The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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Free Roy Bennett campaign
Bennett moved in cynical ploy


The incident on movie clip

 

Day 30 In a malicious and calculated move, and without warning to Roy's family or lawyers, the prison authorities have moved Roy to a jail in Mutoko.

There is no rational explanation for moving a prisoner, normally resident inHarare, to a jail two hours away, where the conditions are decidedly worse thanthe appalling conditions under which the prisoners are kept at HarareCentral prisons.

By moving Roy to Mutoko, the government have once again demonstratedthat Roy's imprisonment has nothing to do with justice, but is insteaddesigned to persecute him for his dedication to the struggle for democracy andremove him as a candidate for Chimanimani in the forthcoming generalelections.

His family and lawyers will now have to spend at least four hours a day traveling to try and see Roy knowing that at the end of the journeythere is no guarantee that their right to visit will be granted.
Even when it was discovered that Roy had been moved, it took many hours before the authorities would finally admit where Roy is now being held.

On other fronts, while little progress has been made getting either the judiciary or the Government of Zimbabwe to face the realities of the"crime" that has been committed in unjustly sentencing Roy to prison, we aremaking significant inroads regionally and internationally.

Last week saw our representatives traveling throughout South Africa explaining Roy's current predicament and the background to it. They gotan overwhelming reception from a cross-section of South Africa's political community who are not only prepared to advocate on Roy's behalf but arealso going to pursue justice in cases of abuse against his staff.

In addition, submissions were made to prominent political activists,Human Rights organisations and legal associations.

In addition, Roy and Heather's story was featured in Business Day, Die Beeld, and on the different language services of SABC and on 702Radio.

The above, compliments representations to other internationalorganisations listed below, the majority of whom have expressed their support for Royand promised to take up his case in their own jurisdictions to applypressure on the Zimbabwean government.

The African Union The Inter Parliamentary Union The Bar Council and Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales The International Bar Association In addition, this week will see the launch of the Free Roy Bennettwebsite which will contain detailed accounts of what Roy, his family andsupporters have suffered through in the last five years as well as regular updatesand an online petition and details of what you can do to help Roy.

We will notify you when the site is "live".
We continue to await the judgement from the High Court regarding theappeal against the severity of Roy's sentence and a stay of imprisonment untilthe Supreme Court has heard the upcoming case detailing the infringements against Roy's Constitutional rights. The case was heard before JudgeHungwe on 9th November 2004.

Whatever the conditions under which Roy is now being kept in Mutoko, weknow that he will never give up the struggle for a truly democraticZimbabwe. And neither will we. We thank you for your continued support for Roy andhis family.

Best wishes Free Roy Bennett Campaign
Write to freeroybennett@yahoo.com
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Leeds Today

Deirdre Humphreys faces a decision date
'The only way I will go back to Zimbabwe is in a box'
By Charles Heslett
A ZIMBABWEAN woman's desperate battle to stay in Leeds is entering its final
stage.
Mother-of-seven Deirdre Humphreys had her original bid for asylum rejected
by the Home Office, despite her having fled in fear of her life after gangs
of so-called war veterans took over white-run farms in 2000.
Last year she applied for asylum having found sanctuary in England, living
in Leeds on a temporary work permit.
The Home Office said that Mrs Humphreys would only face risk of violence or
death if she tried to live on the family farm and said the capital, Harare,
was safe.
But the 43-year-old said her partner's association with the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) - meant she would be arrested as soon
as she set foot back in the country and possibly killed.
An appeal against the Home Office's refusal to grant her and teenager
daughter Jessica asylum will now be heard on December 14 at an appeal court
in the North East.
The hearing will draw to a close almost five years of "limbo" for the pair,
living in a rundown terraced house near Leeds city centre.
Deirdre told the YEP said: "I've lived without an identity, unable to work
but also receive any benefits as my asylum case rumbles on.
"No-one who is in opposition, or is perceive to be against Mugabe, will be
safe in Zimbabwe.
"How can that country be declared safe when I find out this week that one of
closest friends has been arrested and has just disappeared?
"I've said it before, but I will only go back to that country in a box."
Deirdre's appeal comes barely a month after the Home Office announced it
would now continue to forcibly return home any Zimbabweans who fail in their
asylum bids.
In February 2002 it suspended this policy as it was felt the safety of
failed asylum seekers could not guaranteed under Robert Mugabe's regime.
Amnesty International points to systematic abuses of human rights in
Zimbabwe, where the MDC and the independent media have been singled out for
attack.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Zimbabweans and other foreign nationals
posing as Zimbabweans, who do not need international protection, make asylum
claims confident that even when claims are refused they will not be
returned.
"We need to stop this abuse while continuing to offer protection to genuine
refugees, including political refugees.
"This change in asylum policy does not reflect any change in our opposition
to human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.
"We will continue to push the government of Zimbabwe to end human right
abuses, and restore democracy."
The spokeswoman said she could not comment about individual cases.
charles.heslett@ypn.co.uk
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    Medair forced to leave Zimbabwe in spite of worsening humanitarian
crisis
      26 Nov 2004 14:55:00 GMT

