New Zimbabwe
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The
following is the full text of an address to the British parliament by
Vauxhall MP Kate Hoey during a debate on foreign affairs on Wednesday,
November
22:
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By
Kate Hoey
Last updated: 11/23/2006 10:12:43
IT IS always interesting to
follow one of my many constituents, who can be
found on both sides of the
House.
I shall not talk about Iraq, other than to say that I share many of
the
views that have been expressed on both sides. We do need an early
withdrawal. It will not be acceptable to my constituents, most of whom were
opposed to the war, for our soldiers to continue to be killed. We need a way
out, soon.
I wish to address a crisis in which the UK's historical
position means that
we could play a special role. Indeed, we have a right to
play a special role
in Zimbabwe. I apologise for not being in my place
earlier in the debate,
but I was chairing the all-party group on Zimbabwe,
at which we had the
immense privilege of listening to Archbishop Pius Ncube,
the very brave
Roman Catholic archbishop from Bulawayo, who has repeatedly
stood out
against Mugabe and the political oppression in his
country.
Until now, the Government have preferred to play a behind the
scenes role in
dealing with the crisis in Zimbabwe, and Ministers have been
anxious-perhaps
understandably-to avoid playing to Mugabe's propaganda
scripts, which
portray the Zimbabwe crisis as a bilateral post-colonial
dispute. That has
to change, and soon.
The socio-economic position in
Zimbabwe has never before been so bad. The
country's inflationary rate is
almost 2,000 per cent., the highest in the
world. The economy has declined
at a rate unprecedented in a nation that is
supposedly at peace. It is the
fastest declining economy in the world. The
GDP has shrunk by more than 40
per cent. in the past six years. Such an
economic collapse has never
happened before in a nation that is not at war.
Zimbabwe has one of the
highest HIV infection rates on earth, with more than
24 per cent. of the
population infected, while pathetically small amounts
are spent on
antiretroviral drugs by a Government who have been more
concerned to import
military aircraft from China than to protect the lives
of their
people.
By the end of this year, there will not be enough grain to feed
the nation,
although Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of southern
Africa. There is
no sign of economic recovery, with the Zimbabwean
Government threatening to
seize 51 per cent. ownership of all mines in the
country. The lack of
security of any kind of ownership is hardly likely to
encourage the foreign
investment needed to reindustrialise
Zimbabwe.
Just a few weeks ago I visited for the third time and I saw for
myself the
hunger, illness and desperation stalking the country. The
cemeteries are
filling up, but no blood is being spilled. People are just
fading away,
dying quietly and being buried quietly with no fanfare and no
international
media attention. Each week an estimated 3,500 Zimbabweans die
from a unique
convergence of malnutrition, poverty and AIDS. The figures
suggest that, far
from the media spotlight-no BBC cameras allowed in-more
people die in
Zimbabwe each week than in either, in the past, Darfur or
Iraq. Those deaths
are largely preventable, but without significant
intervention the situation
threatens to develop into a humanitarian crisis
of biblical proportions.
The Zimbabwean Government continue deliberately
to underplay the extent of
the malnutrition crisis for political reasons,
using food as a political
weapon, most recently in the rural elections. The
World Health Organisation's
figures, released earlier this year, put life
expectancy in Zimbabwe as the
lowest in the world-34 for women and 37 for
men. Despite attracting little
media attention, those figures, which relate
to 2004, show the gravity of
the situation.
Recently, there has been
a crackdown on the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions and I met many of the
trade unionists who have been beaten up. Those
brave trade unionists are
fighting hard to get their voices heard and for
the rights and basic
democracy that we take for granted.
One of the things that this country
can do is try to change international
perception of what is happening in
Zimbabwe. Mugabe is not stupid. He is a
clever operator and he has
manipulated world opinion, especially in the
African region. He has also
played on our memories of past struggles to
paralyse progressive opinion
that should be expressing outrage at what he is
doing. It should be as
unacceptable to defend Robert Mugabe today as it was
in the past to defend
Pinochet of Chile or Idi Amin of Uganda.
Our Government cannot expect
sustainable development in Africa until we find
ways of preventing the
plunder of its economies and the destruction of its
natural and human
resources by rogue leaders. Persuading regional leaders
that they must
engage in finding a way to end the crisis in Zimbabwe is
basic to the future
well-being of the entire Government there.
The Government have a real
opportunity to support the recent moves towards a
resolution of the
situation in Zimbabwe by promoting the initiative from
within the Southern
African Development Community region. The recent
decision of the new
chairman of SADC, the Prime Minister of Lesotho, to
dispatch a ministerial
action group to Harare has evoked furious reactions
from the ruling Zanu PF
in Zimbabwe.
Lesotho's decision to put Zimbabwe high on the SADC agenda
shows an
acceptance, at last, that the crisis there is undermining the
economies of
the region and peace there. I understand that that indictment
of Mugabe's
regime at last has the blessing of the Governments of South
Africa and
Botswana. SADC countries are beginning to face up to the
political realities
of the crisis in Zimbabwe and accept regional
responsibility for dealing
with a member state that has long been in breach
of its fundamental
obligations as a member of that community.
I
welcome the recent statements of the Under-Secretary of State for the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lord Triesman, and my right hon. Friend the
Minister for Trade, both of whom are now prepared to speak out more clearly
and unequivocally on Zimbabwe. I wish that Ministers in other EU countries
would stop trying to undermine the targeted sanctions in their own national
self-interests and without regard to the plight of the people of Zimbabwe. I
hope that the British Government will do what they can to stop France from
inviting Mugabe to the African conference in the new year. We must ensure
that we support the efforts of those who carry on the struggle inside
Zimbabwe-civil society, the churches and the opposition. They need money and
resources, and we have to find ways of ensuring that they get
them.
Mugabe's final term is due to end in March 2008, but there are
already moves
afoot to extend it to 2010. He is terrified of ending up in a
cell in The
Hague like Charles Taylor of Liberia. If the opposition in
Zimbabwe are
prepared to say that one man cannot be allowed to stand in the
way of ending
the suffering of an entire nation, we could accept that.
Offering a way out
for Mugabe and, perhaps, other figures in the ruling
party could form part
of negotiations on a transitional process. That
process has to pave the way
for a new constitution and genuinely free
elections so that the people of
Zimbabwe can start to rebuild their country
and its institutions under a
democratic Government.
