Reuters
Thu 25 Sep 2008,
7:32 GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said the
resignation
of South African President Thabo Mbeki was devastating, state
media reported
on Thursday.
"It's devastating news that President
Thabo Mbeki is no longer the
President of South Africa, but that is the
action of the South African
people," the state-controlled Herald newspaper
quoted Mugabe as telling
reporters in New York.
Mbeki brokered a
power-sharing deal earlier this month to end a deep
political crisis in
Zimbabwe, but Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai are still
deadlocked over cabinet posts.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7635141.stm
Thursday, 25 September 2008 10:26 UK
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said he can
work with his
long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai, following a recent
power-sharing deal.
"I don't see any reason why we can't work
together as Zimbabweans. We
are all sons of the soil," he said.
Under the deal, MDC leader Mr Tsvangirai becomes prime minister, but
the two
sides have disagreed over the distribution of ministerial posts.
Both men claim to have won this year's polls, which were marred by
violence.
Mr Mugabe also said he was "devastated" by the
resignation of South
Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, who brokered the
deal.
It is not clear who will take over as the lead mediator in
Zimbabwe,
or if Mr Mbeki will continue.
Correspondents say that
if he were to carry on with his Zimbabwe role,
he would lose much of his
authority following his resignation.
Mr Mugabe said it was up to
the Southern African Development Community
(Sadc) to decide whether Mr Mbeki
would be replaced.
Asked who would have the final say if he and Mr
Tsvangirai disagreed,
Mr Mugabe said it would depend on the
issue.
He denied that there was a hitch in their agreement on
power-sharing,
and said the only area that was holding up the deal concerned
four
appointments to the cabinet.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com
Africa News
Sep 25, 2008,
9:35 GMT
Brussels - The European Union's executive body on
Thursday boosted its
humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe by 10 million euros (14.7
million dollars),
largely for health care, water and sanitation.
The
aim of the boost, which comes on top of an earlier gift of 15 million
euros
in food aid, is to 'tackle the suffering among the most vulnerable
population groups affected by displacement, epidemics and violence,' a
statement from the European Commission said.
Since 2005, the EU has
allocated more than 82 million euros in aid to
Zimbabwe while keeping up a
raft of sanctions against the regime of
President Robert Mugabe.
EU
foreign ministers had been set to toughen the sanctions on September 15,
but
the signing that day of a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and his
pro-democracy challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai, led them to postpone the
decision.
The bloc is keeping up its pressure on Mugabe, however,
insisting that his
regime give aid workers full access to the hardest-hit
parts of the country.
'The EU's humanitarian assistance is neutral and
impartial and not an
instrument of politics. I expect all restrictions on
humanitarian operations
to be totally lifted as a result of the recent
political settlement,' EU Aid
Commissioner Louis Michel said.
http://www.radiovop.com
MASVINGO, September 25 2008 -
Vice president Joyce Mujuru - allegedly
opposed to President Robert Mugabe's
continued stay in power - said Zimbabwe
should have more farmers than
soldiers.
"It is surprising to see a nation with many
soldiers who out-number
farmers, who are the backbone of the economy. We
should not have more
soldiers than farmers," Mujuru said when she was
addressing a rally in
Chiredzi and Bikita where she had come to commission
farming equipment to
sugarcane farmers and irrigation schemes last
weekend.
Just after the March 29 elections, the Zimbabwean
government imported
military equipment from China, which came in a
ship-latter dubbed The Ship
of Death - that failed to dock in South Africa
following a massive protest
ignited by the Confederation of South African
Trade Unions (COSATU).
Mujuru - wife to former army commander
Solomon - is embroiled in a
bitter power struggle with the other faction in
ZANU PF led by Minister of
Rural Housing and social Amenities, Emerson
Mnangagwa, whose grouping is at
the helm after it violently campaigned for
Mugabe's controversial
re-election in the disputed June 27 run-off
elections.
Many ZANU PF supporters had heeded a call by the
Mnangagwa faction to
boycott the rally.
"I am surprised
what kind of a country it is. The problem is that many
of our leaders only
come to the people when it is election time, so they
would not know what the
people want...Anyway, I came to see the situation on
the ground," she
said.
Mujuru, the following day at Nyika growth point, lamented
the
Mnangagwa faction for sabotaging her projects.
"There
are other people within the party who, after hearing about my
projects, make
an evil follow up to see to it that they do not succeed. This
is very bad,
and I know that all these projects that I am launching will be
nipped from
the bud.
"People criticise me that I am launching poultry and
heifer projects,
but if a breeder sells 20 chickens, how much will he/she
get?" Mujuru said.
At the rally, cracks within the ruling party
were so open as the newly
appointed Masvingo Governor, Titus
Maluleke-aligned to Mnangagwa-was denied
a chance to talk.
http://www.radiovop.com
HARARE, September 25 2008 - The Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
continues to defy international advice against its
participation in
quasi-fiscal operations, which international finance
institutions say have
contributed immensely to the collapse of the country's
economy.
The latest assault on international advice came on
Wednesday following
the launch of the Fourth Phase of the Farm Mechanization
Programme where the
RBZ handed over agricultural equipment and implements to
a Zanu-PF
constituted committee, put together to mobilize resources for the
forthcoming farming season.
Speaking at the handover
ceremony RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, said his
bank would not sit back and
watch as the nation's preparations for the
forthcoming season fall into
disarray.
He also claimed that the programme embarked on by the
bank would
"elevate the land reform programme".
Said Gono:
"The thrust of this Farm Mechanization Programme is to
elevate the Land
Reform Programme from the re-distributive phase to the
all-important
productive phase. As monetary authorities we call upon those
who benefited
from this equipment to put it to good use in the interests of
promoting
food security for the country."
The launch of the first phase
of the mechanization programme, has seen
the procurement and distribution of
3 000 tractors, 105 combine harvesters,
1 733 disc harrows, 100 000
ploughs, 78 000 scotch carts, 200 000 chains and
2 000 planters to
date.
According to analysts - the RBZ printed the money used to
procure such
inputs in order to purchase foreign currency on the parallel
market.
