, which states that gatherings of three
or more persons must
seek police permission. They are being held in cells in
Harare and
Chitungwiza, 25km from the capital.
ZimOnline
reports that, on Wednesday afternoon, armed police
also swooped on the
restive University of Zimbabwe campus, beating up
students and arresting six
leaders. The students were planning to march to
the Ministry of Education
offices in central Harare to present a petition to
the minister of
education. It was intended to urge him to improve
fast-deteriorating
learning and living conditions at the run-down campus.
The
congress leaders and workers arrested were also marching to
the Ministries
of Labour and Finance to present petitions warning the
government that
workers were "hungry and angry" after six years of an
uninterrupted economic
recession.
Also being detained by the police is the chair of
the civic
alliance of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Lovemore
Madhuku,
after his group organised demonstrations last Saturday to demand a
new
Constitution for Zimbabwe.
Minister of Home Affairs
Kembo Mohadi warned that "the
government will continue to arrest those who
wilfully break the law."
Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai, in a statement
condemning the arrests, warned of possible civil
conflict.
Tsvangirai, whose Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) party is
divided over how to confront President Robert Mugabe, said
Zimbabwe stood
"on the precipice of a full-scale national
conflict".
"Let me warn the Mugabe regime that targeting
civil society for
regular attacks means declaring a war against the people
-- and the people
shall respond."
Tsvangirai, who has in
recent weeks faced an open revolt by MDC
secretary general Welshman Ncube
and other top lieutenants opposed to his
decision to boycott a Senate
election at the end of the month, said: "Our
structures accept the demands
from the people for an onslaught that will
deliver a result necessary for
the introduction of democracy and good
governance in our land. We are not
going to compromise with a dictator."
He has insisted the MDC
should not take part in the Senate poll
or any other election unless there
were conditions for a free and fair poll.
But Ncube's faction
is adamant they should contest, because
boycotting would surrender political
space to Zanu-PF. They also argue that
the MDC national council voted for
participation.
Canadian Press
Friday, November 11,
2005
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Inflation in the crumbling Zimbabwe
economy surged
to 411 per cent in October, one of the highest rates in the
world, the
government's Central Statistical Office said Friday.
The
office said a fall in the value of Zimbabwe's currency was the main
reason
for the increase from 359.8 per cent in September. The Central Bank
devalued
the Zimbabwe dollar last month from 26,000 to 60,000 to the U.S.
dollar.
Acute shortages of hard currency have spurred black market deals
that fetch
100,000 Zimbabwe dollars for the U.S. dollar.
The official inflation
figure is calculated on a basket of foodstuffs and
essential
goods.
The statistical office said goods and services normally purchased
by an
average household have increased five-fold in price since October last
year.
The highest price increase last month was on air fares on the
national
airline, Air Zimbabwe, which rose by more than 1,600 per cent, the
statistical office said.
The cost of a round trip to London soared to
140 million Zimbabwe dollars
($2,300 US) and return flights to the second
city of Bulawayo, 450
kilometres southwest of Harare, rose to 20 million
Zimbabwe dollars ($330
US).
Independent analysts blame the meltdown
in the agriculture-based economy on
the chaotic and often violent seizures
of more than 5,000 white-owned
commercial farms since 2000.
The
United Nations estimates that at least four million of the country's
12.5
million people are suffering severe food shortages. Gasoline shortages
have
crippled industry and transport services.
The state railroad company said
Thursday just 13 of its 175 locomotives were
fully operational because of
financial difficulties and shortages of fuel,
spare parts and
equipment.
The government insists drought and sanctions imposed by
Western countries
have led to the worst economic crisis since independence
in 1980.
The U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, received a
formal protest
from the Foreign Ministry Wednesday for comments he made
about the country's
economic plight.
Dell had said government
mismanagement and corruption were most to blame for
the situation and not -
as President Robert Mugabe contends - drought and
the limited travel and
visa sanctions on ruling party leaders.
© The Canadian Press 2005
Financial Times
By Jonathan
Haward
Published: November 11 2005 11:28 | Last updated: November 11 2005
11:28
As a professional "homefinder" it is perhaps inevitable that, at
some stage
of any dinner party, I'll be asked about the current state of the
UK housing
market. At the end of a long week and in a time of unwinding,
it's often
challenging to suppress a yawn before responding. However, the
other day,
the question came to me in a different form: Across the whole
world, where
did I think was going to be the next holiday-home
hotspot?
I think my answer shocked my new friend: "Zimbabwe", I said.
Silence fell
around the table and for a brief moment one of my late
mother-in-law's
memorable sayings came to mind: "It's better to be thought a
fool rather
than open your mouth and remove any possible
doubt!"
Mutterings of "next he will be suggesting Iraq" (where, I would
argue,
opportunities in commercial property could indeed be significant), I
attempted an explanation.
First, as with all countries in southern
Africa, Zimbabwe's time is at worst
two hours different from the UK and
western Europe; jetlag doesn't come into
the equation and, since many
flights to Africa are overnight, neither does
sleep
deprivation.
