Los Angeles Times
December 31, 2005
size
.. Pius Ncube is the chief Zimbabwean critic of leader Robert
Mugabe.
Some fear for his life.
By Robyn Dixon, Times Staff
Writer
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe - At night, when the archbishop tries
to sleep, his
mind churns with the stories of his poor, hungry countrymen.
Often he crawls
out of bed and prowls his house, haunted by one of
religion's eternal
questions: Why does God let people suffer
so?
During services, parishioners say, his emotions take over and
he
sometimes seems on the verge of tears.
Nearly a quarter of
Zimbabwe's population has been pushed to the edge
of starvation by five
years of economic mismanagement and hyperinflation.
Unemployment is
estimated at 80%. A campaign this year by President Robert
Mugabe's
government to destroy squatter camps and street stalls left about
700,000
people homeless. Mugabe repeatedly has been accused of rigging
elections to
stay in power.
Witnessing all of this, Roman Catholic Archbishop
Pius Ncube of
Bulawayo has become the president's most prominent internal
critic. He
acknowledges that he prays for Mugabe's death.
"I
don't understand why God allows these murderers to get away with
everything," Ncube said in an interview in his office here in western
Zimbabwe. "More often, I am really so angry about this government. Mugabe is
after power and after money. When I think of it my heart
breaks."
Tall, gangly and bespectacled, Ncube dresses as humbly as
a priest.
When speaking, he often refers to individual cases of suffering,
or villages
he has visited where people are hungry. Before elections in
March, he
exposed instances in which opposition supporters were refused
access to food
through the government's monopoly grain board.
Mugabe, 81, one of Africa's archetypal "Big Men," has led Zimbabwe,
once one
of sub-Saharan Africa's more prosperous countries, for a quarter of
a
century. He remains a hero to many of the continent's leaders.
Ncube's office is decked with images of people he considers true
heroes:
Mohandas K. Gandhi; Nelson Mandela; Oscar Romero of El Salvador, the
slain
Roman Catholic archbishop who spoke out for the poor despite pressure
from
the Vatican to keep a lower profile.
Ncube's voice is soft and his
manner shy and self-effacing, yet his
attacks on Mugabe are so blunt that
allies worry he might be assassinated.
Ncube says that his phones
are tapped and that authorities recently
threatened to confiscate his
passport. The secret police, the CIO, follow
him, watch his home and monitor
his sermons, he says, and last year they
questioned his mother, now
88.
"This government, the one thing they don't like is the truth.
But I'll
not stop speaking," Ncube said. "The evils they are doing are so
bad."
After the incident with his mother, Ncube went to the local
secret
police headquarters, sipped tea with the enemy and politely demanded
that
they stop harassing her.
"They said, 'We were not trying
to harass your mother. We were just
doing routine visits.' But I knew they
were not doing routine visits," Ncube
said. "They wanted to intimidate me
because we are all very sensitive about
our mothers."
He tells
her almost nothing about his activities. She, too, has
trouble
sleeping.
"Ninety-five percent of what I do, I don't tell her
because she gets
very worried and nervous and fears for my life," Ncube
said.
The criticism that flies between Mugabe and Ncube, both
products of
Zimbabwe's Catholic education system, sometimes takes on an
almost biblical
quality. Ncube accuses Mugabe of evil and Mugabe calls Ncube
satanic.
Government officials and state media have alleged that Ncube is
HIV-positive
and a rapist.
The president has also accused him
of harboring political ambitions.
The clergyman denies that, even while
criticizing the performance of the
main political opposition, the Movement
for Democratic Change, which
recently fell apart amid internal
fighting.
"Politics is generally dirty. African politics is extra
dirty and
dangerous and corrupt," Ncube said. "I don't know any clergyman in
Africa
who went into politics and remained honest."
One
opposition activist in Bulawayo said some people wished Ncube
would take a
role in politics. Others said that although Ncube's anti-Mugabe
stand was
courageous and principled, he was not suited to politics.
"I think
he's a very good man and a very good priest. I think his
quality is as a
strong moral voice in Zimbabwe. I don't think he'd be
comfortable in a
political party," said Harare-based political analyst Brian
Raftopoulos.
Zimbabwe Standard
(Harare)
December 24, 2005
Posted to the web December 31,
2005
Our Staff
RESPECTED economist Eric Bloch has projected
that a sharp rise in inflation
in the first six months of 2006, in what
could result in more hardships for
ordinary Zimbabweans struggling to
survive under difficult circumstances.
Bloch said he expected inflation,
which hit the 500 percent mark in November
to go up by between 40 and 50
percent.