Motorbikes, grinding mills, planters, fertilizer
spreaders and
knapsacks, among other implements, were part of the
consignment that the RBZ
released
on Wednesday.
In
the past some of the tractors have been re-sold while others have
gathered
dust at the backyards of recipients.
Meanwhile the RBZ has
gazetted regulations governing those who are
allowed to trade in foreign
exchange.
The gazette regularised the application known as the
Foreign Exchange
Licensed Warehouses and Shops (FOLIWARS) which will allow 1
000 retail shops
and 250 wholesalers countrywide to sell goods in foreign
currency.
The foreign currency proceeds earned by a local
manufacturer should be
deposited into a corporate foreign currency account
and shall be treated as
export proceeds.
http://www.radiovop.com
MASVINGO, September 25 2008
- Teacher's training colleges in and
around the province have failed to
attract prospective students who are
shunning the profession in preference
of the money spinning informal
businesses.
Adding to
this problem, the only few students, who signed for the
places were also
failing to raise the needed fees, making the operations of
the colleges very
hard, sources revealed.
These problems and the hunger crisis,
that has stalked institutions of
higher and tertiary education, led to the
delay in the opening of most
colleges
The institutions also
failed to attract the required students even
when they lowered entry
requirements.
Among the teacher training institutions snubbed
are the Reformed
Church in Zimbabwe (RCZ) run Morgenster College, Roman
Catholic Church-owned
Bondolfi as well as the government owned Masvingo
Teacher's College.
Sources from Bondolfi College revealed that
this shortage had stalled
the opening of the institutions after some
students who had expressed
interest in the highly degrading teaching
profession did not turn up at the
proposed start of the semester on
September 15. Only 30 students, out of
around 200, were said to have showed
up on the opening day.
"I wonder if we will open this semester.
Many vacancies are yet to be
filled, people no longer like teaching because
of low salaries and poor
working conditions. Very few people have expressed
interest," said the
source, which preferred anonymity.
Staff from Morgenster Teacher's College was seen nailing posters in
some
parts of the town, advertising for the vacant posts.
Traditionally, prospective teachers used to jostle for teaching
vacancies at
colleges.
Provincial Education Director (PED), Clara Dube,
denied the charges,
but attributed the delay in opening due to a lecturer's
strike.
"I am not informed about the low enrolment. As far as I
am concerned,
the colleges failed to open due to a lecture's strike at most
colleges and
universities," said Dube.
Teachers in Zimbabwe
are among the lowest paid and have been going on
endless strikes, risking
the standard of education in the country.
The New Times
(Kigali)
OPINION
25 September 2008
Posted to the web 25 September
2008
Gloria Anyango
Kigali
Last week, in Harare, Zimbabwe,
President Robert Mugabe signed an agreement
in which, formally at least, he
offered to share power with his opponent,
Morgan Tsvangirai, who became
Prime Minister designate.
"My belief in Zimbabwe and its people runs
deeper than the scars I bear from
the struggle," Tsvangirai declared, during
the deal signing ceremony.
In other times, his sound bite might have
resonated. Instead, it was a mere
footnote to the history being written in
the dealing rooms and executive
suites of Wall Street and in the conclaves
of Washington as the global
financial crisis trampled the world's
markets.
That, it sometimes seems, is Africa's curse. However much
lip-service is
paid to its needs - so basic and so urgent - when the crunch
comes, the
priorities move closer to home, to pocket books and mortgage
repayments,
pensions and stock portfolios.
As he signed the
agreement, Mugabe seemed in a curmudgeonly mood, revisiting
his complaints
on purported Western interference in the affairs of his land,
bemoaning the
desire of African political opposition "to want to be the
ruling party" - as
if political opposition anywhere had a different agenda
in the rotation of
power that forms the bedrock of democracy.
Signing the power-sharing
agreement, Mugabe referred to some of those same
nations once again to
describe their role in bringing about the deal with
Tsvangirai.
This
time, he thanked them for their help in a rambling address that
provided as
much a psychological glimpse into the soul of a tyrant at bay as
a statement
of political intent.
Indeed the two seemed to fuse a man who still saw
the world in much the same
terms as he did when he took power in
1980.
"The problem we have had is a problem that has been created by the
former
colonial power. Why, why, why the hand of the British? Why, why, why
the
hand of the Americans here? Let us ask that," Mugabe said.
I
wonder if Zimbabwe's power- sharing agreement is real or whether Mugabe's
state of mind is still the same as it was in 1980.
In this line of
thought, I wonder what Mugabe has in store for Zimbabweans.
What becomes of
the fallen economy? Will his power sharing deal with
Tsvangirai get rid of
the sky-rocketing inflation and the wheel burrows of
money that people push?
Or defuse his militia?
How about all the victims families who were caught
at the frontline of that
election battle? Does the deal erase all the visual
images that are still
imprinted in their fragile, traumatised minds? I
doubt!
Without forgetting the Zimbabwean migrants who lost their lives in
the heat
of the xenophobia in South Africa; obviously a bit of hatred was
born
between these two neighbours. It's still being nursed. An already shaky
bond
was broken.
In any war, a number of tactics are deployed, their
success depending on the
level of trickery and skill involved. Just like in
the epic movie '300',
millions were overcome by a few 300 tactical
gladiators. It's not in the
might and the numbers, but in the skilful
trickery of the regiment.
"The best way to get rid of your enemy is make
him your friend."- A proverb.
If Tsvangirai admitted that he still has
incurred in the struggle. What
makes him think the tyrant Mugabe will not
dig deep into those scars and rip
them open?
As reports of political
violence resurface, caused by Mugabe's militia who
share a similar fame to
the notorious genocidal Interahamwe.
Or maybe the real foe is in the
enemy camp- I mean Tsvangirai in Mugabe's
camp. He knows what he wants, what
he is doing, why he is shaking hands with
the devil and how he got in there.
Or does he?
Then there are the laws that protect the likes of Tsvangirai.
Maybe the
international bodies like the UN, EU and AU have their eyes on
Zimbabwe.
