Hot Seat transcript:Foreign Correspondent Peta Thornycroft responds to critics

Zimbabwe documentary producer flees home

Zim Online

by By Lizwe Sebatha Saturday 15 December 2007

      BULAWAYO – The producer of a documentary on 1980s army atrocities in
Zimbabwe’s southern regions says he is in hiding after receiving threats
from unknown people he suspects could be state secret agents.

      The 25-minute documentary titled “Gukurahundi: A Moment of Madness”
narrates events during an army crackdown known as Gukurahundi that was
carried out by the army’s notorious 5th Brigade ostensibly to rid the
southern Matabeleland and Midlands regions of armed dissidents opposed to
President Robert Mugabe’s rule.

      An estimated 20 000 innocent civilians, almost all of them belonging
to the minority Ndebele tribe, died in the crackdown that is one of the
darkest periods in Zimbabwe’s post-colonial history.

      Producer, Zenzele Ndebele told ZimOnline he fled his home after
receiving calls from unknown people who demanded to know why he produced the
documentary.

      “I no longer stay at home but at a place in one location in Bulawayo
where I feel I am safe,” Ndebele said by phone yesterday. “I have received
threats to arrest and force me to reveal the reasons behind the documentary
and its sponsors.”

      The Gukurahundi massacres remain a sensitive subject especially
because Mugabe’s government has refused to apologise for the killings
although the Zimbabwean leader has called the crackdown a moment of madness.
ZimOnline.

Bakers Press for 77 Percent Hike in Price of Bread

Financial Gazette (Harare)

13 December 2007
Posted to the web 13 December 2007

Shame Makoshori

THE National Bakers Association (NBA) is pressing for a 77 percent increase
in the price of bread, from the current retail price of $200 000 per loaf to
$900 000, citing increasing fuel costs.

The National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) has failed to supply the
baking industry with cheap fuel as promised when the current bread price was
agreed upon.

NBA chairman, Vincent Mangoma told The Financial Gazette yesterday that the
industry had a scheduled meeting with the National Incomes and Pricing
Commission (NIPC) later yesterday to discuss the proposals.

He said the NBA had undertaken to peg the price of a loaf of bread at $600
000 if NOCZIM supplied the cheap fuel, taking into account the erosion of
value to the current price structure due to inflationary pressures.

"We made the submission two weeks ago but the situation could have changed
by now. The cost of flour has gone up to $1 billion per tonne as opposed to
the official $111 million per tonne," he said.

"We worked as a committee with bakers and millers making our submissions to
the NIPC. The Grain Marketing Board made their submissions and there were no
divergent views. We will be meeting the NIPC today," Mangoma said yesterday.

Bread is available on the black market at between $800 000 and $1.2 million
per loaf.

The baking industry has previously argued that the ultimate solution to save
their industry, which had suffered from a perennial government grip on
prices, would be to peg the price of bread in Zimbabwe at regional levels,
allowing it to track the prices in United States dollars.

The NBA recommended that the bread price in Zimbabwe take into account the
average price of bread both internationally and within the Southern African
Development Community where an average price of US$1 per loaf is considered
fair.

In Botswana, the price of a loaf is between P6 and P7 while in South Africa
a loaf of bread costs between R6 and R7.

Gold Production Remains Subdued

Financial Gazette (Harare)

13 December 2007
Posted to the web 13 December 2007

Dumisani Ndlela
Harare

ZIMBABWE'S gold production remains significantly restrained, with industry
players indicating the country was unlikely to produce over eight tonnes of
gold this year.

A Ministry of Mines official recently said the country needed to boost its
production significantly to reach 10 tonnes to remain on the world bullion
market.

Production has nose-dived on the back of mine closures caused by galloping
operational costs, which have not matched revenue due to a controlled
exchange rate, as well as operational constraints at gold mines.

The gold mining sector has previously complained about the delayed foreign
currency payment for a part of gold sales by Fidelity Printers and
Refineries, the sole gold buyer in the country.

Zimbabwe is grappling with crippling shortages of foreign currency. The
local production figures have been on a slide since the peak of 1999 when
the country produced 27 tonnes.

Cumulative gold deliveries in 2006 stood at 10.96 tonnes.

A mining company executive said yesterday that a raft of incentives awarded
to the gold mining sector in October had failed to inspire increased
production, with mining companies still battling electricity outages that
had significantly reduced production, as well as lack of critical raw
materials and spares.

The delays in foreign currency payments for gold have continued to hamper
production, with mining companies failing to import raw materials to
increase production.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono reviewed the Zimbabwe
dollar payment for gold deliveries to the central bank in October, and this
had raised hope for increased production, although industry players had
nevertheless warned the review was too little to ensure viability in the
sector due to escalating inflation, reported to have scaled through 14 000
percent year on year for October.

The RBZ has unveiled a number of measures it said were meant to boost
production in the mining sector.

During his mid-term monetary policy review in October, Gono increased the
Zimbabwe dollar price for gold.

The gold support price, which had been successively raised to $350 000/gram,
$1 million/gram and $3 million per gram during the first half of the year,
was further increased "to further stimulate this critical sector", Gono
said.

Gold price reviews were made in retrospect.

Gold producers who had delivered gold to Fidelity Printers and Refineries
from August 1, 2007 had their support prices increased from $3 million per
gram to $3.5 million per gram, while deliveries made from September 1, 2007
had prices reviewed from $3.5 million per gram to $4 million per gram.