Medair - Switzerland
Website: http://www.medair.org
It is with real sadness that after 2 years Medair has this week left
Zimbabwe. The final move which forced the decision was the refusal by the
Zimbabwean government to issue work permits for our 2 remaining senior
expatriate staff members.

This follows months in which we had seen our temporary registration to
continue our school feeding programmes in Gokwe North and Mudzi districts
expire and not be renewed despite our best efforts, and all remaining
expatriate staff refused work permits. Unable to work and consequently to
fund our continued presence, we were left with no choice but to finally
withdraw from the country.

The timing of this decision is all the more significant because of the
deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation within the country. On the
15th of November the Famine Early Warning System Network for Zimbabwe (FEWS)
reasserted their prediction that 2.2 million rural households would require
food aid before the end of the year. Indeed, earlier this month World Food
Programme (WFP) reported falling school attendances in Mudzi district as
parents took their children out of school to work in the fields or find
food. This was highlighted as a direct result of the halting of the Medair
school feeding programme in August after our registration renewal was
refused by the government.

'We'd really hoped to continue the school feeding programme in partnership
with WFP, but instead we found ourselves prevented from distributing, and so
the food has sat deteriorating in the warehouses since August. It's been so
frustrating not being free to work and now we leave knowing the increasing
food insecurity that faces those primary school children and their families',
said Mark Screeton, Medair Desk Officer for Zimbabwe.

At this time of great need our thoughts remain with the beneficiaries we
have tried to serve in Zimbabwe over the last 2 years, and with our great
local staff who have worked tirelessly, and who now find themselves
unemployed at a time of national economic crisis.

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Sent: Friday, November 26, 2004 6:46 PM
Subject: FIT - Compensation Issues

An update on compensation issues.  Coalition meeting today.

At the end of October 2004 the Ministry of Land Reform and Resettlement
published a Notice in the Herald calling on former owners or representatives
of the listed farms (779 of them) to contact the Ministry so that they "are
paid their compensation".

It is recommended that the farmer approaches the Valuation Consortium or
their Estate Agent or Lawyer to represent them in dealing with the
Government Compensation Committee.  The Valuation Consortium has put
together a power Of Attorney which the farmer needs to sign so that they may
represent the farmer in ascertaining the Governments offer.  The consortium
will then convey this to the farmer and will only carry out the farmers'
instructions.  If the farmer feels uneasy with the Power of Attorney, the
Valuation Consortium will supply him with an affidavit covering how they
will exercise the power of Attorney.

Of concern to many is that they are not being offered fair compensation
within a reasonable time.

It appears that the "offer" in a lot of cases has been considerably lower
than the independent professional valuation of the particular farm (in cases
10 - 20% of the value) and a number of farmers have not been prepared to
accept the offer.

It appears that compensation, once agreed upon, is being offered in one of
three forms :-

a)                  25% will be paid within 30 days of acceptance of the
offer, 25% will be paid the following year, and the balance (50%) during
years 3 to 5.  Interest at the rate of 30% per annum will be paid on the
outstanding balance.
b)                  If the farmer is prepared to accept 60% of the amount
offered, the Ministry may be prepared to pay this amount within 30 days of
acceptance of the offer.
c)                  If the agreed value is less than $ 150,000,000.00 then
this is payable in a lump sum.

