• Zimbabwe union leaders freed, strike called off
• Zimbabwe Govt Predicts Inflation To Peak At 700% In 1Q 04
• Zimbabwe unveils 2004 budget
• Zimbabwe suspension all 'lies'
• Collective conspiracy of silence cause for shame
• Tobacco Farmers Seek Review of Exchange Rate
• Zimbabwe signs African Union treaties
• Little Response to Zimbabwe Strike Call
• Utete Land Report: the Details
• Media Alert: Photojournalist Assaulted, Equipment Destroyed

      Zimbabwe Govt Predicts Inflation To Peak At 700% In 1Q 04

      HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)--Zimbabwe's finance minister forecast deepening
hardships and inflation of 700% in a country already facing its worst
economic crisis as he announced the annual budget Thursday.

      Painting a bleak picture, Herbert Murerwa said government services
like health and education declined sharply this year; industry was running
at below 50% capacity, and most of the country's infrastructure was
crumbling.

      Inflation, officially running at 526%, is expected to climb to 700% in
the first quarter of next year, before starting to dissipate, Murerwa said
in an address to Parliament.

      The budget deficit, forecast at 7.5%, reached 11% in 2003, fueled by
runaway inflation, he said.

      In what he called a budget of "stabilization measures," Murerwa said
the government aims to reign in a record 13.2% decline in the nation's gross
domestic product this year and bring the deficit back on target for 7.5%.

      This would be achieved through a range of fiscal measures to increase
revenue and curb overspending by the government, he said.

      "The challenges are surmountable," Murerwa said, adding: "It
is...imperative we avoid aborting painful measures" toward recovery."

      Previous economic reform packages have frequently been abandoned in
midstream.

      Zimbabwe is in the throes of political and economic crisis,
exacerbated by the government's often-violent program to seize thousands of
white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to blacks.

      The southern African nation faces acute shortages of food, hard
currency, gasoline and other essential imports. Unemployment in the formal
economy is estimated at 70%.

      The World Food Program estimates at least 5.5 million Zimbabweans,
nearly half the population, will need emergency food aid in coming months.

      Murerwa said the central bank will next month announce new currency
exchange and interest rate policies to help fight inflation.

      The official exchange rate is currently 824 Zimbabwe dollars to the
U.S dollar, but the U.S. currency fetches up to 6,000 Zimbabwe dollars on
the thriving black market.

      Murerwa also said the government will pay "renewed attention to the
generation of foreign exchange and the elimination of parallel market
activities." He didn't elaborate.

      From Jan. 1, income tax will be eased for lower-paid earners, and new
15% value-added tax on goods and services will be introduced.

      Private gasoline importers will be subject to a new levy to the
state-run National Oil Company to ease its debts and enable it to boost fuel
imports, Murerwa said.

  Dow Jones Newswires
  11-20-031304ET

Zimbabwe's foreign minister on Wednesday insisted that the southern African
country is entitled to attend next month's Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM).

The minister, Stan Mudenge, maintained that Zimbabwe was back as a full
member of the 54-nation organisation, saying its 12-month suspension from
the Commonwealth council had lapsed on March 19 despite an announcement by
Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon on March 16 that it had been
extended for a further nine months.

Mudenge told parliament that the troika -- Australia, Nigeria and South
Africa -- which slapped the country with the year-long suspension had not
renewed it.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth councils after presidential
elections in March last year were declared neither free nor fair by many
international monitors.

"Zimbabwe is now back as a full member and is therefore entitled to attend
the (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) CHOGM in Abuja in December
2003," Mudenge declared.

He said Zimbabwe's suspension need not be reviewed because it was for a
specified period and when that expired, the country automatically became a
full member again.

"The suspension was finite. To continue with it required a fresh decision.
Such a fresh decision was never made," he said in a special statement to
lawmakers, just two days after Nigeria's president and this year's host of
the CHOGM, Olusegun Obasanjo, visited Zimbabwe for talks with President
Robert Mugabe on the issue.

