• MDC to consult public on whether to
stay in cabinet
• We want partners who are sincere, PM tells
president
http://af.reuters.com
Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:54pm
GMT
* Tsvangirai highlights tensions in unity government
* EU
says new phase of ties with Zimbabwe
* Calls for implementation of
power-sharing deal
By Nelson Banya
HARARE, Sept 13
(Reuters) - Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said
on Sunday he
would not tolerate persecution of members of parliament or
violation of the
law by President Robert Mugabe, after an EU delegation
called for
implementation of power sharing.
Swedish International Development
Minister Gunilla Carlsson said targeted
sanctions against Zimbabwe would not
be lifted until human rights abuses
ended in a country with a ruined economy
that needs billions of dollars for
recovery.
Speaking at a rally to
mark the 10th anniversary of the formation of his MDC
party, Tsvangirai said
he would not stand by as Mugabe's ZANU-PF "continues
to violate the law,
persecutes our members of parliament, spreads the
language of hate, invades
our productive farms ... ignores our international
treaties."
The
visit by EU Aid and Development Commissioner Karel De Gucht and the
Swedish
EU presidency is the first since the EU began targeted sanctions in
2002
against members of Mugabe's government for what it said were human
rights
violations.
The EU delegation said relations with Zimbabwe were entering
a "new phase"
but full cooperation hinged on the implementation of
power-sharing.
"Now we're entering a new phase (of relations). The
political agreement was
an important step forward, but much needs to be
done. The key to
re-engagement is the full implementation of the political
agreement," said
Carlsson.
On Saturday, Mugabe welcomed the EU
delegation with "open arms", as he put
it; a change in tone which may
suggest he is more willing to cooperate with
Western countries he has blamed
for Zimbabwe's economic decline.
TENSIONS IN GOVERNMENT
But
Tsvangirai highlighted tensions in the unity government, which had
raised
hopes that the old foes could work together and rebuild the economy.
"I
have done my part to promote reconciliation in this country. Even after
winning the election, I have compromised for the sake of Zimbabwe. But
please, don't misjudge me. You misjudge me at your own peril," he
said.
The deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai has been beset with problems
as their
parties accuse each other of stalling the process by not fully
implementing
the deal.
Zimbabwe says it needs $10 billion in foreign
reconstruction aid. Western
nations are reluctant to release cash without
further political and economic
reform promised as part of the power-sharing
pact, called the Global
Political Agreement (GPA).
"The restrictive
measures were there because of (human rights) violations.
We cannot fully
re-engage until we see the Global Political Agreement is
being implemented
fully. There's more that needs to be done here," Carlsson
told a news
conference when asked about the possibility of lifting
sanctions.
"We
had reasons to raise very serious concerns, for example on media freedom
and
constitutional reforms. We still have a lot of reports of human rights
violations, which are unacceptable."
The EU remains the main overall
donor to Zimbabwe, having provided 572
million euros ($829 million) in
humanitarian aid to the country since 2002,
despite the targeted
sanctions.
To date, 203 people and 40 companies linked to the Mugabe
government face
travel and some financial restrictions within the 27-nation
bloc.
Mugabe has long held his Western foes responsible for Zimbabwe's
steep
economic decline, saying sanctions were imposed as retaliation for the
seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to blacks.
(Additional reporting by Mike Saburi in Bulawayo and Phakamisa Ndzamela in
Johannesburg; Writing by Michael Georgy)
• MDC to consult public on whether to
stay in cabinet Morgan
Tsvangirai, the prime minister of Zimbabwe, took a new tough
stance against President Robert Mugabe
yesterday, warning: "You misjudge me at your peril." Tsvangirai said he would
consult the public on whether the fraught unity government was still
tenable. His hard line came as the first European Union delegation to visit
Zimbabwe since 2002 said that targeted sanctions would not be lifted until the
political rivals had resolved their differences. Tsvangirai, addressing a rally to mark the 10th anniversary of his party, the
Movement for Democratic Change, insisted that he would no longer tolerate
violations of the power sharing agreement by Mugabe's Zanu-PF party. "I am not going to stand by while Zanu-PF continue to violate the law,
persecute our members of parliament, spread the language of hate, invade our
productive farms … ignore our international treaties," the prime minister told
thousands of supporters in Bulawayo. "I am not going to stand by and let this
happen." In a tone that seemed to hover between defiance and exhaustion, Tsvangirai
said: "I have done my part to promote reconciliation in this country. Even after
winning the election, I have compromised for the sake of Zimbabwe. But don't
misjudge me. You misjudge me at your peril." He added: "We want partners that are sincere. We want partners who are going
to commit themselves to good governance principles. We cannot have partners of
looters." The MDC was formed on 11 September 1999 when a coalition of civil rights
groups and churches launched a party to challenge Mugabe, who has been in power
since 1980. It joined a unity government in February in an attempt to end the
political unrest that erupted after last year's failed elections. But the party
says its supporters still suffer political attacks. Tsvangirai, who has been criticised by some supporters for being too
compliant, announced an initiative to consult the public on the future of the
unity government during the next month. "We are coming to you. Is this
government sustainable? It is you, the people, who shall give us direction." Mugabe welcomed the EU delegation on Saturday with what he described as "open
arms". Zimbabwe is seeking billions of dollars in aid to rebuild its ruined
economy. The EU delegation flew out of Harare today saying it would continue to give
an average of €90m (£79m) a year in humanitarian assistance, along with a new
injection of €7.5m for an education sponsorship fund. But it said sanctions on
Zimbabwean individuals and firms would not be lifted until the power-sharing
agreement had been fully implemented. Speaking in Johannesburg today, Gunilla Carlsson, the international
development minister of Sweden, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said:
"Much more needs to be done. It's a mixed picture and this is only the start of
a long journey. My first impression is that there is a basic agreement with
Mugabe and Tsvangirai that the GPA [global political agreement] is the way to go
and there is no alternative. There is common ground, but it's a small
island." Carlsson highlighted agricultural production, the rule of law, conditions for
foreign investment and the overall legal framework as ongoing obstacles to
recovery. On the issue of sanctions, she said: "The key for re-engagement is the
full implementation of the GPA. We are not there yet. It needs to be seen how
deep the will is." Asked if she thought the MDC might run out of patience with its coalition
partner, Carlsson added: "I can understand it's tricky to come from such
different views in a government. However, they have decided to do it, and the
prime minister asked us to stay on message with the government of national
unity. It will depend on how the situation develops." Karel De Gucht, the EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aid,
said Mugabe and Tsvangirai were still deeply divided: "They do not have the same
reading of the same document. They have a different reading on how this should
be done and at what speed … Mugabe has a legalistic approach. Tsvangirai has a
teleological approach, which means you work towards a
purpose."
• We want partners who are sincere, PM tells
president
http://www.voanews.com/
By Ish
Mafundikwa
Harare
13 September 2009
The first
European Union delegation to visit Zimbabwe in seven years ended
its two-day
visit to Harare, saying meetings with President Robert Mugabe
and Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were good. But more needs to be done
before the
relationship between the European Union and Zimbabwe can be
normalized.
An end to human-rights abuses, freedom of the media and
full implementation
of the of the deal that brought about the unity
government, the so-called
Global Political Agreement are just some of the
benchmarks the European
Union needs to see met before a relations are
normalized with Harare.
Speaking to the media on the last day of the EU
delegation's visit, the
European Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian Aid Karel de Gucht
said the European Union supports the efforts
of the unity government
partners to reach an agreement.
"We also
think we can come to completion if both sides agree on benchmarks;
on a road
map, also how to come to on the one hand full completion of the
GPA and on
the other hand normalization of the relations between Zimbabwe
and the
European Union. But we are doing this in good spirits," he said.
De Gucht
added Mr. Mugabe told the delegation he is committed to the GPA.
The
delegation once again insisted the sanctions that President Mugabe says
were
imposed on Zimbabwe in 2002 for alleged human-rights abuses are nothing
more
than restrictive measures on the president and ranking members of his
party
and government. The delegation said the European Union never stopped
providing humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe.
Mr. Mugabe, Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Tsvangirai and
Arthur Mutambabra who
leads a breakaway faction of the MDC signed the GPA a
year ago. But there
have been delays in fully implementing the deal.
Prime Minister
Tsvangirai blames Mr. Mugabe for not sticking to the terms of
the agreement.
The president says Mr. Tsvangirai has not done enough to have
the sanctions
lifted.