Second, because the country is on the other side of the
equator, there is no
seasonal conflict with the northern hemisphere; as the
nights draw in here,
the days get warmer over there.
So far, so good.
One couple at the table quietly conceded that a family trip
to a friend's
house in Florida resulted in everyone - especially the
children - being
tired and irritable the entire time due to the time change.
And hurricane
threats further undermined the relaxing holiday atmosphere.
As the idea
of southern Africa became more attractive to the assembled
company, the
questioned remained "But why, Zimbabwe?"
The answer is simple: there is
not a single person I know who, having been
to Zimbabwe, hasn't fallen in
love with the magnificence and the beauty of
the countryside. Yes, the
country has been tragically torn apart by civil
war, the government of
Robert Mugabe has been accused of corruption,
repression and illegal land
seizures and few people go there for holidays.
But those who do, travelling
perhaps to Lake Kariba or Victoria Falls, are
met with carefree, welcoming
and loving people who genuinely cherish the few
visitors who come to their
country - and not just because the dollars that
are spent will help sustain
local families for months.
Many visitors leave with an overriding desire
to do more. And one of the
ways to help improve a community is to buy
property there and provide jobs.
For holidays, you get an idyllic
environment. For investment purposes, there
is the possibility of
significant financial gains, (preferably not at the
overt expense of the
local market), although it should be noted that stamp
duties and other
taxation will benefit the Mugabe regime.
Who, 10 years ago, would have
dreamt of buying in Croatia or Mozambique,
where the property market has
witnessed exponential growth?
One hopes, that for the war-weary victims
of the Mugabe regime, democracy
will prevail and normality will return.
There is, I detect, a growing
feeling that this will not be long in
happening. Indeed, a call to Andrew
Golding, chief executive of the Pam
Golding property group, confirmed that
their office in Harare is frantically
busy. "The smart money has already
arrived," Golding told me. "Investors are
expecting a regime change and with
it, a radical increase in property
values."
Examples of the sorts of homes that early investors are buying
can be found
at a gated golf club development known as Borrowdale Brook on
the outskirts
of Harare. There is no restriction on who can purchase
residential property
in Zimbabwe, but with inflation running at about 360
per cent, capital gains
taxes are fun to calculate and care needs to be
taken when looking into
withholding taxes and other charges.
These
issues are nothing other than one would expect in such a nation of
disarray.
But, as soon as the political situation stabilises, regulations
will be
quickly changed and that will be the time to buy I told my dinner
table
friends, for it is when the potential dividend will be at its
greatest.
Here, I was able to cite Mozambique where, in the past five
years, the
property has more than doubled in value. The tenure is mainly
leasehold
(maximum 99 years), but the government is keen to encourage
external
investment and is looking to improve the tenure for purchases.
Golding
reckons that Mozambique is one of southern Africa's great secrets.
At the
recently launched Paradise View development, situated close to XaiXai
on the
edge of a most magnificent beach, the take-up was mainly from South
African
buyers anticipating the same sort of returns they've achieved in
their own
market. Prices start at R400,000 (£35,000).
While my
friends were not exactly rushing home to check the internet for
African
property deals I do think their interest was tickled. Perhaps we
will never
see the day when our neighbours casually inform us they are "just
popping
down to Zimbabwe for the weekend". But for the week, maybe? And to
then
enjoy watching the value of one's investment rising above any of the
inherent travel costs involved? Well, why on earth not?
Jonathan
Haward is managing director of County Homesearch International,
tel: +44
(0)1872-223349, www.wefindhouses.com
Pam Golding,
tel: +27 21 7614921, www.pamgolding.co.za
Mail and Guardian
ZimOnline
11 November 2005
11:05
This week, the Zimbabwe government said that it would
not
reverse plans to seize the giant Mkwasine sugar estates that are owned
by
South Africa's Anglo-American Corporation.
Speaking
ahead of Friday's visit to Zimbabwe by Anglo officials
who are trying to
persuade the government to return Mkwasine, Willard
Chiwewe, the governor of
Masvingo province, in which the estate is located,
said the firm should not
expect any favours from Harare. "We will leave them
with Triangle and Hippo
Valley only," he said. These are Zimbabwe's largest
sugar estates, which,
like Mkwasine, are located in the country's
south-eastern
lowveld.
Last September, the 11 500ha Mkwasine sugar estate
was issued
with a Section 8 order, which, under the land acquisition laws,
gives the
company 90 days to wind up operations and vacate the
property.
Although the government said it was not going to
seize timber,
tea and sugar estates, several are now targeted for
acquisition. The
seizures are also in violation of bilateral trade and
investment protection
agreements with several countries, including South
Africa.
President Robert Mugabe's farm seizure programme has
knocked
food production down by 60%.
By Tererai Karimakwenda
11 November 2005
Hundreds of
people have been hit by an outbreak of dysentery in Harare
and Chitungwiza.