Dr Bloch said: "We should expect a massive increase in the rate
of inflation
due to the fact that people will soon be paying newly hiked
school fees for
their children, new local authority tariffs and increased
electricity
charges.
"To make matters worse, we expect a revised
exchange rate to have a
significant impact on the economy resulting in
serious foreign currency
shortages.
"Inflation will be expected to
increase by between 40 and 50 percent,
leading to the hiking of prices of
basic commodities."
He said the situation was expected to improve in the
last six months of the
year if there was a good crop harvest and controlled
government expenditure.
"A stabilised exchange rate may lead to
significant improvement in foreign
currency inflows. This may ultimately
lead to a decline in the rate of
inflation in the last six months of the
year. If this situation prevails,
foreign currency may be used for servicing
critical areas instead of
importing grain," he said.
Lovemore
Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU)
said life
would even be more difficult for workers next year.
"Government has no
clue, neither has it any plans to solve the situation. As
workers, we have
already put plans of exerting more pressure on government.
It would be
action, action, and more action from labour," said Matombo.
Despite this
gloomy scenario, Zimbabweans whose homes were destroyed during
"Operation
Murambatsvina" wished that the year 2006 would be a turning point
for the
country, once considered Africa's bread basket.
"I hope that most people
who were affected by 'Operation Murambatsvina' will
get the houses they were
promised by the government. Right now I stay in a
shack near Richmond
Dumpsite thinking of what life has in store for my
family. I am poor and
homeless The government should do something for us,"
said Esnath Ngwenya, a
shack dweller at Ngozi Mine.
Ngwenya was affected by "Operation
Murambatsvina" but has since gone back to
the illegal settlement after
government failed to provide decent
accommodation for her family of
six.
For Senzeni Nyathi, a vendor, life on the streets of Bulawayo has
been tough
throughout the year as she has been playing hide and seek with
the police
and municipal security personnel.
"I hope that the
situation will improve next year with vendors allowed to
sell their wares
without being harassed by state security agents and
municipal police,"
Nyathi said.
Such sentiments were also expressed by vendors in Harare who
have been
harassed by recruits from the National Youth Service, employed by
the city
council.In areas such as Chitungwiza, Kuwadzana, Glen View,
residents wished
if the city council would address the sewage and water
crisis.
The residents have in the past few months been left with no
option but to
stay in houses with blocked sewer pipes and raw sewage flowing
through their
yards.
While many were pessimistic that their plight
will improve next year unless
a political settlement was reached Zanu PF and
the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), there were other people
who felt things might be
better next year.
The vice president of the
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC),
Obert Sibanda, said although
no significant business growth was expected
next year, there were high hopes
that the government would tackle high
inflation and other related economic
ills which have bedevilled the country.
Sibanda said: "We hope that the
government will implement fiscal policies as
pronounced by the Ministry of
Finance so that they tackle inflation,
shortages of fuel, the free fall of
the Zimbabwe dollar and various economic
problems. It is important for
government to implement its ambitious fiscal
policies so that market forces
determine prices of all commodities.
"At the same time, we believe that
the country's exchange rate will also be
determined by market forces. This
will ensure that we have foreign currency
inflows that may, in the long run,
result in an improved socio-economic
environment."
Pastor Patson
Netha of Churches in Bulawayo, a non-governmental organisation
comprising
over 150 pastors in Matabeleland, said Zimbabwe's problems would
come to an
end if all stakeholders were prepared to work together and map
the way
forward in order to improve citizens' standards of living.
"Our future
lies in our hands as we cannot be seen to be fighting while
people are
suffering," Pastor Netha said.
By Violet Gonda
30 December 2005
2005 was
undoubtedly an agonising year for most Zimbabweans. This was
the year that
saw the Mugabe regime flexing its muscle and tightening
its grip on power.
From the imposition of draconian laws, rigging
elections, acts of violence,
arresting journalists and activists to
continued illegal farm evictions.
Zimbabweans had to deal with the
never-ending price increases and worsening
standards of living. These
are some of the issues that made headlines this
past year.
On September 16 the constitution of Zimbabwe amendment no.
17 was
passed, signalling the end to people's civil liberties. Among
other
things, this saw the legalisation of farm invasions and the
introduction
of the controversial senate. The amendment has been described by
some as
"the mother" of all draconian legislation.
The amendment of
the constitution also allows the government to restrict
the right to freedom
of movement to perceived saboteurs, by denying a
passport to a Zimbabwean
wishing to travel outside the country. The
first victims publisher Trevor
Ncube, politician Paul Temba Nyathi and
activist Raymond Majongwe had their
passports seized in December.
