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Mugabe vows that his opponents will never rule Zimbabwe
September
22, 2003, 12:41 PM
Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean President, vowed that
political opponents he
regards as puppets of Britain, the former colonial
power, would never rule
the country while he was alive, the official Herald
newspaper reported
today. "Puppets of the British will never rule Zimbabwe as
long as the crop
of revolutionaries in the mould of Vice President Muzenda is
alive," the
Herald reported Mugabe as saying at yesterday's church service
for his close
ally Simon Muzenda.
"We will never agree to be ruled by
remote control no matter what. It will
never, never happen while we are still
alive," he added in the local Shona
language, according to the
Herald.
Mugabe on Saturday announced the death of Muzenda, a loyal aide
and founding
member of the ruling Zanu-PF party who had served in government
since
independence from Britain in 1980. Muzenda backed Mugabe's
controversial
seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless
blacks, which
has soured relations with Zimbabwe's former colonial power.
Mugabe's
critics, led by the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC),
say controversial government policies including the farm seizures
have
plunged what was once one of Africa's most thriving economies into
turmoil.
Mugabe dismisses the MDC as puppets of Britain and other Western
powers who
want to see him ousted from power over the land reforms. The MDC
has emerged
as the biggest challenge to Mugabe's 23-year hold on power as the
country
grapples with acute shortages of food, fuel, foreign currency and
local
banknotes. The unemployment rate is above 70% and inflation is nearing
430%.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, is legally challenging Mugabe's
victory
in 2002 presidential elections, which both the MDC and several
western
countries say were rigged. Mugabe insists he won fairly and argues
that
Zimbabwe's economy has been sabotaged by his local and foreign opponents
in
retaliation for the land seizures. - Reuters
Business Report
Zimbabwe's white farmers risk losing land
payouts
September 22, 2003
By Sapa-AFP
Harare
- Zimbabwe's white farmers have been told by the government
that they must
take the compensation package offered to them for their land
or risk getting
nothing at all, the agriculture minister was quoted as
saying in a newspaper
report on Monday.
Many white commercial farmers have not collected
the money because
they are contesting the sums offered.
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made was quoted in the state-run Herald as
saying
that eight billion Zimbabwe dollars (about R72 million) worth of
compensation
money would be disbursed to new black farmers if the white
farmers did not
claim it.
"There is a fund sitting idle and the intended
beneficiaries are holed
up somewhere in Australia, Canada, Britain or New
Zealand," Made said.
He did not give a deadline for farmers to
collect the money.
Under its controversial land reform programme
launched in 2000, the
Zimbabwe government took over white-owned farms for
redistribution to new
black farmers.
The Zimbabwe government
said it was paying for work done on the land,
and not for the land itself,
which it says was stolen by 19th century white
settlers.
But the
white farmers' lobby, Justice for Agriculture (JAG), Monday
dismissed the
latest move by the government as a "mere propaganda exercise".
It said the figures being offered by the government to
compensate
dispossessed white farmers for work done on their farms
represented on
average ten to 25 percent of their real value.
JAG vice president John Worswick said that around 700 farmers had
been
summoned to the agriculture ministry to discuss
compensation.
"Most farmers have walked away flabbergasted at how
low the offers
are," he told AFP.
"They (the government) have
failed to raise the finance for land
reform. This is just another way of
robbing Peter to pay Paul," he said.
According to a recent survey
by the white-run Commercial Farmers'
Union (CFU), an estimated 485 commercial
farmers out of around 3 291
operating in 2000 have remained on their
land.
The eviction of white farmers has been partly blamed by aid
agencies
and critics of President Robert Mugabe's regime for Zimbabwe's worst
famine
in living memory which has left about two thirds of the 11.6 million
people
facing severe food shortages. - Sapa-AFP
From Business Day, (SA), 22 September
SA working 'hard' to solve Zimbabwe crisis
Chief Political Correspondent
Government
moved to calm nerves over the closure of Zimbabwe's independent
newspaper,
Daily News, with an assurance that a lot of "behind the scenes"
negotiation
was taking place to arrest the situation. This has fuelled
speculation that
Zimbabwe's continued clampdown on an independent critical
voice was
symptomatic of political problems spiralling out of control and
that regional
leaders have run out ideas to convince Zimbabwe's President
Robert Mugabe to
return to the rule of law. Foreign affairs and the
presidency closed ranks
yesterday, assuring the public that all stops were
being pulled to resolve
Zimbabwe's problems. President Thabo Mbeki had said
the deadline of June next
year, which he set for himself to have Zimbabwe's
political parties working
on tangible solutions, was still achievable, said
presidential aide Bheki
Khumalo. Foreign Affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa
said the public could
"safely assume government is doing its best to help
Zimbabweans resolve their
problems amicably".
Dr Eddy Maloka, CEO of Africa Institute of SA,
said Zimbabwe's problems were
making it difficult for the African Union, and
the Southern African
Development Community especially, to continue supporting
Mugabe. "They have
been giving him support and lots of opportunities to prove
their critics
wrong. Unfortunately, his party is very divided on how it
should move
forward and end the chaos." Maloka said Zimbabwe had become a
crisis that
was not of Mbeki's making, but which had come to affect his
programme for
Africa's vision and Nepad. "It does not matter what people
outside the
country do or say, without a protagonist element inside both
parties (the
ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic
Change) that see
eye to eye in the interest of the country, regional efforts
will not
succeed." Meanwhile, the African Editors' Forum and the South
African
National Editors' Forum have requested an urgent meeting with SA's
foreign
affairs department. Mathatha Tsedu, interim chairman of the African
Editors'
Forum, said if the ban was permanent it would shut down the voice of
dissent
in a country where democratic gains had been rolled back
significantly in
the past few years. The Daily News said yesterday it was
preparing to
challenge the state media commission's refusal to grant it a
licence.
From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 22 September
Simon Muzenda
Simon Muzenda, who died on Saturday aged 80, was Zimbabwe's
vice-president
and one of the less colourful but more important members of
the ruling Zanu
PF; he played a vital role as a backroom power-broker among
the clique whose
personal loyalty to President Robert Mugabe remained
unquestioning and
steadfast even as the country descended into political
turmoil and economic
chaos. Muzenda's organisational and administrative
skills were largely
responsible for healing the bitter rifts within Zanu
during the guerrilla
war in the 1970s that led to the transition from
white-ruled Rhodesia to
black-ruled Zimbabwe. The movement's then leader, the
Reverend Ndabaningi
Sithole, caused turmoil among the thousands of freedom
fighters massed on
Rhodesia's borders by renouncing violence as a means to
power. Muzenda,
released from prison with other leaders during the
Anglo-Rhodesian peace
negotiations in 1971, travelled to every guerrilla camp
in neighbouring
countries, calming fractious elements and organising a key
meeting of the
divided leadership that eventually confirmed Robert Mugabe,
then in hiding
in Mozambique, as the new Zanu leader.
