Zimbabwe deal in deadlock amid power wrangle

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article4781242.ece

September 18, 2008

Philippe Naughton
Talks on the make-up of Zimbabwe's new unity government hit immediate
deadlock today only three days after the signature of a ground-breaking
power-sharing deal.

After telling supporters today that he was still firmly "in the driving
seat", President Robert Mugabe met his chief political foe, Morgan
Tsvangirai, and another opposition leader, Arthur Mutambara to agree on the
allocation of ministries.

But Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for Mr Tsvangirai's movement for Democratic
Change, told reporters: "The meeting was inconclusive, it was a deadlock and
has been referred to the negotiating teams for further work to try and find
common ground."

The talks will be closely watched both inside Zimbabwe and in the West,
where there has been a cautious reaction to Monday's accord.

President Mugabe earlier told supporters in his Zanu (PF) party that the
power-sharing deal was a "humiliation, but added: "Anyhow here we are, still
in a dominant position which will enable us to gather more strength as we
move into the future. We remain in the driving seat."
The deal, mediated by President Mbeki of South Africa, followed weeks of
tense negotiations to end a political crisis compounded by the veteran
leader's disputed re-election as president in June after Mr Tsvangirai was
forced to stand back by a campaign of intimidation.

Under the deal, Mr Tsvangirai will become prime minister and head a council
of ministers. Sceptics have pointed out, however, that Mr Mugabe will still
chair Cabinet, which will meet more frequently and is likely to wield much
more power, as well as keep control of the army.

Zanu (PF), which has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, is expected
to take 15 seats in Cabinet while Mr Tsvangirai's party takes 13 and Mr
Mutambara's faction the remaining three.

Zimbabweans hope that the agreement will be a first step in helping to
rescue Zimbabwe from economic collapse. Inflation has rocketed to over 11
million percent and millions have fled to neighbouring southern African
countries.

But Mr Mugabe's comments will only serve to fuel scepticism about how
seriously he and his allies take the deal.

Despite pleas from Mr Tsvangirai for Western aid agencies and companies to
return, both the European Union and United States have said that they will
wait to see clear evidence that the accord is working before they start to
resume aid payments.

Zimbabwe coalition talks stalled

Financial Times

By William Wallis and Tony Hawkins in Harare

Published: September 17 2008 22:10 | Last updated: September 18 2008 16:43

Negotiations between Zimbabwe's main political parties stalled over the
allocation of Cabinet portfolios, a spokesman for the Movement for
Democratic Change, said on Thursday.

"The talks weren't conclusive, and deadlocked so details have been sent back
to the negotiators in the hope of finding a common position,'' Nelson
Chamisa told Reuters in a telephone interview today from Harare, the
capital.

Talks on forming a new government had already been delayed earlier in the
week, with Mr Mugabe meeting members of his Zanu-PF party amid tensions over
the wisdom of a new power-sharing agreement.
On Monday the president signed away some of the overwhelming powers he has
accumulated during 28 years in office, to his bitter rival, Morgan
Tsvangirai, the prime minister designate.

But on Wednesday the two had still to open negotiations over the composition
of the cabinet, in which Zimbabweans have begun to invest hopes for an end
to the political violence and financial misery they have endured over the
past decade.

Discussions on government positions, left open under the terms of the deal
brokered by Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's president, were postponed as Mr
Mugabe met first with his politburo, and then with the national executive
committee of his Zanu-PF party amid wrangling and divisions over who stands
to lose most.

There are misgivings on all sides about the agreement. But in recent
days ­tensions have begun to ease.

For the first time in months supporters of Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change have walked into central Harare in party T-shirts
emblazoned with the words "New Zimbabwe". Anecdotes are beginning to
circulate, of police clamping down on abuses by Mr Mugabe's supporters.

MDC optimists interpret these as signs that power is already slipping away
from Mr Mugabe and that once a government is formed it will naturally
gravitate towards the new prime minister.

"Mr Mugabe is an old man. He has to be managed in the African way. With time
he will slip into the background. But you cannot take over instantly. It has
to be done incrementally," said a senior MDC figure. She and others stake
their hopes on gaining three vital concessions from talks still to come:
control of the home affairs ministry, which governs the police; the finance
ministry; and the appointment of a new central bank governor to tackle
inflation, estimated to be running at 40m per cent.

The finance ministry is the lesser battle. Both Mr Mugabe and moderates in
Zanu-PF appear to have accepted there will be no international package to
prevent mass starvation and rescue the world's fastest-shrinking economy, if
they still hold the purse strings.

But unless the MDC controls the police as well, officials in the movement
recognise that there is little chance of persuading the outside world to
come to Zimbabwe's rescue.

"If we can't guarantee the rule of law no one will give us any money," an
adviser to Mr Tsvangirai said, adding that in the worst case scenario
disputes over ministerial positions would jeopardise the deal.

Neither spokesmen for the MDC nor Zanu-PF could say when negotiations on the
new government might conclude. Days of uncertainty could extend to weeks.

A political analyst close to Zanu-PF said that when an administration is
eventually formed it still risks being derailed by the system it inherits
and parallel power centres written into the agreement. He said Zanu-PF
officials, unlike their opponents, have experience running ministries,
security services and publicly-owned companies and can use these to obstruct
Mr Tsvangirai, ensuring that he fails.

That is, unless he can convince them that the old days are over and they
have to switch loyalties or resign, the analyst said.

"This [the wrangling over the make-up of the cabinet] is a pivotal moment,"
said one senior western official.

Whether it moves in the right direction, he suggested, is still very much up
to Mr Mugabe, his army generals, who were absent from Monday's signing
ceremony, and party officials.

Working to reverse a man-made disaster

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/18/opinion/edzimbabwe.php

Published: September 18, 2008

There are so many reasons not to trust Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's dictatorial
president. But the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai - the man who would
have won the presidency in a fair election - has decided to take a chance by
agreeing this week to a vaguely defined power-sharing agreement.

With luck, and continued international pressure, the agreement could be the
start of an extended transition to democracy and economic revival for
Zimbabwe's brutalized citizens. That is, undoubtedly, why Tsvangirai
accepted it, despite Mugabe's history of bad faith.

Washington and the European Union are right to keep their sanctions in place
until it becomes clearer whether this agreement can produce real change or
is just another devious maneuver.

Tsvangirai told a radio interviewer on Wednesday that he was "quite certain"
about his rival's commitment to the deal. We are less certain.

In a democratic Zimbabwe,, Tsvangirai would be president and Mugabe would be
gone. Instead, Mugabe will remain president, with Tsvangirai becoming prime
minister.

Mugabe's party will hold 15 ministries, Tsvangirai's 13, and a splinter
opposition party three. The deal is very precise on these numbers, but not
on how the powers of the president and the prime minister will be
apportioned. Both will exercise "executive power."
The crucial question is how much power Mugabe will retain to intimidate
opponents and veto economic reforms. The deal affirms the principles of free
speech and multiparty democracy, but it also appears to declare Mugabe's
disastrous land reform untouchable. Some reports say that Mugabe will keep
control over the army, while Tsvangirai will control the police. The army
must be kept out of domestic politics.

With its rich agricultural land and abundant mineral resources, Zimbabwe
should be thriving. Instead, Mugabe has turned it into a land of famine,
with an annual inflation rate estimated to be 11 million percent. These
man-made disasters cannot be reversed without substantial help.

The United States, Europe and others should be getting ready to provide
technical support and aid. But first, they must make sure that this
agreement is not just another trick by Mugabe to stay in power.

Give a bad deal a chance

Sep 18th 2008
From The Economist print edition

Robert Mugabe is no longer omnipotent, but it will still be hard to get rid
of him altogether

THE document that provides for a government of national unity to end Robert
Mugabe's tyranny in Zimbabwe is riddled with contradictions and ambiguities
(see article). No one knows whether it will work. If justice had anything to
do with it, Morgan Tsvangirai, having won a general election and the first
round of a presidential one at the end of March on a playing field tilted
like a ski-jump in favour of the incumbent, would be indisputably in charge.
But the agreement, signed in Zimbabwe this week under the aegis of South
Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, is a dramatic turning point all the same. Mr
Mugabe is no longer wholly in charge. That is a huge change. The task now
for Zimbabweans and outsiders who wish them well is to try, against the
odds, to make a bad deal work.