Soon after the March parliamentary
elections the government embarked on
a brutal exercise, code named Operation
Murambatsvina that severely
affected hundreds of thousands of people by
pushing them out of their
homes. Many say it was punishment for the way they
voted in the
elections, and an insidious strategy to rig or predetermine
future
elections.
Paradoxically, this cruel exercise started around
the time Africa was
celebrating May 25 th, a day designated as Africa Day. A
day to
celebrate Pan -Africanism. On this day Africans are expected to
reflect
back on what the continent has achieved since its independence.
For
Zimbabweans however, it was a time in which many people lost
their
livelihood to police raids. The Government of Zimbabwe became
an
anathema to the noble African cause as Zimbabweans battled with food
and
fuel shortages, as well as police and military brutality.
The
United Nations described Robert Mugabe's clean up exercise as a
disastrous
venture that made more than 700 000 homeless. Several people
died, mainly
women and children, with thousands still living in
makeshift plastic shacks
in informal settlements, while others have gone
back to live in the rubble of
their former homes, destroyed by the
regime.
The police used brutal
force and burnt to the ground property belonging
to the residents in places
such as Hatcliffe Extension. At times
residents were forced to burn their
own belongings and later loaded onto
trucks and dumped at Caledonian Farm
without food, water or clothes.
The MP for this area Trudy Stevenson
said at the time, that most of the
affected were children. Hatcliffe
extension had a population of between
15 000 and 20 000. 20% of the houses
were child headed due to the
HIV/AID pandemic. 45% of the people in this area
were estimated to be
HIV positive which meant the displacement resulted in
many people not
being able to be traced to receive ARV treatment.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights reported that army officials are
in
charge of these transit camps where the government is keeping victims
of
Operation Murambatsvina. The story is no different for you to get
food
aid you have to carry a Zanu PF card. Badly needed food continues to
be
distributed in a partisan manner and the situation has been made
worse
by the fact that human rights groups and churches are denied access,
to
impoverished communities. They were told in some places like Hopley
Farm
outside Harare that they had to go through a process involving
army
officials and the Ministry of Social Welfare, which has since
assumed
the active and sinister role in distributing food.
The
economic crisis also added to the nightmare. Inflation is currently
running
at 502% although it's accepted that the real inflation rate is
much higher.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says p rices of bread,
milk and cooking oil
increased 10 fold in the last 12 months. Bread cost
ZW$ 3,500 in January and
now if you are lucky you may get a loaf for "as
little" as ZW$44,000.
The West has imposed targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime
urging
African leaders to take steps to pressure Mugabe to change his
policies.
The New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) is largely
aimed at
boosting investment and aid in Africa, with good governance and
peer
review mechanisms at the core.
In his official "Letter from the
President" column on the ANC website in
August, South Africa's President
Thabo Mbeki wrote that Mugabe's
policies were a stumbling block to regional
growth, and that his actions
had an impact on the rest of the region. He
wrote that a stable and
prosperous Zimbabwe was critical and urged the
country to play a central
role in the struggle to achieve the goals spelt out
in the SADC Treaty.
This was one of the few times that Mbeki came close to
openly
criticising his neighbour and time ally Robert Mugabe. But he
still
avoided direct criticism of issues such as oppressive legislation,
the
chaotic and illegal seizures of land, and the absence of
independent
media in the country.
Mbeki has been accused of shifting
goal posts where Zimbabwe is
concerned, as demonstrated in March when he
prematurely declared that
"the general elections in Zimbabwe are going to be
free and fair."
Director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Arnold
Tsunga
dismissed the statement as an act of betrayal by Mbeki, saying
he
compromised his efforts to lead the search for a solution to
the
political crisis and openly sided with a dictatorial regime.
Mbeki's Government was also faced with mounting criticism
over
discussions aimed at granting its cash strapped neighbour a
substantial
line of credit worth hundreds of millions of rand. Under
normal
circumstances an act of goodwill by South Africa to Zimbabwe would
not
be controversial but given the current notoriety of the Mugabe
regime
and the human rights abuses, any help Mbeki offered would taint
South
Africa's reputation.
There was an outcry from Zimbabwe and
within South Africa with the
opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) declaring:
"such a payment would
scupper any shift towards a firmer stance against the
Mugabe regime. And
it comes at a time when most members of the international
community,
including the IMF and the World Bank, plan to cut ties with
Zimbabwe as
a result of the Mugabe regime's consistent human rights abuses."
Mbeki's brother, Moelisti told SWRA that half a billion US dollars
will
not stop the corrupt regime of RobertMugabe from ruining the
country
even more. The outspoken critique of the Mugabe regime believes
his
brother (Thabo) would help Zimbabwe out of national interest and not
for
humanitarian reasons.