Many hon. Members
might think that compared with other emergencies around
the world, the
situation in Zimbabwe is a relatively unimportant problem. In
fact it is
relatively straightforward, but it requires leadership and
political will.
The people of Zimbabwe would welcome any serious initiative
with enthusiasm.
That would not require military involvement from our
already overstretched
armed forces. With the help of allies in Africa, a
solution is
possible.
Conditions in Zimbabwe have not got any better; they are
getting worse. The
brutality of the regime has not declined. It is prepared
to disregard all
civilised standards when it comes to suppressing
expressions of dissent from
trade unions, churches or civilians. However,
during my visit there I saw
that there is a unity of purpose. A cohesive
opposition alliance has emerged
between trade unions, civil society and the
opposition, who are planning
together for the future. That gives me grounds
for optimism.
There is no point in devoting tens of millions of pounds of
my poor
constituents' money from DFID's budget to food aid and efforts that
will at
best ameliorate and at worst camouflage the impact of Zanu PF's
wanton
mismanagement if ways of funding the organisations that make up the
mainstream opposition cannot be found. The Prime Minister is not going to
get his legacy in Iraq; if he wants a real legacy, he should spend the next
six months going around the African countries and really working. He could
end up getting a solution to the problems in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabweans and
the world want that, and it would give the Prime Minister his
legacy.
New Zimbabwe
By Staff
Reporter
Last updated: 11/23/2006 12:38:40
ZIMBABWE'S ruling Zanu PF party
has shut down a school almost two weeks
before the close of the third term
in preparation for its annual people's
conference to be held there, New
Zimbabwe.com learnt last night.
Goromonzi High School in Mashonaland
Central Province was ordered to close
on Thursday this week, almost two
weeks before the normal school term ends.
The Zanu PF conference, to be
attended by President Robert Mugabe, opens on
December 13.
Furious
parents last night told of their surprise at the decision to close
the
school early.
One parent who has a child doing Form 3 at the school said:
"I paid fees for
the duration of the term. I am not sure Zanu PF will be
refunding me."
Another parent blasted: "It's a scandal. It looks like our
schools are now
political theatres...politics now takes precedence over the
education of our
children."
There was no immediate comment from
school authorities.
Zanu PF sources last night said the closure was
precipitated by a
realisation that there would not be enough time to
renovate some buildings
and spruce up the school's surroundings between the
end of the normal term
and the start of the Zanu PF congress.
A
decision was taken by the party's coordinating committee for the
conference
which includes State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, Local
Government
Minister Ignatius Chombo, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa and
Mashonaland
East governor, Ray Kaukonde.
The officials toured the school early this
month and were joined by
Education Minister Aeneas Chigwedere and the
Goromonzi headmaster, Abisha
Mujeni.
At the end of the tour,
Mashonaland East senator Sydney Sekeramayi told
state television that Zanu
PF would be releasing funds to renovate some of
the buildings at the
school.
During the tour, the Zanu PF officials were shown the school
hall,
classrooms, the clinic, the kitchen and offices which will be opened
to
thousands of party delegates from across the country.
The
committee also took an interest in the school's football ground where
tents
will be pitched.
Last year's congress was held at Mzingwane High School
in Matabeleland
South. After years of neglect, the school received a major
facelift when the
Education Ministry suddenly made available funds for
extensive renovations.
President Mugabe is set to use the Zanu PF
conference to call for unity
among the party's senior officials who have
crossed swords in the race to
succeed him when his term expires in
2008.
Mugabe recently hit out against fierce jockeying for his position,
accusing
would-be presidential candidates of waiting impatiently "like
witches" to
see him go.
It is thought Zanu PF might pass a resolution
to use its parliamentary
majority to force through new constitutional
amendments necessary to allow
the postponement of the presidential elections
to 2010, the same year as the
parliamentary elections.
Presidential
candidates at present appear to be ruling party political
heavyweight
Emmerson Mnangagwa; vice-president Joice Mujuru; former finance
minister and
ruling party moderate Simba Makoni; and possibly Central Bank
chief Gideon
Gono, although Gono has denied any interest.
The Zimbabwean
Parastatals
fork out $6 million per table
By Tricks Mupondagarwe
HARARE - In an
intriguing development in President Robert Mugabe's
succession logjam, Vice
President Joice Mujuru - the top contender for the
post - last month held a
secret fundraising dinner at Rainbow Towers in
Harare.
High-level sources
told The Zimbabwean that Mujuru, who appears to have
fallen out of favour
with Mugabe, was desperate to outflank her rival
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Sources
said a sizeable number of cabinet ministers and
MP's aligned to Mujuru's
faction, led by her husband and former army
commander Solomon Mujuru,
attended the "secret dinner", which was neither a
State nor Zanu (PF)
function. Some of the ministers and legislators present
at the indaba
included, Munacho Mtezo who runs Mujuru's former ministry in
charge of Water
resources and Infrastructural development, deputy finance
minister David
Chapfika and legislator David Butau. Other ruling party
officials who
attended include David Karimanzira, Karikoga Kaseke, Christian
Katsande, Ray
Chihota and Joel Matiza.
"The whole thing caught us by surprise," a
parastatal head who attended the
dinner meeting told The Zimbabwean. "We
were told to make ourselves present
at the gala but were not sure what the
function was all about. We were
instructed to buy tables for $6 million
dollars after which we were made to
pledge donations for an unknown cause."
Parastatal heads are particularly
vulnerable to government pressure as their
jobs depend entirely on Zanu
(PF)'s patronage.
Investigations revealed
that Mujuru was booked at the Rainbow Towers
Jacaranda rooms 2 and 3, while
the prior occupants of the rooms were ordered
out to pave way for the
dinner. Sources added that the booking was made
through the finance
director's office instead of the conferencing office,
raising eyebrows as to
the motive behind the meeting.
An official at Rainbow Towers who declined to
be identified for job safety
reasons listed Net One, Zesa, Air Zimbabwe and
the Civil Aviation Authority
of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) as some of the parastatals
present. No comment could be
obtained from the information ministry as
information minister, Paul
Mangwana, kept switching his phone off. Mujuru's
office declined to comment.