The nub of the push-me-pull-you arrangement is that Mr Mugabe is due to
remain an executive president, with Mr Tsvangirai an executive prime
minister. A cabinet headed by Mr Mugabe is meant to draw up policy, while a
parallel council of ministers, headed by Mr Tsvangirai, is meant to
implement it. In the 31-person cabinet Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for
Democratic Change and a small splinter group from the same party, which have
often been bitterly at odds, will together have a majority of one over Mr
Mugabe's ZANU-PF. The unity document says that cabinet decisions should be
agreed on by consensus. Mr Mugabe will appoint ministers "in consultation
with" Mr Tsvangirai, but it is unclear how a deadlock here, as in many other
aspects of the deal, will be resolved. There is no strong arbitrating
mechanism for knocking heads together.

As The Economist went to press, the allocation of ministries had yet to be
settled. The word is that Mr Tsvangirai's team will, among others, get the
ministries of finance and home affairs, including the police and prisons. Mr
Mugabe and his ZANU-PF will still control the army and probably the feared
intelligence service. In sum, unless there is a sudden effusion of goodwill
on all sides, the deal could be a recipe for confusion and paralysis.

Target the aid, hail the incentives
Help from the West, especially the European Union and the United States,
will be crucial. The momentum is behind Mr Tsvangirai, however hobbled by
the provisions of the dodgy document. First of all, Westerners must save
Zimbabweans from starvation. It will soon be clear, as an early test of the
government's unity, whether Mr Mugabe's people will allow a fast and fair
distribution of food, which they have previously prevented. Next, outsiders
must help stabilise a currency whose annual inflation rate may have
surpassed 40m%; not an easy task. A currency board may need to be set up,
with a new currency probably pegged, at least at first, to the South African
rand.

At the same time, with the MDC having secured one of its men as Parliament's
agenda-setting speaker, Mr Tsvangirai should rapidly enact a string of
changes to engender a new mood of freedom. He should abolish the Public
Order and Security Act, a bedrock of repression that has hamstrung
opposition, and strike down a media law that has stifled open discussion and
dissent. He should immediately overhaul the state broadcaster, which has
been a virulent mouthpiece for Mr Mugabe. And he should instantly allow
Western reporters back into the country. Just as promptly, he needs to set
up a land commission, produce an early audit of who owns the land and
arrange a proper system of compensation, with help from Britain, for those
who have lost it. White farmers will not return en masse, but some should be
encouraged to come back and rebuild Zimbabwe's agriculture, the heart of its
economy, with offers of leaseholds and management contracts.

However shoddy the deal that has been done, Mr Tsvangirai can make a
difference. The faster he can make these minimal changes, the faster foreign
aid will come and the faster the country will revive. But the aid must be
accurately directed, step by step, depending on how well it is used, and not
disbursed in a hectic rush or via the crooked ZANU-PF channels of yore. Mr
Mugabe and his sullen cronies, who have long assumed that the state and the
ruling party are one and the same, may seek to divert the aid and dispense
their patronage as before, in the hope that Mr Tsvangirai will soon get the
blame.

Mr Mugabe is clever and malevolent. Mr Tsvangirai is dogged, so far decent,
and still by no means sure to prevail. Give him a chance.

Mugabe says he bowed down to pressure in deal

SABC

September 18, 2008, 18:45

Thulasizwe Simelane, Harare
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has admitted for the first time that
international pressure over the controversial June 27 presidential run-off
left him with no choice but to negotiate with the opposition.

"The British, the Americans and even some of our friends were refusing to
accept the June result and wanting only to go as far as the March outcome .
so in those circumstances, there was no way out really but to hang onto the
decision of the African Anion."

Meanwhile, Zimbabweans are unlikely to know the composition of their new
unity cabinet until after Mugabe returns from the UN general assembly in New
York.

On the eve of his departure, Mugabe met Prime Minister designate Morgan
Tsvangirai to discuss the allocation of cabinet positions.

Washington issues Zimbabwe ultimatum

Financial Times

By Daniel Dombey in Washington

Published: September 18 2008 16:15 | Last updated: September 18 2008 16:15

The US will not provide any development aid for Zimbabwe until its unity
government shows it has stopped using humanitarian assistance for political
purposes, Washington has warned Harare.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Jendayi Frazer, the US’s senior
diplomat on Africa, highlighted the risk of gridlock within the new
coalition and added that the US would move very slowly to lift sanctions on
Zimbabwe.

“The humanitarian situation is absolutely dire and that has to be the first
area of priority,” said Ms Frazer, assistant secretary of state for Africa.
“Certainly it will be our first point for assessing the will of this new
government.”
Unemployment runs at more than 80 per cent in Zimbabwe’s ravaged economy,
while more than 2m people have left the country and harvests have failed.

This year the US, which prides itself on being the biggest donor to
Zimbabwe, alleged that the Zanu-PF government headed by Robert Mugabe had
denied food aid provided by the international community to members of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change and to regions that voted against
the government in March elections.

Ms Frazer called on the new coalition “to allow humanitarian assistance to
flow throughout the country, to all Zimbabweans who are in need and not
based on party affiliation”.

She said: “When we see that, that will . . . give us greater confidence to
move more quickly on the longer term and medium-term restoration of foreign
exchange and foreign assistance and development aid.”

Ms Frazer said both bilateral and multilateral aid was needed and that the
US stood ready to increase humanitarian assistance. However, she emphasised
that both the US administration and international financial institutions
would need to see government personnel and economic plans in place before
they could assess the country’s need for development help.

In July, George W. Bush, the US president, promised a “substantial
assistance package, development aid and normalisation with international
financial institutions” if talks between Zanu-PF and the MDC established “a
new government that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people”.

US sanctions – intensified this year to include companies and individuals
linked to Mr Mugabe – would only be lifted once Washington saw the deal
“truly implemented”, Ms Frazer said. “We will certainly keep the sanctions
on until we see real performance… we will move very slowly to remove the
sanctions.”

She was sure that some politicians had agreed to form the unity government
due to external pressure, but “without any intention of making real reform,
real change”. “I do worry that it could be a recipe for gridlock,” she said.
But she added that the agreement also offered an opportunity to transform
Zimbabwe and get its economy on track.

What's the lie of Zimbabwe's land?