It is obviously up to each individual with their own particular
circumstances as to how they respond.  It is recommended that in the event
of agreeing to the "offer" that all the payments, handing over of title
deeds etc. are handled by the Consortium, Estate Agent or Lawyer, to ensure
all the requirements are met to the satisfaction of all parties.  Do not
arbitrarily hand over title deeds before receiving payment.

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Daily News online edition

      Workers get timely Christmas present

      Date: 26-Nov, 2004

      ACTING Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa yesterday unveiled a national
budget of $27.5 trillion for 2005, and allocated the biggest envelope to
wages for public workers, education, health and defence.

      In an optimistic forecast, Murerwa predicted the economy would grow by
up to five percent in 2005, compared to a decline of close to 30 percent
over the past five years.

      "There are indications of an improved economic outlook for 2005, with
the economy projected to grow by between 3.5 and five percent," Murerwa
said.

      The minister presented a timely Christmas present to workers when he
proposed an increase in the tax-free portion of bonus from $100 000 to $5
million.

      "I recognise that bonuses present an opportunity for workers to access
some resources in support of the purchase of durable consumer goods, payment
of fees and other necessities for the festive season.

      "In support of this, I propose to increase the tax-free portion of
bonus from $100 000 to $5 million with effect from 1 November 2004," said
Murerwa.

      The contentious issue of income tax bands was however not addressed to
the satisfaction of the workers, who had called for a massive review of tax
bands.

      The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions has called for the tax free band
to commence at $1.5 million, with the top range taxed at over 45 percent
being slapped on people earning over $5 million per month.

      Murerwa said government would continue to address the problem of
bracket creep in order to enhance disposable income in the hands of
taxpayers.

      In this regard, the income tax-free threshold was increased from $9
million to $12 million per annum, or from $750 000 to $1 million per month.
Zimbabwe's health sector is under severe strain with HIV-related deaths
estimated to be at least 3 000 per week. Murerwa said he would allocate
close to 10 percent of the budget to the health ministry while defence
including the police, air force and army will get eight percent.

      The country has been grappling with severe economic challenges since
the late 1990s, with inflation rates amongst the highest in the world,
unemployment at around 70 percent and poverty affecting 80 percent of the
population. The International Monetary Fund estimates that Zimbabwe's
economy declined by 9.3 percent in 2003.

      But Murerwa forecast gains in the key agricultural sector next year,
noting an improvement in horticultural exports in 2004. The mining sector
had also grown by 11.6 percent this year, he said.

      However, there had been an 8.5 percent decline in the manufacturing
sector, he noted, and one of the coming year's challenges would be guarding
local industry from cheap imports.

      Critics have blamed the country's economic woes on a disorderly land
reform programme launched in 2000, which saw the seizure of thousands of
white-owned farms for redistribution to new black farmers.

      But the government claims its economic woes are a result of Western
sanctions. Independent analysts, however, blame government mismanagement,
pointing to the often violent seizure of 5 000 white-owned farms for
redistribution to black Zimbabweans since 2000.

      Murerwa said agricultural output would increase by 28 percent in 2005,
with massive financial incentives to thousands of new black landowners to
start production.

      He also predicted improvements in the mining and tourism sectors.
Inflation would drop to below 50 percent by the end of the year, Murerwa
said.

      A leading Zimbabwe economist questioned Murerwa's claims, arguing it
would take at least 10 years to repair the damage of the last four. He noted
the International Monetary Fund has predicted inflation will reach 300
percent as Zimbabwe runs into serious difficulties over food supplies.

      Mugabe's claims of a bumper grain harvest have been questioned even by
his own parliamentarians, who fear millions will be dependent on foreign
food aid next year.

      Murerwa's speech was delayed by over an hour as legislators waited for
Mugabe to arrive. Murerwa is filling in for Finance Minister Christopher
Kuruneri who was jailed in April on corruption allegations.

      Former colonial power Britain, the European Union and the United
States have placed travel bans on Mugabe and dozens of ruling party
officials, and froze their presumed overseas assets.

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Daily News online edition

            Shamuyarira cuts Moyo down to size

            Date: 26-Nov, 2004

            CONTROVERSIAL Minister of information and Publicity, Jonathan
Moyo was yesterday forced to lift the ban on 13 British journalists who are
travelling with the England cricket team for five one-day internationals
against Zimbabwe in Harare and Bulawayo.