Then what?
Mugabe has defied them before as he becomes more
sanctions resistant. They
shot fiery darts at him but the tyrant plucked
them out without bleeding. He
thought he had won, little did he know that
the poison had coursed its way
through his veins. Then followed the collapse
of the economy and the
dissolution of his people's human
rights.
Alas, Bob Marley's dream of a free Zimbabwe and a united Africa
becomes a
faded memory though not forgotten. It could be revived, you
know
Maybe Mugabe's attitude has changed, but then you can't really tell.
One day
he batters and makes Tsvangirai prisoner, releases him and then
kills his
supporters and makes himself the winner of unfair elections and
now they are
sharing power? Mark you all this is done while the whole world
is watching!
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008 08:25
The future of much needed foreign
investment to rebuild the shattered
country appears to be firmly in the
hands of Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF - as
a real commitment from the party
will be needed to reassure investors of
'irreversible change'.
Hopes have been high that a deal signed between Mugabe and the leaders
of
the MDC factions, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, would signal
the
influx of crucial investment from donor governments. But with the deal
apparently existing merely on paper, with no change on the ground and a
stalemate on the allocation of cabinet posts, the 'influx' has yet to
appear.
Instead crucial donors and investors have adopted a
'wait and see
approach' with the European Union saying it will review its
sanctions next
month, while the US has said it will strengthen its sanctions
if Mugabe
reneges from the deal.
Africa Bureau-chief for The
Washington Times, Geoff Hill, told
Newsreel on Wednesday that investors want
to see 'irreversible change'
before pledging and channeling in money. He
explained that 'capital is not
tied to emotion, but is tied to return' and
money will not be wasted on
short term changes.
Hill said there
are steps that Mugabe and his party will need to take
to convince investors
of their commitment to rebuilding the country. He said
investors will look
for signs of this commitment, including the MDC taking
control of key
ministries, the urgent retirements of Reserve Bank Governor
Gideon Gono and
Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, and unproductive
farms to be handed
over to experts to start boosting the economy. Hill
explained that without
these clear signs of change, 'money will not flow in'
and added that
investors will not 'consider Zimbabwe favourably'. He said:
"Mugabe has to
deliver change that will, step by step, maneuver him and his
party out of
power." - SW Radio Africa News Stories
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September
2008 06:59
BY STAFF REPORTERS
LONDON - The role of the
international community in Zimbabwe today is
delicate and difficult, says
scholar and activist Brian Raftopoulos. On a
recent visit to London, he told
a meeting arranged by the Royal African
Society and Action for Southern
Africa (ACTSA) that staying away could
weaken the MDC.
"It
should be a phased engagement. There is a real danger that staying
out will
weaken the MDC. They need the ability to deliver reconstruction and
must
seize control of the reconstruction agenda," he said.
"A lot of
discussion is already going on with foreign ministries over
the terms of
engagement. The defining factors will be the benchmarks for
democratic
governance. The speed with which foreign investment starts
flowing into
Zimbabwe will depend on the progress of the rule of law."
Raftopoulos warned that the next round of opposition politics could be
violent. It is essential that the MDC continues and strengthens its legacy
of adherence to the rule of law.
The transitional period of the
new government should be used to open
up space, to reorganise and to put new
issues on the agenda, especially the
question of transitional justice. In
the short term, the perpetrators of
violence are likely to get away with it.
But if the issues are not dealt
with, they will fester.
Raftopoulos said the spirit of the agreement was "not a good one",
based as
it was on expediency and characterised by reluctance on both sides.
In this
it is not unlike Lancaster House, but this time there is a greater
sense of
weakness on both sides.
"Both Zanu (PF) and the MDC are internally
exhausted. They both needed
an agreement. As the situation moves forward,
Zanu will be under as much if
not more pressure that the MDC. They have lost
their patronage capacity and
it will be very difficult for them to pull out
of the deal without becoming
totally isolated within Africa and
internationally," he said.
Raftopoulos warned that if the agreement
breaks down, Zanu (PF) would
resort to violence. "There is no question
whatsoever about this. It will be
extreme, and the MDC majority in
parliament will be finished within a month"
he said.
The battle
within Zanu itself has not been resolved and it will
continue. Mugabe has
gone into terminal decline. He knew after the June
elections that he had
lost. Losing his sense of rightness has been the
crucial turning point. The
question of succession is now firmly on the
agenda.
Within the
MDC, although there are no policy differences between the
Tsvangirai and
Mutambara groupings, a re-unification of the party is
unlikely in
Raftopoulos's view, although there may be a drift of members
into what is
perceived as the stronger party.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008
07:03
BULAWAYO - Some top MDC officials in the Bulawayo province have
accused Zanu (PF) of trying to tarnish their party's image just few weeks
after the signing of the power-sharing deal.
Since the signing
there has been an increase in power cuts, especially
in the Central Business
District (CBD) and telephone lines have been down.
"We discovered
that soon after the signing some Zanu (PF) officials
ordered parastatals,
especially ZESA, TelOne and NetOne to slow down their
services in order to
create the impression that although MDC is now part of
government it has
nothing to offer and nothing will improve. ZESA is now
frequently switching
off electricity in the CBD during business hours," said
one top MDC
official.
He warned parastasal bosses not get involved in party
politics, saying
the new government would reshuffle all
parastatals.
Contacted for comment, Zanu (PF) Bulawayo province
spokesperson Effort
Nkomo repeated the Mugabe mantra: "the reason the why
parastatals are
failing to offer good services is because of sanctions
imposed on Zimbabwe
by western countries". Zanu officials consistently
refuse to recognise that
the only sanctions imposed are targeted financial
and travel restrictions on
Mugabe and his henchmen in the military
junta.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008
07:42
HARARE - Press freedom groups in Zimbabwe are calling for
guarantees
in the constitution that the country's media would be
self-regulated.
Zimbabwean journalists launched a voluntary media
council in June last
year, hoping to show the government that the media
could oversee itself and
did not need state supervision.
President Robert Mugabe's government introduced tough media laws six
years
ago, forming the Media and Information Commission, imposing state
permits on
local reporters and barring foreign journalists from working
permanently in
the country.