Mudenge said McKinnon's statement on March 16 was "based on falsehood and
therefore without effect" because South Africa and Nigeria had rebutted his
claims.

"Put blatantly the secretary general lied," said Mudenge, accusing
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and McKinnon of "breathtaking
arrogance" and of being "consumed by racist emotionalism".

"There are many who regard Mr Howard as a notorious international outlaw who
was recently involved in the illegal invasion of Iraq, murdered innocent
women and children and effected unauthorised regime change.

"In fact they believe that he should be told clearly and firmly that 'regime
change' is not a Commonwealth policy or principle and that he must stand
trial at the Rome International Criminal Court for his crimes," said
Mudenge.

Obasanjo, after talks with Mugabe on Monday, said he was still "consulting"
on whether to issue an invitation to Mugabe.

Howard, McKinnon and Britain do not want to see Mugabe at the summit while
most black Commonwealth countries support Zimbabwe.

It is feared that continued disagreement over Zimbabwe could widen the rift
between African Commonwealth members, led by Nigeria and South Africa, and
the so-called "white Commonwealth". - Sapa-AFP

      "AFRICA is for Africans" is the cry by Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi.
"Quiet diplomacy" is the call by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

      A deathly silence is the response by the rest of Africa to Zimbabwe's
continuing and escalating collapse. There is no doubt that there is a
collective conspiracy of silence on the African continent when it comes to
Zimbabwe and it beggars belief.

      Three years into the 21st century we are still a continent suffocated
by racism, swamped in double standards and led by men who are determined to
see, hear and speak no evil when it comes to their fellow black African
leaders.

      The picture was very different when it was white men oppressing black
people. Then the word racism was used in every speech and on every podium
across the continent.

      Now, as Zimbabwe's government oppresses black and white people, there
is a deathly hush from Africa's Big Men and their silence is cause for
continental shame and global ridicule.

      Surely the time has come for African leaders to come out of their
mansions, step out of their motorcades, leave their lavish official banquets
and see the immense suffering of the very people that voted them into power
in the first place.

      African leaders have totally lost touch with their people. This has
never been more accurately demonstrated than it was last month by South
African President Thabo Mbeki. In a country where Aids has reached crisis
proportions, Mbeki said that none of his friends had died of Aids and went
further to say that in fact he did not know a single person who had died of
Aids in his country.

      This is a leader totally out of touch with his people and tragically
it is this very man that Zimbabwe continues to look to for assistance in
ending a crisis which has destroyed the very fibre of life here.

      Three months ago the Zimbabwe government gazetted new minimum wages
for domestic workers.

      For a man or woman who lives on the property and is supplied with
lights and water, the stipulated monthly wage is Z$12 000.

      One loaf of bread here this week is Z$2 000. So in exchange for a
month's labour, a domestic worker earns enough money to buy just six loaves
of bread.

      Zimbabwe's domestic workers are the lucky ones because they have a job
and a roof over their heads.

      Unemployment here is now more of an epidemic than Aids is in South
Africa and Botswana and yet still Africa's leaders do and say nothing about
Zimbabwe's governance. What are they afraid of?

      What are they waiting for? So where have all the good men of Africa
gone? The men who fought so bravely and selflessly against colonial rule and
for liberation.

      Now they have their freedom they have forgotten what oppression is
like. Zimbabweans feel so utterly betrayed by their black brothers across
the continent and particularly over the border that it just makes us weep.

      People like Nelson Mandela who is the idol of millions across Africa
and indeed around the world - where is he now and why is he so silent about
the horrors in Zimbabwe?

      I cannot believe that a man of such principle has allowed political
diplomacy to stand in his way.

      Mandela is not the only one; there were hundreds more in South Africa
who relied on the ordinary people in Zimbabwe to help them in their time of
need. And we did, black and white, we boycotted South African goods, signed
petitions and stood on the streets to protest oppression across our border.

      Africa is bedeviled by double standards. When international observers
said elections here were rigged and that people were terrified and
intimidated into voting Zanu PF back into power, African leaders disagreed.