Thursday, 18 September 2008 07:56 UK

By Lucy Fleming BBC News Sorting out the mess of Zimbabwe's agricultural sector will be key to breathing life back into the country's economy and to the success of the power-sharing deal signed this week. The detailed agreement devotes a whole section to the "Land Question". It notes that the fast-tracked farm redistribution is "irreversible", something President Robert Mugabe defiantly reiterated at the signing ceremony with the words: "Zimbabwe's land belongs to Zimbabweans." I do have neighbours who have really battled, because we don't have the finance New farmer Musa Kwedza Hunger road trip of rural areas But farmer Alan Smith (not his real name), who has been kicked off four properties since 2000, says the deal also provides hope for white farmers wanting to get back to the soil. "We still love the country. If there is a chance to get back to productive farming without political interference and without the continuous threat of violence, I really believe that a lot of people [white farmers] would come back," he said. His optimism is based on a number of concessions in the new negotiated settlement. Firstly, there is to be an audit of the land to eliminate "multiple farm ownerships". This has long been a call by the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which feels that much of the 11m hectares of prime farmland taken from 4,000 mainly white farmers has been given to ruling party loyalists. "Anyone who has multi farms which they obtained under the land reform programme would have to lose, because it's one person per farm," Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Zanu-PF negotiator of the power-sharing agreement, confirmed to the BBC. Security of tenure The deal also says that all Zimbabweans can be considered for land "irrespective of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or political affiliation". The land redistribution was often turned violent and chaotic For the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), which claims its member have been unfairly prejudiced in the chaotic redistribution programme, it is a shift in policy. "That is a tremendous positive from where we've come from," CFU President Trevor Gifford said. He also points to the security of tenure the agreement guarantees to land holders, as key to rebooting the sector. Details of the guarantee are yet to be decided, Mr Chinamasa says, but it is likely that land, now considered state property, will be allocated on 99-year leases. This will allow capital to be raised, which the justice minister says, has stunted new farmers, leaving them unable to pay for equipment and seeds. It's our right to be compensated for what's been taken away from us Farmer Gordon Stokes "I do have neighbours who have really battled, because we don't have the finance," businessman and new farmer Musa Kwedza, who was allocated a small-scale commercial farm in 2005, told the BBC. In his opinion, the land audit will weed out those who are not serious about farming and the security of tenure will spur growth. Mr Smith agrees the leases will be a good compromise to allow farmers to raise cash - and it is money that the agricultural sector desperately needs. "I'm on the ground and basically everything has been laid to waste - buildings and barns - all the boreholes need to refitted, dams need to be repaired," he says. 'Once bitten, twice shy' The deal calls on the international community to support land reform, and in particular it asks the UK to pay compensation to white farmers who lost their land. READ THE AGREEMENT Agreement between Zanu-PF and MDC on resolving the challenges facing Zimbabwe [163.25KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here "It's our right to be compensated for what's been taken away from us. It's not like we took the land from anybody; it was purchased," said Gordon Stokes, who now farms in the UK. But even if compensation was paid out, he has no intention of uprooting his family again. "If you've a reasonable job elsewhere, would you go back to no health service, a place where all the teachers have left and there is no security?" Former farmer Jason Davies, who left Zimbabwe for the UK 10 years ago, agrees. "Once bitten, twice shy," he says. "The risk is too high and it's not stable enough. When Mugabe dies, there's going to be a power struggle, then what happens?" Some white farmers still in Zimbabwe, like the 11 fighting their case at the Southern African Development Community tribunal, alleging the land reforms were racist, are more dogged. They're not getting their farms back. Anyone who wants to till the land must queue up like anybody else Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa And one former farmer in the capital, Harare, told the BBC he "would not hesitate" to go back to the land if he was offered his old farm back, with or without compensation. However, Mr Chinamasa is quick to point out that they can apply for land, but not request specific plots. "They're not getting their farms back. Anyone who wants to till the land must queue up like anybody else." He maintains the Zanu-PF line that it is the UK to blame for snarling up land reform by reneging on promises to pay out compensation under former Prime Minister Tony Blair. But the UK foreign office told the BBC the government had fulfilled its obligations under the 1979 Lancaster House agreement and had "never agreed… to accept responsibility for compensation". "We have always expressed our willingness to work with others to support a fair and transparent process of land reform," a spokesperson said. "We will be willing to consider supporting such a process as part of the wider recovery package." 'Mugabe not the issue' The tired dialogue even seems to have wearied Mr Chinamasa: "Let's not hark to the past… as far we are concerned the objectives of the liberation struggle have been confirmed." I don't have any doubt that Zimbabwe will become the bread basket of Africa again Farmer Alan Smith But for Mr Smith, it does not matter how the money is labelled, as long as it is forthcoming. "Whether it's compensation or a grant is immaterial; at the end of the day there has to be a financial injection in order to get the farms running again," he says. "I don't have any doubt that Zimbabwe will become the bread basket of Africa again and I will be here to be a part of it. It's just a matter of time." Mr Kwedza is equally optimistic, but says the "wait-and-see attitude" from donors so far has been a disappointment. "Robert Mugabe is not the issue. The dispensation is new," he says. "It will be very exciting to see white farmers, black farmers - all of us - working side by side towards the turning around of this economy."

Nuture our agriculture and steer Zimbabwe to prosperity

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/


Thursday, 18 September 2008 06:47
Sorting out the country's farming debacle is an urgent step,
indispensable for economic recovery, says A. Derembwe.

September 11, not the infamous and painful one of 2001 but 2008, will
remain a permanent imprint on the minds of not only the resilient
Zimbabweans but all peace-loving Africans and the world at large.

The eventual political settlement between MDC and Zanu (PF) heralds a
new era of optimism and prosperity in the country. The apparent stalling of
the power-sharing negotiations was but a pseudo-hurdle to the dawn of a
rejuvenated African giant.

With its ample and superior natural resources, Zimbabwe's flourishing
economy has been hindered only by political wrangling for almost two
decades.

The country is blessed with some of the best farming land, and
abundant deposits of assorted foreign currency-earning minerals.
Notwithstanding these natural gifts, Zimbabwe's outstanding human resource
bank and the rich social capital, unparalleled in the region, if not the
world, provide the most efficient engine for the economic development
vehicle.

Once revered as the bread-basket of Africa, for its outstanding
ability to produce food crops in excess, not mentioning the world's major
cash crops such as tobacco and cotton, Zimbabwe has deteriorated into a
country of chronic food shortages and a perennial importer of basic food
stuffs, and is a needy recipient of donor aid.

The ailing agricultural sector, battered by the malevolent, recurrent
droughts, a phenomenon of the ever-evolving global weather pattern, and the
ill-planned and administered land reform, have rendered the population sheer
beggars, who seemingly can barely fill their own tummies.

Catapult the economy

But with judicious planning and benevolent intervention, Zimbabwe's
agricultural sector presents a strong backbone to remedying this depressed
economy. A resuscitated farming sector will undoubtedly catapult the economy
to a vantage step on the ladder of development. It is therefore imperative
that the incoming collective leadership prioritise revamping the most
important organ of the economy (agriculture) in their bid to effect positive
growth.

Land reform is, of course, an undisputed process crucial for the
rectification of the inequitable, skewed land ownership situation (a legacy
of the ruthless, selfish and greedy colonial masters) and requires
scrutinisation.

It is widely believed that the process employed in the speedily
implemented land reform in Zimbabwe has had more negative than positive
repercussions on productivity. The politically motivated haste with which
the reform projects were administered meant prolonged incubation devoid of
results.

Without clear objectives, adequate resources and time devoted to an
organised reform programme, agriculture became an undeserving victim of
political debauchery. Ill-equipped and subsistence-oriented peasants were
dumped on productive soils, which they could barely utilise, let alone eke
out a decent living. While, the few politically networked individuals have
had excessive support rendered to their ventures, though unscrupulously.

Compounded by the ever-deteriorating political instability, new
farmers have been rendered sheer land occupiers with very little ability to
produce any substantial crop and animal yields. In fact, most of these
farmers have unfortunately become worse-off subsequent to resettlement. They
have become helplessly vulnerable to abject poverty and food insecurity.

Support for resettled farmers

Urgent reorganisation and holistic support are imperative in order to
stimulate farming in Zimbabwe. Resettled farmers require relevant and
adequate support lest their enterprises fail to realise sizeable returns or
break-even.

Without high returns, any agricultural enterprise is overwhelmed by
the costs of production, rendering it unviable and unsustainable. This has
been the latent feature of most, if not all, of the new farmers in Zimbabwe.

Sustainable resettlement and farming require committed political,
social and financial exertion on the part of the reigning government. In
spite of the so-called betrayal by the colonial master, Britain (who
declined, in principle, to fund the chaotic and non-transparent land reform
process), Zimbabwean leaders should live up to the ideals of a developmental
state and steer the nation on the right trajectory.

In infancy, farmers' businesses need to be nurtured through generous
government support, since credit providers usually shun the risk of poor
loan repayments. Timely and accurate dissemination of relevant farming
knowledge, capital injections and product disposal support are essential.

Rejuvenation of the Zimbabwean economy hinges on a vibrant
agricultural sector and its reorganisation and support are vital.

Raising a moribund economy

Photo: Antony Kaminju/IRIN

Empty shelves

HARARE, 18 September 2008 (IRIN) - Financial aid is vital to the recovery of Zimbabwe's once vibrant agricultural and industrial sectors, but will only come if the new inclusive government speedily adopts "comprehensive and workable frameworks" to address the dire economic straits prevailing, analysts told IRIN.

"Financial aid is basic to the agricultural recovery programme, just as it is to the whole economy. Those that are willing to assist will be cautious because they want to see what sort of policy frameworks are put in place before committing themselves," Sam Moyo, a land expert, told IRIN. The frameworks alone "could take months to put in place, and real work has to start after that".

Zimbabwe's main political rivals - President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutumbara - signed a power-sharing deal on 15 September that, it is hoped, will turn around the economic and political misfortunes that have plagued the country for nearly a decade.

Mugabe, seen by many as the architect of the political impasse and economic meltdown, will share executive powers with Tsvangirai, who will assume the newly created post of prime minister and oversee the daily activities of the new government.