The Zimbabwean
VICTORIA FALLS - Zanu
(PF) cadres on Saturday stopped Zambian cross-border
traders in Victoria
Falls and confiscated their goods, accusing them of
contributing to food
shortages and escalating prices of basic commodities in
the resort
town.
Police later raided a warehouse believed to belong to the National
Railways
of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and seized goods, including maize-meal and sugar,
on
suspicion that the supplies were stolen.
Victoria Falls was last week
reported to have run out of maize-meal, cooking
oil and a wide range of
basic commodities, including sugar. The shortage
reportedly incensed Zanu
(PF) supporters, who marched to a warehouse where
the Zambians store their
goods overnight before clearance at the border.
"They looted goods worth
thousands of dollars," David Mulenga, a Zambian
cross-border trader said.
"They kept threatening and accusing us of trying
to sabotage Zanu
(PF)."
Police in Hwange said investigations were under way following a police
raid
on the NRZ facility that recovered beer cans, maize-meal bags, cooking
oil
and large amounts of sugar.
"We acted on a tip-off from the public,"
the officer said. "Some of these
people you say had their goods looted are
smugglers and what they are doing
is unlawful."
The Zimbabwean
by Gift
Phiri
HARARE - A top ruling Zanu (PF) party official has made fantastic
claims
that Britain had put together an intervention force that was to
invade
Zimbabwe and topple the Mugabe regime but was stopped at the last
minute by
SADC leaders.
Zanu (PF) spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira made the
startling remarks in
Bulawayo last week during a seminar organized by the
Centre for Peace
Initiatives in Africa. He did not state which countries
foiled the planned
military intervention, which he claimed was aimed at
bringing "Baghdad-style
carnage to Harare."
"Britain wanted to come in
but was stopped when the neighbouring countries
said they supported
Zimbabwe's policies," Shamuyarira said. "Britain would
have intervened
forcefully in Zimbabwe had it not been told to back off by
neighbouring
countries. That kind of solidarity is the bedrock on which the
African Union
is built."
Britain has rejected the charge as "absurd" saying it had not at
any point
discussed invading Zimbabwe but had sought constructive dialogue
with the
crisis-torn country as a conflict resolution
measure.
Shamuyarira said Britain wanted to use the invasion of Zimbabwe to
divert
attention from the "disastrous performance of British troops in
Iraq."
He claimed that Britain, angered by the "highly successful" land
reform
programme, wanted to deploy massive fire power to Harare to unseat
President Robert Mugabe and Zanu (PF) from power as a way of avenging the
eviction of thousands of white farmers under the agrarian reform
programme.
The Zimbabwean
BULWAYO - Zimbabwe's
human rights groups are pressing for the withdrawal of
troops from rural
Matabeleland.
The main human rights watchdog, Zimrights, has petitioned
Defence Minister
Sidney Sekeramayi to urgently withdraw military units from
rural
Matabeleland and some townships where they are spearheading the
infamous
Operation Maguta, saying their presence is heightening
fears.
Zimrights'executive director Kucaca Phulu said their deployment was
meant to
"instil and maintain fear" in Matabeleland, where the infamous
Fifth Brigade
massacred an estimated 20 000 civilians in the
1980s.
Mathula Lusinga of the Movement for Democratic Change said villagers
in
Tsholotsho, Matabeleland, had reported this week that soldiers were
firing
shots into the air at night to frighten people. While the Acting
Information
Minister, Paul Mangwana, denied that army units were in
Matabeleland,
Sekeramayi confirmed in Parliament last week that units were
in the
province. Sekeramayi said the army had a duty to defend the
"sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the country and to ensure that
peace and
tranquillity prevails."
Some members of the Mutambara-led
opposition Movement for Democratic Change
officials have also been arrested
after they petitioned the military not to
oppress people and to think about
their future in a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. -
Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The
Zimbabwean government has rejected assertions by the
International
Organization for Migration (IOM) that human trafficking is a
growing
phenomenon in the southern African country, despite the existence of
enormous evidence on the ground.
IOM says Zimbabwe is increasingly
becoming a human trafficking centre due to
its central location in the
Southern African region. The UN organization
also links the latest wave to
the desperation among the many seeking to
leave the country in a bid to
escape the economic and political crisis.
Recently the police dealt with
numerous cases involving young girls who were
being trafficked to China
through a syndicate involving local business
people linked to Chinese
trafficking cartels. According to a senior officer
in the ZRP victims
friendly unit, the latest phenomenon "is a reality
despite government's
denials."
"We have dealt with five unique cases, three of them in Harare and
two in
Bulawayo but the problem is that we can not do anything to prosecute
because
there is no law to deal with that as yet," said the officer.
Last
year, the US State department reported that Zimbabwe was a source and
transit country for women and children trafficked for purposes of forced
labour and sexual exploitation, and that the government did not comply with
the minimum standards on the elimination of trafficking.
Dennis Chifamba,
Head of Multilateral Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, called for
a joint assessment with the IOM aimed at ascertaining
the scope and nature
of the problem in Zimbabwe. - Saul Chaminuka
The Zimbabwean
BY GIFT PHIRI
HARARE
- The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has pledged to seek legal
help
from South Africa and the West to recover illicit funds stashed abroad
by
President Robert Mugabe and his corrupt lieutenants when it takes over
the
government of Zimbabwe.
The MDC will also instruct private sector lawyers to
help launch an
investigation into the assets held abroad by the ruling
elite, according to
a secret MDC document seen by The Zimbabwean.
The MDC
says it is aware there have been huge capital outflows from top Zanu
(PF)
officials to tax havens in Europe and the US.
The document, prepared by the
MDC's Policy and Research portfolio, states
that there is conclusive
evidence that top government officials have
stripped the nation's
Treasury.
The opposition party will seek the co-operation of the
international banking
community such as the World Bank, IMF and the European
Union in proving that
donor funds were abused and also in tracking funds
externalized by the
ruling elite.
Without naming anyone, the MDC says it
has evidence of top officials who
have sought to avoid detection by the
central bank and the formal banking
sector by redirecting funds held outside
Zimbabwe or by illegally exporting
hard currency.
A likely first
destination is South Africa, which has a large banking system
offering
access to international investment and strong financial ties with
its
northern neighbour.