Swedish Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson said the former
opposition
leader and his party have nothing to do with the imposition of
the measures.
"The restrictive measures are decided in the European
Union," said Carlsson.
"It is not up to the prime minister, Morgan
Tsvangirai, to take them away.
That is a European Union
responsibility."
Carlsson added the EU delegation was not in Harare to
discuss the sanctions,
though Mr. Mugabe brought up the issue. But she said
the measures are not
'here forever'. She described the visit as the
beginning of a new phase,
which would hopefully lead to the normalization of
relations.
The delegation also met with Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara
before leaving
Zimbabwe.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=22582
September 13, 2009
By
Raymond Maingire
HARARE - The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has no
special obligation
and capacity to force the lifting of so-called sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe
by the West, visiting Swedish International Development
Cooperation Minister
Gunilla Carlsson said Sunday.
Carlsson says the
imposition of the "restrictive measures" were the sole
prerogative of the
European Union (EU) in 2002 in response to alleged human
rights violations
by President Robert Mugabe's government.
"The restrictive measures were
imposed (by the EU) because we could not
accept what we saw (in Zimbabwe ).
That was one way for us to react,"
Carlsson told journalists
Sunday.
"It is not up to the Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to take
them away.
That is a European Union responsibility.
"What we can do
now is to see with our instruments, and thus it is now the
political
agreement that we came here for that will deal with these kinds of
questions
and discuss it."
The response by Carlsson contradicts repeated assertions
by President Mugabe's
Zanu-PF that the MDC could campaign for the lifting of
the sanctions without
any changes to the political climate in Zimbabwe
.
A power-sharing agreement entered between the former rivals has been
plagued
with continued bickering over the failure by mostly Zanu-PF to fully
commit
themselves to the September 15, 2008 Global Political Agreement
(GPA).
Zanu-PF is adamant the sanctions were invited by the MDC which
should
naturally take the burden of forcing their removal.
The MDC
says Mugabe is deliberately frustrating efforts to bring about
democratic
reforms in the country while Zanu-PF says it can only play ball
if the MDC
makes a stronger commitment to forcing the lifting of the
sanctions, which
it says are hurting the majority.
The EU slapped the Zimbabwean
government with sanctions in 2002 after
President Mugabe had barred a
delegation from the wealthy block to come and
observe the violent
presidential elections won by the veteran leader.
The sanctions were in
the form of travel bans and asset freezes on Mugabe
and 202 other members of
his inner circle and party.
Carlsson said the "restrictive measures"
could only be lifted if the current
inclusive government led by Mugabe
starts fully implementing the political
agreement.
She said no amount
of lobbying by any party in the inclusive government
could force their
removal if the political parties in Zimbabwe had not
followed through on
their agreements as per GPA.
Carlsson is part of an EU delegation that
has come to Zimbabwe to try and
help readmit the troubled country with the
wealthier EU body.
The visit is the first top level delegation from the
EU since the diplomatic
fallout in seven years ago.
EU commissioner
for development and humanitarian aid Karel de Gucht and a
representative
from Spain, which takes over the EU presidency next year from
Sweden, are
also part of the strong delegation.
The process of trying to reengage
Zimbabwe with the broader world was
started by the inclusive government in
June this year, four months after its
formation when a Zimbabwean delegation
led by Tsvangirai went on a
three-week visit of the United States of America
and Europe.
Carlsson, whose delegation has since met with President
Mugabe and Prime
Minister Tsvangirai, also dismissed claims the sanctions
were hurting
ordinary Zimbabweans.
She was adamant the EU will only
continue with humanitarian assistance to
Zimbabwe until there was full
commitment by Harare to see to the
implementation of the GPA.
During
their one-and-half hour long meeting with President Mugabe on
Saturday, she
said, the Zimbabwean leader talked passionately about the
lifting of
sanctions.
She said the visit by her delegation was not to "come to
negotiate the
restrictive measures or humanitarian aid" but to assess the
implementation
of the GPA.
She described the EU delegation's meeting
with Mugabe as "open, frank and
correct".
She added, "We had frank
discussions with President Mugabe because he is
talking a lot about those
sanctions but really they are not affecting the
economy in the way that it
is described.
"It is more to see that we have something to quarrel about.
There are so
many things now that need to be done here and the European
Union can be able
to do things.
"We need to see that the media
situation is improving here; we need to see
that the work on the
constitutional reform is done in a way that is
indicated in the Global
Political Agreement.
"We still have a lot of reports on human rights
violations. That is
unacceptable and not in the spirit of the people of
(helping) the Zimbabwe
and also according to the Global Political
Agreement.
"The restrictive measures are not here for ever and also our
freezing of
development assistance was also due to the political
developments in
Zimbabwe some years ago now."
(AFP) - 6 hours
ago
HARARE - The European Union said Sunday ties with Zimbabwe would only
normalise once a unity accord is properly implemented, but reaffirmed its
yearly assistance of 90 millions euros in aid.
"The European Union
has never stopped helping Zimbabwe," said EU aid
commissioner Karel de Gucht
at the end of a two-day visit to Zimbabwe for
the bloc's first talks with
Harare in seven years.
"Between 2002 and 2009 roughly 600 million euros
has gone to humanitarian
aid and we are switching to more structural aid,
what we call transitional
aid for education. In 2009 alone we will invest 90
million euros in
Zimbabwe."
The EU delegation, which held talks with
President Robert Mugabe and his
former political rival, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai, slammed reports of
human rights violations in
Zimbabwe.
"We still have a lot of reports on human rights violations.
That is
unacceptable and not the spirit" of the power-sharing agreement,
said
Swedish Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson, whose country holds the
rotating EU presidency.
"The EU has a clear line that the key to
re-engagement is the full
implementation of the global political agreement,"
she said.
The power-sharing agreement and the subsequent formation of a
government of
national unity "was an important step forward for normalising
the situation
in Zimbabwe."
The visit by the EU delegation came as
regional leaders demanded the bloc
drop its targeted sanctions against
President Robert Mugabe and his close
allies.
The EU however is
calling for further reforms such as guarantees of
political and media
freedom.
Regional heavyweight South Africa on Friday met the EU for talks
after
urging that sanctions be dropped so that the deal signed in February
between
Mugabe and Tsvangirai can proceed unhindered.
"This cannot be
a pre-condition for the political dialogue and we made it
very clear," said
de Gucht.
MEDIA RELEASE
13 September 2009
While
President Robert Mugabe welcomed senior European Union officials to Zimbabwe
“with great expectations” and hoped their talks would be “fruitful with a
positive outcome”, the havoc wrought by senior Zanu PF officials in the
commercial farming sector continues to escalate.
At Friedawil farm near Chinhoyi,
about 100 kilometres north of Harare, Edward Mashiringwani, a deputy governor of
the Reserve Bank, has once again moved onto the farm with about 15 guards who
beat up one of the resident guards.
“They arrived mid morning Friday and
began targeting our senior staff, issuing threats and chasing them away,” said
Louis Fick, who is struggling to maintain farming operations due to continuous
harassment.
Mashiringwani’s employees have also
locked the gates leading to the pigsties and crocodile enclosures and are
refusing to allow food and water to be taken to the animals.
“This has gone on for two days now
and the situation is desperate,” said Fick.
“We have
about 1 000 pigs at this stage and ten sows are in maternity. There are also about 100 piglets, some just a
few days old, the rest under three weeks.
It’s essential for them to get food and water,” he stressed. “Pigs in maternity need about 40 litres of
water a day.”
The worst
part for Fick is that there is no one for him to turn to.
“I can’t
begin to describe what I feel,” he said.
“Eventually the police came out after a long struggle but any members who
tried to assist were reprimanded. The
animals should be beyond politics but they are used as pawns in the
game.”
The situation is a virtual replay of
April 2008 when Mashiringwani attempted to take over the farm, forcing Fick’s
workers to leave and refusing to allow his livestock to be fed and
watered.
At that point Fick had more than 4
000 pigs, 15 000 crocodiles and several hundred beef
cattle.
In desperation he called in the
Zimbabwe National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who were
inundated with distress calls, but when they tried to enter the farm, they were
prevented from doing so by Mashiringwani’s men.
As a result 30 sows died due to
dehydration and some became so crazed they ate their own little piglets.
According
to neighbours, the sounds emanating from the farm on that occasion were
horrifying and Fick and his workers were severely
traumatised.