Ultimately Zimbabwe is living on a time
bomb. Observers predict an
implosion in 2006 if the 81 year old dictator
continues with his
hard-line policies that have destroyed the economy.
Agriculture once a
mainstay of Zimbabwe's economy has dramatically declined
as a result of
chaotic farm invasions, drought, lack of inputs and skilled
labour. This
has also led to the critical shortages of foreign currency and
low if
non-existent investment.
Private schools once a preserve for
the extremely rich cushioned from
the day to day suffering of ordinary
Zimbabweans have not been spared in
this Government onslaught. The Education
minister now has powers through
the Zanu PF dominated parliament to prescribe
school fees and levies for
privateschools. The high court last year blocked
Education minister
Aeneas Chigwedere from prescribing school fees for private
schools
following numerous objections by the Association of Trust Schools
in
Zimbabwe. A spokesman for the trust, which represents 60 private
schools
in Zimbabwe, said the proposed amendment to the Education Act
will
impact heavily on the standards of education in the country.
President
of the Trust, Jonathan Timba, told us in May that by empowering
the
minister to do as he wishes will be taking the development of
education
in the country two steps backwards and undermining the independence
of
private schools.
With all this happening most people had pinned
their hopes on the
country's main opposition party, the MDC, but have been
disappointed by
the divisions that have rocked the 6 year old party. The
internal
conflict, which started off over a dispute on whether or not
to
participate in the senate elections, has now become agame of tug of
war
between the leadership in the troubled MDC. Both sides are now
preparing
to hold their own congress, a sign that neither side is recognising
the
other. The dispute has had a devastating effect on the MDC's
support
base.
The boycott camp led by Party President Morgan
Tsvangirai said the
senate issue was pointless and the MDC would not
participate in this
flawed process. He also accused his colleagues in the
pro-participation
camp of representing their own interests. But the other
side led by
Professor Welshman Ncube maintains they were trying to maintain
ground
won already and challenge ZANU PF at every forum. Both camps
have
suspended each other. A leading political commentator and one of
the
advisors for the MDC, Professor Brian Raftopoulos, said the
internal
divisions in the opposition party are now too deep to reconcile.
He
described the infighting in the MDC as a major tragedy for them as
a
party and for the people of Zimbabwe who have put so much faith in
them
.
Professor Raftopoulos is one of the people trying to bring the
disputing
camps together.
The infighting has left some asking if the
MDC is capable of mobilising
mass protest s. Raftopoulos said at the moment
it looks very grim, and
it looks like there is no real strategy around
mobilisation. The
infighting has drained the party and cost a lot in terms of
capacity to
mobilise. But journalist Chris Chinake has predicted that former
Trade
Unionist Morgan Tsvangirai will carry the day at the party's
Congress
scheduled for early this year. With many senior diplomats declaring
that
it is too soon to write off the charismatic MDC leader from
the
political scene.
Outspoken political commentator Dr John Makumbe
said that the only way
out of the crisis for the people of Zimbabwe was a
face to face
confrontation with Robert Mugabe. He! was speaking after failed
mass
stayaways organised by the Broad Alliance (a coalition of
opposition,
civic and church groups), in June.
The political analyst
said the Mugabe regime is very smart. It has
repressed, but not entirely
destroyed. He believes that the only way to
bring about change is if pain is
intensified. Dr Makumbe says the regime
has to cause so much pain that
Zimbabweans say we have nothing else to
lose but our pain.
If the
price for freedom is a face to face confrontation with the
regime, is
Zimbabwe ready for this? We will find out in 2006.
VOA
By
Blessing Zulu
Washington
30 December 2005
The
government of Zimbabwe is working to block an impending visit to the
country
by United Nations Under Secretary General for Political Affairs
Ibrahim
Gambari, having taken issue with assessments by previous U.N. envoys
of the
humanitarian crisis resulting from the controversial slum-clearance
drive
Harare launched in May.
Government officials charged that Mr. Gambari's
visit has been promoted by
Western countries on the U.N. Security Council
aiming to discredit the
country's leadership.
The Security Council
urged a visit by the Nigerian diplomat after a briefing
from Under Secretary
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator Jan Egeland, who
made an assessment trip to Zimbabwe in
December. He reported progress on
expanding food relief and AIDS care, but
was unable to convince top
Zimbabwean officials, including President Robert
Mugabe, to let the U.N.
provide tents to shelter thousands made homeless by
the state's demolition
of shantytown dwellings.
Since Mr. Egeland's visit, Harare has taken
issue with a model temporary
home which the U.N. built, proposing to
demolish that prototype for a relief
program as well.