The support price was further reviewed to $5 million per gram with effect
from this month.

"Subsequent to these reviews, the Reserve Bank will continue to enhance the
gold support price to ensure that the formal market remains not only
honourable, but also attractive and viable," Gono said

Story Must Be Told Truthfully At Home First

Financial Gazette (Harare)

OPINION
13 December 2007
Posted to the web 13 December 2007

Mavis Makuni

THE Minister of Information and Publicity, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, has been
quoted in the official press as saying that as "part of its policy to open
up and show the world the true Zimbabwean story", government would continue
to invite foreign journalists.

Ndlovu made the remarks while welcoming a group of French journalists.
"Zimbabwe cannot live in isolation, so the world needs to know more about
our country and we have decided to open up and receive the foreign
journalists." This would be a profound statement if the extent of its
veracity could be ascertained. It is difficult to believe that the
government of Zimbabwe, which has introduced a raft of draconian laws to
curtail press freedom, now intends to allow journalists to report on events
unhindered.

It has never ceased to amaze me that the government prefers the "true
Zimbabwean story" to be told to foreigners abroad when it can be a criminal
offence for a local journalist to "tell it like it is." Whenever foreign
celebrities or groups of tourists visit the country, they are exhorted upon
their departure to tell the true Zimbabwean story. When Jamaican reggae
star, Luciano, visited Zimbabwe recently, a headline appeared in one of the
official newspapers urging him to project the country in a favourable light.

The question these people who are exhorted to be spin doctors on behalf of
the government must ask themselves before they can accept their assignments
is what the true Zimbabwean story is and why it needs to be covered
differently from the way the international media covers the rest of the
world. They should also ask themselves why they would be allowed to report
"objectively" when local scribes who try to do the same are subjected to
verbal abuse, threats and accused of being unpatriotic. "We have to tell the
Zimbabwe story and not only the good things but also the challenges and
difficulties we are facing as a nation including what is causing them,"
Ndlovu told the visiting journalists.

What he really meant is that foreign journalists should describe the
situation in Zimbabwe from the official point of view so as to gloss over
the unpleasant realities. These realities include the fact that Zimbabwe has
the highest rate of inflation worldwide, the majority of its people are
unemployed and live below the poverty datum line. This has been compounded
in recent months by the government's ill-conceived and arbitrary price
controls, which have emptied supermarket shelves of basic essentials,
including mealie meal, a staple commodity. The people must spend endless
hours in long queues in a bid to source the basic necessities which people
in other countries take for granted.

Ndlovu obviously does not want foreign journalists to know that in the midst
of this human misery and deprivation, official corruption is rampant and the
ostentatious wealth and consumption of the politically powerful and well
connected is a constant reminder that under a more democratic dispensation,
there would be enough to go round to enable every Zimbabwean to enjoy a
decent and dignified life. The embattled and weary people of this country
are living through the seventh year of a political and governance crisis
that the powers-that-be seem at best unwilling to address and at worst bent
on perpetuating for reasons best known to themselves. That is the crux of
the real story of this country.

Ndlovu would have the foreign journalists believe that the economic and
political problems in Zimbabwe are the result of "illegal sanctions and lack
of balance of payments" without permitting them to investigate and
independently establish the truth for themselves. He neglects to explain how
it can be that targeted sanctions imposed on individuals in President Robert
Mugabe's government can impact disastrously on every facet of modern
existence in a sovereign country that has been independent for almost 30
years. The pre-independence colonial regime of Ian Smith survived a total
trade embargo imposed by the United Nations for almost 15 years without the
country degenerating into the shell of its prosperous former self that
Zimbabwe is now.

It is a fallacy to claim that targeted sanctions are responsible for the
ruination of the agricultural sector, the collapse of the health and
education systems, the deterioration of infrastructure throughout the
country. Zimbabwean authorities should not expect foreign journalists to see
things through rose-tinted glasses when they themselves cannot explain
situations truthfully. While government apologists have gone out of their
way to throw the "illegal sanctions" red herring to absolve the government
of blame for the general economic malaise, they have never given a
convincing explanation as to why these measures are only hurting the
ordinary person.

It has become the norm for officials calling for the lifting of targeted
sanctions to give the impression that they do so for altruistic reasons to
ease the plight of the ordinary Zimbabwean. They however never explain how
the ruling elites have remained unscathed if the targeted sanctions have
affected the whole country. It is clear different factors such as
corruption, looting, plundering and economic mismanagement are at play.

Propagandists never say why government officials regard the lifting of
targeted sanctions against themselves as the only way to improve the lot of
the suffering populace when they steadfastly refuse to consider the normal
tools at the disposal of any people's government -- common sense,
transparency, adherence to democratic principles, observance of human rights
and the embracing of humane governance and justice for all.

The mantra about illegal sanctions has worn thin even at home and only the
most gullible foreign journalists, despite knowing the background to the
imposition of targeted sanctions, should be expected to swallow this yarn.
In fact, the French journalists should have asked Ndlovu why the Zimbabwean
leadership has not emulated the example of Cuba which has been under United
States sanctions for almost half a century. There, government officials have
not reacted by going into a frenzy to amass as much wealth as possible and
robbing the populace of its share of the economic cake as has been the case
in this country.