            The England cricket team was supposed to arrive in Harare on
Wednesday evening but cancelled their flight after the government of
Zimbabwe denied visas to 13 selected journalists accompanying the team.

            England then threatened to withdraw from the tour, a move which
would have resulted in serious repercussions both politically and on the
field of play.

            The Daily News Online understands that the lifting of the ban
was forced down Moyo's throat after the intervention of officials from the
ruling ZANU PF party led by the party's information secretary and former
Minister of Information, Nathan Shamuyarira.

            The veteran politician is said to have convinced president
Robert Mugabe that denying the British journalists visas was going to impact
negatively on the country.

            Shamuyarira who is more diplomatic in dealing with such issues
than the forceful Moyo, is said to have convinced Mugabe that banning the
British journalists would mean that the government was trying to hide
something.

            The England cricket team is expected to arrive in the country
Friday but the first one day international which was scheduled for Harare
Sports Club today has been postponed and the match will have to be
rescheduled.

            The first match will be played at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
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From The Star (SA), 26 November

Defiant Cosatu tired of being ANC's 'quiet lapdog'

By Moshoeshoe Monare

Cosatu is tired of being used as the ANC's election machinery and intends
defying the government by blockading the Zimbabwean borders and sending
another fact-finding team to Harare. This was stated in Johannesburg
yesterday by Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. In what sounded like
a threat to the tripartite alliance, Vavi said it was about time to break
the 10-year cycle of a frustrating relationship with the ANC. "The cycle is
that we in the alliance get very close six months before the elections; we
campaign very vigorously together. At that time, the mood changes (becomes
comradely) ... But then, after the elections, six months down the line, the
reality of how and what each of us expect from the alliance begins to haunt
us," Vavi said. The fragility of the alliance was discussed at length at
Cosatu's two-day central executive committee meeting that ended on
Wednesday. Vavi said there were ANC leaders who believed the role of Cosatu
and other alliance partners was to mobilise for elections, help draft the
manifesto, support government programmes and sing ministers' praises. "That
cycle has to be broken ... the alliance can't be reduced to an elections
machinery. We have been doing that in the past 10 years ...We can't be
managed in between the elections and with an attempt to silence us from
making political observations," Vavi said. The spat will dominate the
alliance summit, likely to be held next year, which has been postponed
several times due to what Vavi described as a lack of commitment by the
leaders. "The question that arises is where are the other leaders of the
alliance when, seven months down the line, (we don't) have a summit?"

Vavi said one of the examples of how the ANC-led government was ignoring
Cosatu was on the Zimbabwe issue: "How could a strategic partner of the
government not know what (the government) is doing in Zimbabwe?" Vavi said
the acid test for President Thabo Mbeki's quiet diplomacy would be next
year's Zimbabwean poll: "Will (quiet diplomacy) deliver free and fair
elections that are in line with the SADC protocol?" Cosatu still believes
its 13-member fact-finding mission, which was booted out of Harare this
month, was justified. Vavi and the union's president, Willie Madisha, plan
to return to Harare in January. The ANC, the government and the ANC Youth
League lashed out at Cosatu's fact-finding team, and Vavi said the attack
was meant to silence Cosatu. "The message was very clear to Cosatu: 'Keep
quiet, move out of politics, be a quiet lapdog ... We will refuse to do
that," he said. Vavi said Cosatu would mobilise Southern African unions in
the next few weeks to march to Zimbabwean high commissions in their
respective countries and blockade their borders with Zimbabwe. ANC
secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe and spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama were not
available for comment.

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BBC

      Pringle to risk Zim deportation
      Journalist Derek Pringle will risk deportation from Zimbabwe by
refusing to sign a declaration that commits him to cover nothing other than
cricket.

      England decided to proceed with the tour after the government dropped
its media ban, but the row may not be over.

      "My editor told me on no account to sign any such guarantee," said
Pringle, a former Test player who is now cricket correspondent for the Daily
Telegraph.

      "If they want to deport me for that, then so be it."

      Pringle said other members of the British press pack could follow
suit, depending on the advice of their editors.

      "A lot of them haven't discussed it yet at length with their editors,"
he added.