In July, three
months into the forced eviction and demolition campaign,
special envoy Anna
Tibaijuka, director of the Nairobi-based UN-Habitat
agency, delivered a
scathing report to the Security Council on the impact of
the operation. She
estimated that some 700,000 Zimbabweans lost their homes
or their
livelihoods, or both, in the drive.
The United States, Britain, Denmark
and Japan took the lead in the Security
Council in recommending the visit by
Mr. Gambari, who took on the U.N.
political post in June after serving as
under secretary general for African
affairs and development. Nigeria has on
occasion tried to broker a solution
to Zimbabwe's political
crisis.
Harare has not welcomed such Nigerian mediation, and at its
recent congress
the ruling ZANU-PF party resolved not to entertain any more
"clandestine"
U.N. envoys - with the sole exception of U.N. Secretary
General Kofi Annan.
Mr. Annan has agreed in principle to visit, but signaled
he wants to see
progress in critical issues first.
So the Gambari
initiative represents an escalation in the U.N.'s
humanitarian
initiative.
Reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe spoke
with Zimbabwe's
U.N. ambassador, Boniface Chidyausiku, who confirmed that
Harare opposes the
Gambari visit because it expects he will reach the same
conclusions as his
predecessors.
Reporter Zulu sought perspective on
the standoff from Zimbabwean political
expert Innocent Sithole, who is based
at the University of Leicester in
Great Britain.
Sudan Tribune
Saturday 31
December 2005 03:30.
Dec 30, 2005 (HARARE) - Zimbabwe police Commissioner
Augustine Chihuri has
said 20 police officers will leave the country next
week for United Nations
peacekeeping duties in Sudan's western region of
Darfur, local media
reported on Friday.
During his meeting with the
police officers on Thursday, Chihuri urged them
to "keep the Zimbabwean flag
flying high, mindful of those who needlessly
seek to soil the good name of
the ZRP (Zimbabwe Republic Police) and
Zimbabwe in general by portraying her
as a country fraught with
lawlessness."
"I, thus, thrust upon your
shoulders, as envoys of Zimbabwe, the duty to
resolutely and steadfastly
defend our integrity and sovereignty," he said.
Chihuri said the
contribution made by the police in enabling global peace
over the years was
continuously exemplified by the UN's perennial requests
to the government to
send police officers on peacekeeping missions.
"Our officers have stood
shoulder-to-shoulder with other police forces from
around the globe during
these peacemaking initiatives, earning themselves,
the Zimbabwe Republic
Police and Republic of Zimbabwe a permanent place in
the annals of global
peace keeping history," he said.
He said the officers should exhibit the
highest degree of professionalism
during their tour of duty.
Chihuri
urged them to shun any conduct that would defile them physically or
mentally.
"Always be mindful of the prevalence of the dreaded
HIV/AIDS that is
wrecking havoc the world over," he
said.
(Xinhua)
Mail and Guardian
Harare, Zimbabwe
31 December 2005
03:37
The Zimbabwe government has decided to extend the life
of its
temporary bank notes by another six months as the government works on
introducing a new currency, state radio reported on
Saturday.
Two years ago Zimbabwe introduced a temporary form
of currency
called "bearer cheques" to ease chronic cash shortages that hit
the country
as a result of spiralling inflation.
"The
Ministry of Finance has announced that the expiry date of
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe bearers' cheques, which was postponed to 31
December 2005 by the
Finance Act has once again been postponed to June 30
next year," the radio
report said.
Initially designed as a stop gap measure,
Zimbabweans have grown
used to the bank bills that come in denominations of
Z$20 000, Z$10 000 and
Z$5 000 (25, 12 and six US cents). But their value
has been severely eroded
by inflation, now at 502%.
Those
wanting to make big purchases frequently have to hand over
bags of money
while customers are seen wheeling out suitcases full of money
from their
banks.
Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono has promised to
introduce a
new permanent currency this year. But economists have warned it
is futile to
introduce a new currency until inflation is brought
down.
Gono says aims to reduce inflation to around 80% by the
end of
2006. - Sapa-DPA
Zimbabwe Standard
(Harare)
December 24, 2005
Posted to the web December 31,
2005
Our Staff
THE Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
has petitioned the European
Union (EU) to include the names of MDC
pro-Senate faction leaders on its
travel sanctions list, claiming that they
are working in cahoots with Zanu
PF to destroy the opposition.
The EU
has slapped sanctions on several government and Zanu PF officials
accused of
undermining democracy in Zimbabwe. Prominent among these is
President Robert
Mugabe who has been banned from travelling to Europe.