I was amazed to read about Ndlovu telling the visiting journalists that
investors had been banned from investing in Zimbabwe by the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund and touting this as the reason why the
country could not generate enough foreign currency.

"This is the Zimbabwean story, including our successes in agriculture that
we want the world to know about and we are working very well with the ZANU
PF secretary for information and publicity, Cde Nathan Shamuyarira in
implementing this programme", the French journalists were told.

What agricultural successes is Ndlovu talking about when drastically reduced
agricultural production and the resultant food shortages are the main
outcome of the land re-distribution programme, which, despite declarations
to the contrary, continues to be mired in corruption and chaos up to this
day. Charity begins at home. The Minister of Information and Publicity
cannot expect a self-serving version of the "true story" of Zimbabwe to be
told abroad when he and his colleagues do everything possible to deny
realities and suppress the truth at home.

What's in Store for 2008?

Financial Gazette (Harare)

OPINION
13 December 2007
Posted to the web 13 December 2007

Patrick Saziwa

The year 2007 is almost over with the equities market having fared
relatively well ahead of other investment vehicles.

We expect that in 2008, nothing will change fundamentally from the market
conditions that prevailed in the year 2007.

We may thus be in for another year where the stock market may perform well.

Two main factors were at play this year, a high inflation rate and low
investment interest rates.

These two will remain the major determinants of how the stock market may
perform.

I believe that the trend on the stock market is most likely to be the same
for 2008 as the misalignment between the inflation rate and interest rates
gap is expected to widen. Where else can we obtain an investment vehicle
that can at least be nearer the inflation rate -- money market, property
market or foreign currency market? Well, may be none of the above.

As for the money market, it is a definite no.

It is highly unlikely that the government will let the interest rates loose
given the pressing issues to finance the productive sector of the economy,
fuel, ballooning budget deficit and other fiscal commitments.

An increase in investment interest rates will choke the government given
that it is the major borrower on the local market.

Giving another scenario where the rates may be left to be market determined,
it is still unbelievable that they will go above 2 000 percent.

The industrial index has grown by a commendable rate this year to date.

The property market is another form of investment that investors can go
into, but looking at the high prices the properties are sold at, this is
prohibitive.

Asking prices for properties are in the billions of dollars therefore many
cannot afford such large amounts of money.

The property market also has a problem of liquidity and divisibility.

Given that some investors may want to take their profits at shorter notices,
the property market may not be a good vehicle for investors.

Dealing in foreign currency is illegal and that renders it an unattractive
investment vehicle as it carries high risks. Therefore this is not a very
certain and ready form of investment vehicle.

The performance of the stock market to January next year may be affected by
the expected announcement of the Monetary Policy and Sunrise 11.

Some investors may remain on the sidelines waiting for the announcement of
the Monetary Policy which might have an impact on the interest and exchange
rate policies.

However, the impact on the financial markets may not be substantial.

A fall in the equities market may be a great opportunity to buy into quality
counters with well structured balance sheets.

Such companies include those with little or no gearing, companies that have
pricing power and the currency hedge counters.

Given that money market rates are most likely to remain low in an economic
environment with high inflationary pressures, I still put my money on the
stock market for the year 2008, though in selected stocks.

We (as adults) are creating a generation condemned to second class citizens

of the global village.

No breakfast, no transport, no electricity, no running water, no pocket
money, no warm clothes – this is the stark reality of the majority of school
going children in Zimbabwe.

Poverty is defined in three categories; absolute, relative and social
exclusion. Those living in absolute poverty lack the resources to live.

Relative poverty relates to those children whose parents can not live to a
standard that is accepted as normal for the majority of the people in the
country. This results in them being excluded from ordinary activities that
most people in other countries take for granted, such as visiting the local
Mosi a Tunya, Kariba, reading with proper lighting at home, let alone owning
a computer at home or school.

Social exclusion refers to a combination of factors linked together that
mean a person is excluded from support that is available from most people.
Since most families are living just on the threshold, it means a whole
generation of children in Zimbabwe are missing the opportunities other
children (in the global village) are having at this juncture. Parents under
stress and failing to cope can transmit that feeling to their children. Most
children whose parents are failing to provide the basic needs for them lack
self esteem.

One director of education noted that the effects of poverty on children from
the earliest stages means they are often lagging behind their peers in
education. By the age of three, children can be 9 months behind their
better – off peers; and by the age of 14 they can be two years behind. It is
at the younger ages where cycle of need is crystallised. Poverty cripples
children in a way that scar them for life. Children can not learn if they
are hungry, insecure and their families are being fractured, one
educationist observed.

Now, my dear brothers and sisters, friends and foes alike, the majority of
children in Zimbabwe fit all the three categories of poverty. How are we
going to explain this calamity to them in the next ten years when they start
to ask questions? How can we, as a nation fail them? Can we tell them that
“zvaitoda muteuro” (Mutukudzi, 2007).