Mugabe's
ascent to power in Zimbabwe was in no small measure due to
Muzenda's efforts.
He rewarded the quietly-spoken former carpenter by making
him his deputy
prime minister and foreign minister upon independence in
1980, and later his
vice-president. As a leading political figure among the
Karanga people, the
largest of the sub-groups making up the Shona-speaking
people of Zimbabwe,
Muzenda's support was vital in keeping the sprawling
south eastern Midlands
region of the country loyal to Mugabe, a member of
the rival Zezuru clan.
Some of the younger and more ambitious Karanga
leaders had hoped that Muzenda
would make his own bid for the country's
leadership, but he remained a
faithful friend and second-in-command to
Mugabe to the end. The Karanga
people were regarded as the most arrogant of
the tribal sub-groups. Their
leaders frequently laid claim to being the true
founders of the nation, and
they were viewed with suspicion by other
Shona-speaking people as they had
been seen to co-operate with the first
white pioneers and settlers sent by
Cecil Rhodes to colonise the country.
The Karanga had also intermingled and
inter-married with earlier black
invaders, the Matabele people, who had
occupied the south west of the
country in the late 19th century. Joshua
Nkomo, the political figurehead of
the Ndebele people, was seen by himself
and by many others, including
Britain, as the natural leader of the future
Zimbabwe but Karanga support
was a vital component of his bid for power at
independence. It was not
forthcoming as Simon Muzenda had pinned his flag
firmly to the Mugabe mast.
Nkomo was thus condemned to play second fiddle to
his Shona rival.
Never regarded as an original thinker or orator,
Muzenda was given to
parroting Robert Mugabe's more outrageous utterances as
well as giving
unreserved backing to the more disastrous policies. When
Mugabe condemned
homosexuals as being "no better than pigs or dogs", Muzenda
frequently
repeated the condemnation, insisting that homosexuality had been
introduced
to Africa by "white colonialists". When Mugabe, stung by the
mounting
criticism of his rule, decided to muzzle his own independent press
and curb
the activities of foreign correspondents, Muzenda told journalists:
"Those
who want to tarnish our country's image through inaccurate reporting
in the
Western-backed media should have the courage to answer charges about
their
malicious political campaigns in courts of law." As the Mugabe regime
openly
flouted democratic principles, subverting the judiciary and
brutally
crushing opposition politics, Muzenda told an election rally in his
home
region of Masvingo - formerly Fort Victoria - that if Zanu PF chose to
put
up a baboon as a candidate "then you will vote for that baboon".
Zanu
members had fought and died to win power and were not going to hand over
the
country to "so called opposition sponsored by foreigners". Despite
failing
health and offers of a generous retirement package, Muzenda insisting
on
staying on in government "to see the successful conclusion of the
land
redistribution programme", a reference to Robert Mugabe's seizure of
white
farms which precipitated Zimbabwe's slide to ruin. The "redistribution"
had
less to do with a more equitable deal for the landless than for Mugabe,
his
military chiefs and his faithful clique to grab the most valuable
real
estate in the country for themselves and their families. Muzenda did
not
hesitate to take advantage of the land grab. In 2002 he ordered a
successful
white farmer off his cattle ranch south of Harare. He allowed the
farmer to
take "his household goods and furniture but nothing else", leaving
the
prosperous acreage with its livestock, crops, equipment, farmhouse
and
outbuildings as a "gift" for the ageing vice-president. By most accounts,
it
was the third such property appropriated by Muzenda and members of
his
family.
Simon Vengai Muzenda was born on October 28 1922, to a
family of peasant
farmers in the Gutu district of what was then the Victoria
province of a
Rhodesia then firmly under British colonial rule. He was
brought up by his
grandmother who ensured his regular attendance at a local
Catholic
missionary school, and he spent his teenage years herding the
family's
cattle. A relatively bright child, he was sent for teacher training
and on
the advice of his tutor travelled to the Marianhill mission in Natal
where
he showed an aptitude for carpentry. At Marianhill, between completing
his
carpentry course and furthering his studies, he developed an awareness
of
politics from fellow students, including several men who became prominent
in
black activism in South Africa and Rhodesia. He returned to Rhodesia
in
1950, working in a furniture factory in Bulawayo and becoming involved
with
Benjamin Burombo, one of the earliest black activists to
challenge
discriminatory laws.
By 1955, Muzenda and his wife, a
nurse, had moved to the Midlands town of
Umvuma where he started his own
carpentry business, continuing his
involvement in black political activity
and eventually becoming
administrative secretary of the embryo Zimbabwe
African National Union. He
was soon attracting the attention of the Rhodesian
security police and spent
two years in Salisbury's central prison which he
later described as "a place
of study" as he and other inmates completed their
education. In 1964, having
been elected deputy organising secretary of Zanu,
he was arrested again for
being in possession of a pistol. By this time he
was committed to the cause
of armed revolution as the only way to topple
white colonial dominance and
was active in organising young blacks to leave
the country for military
training elsewhere in Africa, the Soviet Union and
China. He was soon
imprisoned again and remained incarcerated until being
released under the
Anglo-Rhodesia agreement in 1971. Muzenda then travelled
throughout Africa
in an attempt to heal the deep divisions within the black
nationalist
movement. He failed to draw Joshua Nkomo and his Zapu movement
into a
unified political front and eventually backed Robert Mugabe
as
Zanu-Patriotic Front leader. The subsequent guerrilla war culminated in
the
Lancaster House negotiations, a brief interregnum of British rule
as
democratic elections were organised, and the election of Mugabe as the
first
president of an independent Zimbabwe. Muzenda was criticised -
and
challenged - by many Karanga leaders during the post-independence period
but
he used his status to retain political power in his home area,
repeatedly
delivering the Karanga heartland to the Mugabe camp. His health
was always a
problem and in the last decade he often visited China for
prolonged
treatment for heart, lung and liver complaints. He is survived by
his widow,
Maud, and seven children.
Business Day
Zanu, MDC in potential breakthrough
deal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
BULAWAYO
- A political settlement between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF and the
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) looks headed for a major breakthrough
following
an agreement by the two parties to draft a new constitution that
would make
way for a transitional government.
Paul Themba-Nyathi, an opposition
party spokesman, said the MDC and Zanu-PF
have started putting together a new
constitution that will see President
Robert Mugabe relinquishing
power.
It remains unclear how long the process will take.
"Given
the scenario on the ground we sincerely believe there is progress in
the
process of negotiations though no formal talks are currently under way,"
said
Themba-Nyathi, adding: "There has been an agreement between the
government
and the MDC to come up with a new constitution that will
automatically pave
way for a transitional authority."
Nathan Shamuyarira, the ruling party
spokesman, could not be reached for
comment as he was said to be attending
the funeral of Simon Muzenda,
Mugabe's first vice-president since
independence.
But John Nkomo, the Zanu-PF chairman, was quoted in one
independent weekly
last week saying his party was more than determined to see
a kickstart to
the stalled talks between the two parties.