The Zimbabwe chapter of press freedom group Media
Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA) said this week the new government had to
put in place
a mechanism that guaranteed media freedom.
MISA
Zimbabwe called for total scrapping of statutory regulation of
the media
saying the continued existence of the Media and Information
Commission or
its envisaged successor bodies, the Zimbabwe Media Commission
(ZMC) and
Media Council, was in contravention of press freedom instruments.
MISA said the closure of newspapers The Daily News, Daily News on
Sunday,
The Tribune and the Weekly Times by the MIC was a lesson on the
dangers of
statutory regulation.
Matthew Takaona, head of the Zimbabwe Union
of Journalists, said the
media was supposed to play a watchdog role on
government and could not
perform this function effectively if it relied on
government benevolence for
continued existence.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008
07:33
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe is
drawing heavy flak for continuing
his junket in the United States instead of
heading home to help his people.
The MDC economic affairs chief,
Eddie Cross, said the President was
being "insensitive" to the widespread
economic damage wrought by his
disastrous misrule by choosing to stay abroad
while ordinary folk scrambled
to pick up the pieces.
"Oblivious
to the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe and the
escalating economic and
social crisis, Mugabe simply packed his bags and
departed for the UN General
Assembly in New York with an entourage of 40
plus his wife and taking with
them a pile of US dollars to spend on 10 days
of luxury and completely
unproductive personal extravagance," Cross said.
Mugabe flew out
without swearing in Prime Minister-designate Morgan
Tsvangirai, and also
leaving a stand-off over cabinet posts.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to
Harare James McGee applauded Tsvangirai's
decision not to travel to New
York, instead travelling around Zimbabwe to
see what humanitarian aid was
needed and to look at the food insecurity
problems.
"He is busy
talking with the non-governmental organisations and the
donor community
about what steps needed to be taken in providing food for
the people of
Zimbabwe. He says that this is his first priority," said
McGee.
The September 18 meeting between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, to discuss how the posts would be shared, ended
in failure.
The dispute that has stalled progress is over the
portfolio balance in
the 31-seat cabinet, where Mugabe's Zanu (PF) will have
15 posts, Tsvangirai's
MDC will have 13 and Mutambara's MDC
three.
The all-day meeting saw the leaders sharply divided, with
Mugabe
declaring that he was not in a position to cede control of finance,
defence,
home affairs, information, industry, local government and foreign
affairs
ministries.
Secretary-General of the Arthur
Mutambara-led MDC, Prof. Welshman
Ncube, said Mugabe and his delegation
should have immediately returned in
view of the desperate economic situation
in the country.
"Certainly, if I was in Mugabe's position, I would
not be going off to
the UN when there is a priority of getting the country
on its feet again,"
Ncube said.
He said the obstacles remained
formidable, with Mugabe branding the
deal "a humiliation", adding: "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."
In
the streets of Harare, there was outrage at Mugabe's contempt for
the
political settlement by flying to New York.
"We need him more
here," charged Mrs Mutepfa of Hatfield. "He is
supposed to be the father of
this country. He should prioritise the
well-being of his country. How can he
go away while everyone is waiting for
him to play his part in resolving this
crisis," she said.
Ignatius Maramwidze, a security guard in
downtown Harare, said Mugabe
should have been sensitive to the unprecedented
surge in prices of fuel and
food that had been burdening the
public.
Youth activist Michael Tirivavi said the working visit to
the United
States was "too extravagant and outrageous".
"In a
time of severe economic crisis and calamity, government must
take the lead
in practising austerity," he said. "What we are seeing with
the Mugabe
administration is the exact opposite. Firstly, going to New York
amid such a
process is clear expression of contempt for this power-sharing
agreement.
Secondly, having 40 people on a foreign trip doesn't do the
country any
good."
But officials continued to defend the trip of the President
and his
delegation and said the UN would play a key role in Zimbabwe's
reconstruction.
A senior Zanu (PF) official said it would be
"embarrassing" if Mugabe
canceled the trip that had been scheduled as early
as several months back.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25
September 2008 07:46
Our nation is hanging by a thread. What we need in
our next leader and
our next government is a workable plan to turn our
country around, and fast.
I, like many others, fundamentally disagree with
Mugabe on almost all the
issues regarding the future of our country.
However, differences aside, our
country needs rebuilding and Mugabe is not
the man.
Mugabe is largely responsible for the mess we are in right
now and to
think that he is going to change from what he has been doing with
this
country for almost three decades is wishful thinking and, frankly,
stupid!
We need someone new with radical, innovative ideas for Zimbabwe who
will
approach governing our country with a different vision.
By
far the greatest challenge facing the next government is to create
jobs for
our citizens. In economics, input into the economy directly impacts
on
output of that economy. How much depends on the multiplier effect. Simply
put, the more people are in work, the more they spend and the more the
economy grows.
Active and qualified members of society who are
genuinely and
seriously looking for a way to feed their families urgently
need jobs. The
massive exodus of young and/or skilled workers tells the
story. The most
productive quota of the population now recognise that
emigration is the only
logical choice for the moment. The country's health
system is down on its
knees with chronic shortages of staff, equipment and
medication because the
government cannot pay the public service workers
enough to live on.
Teachers, engineers, accountants, nurses, doctors, mine
workers and farmers
have left the country en masse to seek better
opportunities elsewhere. Every
sector of our economy is suffering from the
effects of this brain drain.
Linked to jobs is the expansion of our
industries. We used to be quite
good at that. Most regional headquarters for
multinational companies
operating in the region were based in Zimbabwe until
recently. We had a
reasonably sized manufacturing and processing industry
and had every
opportunity to grow.
We need to start
manufacturing and processing again in Zimbabwe. We
need to stop shipping
away raw materials like steel and then importing the
finished products back
again. We need to start manufacturing and processing
our resources
ourselves. We need to attract those companies who need our
resources to come
to our shores and set up their production lines.