Mugabe has called the deal a "humiliation" for ZANU-PF, which has ruled uninterrupted since the country won its independence from Britain in 1980, and has warned that he "will not tolerate any nonsense from our new partners [the MDC]."

However, his dismay at the dilution of his power is tempered by economic reality: inflation is officially estimated at more than 11 million percent, easily the world's highest.

The collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar has seen government sanction the use of foreign currency as legal tender; shortages of basic foods, fuel and electricity are commonplace, unemployment is above 80 percent, and the UN estimates that 5.1 million people, nearly half the population, will require food assistance in the first quarter of 2009.

The European Union, the US and Australia have adopted a wait-and-see approach to the deal before agreeing to lift "smart sanctions" targeting Mugabe and more than 100 other associates, or releasing a rescue package said to be valued at more than US$1 billion.

The slow thaw

Moyo said, "You can't expect things to thaw a hundred percent immediately, but there will be somewhere to start, and it is safe to say there will be progress if we moved now. For agriculture, aid can, in the short term, be sourced from regional partners and businesses. The short-term policy paradigm should work to ensure that there is sufficient fuel, farming inputs, power; and this should not necessarily involve big money."

You can't expect things to thaw a hundred percent immediately, but there will be somewhere to start, and it is safe to say there will be progress if we moved now. For agriculture, aid can, in the short term be sourced from regional partners and business

Transport infrastructure, particularly railroads, should be improved, as should agricultural extension services and affordable pricing systems for inputs; the government ought to resuscitate dormant or under-utilised fertiliser production plants, he said.

With the main farming season due to start in October, focus should be put on how best to finance the procurement of agricultural inputs, "and emphasis should be put on addressing the needs of the poor farmers and small-scale land holders, because they have been hardest hit by high prices of commodities, yet they have the capacity to produce enough to fend for themselves."

Moyo said humanitarian organisations had to address the population's immediate needs, as well as provide agricultural inputs.

Fambai Ngirande, spokesman for the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (NANGO), an umbrella body, told IRIN: "Our members have started moving in to address the humanitarian crisis, and it is evident that they have been encouraged by the political deal.

"People have started receiving aid in certain areas and since the agricultural season is almost underway there is need for a rush to provide inputs to poor farmers. Even though some of our members will have to re-assess the food needs of affected communities, we are encouraged by the fact there are large food stocks that have been unused for a long time," he said.

The government recently lifted a ban imposed on the activities of humanitarian organisations, including food distributions, nearly three months ago, after accusing them of political interference during the lead-up to the presidential run-off ballot in June, which was widely condemned as flawed.

Emergency action

UNICEF Zimbabwe's Rowland Monasch told IRIN his organisation was "doing a lot, and will continue to help those that need humanitarian assistance." He said they were working with the government to procure medicines and vaccines for public health facilities, providing support to up to 300 non-governmental organisations and 150 community-based organisations, and offering financial assistance to over 100,000 school children.

"Education has become an area of serious concern and we intend to ensure that children are kept in school. We are helping rural and urban areas with safe water, and have done substantial work in areas that were recently hit by a cholera outbreak. UNICEF Zimbabwe is also helping orphans and vulnerable children," Monasch said, and added that there was a need to "improve the human resources base so that we have enough manpower to roll out support."

Moyo warned that there could be delays in adopting the policy frameworks because of disagreements within the power-sharing government. "There are those that are arguing for a big bang approach, pushing for total liberalisation of the economy, yet there are others, particularly in ZANU-PF, who would want to retain control mechanisms."

He said the land issue remained vexed, and the issue of compensation for white commercial farmers, displaced in the 2000 fast-track land reform programme, which redistributed about 4,500 farms to landless blacks, should be speedily resolved.

Renson Gasela, the MDC's former farming minister, said the land audit agreed to in the power-sharing agreement should be completed urgently. "The land audit will be a litmus test indicating the political will of the new government to kick-start agriculture, and this will be essential to restore investor and donor confidence," Gasela told IRIN.

Any policy framework adopted by the government should address the needs of communal farmers. "Communal farmers used to produce the bulk of cereals for domestic consumption and even exports," he said.

Political commitment is essential, and this should involve re-engaging the international community, which will in turn unlock aid, which should come in tranches over an extended period. There has been a lot of suspicion between the government and the international community but I think the MDC's presence can do the trick

"They should be assured of inputs at convenient points across the country, as opposed to what is happening now, whereby the Grain Marketing Board [a state-owned monopoly] is the only one that is mandated with selling of inputs, and where the inputs can be found in other places ... [they are] sold at exorbitant black market rates," he said.

Eric Bloch, a Bulawayo-based economic consultant, said full recovery would be "long and slow". "Political commitment is essential, and this should involve re-engaging the international community, which will in turn unlock aid, which should come in tranches over an extended period.

"There has been a lot of suspicion between the government and the international community but I think the MDC's presence can do the trick, if there are no power fights in the future," Bloch told IRIN.

The new policy framework should ensure that industrial infrastructure was upgraded, and investors were confident that security of property ownership was re-established, he said.

The political settlement calls for the signatories to "work together to secure international support and finance for the land reform programme", and to "work together for the restoration of full productivity on all agricultural land".

After talks with the new unity government, the African Development Bank and the World Bank have indicated that that they are prepared to provide assistance.

Cash Shortages Persist Despite Introduction of New Note

SW Radio Africa (London)

18 September 2008
Posted to the web 18 September 2008

Tichaona Sibanda

The introduction of a higher value banknote on Wednesday by the Reserve Bank
has failed to ease cash shortages, which has kept many banks busy with long
queues of desperate customers wanting to withdraw money.

The central bank issued a new Z$1,000 dollar note in a bid to ease
widespread cash shortages as the country battles the world's highest
inflation rate.

Luke Tamborinyoka, the MDC's director of information said if anything, long
queues have persisted since the new denomination was introduced. He said
banknotes have joined a growing list of basic items in short supply in the
country. The bank has introduced a series of new notes since August, after
the central bank struck 10 zeros off the local currency. There have been
chronic shortages of cash amid hyperinflation which was last reported at
11.2 million percent.

The country has been gripped by a severe economic crisis blamed on ZANU PF
policies. RBZ governor Gideon Gono, who blames the thriving black market
trade for the crunch, says high inflation and frequent wage hikes have also
increased demand for cash.

Tamborinyoka added that the problem is compounded by the banks imposing
daily withdrawal limits of 500 dollars for individuals and corporations,
which is only enough for a single fare journey in the capital.

"You can walk across the city now and all you see are long queues
everywhere. In fact nothing has changed from the food situation right down
to basic commodities," Tamborinyoka said.

The economy has been on a downturn for a decade with high unemployment and
food shortages where at least 80 percent of the population lives below the
poverty line. Two weeks ago, the reserve bank allowed selected shops and
wholesalers to quote prices in foreign currency, in a bid to curb the
burgeoning black market trade in basic commodities.

Teachers Union President Takavafira Zhou Arrested

SW Radio Africa (London)

18 September 2008
Posted to the web 18 September 2008

Violet Gonda

The president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ)
Takavafira Zhou was arrested in Masvingo Central on Thursday. PTUZ Secretary
General Raymond Majongwe said Zhou is being accused of spearheading an
'illegal' teachers strike.

Zhou who was picked up by plainclothes policeman while in a bank, is being
held at Masvingo Central Police Station.

Majongwe said: "This is a clear case of political victimisation by police
officers."

The teachers have been on strike since schools opened early this month
demanding salary increases that are commensurate with the hyper-inflationary
environment.

Violence persists while ink is still wet on Zimbabwe power sharing deal

By Violet Gonda
18 September 2008

Arrests and beatings continue in Zimbabwe barely three days before the ink
has dried on the power sharing agreement between ZANU PF and the two MDC
formations.

10 students from Bindura State University were arrested on Wednesday during
protests calling for a conducive learning environment. Three student leaders
Chiedza Gadzirayi (22), Laswet Savadye (24) and Respect Mbanga (21) were
allegedly beaten up while in police custody.

Chiedza Gadzirayi told Newsreel they were arrested at 10am on campus and
were only released at 7pm the same day after being charged with criminal
nuisance. The students were made to pay a fine of $20 each. She said: "They
beat us up saying we are over excited and not recognising the whole issue of
the talks.they also said we are part of the MDC and that we were trying to
incite students."