I would like to believe that our children would find it less relevant and
unconvincing when we tell them about the sovereignty of Zimbabwe, defending
our country against imperialism, post colonial effects, smart- sanctions.
These political jargons do not bring food on the table, continuous supply of
running water and electricity. All the hard work done by their parents to
defeat colonialism will be in vain. Our children today are looking to the
future. Children are always asking questions about the world, about
themselves, about their family and friends, about their parent’s triumphs
and tragedies, about reasons and causes and consequences. In the way of
these things, questions lead to answers lead to questions and so on. But
there is always a point, whether for the “doubting Thomas” or “Zealot”,
expert or amateur, when the answers stop. “Unoiwanepi mhinduro pasina
mubvunzo?” Tichabvodoka (talking rubbish) (Mutukudzi.Tsimba Itsoka 2007)

Tendai Hamadziripi Kwari

Zimbabwe White Farmers Hail SADC Court Ruling

VOA

     

      By Peter Clottey
      Washington, D.C.
      14 December 2007

Zimbabwe white farmers whose farms were confiscated by President Robert
Mugabe’s government have welcomed a tribunal ruling ordering the government
to stop its land seizure policy. The Southern African Development Community
(SADC) backs the tribunal, which is based in Namibia’s capital Windhoek. A
white Zimbabwean farmer had petitioned the court to stop Mugabe’s government
from confiscating his family farm, claiming he had exhausted his legal
options in Zimbabwe.

Some political analysts believe the ruling would set a dangerous precedence
in the government’s land seizure policy, which could potentially cause chaos
in Zimbabwe. John Makumbe is a political science professor at the University
of Zimbabwe. From the capital, Harare, he tells reporter Peter Clottey the
court’s ruling brings good tidings to Zimbabwe’s white farmers.

“This is a very welcome development because it ensures that there would be
justice for people whose lands were taken by the Zimbabwe government
compulsorily. It places Zimbabwe in a difficult position because Zimbabwe is
a member of SADC and it would like SADC to uphold the land reform process,
which Zimbabwe embarked upon in 2000. And this first test case really has
set a very dangerous precedence for Zimbabwe, but it is a welcome decision
by the tribunal because it actually falls within the ambit of justice,”
Makumbe opined.

He said it would be unlikely that President Mugabe’s government would refuse
to abide by the court’s ruling.

“I think they would have no choice but to abide by it. And I think they are
in a stickler of a position because if they do not abide by it, they would
have problems within the SADC region. As members of SADC community, they
would have to explain why they violated the ruling of the SADC tribunal. The
tribunal sits in Namibia, but it is not a Namibian tribunal. It’s a SADC
tribunal,” he said.

Makumbe said the court ruling paves the way for other farmers whose farms
were confiscated to go back to court to seek redress.

“There are scores and thousands of white commercial farmers who lost their
lands to the Zimbabwe government through the farm invasions, the land grab
activities by the war veterans. They are likely to use this case as
precedence, and they are likely to approach the tribunal as well as ask it
to look at their cases. And they are likely to demand that the tribunal
should rule in their favor as well. And that would not go down well with the
Zimbabwe government,” Makumbe pointed out.

He said the Zimbabwe government could resolve the controversial land reform
crisis by returning the seized lands to the commercial farmers.

“It can be resolved if the verdict of the court in Zimbabwe upholds that
under the Land Acquisition Act, the Zimbabwe government has a right to take
lands which under utilized or which is need for resettlement of landless
people or which is necessary for security purposes, and that is what the law
says. But when they invaded the farms, they did it on a political platform,
and they invaded which is didn’t qualify in that order,” he noted.

Zimbabwe/Africa: House of Lords Debate

zimbabwejournalists.com

14th Dec 2007 07:49 GMT

By a Correspondent

UK Parliament

House of Lords

Thursday, 13 December 2007

From the debate ‘Africa:Conflict’ edited extracts referring to Zimbabwe

Lord Alton of Liverpool rose to call attention to the causes and
consequences of conflict in Africa.

The noble Lord said: My Lords, for the past 12 months I have been seeking a
debate on conflict in Africa, and I am delighted that the House is to
address the issue today. I express my gratitude at the outset to all those
noble Lords who will participate.

Others will speak with greater knowledge and authority on the crisis in
Zimbabwe. The Government of Zimbabwe have in effect declared war on their
own people. It will be years before we are able to quantify the full costs
of Robert Mugabe’s destruction of Zimbabwe’s infrastructure. Not only
agriculture, industry and commerce, but the entire health and education
systems will need to be rebuilt. Compared with much of sub-Saharan Africa,
Zimbabwe was well developed and exported food; now half the population of
Zimbabwe depends on donor food aid. While unable to provide adequate water
in the major cities, Robert Mugabe’s regime allocates almost half the
national budget to security and the secret police. How will Africa ever
attract the inward investment necessary for sustainable development while
her leaders fail to condemn such wanton destruction and such squandering of
natural and human resources? Many of us are full of admiration for the
forceful leadership given by the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of
York on the need for change in Zimbabwe.

Baroness Park of Monmouth: The mantra set out by NePAD, the African peer
review mechanism, decrees on the contrary that no change may be required of
a country if it does not itself initiate a peer review of good governance.
The AU has succeeded in using its bloc in the UN to prevent any discussion
of Zimbabwe, even in the Human Rights Commission, and in preventing any
discussion of Zimbabwe in Commonwealth forums, despite the precedent set in
the case of South Africa, which the Commonwealth continued to put on its
agenda after the apartheid Government took the country out of the
Commonwealth on the grounds that the people of South Africa had not voted to
leave. That precedent was recognised in the Harare Commonwealth declaration
and the Millbrook programme. The African members have also frustrated any
action by the Commonwealth even to place Zimbabwe on the agenda, just as
they have done in the UN.