"We in
Zanu-PF have always said we are ready to discuss with anybody
without
exception... I therefore have no doubt in my mind that there will be
a
breakthrough soon," said Nkomo. "What may be left now is a pronouncement
of
the breakthrough, if only the press can help us in projecting these
things,
they would have done much more than any individual can do."
Talks
to resolve the country's ever-deepening political and economic
crisis
collapsed last year after the two parties failed to agree on key
issues.
The MDC refused to drop its court challenge against Mugabe's
re-election as
head of state in an election widely condemned as flawed and
unfair last
year.
It argued the presidential election was marred by
violence, intimidation and
other "gross irregularities".
Morgan
Tsvangirai, MDC president, said he was also hopeful the talks would
succeed
this time, urging the people to remain at ease.
"No talks have started as
yet, but as soon as the ball starts rolling we
will inform the people. They
should not be so much agitated," said
Tsvangirai in an exclusive interview
after holding a closed meeting with
other party heavyweights in the second
largest city over the weekend.
The MDC leader last month set October 1 as
a deadline for Zanu-PF to have
committed itself to the talks or face
unspecified action.
Asked what course of action his party was likely to
take, now that the
deadline was drawing closer without any progress on the
dialogue, Tsvangirai
backtracked and denied ever setting a deadline for the
talks.
So did Themba-Nyathi.
As soon as the talks start, the MDC
will issue a formal statement to its
supporters, stakeholders and the
international community, Tsvangirai said.
News24
Mbeki 'advancing Mugabe regime'
22/09/2003 16:58 -
(SA)
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki should call for an urgent
resolution on
human rights violations in Zimbabwe when he addresses the
United Nations
General Assembly this week, the Democratic Alliance said on
Monday.
Mbeki was scheduled to address the 58th session of the General
Assembly on
Tuesday.
Acting DA leader Joe Seremane said Mbeki would
have the opportunity during
his speech to counter "the growing perception"
that he and his government
were actively advancing the interests of the
Mugabe regime, against the
interests of ordinary Zimbabweans.
While
everyone else was criticising the Zimbabwean government for its
draconian and
oppressive media laws after the Daily News was closed down
last week, Mbeki's
government was actively campaigning for Mugabe to attend
the Commonwealth
heads of government meeting in Nigeria in December,
said
Seremane.
Mbeki's spokesman Bheki Khumalo was saying there was no
reason for the
continued exclusion of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth. The ANC
government
was risking the interests of South Africa for a rogue state,
Seremane said.
He said South Africa actually led the rejection of a draft
resolution on the
human rights situation in Zimbabwe in April. Under the
resolution, the UN
Human Rights Commission would have expressed deep concern
at continuing
violations of human rights by Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF
government and would
have demanded certain actions, said
Seremane.
Mbeki should use Tuesday's opportunity to put pressure on
Mugabe. By calling
for a new resolution, Mbeki could show the world that he
was serious about
the values reflected in the New Partnership for Africa's
Development
(Nepad).
If he did not call for action, it would simply be
another instance where
South Africa, and Mbeki, had failed to do the right
thing, said Seremane.
Zim Standard
Mugabe vetoes devaluation attempts
By
Kumbirai Mafunda
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has since May vetoed
eleven times his Cabinet’
s efforts to have the local currency devalued
against Zimbabwe’s major
trading partners, it was learnt this
week.
Government sources said Mugabe, who is vehemently opposed
to
devaluation and once denigrated former Finance Minister, Simba Makoni,
over
the issue, has turned down 11 proposals that had been agreed to by
his
Cabinet to devalue the Zimbabwe dollar .
Mugabe called
Makoni “a saboteur” after he had suggested devaluation,
and fired
him.
In February, Finance and Economic Development Minister,
Herbert
Murerwa, adjusted the dollar from a pegged $55 to the American
greenback
after an outcry from exporters that the currency was
over-valued.
The local currency has since then been trading at $824
to the American
unit on the moribund official market, but brisk business is
being conducted
on the parallel market where this week it was selling at $3
500 to the US
dollar.
Murerwa, who also adjusted the price of
the Zimbabwean dollar against
the Pound Sterling, the South African Rand and
the Botswana Pula in
February, had promised commerce and industry that he
would make a further
review in May and again in August.
“In the
past four months, Cabinet has discussed devaluation eleven
times. In a
greater number of those discussions, Cabinet has voted in favour
of
devaluation but Mugabe said no,” said the highly placed source.
Ever since Makoni’s dismissal, no government minister has dared to go
public
about their feelings on the local currency which experts say, judging
by its
value on the thriving parallel market, is grossly
over-valued
officially.
Bulawayo-based economic analyst, Eric
Bloch, said government’s
unwillingness to devalue the Zimbabwe dollar against
those of the country’s
main trading partners, was depriving the few exporters
left of “price
competitiveness”.
“Exporters are losing price
competitiveness because the increased
costs of production are not being
compensated by the foreign exchange they
are getting. Foreign earnings are
down which in turn triggers further
unemployment and shortages of commodities
on the local market,” said Bloch.
Zim Standard
Daily News to appeal against MIC ruling
By
our own Staff
THE Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ),
publishers of The Daily
News, say they will take the Media and Information
Commission (MIC) to the
Administrative Court, for turning down their
application, but admit it might
turn out to be a long drawn out process for
their papers to hit the streets
again.
The company’s legal
advisor and director of corporate affairs,
Gugulethu Moyo, told The Standard
yesterday that by turning down their
application for registration, the MIC
had closed a door that had been opened
by the High Court which granted them
permission to publish their newspapers.
“They (MIC) decided they
would then close the door as quickly as
possible,” she said. “Quite clearly
he (Mahoso) pre-decided the matter
before it even came before him. With the
stroke of a pen the MIC has denied
a million people the right to have their
own voice. What public service does
this serve?”
Despite that
scenario, Moyo said they would take their case against
the MIC, which could
take at least a week to put together, to the
Administrative
Court.
“But there is no guarantee that it would be heard quickly.
The court
doesn’t take this as a priority,” she said.
In
addition, Moyo said the Administrative Court could only reject or
accept the
MIC’s decision, it couldn’t make a new ruling. If the MIC’s
decision is
rejected, the application will then go back to the commission.
“This again means we could be going round in circles. To be realistic,
I
think it’s going to be a really long, drawn out process. We’re going to
have
to take it one day at a time,” Moyo said.
She also said the company
had resubmitted its challenge of the Access
to Information and Privacy
Protection Act (AIPPA), in which it queries the
constitutionality of the
Act.
Also, the company has charged that police are in contempt of
court for
continuing to keep employees out of the paper’s
offices.
Moyo said ANZ would also look for other legal options to
get the paper
running again.
On Friday night, ANZ chief
executive Samuel Sipepa Nkomo received a
letter at his private home notifying
him that his company’s application to
register as a mass media service had
been rejected by the Media and
Information Commission (MIC).