Friedawil
is one of more than 70 Zimbabwean commercial farms protected by the landmark
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal ruling of 28 November
2008 – Fick is the 7th applicant on the list.
Fick and
his wife Lisette are the main shareholders of the company farming Friedawil and
the livestock belongs to the company.
Fick is a
South African citizen but has had no assistance from the South African
government, although he has kept the South African embassy in Zimbabwe fully
informed of the ongoing property rights and human rights
violations.
On August
1, 2008, a Pretoria judge took the South African government to task for not
protecting the rights of a citizen whose farms had been nationalised in
Zimbabwe.
Free State
farmer Crawford von Abo won his court battle against the then President, Thabo
Mbeki, the Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and the Trade and Industry
Minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, to get compensation from the South African
government
Judge Bill
Prinsloo noted that the government’s excuses for lack of action over the
previous six years had been “feeble” and pointed out that Germany, France and
Denmark had intervened successfully of behalf of their citizens who owned
agricultural land in Zimbabwe.
Independent
analysts are concerned that the South African government’s failure to protect
its citizens’ rights in Zimbabwe will impact on the confidence levels of
potential overseas investors.
On Friday,
South Africa and the European Union signed an amended trade, development and
co-operation agreement and pledged to bridge the outstanding gaps in the
negotiations. It is important for South
Africa to maintain credibility.
In
Zimbabwe, the Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (BIPPA)
with South Africa has become a contentious issue as a result of delays in
signing the agreement. This has led to
millions of dollars of potential credit to Zimbabwe being
frozen.
Zimbabwe’s
Justice and Legal Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said recently that his
government was prepared to sign BIPPAs with South Africa - or any other country
- as long as they did not result in the reversal of “land
reform”.
Claims by
President Mugabe and his Zanu PF ministers that the land reform programme
benefits landless black people are not borne out by the long list of
beneficiaries of stolen commercial farms.
The so-called ‘chefs’ involved in the ongoing and violent land grab
are an elite of ministers (and in some cases also their wives and girlfriends),
senior security force officers, Politburo members, their family members and even
judges.
The vast majority have no knowledge of, or interest in farming and
many are fully employed in lucrative jobs, hence their being dubbed “cell phone
farmers”.
Their main activities have been to asset strip the farms and to sell
crops that were planted by the farmers to help feed and sustain the nation. As a result, many once productive farms are
now lying derelict, and with homesteads, worker villages, factories and sheds –
such as those of Mike Campbell, who initiated the landmark SADC Tribunal court
case with his son-in-law, Ben Freeth - burnt to the
ground.
For further information:
Louis Fick
Cell: +263 11 216
062
E-mail: fick@zol.co.zw
Contact numbers:
Edward Mashiringwani
Deputy Governor
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Cell: +263 11 800
582
Shepherd Makoni
Manager for Mr Mashiringwani
Cell: +263 912 967
386
http://www.zimnetradio.com/news/zimnet271281.html
By KING
SHANGO
Published on: 13th September, 2009
CHEGUTU - Two large
explosions were heard on Mount Carmel farm in the
Chegutu district of
Zimbabwe yesterday, less than a week after Mike Campbell's
homestead was
burnt to the ground.
Farm workers who heard the explosions saw dust
billowing into the air above
the trees shrouding the ruined house and
observed army personnel in the
vicinity.
Earlier in the week, a
reporter was told by a group of the thugs who had
previously forced Mike
Campbell (74) and his wife Angela (67) from their
home that an arms cache
had been discovered and that Campbell would be
arrested.
"The
situation is absurd," said Ben Freeth, Campbell's son-in-law, who also
farms
on Mount Carmel.
"The injuries Mike sustained following our abduction in
June last year were
so severe that he has become quite frail. His only
objective is to return to
the farm and help restore the country to food
security."
Claims by Zanu PF that arms caches have been discovered are
not new. In 2006
for example, three Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
officials were
arrested after police said they had found an arms cache in
the eastern city
of Mutare.
Zanu PF's modus operandi has been to
arrange for caches to be planted on
targeted properties and then to arrest
those they wish to silence, claiming
they are planning to overthrow the
government.
Two police guards are currently stationed at the remains of
Mike Campbell's
house, precluding access to the area.
Freeth's own
home, a few hundred metres away, was destroyed in a raging
inferno on Sunday
September 6.
Since the tractors and fire-fighting equipment had been
commandeered by the
invaders, there was no way of stopping the
blaze.
Three workers' cottages and Laura Freeth's linen factory, which
employed 60
women from the farm, were also destroyed.
"It's
impossible for us to get anywhere close to Mike's house to establish
the
current situation," said Freeth. "When there were similar circumstances
on
the Etheredges' farm and they tried to investigate, they were shot at by
the
police."
Freeth said the Chegutu police continued to thwart
investigations of arson
and the theft of property from Campbell's
home.
"Lorry loads of fertilizer were also stolen from our sheds but
there has
been no move by the police to follow up with these reports," he
said.
Suggestions by the invaders that the Campbell homestead fire was
caused by
an electrical fault as opposed to arson are premature.
"We
went to ZESA (the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority) to report the
fire
but to date there has been no investigation into its cause," said
Freeth.
"However, Chief Inspector Manika from Chegutu Police Station
has also
claimed prematurely that it was an electrical fault."
Police
at Chegutu have also failed to follow up a litany of previous reports
submitted by Freeth and other beleaguered farmers in the
district.
These include reports of farm workers being beaten up,
resulting in such
serious injuries as fractured skulls, house breaking,
looting and the theft
of tractors and equipment as well as all of Mount
Carmel's crops for the
2009 season.
Current rumours in the district
suggest that Nathan Shamuyarira, Zanu PF'
elderly secretary for information,
who claims to have been allocated the
previously prosperous farm, has
offered one of the stolen tractors to his
lawyer for outstanding legal
fees.
Shamuyarira, who is well into his eighties, has no previous farming
experience. Most of the commercial farms taken over by senior Zanu PF
officials and cronies have been asset stripped and their crops
stolen.
In Campbell's case, the Chegutu police have consistently failed
to assist
the deputy sheriff to evict the invaders who have reaped or
destroyed his
mango, orange, sunflower and maize crops.
In October
2007, following attempts by the Mugabe regime to acquire Mount
Carmel farm,
Campbell took the unprecedented step of challenging the
government in the
Southern African Development Community (SADC)'s human
rights
court.
Seventy-seven other commercial farmers joined the case.
On
June 29, 2008, the day Robert Mugabe was sworn in as president following
the
fraudulent, violence-ridden elections, Mike and Angela Campbell and Ben
Freeth were abducted. They were viciously beaten for hours and then forced
at gunpoint to sign a piece of paper stating they would withdraw their case
from the SADC Tribunal.
In a landmark judgement on November 28, the
Tribunal ruled that the farmers
had a legal right to remain on their
land.
The Government of Zimbabwe was ordered to protect the farmers
against future
invasions and to allow them to continue farming
operations.
However, despite the SADC ruling, Campbell, Freeth and their
500 workers
have suffered continuous victimisation and
violence.
Campbell also has two Zimbabwean High Court orders against the
invaders. On
April 20, 2009 the High Court gave a provisional order evicting
the
invaders. This was served on them the next day but the situation became
very
hostile as most were armed with guns.
A week later, a second
provisional order was gained in the High Court,
reinforcing the first, but
still nothing was done by the police.
During May, "Landmine", the leader
of the invaders, arrived at the Freeths'
house and threatened "blood shed"
while waving a gun at the back door.
On June 5, the SADC Tribunal ruled
that the Government of Zimbabwe was in
contempt of court and referred the
government to the SADC Summit (September
2-8) for appropriate
action.
This latest outrage on Mount Carmel farm comes just two days
after the SADC
Summit in Kinshasa, which failed to address the ongoing
Zimbabwean crisis.
"In this situation, where the rule of law has totally
broken down, we cannot
understand the wall of silence from SADC, who set up
the region's
internationally respected Tribunal," concluded Freeth.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, September 13, 2009 - ZANU PF
national youth league has elected
its new leadership amid chaos and
allegations of rigging as the factionalism
within the former ruling party
came to the fore.
Delegates from the Harare province were
locked out of the conference
venue during election time after the province
failed to elect its leaders in
time of the conference.
Harare
delegates who were accredited as observers sang derogatory
songs as they
tried to get their way into the City Sports Centre but Zanu PF
chairman John
Nkomo would not have any of that.