The MDC will also seek the cooperation of Switzerland in
tracking down
looted assets under a United Nations Convention, which
criminalizes bribery,
money laundering, and embezzlement of public funds.
The pact obliges
countries to return illegally acquired assets.
"To get
the Swiss banking authorities to co-operate, we would need some
official
backing and a criminal prosecution," said the report.
Swiss banks have
co-operated in investigations into the assets held abroad
by many fallen
African dictators including Nigerian President, General Sani
Abacha, the
late Zairean strongman Mobutu Sese Seko, fallen Mali dictator
Moussa
Traore.
Over the past 20 years, Switzerland has returned nearly US$1,3
billion in
loot.
The MDC document says any high-ranking account holders
of suspect assets in
foreign coffers must prove to the new government that
they were not
embezzled.
"An MDC government will do everything in its
power to identify, block,
confiscate and return the funds of 'politically
exposed' persons by means of
reciprocal legal assistance or other measures,"
the MDC document says, using
the Swiss euphemism "politically exposed" to
refer to corrupt leaders.
Auditors however said the measures the post-Mugabe
government was proposing
would apply to more easily-traceable, hard assets,
such as properties,
rather than to bank accounts probably held in tax
havens.
An auditor with Price Waterhouse Coopers, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said top Zimbabwean officials were likely to have used formal
private banking channels to move their money offshore. Alternatively, they
may have set up corporate front companies to transfer their personal wealth
overseas.
"There are so many legal and practical obstacles and
restitution can take an
awfully long period. But it can be done," she
said.
The Zimbabwean
BY NETSAI
MLILO
BULAWAYO - Since February, when government introduced a new fee
structure
that withdrew the student loan support system, the tertiary
education sector
has been in turmoil.
Disgruntled students who consider
the move a denial of their right to
education have taken to the streets to
protest. Learning hours have been
lost as students boycotted classes to
engage in running battles with riot
police, spent days in police cells and
attending court hearings.
The financial pressures prompted students to revive
the Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU). Promise Mkwananzi a law
student at the University
of Zimbabwe is its current president.
Since
assuming office in May, he has been arrested, detained by police and
taken
to court for organising the students' demonstrations. He says the
harassment
by State security agents is paying off somewhat.
"Project Defending Academic
Freedoms is bearing fruit. Right now,
government has secretly gone to
polytechnics, teachers' colleges and
agricultural training institutes and
paid fees for the third semester. But
at Bulawayo and Gweru polytechnics
they omitted the SRC (Students
Representative Council) presidents.
Government has also not paid fees for
university students," said Mkwananzi
in an interview in Bulawayo soon after
a court appearance.
He says
leaving out student leaders and universities form the list of
beneficiaries
is a deliberate ploy by government to try and weaken the
students'
movement.
The student body has undertaken a survey to determine the impact of
the fee
structure on students' ability to enrol. The study found that 80
percent of
students enrolled at government tertiary colleges are children of
peasant
farmers who cannot afford the tuition fees without State
assistance.
Milward Makwenjere is a student leader at Bulawayo Polytechnic.
He worries
he might not be able to complete his studies and qualify as a
motor mechanic
because his father is now struggling to pay his fees.
"My
father's kraal is nearly empty now from selling cattle to send me to
school. But I am not the only child he has to look after," said
Makwenjere.
Mkwananzi argues that even if students could afford to pay the
new fees, the
quality of education that are receiving is not commensurate
with the fees
charged.
"Since the new fee structure, standards of
education have gone down.
Lecturers are leaving, students are being taught
by other students, there
are frequent staff strikes, living conditions at
the college are bad. The
conditions are not conducive to learning at
all.
"Most of our members will not be able to finish their education and that
is
the bedrock of conflict. We are saying these fees are increasing the gap
between the rich and the poor. Effectively, tertiary education is now for
the rich leaving the poor but talented students trapped in a cycle of
poverty," noted Mkwananzi.
He said ZINASU would not stop its protests
until education was accessible to
every deserving student. But, organising
sustained protests is risky and
disrupts the learning programmes of student
leaders. Some have been expelled
for life, forcing them to enrol with
external institutions to complete their
studies.
The Zimbabwean
BY SMART
KAMBEZO
MUSINA - Hundreds of Zimbabweans say they will continue to cross into
South
Africa illegally despite the beatings, torture and rape at the hands
of
border patrols officers and thieves on both sides of the Limpopo
Rivers.
Several women who spoke to The Zimbabwean in Musina that it was
better to
face the danger coming to South Africa because they would do
menial jobs and
go back home with some Rands to feed their
families.
Ruramai Mukumba, from Renco Mine in Masvingo said, "We are
sometimes raped
by Maguma guma (the people who take border jumpers across
the Limpopo for a
fee) and they they search us everywhere looking for money,
but we have now
devised ways of sending our monies home," she
said.
Berita Chikomo from Chirumanzu who survives by selling cigarettes in
Musina
said she had fallen in love with a South Africa soldier who now
facilitates
her entry in South Africa and also" shields me" from
deportation.
She says she doesn't really love the South African soldier, but
she has no
option as she has to raise funds to look after here family back
home in
Zimbabwe.
Life is tougher for men and boys who are beaten up and
bundled into trucks
and detained at the police station before being deported
to Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile travellers have complained of thefts at the bridge
between the
South Africa and Zimbabwe. Some have lost their goods and money
to thieves
in broad daylight and could not understand why such a thing could
happen as
there border patrol officials at both sides of the bridge.
An
official at Beitbridge police station, who declined to be named,
confirmed
the thefts and blamed it on border jumpers.
Illegal crossings
increase
MUSINA - The recent introduction of strict visa requirements by
South Africa
has fuelled dangerous and illegal entry into that country by
desperate
Zimbabweans fleeing political persecution, torture and
poverty.
Scores of people who assist Zimbabweans to cross illegally into
South Africa
in Beitbridge said they have had "brisk business" since the SA
embassy in
Harare announced the new visa structure last month.
"The
number of people coming here for help has increased over the last few
weeks
and we think it's because it is now difficult to get the visa in
Harare,"
said Luckson Mlilo, who charges between R300 to R500 for his
services.