      They gave Robert Mugabe their blessing and allowed the ruination of
Zimbabwe to continue. They said: "we have different standards here in
Africa."

      It is ludicrous, insulting and racist to infer that if a man is
beaten, harassed and denied access to food before an election it is not
wrong by African standards.

      In three weeks time, Commonwealth heads meet in Nigeria for Chogm. The
debate has been raging for months as to whether President Mugabe will be
allowed to attend due to Zimbabwe's suspension from the Councils of the
Commonwealth.

      It is at this meeting that Africa's leaders have the chance to redeem
themselves and make a clear and unequivocal statement about Zimbabwe.

      A statement, which would say that there is an urgent need for
fundamental change in Zimbabwe because freedom of speech, movement and
association no longer exist.

      A statement, which makes it clear that, it is not governance when
inflation runs at 525 percent and unemployment at 80 percent.

      The chance for Africa's leaders to speak out is right now.

      By The Litany Bird

The Herald (Harare)

November 20, 2003
Posted to the web November 20, 2003

Harare

TOBACCO farmers are lobbying Government for a review of the exchange rate
for tobacco and a back-pay for those farmers who delivered their crop during
the 2003 selling season.

The president of the Zimbabwe Association of Tobacco Growers, Mr Julius
Ngorima, said his organisation had decided to take this route to ensure
viability in tobacco production.

A review of the exchange rate, after the conclusion of the selling season,
would set a precedent in the history of the country's tobacco industry.

During the just-ended selling season, farmers were being paid $824 for every
United States dollar.

Cotton growers usually receive a back-pay at the end of the season to make
up for depressed prices that would have been offered during the selling
season.

"We are fighting for a review of the exchange rate, and in August this year,
we met the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Herbert Murerwa,
and he promised us that he would take the matter to Cabinet. We are still
waiting for the response," said Mr Ngorima.

The issue of the review of the exchange rate affected this year's selling
season as, on two occasions, growers temporarily suspended trading at the
auction floors.

Farmers decided to hold on to their crop midway through the season in
protest against the stagnant exchange rate, and this trend continued until
the end of the main selling season.

This has also seen the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board announcing two
mop up sales dates within the same selling season as it was suspected that
some growers were still holding on to their crop, intending to deliver it
next season.

"Tobacco organisations have met the relevant authorities and we are keen to
continue talking to them on the issue," added Mr Ngorima.

It, however, remains unclear how they would be back paid, as there are no
instruments under the current legislation allowing for such provisions.

Tobacco, unlike other crops, is paid for in foreign currency and the growers
get a special rate, which is set by the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development.

This would mean that the crop is not subjected to price fluctuation in US
dollar terms but farmers would be hard hit under a hyper-inflationary
environment, as is the case presently.

Efforts to get comment from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
proved fruitless.

Zimbabwe has signed five African Union treaties, including pacts on human
and women's rights, corruption and the environment, the AU said on Thursday.

The Southern African country's permanent representative to the AU, Andrew
Mtetwa, also signed protocols on Tuesday on the 53-member body's proposed
court of justice and an amendment of its constitutive act, the AU said in a
statement.

Mtetwa pledged his country's "appreciation to the AU for continued support,
particularly with regard to the assistance rendered by the former
Organisation of African Unity [OAU] during the country's [1970s] liberation
struggle," the statement noted.

The Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa has been the headquarters of the AU since
its formation in July 2002 to succeed the OAU, which was also headquartered
there from its formation nearly four decades ago.

The new body, loosely modelled on the EU, is to have a Pan-African
parliament from mid-December and eventually a peace and security council, a
common court of justice and a common African currency. -- Sapa-AFP

Reports from Zimbabwe are indicating little early support for a two-day
nationwide strike called by union leaders to protest the arrests of dozens
of labor activists during anti-government demonstrations.
The country's leading labor union federation - the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions - had called for the strike to begin Thursday. The union
leaders said the strike was also designed to reinforce a call for lower
taxes and an end to what the group calls government violations of civil and
trade union rights.