A stable political
and socio-economic environment allows international
companies to have the
confidence to set up operations in our country. This
is great for our
working classes because our cost of labour is lower than
most developed
countries and we can use that to our advantage. Look at India
for example.
The call centre boom is supporting their economy and providing
their workers
with jobs. Companies in the UK are considering shipping their
customer
service operations and other support services to countries where it
is
cheaper to operate. That could have been Zimbabwe. After all, we
Zimbabweans
do speak better English than most nationalities in the world.
That can still
be achieved if we restructure our political and
socio-economic terrain to
accommodate international businesses.
The next government of
Zimbabwe needs to build new and rebuild
existing infrastructure - our roads,
bridges, water and sewerage networks,
telecommunications, schools and
hospitals. Mugabe and his people have
neglected to invest in this vital
aspect of our nation. Where they have
dared to invest, they have let corrupt
officials squander public finances
and get away with it.
Crucially, we need to do something about our energy needs as a country
to
achieve energy independence. The world is beginning to accept that it is
not
healthy for a nation to depend on another for its energy needs. It is
highly
costly to the consumers and it could put our national security at
risk.
Right now, we are depending on South Africa to keep the sunshine city
alight, but how much longer can they keep supporting us? South Africa's
energy needs are growing every day and sooner or later they are going to cut
us off so they can meet their own needs. They might cut us off anyway, since
we owe them tonnes of money for what they have given us so far. As a country
we need to develop and explore alternative fuels like bio-fuels, clean coal
technology, wind and solar energy and expand our hydroelectric power
solutions. Responsible governments are taking action now rather than later
and the next leadership of our country cannot ignore this
matter.
Our education system, once the pride of Africa is falling
to pieces
and the beacon of hope for our children has been extinguished as a
result.
We need a leader and a government that can put hope back into our
system,
allow our educators to be proud again and provide a stepping-stone
for
innovation, entreprenuership and a qualified employee base for our
economy.
A malignant chronic disease has attacked our health system
leaving it
useless, powerless and yearning for change. Now, even the great
and famous
Parirenyatwa hospital runs out of medicine, cannot meet patient
needs and,
in some cases, staff have to watch helplessly as patients they
know they
could have saved die. The health system needs money and political
leadership
to take us out of these dark days. Mugabe got us into this mess,
he does not
know how to fix it.
And then there are the
ideological differences. I believe our country
needs to adopt a social
democratic philosophy of government - the third way.
This is based on the
ideology that we need to do all we can to support
entrepreneurship and
innovation (free market economic concepts), but as well
removing injustices
through state regulation. It is like taking the good
parts of free market
economics and pairing it up with our natural nature as
Zimbabweans to care
about others and to do all we can, not just for
ourselves but for our
community and country.
One of the most well-documented economic
recoveries is that of Germany
post-WWII. Poland also went through a similar
phase. The German economy was
in tatters and unemployment high. Inflation
was through the roof and their
currency had lost value so much that people
started using cigarettes as a
currency for trade. The government embarked on
a massive economic recovery
programme, spearheaded by funding massive
reconstruction projects for roads,
bridges, schools hospitals and other
public sector entities. Once those
working in the massive reconstruction
started earning money, the German
economy kick-started again. As an added
bonus, the Germans managed to build
one the best transport networks in the
world in the process.
It is impossible to find a country that has
sunk as low as Zimbabwe,
even in the time of the great depression. Countries
at war have not
witnessed similar devastation. And yet, that is the daunting
task facing the
next government of our country. I can honestly say Mugabe
should not be the
man at the helm as we start this rebuilding process. He
certainly cannot
deliver this without the MDC, the support of the
international community and
above all the support of the people of Zimbabwe.
- TAFADZWA G. GIDI
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008
08:00
Zanu (PF) are doing what they do best. The worrying question is
whether the MDC is going to fall for it - yet again. I say "yet again"
simply because Zanu (PF) got 15 seats and MDC (Tsvangirai) have 13. How the
hell this was allowed to happen is beyond my crude imagination. Who won the
March election?
I don't count Mutambara's crowd because they are
flighty and
unpredictable and they will follow the money. Their very short
history would
confirm what I say and my personal opinion of some of them
leaves me
cringing at times. Thank goodness the MDC (Tsvangirai) kept them
at a
distance.
Zanu (PF) are definitely NOT going to let the
controls go. Thinking
otherwise is delusional. Even if the MDC gets Home
Affairs, so what? So did
Nkomo.
If the MDC fails to pull the
plug immediately, then this is going to
be a lost cause. If the movement
continues on this course, Zanu (PF) will
finally achieve what it has set out
to do - destroy the MDC's credibility
both at home and abroad. After that,
the absorption process, as happened to
Zapu, will be their next
move.
The international funders, who are hopefully going to help in
fixing
what Zanu (PF) have done to Zimbabwe, are deeply suspicious and have
not
bought in to this. I don't blame them, because Zanu (PF) created the
complete disaster and have no idea how to fix it. How can they be part of
the solution?
The MDC can get out of this with dignity and
credibility IF they cry
foul and if they do it right now. All this
pussy-footing, playing games
around quiet diplomacy and keeping the people
in the dark is not helping one
bit either. It's time to get
real.
Zanu (PF) are trying to position the MDC into a situation
which is
unsustainable and unworkable. They are positioning the MDC into a
place
where the MDC will be used to unlock funding for Zanu (PF) to utilise.
They
will continue just like they have always done and I don't need to
elaborate.
They will literally use it to destroy the MDC and further punish
the people.
It's a no-brainer. The leopard has not changed its spots and
never will.
It has been said that no deal is better than a bad
deal. This is a
shocking deal. Can we please go back to a no deal and allow
Zanu (PF) to
implode completely? Getting into bed with the devil is not the
answer. There
are other ways of doing this. This is not an African solution
to an African
problem. It's just another Mbeki con-job to keep Mugabe in
power.
We need to get real: this government of national unityis not
what the
people voted for. - P. MANGWENDE
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008
07:56
Raped, tortured and intimidated, women in Zimbabwe have been
recognised by the world as tragic victims of political violence. But, warns
KAREN WILLIAMS, their visibility and political needs could quickly disappear
once peace is established.