To
get a visitors' visa, one is required to have travellers cheques worth R1
000 plus Z$108 000 repatriation, refundable, deposit, ostensibly for use in
case of deportation or death whilst the individual is in SA
The Zimbabwe
Exiles Forum (ZEF), an organization fighting for the protection
of human
rights in Zimbabwe has condemned the tightening of visa
requirements by
South Africa saying the move was "calculated to restrict
legal entry into
its territory by Zimbabweans."
And yet South Africa has been actively
recruiting engineers and other
skilled personnel from Zimbabwe, particularly
as it seeks to prepare for the
2010 World Cup. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The Zimbabwe
Republic Police (ZRP) has approved a grand plan to
recruit into its ranks
members of the notorious youth brigades without 'O'
Level
qualifications.
Once the most elite policing operation in southern Africa,
the force has
failed to attract school leavers from Matabeleland and
Midlands regions, and
Staff Officer Recruiting Superintendent Mazhazhate was
recently heard
pleading with temporary teachers to join the low-paying ZRP.
The appeal was
met with stiff public resistance.
Asked to comment, Senior
Assistant Commissioner Justice Chengeta, who is the
Chief Staff Officer
Human Resources at Police Headquarters said the ZRP had
a diversified
culture.
"If we see it necessary it will be alright to recruit those youths,
anyway
policy issues pertaining to my organization are not to be discussed
in
newspapers," he said.
Previously, the ZRP has gained an enviable
international reputation for its
United Nations (UN) peacekeeping and
observation duties.
"That international reputation is at risk if we allow
people with
semi-literate backgrounds to join the force," said a recruitment
officer
based in Bulawayo.
"The problem with recruitment in Matabeleland
and Midlands provinces are of
both political and economic concern to the
locals. These regions suffered
the 1982-6 Gukurahundi genocide that saw
close to 20 000 people being
butchered by the North Korean-trained 5th
Brigade soldiers."
The recruitment plan would split the force into two
separate camps, said one
professional. "The schooled youths are professional
in outlook and the
unschooled are people with the ruling party outlook. The
latter are
dangerous in that they are extremely partisan," said a former
Recruiting
Staff Officer who is now a human resources consultant. - CAJ
News
The Zimbabwean
BULAWAYO - Overjoyed
junior members of the security forces this week
confirmed they have received
"underground" bonuses worth five times their
normal salaries as President
Robert Mugabe battles to constrain simmering
discontent among their
ranks.
The bonuses have seen the lowest paid officer, who usually earns a
basic
salary of around Z$27 000, netting above Z$120 000 this month.
More
than 7,000 junior members of the security forces, mostly the police and
army, are reported to have either resigned from or deserted their jobs due
to low salaries, resulting in the government's spy Central Intelligence
Organisation and security chiefs pressuring Mugabe to award them massive
salary increases.
Mugabe is said to have promised underground bonuses
this month before giving
another hefty salary increment and more allowances
in January next year.
"It is true. We got the increments but they were not
entered in our
payslips, I think it is because the directive came after our
payrolls had
been printed. The most junior officer with little deductions is
in the
region of between $120 000 and $127 000. In normal circumstances, we
should
be having around $54 000 as basic salary plus bonus," said one of the
junior
soldiers.
Some junior soldiers, confirmed the increments, but said
they had been given
special instructions not to talk as this would cause an
uproar among
government workers outside the security forces.
Defence
Minister, Sydney Sekeramayi, said: "For matters of national security
we are
obliged to keep the security forces happy . However, that does not
mean we
should go public about every effort we put into safeguarding the
country's
security." - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Zimbabwe's grain
shortages are approaching critical levels despite
government attempts to
import from neighbouring countries.
State media report that another 2,000
tonnes of a 150,000 tonne maize tender
are due to arrive from South Africa
next Wednesday, to replenish reserves
which Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
officials said were at 'critical' levels.
But the rest of the tender has yet
to be made public.
According to local experts, the only country in southern
Africa with a grain
surplus - and a narrow one at that - is South
Africa.
"The (Zimbabwean) government have pretty much mismanaged the
tendering
process," said one Harare-based economist, who spoke on condition
of
anonymity. "There's very little on the way. For months they denied there
was
a need to import, and by the time they changed their tune, most of it
was
allocated. There's not much more than a week or two's supply
left."
Even if the government can source more supplies, there is little
foreign
currency to buy it and too little transport and fuel to distribute
it to
where it is most needed, he said.
The government now says it needs
about 600,000 tonnes to make up for
domestic output, which fell to 450,000
tonnes this season, from 2.04 million
tonnes in 2001.
The UN's World Food
Programme is appealing for US$60m to help feed nearly
600,000 people in the
countryside officially at risk of starvation.
According to official
newspapers, the government has seized 36,000 tonnes of
maize from commercial
farmers who were refusing to hand it over to the GMB -
now Zimbabwe's
monopoly supplier.
More than 6,000 tonnes was seized from a German-owned
farm, the paper said,
despite efforts from German embassy staff to stop the
process. But sources
said the impounded product was yellow maize mostly
destined for animal feed,
and rarely used for human consumption. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
JOHANNESBURG - A group of six men who claimed they were undergoing
military
training in South Africa to topple Robert Mugabe's regime have
resurfaced
again in Johannesburg.
One of the men was spotted in
Braamfontein last week visiting Zimbabwe civic
organisations, which he
accused of facilitating military training for
members of the opposition
MDC. In one of ZBC's stage-managed news
clippings, the men claimed they
were recruited by civic organisations in
South Africa to undergo military
training.
The Central Intelligence Organisation is accused of heavy
involvement in the
whole saga.
"It seems they have been dumped after
being used by Zanu (PF)," said one
activist, suggesting that the gang might
be on another CIO mission. - CAJ
News
The Zimbabwean
MUSINA - The South
African Police Service (SAPS) and Immigration Officers at
Beitbridge Border
Post no longer carry out deportations of Zimbabweans with
vigour after
realization that such operations are just a sheer waste of time
and
resources.
The number of deportations this year is less than 300,000,
compared with
600,000 in 2005, reports CAJ News.
"Deportations are no
longer dependant on the deportee's legal status but
solely on what is
offered as a bribe to the officers manning the legal and
illegal crossing
points along the Limpopo River," said a source.