Didymus Mutasa had to come out of the
conference and tried to silence
the angry youth but to no avail. They were
only allowed into the venue after
the elections but a few seats were
reserved for them.
Zanu PF factionalism came to the fore during the
elections as the
Emmerson Mnangagwa led faction fought and won the most
powerful posts in the
youth league against the candidates from the Mujuru
camp.
Edison Chakanyuka from the Midlands province was eventually voted
the
deputy secretary for youth against Anastancia NdhlovuShurugwi South who
is
suspected to be a from the Mujuru camp and was relegated to the post of
secretary for land reform.
Delegates from Midlands accepted to take
the post of the deputy
secretary but rejected Ndhlovu as their
candidate.
Chakanyuka automatically becomes the member of the Zanu PF
politburo
following his election.
From the first list of the
elected candidates Ndhlovu's name was not
there and she had to rush to the
podium and spoke to Emmerson Mnangagwa in
order for her to get a position in
the youth league.
The Mujuru camp however got two powerful position in
Obert Mutasa from
Mashonaland Central who was elected the secretary for
finance and and
Mike Gava from Mashonaland West who got the post of
secretary for
commissariat.
All the candidates from Mnangagwa's
faction from Masvingo,
Matabeleland South and North, Midlands and Manicaland
managed to get posts
in the new youth leadership.
Other members in
the new team are John Mushai, Lesley Ncube,
Khumbulani Mlilo, Bekezela
Sibanda, Kudzani Chipanga, Clopas Magwizi and
Yeukai Simbanegavi.
Joshua Sacco became the first white man in the Zanu PF youth league
after he
was elected a deputy secretary for production. Outgoing deputy
secretary
Saviour Kasukuwere's younger brother Tongai was elected deputy
secretary for
external affairs.
President Robert Mugabe later addressed the
conference and told the
youths about his earlier meeting with the visiting
European Union (EU)
delegation.
"Instead of talking about
sanctions, they (EU delegation) were talking
about Gono and Tomana. They
said this was in the spirit of the GPA and I
told them to go and listen to
our brothers from SADC," said Mugabe.
He said he told the EU delegation
that because of sanctions Zimbabwe
cannot get lines of credit.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=22598
September 13, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Zanu-PF youths who attended a party conference
held over the
weekend in Harare sang in harmony from the same hymn book as
their party's
leadership.
The youths accused the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party led by
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of
violating the Global Political Agreement
(GPA) by failing to call for the
removal of international sanctions.
"As youths we note with concern
violations of the GPA by the MDC. We note
the continuous running of illegal
pirate radio stations established in
neighbouring countries at their
request," said the youths in their
communiqué read at the end of the
conference.
The Zanu-PF youths said they were also concerned at attempts
by both MDC
parties to depart from the agreed Kariba Constitutional draft to
which the
three parties appended their signatures and which they pledged to
campaign
for.
They also accused MDC of running a parallel government
through the World
Bank.
"The operation of clandestine financial
facilities for the benefit of their
side of the inclusive government is
equally disturbing," said the youths.
Zanu-PF has alleged that some
workers in the Prime Minister's Office are
getting their salaries from the
World Bank. It alleged that some of the
workers in the Prime Minister's
office were earning as much as US$ 7000 a
month while MDC MPs are said to be
getting allowances of US$ 2000 a month.
"We demand that the World Bank
state its position with regards to the issue
of salaries. We also call upon
the Bretton Woods institutions to
unconditionally release the funds
channelled for Zimbabwe," said the youths.
The Zanu-PF youths had earlier
in the day elected its new leadership amid
chaos and allegations of rigging
as factionalism within the former ruling
party came to the
fore.
Delegates from the Harare province were locked out of the
conference venue
during polling after the province failed to elect its
leaders in time of the
conference.
Harare delegates who were
accredited as observers sang derogatory songs as
they tried to force their
way into the City Sports Centre.
Minister of State in the President's
office, Didymus Mutasa, emerged from
the conference and tried to silence the
angry youths but to no avail. They
were only allowed into the venue after
the elections had been conducted but
a few seats were reserved for
them.
Zanu-PF's legendary factionalism became quite apparent during the
elections
as the faction of wealthy Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa
fought and won
the most powerful posts in the youth league against the
candidates
representing the camp loyal to wealthy former army commander
Solomon Mujuru.
President Robert Mugabe later addressed the conference
and told the youths
about his earlier meeting with the visiting European
Union (EU) delegation.
"Instead of talking about sanctions, they were
talking about Gono and
Tomana. They said this was in the spirit of the GPA
and I told them to go
and listen to our brothers from SADC," said
Mugabe.
http://www.zimonline.co.za
by Clara
Smith Monday 14 September 2009
HARARE - Eleven political and
human rights activists abducted by state
security agents during last year's
post election turmoil have asked for the
return of property seized during
and after their abduction.
Lawyers for the abductees have petitioned the
head of litigation in the
Attorney General's office, Tawanda Zvekare, to
facilitate the release of
property confiscated during the state sanctioned
enforced disappearances..
"Kindly make the above property available to
our clients for collection and
advise us as soon as possible when our
clients can collect their property,"
read part of the letter written to
Zvekare.
Zvekare, who was not immediately available for comment on the
matter, has
not responded nor acknowledged receipt of the
letter.
Property taken from the abductees' homes during searches by state
agents
includes cars, computers, cameras and cash.
The 11 Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) officials and human rights
activists are part of
a group of 17 people abducted and held incommunicado
in various secret
locations between October and December last year.
Most of the abductees
say they were tortured and forced into confessing
involvement in alleged
acts of terrorism and banditry. The state is charging
them with sabotage,
banditry, terrorism and plotting to unseat the previous
government led by
President Robert Mugabe.
Gandhi Mudzingwa, a former top aide to Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and
now the director of infrastructure
development in the coalition government
said he lost a truck, US$310, a cell
phone handset and shoes.
Kisimusi Dhlamini, the MDC director of
information who says he was forced
into confessing involvement in alleged
terrorist activities lost US$2 000, a
Nokia N95 handset and two sim cards.
Chinoto Zulu lost his Ford Bantam
vehicle, US$2 010, a mobile handset and a
sim card.
Freelance photo-journalist Andrison Manyere, abducted and
charged with
sabotage and banditry lost US$4 500, a laptop, three Nokia
handsets, a
digital camera, his passport and other items.
Fidelis
Chiramba, who at 72 was the oldest of the abductees and whose
torture
sessions included being locked in a freezer lost three cameras,
shoes, and a
belt while Mapfumo Garutsa lost a mobile handset and a sim
card.
Broderick Takawira, a human rights activist with the Zimbabwe
Peace Project
(ZPP) lost a mobile handset, two sim cards, car keys and
US$295, while
Audrey Zimbudzana lost a mobile handset.
Manuel
Chinanzvavana and his wife Concilia who were abducted from their
Banket home
last October lost a desktop computer, printer, clothes, mobile
handsets,
several sim cards and children's passports. Tawanda Bvumo lost
US$135, a
mobile handset and a sim card.
Lawyers for the abductees said they were
also compiling the missing property
for the other abductees who suffered the
same fate as the eleven.
Several of the rights and political activists
have also filed lawsuits with
the High Court demanding US$1.2 million each
in damages for abduction and
torture. - ZimOnline
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=22591
September 13, 2009
By
Our Correspondent
HARARE - A prominent South African businessman has
alleged that staff in
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office and MDC
ministers are earning
additional salaries of up to US$7 000 per month from
Western capitals apart
from their government remuneration.This claim has
been immediately angrily
denied by the Prime Minister's office.
Udo
Froese, a Namibian national and prominent newspaper columnist and
socio-economic analyst, said the West was interfering in Zimbabwe's internal
affairs and dashing hopes of an economic recovery through their alleged
"skewed engagement" with the three principals in government.
Froese,
who is also spokesperson for anti-apartheid icon, Winnie
Madikizela-Mandela,
ex-wife of former President Nelson Mandela, made the
startling claims on
Zimbabwe State TV.
"So what capacity therefore does a country like
Zimbabwe have to lift its
economy when there are so many forces working
against it?" he said.
"For example, when some of your MDC ministers are
alleged to receive
salaries in addition to the salaries that they receive
from the government,
when they receive salaries from outside to the margin
of US$7 000 per month,
so who are those minister really serving? Are they
serving the government
and the people of Zimbabwe or those who pay them? I
know there is a saying
that he who pays the piper pays the tune. And that
makes it very difficult."