We are never going to solve conflict in Africa by the use of troops—with
small exceptions, such as Sierra Leone—or even by attempts to control the
inflow of arms. The Russians have always made a lot of money selling small
arms; they will continue to do so. They and the Chinese will continue to
sell military aircraft and arms because of their interest in African oil and
minerals.

The UN may do its best, although apart from the admirable Anna Tibaijuka,
who reported with devastating honesty on the Murambatsvina, it has not
distinguished itself in Zimbabwe. Much of the money that DfID has channelled
to the Zimbabwean people through UN agencies—we and the Americans are very
generous givers—has gone straight to the Mugabe Government. In the last
analysis, ways must be found to make the African Union, and SADC in
particular, use its strength constructively rather than being an obstructive
dog in the manger.

We have meekly accepted NePAD’s insistence that aid must be accompanied by
absolute acceptance of AU policy, on the grounds that conditionality is
colonialist imperialism. Why? Desmond Tutu said that there are no African
rights; there are human rights. At least some of our problems in this area
arise from our readiness to accept the thesis that conditionality equals
political intervention.

However, I was greatly encouraged by the sturdy decision of the last
Secretary of State to cut off immediately the £50 million of direct budget
support a year that we were giving to the Ethiopian Prime Minister when his
security forces killed 88 people in demonstrations during the elections. We
continued to subsidise work through the aid agencies, but he received no
more direct funding. If we could do it then, without, so far as I know,
suffering any consequences in our relations with Ethiopia, we can surely do
it again.

After the woeful failure of the EU-AU summit in Lisbon to send any message
of hope to the despairing and beleaguered people of Zimbabwe, I hope that we
shall challenge the SADC countries to stand by the AU’s own Constitutive Act
and their own human rights commission, which reported honestly but has never
been allowed to publish its report and act to save the people of
Zimbabwe—and their own economic skins—by intervening before it is too late.
They can no longer fail to act because of a wholly dishonest policy of not
listening to us—and it is generally the West whose help will be needed—on
the ludicrous grounds that they are striking a blow for liberation.

We have been given a lead by the admirable most reverend Primate the
Archbishop of York. Let us tell the African Union that committees and quiet
diplomacy and, sadly, even an African force, are not enough if they are used
to obstruct any action to save a suffering people. We should recognise the
limitations of such bodies as the EU and the UN which often by their acts or
failures to act obscure awkward facts and take away the individual
responsibility of nations to do something. The presence of a number of UN
agencies in Zimbabwe, for instance, encourages the illusion that through
them the world is acting to care for people suffering under tyranny. DfID,
which is one of the two major world givers of aid, does it through the UN
agencies, yet those agencies, with those funds at their disposal, actually
feared to act to support the victims of Murambatsvina as one of them
admitted to Anna Tibaijuka and was so recorded in her report.

We have been complicit for too long in allowing food aid to be handed out
only to ZANU-PF supporters, with the knowledge of the UN. The UNHCR, when
urged to set up refugee camps for Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa, or at
least to intervene on their behalf, claimed as recently as this year that
they were not refugees in the accepted UN sense; they were economic
migrants.

The UN is being exploited by the AU to prevent any discussion in that forum
and to flout even the UN's own mechanism to protect human rights. The AU has
replicated its success in these bullying tactics in its only-too-effective
moves to keep Zimbabwe off the CHOGM agenda. I hope that a number of decent
nations, including especially the Scandinavians, who of course ruthlessly
colonised us in their day, will work together with the many right-minded
Africans such as Moeletsi Mbeki, Pius Ncube and Anna Tibaijuka to broker and
secure press freedom in Zimbabwe and promote a series of life-saving
missions to help the sick and the starving at once while a truly free
political climate is created by Zimbabwe’s own civil society; still a
potentially effective instrument to restore the rule of law. What we must
not do is require the people of Zimbabwe to accept as valid the elections
that have already been comprehensively rigged and in which, in any event,
the millions now in the diaspora driven from their country would not be able
to vote.

Lord Luce: My Lords, my noble friend Lord Alton has performed a service in
raising this issue of conflict in Africa and set out clearly the scale of
the devastation that conflict causes. I would pick only two facts: first, 50
per cent of the states that have emerged from conflict lapse into conflict
within five years and, secondly, at least 32 per cent, a third, of the
population of Africa are affected in their countries by conflict or
emergence from conflict. However, I wish to concentrate on another angle.

If the House would bear with me, I would like to start with my recollection
of an experience as the last British administrator—later, when I was a
Minister, President Mubarak described me as the last British
imperialist—when I was a district officer in Kenya. There was a crisis and a
policeman reported to me that there was fighting over a water hole some 70
miles away. I went straight there with an escort and, probably rather
patronisingly, summoned the two tribes who were fighting to sit under a
baobab tree while I lectured in very bad Swahili that they should not fight
wars. If they were to share the water hole they would find that they could
all get some water. Whereupon, a man put up his hand at the back. “Bwana,”
he said in Swahili, “could I ask you a question?”. I said, “Yes, of course”.
He said, “You tell us not to fight, but how is it that you in Europe have
fought two world wars this century?”. “Of course”, I said, “you win”. They
went away rocking with laughter and shared the water.