In a recent survey at the
border post, South African Police Service members
confirmed that Zimbabweans
were difficult neighbours whose determination and
courage were difficult to
ignore.
"As people on the ground, we realise that our efforts to curb illegal
border
crossing are fruitless. It's high time our government scrapped the
visa
requirements in the same line with Botswana system. Zimbabweans are
highly
skilled people and work very hard, so why not absorb them into the
economy,"
said a captain in the SAPS.
A senior SA police officer in
Musina said Zimbabweans were better than "drug
dealers from Nigeria and more
productive than Somalian refugees". - CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
JOHANNESBURG - The South
Africa public broadcaster, SABC, has come under
fire for propping up the
image of the Zanu (PF) regime by keeping silent on
Zimbabwe human right
abuses while singing the praises of Robert Mugabe.
At an Open House seminar
organized by the Institute for Advancement of
Journalism to discuss a report
produced by Media Institute for Southern
Africa and Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition on SABC coverage of the 2005
Zimbabwe parliamentary elections, it
was noted that SABC was "churning out
Zanu (PF) propaganda".
The report
came just a day before the Freedom of Expression Institute staged
a public
demonstration at SABC Auckland Park premises against censorship.
The SABC is
accused of stifling the views of the people by blacklisting
certain
individuals from commenting on their programmes.
"Most of the SABC coverage
was partisan and uniformed and they ignored many
issues," said one of the
compilers, Piers Pigou. The SABC also chose to
ignore the violence and
rigging which took place during the elections and
portrayed the oppositon
MDC negatively.
Elinor Sisulu, the Media and Advocacy Manager at Crisis who
was one of those
blacklisted by the broadcaster, said she was disheartened
that the SABC
failed to cover Operation Murambatsvina.
Some one million
Zimbabweans rely on SABC for information on Zimbabwe.
A source close to the
SABC said, "There is a section of SABC who support
Mugabe and the regime is
viewed as sacred cow." - By our correspondent
The Zimbabwean
By Josiah Bob Taundi
ZBH
is moving into people's homes demanding licences, but they have made
such a
mess of the news and programming on television that it is no longer
worth
watching let alone paying a licence for. Truly there is a need for the
liberalisation of the airwaves to end ZTV's monopoly. Zimbabweans have
suffered enough!
On the day ZTV announced that Tazzen Mandizvidza had
been appointed the new
Newsnet Editor-in-Chief, I took time to look at the
station's Tuesday's News
Hour and the next day's This Morning. What I found
in just those bulletins
was an astounding case of "how not to broadcast."
Tazzen has a great job to
do.
News Hour: Tuesday 14th November
2006
Story 1
"Meteorological Services Department says the rains that has
started falling
in most parts of the country signals the start of the 2006/7
rains season."
what followed were details of water patterns around the
country.
The falling of normal rains around this time is not news, let alone
top
news. If floods had occurred it could have been worth a story. At best
this
story was a basic weather report or stuff for Murimi wanhasi or Talking
Farming.
Story 2
"Most farmers countrywide still are battling to
secure combine harvesters in
a desperate attempt to save their crop from the
rains."
Since ZTV has always reported on such "challenges" (to use their
wording) -
what was new about this? The story gave the wrong impression that
the rains
were unexpected.
Story 3
Agronomists have called for
institutional intervention in dealing with late
harvesting problems. The
experts also called for rehabilitation of
agricultural machinery.
Badly
read by Dave Emberton, the above observation was too pedestrian and
certainly required no expert opinions of agronomists. It was common sense.
ZTV has a major disease of lining up "analysts" or "commentators" who simply
say the obvious.
Story 4
President Mugabe has left Harare for Djibouti
for a COMESA meeting.
"Meanwhile Vice President, Joseph Msika will be the
acting president."
Mugabe leaving Harare is hardly news to anymore. The man
always leaves
Zimbabwe for one meeting or another.
Story 5
Minister of
Anti-Corruption and Anti-Monopolies, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana,
has called on
people in leadership to be honest and live exemplary lives..."
The call is so
banal as to be useless. It does not take a minister saying
this, it simply
goes without saying. The story could be why is the minister
saying this? Is
there a crisis of exemplary and honest leadership?
Story 7
Government has
unveiled a $4.2 billion to Agribank for the support of maize
and small
grains production by communal and A1 farmers for the 2006/7
agricultural
season.
The story quoted Zimbabwe Farmers' Union (ZFU) vice president, Edward
Raradza, predictably welcoming the fund. The report never refreshed its
readers to an earlier contentious government policy to withdraw subsidies to
"new farmers." Was this a policy reversal? What was "welcome" about a
facility introduced when the rain season had already commenced as reported
in the first three top stories of the same bulletin? What a
contradiction!
FOREIGN NEWS
ZTV simply downloads news clips from the
international media and flight them
as its own. The station goes put its
reporters' by lines and voice-overs.
Sometimes the stories are credited to
Newsnet's "Research Team." Plagiarism
is the cardinal sin any journalist can
commit. On ZTV's "news beyond our
borders" it the normal thing to do
everyday with impunity.
Wednesday 14th November 2006
Story 1
"South
Korean ambassador. said Zimbabwe's economy can recover from its
current form
and become a force to reckon with within the global economy."
A statement
made at a business lecture in Bulawayo. Any country on earth can
fit that
probability. Such statement praising Zimbabwe seem to be part of
standing
editorial rules in ZTV's feel-good ZTV journalism.
Story 2
Hailstorms
destroyed property worth billions of dollars and three government
schools in
Bulawayo on Monday night.although Newsnet could not get pictures
some
residents of Kumalo who spoke to Newsnet said.." The story went to
depend on
residents for details. This was a classic case of bad journalism
1.Belated
news- the event occurred on Monday night but reported on Wednesday
morning,
three days after.
2.Instead of getting some video footage to witness the
extend of the damage
for themselves viewers got a still picture of reporter,
Jackie Gwemende,
narrating the damage in her own words - a direct
contradiction of a common
saying in journalism that says "A picture tells a
thousand words."