The students were protesting against the decision by the University to
charge top up fees for this semester of $380 trillion and $420 trillion for
science students. Gadzirayi said this was exorbitant, given the fact that
the students had already been made to pay $85 trillion when colleges opened
on 13th August. The top up fees are required by the 30th September.

According to the students, since the University opened there has been no
improvement in the environment and no learning as the lecturers are also on
strike for better salaries.

We could not get a comment from Bindura police, but the students maintain
their demonstration was justified. They say the police have shown they are
really not respecting the talks by continuing with the brutality. "Our
demonstration was justified and the police were not justified to do what
they did to us yesterday, especially the harassment and the torture and the
humiliation that they made us go through," added Gadzirayi.

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) said in a statement: "This is
a negative development, taking into consideration that the deal was signed
to bring sanity to the political terrain in this country."
Observers say repression in Zimbabwe is now a political culture such that
this 'coalition' has to put security sector reform and the judiciary as top
on its agenda if it is to work.

The MDC has to demand that action be taken decisively against the
perpetrators. They are now part of the system, and it's either they are
viewed as culpable or they show that they will not tolerate such behaviour.

Meanwhile ZANU PF official Patrick Chinamasa was quoted by the state media
claiming his party supporters were `'being victimised across the country."
He said: "It's unfortunate that these violent attacks are happening just
when we are starting a new era in Zimbabwe.''

SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

Student Leaders Arrested

http://www.radiovop.com


BINDURA, September 18 2008 - Police in Bindura on Wednesday arrested
ten students at the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE),
following a demonstration on campus over deteriorating standards at the
institution.

Among the arrested are Chiedza Gadzirayi, who is the Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU)'s Secretary for international relations, and five
other members of the students' representative council whose names could not
be immediately established.

"The students were protesting against a decision by the University to
charge three hundred and eighty trillion dollars ($38 000 revalued) as fees
for this semester, " said the Students Solidarity Trust (SST) in a
statement.

The arrest of the ten students comes hard on the heels of the signing
of a power sharing agreement between Zanu PF and the two MDC formations.
Among other things, the agreement provides for the revival of the education
sector and the restoration of human rights and the rule of law.

"This is a negative development taking into consideration that the
deal was signed to restore sanity. The ten are being held at Bindura Central
police station and no charges has been preferred," added the SST.

ZINASU spokesperson, Blessing Vava, said they would continue to push
the new administration to urgently restore sanity in the education sector.

New trend of power-sharing a threat to democracy

http://www.nation.co.ke

By DONALD MOGENI donaldmogeni@yahoo.com

Posted Thursday, September 18 2008 at 20:43

There is a scary political trend unfolding in sub-Saharan Africa that if
left unchecked will replace the heinous tradition of social movements, rebel
wars and guerilla warfare resorted to by unscrupulous politicians after
losing elections.
This trend is the scandalously nauseating power sharing gimmick of giving
some concessions to the opposition, banking on the false premise that this
would serve as a quick panacea to negotiate post-election disagreements.
Most worrying is that all an election loser needs to do is to ignore the
results, provoke violent unrest and lobby for mediators to swoop in for a
so-called government of national unity to defuse tensions.
This, by all indications, is nothing but a bastardisation of the whole
political process that upholds the norm of "when you lose an election, you
have to step down".
As a power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe was signed on Monday, supporters of
strongman Robert Mugabe raised their fists in salute. Opposition followers
waved open hands.
The two gestures - one defiant and one hopeful - hint at the tension
underlying this unlikely political marriage in a country where democracy has
been on trial.
As with Kenya's new unity government, the most welcome aspect of Zimbabwe's
grand coalition is an end to political violence. The brutality was triggered
by the March elections that resulted in massive government interference in
the June runoff.
Beyond a return to calm, it is impossible to know whether this team of
enemies can find the trust and will to restore one of Africa's most troubled
nations to the jewel it once was.
The deal defies the will of voters since it leaves significant power in the
hands of Mr Mugabe, the octogenarian autocrat who has ruled and ruined this
once humming commercial and agricultural engine in southern Africa.
The above premise is predicated on the fact that even though the Kenyan
political crisis is potentially different from Zimbabwe's, the South African
Development Community (SADC) and the African Union, chose to prescribe the
Kenyan dose as a solution.
What the AU has failed to explain is the strange notion that Mr Mugabe and
Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who loathe each other, could ever form a workable
partnership.
What further makes the option of power-sharing a rather feeble and cosmetic
solution is its temporariness as evidenced in Kenya where the violence might
have been stalled, but left in its wake a highly divided government.
If power cannot change hands through the ballot box, democracy is dead. All
these developments merely entrench the view, held by so many, that Africa is
not ready for democracy.
This entrenches the suspicion that the outcome of elections in Africa is
generally determined by the nastiest, most brutal bully who can use the
security forces as instruments of terror.
President Thabo Mbeki and the AU had one last chance to do the right thing
by Zimbabwe and other emerging democracies in Africa.
They had the tools to do so in terms of the Union's own Constitutive Act,
which gave them the right to intervene in a member state in grave
circumstances that include war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
At least two of these conditions applied in Zimbabwe.
They should have used this power of intervention, but not in a way that will
finally subvert the will of the Zimbabwean people.
The power sharing deal sounds deceptively pragmatic and sensible. However,
it will vindicate Mr Mugabe's reign of terror. It will enable him to stay in
power. It will be the final death knell for democracy in Zimbabwe. This
so-called "solution" will actually exacerbate Zimbabwe's problems.
Mr Mogeni works with a development, relief and advocacy organisation in
Nairobi

Mugabe's power still not broken

http://www.stuff.co.nz/

Editorial:
Wellington | Friday, 19 September 2008

The deal between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai is not the end of Zimbabwe's troubles. Instead, it is just a
faint glimmer of hope that the agony of that much-abused nation could be
beginning to end, writes The Dominion Post.

There are huge ambiguities in the agreement that is supposed to bring an end
to the power struggle between Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic
Change. Mr Mugabe as president remains in charge of the Cabinet. Mr
Tsvangirai, as prime minister, is in charge of the same group of politicians
sitting as the council of ministers. There is little detail on how the two
are supposed to mesh.

The early signs are not good. It is worrying that Mr Mugabe chairs a
national security council, made up of the heads of the army, police and
secret services. The people in those organisations have a vested interest in
Mr Mugabe staying in control. If he goes, they face not only the loss of
their privileged position, but also being made to answer for their actions
in supporting his brutal rule. That alone gives good grounds for doubting
the deal will mean the real change Zimbabwe needs.

In his speech announcing the deal, Mr Mugabe continued to show his
detachment from reality, blaming Zimbabwe's woes on the perfidy of the
British rather than his own inept and criminal mismanagement. One of the
first moves of the new unity government was to demand Britain compensate the
white farmers whose land Mr Mugabe had seized to hand out to his cronies.

That land is now devastated and unproductive, and the country that was once
the breadbasket of Africa has, according to some humanitarian agencies, 3.8
million people who need food aid now - a multitude expected to grow to 5.1
million by early next year.

The power-sharing agreement does nothing to solve that. It does nothing to
solve Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation - now at about 11 million per cent, or fix
an unemployment rate estimated at 80 per cent, or bring back the millions
who were able to flee, and who have the skills needed to rebuild the nation.
What Zimbabwe now needs is for Western nations to provide aid to repair its
shattered economy.

However, that aid cannot come without conditions. It is Mr Mugabe who has
ruined the country, and if he continues to exert untrammelled authority it
will not be rebuilt. Western governments have already made it clear that
Zimbabwe will have to break with its past if sanctions are to be lifted.
European Union foreign ministers have linked economic support to "a
transition government that takes measures to restore democracy and the rule
of law in Zimbabwe". The head of the International Monetary Fund has taken a
similar stance. What is important now is that South African President Thabo
Mbeki takes the same stance.

The reality is that Mr Mugabe is so much the problem that he cannot be any
meaningful part of the solution.

The optimists believe that the power of Mr Mugabe has finally been broken.
Many have thought that before, only to see him defy the odds and keep his
foot on the throat of his nation.

Now is not the time for those who seek change in Zimbabwe to reduce the
pressure.