The State media has also claimed that staff in
the Prime Minister's Office
was getting US$7 000 from the World
Bank.
James Maridadi, the spokesman for Tsvangirai said: "I will not give
credence
to rubbish by responding to it. The Prime Minister's office and
indeed all
ministers are getting only a government salary and no other
income from the
West as mischievously claimed by Mr Froese."
While
Finance Minister Tendai Biti was not immediately available for
comment, he
recently said ministers were on a homogenous salary and said
President
Robert Mugabe was actually earning only US$300.
Froese said the West
wanted to give the MDC an unfair advantage in the GNU
and did not want to
remove sanctions because they had a grand plan to cause
regime change and
install an exclusive MDC government.
"The international West, who are
their paymasters, remain in control,"
Froese said. "They wanted from the
onset a government of regime change not a
government of national unity. And
that is what makes it very difficult for
any country.
"For example,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the US Secretary of State came to
visit Africa on
her Africa safari, she also visited South Africa's President
Jacob Zuma, who
is a newcomer to this whole project, and seemed to be
leaning on him that he
must lean on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to
finalise the regime
change otherwise sanctions would not be lifted. So what
the international
West enjoys I suppose is to forget that agreements are
signed agreements and
cannot be broken."
Froese spoke as a European Union team of government
ministers and senior
officials led by the Swedish and Spanish development
ministers and the
European Commission's top aid official, Karel De Gucht,
travelled to
Zimbabwe this weekend to meet President Robert Mugabe. EU
diplomats in
Harare however stressed that it was too early to talk of
lifting sanctions.
Southern African leaders meeting in the DRC capital,
Kinshasa last week,
argued that the power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe could not
be properly
implemented until sanctions were lifted while the Europeans say
they cannot
be lifted until the pact is properly observed.
Feuding
between the rival constituent parties in Zimbabwe's inclusive
government
continues to undermine the February pact and hold up chronically
needed
foreign aid in a country whose economy was reduced to complete
collapse by
the economic mismanagement of the Mugabe government.
| ||
OPINION: There have
been some 208 African heads of state since 1960 but one would be hard pressed to
name just 15 good leaders. Take this challenge yourself and see if you can name
me just 15 good leaders since independence. Even if you can name me 20 good
leaders that would mean the overwhelming majority – over 90 percent – were utter
failures.
Said the Nigerian
student, Akira Suni, "Almost without exception, they (African leaders) are a big
disgrace to humankind. Apart from indulging in their usual foolish rhetoric,
what have they done to satisfy even the most basic needs of our people" (BBC News Talking
Point, April 16,
2001).
In an unusual
editorial, The
Independent
newspaper in Ghana wrote: "Most of the leaders in Africa are power-loving
politicians, who in uniform or out of uniform, represent no good for the welfare
of our people. These are harsh words to use on men and women who may mean well
but lack the necessary vision and direction to uplift the status of their people
(The
Independent, Ghana,
July 20, 2000; p.2).
The slate of
post-colonial leadership in Africa has been a disgusting assortment of military
fufu-heads, “Swiss bank socialists,” crocodile liberators, quack
revolutionaries, briefcase bandits and vampire elites.
They amassed power to
do only three things: To loot the treasury, to squash all dissent and to
perpetuate themselves in office. The exceptions are shamefully
few.
Monumental leadership
failure
The crisis Africa
faces is one of monumental leadership failure. Ideology is not particularly
relevant. Both pro-West and pro-East leaders have failed their people.
Collectively, these leaders have been responsible for the deaths of more than 18
million Africans since independence. This total is more than what Africa lost
through the slave trade – from both the West and East African
coasts.
According to former
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, corrupt African leaders have stolen at
least $140 billion from their people in the decades since independence (London Independent, June 14, 2002. Web posted at www.
independent.co.uk).
This type of
leadership is a far cry from that which Africans have known in their own
traditional systems for centuries. Name one African chief who looted the
treasury for deposit in a foreign bank.
“Despotism does not
inhere in the African tradition,” said the famed and late British economist,
Lord Peter Bauer. Yet, they have become commonplace in post-colonial Africa. As
of today, of the 54 African countries, only 16 are democratic: Benin, Botswana,
Cape Verde Islands, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia,
Nigeria, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa and
Zambia.
Even then, a strict
definition of democracy would eliminate some of them. Thus, political tyranny is
still the order of the day for the vast majority of Africans.
Post-colonial
Africa
Despots have
proliferated in post-colonial Africa – not so much because of their ingenuity
but because of the nature and character of the opposition forces arrayed against
them. To be sure, African despots are crafty evil geniuses with a lot of
firepower at their disposal.
They are brutally
efficient at intimidation, terrorism and mass slaughter. Using bribery, they
easily co-opt their enemies with government positions and ministerial
appointments. They are also very adept at the diplomatic game.
However, according to
Newton’s Law of Physics, for every force in nature there is a counter-force. A
force dominates either because a counterforce is non-existent or weak. African
despots have prevailed for decades because the forces of opposition against them
are weak or no-existent. These forces are in the main
three:
1.
The
Intellectual/Professional class – professors, lecturers, lawyers, doctors,
soldiers, students, etc.
2.
Opposition
politicians,
3.
Civil society groups –
editors, journalists, church groups, etc.
These groups, collectively referred to as the chattering class, are often weak, underfunded and argumentative. It is
exceedingly difficult to unite them for a common cause.
During the struggle
against colonialism, it was easy to unite them against white colonialists but
not against today’s black neo-colonialists, who are no different – or even worse
– in their brutal suppression of popular aspirations for freedom.
The result is a
conundrum faced by many African countries: A failed leadership that adamantly
refuses to reform its abominable political and economic systems to provide more
freedom. And an array of opposition forces that is too weak to push for change
or reform.
But without reform,
the country will implode and descend into the vortex of violence, chaos, and
destruction: Somalia, Rwanda, Zaire, Liberia, etc.
Virtually all of
Africa’s failed states would have been saved had their leaders been willing to
relinquish, share political power or implement real political
reform.
Of the forces arrayed
against African despots, the most stunningly disappointing have been Africa’s
academics, professors, scholars and intellectuals. What is most amazing is that,
there are professors with strings of PhDs, including Agricometriology (the
application of nuclear technology to the cultivation of cassava), who can’t even
define “democracy” – let alone explain such concepts as “rule of law,”
“accountability,” or “transparency.”
Intellectual
prostitutes
Many of these African
scholars and professors acted like intellectual prostitutes, selling off their
integrity, conscience and principles to hop into bed with barbarous regimes.
Then after being used and defiled, they were tossed aside or worse.
On a continent with
nearly 900 million people, one would be hard-pressed to name just 15
world-renowned African scholars, thinkers or intellectuals who are in the
forefront pushing for change or freedom in Africa.
A few come to mind:
Professor Wole Soyinka of Nigeria, Chinua Achebe of Nigeria, Professor Ali
Mazrui of Kenya, Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela, Arch-Bishop Desmond Tutu, and
Professor Wangari Maathai.
Why so few? It is
because of intellectual prostitution and collaboration. In Zimbabwe, examples of
such intellectual prostitutes are legion – Gideon Gono, Professor Jonathan Moyo,
to name a few.
Civil society groups
have been hamstrung by repressive laws and restriction on freedom of expression,
freedom of assembly, freedom of movement and press rubs. Such groups must be
licenced by the government and their licences can be revoked if they are too
critical of the government.
Even then, they must
seek police permits before then can gather or hold a public rally. Such a
restriction may apply to political parties and prevent them from holding
political rallies.
In Uganda, for
example, a political party can legally be registered but it is illegal to hold a
political rally of more than 6 people. Imagine.
Suppressed and traumatised
However, the group
that has been most brutally suppressed and traumatised in Zimbabwe has been the
journalists and editors of the independent media.
Shortly after
independence in 1980, the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust was set up to buy out the
country's five main newspapers. Mugabe argued that the newspapers were owned by
the South African Argus newspaper group and that the news was racially biased.
Nathan Shamuyarira, the Minister of Information, declared that the purchase was
motivated with a "view to getting the right news through to the consumer".
Naturally.
In 2007, 27 years
later, the suppression of the media had intensified under strict media laws
crafted by Professor Jonathan Moyo. In 2007, the licence of the Weekly Times, an independent publication, was revoked.