3.This story is much more important than Story 1, 2 and 3 of
the previous
night
4.ZTV inherently fails to utilise the television
medium for breaking news or
live coverage. The worldwide norm is a disaster
occurrence get due
prominence and breaking news priority has an import news
value: IMPACT (how
many people were, are or will be affected?). "News just
received" is usually
about President Mugabe or Zanu PF having said something
even it of no news
interest. Zimbabweans get "live" news when there is a
government-sponsored
musical gala. Other cases of failures of prompt
coverage include the Chikuti
Bus Disaster, Dingamombe Train Disaster and
earthquakes that affected some
parts of the country. It is not clear why ZTV
is so averse to the loss of
human lives and the suffering of ordinary
Zimbabweans. ZTV's reflex to
celebrate government's sadistic crackdowns on
the suffering masses one
"Operations" or another has reached to the level of
crimes against humanity.
The Zimbabwean
BY NOMSA GARANDE
A very
interesting book called " From Third World to First" outlines the
incredible
story of Singapore, a small country of 640 sq. km. with no
natural resources
and a basically peasant fishing population of 2,7 million
people before it's
transformation from economic third world to first.
Admittedly the book was
written by the Singapore premier of the time, but it
has been endorsed by
notable and credible personalities.
Like Zimbabwe it had a colonial past, not
all pleasant and a potentially
explosive racial mix together with the
difficulties of very nationalistic,
bigger neighbours who were struggling
with their own settling faze the
culture of which was ripe for spilling over
into Singapore.
Unlike Singapore, Zimbabwe a country of 390,000 sq. km., more
than 600 times
bigger than Singapore, had tourist attractions, good hotels,
coal, copper,
gold, chrome, asbestos, platinum, emeralds, enormous
agriculture potential,
a healthy manufacturing industry and relatively
speaking excellent banking
and financial structures, roads, rail and
communications.
At independence in 1980, it also had the goodwill and
investment potential
which was the envy of many a nation. The failure of
Zimbabwe to grasp the
moment and make massive strides toward a predominantly
middle-class nation
is testament to the unbelievably poor,
non-statesman-like leadership
Zimbabwe has been subjected to for too long
now.
So many things are being written now about how to fix Zimbabwe's
problems.
Problems that have been manufactured by inward thinking self
preserving
leadership that believes the country owes them everything. A
'leadership'
that spends far too much time blaming the present ills on the
past. A
leadership that is busy carving up the national asset cake for
themselves,
often mortgaging national assets to foreigners to pay for their
many
blunders.
The answer does not lie in the East or the West but rather
in the hands of
the people of Zimbabwe. Let us trade with the East, let us
trade with the
West, but let us hold our own dignity and asset ownership.
Why are we so
eager to 'export' our raw materials? We should process where
we can and
increase our benefit from those materials. That process of
transforming the
raw materials toward the end product should be a major
objective in our
economic culture, it has not been so. We would rather play
the blame game.
No other nation will treat us as a father would a son, you
can be sure that
they have their own interests in mind first and last when
handing out
assistance to us and buying into our resources.
Let us begin
to face the bleak truth, we are in rather serious trouble all
round, and we,
each and every one of us, have ourselves to blame for soaking
up the
propaganda over the last 26 years and allowing the situation to
deteriorate
to the present state of affairs.
The handouts and assistance the country is
receiving in apparent blind long
standing faith in each other is not what it
seems. We have chased the
expertise we need from our land, we have retained
the out dated historic
notion that a leader is there for all time. A leader
should take office to
serve the nation not himself and when he can no longer
benefit the nation
through his leadership, then in the interests of the
people, it is time for
change. Our change is long overdue, our system of one
party patronage is
flawed as is every human system, but at least democracy
offers constant
change for the better.
The defining moment for our
meteoric plunge to the depths we are now in was
in December 1987 when the
unity accord became effective. From then on we
have been a de facto one
party state.
Even before the Unity Accord, we were kept in the dark about the
5th Brigade
massacres. No one party state has been able to sustain economic
viability,
the frailties of human nature kick in and the pattern and end
result is
predictable.
We may need a one party status to put us back on
track, but it must be for a
predetermined period only. The saddest thing is
that we have watched this
happening over a long period of time and have gone
into stunned mullet mode.
Let us at least take the lesson and avoid a
repeat.
The Zimbabwean
Editorial 46
The Zanu
(PF) dirty tricks department has been at it again. First there was
the
dramatic arrest of MDC officials and who we were told were their
accomplices
- a "former Rhodesian soldier" (who it turns out was only a
minor at
Independence) and an army captain.
The case against the MDC officials
collapsed when it became painfully
apparent, even for the partisan
Zimbabwean judiciary, that the story had
been concocted at CIO
headquarters.
But that did not stop them continuing to hold and torture Peter
Hitschmann
because an "arms cache" had been found at his premises. The fact
that he was
a registered, licenced gun dealer was considered a minor details
and the
charge prompted changed from caching arms to the more season one of
plotting
to assassinate the head of state.
The star witness was presented
in court - Alfred Chiukira - who proceeded to
give eye-popping testimony
about how he had been involved as an under-cover
agent in plotting the
assassination with Hitschmann.
He told the court he had alerted his superiors
at Army Headquarters who had
given him the nod to carry on. After giving his
dramatic evidence, it
emerged that Chiukira was himself a prisoner, facing
charges of treason, for
which he could have faced a firing squad.
He had
in fact been in army custody since March 2006 - the same as
Hitschmann.
During this time he was denied access to lawyers, doctors or
family and
tortured so much that he suffered 17% disability.
Last week he faced a court
martial where he was found guilty of two courts
of treason. He was returned
to incarceration at King George VI Barracks in
Harare to await
sentence.
Lo and behold - a few days later the man makes a daring escape from
the
maximum security of the army headquarters itself. Incredible!
"Unconfirmed
reports" have been circulated to suggest he has fled to
Mozambique - of all
places.
Needless to say the case is full of holes.
For instance, why was Chiukira
court martialled for treason if he was on
duty as a mole at the time the
alleged assassination was planned?
They
say fact is stranger than fiction - but really! We smell a very big rat
here
- and sympathise with Chiukira's family who must be desperate for news
of
his true fate.
The Zimbabwean
EDITOR - Reverend Nqobizitha
Khumalo, writing in a weekly newspaper recently
said;
"As I write, I am
watching television and Vice-President Mujuru is on
television urging the
people of Mashonaland Central to deal with sell-out
non-governmental
organisations. She actually urges them to "do what you
know" with them. This
is the most dangerous and reckless statement such a
"mother" has ever
made."