I came to the conclusion, probably subjectively, that the time had come for
Britain to leave Africa and her empire. I am in full support of Mbeki’s
approach to the problems of Africa: that there must be African solutions to
African problems. It is no good anyone in Europe or Africa blaming the past.
The cobwebs of the empire have now gone; colonialism is now dead and
independence means taking responsibility for your own country. It is worth
reminding ourselves that Mugabe obtained independence as the first leader of
Zimbabwe 27 years ago. He takes full responsibility for the condition of
Zimbabwe today. Ian Smith may have been the other major contributor, but Mr
Mugabe carries the responsibility for the condition of his people today.

Africans themselves say that what they need most is leadership from
Africans. All of us who know Africa can see that it is capable of producing
great leaders, from Kenyatta to Mandela to Kofi Annan to Bishop Tutu. The
people of that continent no longer need outdated leaders who are leaders of
anti-colonial liberation wars. They need leaders who can develop their
countries and can develop democracy in their countries. African leaders do
great harm to our perception of them from outside the continent when they
fail to condemn brutal dictators like Mugabe or Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan.
It is always the people of Africa who suffer from it, not the former
colonial masters.

The key is how Africans solve their own problems. What do they most need and
want to do? Here I must commend a very remarkable book published by the
British Council called Under the Tree of Talking: Leadership for Change in
Africa. It gives African views rather than European views on how they can
and want to best solve their problems.

The Commission for Africa’s executive summary report of 2005 highlighted two
weaknesses in Africa over the past 50 years. The first was the capacity of
African states to prevent and manage conflict and their ability to design
and deliver policies. The second was accountability—how well a state answers
to its people. In my view, there is much that we can do—either
multilaterally or bilaterally—to help these countries, and to help them help
themselves; our experience through the Commonwealth is one illustration.
However, the growing competition between China, the United States and the
European Union to trade in Africa is producing dangers for its people
because, if the issue of governance, accountability and human rights is
forgotten in this competition, it will do the biggest possible disservice to
the people of Africa—it is they who will suffer.

Our approach must be to help the African nations build on success. In Ghana,
Nigeria, Tanzania, Liberia and South Africa strong Administrations are
emerging with success stories. We should encourage that and through the
African Union and other nations we should demonstrate to the people of, say,
Zimbabwe, Somalia, Sudan, the Congo and the Ivory Coast that it is possible
to have African leaders who can lead their countries back to a better and
happier condition.

I end on one particular area. We need, both in the European Union and the
African Union, a positive approach to reconstruction and peace building.
This requires a strategic plan which can be adapted to different countries.
One specific issue of interest is that there is now a diaspora of Africans
living outside the continent—20 million have left since the Second World
War. They are people with great experience and skill; their remittances back
to their continent amount to exactly the same as the amount of overseas
development that is given to Africa. These skills are badly needed back in
Africa. I would like to see the European Union, our country and the African
Union develop a plan to mobilise these people—or at least some of them—into
a kind of peace corps of African expatriates who could help to rebuild these
countries that have been devastated by conflict. After all, we have to
remember that the first priority must be the people of Africa.

Lord Blaker: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Alton, on
introducing this topical debate. He spoke a bit about Zimbabwe. My noble
friend Lady Park also made some useful points about that country, and I
congratulate her too. I also want to congratulate our colleague the most
reverend Primate the Archbishop of York who must have brought home for the
first time to millions of people the fact that there is a Mugabe problem
when he cut up his white collar on television and said that he will not wear
it again until Mugabe has gone.

Mugabe claims that he is fighting against Britain, but he is not; he is
fighting against his own people. Our role was to end the war of independence
and to arrange the elections that put Mugabe into power. He makes two
allegations against us: neo-colonialism and that our sanctions have caused
the appalling economic condition of Zimbabwe. Both charges are ridiculous.
The “sanctions” are not sanctions, but targeted measures, and it is not
likely that they have caused the inflation in Zimbabwe which, according to
the latest report that I saw today, has now reached a rate of 14,840 per
cent. So good is Mugabe’s spin that it seems he has convinced a majority of
the leaders of the SADC countries of what he is saying. The three principal
African treaties have been breached by Mugabe, but the SADC leaders appear
to be unaware of that—at least they do not refer to it. The effects of the
economic situation in Zimbabwe are horrifying. One-third of the population
has fled, especially the best qualified people and young people who were
born after 1980, when Mugabe came to power.

On 11 March, a prayer meeting in Harare was violently broken up by the
police and the military. That shocked even the leaders of SADC and led them
to give a mandate to President Mbeki of South Africa to facilitate
negotiations between the opposition and Mugabe. That was accompanied by a
police warning to the MDC opposition, who are entirely peaceful, not to
cause any trouble. No such warning was given to Mugabe, who has been causing
turmoil among the opposition by the beatings and the intimidation of all
sorts that he was conducting before that event and which have continued
until now. Mugabe is preparing for elections with the usual measures that he
has used in the past. The latest one—which is new, so far as I know—is that
4 trillion Zimbabwe dollars have been set aside as a fund available to
Mugabe in preparation for the elections. We can imagine that it will be used
to persuade voters—so far as they need persuading, given the violence that
has been going on—to vote for Mugabe.