The media
commission's chairman, Tafataona Mahoso, said the newspaper had produced
coverage whose "core values, convictions and overall thrust were narrowly
political, clearly partisan and even separatist, in contrast to what had been
pledged," according to an article announcing the paper's closing on the front
page of the state-controlled Herald newspaper in Harare, the capital.
But editor Diggs Dube
called the closure of his paper "politically motivated" and said it was intended
to stifle debate in advance of the March elections. "There's absolutely no
freedom of the press" in Zimbabwe, Dube said (The Washington Post, Feb 27, 2007; p.A24).
Zimbabwean
journalists have been beaten, tortured, killed and have had their offices
bombed. Many have fled into exile. The Mugabe government controls all television
and radio stations.
The Opposition
Parties
Quite frankly, the
state of opposition parties in Africa leaves much to be desired. In many places
in Africa, they are hopelessly fragmented, disorganised and prone to squabbling.
In addition, many
opposition party leaders lack vision and are driven more by personal ambition
and lust for power than the cause for freedom. Even worse, their choice of
tactics is often extremely poor.
It is extremely
difficult and painful to criticise opposition leaders because of brutalities and
the threats to their lives which they have endured. Many paid the ultimate price
in their quest for freedom for their people.
We all saw the puffed
face of Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008 after he was pummeled by ZANU PF thugs. At
least four attempts were made on his life. Earlier this year he lost his wife,
Susan, in what I don’t for a moment believe was a “road
accident.”
Nonetheless, the
opposition in Zimbabwe has been hobbled by a slew of problems which also beset
other opposition forces elsewhere in Africa. The MDC would be loathe to admit it
but it has made some serious tactical errors and miscalculations. They are
mainly three:
1.
The split into two
factions
2.
Poor choice of
tactics
3.
SADC
4.
GPA/GNU
1.
The split within the opposition
camp
Nothing delights a tyrant more than to see that the
forces arrayed against him are divided. It enables him to play one faction
against the other, thereby strengthening his grip on
power.
Squabbling within the
MDC erupted into violence at the party’s Harvest House headquarters in May,
2005. It subsequently led to a split of the MDC into two factions: MDC-T (led by
Tsvangirai) and MDC-M (led by Professor Arthur Mutambara). This split spelt doom
for opposition politics in Zimbabwe which will take a log time to recover.
Exactly the same folly occurred in Kenya in 2007.
The Orange democratic
Movement (ODM) was formed out of a grassroots people's movement to push the 2005
Kenyan constitutional referendum. It was poised to challenge the corrupt and
despotic rule of President Mwai Kibaki in the December 2007 presidential
elections. But in August 2007 – just four months before the vote – ODM split
into two: ODM-Odinga and ODM-Kenya. Imagine.
The elections were
held and stolen. Kibaki was sworn in barely two hours after the fraudulent
results were announced. Violence erupted in the streets. Over 1 000 people were
killed and more than 250 000 rendered homeless.
The same spectacle
was witnessed in Zimbabwe after the March 29, 2008 elections in which the
opposition presented a divided field.
This folly was
repeated in Gabon’s September 1, 2009 presidential election. The process was
rigged to ensure that the son of the late Omar Bongo, who had ruled Gabon for 41
years succeeded his father. The son, Ali Ben Bongo, "won" with 41 percent of the
vote. His nearest rival, Andre Mba Obame, a former interior minister, won 26
percent) votes and the third candidate, Pierre Mamboundou won 25 percent.
Obviously, if the two
opposition candidates had formed an alliance they would have defeated the Bongo
dynasty.
Entrenched despot
No one single
individual or party can defeat an entrenched despot. It takes a coalition or an
alliance of opposition forces. Here is the mathematics of it.
The despotic
incumbent always has some support, no matter how terrible his rule has been
because of ethnic loyalty and patronage. Assume that the incumbent has only 30
percent popular support. This means that if you field 10 opposition candidates,
they will DIVIDE the opposition vote and none of them will have enough to defeat
the incumbent.
In the case of Gabon,
Ali Ben won with 41 percent of the vote, meaning if the two opposition
candidates had fielded one candidate, the alliance candidate would have defeated
him. I can tick off similar follies elsewhere in
Africa:
·
In Kenya's 1992 election, for example. President
Daniel arap Moi won with only 37 percent of the vote over a divided field. The
second place candidate won 32 percent of the total. "President Daniel arap Moi's
Kenya National African Union won 1.5 million votes in 1992, compared with a
combined 3.5 million for the opposition" (The
Washington Times,
June 22, 1995; p.A18). They repeated this same folly in the December 1997
elections. Kenya's opposition parties numbered 26, which fielded 13 presidential
candidates to challenge Moi. Imagine.
·
In Benin's 1990 election
(only a second runoff election defeated Mathieu Kerekou) and in the Ivory Coast
where 42 opposition parties were registered in 1994, although there was some
election rigging.
·
In Tanzania, 12 opposition
parties were formed to challenge the ruling CCM's monopoly lock on power in
1994.
·
In Zambia's Dec 27, 2001,
presidential elections, the ruling party's (MMD's) presidential candidate, Levy
Mwanawasa, won with just 29 percent of the vote. "The 70 percent of voters who
opposed Mr Mwanawasa split their loyalty between 10 power-hungry rivals. The
withdrawal of one or two of them would have helped Mr Anderson Mazoka to
victory" (The Economist,
Jan 5, 2002 ;
p.38).
Beside playing into
the hands of the despot, an MDC split also confuses voters and exacts a heavy
public relations toll. Well-wishers, supporters and sympathisers outside
Zimbabwe – both foreign and African – become baffled: Which split to support?
To be sure, Mugabe is
a monster but how can the MDC be taken seriously when it itself is split? And if the MDC can’t resolve its own
differences, how can it resolve those with ZANU PF?
2.
Poor choice of
tactics
The first rule in any war is to “know the enemy”.
One must know the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and devise one’s
strategy accordingly. One does not fight an enemy on the turf on which he is
strongest. One exploits his weaknesses.
For example, Africa’s
despots concentrate their security forces in their capital cities. Therefore,
one does not call for mass protests in the capital cities where the security
forces are ensconced. A smart strategy is that which stretches them
geographically. Note that all rebel insurgencies start from the countryside
where security forces are thinly spread.
Second, one goes to
battle PREPARED. Too often, opposition parties scramble to take
part in elections without an ounce of preparation. This requires ensuring that
the playing field is level; the electoral commission is independent, all parties have access to the state media, an access to
polling stations are open and
free, etc.
If these requirements
are not met, ALL – not just one or a few – all opposition parties
must boycott the elections. This has never been the case in Zimbabwe, where,
since 1985 Mugabe has controlled every aspect of the electoral
process.
Somehow the MDC has
an inexplicable and abiding faith in the capacity of ZANU PF to reform itself.
The MDC seems to believe, despite accumulated evidence to the contrary, that it
can reason with the ZANU PF torture machine. One can’t reason with a rogue or a
despot. Nor can one play by the book when the other refuses to.
Needless to say, time
and again, the MDC finds itself outmaneuvered and snookered. One perfect example
is the constitution-making process. The MDC bungled this
badly.
Kariba Draft
In Sept 2007,
representatives of the ruling ZANU PF and the two formations of the opposition
MDC met in
secret at Lake
Kariba and drafted a new constitutional proposal, known as the Kariba Draft. It
was authored by Zanu PF's Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, MDC-T's Tendai
Biti and MDC-M's Welshman Ncube.
The Kariba Draft was
referenced in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed on Sept 15, 2008.
Article 6 of the agreement establishes a 19-month constitution-making process.
All parties agreed to use the Kariba Draft as a reference document or the basis
for crafting a new constitution. On July 23, 2009, the Joint Monitoring
Implementation Committee or JOMIC reaffirmed this position. Now the process is
in tatters.
A huge brouhaha
erupted regarding the appropriateness and the adequacy of the Kariba Draft.
Signatories to the original document started backpedalling. It split MDC-M.
Civil society groups rejected the Kariba Draft for not being “people-driven”.
An attempt to rectify
this at an All-Stakeholders Conference on July 13 was disrupted by ZANU PF thugs
at the Harare International Conference Centre. Volleys of abuses were hurled at
the Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo and bringing the proceedings into
complete chaos.