      "Mike Walters, the Daily Mirror's correspondent, has been told not to
travel at all by his paper and he is travelling home.

      "I've been told one or two others have been told not to sign any such
declaration."

      The first match of the one-day series takes place in Harare on Sunday
after the media ban affair caused the cancellation of Friday's scheduled
tour opener.

      Pringle, a former all-rounder, played 30 Tests for England between
1982 and 1992.

      He scored 695 runs at an average of 15.1 and took 70 wickets at 36
runs apiece.

      Pringle played in two World Cups, including the 1987 tournament in
India which saw England lose to Australia in the final.
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News24

Tsvangirai to woo EU
26/11/2004 19:32  - (SA)

Brussels - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will visit Brussels
next week as part of a European tour to drum up support against the
government of President Robert Mugabe, officials said on Friday.

The European Parliament, which has consistently condemned the Mugabe regime,
said Tsvangirai would appear before its development committee on Monday.

The committee's deputy chair, Michael Gahler, said the meeting would enable
Tsvangirai to brief EU lawmakers on the situation in "view of the disastrous
human rights and food supply situation in Zimbabwe".

"As the present government of Robert Mugabe rules Zimbabwe like a
dictatorship, it will also have to be discussed if the next elections
scheduled for March 2005 can realistically be expected to be democratic at
all," he said.

Time ripe for 'regime change'

Gahler led a team of European Parliament monitors for Zimbabwe's
presidential election in 2002 which Tsvangirai lost to Mugabe in widely
disputed circumstances.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been stepping up
pressure on the government to pass electoral reforms ahead of the March
parliamentary polls.

Mugabe's regime has already warned the 52-year-old former union leader that
he should not return to Zimbabwe if he has been calling on Western
governments to keep up sanctions against the state.

But Tsvangirai struck a defiant note at a mass meeting of Zimbabwean
expatriates in London on Sunday, declaring their destitute southern African
country was ripe for "regime change".

Tsvangirai's European tour is the second foreign trip he has made since
being acquitted of treason charges last month. The MDC leader is expected
also to visit Germany and France.
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Business in Africa

Mugabe grabs control of Zimbabwe's banks

Published: 26-NOV-04

By Mzwake Mzala

It began with the nationalisation of land, then mines and now President
Robert Mugabe's administration has pointed its poisoned chalice at the
banking sector with the creation of a banking phoenix christened the
Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG).

The financial behemoth, which will be capitalised to the tune of Z$2trn,
will be made up of eleven banking institutions that failed to meet new
minimum capital requirements of Z$10bn set by regulators in January.

When the entity becomes operational in January 2005, relief will be brought
to millions of depositors who had their money locked up in the collapsed
banks, as they will be reimbursed their money by the end of January 2005.

The central bank says the institution, which will be owned by the government
through a special purpose vehicle, would be three or four times bigger than
individual existing banks. Central bank chief Gideon Gono says the
nationalised banks will be freed from the shackles of the government by
2007.

However, critical observers view the move to nationalise banks as reflecting
the commitment of the government to retain state control on key assets and
build a socialist state. They say Harare's return to socialism is a
characteristic of the irrationality of a desperate regime that will stop at
nothing to stay in power.

The ruling Zanu PF party faces the opposition MDC in crucial elections set
for March 2005. Besides targeting the banking sector, which for years had
been considered the bonfire of black empowerment until Gono introduced some
painful reforms in 2003, the government is eying the lucrative mining
industry.

Accordingly, President Robert Mugabe in September proclaimed the seizure of
half of every foreign owned mine operating in the country, shifting his
focus from land repossession to the mining sector.

"There can be no absolute ownership of natural resources in Zimbabwe," said
Mugabe.

Land is not the only issue that needs reform. There are still many other
issues we have to address, like the mining sector. We will ask that
government be given a 50% share in the mines."

In addition, a new mining legislation stipulating the surrender of 49%
shareholding to locals awaits debate in parliament. Although the Chamber of
Mines suggest the empowerment stake be sliced to 40% and that foreign
companies be allowed to scout for black, local shareholders over a period of
time the government can not take anymore of that.

And to back up the plan, Mugabe last month complained that South African
companies were exploiting the country's platinum reserves.