According to gender advocates, youth
militia, government-aligned thugs
and other pro-Mugabe elements have
targeted women, particularly in rural
areas. There are consistent reports of
doctors and medics refusing these
women treatment for fear of
reprisals.
These echo years of reports accusing the youth militia
of consistent,
politically motivated mass rape against women - including
those at the youth
camps. In addition, women have been victims of the
general political
violence: murders, beatings, burnings, torture and their
bodies mutilated.
The end of Zanu (PF) political rule will not mean
the automatic
undoing of its organs of violence and repression. Beyond the
very narrow
interests represented at government level (those of political
parties, not a
national dialogue), there are questions about what a
political change will
mean and look like.
All the efforts to
find a political solution in Zimbabwe focus on
important, but short-term,
goals - most notably establishing a new
government under a power-sharing
deal. However, political questions and
challenges resonate much further,
with the need for truth, accountability,
and justice - for both men and
women - to stay firmly on the agenda.
Zimbabwean women have had a
distinct, identifiable, political presence
for a long time - and not just as
victims. Vice-President Joyce Mujuru -
like other Zimbabwean women - has a
long, prominent history in the country,
from the days of chimurenga to
post-independence political power and her
current position. On the other
side, the political violence and repression
has also had a visibly female
response and resistance through groups like
WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise)
and other women's groups, as well as the
'dignity campaign' for
women.
Collecting testimonies
However, the danger is
that women are only deemed relevant now because
they are politically useful
as victims of violence, and are useful and
visible metaphors of the
repression. If peace deals across the continent
(and elsewhere) are anything
to go by, women's visibility, political needs
and political strength will
quickly disappear from the national agenda.
There is a need for
concerted work on the female dimension of Zimbabwe's
human rights abuses,
otherwise female victims of political violence will
find that they have
outlived their political usefulness when the country
draws up plans for
redress, reparations and remembering this particular
chapter of
history.
Recognising this. the human rights organisation Aids-Free
World
(headed by former United Nations AIDS envoy Stephen Lewis) intends
collecting testimonies of female survivors of political mass rape, which
could then be used in any future transitional mechanism (an official
inquiry, a truth commission or human rights trials).
Acknowledgement of wrong, redress and the restoration of dignity are
important ways to afford a sense of justice. Unless there is documentation
about women's experiences, they are likely to be left out of these justice
processes, as well as the history books.
Justice for women is
not untested or uncharted territory. The United
Nations court prosecuting
those responsible for Rwanda's genocide
established rape as both a crime
against humanity and an act of genocide.
The prevalence of rape of Tutsi
women in Rwanda - as well as in the former
Yugoslavia - meant that justice
mechanisms could not ignore or subsume rape
as a sub-section under other
crimes.
However, there are few guarantees that any transition will
deal
fairly - or even consider important - female-specific political
crimes.
In South Africa, during the closed truth commission
hearings, women
did talk of their experience of political sexual violence
during the
anti-apartheid struggle. However, South Africa's TRC refused to
recognise
rape as an act of political violence and repression - and so they
have
remained part of 'women's stories' rather than a historically more
accurate
part of the political record.
Marginalised,
ostracised
Other truth commissions have had special hearings on
women's
experiences of war - like in Sierra Leone - and this will most
likely happen
in Liberia's current truth commission. In issues of
reparations and
re-integration of former combatants, women (like in Sierra
Leone) have
always drawn the shortest lot, and have ended up marginalised,
silenced,
vilified and ostracised by their communities.
In
Kenya, the establishment of the new national unity government has
all but
silenced previous talk of investigation into the political violence.
In the
peace process for northern Uganda, women are demanding a real role in
the
talks - including raising questions on what reverting to traditional
justice
means for women's rights and how reparations and re-integration
affects
female victims.
Overall, transitional processes still treat women
as if they are a
foreign entity to what is human in a country. Not only is
this the result of
women being marginalised throughout the world, but
African women face
further marginalisation by the international workers,
organisations and
political bodies who help in transitional
processes.
Just ask any successful black woman about her
experiences of the white
left (including feminism) and with international
organisations, and it
becomes apparent that it is common practice for black
women to be treated as
non-humans and to be denigrated. How do these
practices translate into
policy when these same organisations are
responsible for reconstruction
efforts and efforts to restore dignity to
African female victims?
The lack of acknowledgement of women in
transitional processes not
only further marginalises women and creates
economic disadvantages when they
cannot access demobilisation and reparation
benefits, but it also erases
them from any historical record.
Unless political sexual violence is dealt with - and male perpetrators
are
identified and removed from positions of power - women constantly live
to
see their abusers rewarded, and still holding positions in the police,
army
and political parties. Women's experiences become a 'dirty secret' and
a
constant reminder of just how valueless they are to their country.
Repression and abuse
Women's needs in political transitions are not
a call to do women a
favour and to condescend to them. They are equal
citizens in a country - and
national processes should treat them as
such.
Beyond the immediate demands of a transition in Zimbabwe, the
country
must deal with the real questions of justice and accountability. Not
in the
too-hasty and glib way of saying "never again" that is the mantra of
justice
activists, but in the real political work of building strong
institutions
and a public culture that will not allow for
abuses.
Any political changeover in Zimbabwe must be more than a
change in
government make-up; it needs to be a fundamental change in
governance.
The new Zimbabwean state inherits not only the
repression and abuses
of the past few years, but a state that comes with the
accumulated history
stretching back to the Matabeleland massacres,
Unilateral Declaration of
Independence (UDI) white supremacist rule and
colonialism.
Unless the particular political violence visited on
women is publicly
given equal weight as other acts of repression, at any
future political
crisis in Zimbabwe the cycle of mass political rape of
women will resurge,
with the aching familiarity of 'yet again'.
Karen Williams is a journalist who works in Africa and Asia. This
article is
part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service that
provides fresh
views on everyday news.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25
September 2008 08:05
Having listened to speeches by Morgan Tsvangirai,
Arthar Mutambara and
Robert Mugabe, I was left with little doubt that these
political leaders
have realised the need to work for the betterment of the
Zimbabwean people.