The Herculean task of rescuing Zimbabwe's economy

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/markets29.18778.html

By Lance Mambondiani
Last updated: 09/19/2008 16:23:23
THE signing of a power sharing agreement between the main political parties
on Monday the 5th of September has raised hopes for a laboured revival of
the world's fastest shrinking economy.

The appointment of Morgan Tsvangirai as the Prime Minister and a possible
appointment of an MDC Finance Minister is expected to provide fresh impetus
towards renewed efforts to resuscitate Zimbabwe's comatose economy.

The unity government will have to immediately take clear steps to resolve
the economic crisis as a priority before expectations of a quick fix turn
into despair.

Years of economic ruin and failed policies have given us an international
test case on 'how not to manage an economy' -- condemning many Zimbabweans
into poverty.

Much focus has been placed on what the international community can do to
help the recovery process. This article looks briefly at some possible
approaches for the new government to consider in the setting up of a
framework for economic recovery.

The country's new economic managers are, in fact, confronted with a
Herculean task. The collapse of Zimbabwe's economy is well documented. The
country's inflation rate of 11 million percent is the highest in the world.
At least eight in 10 people are unemployed.

The economic crisis has also seriously affected the country's income levels.
The intensity of the economic crisis has set the country back by more than
half a century. In 1953, the average income of an average person living in
the then Rhodesia was $760 per year. In 2005, the average Zimbabwean had
fallen back to that of the 1950s -- wiping out income gains over 56 years.

Estimates suggest that at least 85 percent of the population is living in
poverty. Since 1994, the average life expectancy in Zimbabwe has fallen from
57 years to 34 years for women and from 54 years to 37 years for men. Most
economic indicators have worsened so badly, it is almost difficult to find a
comparable economic case in recent times.

The first task of the new Finance Minister will undoubtedly be to manage the
drafting of a consultative and carefully considered economic recovery plan
before entertaining or accepting any economic recovery package from the
international community.

Reports suggest that the IMF, which suspended financial and technical aid to
the country in 2006, is ready for talks with the new government about
stabilising the economy.

However, before begging for alms, a country specific recovery plan which
contextualises the multi-dimensional causes of the current economic crisis
is important before a prescription is administered.

The economic success of the new administration would ultimately depend on
the extent of cooperation it is able to secure from trade and industry, the
farmers and the trade unions. It has also to persuade the people to accept a
long, preferably five-year, period of austerity so that the country, at
present having one of the lowest savings rates in the world, is able to save
more, invest more and employ more.

The new administration should also be cautioned against impetuous
destabilisation of current economic structures by replacing key finance
personnel for political gain.

One such mistake would be the suggested immediate removal of the current
central bank chief. If he is to be removed, it should be because the new
government is seeking a different direction based on formulated policy than
for his alleged misdemeanours or to settle political scores.

More crucially, the new government will be judged on the quality of its
recovery proposals and what it does within the first 90 days of assuming
office. The finance minister will have to strategically deflate people's
expectations by honestly declaring that the MDC has no magic wand for a
quick turnaround and that any austerity measures may result in a period of
painful adjustments.

According to Professor Anthony Hawkins at the University of Zimbabwe, it
could take us another 10 years to get back to where we were in the 1990s and
15 years to get back to where the country was in the 1980s.

Economist John Robertson suggests that before Africa's worst basket case
economy can be revived, it is going to get worse before it can get better.
To immediately cushion the public against further suffering, the new
administration can consider launching efforts aimed at poverty alleviation
which can be funded by international organisations without the
conditionalities often associated with adjustment projects.

Although it will eventually be accepted that economic recovery will be a
process not an event, measures can be put in place to stop the vicious cycle
of economic decline -- an environment where people are able to concentrate
on consumption and investment with confidence.

The Prime Minister's speech to bring back goods to the supermarket shelves
and medicines to hospitals can be achieved in the short term by abandoning
the ruinous price control policies adopted by the previous government which
resulted in price disequilibrium and commodity shortages.

One of the major problems with the previous government was lack of clarity
and consistency in policy direction. Whilst famously rebuffing 'bookish
economics', the country's economic model has often been a confused blend of
social equity and market economics.

The fragility of the Zimbabwean economy requires an economic approach which
is a judicious mix between the free markets approach and an entrepreneurial
paternalist state to guide development. Implementing these structural
reforms should aim toward a competitive society that thrives on global
trends, and putting the bubble economy completely behind us.

Restoring investors' confidence should also be a major objective of the new
government. Before we can attract foreign investment, the interest rate
policy will have to be reassessed to attract sizable domestic investment.

Years of political bickering have left behind a polarised business
environment criminalised by overregulation. The Zimbabwean business
community will have to be engaged into a social contract discussed by the
author at length in previous articles.

Almost every recovery of mismanaged economies or economies afflicted by
hyperinflation such as Germany, Israel, Brazil and Bolivia have adopted
social contracts as part of their turnaround plans. Stakeholders in those
countries collaborated with real intent to reverse the economic problems.

A viable social contract must be grounded in a clear and widely shared set
of values and expectations. It must build an economy that is strong and
durable based on trust and respect for each other.

For a social contract to work, politicians have to be willing to subordinate
political survival to the overriding need to genuinely address the causes of
the economic malaise, achieve economic recovery and redress the suffering of
the majority of the people. To restore investors' confidence, law and order
must also be improved radically and the run-down infra-structure
strengthened quickly.

When the country is indebted to the extent of 100 per cent of the GDP, and
90 per cent of the tax revenues going towards debt servicing, the current
fiscal policy measures will have to be restructured.

To achieve that, we need to increase the tax base, increase domestic
savings, carry out pragmatic tax reforms, turn-around the state enterprises
towards profitability, boost agricultural productivity, revive industry and
promote austerity measures. Pervasive corruption within the civil sector
should be an important focus in arresting state leakages and improving
investor confidence.

These various measures should provide a framework on which a substantive
economic recovery plan can be constructed.

The implementation of the economic recovery plan will not be without its
challenges. Some sectors of the international community have already raised
concern that the architects of the economic implosion are still in their
positions. As a result, neither generosity nor austerity will be delivered
as enthusiastically as might have been a fresh start.

The EU and the USA have also decided to adopt a wait and see attitude
preferring to watch the unity agreement's implementation before a decision
to withdraw sanctions is made.

Internally, the compromise parallel governments which have resulted from the
agreement may result in policy paralysis, where much is said but little is
done. If the unity agreement between the major political parties were to
hold, the new government presents a golden opportunity to revive the country's
economy from its state of collapse. This perhaps is the best opportunity for
a NEW ZIMBABWE.

Lance Mambondiani is an Investment Executive at Coronation Financial Plc, an
International Financial Advisory company registered in the UK trading in
Southern Africa and the United Kingdom. He can be contacted at
coronation.uk@btinternet.com. Please contact us should you wish to subscribe
to our mailing list. You can also contact the Coronation team on; Business
lines +44 161 346 9559 or mobile +44 790 3293 227.

Zinwa Not Treating Harare Water

The Herald (Harare)  Published by the government of Zimbabwe

18 September 2008
Posted to the web 18 September 2008

Harare

ZINWA is not treating water at Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant because
its transporters have stopped delivering bulk ammonium sulphate from Zimphos
in Msasa to the plant near Norton owing to unpaid debts.

This has led to a critical shortage of treated water in Harare that has left
most suburbs dry.

The authority owes transporters Border Transport and Unifreight $96 million.

Most parts of the capital do not have water except for the central business
district, areas around the CBD and a few high-density suburbs and
Chitungwiza which are receiving sporadic supplies.

Harare Water acting general manager Engineer Bernard Poko confirmed the
development and said they have since engaged the Ministry of Finance.

"We are not able to transport bulk liquid aluminum sulphate since Saturday
last week, this is because we owe our transporters, Border and Unifreight
$96 million so they have stopped transporting our chemicals.

"As a result we are unable to supply water to some critical areas like
Zimphos who depend of bulk water supplies for the production of their
chemicals," he said.

Eng Poko said water production has been affected and would remain critical
unless the authority gets assistance.

Aluminium sulphate is used as a coagulant in water treatment and no
treatment can take place without the chemical.

Although Zinwa last month reviewed its tariffs, it is still not able to
finance its operations as the tariffs are failing to cope with inflation.