But reports from the capital, Harare and other cities say businesses, cafes
and shops appeared to be open as usual and traffic was moving normally.

During anti-government protests Tuesday, riot police arrested at least 300
people in the capital, Harare, and two other cities - Bulawayo and Mutare.

All but 65 of them have been released on bail or were freed after paying
fines. But the union leaders remain in custody; among them union president
Lovemore Matombo and secretary-general Wellington Chibebe. The Congress of
Trade Unions says several people were beaten by police and that at least
three people were seriously injured. Police have not responded to the
allegations.

The government had warned against the demonstrations. It is against the law
in Zimbabwe to hold a protest without government permission. Zimbabwe is
experiencing a severe economic crisis - with an annual inflation rate of
around 526 percent, chronic unemployment and shortages of cash, fuel and
food.

The Herald (Harare)

November 20, 2003
Posted to the web November 20, 2003

Harare

3. In cases of widowhood, the surviving spouses should have first option to
take over the lease provided they can work the land productively. The lease
should also take account of the situation of multiple wives where
applicable.

4. Upon the dissolution of a marital union, the spouse who leaves the farm
should be fairly compensated. This measure will encourage commitment to the
land.

5. Public infrastructure investment and development in new farming areas
should be rationalised so that women, men and children can live together,
share work loads and concentrate investment in one household.

6. The development of farm technology that can be used by elderly women, men
and children should be prioritised in view of the high mortality of young
and middle aged men and women in rural households.

7. Farmer training should be community-based in order to endow new farmers,
particularly women with children, with farming skills without prejudicing
farm operations at their inception. This helps to mitigate farmer
absenteeism from the land.

8. The certification of farm worker skills is critical to allow new farmers
access to a skills data base.

9. Tillage services should be provided especially to the child and women
farmers and the elderly, to facilitate productive land use in A1 areas.

10. There is need for the re-orientation of existing and new extension
workers to make them appreciative of and sensitive to gender, age and other
needs of the new farmers.

11. Zimbabwe should implement the ILO convention that forbids child labour.

Medium and Long Term

1. Marital legislation such as the Marriage Act 5:07 and 5:11 should be
reviewed with respect to the needs of women in rural Zimbabwe. Where there
are multiple wives, legislation should stipulate formulae for appropriate
compensation in the event of a marital dissolution while safeguarding
productivity and continued operation of the farm.

2. The custodians of customary law must develop formulae to enable women to
access land through inheritance and other means. A quota of 40% is a
starting point to ensure that women's participation in agriculture is
sustained.

3. New courses on small ruminants and registration of livestock in
individual household members' names are necessary to safeguard the property
rights of men, women and children in specific households.

4. Extension courses should be developed to suit the needs of different
management regimes on farms e.g. male dominated, female managed or employee
managed. It is essential to devise training that recognises the lead person
in any farm enterprise and equips them to meet the challenges of farming in
newly settled areas.

5. Rural centres need to be developed to provide housing, water, electricity
and other services in order to stabilise rural labour in general. Labour
itinerancy prevents its efficient utilisation by new and old farmers. This
would benefit women and children who are usually in contract or seasonal
workers on the farms.

6. Existing family and marriage legislation such as Marriages Acts 5:11
5:07, the Deceased Estates Act, needs to be reviewed in view of the influx
of large numbers of black farmers into commercial farming. This legislation
should examine the issues of succession and inheritance where farm lessees
die testate or intestate, having many children, multiple wives and
dependents.

7. Monitoring of land use has to be efficient and effective so that
under-utilised land is put back into circulation. Thus the proposed National
Land Board should be fully representative incorporating the interests of all
stakeholders, particularly women.

8. New farm practices that accommodate traditional gender requirements
should be harnessed to encourage women and men's participation in
agriculture. Specialised crop and animal husbandry training focusing on men
and women's preferences in all farming systems, should be mounted both on
and off farms to stimulate productivity.