For a decade, this has been seemed a dream that would
never see the light of
day.
It is one thing to sign an
agreement, but it is totally another to
successfully implement it. Now that
political will has been created, it is
important that those who serve in the
various public sector institutions
should know to whom they need to swear
their allegiance. This arises from
the fact that, whereas political parties
in power give the general policy
direction of the government of the day, it
is the executive institutions
that refine and implement public
policies
Since 1980, it is undeniable that the public service in
Zimbabwe -
particularly at the upper echelons - has been highly partisan.
For the sake
of peace at this delicate moment, suffice to say that the
general practice
has been that those seen to be supporters and sympathisers
of Zanu (PF) were
rewarded with promotion, whereas those seen to be
sympathisers of the MDC
were demoted or even sacked.
This
system has promoted a culture of patronage and hero-worship of
political
superiors and parties. This culture, coupled with poor
remuneration of
public servants, has eroded public confidence in the
majority of public
sector institution, hence the semi-legalisation of ill
practices such as
corruption.
Against the common good
Public servants
such as permanent secretaries, provincial and district
administrators have
been seen acting in an extremely partisan manner.
Officials in the Home
Affairs department have been asked to issue identity
documents to Zanu (PF)
supporters in the run-up to elections without
following properly laid-out
procedures. The history of the practice of
public administration in Zimbabwe
is littered with cases of how Zanu (PF)
political superiors have directly or
indirectly influenced people to act not
only in their interest, but against
the common good of the Zimbabwean
people.
It is against this
background that there is need for a paradigm shift
in the manner in which
public servants perceive issues and act on government
business. Firstly,
public servants need to know that they are in government
to serve the people
of Zimbabwe and, therefore, they are accountable to
them.
The
accountability comes in different forms: for example, reports to
parliament,
the auditor general and to various accountability organs of the
state. These
accountability measures should be enhanced to ensure democracy
and good
governance (especially now that Zimbabweans have been given a
chance to
write a new, people driven constitution).
In pursuing their duties,
public servants need to exhibit honesty,
integrity and, above all, a spirit
of altruism. They are also expected to
execute their roles in society
without fear or favour, always remembering
that their allegiance is with the
state and nothing else.
By the same token, political superiors are
urged not to exert undue
influence on public servants so that services are
rendered to Zimbabwean
society equally.
Secondly, the 'people
first' principle should apply to all public
sector institutions. States
exist to ensure that the different needs of
society are attended to. They
ensure that public goods and services are
delivered in an efficient,
economic and effective manner (the three Es of
public administration). This
implies that the people are central to the
existence of the state. They are
the ultimate judges on service delivery in
the public sector.
The era where clients were viewed as an unnecessary burden in the
public
sector is over and here comes an era where the people are treated
with
respect, as they are the owners of public resources.
Corporate
services culture
Public sector institutions must move away from a
social services
culture, which promotes mediocrity and less respect for the
clientele
community and move towards a corporate services culture, which
promotes
efficiency in the delivery of public goods and
services.
Thirdly, public administration in Zimbabwe should be
included in the
constitution of the country. The constitution as the supreme
law of the
country should contain in it the poeple's aspirations in all
spheres of
life, ranging from human rights, governance, resource allocation
and so on.
The people should also set standards, norms and
expectations for their
executive institutions. Not only should the
constitution stipulate how
public service should be regulated, but it must
also clearly state the
various principles and values that guide employees in
the public sector.
Issues such as the promotion of the 3Es in the
administration of
public resources, as well as the promotion of
administrative justice, should
be captured.
All in all,
political change without significant changes in the
administrative system of
the country will certainly not be enough. This
requires a reorientation of
the mind on the part of both politicians and
public administration
practitioners. These changes are necessary to ensure
that goods and services
are delivered to the people in an efficient,
economic and effective way. It
is only then that the people of Zimbabwe can
begin to see real changes in
the quality of their lives.
Ricky Mukonza is a Master of Public
Administration student at the
University of Pretoria.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008 08:15
JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwe's political
agreement is yet to reverse the
flow of migrants looking for a better life
in South Africa; smuggling people
in and food out remains a thriving
business, with long-distance drivers
competing for a slice of the
action.
Pick-up trucks are being marketed as the preferred mode of
transport
for undocumented migrants, referred to as "double-ups", the
euphemism for
the high fares food parcel couriers charge to bring "illegals"
into South
Africa from Zimbabwe.
The drivers argue that it
easier for them to smuggle people along with
goods, but business, which is
based on a high level of trust, has been slow
to pick up.
As
truck drivers call out the names of Zimbabwean destinations, Leyds
Street in
Johannesburg's city centre can easily be mistaken for the main bus
terminus
in Harare.
Pick-up trucks hug the length of the street, all
carrying cardboard
notices advertising destinations where Zimbabweans exiled
in South Africa's
financial capital can send food parcels to relatives and
friends back home.
"We deliver door-to-door", echoes a banner pasted on a
cab's window.
Cultivating trust
"We are still trying
to establish a reputation, and to cultivate trust
from the people here who
want to fend for their relatives, but we face stiff
competition from buses,"
said Freddy Chiwerera.
"If you can fit as many as 15 people in a
double-cab vehicle with a
canopy, like mine, you make a killing - but that
depends on how much you
spend bribing police patrolling the highway. Most
Zimbabweans who cannot
return home - because their 'papers' are not in
order, or don't have any at
all - prefer buses to us," he adds.
"Our major customers are relatives that send urgent medicines and
drugs."
The seemingly harmless trade belies a serious
people-smuggling
practice, which appears to have escaped the notice of law
enforcement
agencies.
Lots of money
Chiwerera says
motorists can charge undocumented immigrants as much as
R2,000 (about
US$250) for the journey of more than 500km from the Zimbabwean
border to
Johannesburg. However, most couriers charge R1,500 (about $189)
compared to
the R300 (about $38) a ticket on an ordinary cross-border bus.
"That is where good business is," he says with a beaming smile.