Strangely, the letter was addressed to Gugulethu Moyo and bore the
paper’s
Old Mutual House address. The decision came only a day after a High
Court
ruling that the paper could resume operations and ordered police to
return
equipment that had been taken from the paper’s offices.
Earlier in
the week, MIC chairman Tafataona Mahoso had said the
commission could take
weeks to work through the application due to the
complex and thorough nature
of the process.
Friday’s decision came as a shock to those at
ANZ.
“I’d be surprised if we’ve ever had a decision this fast
before,” said
Adrian de Bourbon, the lawyer who represented ANZ in its failed
Supreme
Court challenge of the registration process.
Moyo said
the past week had been difficult for everyone at The Daily
News.
“But what’s been keeping us going is the public support,” said Moyo
adding
that with the exception of The Daily News’s editor-in-chief, Francis
Mdlongwa
who has left the paper to work in South Africa, no one else
has
resigned.
Meanwhile, the chairman of ZimRights, Arnold
Tsunga, said the refusal
to register The Daily News was tragic as it is
hitting the rule of law at
the epi-centre.
The Media Institute
for Southern Africa (Misa) also condemned MIC’s
decision to deny The Daily
News an operating licence.
“We are outraged by MIC’s decision to
refuse the paper a licence and
feel the reasons given are invalid,” said Misa
director Sara Chiumbu, who
added that AIPPA is undemocratic.
Zim Standard
Bleak prospects for agriculture recovery
By
Caiphas Chimhete
ZIMBABWE’S agricultural output is set for another
plunge as the
government’s inept, haphazard economic policies — largely
determined by
political considerations than business sense —continue to wreak
havoc on the
once viable sector, agriculture experts have said.
They said macro-economic policy failure, high inflation, unemployment
and
severe foreign currency shortages required for the purchase of
agricultural
inputs, would seriously compromise next year’s overall cereal
output,
exposing millions of Zimbabweans to starvation.
That apart, prices
of basic inputs such as fertilisers, chemicals,
seeds and fuel for draught
power, have increased by 300 percent over the
past three months, virtually
putting the newly resettled farmers out of
production.
The
Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) said the precarious food situation
is set to
worsen next year as agricultural output of all crops is likely
to
plunge.
“What is needed is to prepare for the disaster now.
However, it is
practically impossible to do so because farmers continue to
lose their
farms; even those with one farm, meaning they will not be able to
produce,”
said a CFU official.
The government’s failure to
implement its own policies is the problem
affecting agriculture and causing
the economic decline, added the CFU
official.
Despite the
government’s declaration that only farmers with more than
one farm would have
other properties seized, over 1 500 farmers lost their
only farms under
President Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reform
programme.
Indigenous Commercial Farmers’ Union (ICFU) deputy director Cleopas
Mandebvu
also conceded that disaster was looming as the agriculture sector
continues
to disintegrate.
“If factors such as the shortage of seed,
fertilisers and draught
power are not addressed, they will continue to have
an influence on
production, not only for next season, but for the coming
years,” said
Mandebvu, who however could not project the expected maize
output for the
2003/4 farming season.
As a result of the
economic problems and the continual disruption of
agriculture, it is
estimated that Zimbabwe would be able to meet only 30
percent of its food
requirements for the 2003/4-agriculture season.
A recent joint UN
World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food Agricultural
Organisation (FAO)
estimates that 5.5 million Zimbabweans will continue to
face acute food
shortages. This is nearly half of the country’s population
of about 12,5
million people.
However, other experts said they expected the
number of people that
would require food assistance to balloon in the light
of the problems
besetting the country.
Mandebvu said most of the
A2 farmers, who constitute the majority of
the union’s members, are unable to
start farming because they cannot afford
the spiraling price of agricultural
inputs.
The government, through the District Development Fund
(DDF), recently
hiked tillage fees from $10 000 to $25 000 per hectare,
virtually shutting
the door to most of the newly resettled farmers who lack
tractors.
The situation is more critical for peasant farmers
resettled under the
A1 model, as they fall among the poorest in the country
and have benefitted
from cheap DDF services in the past.
Some
have even started trekking back to the villages where they lived
before
because they have no inputs to begin production on the newly acquired
farms.
Apart from tillage fees, the prices of fertilisers and seed have also
gone up
drastically.
Sylvester Tsikirai, director of the Zimbabwe Farmers’
Union (ZFU), an
organisation that represents the country’s small-holder
farmers, blasted the
government for hiking prices of inputs.
“It
is obvious that for farmers who have been reeling under economic
problems,
the figure is out of the reach for many of them,” said Tsikirai,
commenting
on the 150 percent rise of tillage fees.
Another factor that would
impact on next season’s output, is the
limited access to credit due to a lack
of collateral for the majority of the
newly resettled farmers.
However, many farmers are pinning their hopes on efforts by government
to
transform AgriBank into a Land Bank, specifically to cater for
farmers.
But others, knowing the government’s perpetual failure to
stick to its
policies and pledges, say the establishment of the Land Bank –
though penned
for next month — might drag on for years.
There
are also indications that tobacco output could be down to 60
million kgs in
the next season, compared to 70 million kg this year, as more
farmers boycott
growing the crop citing Zimbabwe’s skewed exchange rate.
The
government has sternly declined to devalue the local currency to
ensure the
continued production of tobacco, once the country’s largest
foreign currency
earner.
Though admitting that there are indications of a plunge
in
agricultural output next season, Farmers’ Development Trust (FDT)
director,
Lovegot Tendengu, remains hopeful.
“We are doing
everything within our means, together with government,
to make sure that next
season will not be a disaster. I urge farmers to go
their nearest GMB (Grain
Marketing Board) offices for seeds and to our
offices for seedlings,” said
Tendengu.
Zim Standard
Frequent price hikes rile Bulawayo residents
By Loughty Dube
BULAWAYO—Consumers in Zimbabwe’s second largest
city say they have
been hit by a spate of price increases, some as high as
500 percent, since
the beginning of this month.
The business
community has taken advantage of the collapse of the
government’s price
controls, resulting in the cost of most consumables going
up on a daily
basis.
A snap survey by The Standard revealed that many shops in
Bulawayo had
two stickers on all goods, indicating that price adjustments
were made on
the goods while they were still on the shelves.
Goods that are selling at higher prices include scarce basic
commodities and
foodstuffs while other goods like furniture and electrical
gadgets are now
beyond the reach of many ordinary Zimbabweans.
The price of
powdered washing soap rose astronomically from about $3
000 per kg to about
$10 000 for the same pack between July and September.
While
mealie-meal that has been scarce all along is now back on the
shelves, the
cost of a bag of 20 kgs has shot up about five times to a
whopping $15
400.
Bulawayo residents interviewed said it was now difficult for
them to
make a budget on basic commodities since the prices increase
everyday.