According to Friday's state run paper The Herald, more than
200 cases had
been reported in Mbare and at three residential blocks in
Chitungwiza in the
last few weeks. The use of polluted open water is
believed to be the most
likely source of the outbreak. Municipal officials
have blamed the recent
outbreaks on the Zimbabwe National Water Authority
(Zinwa).
The
patients in Chitungwiza are reported to be on a strict quarantine
to prevent
any further spreading of the disease. The sewerage system in the
town is
reported to have streams of human waste flowing in it, and residents
should
not drink water without taking precautions.
We asked Dr. Greg
Powell for a brief description of dysentery symptoms
and advice on methods
of prevention. Dr. Powell said the disease is a
bacterial diarrhoea
characterized by blood and mucus in the stool. Sometimes
there are signs of
a fever, vomiting and abdominal cramps. The doctor urged
people to boil
their water before drinking or to filter it when possible.
You should also
wash your hands after using the toilet.
Dysentery is not as severe
as cholera and antibiotics can generally
take care of it.
Obadiah
Moyo, the Chitungwiza general hospital chief executive officer
and renal
specialist, told The Herald that so far they had dealt with 43
cases from
Chitungwiza alone in the last two months, and Mbare reported at
least 80
cases a week in October. The report says that Stanley Mungofa, the
acting
director of city health services, had notified Dr. David
Parirenyatwa, the
health and child welfare minister.
Mungofa is reported to have appealed
for government intervention after
he told the minister that numerous tests
of water samples taken from various
points had indicated that the water was
not adequately treated.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
Comment from cricinfo, 10 November
Martin Williamson
At the start of this week it
appeared that Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute,
the two driving forces running
Zimbabwe cricket, had weathered the latest
and potentially most damaging
storm and were on their way to quelling
another internal revolt. The
weekend's press had been scathing about the
provinces who dared to challenge
the board, accusing those who backed the
revolt as being politically and
racially motivated. But less than four days
later, the whole deck of cards
is close to collapse. It appeared that many
inside Zimbabwe cricket had had
enough, and despite repeated attacks on key
protagonists by the
state-controlled media, the rebellion just wouldn't die
down. Taking on
players or the provinces was sustainable. Taking on both -
and the players'
open dismay with the board has never been so obvious - was
too much to ask.
The Zimbabwe Cricket board has used all the tricks in its
book. In
September, the players issued an open statement denouncing its
tactics as
those of a "bully" - ZC responded by barring all journalists from
its AGM
the next day, a meeting which was rushed and undemocratic according
to those
who did manage to get inside.
In October, more dire on-field setbacks
brought the situation to a head.
Sides were sent to South Africa and India
to play in domestic competitions -
both were trounced, and by the end
opponents had taken to fielding
second-string teams and were still winning.
At home, Kenya beat a side
nominally labeled as Zimbabwe A, but
full-strength in all but name, in three
games out of three. The provincial
chairmen had had enough. On October 21
they met and demanded change. The ZC
board acted swiftly, denouncing the
meeting as being unrepresentative, and
dispatching their own supporters to
the provinces to try to overthrow the
troublesome chairmen. Inevitably, the
race card was played with gusto, but
whereas the players' revolt in 2004 had
been dismissed as being by white
cricketers, this time there was no such
divide to mask the issues. Those
lined up against ZC were from across the
racial spectrum. That didn't stop
the board throwing mud in every direction,
but this time little of it stuck.
Then came the news that the board was
about to create five new provinces. It
claimed it was a democratic move, but
most saw it for what it was - a
desperate attempt to gain the board enough
votes from hand-picked appointees
to survive. The announcement that Temba
Mliswa, one of Zimbabwe's most
controversial characters and a pro-Mugabe
activist, was the first such
appointment just confirmed what everyone
suspected.
But it's the
ZC finances that are at the heart of the dispute. Critics claim
that little
money has found its way through to the provinces, and accuse the
board of
paying their own officials massively-inflated salaries as well as
other
perks. The chairmen's letter detailed numerous areas of concern. Those
few
journalists brave enough to continue to delve in a country where freedom
of
speech is almost non-existent, talk of being intimidated and threatened.
One
reporter who made an enquiry to the board found himself called back by a
senior official from the Ministry of Information who warned him to back off.
In the last week, rumours started spreading that the local police were
sitting up and taking notice and that the chairmen's damning dossier had
attracted attention in high places. And in Zimbabwe, you can get away with
just about anything as long as you don't upset people near the top of the
food chain. That Chingoka, Bvute and other senior ZC officials were picked
up by the country's anti-corruption police for questioning is a sign that
the authorities are becoming interested. If ZC loses the patronage of the
government, the chances of its senior officials surviving are slim. Even the
ICC, which has repeatedly refused to get involved, is reported to have
dispatched its own sleuths to look into the board's dealings. A senior
administrator from outside Zimbabwe told me earlier this week that the
feeling was that Chingoka had lost control and support, and the aim now "was
to enable him to make a dignified exit." The events of the last few days
might have robbed him of even that opportunity.