"Carrying
'double-ups' and transporting furniture items such as
refrigerators,
television sets and beds back home is another profitable
business."
Zerrubabel Mupinha, another food parcel courier on
Leyds Street, told
IRIN: "One good trip can give you R15,000 ($1,875),"
because "double-ups"
don't mind travelling in vehicles packed to the
roof.
Passports - a nightmare
Getting a travel
document in Zimbabwe has become a nightmare. The
Registrar General's Office
can take up to a year to issue a passport,
forcing hard-pressed Zimbabweans
to travel undocumented.
Mupinha says couriers draw most of their
customers from the South
African border town of Musina, in northern Limpopo
Province. "It is safer to
carry those that would have crossed the border
[from Zimbabwe] on their
own."
The South African media recently
reported that hundreds of Zimbabweans
were camping outside the refugee
offices in Musina, hoping to obtain
temporary permits.
South
African Home Affairs officials are not sure where the people who
queue for
the permits are living, "but they arrive very early in the morning
to be
first in line," said spokeswoman Siobhan McCarthy. She said as many as
800
people, mostly Zimbabwean nationals, queue every day for temporary
permits.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Ronel Otto said the
asylum seekers
were peaceful, despite claims by municipal officials that the
border town
had experienced an upsurge in criminal activities due to the
influx.
However, the political settlement between the rival
political parties
in Zimbabwe on 15 September could affect Mupinha's and
Chiwerera's business
plans. The agreement calls for policies to be put in
place that will attract
Zimbabwean migrants to return home. - IRIN
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008
08:51
EDITOR - The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the
Distribution
of Motor Vehicles under the Chairmanship of Mr Justice W. R.
Sandura in
March 1989 is all-revealing about the root of corruption in
Zimbabwe more
than 12 years before the Gono era. The report clearly shows
how corruption
started in high offices of authority and spread like fire
across the civil
service, the armed forces, the private sector and to the
general workers on
the streets.
The Sandura Commission Report
(Willowgate) has such big names
implicated in corruption that Robert Mugabe
could not let the whole report
be exposed after the Nyagumbo suicide
tragedy. It is therefore clear that
Robert Mugabe knew, by March 1989,
about how the majority of his ministers
he was picking from the un-elected
members of parliament were nothing but a
group of thieves, but he did
nothing to stop corruption for all these years.
Most interesting
was the case of Senior Minister Tapfumaneyi Maurice
Nyagumbo, Senior
Minister of Political Affairs in the President's Office,
and Mr Jonathan
Kadzura, Managing Director of the Rural Industrial
Development Company and
other companies. Nyagumbo short-changed Willowvale
Motor Company by ordering
the sale of vehicles direct from the Willowvale
Company at very low prices
with Jonathan Kadzura receiving and selling off
five Toyota Cressida
vehicles and three Mazda pick-ups, making a killing
from the deals. Today,
Jonathan Kadzura is a well to do businessman, A2
farmer, and a chairman of
several parastatal boards appointed by the
President.
The next
most revealing one is that of evidence from former Minister
Callistus
Dingiswayo Ndlovu, who was Minister of Industry and Technology and
very
angry about the investigation. Dingiswayo was paid a sum of $60,000 for
four
vehicles by Mr Manilal Nathoo Naran of Spot On (Pvt), Bulawayo. For
that
corruption case, Dr Callistus Ndlovu was appointed Director General of
the
famous Zimbabwe Institute of Public Administration and Management
(ZIPAM),
which he destroyed in three months time, leaving it the ghost
institution
seen today. Dr Ndlovu introduced all kinds of corruption at
ZIPAM and was
further rewarded by being appointed chairman of several
parastatal boards,
which were ailing.
My warning is to MDC-T that they need to read
this important report
with information not available for the public, hidden
by Zanu (PF)'s
machinery of deceitfulness.
THE BUSH LAWYER, by
email
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
Thursday, 25 September 2008 08:11
The
current impasse concerning the allocation of cabinet seats and
governorships
should serve as a warning to the MDC that Zanu (PF) does not
intend to
honour the letter of the spirit of the power-sharing agreement
signed
recently. It is all too apparent that Zanu (PF) is dragging its feet.
They
are in no hurry to set up this all-inclusive government to solve
Zimbabwe's
political and economic crises.
Robert Mugabe himself has jetted off
to New York for the UN's annual
jamboree, which he evidently regards more
important than the millions of
sick, hungry, unemployed citizens he purports
to serve. No doubt, yet again,
he will trot out his nauseating vitriol
against the West and blame it for
all the country's problems.
In his absence, paralysis has gripped the "new" government. What kind
of
message does this send to the international community? - which is waiting
to
see if we are now serious about solving our problems.
Absolutely
nothing has happened since the signing of the agreement
more than a week ago
- apart from the sacking of Thabo Mbeki by the ANC.
Everything that
Mugabe and his acolyte George Charamba have said since
the signing amounts
to the total repudiation of both the letter and spirit
of the agreement.
Mugabe says he will "not tolerate any nonsense from the
MDC" and that Zanu
(PF) is "still in the driving seat". Charamba, a civil
servant who is now
supposed to take off his Zanu (PF) campaign t-shirt and
be a public servant,
is still indulging in hate-speech against the MDC via
the columns of the
state-controlled daily, The Herald.
MDC supporters around the
country are still being assaulted by Zanu
(PF) thugs who say they have not
had instructions from Mugabe to desist from
their dastardly acts of
political violence. Many MDC loyalists are still
languishing as political
prisoners in prisons and police cells around the
country. Others continue to
be arrested on trumped up charges. These are
hardly confidence-building
measures by a government intent on forging a way
forward in cooperation with
all parties.
In the spirit of the agreement, we would have thought
that Zanu (PF)
would at least be making the semblance of an effort to reduce
political
tensions in the country.
What is needed in Zimbabwe
to day is a serious resolve by government
to tackle the country's enormous
problems. There is so much to do. We need a
government that works - a
cohesive administration that can oversee the
re-building of our shattered
economy and our hurting and fragmented society.
We must start NOW.