“How can you budget when prices go up everyday. Even up
to now we do
not know whether the right price for bread is $950 or the $1 150
that we are
being charged by bakeries,” Bekezela Nyoni, a housewife from
Entumbane,
said.
A bakery manager in the city said flour was not
easily available and
in instances when it is supplied, the price is always
increased on a daily
basis.
“The only way we can survive in this
business is to carry over the
costs to the consumer otherwise we will be
forced to shut down operations,”
said the bakery manager who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
The public is however concerned at the lack
of action by consumer
watchdog bodies that have remained quiet in the face of
the new price hikes.
Zim Standard
Land grab goes on despite audit report
By
Loughty Dube
BULAWAYO - As government studies the findings of the
Land Audit
Committee whose report was handed to President Robert Mugabe early
this
week, it has emerged that some senior government officials, and a
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) reporter, have been allocated farms
at the
Gwayi Valley Conservancy that has over 300 elephants protected under
a
Presidential Decree.
The Gwayi Valley Conservancy borders the
Hwange National Park and is
sub-divided into several safari farms that have
been given to four Zanu PF
chefs in the province.
According to
government sources, the beneficiaries of the conservancy
farms include a
member of Zanu PF’s top policy making body, the Politburo
and others from its
Central Committee in the province (names supplied) who
were named in the
local media last week as owning more than one farm.
The Politburo
member in question is alleged to be already running
hunting safaris in the
area despite the fact that he was not allocated
hunting quotas as required
when these were issued at the beginning of the
year.
An irate
safari operator in Gwayi who declined to be named, said the
Politburo member
was hunting in the Hwange area with impunity. He said
safari operators were
afraid to interfere with the new tenants even though
some of them are
involved in poaching and causing more ecological damage.
Meanwhile,
youth militias based at the Kamativi youth camp and led by
a notorious war
veteran called ‘Black Jesus’ raided a lodge in the area and
declared that
they had taken it over recently.
Ivory Lodge, owned by the Forest
Commission and leased to a private
investor, was invaded by the war veteran
leader and a group of youths who
cut off its telephone lines and ordered the
manager to leave the lodge. They
ransacked the kitchen and harassed workers
who were also told to vacate
their lodgings at the safari lodge.
Efforts to contact management proved fruitless while a Forest
Commission
official refused to comment.
Zim Standard
CFU, united we stand, divided we fall
MY letter is directed at fellow farmers and ex–farmers.
Isn’t it an
amazing thing that just when our government is in the
process of implementing
“Operation Cleansweep”, a new constitution is being
prepared which enshrines
property rights and the current regime is trying to
form an interim
government and re-designate all farms so that they can
legally nationalise
the farms prior to the new constitution being put in
place and:
*ZESA has increased rates on export oriented businesses to such a
level that
it makes the remaining export produce farms unviable,
*inflation
sits at 399,5% officially for August but much higher in
real
terms,
*Daily News has just been taken off the streets for being
“illegal”
and so removes our main form of public information of the current
economic
and political environment. Our leadership in Matabeleland finds it
necessary
to withdraw from CFU because of a lack of trust between the
leadership.
For over forty years the debate about trust between the
leadership in
Matabeleland and the rest of the country has raged on from time
to time.
Over the past years our very brave men have put aside personal
differences
in order to stand united as a Union to fight matters of
importance to the
farmers and our nation.
While this internal
power struggle rages, our homes burn and our
people starve.
We
are a democratic union. We have to accept the decision of the
majority and
work within the framework of our Constitution. We need to put
aside our
personal fears and aspirations in the interests of our farming
“family” and
do what is good for our people....and we have to work together
as a
team.
United we stand and divided we fall.
Jean
Simon
Harare
Zim Standard
Drastic plunge in tobacco output
By Kumbirai
Mafunda
ZIMBABWE’S 2004 tobacco crop is projected to decline
further to a mere
55 million kgs, a decrease of 45,5% compared to this year’s
80 million kgs.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) president,
Duncan Miller, told
StandardBusiness in an interview that seed sales to date
indicate a drastic
plunge in production of the crop, which is the country’s
prime export crop.
The ZTA is the country’s largest tobacco growing
body, representing
more than 75% of growers. Seed sales released last week
denote that only
266,25 kgs had been bought by both large-scale and
small-scale farmers,
22,9% down from 327,2 kgs sold last year.
The seed is expected to be planted over 53 300 ha against 57 700 ha
planted
last year.
Planting for the irrigated crop commenced at the
beginning this month
with the dry land crop slotted for October
15.
“Seed sales point to a crop of 65 million kgs but with what we
are
seeing on the ground, that could be reduced to 55 million kgs,” said
Miller.
He said white commercial farmers were still being served
with eviction
notices in Manicaland and Mashonaland province, prime tobacco
farming areas.
Miller said the lack of viability in the sector is
hampering
crop-growing activities. Costs had gone up per hectare from $2
million to
between $10 and $12 million, he added.
Growers are
already facing a cocktail of shortages ranging from fuel,
coal and fertiliser
critical in the planting of the golden leaf. The cost of
hauling coal from
Wankie Colliery has also shot up to about $230 000 per
tonne.
“People don’t want to plant because it is not viable,” Miller said.
The huge drop in tobacco forecasts, analysts said, would heavily
slash
tobacco’s contribution to the country’s total export receipts,
further
worsening Zimbabwe’s foreign currency woes.
Tobacco has
been the country’s prime export crop accounting for up to
30% of foreign
exchange earnings. However, the golden leaf’s output has
drastically taken a
knock since ruling party loyalists and war veterans
embarked on a violent and
indiscriminate land seizure of white farmed
commercial land from
2000.
“We are seeing a dangerous period where seedlings might be
left to
dry,” said independent economic consultant, John
Robertson.
“They have completely demolished confidence in the
sector and the
scarcity of foreign currency will worsen from this year’s
levels,” he added.
Zimbabwe is likely to lose its market share to
neighbouring countries
and seasoned producers like Brazil and China, who are
increasing their crop.
Already tobacco manufacturers are undertaking huge
capital expansion
projects in Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.
Zim Standard
Currency devaluation: good or bad?
By Grace
Dzinotyiwei Intermarket Asset Managers
- Under a fixed exchange
rate system, devaluation is an official
change in the value of a country’s
currency relative to other currencies.
This can be conducted by policy
makers, motivated by unusual market
pressures.
- Under a
floating exchange rate system, market forces generate
changes in the value of
the currency, known as currency depreciation or
appreciation.
Governments occasionally devalue in most cases as a response to
unusual
market pressures. Devaluation, the deliberate downward adjustment in
the
official exchange rate, reduces the currency’s value. For instance,
suppose a
government has set 5 units of its currency equal to one dollar.
Devaluation
can exchange 10 of these units to the same dollar. This move has
made the
former currency half as expensive to Americans, and the US dollar
twice as
expensive in the devaluing country.
What forces to
devaluation?