The Reverend confirms our fears, long established as a pattern; only
that we
had been accused in the past of being partisan. I am MDC and
everything I
say must be said to give political mileage to the party I
support. When
Joice Mujuru was elevated to the Vice Presidency people
heralded the
emergency of a woman into the high office.
We all hoped
together with the international community that this lady who
joined the
liberation struggle on principle; by leaving her education midway
in Form 2,
by transcending the cultural yoke against women we thought the
platform had
been raised for the reincarnation of an historical woman
cherished across
the whole African Continent and among the black race. We
believed in the
blend of heroism; the sacrifice given to the liberation
cause and the
manifest Christianity of our Vice President.
She was not Robert Mugabe, who
left Zimbabwe for South Africa to study for a
degree. Teurai Ropa left
Zimbabwe to further the cause of black people,
abandoned by mankind and
relegated to slavery during the Slavery years and
further humiliated by the
severe mental subjugation that was the core
philosophy of
colonialism.
Mai Mujuru, would have been the first liberation fighter to be a
leader in
Zimbabwe and we would slowly have learnt to accept it because she
would be
humble, listening to the will of the people and as a freedom
fighter
remembering through and through that she is fish and the people are
the sea
in which she swims. True freedom fighters will never turn against
the
people; real war veterans will never beat or encourage the suffering of
the
same father and mother who cushioned them during the liberation
struggle.
What has happened to our freedom fighters; what disease is this
that makes
them negate the liberation struggle like this? The statement by
Joice Mujuru
is unbelievable, yet not inconceivable coming from a Zanu (PF)
figure. The
ruling party has a legacy of violence; it is the same from the
father to the
last born. The highest office in our country is occupied by a
political
organization that believes in revolutionary aristocracy, that they
and they
alone should be the leaders of Zimbabwe.
This party can never
reform, it cannot be rehabilitated. They believe people
who say something
against them are sell-outs. This is not confined to
politics alone. They
have done so to cricket where people like Tatenda Taibu
have been punished
for disbelieving the criteria used to select players;
they did it to soccer
where Charles Mabika, a soccer commentator was
expelled for saying that
Nigerian footballer Austin JJ Okocha was "skilful
and very
talented".
Zanu (PF) is a monoculture; it is so for their Presidium no matter
how
rejuvenated; it is so for their Politburo and every other structure. It
is
so for their learned apologists like Tafataona Mahoso who behaves like a
toddler in defence of uncivilised behaviour.
JULIUS SAI
MUTYAMBIZI-DEWA,UK
The Zimbabwean
EDITOR - The
Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) is deeply concerned by reports of
the proposed
mounting of eight roadblocks along the highway between
Beitbridge and
Johannesburg. According to sources the Zimbabwean Central
Intelligence
Organisation (C.I.O) will join forces with the South African
Police Service
(SAPS) and the Scorpions in a bid to control illegal
immigration from
Zimbabwe into South Africa. The operation is said to be
scheduled to begin
on 30 January 2007.
If it materialises, this development would be most
unwelcome as it will be a
serious threat to the well-being of Zimbabwean
asylum-seekers in South
Africa. Firstly, the presence of C.I.O operatives in
South Africa exposes
many Zimbabweans who fled torture and political
persecution at home to the
very danger that they were fleeing
from.
Secondly, this move makes it possible for the Mugabe government to
physically and materially eliminate and undermine the strong opposition to
its rule which has been organised by displaced Zimbabweans based in South
Africa. Many pro-democracy and human rights activists and their
organisations working on the Zimbabwean situation from South Africa will
also face strict censorship and might even close down. What this unholy
alliance will do in effect is to stifle the relatively democratic space to
freely express themselves that Zimbabweans find in South Africa. There have
already been disturbing reports of surveillance from CIO operatives that
clandestinely monitoring the activities of human rights and opposition
activists in South Africa and Botswana.
If this turns out to be true,
which I hope it is not, it would confirm
beyond doubt what we have always
said, that Mbeki and Mugabe lie under the
same blanket. The 'quiet
diplomacy' policy of the South African government
is nothing but a veiled
abdication of the duty to protect innocent citizens
in favour of protecting
each other by African rulers. The ANC feels
obligated to assist Zanu (PF)
for old times 'sake.
GABRIEL SHUMBA, Johannesburg
The Zimbabwean
EDITOR - In light of the
nightmarish spectre of shenanigans that led to the
fragmentation of MDC
recently, doomsday prophets had conjured the outright
downfall of the party.
Today the same sceptics sit there with eyes wide open
,in stark realisation
that MDC are no pushovers at all. The party has beyond
doubt survived the
torrent of political trickery and is even getting
stronger.
This however
does not mean we must then ignore the good advice by some
observers to
reunite the warring factions. I am of the strong belief that
unity is a
vital ingredient of any liberation struggle. The key thing is to
now explore
ways on how to embolden the party in the run-up to the 2008
presidential
elections. Under no circumstances should we tolerate the
howling hordes of
Zanu (PF) savages, who enjoy inflicting us with untold
hardships.
In the
meantime the restoration of confidence at grassroots level must be a
primary
concern. There is also a need to exercise self-control and restraint
with
regard to emotions stemming from differences in opinion. Actions
displaying
a bankruptcy of political maturity by the founding fathers of the
MDC
movement are deplorable. And more riling is the vindictive and absurd
idiom
that there are "irreconcilable differences" between the two factions.
There
is no inadequate plea-bargaining expertise to resolve such an issue.
The
childish mud-slinging we have witnessed lately can only be cheered by
the
insane. We cannot afford to decimate the very foundation of the
organisation. A further point of importance is that serial initiatives taken
by civic society in backing our resolve to find a lasting cessation to our
suffering must not be overlooked, but embraced.
It is tragic that the
on-going campaign by the clergy, based on the
so-called "National Vision
Document", has been defied with a brazen
outpouring of scepticism by some
quarters.
Of course it would be foolhardy for one to think that the
men-of-the-cloth
document mirrors the interests of the entire population.
But it is crucial
to see that the solution to our tragedy lies strictly on
our willingness to
work together in fighting the "common enemy" regardless
of persuasions.
JAY-ZAT, Jozi