In a letter written
to, Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister, whose
country holds the EU
Presidency, the studentsí union demanded an immediate
inclusion of Professor
Welshman Ncube, the party secretary general, vice
president Gibson Sibanda,
Gift Chimanikire, Paul Themba-Nyathi, Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga,
Fletcher Dulini-Ncube and Getrude Stevenson.
The letter was copied to
South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, African Union
chairperson and Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo and the SADC
chairperson, Festus Mogae, who is
the President of Botswana.
The students accuse the pro-Senate faction of
working with Mugabe's regime
to derail a process aimed at removing Zanu PF
from the government.
Themba-Nyathi yesterday dismissed the move by ZINASU
as utter rubbish and an
act of immaturity.
He said: "What do you
expect from misguided and immature youths who don't
know the enemy of the
party? It is up to the EU to decide who to put on
their list. Actually they
will laugh at them. The EU cannot include us on
the list for the sole reason
that we participated in the elections. It will
then mean all the MDC MPs and
mayors will also be included because they
participated in previous
elections."
The students body claimed that the pro-Senate faction was
becoming a threat
to opposition politics and democracy in the
country.
"These misguided opposition members are now behaving in the same
way with
the government and Zanu PF officials. They are now using the
State's
oppressive institutions like the partisan courts, where judges are
appointed
by none other than Mugabe himself to win their cases, not against
their
party leader Morgan Tsvangirai but against the people of Zimbabwe",
reads
the petition.
The students say they were astonished by the
coverage the pro-Senate faction
was getting from media organisations which
favour the ruling party.
"This then stands to reason that there is no
longer any difference between
the ruling party members and these members of
MDC. Mr Chairman all what we
want is a more productive and robust political
culture that can ensure that
the interests of every Zimbabwean are served,"
said the letter.
The move by Zinasu is likely to add a new dimension to
the MDC circus. The
students body is among civic bodies that joined the
labour movement to form
the MDC. Members of the opposition like anti-Senate
spokesperson, Nelson
Chamisa, the late Learnmore Jongwe, Tendai Biti, among
others were formers
student activists.
Zimbabwe Standard
(Harare)
December 24, 2005
Posted to the web December 31,
2005
Nqobani Ndlovu
Bulawayo
The Zanu-PF Central Committee
wants the political grant it receives from the
government to be reviewed
upwards despite having secured $3.4 billion from
taxpayers this
year.
The ruling party says it feels betrayed by its members who failed
to
contribute towards a targeted $26.4 billion during 2005. Only $2.5
billion
was raised from the sale of membership cards and
subscriptions.
According to a Central Committee report tabled at the
recent Annual National
Conference held in Esigodini, the ruling party
received $3.380 billion this
year from State coffers, compared to $306
million the previous year.Under
the Political Parties Finance Act, parties
that retain a specific number of
parliamentary representatives are entitled
to government grants. The ruling
party and opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) have been the
beneficiaries under provisions of the
Act.The Central Committee report in
possession of The Standard reveals that
the ruling party had a staggering
$100 billion budget this year for running
its day-to-day activities and
hosting various political party events.The
report reads in part: "The party
received a government grant which is
accessed through the Political Parties
(Finances) Act. This year alone, the
party received its portion of $3.380
billion while in 2004 the party was
allocated $306 million. Given the
inflationary spiral experienced, it is
recommended that the government
consider increasing its grant."The
recommendation, likely to be effected
early next year, comes at a time when
the party has not even exhausted half
of the grant, according to the Central
Committee report. The report says
that only $47 billion had been used for
various activities. It does not
include the billions gobbled up by the
recent Zanu PF annual people's
conference.The report shows that Zanu PF
members who are not buying
membership cards or paying subscription fees
continue to dishearten the
Central Committee.According to the report,
hundreds of party members have
this year alone deprived the party of close
to $24 billion in subscription
fees.The Central Committee report reveals
that Zanu PF was looking at
realising $26.4 billion had all the cards been
bought and subscriptions paid
by 30 October. Reads part of the report:
"Despite the increases in the
revenue, the (party finance) department is
disheartened by the rates at
which membership cards are selling since the
launch in October."The total
revenue received from all stands at $2.5
billion out of the expected $26.4
billion had all cards been bought and
fully subscribed for by 30 October
2005."Contacted for comment, David
Karimanzira, the party's Secretary for
Finance, refused to comment saying
the report was confidential and not for
public consumption."I can't comment
on that. It is a confidential document
and its contents are not for public
consumption," Karimanzira said.
National University of Science and
Technology (NUST) economist, Oscar
Chiwira said the demands for a review of
the grant by Zanu PF were draining
government coffers.