- An indefensible fixed exchange rate due to some
interaction between
market forces and policy decisions. Fixed exchange rate
sustainability
requires that a country has sufficient foreign exchange
reserves, often
dollars, and be willing to spend them, to purchase all offers
of its
currency at the established exchange rate. When a country is unable
or
unwilling to do so, then it must devalue its currency to a level that it
is
able and willing to support with its foreign exchange
reserves.
- Devalue to boost the economy’s aggregate
demand.
Impact on economic growth
Because devaluation
makes the domestic currency cheaper relative to
other currencies, the
country’s exports become less expensive for foreigners
while foreign products
become more expensive for domestic consumers thereby
discouraging
imports.
As exports increase this may reduce the current account
deficit. The
problem with this effect is that by increasing the price of
imports and
stimulating demand for domestic products, devaluation can
aggravate
inflation. As such, it becomes critical for net exporters to watch
out for a
decline in margins due to trade tumult and lower prices. For most
companies,
operating and financing costs tend to go up.
This
embezzles back any initial competitive gains. This may then force
the
government to raise interest rates in order to control inflation, but at
the
cost of slower economic growth. Why? Because high interest rates
weaken
banking sector loan book as more companies default.
Another risk of devaluation is psychological. To the extent that
devaluation
is viewed as a sign of economic weakness, the creditworthiness
of the nation
may be jeopardised. Thus, devaluation may dampen investor
confidence in the
country’s economy and hurt the country’s ability to secure
foreign
investment.
Devaluation can through contagion effect result in
trading partners
becoming concerned that devaluation might negatively affect
their own export
industries. Neighbouring countries might devalue their own
currencies to
offset the effects of their trading partner’s devaluation. This
cyclical
effect on policies tends to exacerbate economic difficulties by
creating
instability in broader financial markets.
Empirical
Evidence
Devaluation is not always the answer. What is implied here
is that it
cannot be the same prescription for everyone. A policy measure has
to be in
line the economic problems inherent in a particular country.
Sequencing of
these events (policy measures) is another critical issue. In
most cases,
economic stability demands priority.
In the Asian
crisis, the Thai market actually surged just after the
Thai Baht devalued
with government officials initially heralding the
devaluation as a positive
move. It sounded so good that many other Asian
countries followed yet this
had long-term economic problems. The fact is,
most people are hurt by
devaluation. Inflation and interest rates tend to
climb while the economy
slows, and uncertainty confuses economic
decision-making. The purpose of a
currency is to facilitate exchange and
store value over time. Wide
fluctuations in currency erode people’s ability
to make long-term economic
plans (savings and investments), all foundations
of economic
growth.
Sequencing of necessary policy measures is critical. In
Brazil,
economic growth was weak until in 1994, when Cardoso, now
president,
developed his 1995–97 strong economic policy, cutting inflation
and
decreasing government spending for economic stabilisation.
Economic
deregulation and privatisation took centre stage. These measures
brought
limited economic growth, but greater stability. Cuts in
government
expenditure and financial crisis in Russia and Asia sparked
capital flight
from Brazil and an economic downturn. The 1999 currency
devaluation assisted
in slowing down economic decline. This accompanied by a
privatisation policy
brought the much-needed foreign investment. Brazil
recorded its first
recovery in early 2000, registering 4 percent growth by
the end of the year.
Complementarity of policies is also critical
given the structural
rigidities associated with that country. Tanzania is
highly dependent on
imports that cannot be substituted by any local
production. Therefore, to
achieve trade balance exports must increase
significantly since imports are
unlikely to decline enough to close the
deficit gap. Consequently, currency
devaluation encouraged export agriculture
while discouraging domestic
production. Unfortunately gross domestic use
dropped as a result of the drop
in imported inputs.
For
Zimbabwe, the foreign currency shortage problem persists with a
projected
capital account deficit of about US$300 million by end of 2003
(US$200
million in 2002). Many exchange rate systems (fixed, managed,
floating,
crawling peg, etc) have been put in place but authorities had to
abandon them
mid – stream. Now the country has been managing a multi – tier
exchange rate
system since October 2000 for fear that currency devaluation
is inflationary.
To date, the parallel market has continued to thrive
handling over 80% of
total foreign currency transactions largely fuelling
inflationary pressure.
The latest official year on year inflation now stands
at 426.6% for June
2003. Consequently, despite the structural adjustment
programmes that have
been put in place, the economy is projected to decline
further to – 14% by
the end of 2003. This represents a cumulative economic
decline of about 30%
in GDP since 1999.
For this economy, restoration of investor
confidence, political will,
credibility, consistence of policy measures as
well as proper sequencing of
events remains critical for an economic
turnaround.
Disclaimer:
This document has been
prepared from sources we believe are reliable.
While reasonable care has been
taken to ensure that the facts given are
correct, no responsibility of any
kind can be accepted by Intermarket Asset
Managers (Pvt) Ltd or any of its
directors, employees or associates either
as to the accuracy or completeness
of any information herein or whatever
material facts have or have not been
included.
Zim Standard
Zanu PF to blame for dependency syndrome
Sundaytalk with Pius Wakatama
ONE never expects to hear any kind of
logic or common sense from Zanu
PF leaders but once in a while this happens
for wonders never cease.
Recently, Vice President Joseph Msika
warned newly resettled farmers
against relying on government alone for inputs
saying they should find ways
of sustaining themselves. He said there were
fears that if government
continued giving inputs, farmers would not work
towards self-sustenance.
“Dependence syndrome is a disease that is
incurable as HIV/Aids,” said
the Vice President when he officiated at a
graduation ceremony at Kushinga
Pikelela National Farmers Training Centre in
Marondera, a week ago.
This is not the first time Vice President
Msika has expressed words of
wisdom. When the illegal and violent invasion of
white owned farms by
so-called war-veterans started, he unequivocally said
that was wrong and the
invaders should leave the farms forthwith. Other
members of the government,
namely John Nkomo and Dumiso Dabengwa agreed with
Msika and echoed his
words.
Unfortunately, when President Robert
Mugabe returned from one of his
frequent jaunts abroad, he whipped them into
line and said the government
would not take any action against the illegal
invaders. If Msika, Dabengwa,
Nkomo and others of like mind had held their
ground and insisted that that
was no way to carry out land reform, the
scenario in Zimbabwe would be
different and definitely better
today.
Zimbabwe’s tragedy is that all Zanu PF leaders, especially
the
“honourable ministers” don’t have the courage of their convictions.
When
they discover that their convictions are not in line with the thinking
of
President Mugabe, they quickly swallow their words, and make an about
turn
and loudly sing their master’s voice.
What Vice President
Msika said is so true. However, for such straight
forward and honest talk to
be a rarity in such dire straights as ours is
indeed an indictment on our own
political leadership. It shows that we are
in for a long poverty-ridden haul
for no country was ever built on
propaganda and lies.