Is there any ray of light on the horizon? Four representatives of the
European Union recently made speeches in Lisbon that criticised Mugabe. I do
not remember other members of the European Union often criticising him, so
that is a step forward. In a few days there will be an election for the next
president of the ANC in South Africa. It could be quite important if it
leads to the election of Zuma, who is a robust character compared to
President Mbeki. His history is not entirely without blemish, but it is
possible that he will be much more active in pursuing peace in Zimbabwe than
President Mbeki has been. Kofi Annan recently made an important speech—the
Nelson Mandela lecture—in which he cited Zimbabwe as one of the crises in
the world that the United Nations should pay attention to. He said that
Africa is particularly crying out for resolute action by fellow Africans.
That was with particular reference to Zimbabwe, so one or two straws are
beginning to blow in a light wind. However, we cannot regard the end of
Mugabe as being likely soon. We have to bear in mind also that his mother
lived to 100, and he is only 84. An end could be put to the problem if the
SADC leaders got together with a powerful president of SADC in the form of
Zuma, if he wins.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord,
Lord Alton of Liverpool, on this timely debate—I am tempted to call him “my
noble friend” because we go back a long way. This debate is timely because
of the recent meeting between Europe and Africa which highlighted the
continuing conflicts on that continent, most notably the grinding oppression
of the people of Zimbabwe. I shall not say much about Zimbabwe, but a
snapshot that may be of interest to noble Lords is that its latest issue of
postage stamps has a denomination of half a million dollars; if you are a
dollar millionaire in Zimbabwe, you can buy two stamps.

Several years ago, the eminent broadcaster and writer Alan Whicker was
interviewed on a chat show. He was asked about Africa and replied that in
his view there was no hope for Africa and, consequently, he rarely went
there. I disagree with that analysis.

Since entering Parliament in 1992, I have taken every opportunity to visit
Africa to learn more about that fascinating continent. There is no doubt
that there are some good countries and that there are others which are not
succeeding. There are many still suffering the after effects of conflicts
which have ended; there are others where conflicts are taking place
today—the noble Lord, Lord Alton, told us about those; and there are others
where future potential conflicts are bubbling under the surface.

Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Alton of
Liverpool, on initiating the debate and on his excellent presentation.

The subject is very broad and we do not have time to talk about the details
of any particular country. I wish, therefore, to make general comments.
During recent history, Africa has experienced significant turmoil, upheaval
and war. That ranges from large conflicts including the problems in Darfur
and the statelessness of Somalia, to the smaller, more localised problems
including the turbulence in the north-east of Kenya involving disputes
between different tribal groups.

Africa is a vast continent comprising hundreds of distinct ethnic groups
with complex histories. Therefore, the continent has witnessed conflicts of
tremendous diversity in nature, size and scope, including struggles for
independence, civil war, tribal conflict, genocide and terrorist attacks.
All this means that it can be difficult to draw broad conclusions about the
causes and consequences of these conflicts. Having said that, it appears
possible to draw a clear link between conflict in Africa and poverty. Poor
economic development can be seen as both a cause and a consequence of
conflict. Conflict can quickly cause inflation, debt, reduced investment and
unemployment.

Poverty, in its many facets, can create social discontentment which in turn
can create an environment more prone to conflict. Poverty, and specifically
financial inequality within a society, can be exploited by leaders to
mobilise followers and legitimate violent actions. Thus the nature of the
problem goes in a cycle. Poverty results in conflict and conflict results in
further poverty. There are also reasons to relate conflict to the absence of
good governance. Weak government institutions, a lack of transparency and
poor adherence to democratic principles all predispose a state to conflict.
The ideas developed by Immanuel Kant in his essay, Perpetual Peace, in 1795
have since evolved into the theory that democracies rarely fight or go to
war. It could be suggested that the absence or weakness of democracy in
certain African states has led to conflict and war.

Furthermore, conflicts have arisen from the failure of leaders to relinquish
power, resulting in military coups and other attempts to seize power. The
example set in 1991 by Kenneth Kaunda in Zambia, who gave up power, needs to
be repeated in states where unpopular leaders, such as Mugabe, cling to
power. In the spirit of working with Africa as a partner, I would like to
see Africa solving African problems, through an empowered African Union,
albeit working with strong support from the international community. I feel
this is probably the best way to deal with problems in Darfur.

The implementation of an international arms trade treaty would represent an
important step forward in preventing tomorrow’s crises in Africa becoming
violent conflicts. Ninety-five per cent of the small arms in use in Africa
were made outside the continent and ensuring tighter global controls on the
sale and movement of such weapons would help to stem their flow into Africa,
where they fuel conflicts and cause untold damage.

If Africa is to become a peaceful, stable and secure continent, we need to
show support to countries recently emerging from conflicts, otherwise those
countries may slip back into a cycle of violence and conflict. Conflict
resolutions are therefore very important. I would like to take this
opportunity to remind us all of China’s heavy involvement in Africa. The
concern is that the numerous projects and financial aid packages funded by
China seem to be unrelated to any requirements for good governance.

However, we are pleased to note that the EU remains the largest donor to
Africa and that there seems to be a shift away from projects for Africa
towards a more mature partnership involving projects with Africa. This
method is to be commended as it represents a stronger and more responsible
solution for obtaining peace and development in Africa. I am pleased that,
despite problems connected with Mr Mugabe, the EU-Africa summit was held
last week in Lisbon.