Chiwira said:
"For Zanu PF to be asking for money when we are advocating for
fiscal
discipline does not help the economy at all. The money will be used
for
consumption and political expenditure at the expense of capital
expenditure.
There are many priority sectors that need more money than
political
parties."
Economic commentator, Eric Bloch said: "It is a cost to the
fiscus. Of
course, the law allows political parties to get grants in
proportion to
their members in Parliament but it is all a cost to
expenditure that is paid
by taxpayers' money."
Zimbabwe
Standard (Harare)
December 24, 2005
Posted to the web December 31,
2005
Gibbs Dube
Bulawayo
A war veteran has slammed the
government for failing to provide agricultural
inputs to resettled farmers
in occupied farms in Chief Sigola's area saying
the land reforms were not
being properly implemented, resulting in reduced
food production in
Zimbabwe.
The ex-Zipra combatant, John Hungwe-Magwaza - representing more
than 40
families who forcibly occupied the once productive Spring and Alder
farms,
about 22 kilometres north-east of Bulawayo - said the government had
made
empty promises during the past five years leading to low crop
production in
the area.
"We have no agricultural implements to till
the land and to make matters
worse we have not yet received seed maize to
start planting our crops. It is
pathetic that some regions like Mashonaland
West are getting all the inputs
while we are failing to access the same
state facilities," said
Hungwe-Magwaza.
He said that when they
occupied the two farms they believed that it was a
genuine cause meant to
empower the less privileged black majority but they
were concerned that they
were unable to access agricultural inputs for crop
production and livestock
rearing.
"This is the major reason why food stocks have diminished. We
have failed to
till the land because of the government's empty promises on
agricultural
inputs," he said.
Hungwe-Magwaza, who stays at the
Spring Farm House after forcing the then
white owner to leave in 2000, said
occupants of the two farms were surprised
that tractors from the District
Development Fund (DDF) allocated to them had
not materialised.
He
said although lack of fuel could have contributed to the shortage of
draught
power, the government should have "at least hired tractors from
various
companies in and around Bulawayo for us to till the land".
He noted that
most settlers at the two farms were no longer engaged in
animal and crop
production, opting to venture into gold panning and brewing
illicit beer in
order to make ends meet.
His attack on the government comes at a time
when the ruling party recently
admitted at its annual conference held in
Esigodini that farmers are
struggling to access agricultural inputs
resulting in lack of meaningful
production on occupied farms.
A
detailed report on Land and Land Reform presented at the conference by
President Robert Mugabe indicates that the land reform programme had been
crippled by lack of agricultural inputs, multiple farm ownership, the
depletion of natural resources on occupied farms and rampant vandalism of
farm implements by new farmers.
The land audit report - conducted on
1 174 farms by the Ministry of Lands,
Land Reform and Resettlement - raised
questions about the authenticity of
the land reform programme which started
in 2000 and was spearheaded by war
veterans and supporters of the ruling
party.
Zim Daily
Saturday, December 31 2005 @ 12:04 AM GMT
Contributed by:
Reporter
Troubled MDC rival faction headed by suspended vice
president
Gibson Sibanda is under serious threats of a bleak future. This
comes after
two officials elected to represent the faction in the
forthcoming national
party congress declined the posts. Ian Kay who was
elected chairman for
Mashonaland East province and Chrisper Musoni who was
chosen to be the
tresurer in Masvingo province all rebuffed the posts
confirming their
support and allegiance to party president Morgan
Tsvangirai.The 'rebel'
faction embarked on a parallel provincial congress
elections countrywide in
a bid to counter the Morgan Tsvangirai-led
crusade.
Kay said he is totally against the rebel faction as
he is behind
Morgan Tsvangirai. Kay, who was brutally assaulted by Zanu PF
supporters a
couple of years ago at his Marondera Farm took a swipe at the
Gibson
Sibanda-led faction. "I was not aware of the elections and i am not
part of
this group, i am solely behind President Tsvangirai until democracy
is
fulfilled in Zimbabwe", said Kay
Spokesperson of the
faction, Paul Themba Nyathi mantained that
they will replace the two with
other interested individuals. On the other
hand MDC interim spokesperson
scoffed at the rival faction's undemocratic
tendency of electing official
without thier consent. Chamisa described the
faction as composed of people
willingly committing political suicide. "This
is a bundle of people
determined to commit political suicide, we have done
everything to knock
sense in their heads but obviously you can not overpower
the determination
of someone bent on taking one's life", said Chamisa.
Chamisa
hinted that they are prepared to quench any form of
violent intransigence by
the rival faction come February 2006.The rival
faction has shown
determination to counter MDC party procedures and
protocol.