There is
indeed a dependency syndrome in Zimbabwe. Begging from
government and
expecting things for free or by grabbing by force is now part
of the
Zimbabwean culture. At the end of almost every media interview of
resettled
farmers, one hears this refrain without fail, “If only the
government would
help us with ...” (Dai hurumende yedu yaitibatsirawo
ne...)”
Every interview ends with the new farmer or businessman asking the
government
to help with capital, fertiliser, seed, boreholes or tractors to
till their
freely acquired land. One would think that government is some
kind of rich
and benevolent Father Christmas.
Nobody should blame the people of
Zimbabwe for expecting their
government to do everything for them. The
government is solely to blame for
creating the dependency syndrome, which
characterises Zimbabwe today.
After independence, the government
should have promised the people
nothing but the free environment for them to
develop themselves through
their own blood, sweat and tears. Instead it
promised them free education,
free medical care, free housing and free
everything. It promised them the
sky, sun, moon and stars
included.
This of course was part of the Communist rhetoric adopted
by leaders
of the present government when they were a liberation movement.
Their idea
of government was through a pervasive all encompassing welfare
state which
would do everything for the people.
When I bought my
properties just before independence, a number of
people told me that I was
wasting my money. They said, “Kana kuzvitonga
kuzere kwauya, dzimba
dzevarungu tichadzigara mahara idzi. Nemotokari
tichadzikwira mahara,” (After
independence we will live in white homes for
free of charge. Even cars we
will drive without paying anything.)
This is why anybody could just
walk to any white-owned farm and
declare that they now own it. Any protest
from the owner who, in most cases,
had bought the farm legally with the
consent of government was violently
dealt with. This is why today a group of
people can, with all the audacity,
go to the Lion and Cheetah Park and
declare to its hard working owners and
employees that they are now the new
owners of the property and the business
and they should vacate it forthwith.
Crazy, isn’t it?
At almost every Zanu PF rally, the rhetoric is the
same.
“The government will provide you with seed and fertiliser.
The
government will give you tractors to till your lands. The government
will
give you money for self-help projects...,” ad nauseam.
It
is time Zimbabweans woke up to the truth.
Government does not
produce anything except hot air. It is composed of
people who spend their
time talking in Parliament and attending meetings and
lavish dinners. They
don’t do any productive work. So, where will they get
all the money to fulfil
these wild promises?
It used to come from from productive
individuals and the private
sector has been milked dry and all manner of
hindrances thrown in its way by
the same government that it can’t produce
more.
Unfortunately, most Zanu PF leaders do not see the light,
which the
Vice President seems to have seen. They continue to promise things
which
government will never be able to deliver including rural
electrification. It
cannot even borrow because it is now so over borrowed
that no individual or
institution in its right mind is willing to lend it
money even at the most
enticing of interest rates.
What is
happening in Zimbabwe has also aspired me to write a song. It
is called
Rambai Makashinga Yechipiri. It goes this way:
Nehondo, Nehondo,
Takaitora nehondo,
Kana Zvikaipa sei,
Rambai
Makashinga.
Kana Mitsetse ikareba sei
Rambai
makashinga
Kana Mukafa sei nenzara,
Rambai
makashinga.
Nehondo, Nehondo, Takaitora Nehondo
Kana
mbeu ikashaika
Kohwai Pakuru muZimbabwe.
Kana fetireza
ikadhura sei,
Kohwai Pakuru muZimbabwe.
Kana makambani
akavharwa,
Tichapfuma chete nehondo,
Kana zvipatara
zvose zvikavharwa,
Rambai makashinga.
Kana Zimbabwe
ikaparara,
Rambai makashinga.
Nehondo, nehondo,
Tichaimutsa nehondo.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE
PR COMMUNIQUE - September 22, 2003
Email:
justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT
FROM CRISIS COALITION IN ZIMBABWE ON THE DAILY NEWS CASE
The Daily News
refused to register under the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy
Act. It declined to register strongly believing that
to register would be to
submit itself to a system of repressive state
controls that would violate its
fundamental right to freedom of expression
and would drastically curtail its
ability to inform the public. It
therefore sought to bring a constitutional
challenge in the Supreme Court.
The basis of this challenge was that the
system of state control over
newspapers is unconstitutional as it violates
its right to freedom of
expression enshrined in the constitution.
The
Supreme Court refused to entertain this challenge. It held that a
law
remains valid until a court of law rules that it is invalid and therefore
a
person wishing to challenge the validity of a law must first comply
and
afterwards argue in court about its validity. The newspaper could
not
approach the court for a constitutional ruling whilst it was in breach
of
the law it was challenging. The court could not condone its open
defiance
of that law. Before it would be heard it must first stop violating
that
law either by registering under the Act or ceasing to publish the
newspaper
until the constitutional challenge had been decided.
We
believe that this decision amounts to an abrogation by the Supreme Court
of
its duty to protect and uphold the fundamental rights of the people
of
Zimbabwe.
Section 3 of the Constitution provides that the
Constitution is the supreme
law of Zimbabwe and any law that is inconsistent
with the Constitution is
invalid and void. The Constitution has a series of
provisions declaring
the fundamental rights of the people. These are vitally
important rights a
and an Act of Parliament will be invalid if it contains
provisions that
breach these fundamental rights. The primary responsibility
for deciding
whether provisions are void on this basis rests with the Supreme
Court.
This court will decide this when constitutional challenges are
brought
before them.
In cases where the constitutionality of laws is
challenged, it is important
that the Supreme Court gives its ruling as soon
as possible so that the
position can be clarified. If the law is indeed
void, portions of it are
void, people should not be obliged to abide by such
a law. If it is found
to be constitutional, then everyone will be expected
to abide by that law.
The Daily News did not simply defy the law and
refuse to obey it. It
sought a ruling from the Supreme Court about the
constitutionality of that
law and would obviously have been bound by the
ruling.
It is unfair and unjust to require compliance with a law as a
precondition
for a constitutional ruling on that law. If a person believes
that a law
obliges him or her to take action or imposes conditions that will
seriously
violate his or her fundamental rights, that person should be
entitled to a
ruling by the court about this without first complying with the
law. A
person may suffer grave prejudice by having to comply with a law that
the
constitutional court later rules to be in flagrant violation
of
constitutional rights.
Some examples will illustrate this. Take a
law passed obliging a senior
public official to resign immediately without a
hearing to determine
whether there are any good grounds for his forced
removal and taking away
all his pension entitlements. The official would
have to resign first
before he would be entitled to challenge the
constitutional validity of the
law. Take also a law that orders a newspaper
to close immediately and to
hand over its equipment to the state without the
law giving any reasons why
the paper should be closed down. Again the
newspaper would have to close
and hand over its equipment before it could
mount a constitutional
challenge. Similarly in the Daily News the newspaper
would have had to
subject itself to a system of state control that it thought
violated its
rights, before it could challenge that law. Alternatively, it
would have
had to stop publishing the newspaper thereby sustaining
financial
prejudice.