The authority is also facing other challenges, which include losing up to 50
percent of water through leaks mainly caused by aging infrastructure that is
failing to cope with the rising population.

Zinwa has restructured its operations and maintenance department, which is
now being headed by Engineer Richard Kunyadini whose mandate is to see that
burst water pipes and sewer are minimised.

ZINWA water sewers & Harare

HARARESent: Thursday, September 18, 2008 6:59 PM
Subject: ZINWA WATER SEWERS & HARARE

"Sewer pipes burst" is a headline we often see in our local media.
Unfortunately the headline is not true. Sewer pipes very seldom burst, as
they are not pressurized. What happens is that the sewer pipes become
blocked and so the flow pours out of the upstream manholes. Why this happens
is quite simple.

People in the high-density suburbs are unable to afford washing up liquids
for pots and pans so they opt for sand as a scouring agent. The sand goes
into the sewers and because the sewers are not designed to cope with large
volumes of sand they block. There is insufficient, or none existent water to
clear the sand so the blockage just builds.

Add to this the fact that once again in the high density areas people can no
longer afford to buy toilet paper they use newspaper if they are affluent or
mealie cobs if they are not. Once again the sewers are not designed to cope
with this type of waste very effectively and the lack of or poor water
supply leaves the solids in the sewers. This leads to blockages and once
again the sewage flows out into the street at the upstream manholes.

A third contributory factor to these sewage blockages is the inability of
the city council to remove garbage from the suburbs. Because of this some
people dispose of particularly offensive rubbish down the nearest sewer
manhole further causing blockages.

All of these blockages are easily cleared but they will quickly reform and
the ability of the clearance crew to cover the area is severely curtailed by
the lack of fuel, rods and management. That is why we see so many sewage
overflows.

The lack of water is also in some ways linked to our sewerage problems. At
the moment the vast bulk of the sewage flows in Harare wind up in Lake
Chivero untreated. This is because there has been little or no maintenance
done at the various sewage treatment works around the city over the last
decade or so.

This raw sewage ultimately winds up, in diluted form, at the Morton Jaffray
water works. You will realize that to treat this very low quality raw water
requires significantly more chemicals than would be the case if the sewage
was treated before discharge into our raw water storage system. ZINWA is
finding it difficult to treat the water because it cant afford or source
the chemicals. Add to this the fact that routine preventative maintenance at
the water works has been poor or non-existent and you begin to see that the
sewage overflows might be being caused here at the water works.

We are told by ZINWA that the output of the Water works is way below the
design capacity because of chemical issues, pump breakdowns, power outages
and the like. You will see the evidence of this in the shortage of water in
town and the fact that Chivero is still almost full this far into the dry
season. We are told we need to buy new pumps, we don't. The existing pumps
are quite straightforward to repair at not much expense. The purchase of new
pumps and pipes and valves and so on is just wasteful.

Once the water is purified and pumped into town we are told by ZINWA that
50% of the treated water goes missing. It goes missing into leaks observed
around town or leaks into the ground water that we don't see, or "leaks"
into properties that aren't metered.

 The first two are easily solved by checking bulk flows into various areas
compared with the volumes billed. Bulk in-line flow meters are easy to
install and quite cheap. By doing this progressively major losses can be
identified and the leaks repaired quickly and cheaply. As time goes on
smaller and smaller leaks can be found and repaired. Unfortunately ZINWA's
ability to measure and bill for water is poor so the billing and meter
reading system would need to be repaired first.

The final problem that needs to be addressed is the pricing of water. At the
moment water is so cheap that there is no incentive for people to be
conservative in their use of water nor for ZINWA to attend to producing more
as they lose money with every liter sold. This is because the political
classes have decided to buy votes using cheap water ( as they have with
electricity for instance ) which means that the water and sewerage
infrastructure is being destroyed in the long term for a short term
political benefit.

The solutions to our water and sewage problems are simple and inexpensive to
carry out. There is little need for expensive capital investment. Simple
steps which are fairly low tech and can be achieved with the existing labour
force if they are adequately directed and managed. .

Repair the sewage treatment works.
Get the repairs done to the pumps at the Water works.
Identify and repair the leaks from the in water reticulation system.
Charge for water in such a way as to value it in such a way that ordinary
people can satisfy their hygene  needs but discourage wasteful use.
Get the metering and billing system working.

There may or may not be a need for a new storage dam at Kunzvi but what is
known is that the existing system is operating at less than 50% of it's
capacity and half of that is going to waste. We need to get the
infrastructure repaired now. Our constraints are not with raw water supply
or treatment capacity.

One final thing I would like to point out is that in my opinion ZINWA is the
wrong body to be in charge of Municipal water supplies. Municipal
engineering has it's own special demands and to my knowledge there are no
Municipal Engineers in ZINWA. Also the City Council needs the revenue
generated by water sales to fund many of it's other activities and to build
up a reasonable surplus to pay for other infrastructural upgrades.

The City Council is best suited to run the purification, distribution and
billing of water. The council, unlike ZINWA , is accountable to the
rate-payers. The city residents will benefit from these proposals
incrementally . They do not have to be all done at once but can be done bit
by bit with each bit improving things as we go.
 

CHRA to conduct major environmental clean up campaign in Mabvuku/ Tafara

18 September 2008

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) is conducting a major environmental clean up campaign in Mabvuku/Tafara this Saturday the 20^th of September 2008. This activity is part of the Grassroots Advocacy Initiative (GAI) programme being implemented by the Association. GAI is a programme that aims at generating, facilitating and coordinating residents’ initiatives that are aimed at addressing some of the critical service delivery problems currently bedevilling the city of Harare. Uncollected refuse has been piling up in Mabvuku and Tafara following the failure by the previous Makwavarara and Malachi led Commissions to implement effective waste management programs.

Uncollected refuse and the unavailability of clean water as well as the sewer crisis have contributed to diarrhoea and cholera outbreaks. In the last week, CHRA recorded 17 cases of diarrhoea outbreaks in Mabvuku and Tafara alone. It is against this background that the residents decided to team up and conduct this clean up campaign. The campaign is being conducted in partnership with Environment Africa, Lafarge cement (formerly Circle cement), city of Harare, local Church groups, the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) and community based organisations. The Honourable Mayor of Harare is also expected to attend and participate in the event. Meanwhile the residents of Mabvuku have also lined up a series of meetings with ZINWA to discuss and find a lasting solution to the water crisis that has paralysed Mabvuku/Tafara and the rest of Harare. CHRA remains creative in coming up with programs that enable the residents to design and implement community based initiatives aimed at addressing their local service delivery problems.

Chief Executive Officer

Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA)

145 Robert Mugabe Way

Exploration House, Third Floor

Harare

ceo@chra.co.zw

www.chra.co.zw

 Landline: 00263- 4- 705114

To the Red Cross distributors

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=4346

September 17, 2008

To the Red Cross distributors,

THIS is an urgent appeal. I am at Bondolfi Mission near Masvingo. Yesterday
a whole village arrived here begging for food. Recently three children died
here of hunger. I did not see Masvingo mentioned among the areas you are
distributing food in. Please, please, the need is enormous.

May God open your hearts and your ears in the name of the hungry people of
this whole area, particularly Wards 10, 11, and 12.

I hope this reaches you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sr. Helen Bothe
sisters@bondolfimission.com

Zimbabwe food crisis: Tendai, 35, Red Cross home-based care client in Masvingo

International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Date: 18 Sep 2008

This is the third in a series of six profiles, looking at the people
affected by Zimbabwe's food crisis.

Tendai sits quietly on her bed in her small house in Masvingo. If you look
out the window, you can see the local Red Cross office just across the
field. The proximity never really occurred to her, though, until about three
years ago when she tested positive for HIV.

Everyday, a Red Cross volunteer visits Tendai, who lives with her
daughter-in-law and five month old granddaughter. They sit and chat about
what is on her mind - how her anti-retroviral treatment is going, how she is
feeling, what she is worrying about. Simple things like that.

"I am really grateful for the support," she says. "They give me a shoulder
to lean on when I need to talk, and they remind that I need to continue
taking my treatment."

Over the past months, her conversations with the Red Cross carers have
tended to be about food. Like many people in this dusty and dry town, Tendai
can often go three or four days without anything to eat.