A hurriedly convened
conference on July 14 ended in failure. According to Clerk of Parliament Austin
Zvoma, this was due to delays in confirming the budget by donors, late
drafting of programmes, delays in the invitation of principals and confirmation
of dates.
Some 4 000 delegates
were invited, far exceeding the capacity to accommodate them. Some even
allegedly represented organisations that didn’t exist. In any case, the
Parliament-driven process is being rejected by the National Constitutional
Assembly (NCA), the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Zimbabwe
National Students Union (ZINASU). They convened Constitutional Convention on July 27,
2009.
Meanwhile the
Parliament-driven process has ground to a halt because of disagreements,
infighting and a lack of funds. Munyaradzi Mangwana, a ZANU PF legislator and
co-chairperson of the parliamentary select committee, which is spearheading the
process, told the Zimbabwe Independent that the constitution may not be
completed until 2013. That means, elections cannot be expected before 2013,
which means four more years of suffering and agony for the Zimbabwean
people.
3. The GPA/GNU
fiasco
To resolve political
crises in Africa in recent years, various vehicles or modalities have been
tried. ALL these modalities entail some form of negotiations
in some kind of a forum. It must be clear who is going to negotiate with whom:
Between ZANU PF and the MDC or with the people? Every effort must be made to
ensure that the negotiations are not controlled or hijacked by one party.
Furthermore, decisions arrived at must be “sovereign” or binding on all parties.
When these
requirements are met, then it can be said that the country crafted its own
solution to its problems or that the solution is “home-grown”. Did the GPA meet
these requirements? The answer is a resounding no!
The first obvious
problem was representation. The MDC can claim to be a coalition of some civil
society groups but it is not broadly representative of Zimbabwean society.
Church groups, students groups, women groups were not represented in designing
the GPA.
The GPA has other
problems as well. It was crafted outside the country and, as such, can scarcely
be called “home-grown”. Further, it is not sovereign; ZANU PF does not regard it
as “binding”. Nor does it have enforcement mechanisms. Even worse was the
solution it proffered – the government of national unity
(GNU).
The experience with
power-sharing in Africa in recent times is anything but salutary. Essentially,
power-sharing deals are a formula for joint state-sanctioned plunder of the
country. A "government of national unity" (GNU) is often proposed to "bring
opposition leaders into government". A number of ministerial or government
positions are reserved for opposition or rebel leaders. But the formula seldom
works.
Bitter squabbles
erupt over the distribution of government posts as nobody is satisfied with the
eventual distribution. Though a peace accord is an exercise in "give and take,"
each side feels it is "stronger" and should, therefore, be awarded more
ministerial positions.
Resentment inevitably
builds over allocation of posts and the composition of the government of
national unity or reconciliation. Squabbling over posts may lead to the
resumption of hostilities and conflict again – Angola in 1992, Congo in 1999,
Sierra Leone in 2000, and Ivory Coast in 2004.
Backtracking on
agreements
More importantly,
African despots never honour agreements to which they append their signatures.
Their promises and signatures are just for show as they lack sincerity or
commitment. Even before the ink is dry, they start backtracking on the
agreements they have made. They may agree to the creation of a post of prime
minister but deprive it of power or a budget to enable him to function. Recent
African history abounds with such examples.
Even when a
“government of national unity” (GNU) is eventually established, it is
short-lived. Angola’s GNU did not last for more than six months in 1992. In
South Africa, former president de Klerk pulled out of the GNU after barely one
year when apartheid was dismantled in 1994. Congo’s GNU in 2003 created 4
vice-presidents but did not bring peace to eastern Congo, especially the Bunia
region. Burundi’s civil war flared up in August 2003 again, despite the
establishment of a GNU, brokered by former president Nelson Mandela and Ivory
Coast’s GNU established in January 2003 collapsed in less than a
year.
Sudan’s GNU, brokered
in Kenya in 2005 barely lasted a year. After battling the tyrannical regime of
President Omar el Beshir of Sudan, the late John Garang of the Sudanese People
Liberation Army (SPLA), decided to join a GNU. The agreement was supposed to
foster peace by melding SPLM with the ruling party, the National Congress Party,
in a national unity government that would rule Sudan until multiparty elections
in 2009. But within nine months, he had perished in a mysterious helicopter
crash. Though the mystery was never solved, his widow blamed the Beshir regime.
Six months later, the
rebel movement – now called Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) abruptly
pulled out of the national unity government on October 12, 2007. The former
rebels said “the move was intended to press Sudan’s ruling party to live up to
the multifaceted agreement, which has been hobbled by disputes over borders,
troop movements and sharing Sudan’s oil profits” (The New York Times, Oct 12, 2007; p.A8).
Deal floundering
Following Kenya’s
violent December 2007 elections in which 1 300 people perished, a peace deal was
reached and GNU created in February 2008. But that deal has been floundering.
The tribunal to try those suspected of organising the violence is yet to be
created.
Ominously, Prime
Minister Raila Odinga has been complaining bitterly that he has been sidelined
and excluded from major decision-making. He said President Kibaki has the habit
of “embarrassing” him publicly by failing to consult him on important decisions.
They made an effort to reconcile in Kilaguni in April, 2009 but the fence
mending never got off the ground because the parties couldn’t even agree on an
agenda.
The bloated
government of 44 ministries and 53 assistant ministers has achieved little in a
year. On April 6, 2009, Justice Minister, Martha Karua, one of Kibaki’s
staunchest supporters, resigned, claiming that she could not institute reforms.
Against this
backdrop, Zimbabwe’s GNU doesn’t stand a chance. First, Mugabe’s ZANU PF shows
no interest in living to the letter of the GPA reached on September 15, 2008.
There has already been predictable squabbling over the distribution of
government positions.
Article 20 of the GPA
stipulated 31 ministers and 15 deputy ministers, with 15 coming from ZANU-PF, 13
MDC-T and 3 MDC-M for a total of 46. The most asinine GPA proposition was the
joint control of the Home Affairs ministry by ZANU PF and
MDC-T.
However, Mugabe’s
ZANU PF set out to grab all the key and important ministries. It was originally
allocated 15 but seized 22 anyway. A furore erupted and 15 additional ministries
were created, bringing the total to 61. Still, Mugabe is still not satisfied and
transferred major portfolio powers from Communications Minister Nelson Chamisa
of MDC-T to Transport Minister Nicholas Goche of Mugabe's own ZANU PF party.
Confusion reigns
Confusion reigns over
who got what and the GPA is not being adhered to. As soon as Roy Bennett, the
deputy Agriculture Minister, returned from exile to take up his post, he was
promptly arrested and charged with treason, although he has subsequently been
released but has not been sworn in.
Farm invasions are
still continuing, as well as violence, abductions and murders. And it is the
police themselves and land officers and senators who are going around illegally
invading farms, looting and beating up farm workers and
farmers.
The MDC has no real
power to stop these crimes; nor the power to effect change. It does not control
any of the key institutions of the state – the security forces, the civil
service, the media, the judiciary, etc.
Second, a Joint
Monitoring Implementation Committee or JOMIC was set up with the mandate to
monitor the implementation of the Global Political Agreement and ensure that
that Agreement is implemented to the fullest extent possible in letter and
spirit. But JOMIC started off without any resources nor funding from the state.
It has only skeletal office or secretarial staff. Even then, JOMIC has no power
of enforcement; only an authority of persuasion.
Third, it is unlikely
the military generals, who vowed they will never accept an MDC electoral
victory, would support the unity government. Indeed, hardliners in ZANU PF,
Joint Operations Command (JOC), the military and air force have reportedly
formed a clandestine group, the Social Revolutionary Council (SRC), which
operates from the president’s office with the aim of sabotaging the GPA. Its
members include Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, State Security Minister
Didymus Mutasa, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and the commanders
of the army and air force.
The Social
Revolutionary Council is said to be behind the recent wave of invasions of
white-owned commercial farms and the continued detention and harassment of
officials and activists of MDC-T.
4. The role of
SADC
The MDC is aware of
these problems and the deficiencies of GPA and GNU but blames them on the
Southern African Development Community (SADC), which brokered the deal. This
lame excuse doesn’t speak well of the MDC. It makes the MDC look
bad.
It portrays the MDC
as “unimaginative” and “incompetent” – unable to craft its own “Zimbabwean
solution” and must depend on SADC. Worse, how in perdition can the MDC depend on
such a useless regional organisation? Does SADC understand the “rule of law”?