All these uncertainties, which have sent shivers down the spines of miners,
has led to a cutback in investment and total disinvestments. Anglo Ashanti
has since sold its Zimbabwean operations to Mwana Africa.

Investors see the transfer of mines to favoured black owners as
expropriation akin to the land grab initiated in 2000. Africanisation or
indigenisation, investors say, evokes memories of Zanu-PF's previous
commitment to a state-controlled socialist economy. As such, international
jitters about Harare's economy in the wake of the mines threat are
increasingly turning to fullblown panic.

According to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), four mines that
were controlled by the governmentrun Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation
(ZMDC) have already been forced to shut down because of mismanagement while
more than 3 000 employees have been forced out of employment in the sector
in the past four years.

Observers say besides 'africanising' mining and banking, the next target
could be the commercial sector. With 24 years of experimenting with command
economics and free market reforms, what Zimbabwe boasts is a disintegrating
and devaluing economy, which is dramatised by frightening shortages of
essential commodities and medical drugs. Although inflation is receding at
251%, it is still the highest in the region. Despite claiming an end to the
land grab exercise, the government has given six companies and estate firms
three months to give up more than one million hectares of land in a fresh
campaign to seize corporate-owned land. Personal assets have also not been
spared in the government's blitz against economic 'saboteurs' and the fight
against graft.

Businessman Mutumwa Mawere has had his multi-million dollar asbestos mines
and other ventures seized after falling out with the authorities.

But businessman and economist Jonathan Kadzura defends the return to
socialism. "What the government is saying to these foreign mines is can they
show the reflection that you are mining in Africa. We need our people to
participate in the economy," says Kadzura.

On the contrary, Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the MDC, sees
nationalisation as the wholesale plunder of the country's resources by the
ruling elite. It says the programme, which many countries have abandoned is
the highest act of desperation and could lead to economic disaster.

"They (the government) are a vampire. They have to touch something. They don't
know what direction to take," remarks Tendai Biti, the party's secretary for
economic affairs.

"When you preside over a failed state and economy you must continuously
create a victim ideology to justify the victimisation."

Under nationalization, the likelihood of company closures would increase,
say analysts. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) reports that
more than 1 000 companies have shut down since 2000. It records that 25
firms are battling to remain in production while eight are sounding death
knells.

Nonetheless, by setting its sights beyond the land reform, Harare is trying
to stroll where Soviet Union angels feared to tread decades ago.

Other African countries that have tried a go at the largely discredited
'Africanisation' are Uganda and DRC formerly Zaire. As for Russia, it has
since adopted some dramatic market reforms.
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New Zimbabwe

      DANIEL FORTUNE MOLOKELA: FACING REALITY

      We need to walk our democratic talk

      Last updated: 11/26/2004 21:57:52
      THESE are indeed trying and testing times for all the progressive
pro-democracy forces in Zimbabwe. Never have so many felt so desperate and
disorientated about the way forward for our beautiful country.

      Many are about to give up on hope for a better tomorrow. Some are
already wallowing in the messy mud of self-pity and despondency. Others have
already fallen deep down into the bottomless pit of rabid escapism and
pessimism.

      However and whichever way you look at it, Zimbabwe is busy going
through what many can easily regard as its worst crisis in its entire
history. At the moment it is all doom and gloom. There appears to be no ray
of hope filtering through the dark clouds that have engulfed our nation's
future in the last five or years.

      Nothing just seems to go right in Zimbabwe. If anything, all else
except Mugabe and his Zanu-PF seems to be crumbling. All is not well. In
fact, things can only go worse. The situation is so dire. Indeed, 'things
are falling apart' for Zimbabwe. That is if I may be allowed to quote the
celebrated Nigerian literary genius, Chinua Achebe.

      But like history has showed several times in the many years of
existence for humanity, it is always easier for people to enjoy the good
times but harder to endure the hard times.

      Many people prefer only the easy situations but are totally averse to
difficult ones. Many prefer the sun baths of summer time and are hesitant
about the snowy cold times of winter.

      But as long as the earth remains, there shall be different seasons and
times. God through nature has decreed that there shall be continual and
revolving weather or climatologically changes.