A major challenge facing Africa as a continent is climate change, the
effects of which could stoke new conflicts in the continent in the years to
come. There are predictions from some scientists that the continent will
have 25 per cent less water by the end of the century. This points towards
an increasingly bleak scenario for certain areas of Africa, in which the
availability of water will decrease and there will be a reduction in viable
agricultural land and an increase in food shortages, possibly leading to
conflict. We all appreciate that the problem of climate change needs to be
tackled globally, but I am very pleased that we have taken the initiative
and are discussing the Climate Change Bill.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord
Alton, for securing this debate and for drawing our attention to this vital
issue. I am grateful also for the characteristically well informed
contributions from all noble Lords who have participated in this powerful
debate.

The noble Baroness, Lady Park of Monmouth, and the noble Lord, Lord Blaker,
quite rightly and properly drew our attention to the appalling situation in
Zimbabwe. The tragedy is unfolding daily before our eyes and continues to
endanger stability in the whole area. Like them, I pay tribute to the most
reverend Primate the Archbishop of York for his persistence where Zimbabwe
is concerned. Like the noble Lord, Lord Luce, the Government believe that
the solution to Zimbabwe’s current crisis has, ultimately, to be an African
one, supported by the international community. We support President Mbeke in
leading efforts to resolve Zimbabwe’s problems and President Wade of Senegal’s
recent comments on the need for the whole of Africa to solve the problem. We
want to see positive outcomes on the ground. That is the only real test of
any initiative.

Zimbabwe’s crisis is not only a regional or African problem, although it
requires strong African leadership that is willing to condemn atrocities and
recognise injustice. I cannot quite remember the very excellent quotation of
the noble Lord, Lord Blaker, but I entirely agree with him about resolute
actions. At the last meeting in August, SADC’s leaders did not blame the EU
or the West for Zimbabwe’s problems. It was a very small step forward, but
perhaps we should take some small comfort from that.

I listened carefully to the experiences and wise words of the noble Lord,
Lord Luce. I very much like his idea of an EU/AU plan to mobilise members of
the diaspora who have skills that can be used in peacebuilding. Having had
discussions with various diasporas in the past, I am sure that they would
warm to such a suggestion.

The Government are fully committed to addressing both the fundamental causes
of conflict in Africa and its consequences. We will continue to put that at
the heart of our broader agenda for Africa’s development and to use our
influence within the wider international community.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: My Lords, every contribution to this debate has
demonstrated a breadth of knowledge and, from all parts of your Lordships’
House, a profound love of Africa and African people. The debate has been
enriched by the experience of three former Ministers, by the noble Baroness,
Lady Royall, speaking from the government Front Bench and by the other
Front-Bench speakers, and by many other notable contributions based on
personal experience and real knowledge.

Many speeches have concentrated on the situation in specific countries such
as Sudan, Zimbabwe, Congo and Somalia. Others have looked at the human
costs, especially to women and children, at the opportunity costs and
economic costs of conflict and the correlation between conflict and poverty.
Others again have talked about conflicts that have arisen, how we might end
them and the role of international agencies and countries such as China and
Russia.

Analysts call for phased approach to currency reforms

Zim Online

by Never Chanda Friday 14 December 2007

      HARARE – Zimbabwe’s central bank will have to go back to the drawing
board and take a phased approach to currency reforms as analysts warn of an
invasion by counterfeit notes.

      The analysts spoke as Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon
Gono announced on Wednesday plans to introduce new banknotes by Christmas in
a move aimed at easing crippling cash shortages that have gripped the
country over the past two months.

      According to the analysts, Gono would have to shelve the long-awaited
launch of the new Zimbabwean currency and instead opt for the introduction
of higher denomination bearer cheques as a stop-gap measure to ease current
cash shortages.

      “I see the governor first introducing higher-denomination bearer
cheques to the value of $500 000 and $1 million after which he may have to
remove some zeros from the currency as the next step of the currency
reforms,” economic commentator Eric Bloch told ZimOnline.

      According to Bloch, introduction of the new currency would have to
wait until the economic situation stabilised.

      Gono has given conflicting signals to the market in the past month
over the introduction of the new Zimbabwean currency.

      He hinted at the beginning of November that the new banknotes would
not be due before early 2008, citing the unstable economic climate in the
country.

      He later changed his song, insisting the new currency was “imminent”
and warned what he called cash barons that they could be caught unawares if
they continued to hoard cash for speculative purposes.

      But observers have dismissed the governor’s warning as mere cheap talk
aimed at hoodwinking the market.

      Analysts yesterday accused Gono’s brand of “ambush economics” of being
the source of Zimbabwe ’s economic crisis.

      They warned that by not addressing the current cash crisis, the RBZ
governor was inadvertently creating fertile conditions for the injection of
counterfeit banknotes.

      “The cash situation is beginning to prove right those people who have
always said Mr Gono is the worst Reserve Bank governor this country has ever
had.

      “What is most worrisome is that the more the governor delays in
resolving the cash shortages, the more the likelihood of counterfeit
banknotes entering the system because people will accept anything that
resembles cash out of desperation,” said an investment banker with a
Harare-based commercial bank.

      The threat of counterfeit money entering the financial system would
worsen Zimbabwe ’s trouble-some inflation, estimated at a world
record-busting 15 000 percent. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe among seven global hunger hotspots

Zim Online

by Own Correspondent  Friday 14 D