What has it said to condemn the violent farm invasions and flagrant violations
of human rights in Zimbabwe the past 10 years?
In the post-colonial
period, regional organisations have never intervened in the resolution of
political crises in any African country. They are generally regarded as
“internal matters”. Regional organisations have only become involved in
peacekeeping. Even then, their performance has been fatuously
execrable.
On June 2, 1993,
Nigeria's military government of General Sani Abacha, leader of the ECOMOG
forces dispatched a contingent of 2 000 Nigerian soldiers to Sierra Leone to
force the coup leaders to return power to Kabbah. At the titanic battle between
"armed buffoons" and coconut-heads, the Nigerian soldiers had the worst of it
and 300 of them were taken prisoner! And in 2007, when African Union peacekeeprs
came under sustained rebel assault, they fled! And where is the AU in Somalia or
Congo DR?
SADC, of course, has
no such peacekeeping record; nor does it have experience in political
statecraft. Its original mandate is economic – to promote economic integration
and development among the southern African states. Its budget is 70 percent
aid-funded. It is mystifying why the MDC should invest so much faith in SADC to
craft a political solution for Zimbabwe.
OPTIONS FOR THE
MDC
It is clear that the
current path (GPA/GNU) leads nowhere. The GNU is not working. The intransigent
ZANU PF regime won’t yield an inch. Running back to SADC portrays the MDC as a
“cry baby”. Though the MDC has brought some relief to the people, it has no
power to effect change. If it stays on this course, it will progressively lose
credibility and popularity. People cannot wait forever for change. They can be
patient and the Zimbabwean people have shown an enormous fount of patience but
there are limits to their patience and time is running
out.
The other option for
the MDC is to level with the Zimbabwean people and pull out of the GNU. It is
not working. And both factions of the MDC must pull out of it. You can’t have a
situation where one faction pulls out and the other stays. The two factions
should make renewed efforts to unite. A joint convention should be held to
choose a new leader. This convention should be broadened to include other civil
society groups that hithertofore been excluded. A new strategy must be crafted
that is “home-grown,” not one dictated by outsiders. All those African countries
that made successful transition from autocracy to democracy used their own
home-grown solutions. These countries are Benin, Cape Verde Island, Sao Tome
& Principe, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia – the latter two being
Zimbabwe’s neighbours.
The wise learn from the mistakes of others.
** George B. N.
Ayittey is Distinguished Economist in Residence in the Department of Economics
at American University in Washington DC. He received his PhD from the University
of Manitoba, and he is the author of the books, Africa Unchained: The Blueprint
for Development, Africa in Chaos, The Blueprint for Ghana’s Economic Recovery,
Africa Betrayed, and Indigenous African Institutions. A contributor to numerous
scholarly volumes, Professor Ayittey’s articles have been published in numerous
journals.
‘Africa demands western aid for Mugabe to spend at Harrods’. This is the essence of the message from the SADC summit in Kinshasa this week – and the message we will be driving home at the Zimbabwe Vigil in London. To us at the Vigil the SADC outcome came as no surprise; as readers of this diary will know we have never had any faith in this mafia.
Today we relaunched our petition challenging SADC: ‘A Petition to European Union Governments: We record our dismay at the failure of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help the desperate people of Zimbabwe at their time of trial. We urge the UK government and the European Union in general to suspend government to government aid to SADC countries until they abide by their joint commitment to uphold human rights in the region. We suggest that the money should instead be used to feed the starving in Zimbabwe.’
This petition was initiated two years ago and a first tranche of many thousands of signatures was submitted to the EU on our 6th anniversary last year. We suspended it when the ‘unity government’ was established to give SADC an opportunity to meet its obligations to Zimbabwe following the Global Political Agreement; a waste of time, of course.
The Vigil plans to present the petition again with thousands more signatures to an EU representative at the Vigil on 10th October when we will be marking our 7th anniversary of campaigning outside Zimbabwe House for human rights.
On that day we will have Mugabe and ‘first shopper’ Grace (or actors impersonating them) photographed outside Harrods and subsequently taking their newly-bought handbags and heels to the Embassy. SADC High Commissioners in London will be invited to witness the shopping expedition and kiss the shoes and stick their hands into the bags.
On a lovely late summer day, bright and warm, the Vigil gave a thunderous answer to SADC ‘To save Zimbabwe, Mugabe must go’.
Some other points:
1. The Vigil’s congratulations to Governor Gono on taking occupation of his 112 room Harare mansion with its 3 helipads. Amazing what they pay civil servants in Zimbabwe.
2. Our views on SADC echo those of Cathy Buckle http://www1.zimbabwesituation.com/old/sep13_2009.html#Z14 and Tanonoka Whande http://www.swradioafrica.com/pages/heart100909.htm.
3. We were glad to see Cloudy Muhamba. He had been coming to the Vigil and suddenly disappeared. We later heard he had been imprisoned for working illegally.
4. The Vigil is often asked to support this or that cause. We want to state here again that our mission is to promote human rights in Zimbabwe and we cannot be deflected from this.
5. Following last week’s diary in which we mentioned being given a wad of Zimbabwean 100 trillion dollar notes we have had a request from The Zimbabwean newspaper to collect as many as we can for them to use for promotional purposes. So we have stopped selling them and if anyone can give us more the Zimbabwean will use them to good effect.
6. Thanks to Phakama Simozo and Priscilla Kwembeya who were first at the Vigil to set up. They helped throughout and were there at the end to help clear up. The Vigil is dependent on this type of support to keep going.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/
FOR THE RECORD: 127 signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
· ROHR (Anniversary) National Fundraising Party. Saturday 26th September from 12 noon to late. Venue: The Portland Pavilion, 241 Portland Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B17 8LS. Admission: £10. Contacts: V J Mujeye 07534 034 594, Abigail Nzimba 07838 073 111, Diane Mutendereki 07502 478 591. For information on directions: 0121 434 5130. ROHR is looking for male and female models with their own African clothing for a fashion show at this fundraiser. All ages and sizes welcome. Those interested please contact: Pamela Dunduru 07553253639, Diana Mtendereki 07502478591, Pauline Makuwere 07533332306, Martha Jiya 07727016098, Abigail Nzimba 07838073111 or Paradzai Mapfumo 07915926323-07932216070. For poster advertising the event, check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/3907390469/sizes/o/
· Zimbabwe Worship Service. Sunday 27th September from 10.30 – 12.00 followed by Zimbabwean food from 12 – 3 pm. Venue: Elim Christian Centre, Dews Road, Salisbury SP2 7SN. Zimbabwean speaker. Contact: Adrian Smale, 01722 770024, adriansmale@virginmedia.com, www.elimsalisbury.org.uk.
· Zimbabwe Vigil – 7th Anniversary. Saturday 10th October at 6.30 pm. The Vigil started on 12th October 2002 and we are marking this anniversary on the nearest Saturday to that date. There will be a social gathering after the Vigil, downstairs at the Bell and Compass, 9-11 Villiers Street, London WC2N 6NA, next to Charing Cross Station at the corner of Villiers Street and John Adam Street.
· ROHR West Bromwich general meeting. Saturday 31st October from 1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue: St Peters Church Hall, Whitehall Road, West Bromwich B70 0HF. ROHR Executive and a well known lawyer present. Contact Pamela Dunduru 07958386718, Diana Mtendereki 07768682961, Peter Nkomo 07817096594 or P Mapfumo 07915926323 / 0793221607
· Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre, 84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel:jj 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground: Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).
· From Liberator to Dictator by Mike Auret. This is a personal account of the unravelling of Zimbabwe, written by an insider who was prepared to keep faith with Robert Mugabe until it was almost too late. Michael Auret served for many years on Zimbabwe's respected Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace, which worked tirelessly to defend human rights in that country. In this memoir, he traces his involvement in the politics of his country, from his days as an opposition MP in Ian Smith's Rhodesia to his involvement with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and his election as MP for Harare Central in the brutal election of 2000. http://www.newafricabooks.co.za/books_detail.asp?ID=499.
· Strategic Internship for Zimbabweans organised by Citizens for Sanctuary which is trying to secure work placements for qualified Zimbabweans with refugee status or asylum seekers. For more information check: http://www.citizensforsanctuary.org.uk/pages/Strategic.html or contact: zimbabweinternship@cof.org.uk. carina.crawford-rolt@cof.org.uk
Vigil Co-ordinators
The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.