      There will be times of winter and summer, dancing and mourning,
pleasure and pressure, wedding and funerals, birth and death registrations.
Indeed, whichever way one may choose to look at it, all things will remain
like that.
      That is a ghastly reality we all as human beings have to face and to
try to come to terms with.

      Having said that, it is submitted that Zimbabweans living both at home
and abroad need to take time and think about these things. We all need to
wake up to the reality of life. We need to accept the simple fact that life
is not a bed of well decked roses alone.

      That life is not about salads, ice creams, apples and oranges alone.
That there are times when we also need to partake of sour grapes, lemons,
vinegar, medicine, among other bitter things. We all need to appreciate that
all these things are necessary to ensure that we do have balanced diets and
in effect, health bodies.

      If we ignore all this, we might fall sick, collapse and die. This is
the inevitable reality of life. We all have no choice but to face it.

      Unfortunately, we still are finding it difficult to face the simple
reality around us. We seem more prepared to duck and dive like a duck in a
small fishpond and ignore the reality of the big world around our garden.
Life is no small fish pond that is decked with colorful goldfish, but there
is more to it. There are lakes, seas and oceans out there. There are big
fishes as dolphins, sharks and whales out there.

      Indeed, a cursory look at what we deem as the big crisis in Zimbabwe
will clearly reveal that it is nothing when compared to other troubled flash
points in the world. We may like it or not but that is how the rest of the
world may view our situation. In fact we need to accept that some people do
not even consider Zimbabwe as a country in crisis at all. For some Zimbabwe
is just a leisurely stroll in the political park.

      Zimbabweans need to look at the so many crisis points littered across
the African continent. Africa is a continent on fire. It is a sub-planet
that is in perpetual crisis. If it is not Sudan then it is Ivory Coast. If
it is not the DRC then it is Sierra Leone. If it not Equatorial Guinea, then
it is Burundi. Africa is always on the global news headlines mainly for the
bad and sad reasons.

      Zimbabwe is not considered as a country in serious crisis by its
neighbours and fellow continental nations. Africa has seen bigger national
tragedies before and is presently desperately trying to resolve them. The
case of Zimbabwe may be an issue with us but it is not a topical issue on
the AU agenda. It may be hot potato in the USA and Europe but it is
definitely not something to write home about in Eastern Europe and Asia.

      Can we indeed be ever able to compare our situation with the plight of
the displaced Palestinian people in the Middle East? For their leader,
Yasser Arafat, the struggle lasted his entire life! He is now gone but for
his remaining people, there is no solution in sight. If anything, their
struggle appears to be an eternal one. It will never end.

      I therefore implore all Zimbabweans to look at the crisis in that
broader context.

      This may explain why it is possible for South Africa to lead a 'no
action' motion at the United Nations over the crisis in Zimbabwe. It also
explains why the likes of Thabo Mbeki have up to now, not condemned Mugabe
in public in spite of the overwhelming evidence of his reign of terror. The
over two million or so Zimbabweans who have sought refugee in South Africa
are a daily continual reminder to Mbeki of Mugabe's mess.

      It is my submission that we as Zimbabweans have to take full
responsibility of restoring our mess. The situation at home is primarily a
Zimbabwean problem. It is us who have messed up our own beautiful country.
There is no evidence of foreign sabotage on our political system.

      But there is evidence that because of our failure in the last 25 years
or so to take charge of our destiny. A man, yes one single human being, has
taken the whole nation of 12 million people for granted. Mugabe is our mess.
He is a creature of our culture of political docility and passivity.

      I am confident that if he tried to be the President of another country
today, he would not last long. Another nation might not give him the long
rope we have afforded him. Another people would kick him out of power or
force him to kick the bucket!

      As I have said before, the time has come for us to stop bussing the
buck to MDC, NCA, ZCTU, COSATU, ANC, SADC, AU or UN. The time has come for
us to stop agonizing and start organizing our selves.

      We need to walk our democratic talk and be prepared to die for a new
Zimbabwe. We need to keep on knocking and knocking. We never know. May be
one of these days, the doors of democracy will suddenly swing open and usher
us into the new Zimbabwe we have all been waiting for! -
danielmolokela@yahoo.com
      Daniel Molokela is the National Co-ordinator of the Peace and
Democracy Project
      Johannesburg, South Africa. His column appears here every Monday
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