9. Irrigation schemes should be designed and run in such a way that at least
40% of women hold land benefiting from such a facility, especially where
they have responsibility for children and other older or indigent people.

10. The issue of child-headed households arises in communal areas. It is
likely to become an issue on A1 and A2 farms. Current family legislation
provides that minors are placed under the guardianship of related adults.
Given that the capacity of minors to farm productively in A1 and A2 farms in
limited, farmers should be encouraged to write wills and organise their
operations in ways that protect their progeny and dependents. In this regard
the interest of children should be safeguarded.

11. A special programme should be organised in tertiary institutions to
encourage young women studying agriculture, wild life and other related
subjects, to choose farming as their preferred occupation. Supportive
financing, marketing and other infrastructure must accompany this programme
to make it attractive to young women.

iv) Farm Sizes and Review of Resettlement Models

1. Variability in sizes of plots demarcated for resettlement is a common
feature within and across the A1 and A2 models countrywide. This phenomenon
renders categories of A1 and A2 meaningless in as far as plot sizes are
concerned.

2. These variations also manifest within the same Province and in most cases
where topographical or viability considerations are not an issue. Also
notable was the phenomenon of demarcations undertaken without due cognizance
of the topography of the land in question, i.e. a hill of a vlei
constituting the bulk of the plot, or a demarcation which splits
complimentary structures between different plots thereby rendering both
plots nonviable. It is imperative that farm sizes take account of viability
considerations both in terms of land use and the existing infrastructure.
Some reorganisation of plot demarcations has to be undertaken as soon as
possible and even more so, before the leases for the affected plots are
drawn up.

3. In Matabeleland North and South Provinces, land ownership patterns as
well as the modalities for land use need to be reviewed as soon as possible.
This imperative is particularly reinforced in Matabeleland South Province
where ranching is the mainstay of agricultural activity. Settler emplacement
was undertaken on the basis of the A1 self-contained variant and yet the
only viable A1 variant is the old three-tier system.

Apart from viability considerations, the model presents real problems for
the beneficiaries on accessibility of social amenities given the vast
distances from their homes to where such facilities can be found. Similarly,
this creates real challenges for Government in terms of the planning and
provision of the necessary facilities and institutions. There is therefore a
compelling need to redesign this model expeditiously.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek)

PRESS RELEASE
November 20, 2003
Posted to the web November 20, 2003

On November 18 2003, Shadreck Pongo, a photojournalist with the Standard
newspaper, was severely assaulted and injured by the police in Harare while
covering a nationwide demonstration organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU).

Riot police apprehended him while he was shooting photographs of
demonstrators and pulled him into a police truck where they severely
assaulted him with police batons.

The police seized the camera and destroyed it before dumping Pongo on the
periphery of the city centre. Pongo was rushed to the Avenues Hospital in
Harare hospital where he is receiving medical attention.

Contacted for comment on the incident, police Spokesperson Assistant Police
Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said that the it is difficult for the police
to distinguish between journalists and demonstrators adding that media
workers tend to make themselves part of the demonstrations.

When told that some of the journalists and media workers display their
accreditation cards but still get beaten and/or arrested, he said that the
media workers must distinctly separate themselves from demonstrators. He
said that the police would want to know clearly that journalists are merely
observing.

Meanwhile, Andrew Moyse, the director of Media Monitoring Project of
Zimbabwe (MMPZ), and seven other civic leaders were also arrested during in
the demonstration. They were detained at the Harare Central Police Station
and are expected to appear in court today, November 20.

MISA-Zimbabwe notes with concern that despite the accreditation by a
government appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC) journalists and
photographers are still being beaten and denied access to areas where they
need to cover events. The police have so far refused to identify the
accreditation cards and have mostly targeted journalists from the private
media.

BACKGROUND

The ZCTU action was organized to pressure the Zimbabwean government to
reduce taxation ahead of the announcement of the national budget. According
to the ZCTU the protest was also against the government's abuse of human and
trade union rights.