It is established law that a person who is
prosecuted for failing to comply
with a criminal provision can challenge the
constitutionality of that law
and the Supreme Court will be obliged to make a
ruling on its
constitutionality. The fact that he has breached the law will
not mean
that he forfeits his right to a constitutional ruling. Surely a
person who
does not wait to be prosecuted and instead approaches the Supreme
Court for
a ruling on its constitutionality should not be in a worse position
that
the person who is being prosecuted for breach of the law.
We
therefore believe that the ruling in the Daily News case was wrong.
JAG OPEN LETTER FORUM
Email: justice@telco.co.zw; justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
Please
send any material for publication in the Open Letter Forum to
justice@telco.co.zw with "For Open Letter
Forum" in the subject
line.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter
1: Stand Up
Dear Sir,
It now seems that a number of farmers
understand Mr. Kinnaird's point of
view about standing up for what is right.
He has also clearly illustrated
that the Farmers' Leadership opted for
Dialogue, and have just recently
endorsed this school of thought by saying
that the International Community
has a financial responsibility to this
country.
*Isn't there a chance of the International Community tainting
their
reputation by supporting the Government Land Reform Programme because
of
the MANNER in which it has been done? - Mr. Kinnaird's reference to
David
Stevens' murder is a case in point, and Mrs. Bonsor has given
graphic
detail of the 'manner' of the Government Land Reform Programme in
her
specific case.
* Does Justice for Agriculture support Land Reform
in a holistic manner,
with sustainable and transparent security of tenure
(which is not quite the
same as "working with Government" if we read Mrs.
Bonsor's letter again)
within the framework of the Constitution?
*Is
the Quinnell case not contesting the very legality of this 'manner' of
so
called Land Reform, in terms of the Constituion, with the Honourable
Minister
of Justice, Law and Order being one of the respondents??
*Is the report
in The Independent stating that Justice Paradza is suing the
Honourable
Minister of Justice, Law and Order for $ 500 million for
unconstitutional and
illegal arrest and detention, any different to the
approxmately three hundred
farmers who were also arrested and detained just
over a year ago? If so,
shouldn't those farmers possibly follow Justice
Paradza's example, using that
"mechanism" rather than blame the
International Community?
Pro
Justice.
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Letter
2: Ex-Centenary Farmer
I would like to herewith state my support for John
Kinnaird's original
letter, as it sums things up. Jean Bonsor, you have
missed the point. WHY
was there not a COLLECTIVE OUTCRY, from the farmers of
Matabeleland to
Mashonaland, from Manicaland to Lomagundi , from the top of
C.F.U to the
F.A's, from the wealthiest business to the fledgling business of
the cities
and towns when David Stevens was murdered?
The reason,
Jean, is that the Mugabe leadership had us all summed up, one
or two murders
would only encourage us to cling desperately onto our little
"kingdoms", yes,
he would have to terrorize many of us to get us to let go,
kill us
economically and split and divide agricultural leadership, and
deepen the
divide between the town people and the farmers, get farmers to
point fingers
at farmers. How well we have played into his hands. Your
response to John
Kinnaird's letter displayed this.
Esme'
Blair
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Letter
3: Replying to Mr Kinnaird
I wonder how you would have re-acted had you
been in a position that many
of us were in. Would you have confronted the
people shouting and
screaming at your gate, I doubt it. The people in the
towns have no idea
what it was like to be completely alone with people baying
for your blood.
Even the farmers who had neighbours terrorised, evicted etc.,
did not know
the experience until it happened to them. You have no right to
criticize
any of us, as it is an experience I would not wish on my worst
enemy. The
day we were evicted I phoned my two children out of the country
and said
"goodbye", as we thought it was our last moment. Thank goodness one
brave
policeman came to our rescue and still to this day I do not know how
we
managed to get through the screaming masses who were trying to take
our
land. One of our elderly neighbours did come to our rescue and that
very
afternoon the army moved into her house, giving her 24 hours to leave.
We
left our farm in April 2001 and were told never to show our faces
there
again.
We purchased our farm in 1996 and left with nothing. We
paid the last
installment for our farm 3 months before we were evicted. How
would you
feel if, at the age of 50, somebody came and robbed you of your
home, your
pension, your livelihood.
I know you criticize the farming
community for not sticking together. That
was far easier said than done as
no matter what we did we were crushed. If
we had all said we are not farming
the land would still have been taken
away from us. The Government saw as an
easy target. Fellow farmers often
did try and come to the rescue of others.
Roads were barricaded, rocks
were hurled at anybody who dared to try and
help. You have no idea of all
the contingency plans we tried to put in place
to help each other. As with
the mass stayaways the government is so powerful
and can crush anything,
imagine a few farmers trying to confront them, when
all the people in the
cities cannot.
Nigel
Worthington
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Letter
4: Meg Bots
Sir
Why are these "farmers" crooks names not published
worldwide and a boycott
organised there must be some one somewhere who can
make this known!!! In
gabs the other day a young man in a designer suit went
to my friends floral
shop to try and sell roses She asked the name of the
farm and he said
without conscience his parents were given the farm!!! She
refused. Why
wont this happen more or is it wishful thinking!!! Lack of
unity again????
Well done again Cathy Buckle- hit the nail on the
head!!
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All
letters published on the open Letter Forum are the views and opinions
of the
submitters, and do not represent the official viewpoint of Justice
for
Agriculture.
JUSTICE FOR AGRICULTURE
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - September 22,
2003
Email: justice@telco.co.zw;
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
Internet:
www.justiceforagriculture.com
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Hello
fellow Zimbabwean:
As we all know our beloved country and its peoples are
caught in a very
serious predicament. It almost seems that the opposition
political parties,
regional leaders, and international leaders cannot help us
in anyway. For
those of us living abroad - we have not done much either to
help. Instead
many of us are being forced into situations no one could have
ever
imagined.
At this point it is very obvious that ONLY the LORD
ALMIGHTY will see us
through all the situations we are going through. With
that in mind - we
are calling for a Prayer/Fast for Zimbabwe. The week
beginning Monday
October 6 to Sunday October 12 2003. Let us all join
together and ask of
the LORD for a change. The main emphasis is for us as a
nation to set time
aside each of those days and seek God's favour. If you can
manage to fast
the e whole period - PRAISE be to GOD. If you manage 3 or 4
days - that is
still good. Whatever you can manage will make a difference -
even if it
means skipping 1 meal and saying a prayer for mercy that will be
truly
appreciated.
Fasting can be whatever you decide - the Lord knows
your heart. We are
aware that there are many different types of fasts PLEASE
just get
involved. Since there are thousands of us living in different time
zones -
Zimbabwe will be praying as a Nation 24 hours a day for a full 7
days. As
we fast that week inspirational messages will be sent out from
different
church leaders.
PLEASE forward this message to as many
Zimbabweans as you know. For those
who do not have emails - please be sure
to print it out for them. More
emails as the date draws near.
In
Christ
ZIMBABWE PRAYERS