You get the feeling that most people in Masvingo are hungry. But this
situation is particularly difficult for people like Tendai. For
anti-retroviral drugs to be at their most effective, they need to be taken
on a full stomach. Food helps the body absorb the drugs, and it reduces
their side effects.

Without food, many people decide to stop taking the treatment, unable to
cope with the nausea, exhaustion and splitting headaches.

"With or without food, I have been taking the drugs," says Tendai. "Despite
the negative effects of taking them without food."

And the effects can be severe. In recent months, Tendai has been in and out
of hospital - sometimes for up to a week - because of the side effects. As a
result of her failing health, her eight-year old son is now living with his
uncle. Tendai longs for the day when they can be reunited and when she can
provide him with food and ensure that he can go to school.

The IFRC Zimbabwe food security appeal aims to provide assistance to about
260,100 people over the coming nine months. The programme will focus on
supporting people like Tendai and her family - a group particularly and
acutely vulnerable to food shortages.

Statement on Zimbabwe by John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Date: 18 Sep 2008

(New York, 18 September 2008): The humanitarian community in Zimbabwe is
moving quickly to provide assistance to the large needy groups in Zimbabwe,
particularly the most vulnerable. This is a critical moment, which comes
immediately after the peaceful resolution of the political stalemate in
Zimbabwe and the lifting of the restrictions on field operations of
non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Already, NGOs and UN agencies are
re-establishing operations to provide basic life-saving assistance and
expect to reach nearly three million people across the country by October.
During this period when humanitarian needs are particularly acute, we - the
United Nations, the Government of Zimbabwe, the humanitarian and development
communities and regional countries - must work more closely than ever to
ensure that these needs are met.

The 2008 Consolidated Humanitarian Appeal is currently funded at 60 % of the
$394 million required. Critically under-funded sectors include emergency
agriculture and emergency education. Funding in health, water and sanitation
also remains low. This is worrying at a time when the people of Zimbabwe
urgently need food, seeds, fertilizers and essential drugs, among so many
other priorities.

While the humanitarian community must urgently step up immediate
interventions, I call on the donor community to step up its funding in
parallel, particularly to priority sectors and projects. On its part, the
Government of Zimbabwe must ensure safe, unfettered access by the
humanitarian community as it undertakes its critical work.

For our part, we will continue close cooperation with the Government of
Zimbabwe, regional countries and organizations as well as development
partners to support humanitarian efforts and recovery initiatives.

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1
917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; John Nyaga, OCHA-NY, + 1 917 367 9262;
Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA
press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or
www.reliefweb.int.

South Africa Appoints Task Team to Help Agriculture Sector

SW Radio Africa (London)

18 September 2008
Posted to the web 18 September 2008

Tichaona Sibanda

The South African government has appointed a special task team to develop an
emergency intervention plan to help with the recovery of the country's
crisis-ridden agricultural sector.

During the power-sharing signing ceremony in Harare on Monday, President
Thabo Mbeki pledged his country would provide immediate assistance with the
much needed farming inputs in preparation for the forthcoming season.

Themba Maseko, spokesman for the South African government said the task team
will be led by the Departments of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and the
National Treasury, in collaboration with other Southern African Development
Community countries.

Until 2000, agriculture was the backbone of the country's economy but the
results of the post 2000 land reform programme have been disastrous. Prior
to the land redistribution effort, Zimbabwe's farmers produced enough food
for both national consumption and export.

However, the reforms saw most of the land go to undeserving ZANU PF
recipients, and those who had little knowledge of how to run the farms
efficiently or raise productivity.

Furthermore, the refusal of banks to lend money to these 'A2 farmers'
limited their ability to purchase equipment or otherwise raise capital. As a
result the drop in total farm output has been catastrophic, and has
generated widespread reports by aid agencies of starvation and famine.

What is not in dispute, is that the country that was once so rich in
agricultural produce that it was dubbed the 'bread basket' of Southern
Africa is now struggling to feed its own population.

An Elephant Mission (a true story)

http://www.afrizim.com/home.asp

In August this year my wife Lynda and I went on holiday to Mana Pools
National Park, Zimbabwe.  It was a trip we have done many times in the last
18 years.  A trip to an area of awesome beauty and tranquility, where life
glides by as the Zambezi itself.  This years trip was however, to be
different from all those that have gone before.

Lynda was gored and trampled by an elephant near our camp.  I'm writing this
not to recount the events of the accident itself but to mention the many
people who poured into our lives after the incident and whose generosity and
kindness help get us past that point and on to looking forward to our next
visit.

Immediately after the attack I rushed Lynda to the Parks Main office which
was about 8km from our camp and sought the assistance of the warden of the
park, Norman Monks and his wife Nyasha Murphree who I knew was a doctor.

They were not immediately available and I left Lynda in the care of another
visitor camping in the park, while I went to find Norman and Nyasha.

Bush Talk

Word had spread ahead of me and I was met by Norman,Nyasha and another
doctor, Ken Jenkins, who was also visiting the park, as well as a nursing
sister Kim Goss.  Lynda was taken to the Monk's house where she was
stabilised and given immediate trauma care.

Zimbabwe's Flying Doctor

A Safari guide who was in the camp adjacent to ours, Craig van Zyl, was
located and he offered to fly Lynda too Harare as long as we could obtain
fuel.  Fuel was granted by friends of Norman and Nyasha and Lynda was flown
out to Harare.

Norman and Ken helped me break camp after which I drove to Harare, getting
there at about 9pm that night.  Lynda came out of surgery at about 9.30pm
and was transfered to a high care ward in Avenues Clinic.

Finding Friends

Norman and Nyasha had given me the keys to their flat in Harare and I stayed
there for two nights.

I then moved to Jeff and Joan Steven's home, who are the parents of a good
friend of mine back in Durban.

From there I stayed with Vernon and Lyn Booth (Vernon having worked for
National Parks) and another good friend (also ex National parks), Steve
Edwards.

Mission Accomplished

Vernon provided me with a cell phone, phone/fax /computer facilities, a
vehicle, finance and place to stay while Lynda recovered enough to be flown
back to Durban. She was flown to Durban on the following Saturday by Medical
Air Rescue. Whilst in Harare friends came from as far away as Mutare to
visit Lynda.  I had offers of accommodation from three or four other
families.

The support was overwhelming and Lynda and I will be forever grateful to all
the people who helped us.

Many friends and many people who we had not previously met, some whose names
I unfortunately do not remember.  Thank you all.

------------------------

This story was related to us by Barry Revell and is a true story.

Zim farmers' land claims dismissed

IOL

    September 18 2008 at 03:52PM

Windhoek - A regional tribunal has dismissed the land claims of 343
black Zimbabwean farmers who argued that they could not move on to seized
white-owned farms as they were still occupied by the owners.

The farmers applied for relief last week to move on to commercial
farms that are under an interim protection order given earlier in 2008 to
about 80 white farmers, led by Michael Campbell.

Judge Ariranga Pillay rejected the application, saying the tribunal
had no jurisdiction over the matter as it was not a dispute with the state
but with the group of white farmers.

The full bench of five judges of the Southern African Development
Community tribunal is expected to deliver judgement at the end of this week.

The group remained on the farms on the grounds that seizing farms
without compensation in Zimbabwe was unconstitutional and violated their
human rights. - Sapa

This article was originally published on page 6 of The Mercury on
September 18, 2008

Zimbabwe Speaker of Parliament Hon Lovemore Moyo Press Conference Rally

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Thursday, 18 September 2008 11:03
 The new Speaker of the House of Assembly, Lovemore Moyo, who is also
the chairman of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), will address a
rally in Birmingham on Saturday and also address a Press Conference.

The first Speaker outside Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) for the last 28
years was elected despite Zanu (PF) clubbing together with a splinter group
of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara to support a splinter group candidate.

Mr Moyo will be in the UK for some diplomatic engagements and to
address MDC supporters in the UK.

He will hold a Press conference at at Ladywood Leisure Centre in
Birmingham on Saturday the 20th September 2008, at 1815 hours in the upper
room.

The MDC is cordially invites the media to this crucial Press
Conference for which there will be an accreditation at 1755 for members of
the press.

Honourable Moyo will answer all your questions regarding the
government of national unity in Zimbabwe from an MDC perspective.