Zim Daily
Saturday,
December 31 2005 @ 12:05 AM GMT
Contributed by:
correspondent
Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco) is
teetering on the
brink of collapse with thousands of people who depend on it
hoping that the
giant Redcliff steel-maker does not collapse and lead to the
creation of yet
another ghost town. Fears gripping communities around Zisco
and employees of
one of Africa's largest steel producers are basically an
extension of harsh
experiences endured in other smaller settlements in
recent times. Several
mining towns around the country, which were a hive of
social and economic
activity in the 1970s and 1980s, have turned into ghost
towns following
widespread closures. In 1994, the country's only tin mine,
Kamativi,
collapsed. Seven hundred workers and their 6 000 plus dependents
were
devastated by the closure.
A few years later,
Mhangura Copper Mines and Alaska Mines in
Mashonaland West also suffered the
same fate, creating ghost towns, whose
future is still being debated. Zisco
is simply the lifeblood of the small
Midlands town of Redcliff and its
demise would jeopardise the future of its
6 000 workers, their families and
many downstream industries.
It would also mean that the
payment of rates to the Redcliff
town council would no longer be certain.
Caught in between would be the
fiscus (the Government's purse), which will
lose out on revenue. The economy
at large though would also lose out through
lost production. But unlike
Alaska and MCM, whose demise was a result of the
exhaustion of mineral
deposits, Zisco could cough to a halt because of
failure to make decisions
on time. Analysts say Zisco is edging towards
collapse because of a backlog
of decisions that were not executed for no
apparent reason. A record 18
technical studies, with detailed
recommendations, were done on Zisco and yet
very little has been done. In
some cases, other studies were merely to
verify the validity of findings
made by previous decision makers.
Among the studies carried
on Zisco is the much-publicised Voest
Alpine Study of 1982; the British
Steel Study of 1984; the Booz Alen-USA
Market Study of 1986; the Chinese
Study CICC, carried out between 1989 and
1990. In 1985, the British Steel
Consultants were recalled to revisit a
study they had conducted ten years
back. But as decision makers hesitated,
the cost of rectifying the situation
at Zisco has shot through the roof. At
the same time, problems besetting the
company have become more acute.
Zisco is now saddled with
debts exceeding US$30 million, with
its major creditors being the National
Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), Wankie
Colliery Company (WCC), the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) and
the Jewel Bank, formerly the
Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe Limited. It is
estimated that US$250 million
would be required to put Zisco back on its
rails. Zisco is capable of
earning US$105 million every year if it receives
sufficient capital
injection. This is enough to cover Zimbabwe's fuel
requirement for three
months considering that the country needs US$40
million to cover its monthly
fuel needs.
Experts said the fact that studies are piling up
in Zisco's
cupboards indicates that nobody is prepared to take
responsibility in case
the revival of the company goes wrong. Probably the
only notable achievement
in reversing the decline at Zisco came in 1996 when
Dr Nathan Shamuyarira
was appointed Minister of Industry and Commerce. The
veteran politician
scoffed at attempts to institute further studies. Dr
Shamuyarira and
management at Zisco proceeded to repair Ripple Creek Mine
and the Sinter
Plant, and embarked on the rehabilitation of Blast Furnace
Number 4. Various
schools of thought have now emerged on the way forward
with regard to the
deteriorating situation at Zisco.
There are others who believe the current top management and
board should be
relieved of their duties. This view is shared by a
Parliamentary committee
established to look at the situation at the
parastatal. Zimbabwe Federation
of Trade Unions vice-president Joseph
Chinotimba recently made remarks that
seem to support observations made by
the Parliamentary committee. Chinotimba
told guest at a Zanu-PF conference
held recently that the ratio of
management to staff was almost equal. In
other words, there is need to trim
management to acceptable levels. The
committee was surprised by the
management's decision to buy a mill for US$3
million against the backdrop of
serious financial problems at Zisco.
Management at Zisco has
also failed to remit medical aid
contributions mounting to $120 million,
exposing the health status of the
workforce. A group of workers key to the
survival of Zisco has also left the
company. For example, 20 employees
trained in China to operate Blast Furnace
No 4 have already left. The
credibility of the report was however, dealt a
eavy blow after some members
of the committee distanced themselves from the
document. This was followed
by accusations that some individuals were up to
destroying Zisco for selfish
gains and parceling out its units to their
cronies.
A
spokesperson for Zisco said dismissing management and the
board would worsen
problems at the company. Zisco can only recover if more
money is poured into
the rehabilitation of the giant steelworks. There is a
solution to Zisco's
problems and this must start with a holistic approach to
the issues
involved. "A piece meal approach to Zisco's problems will not be
effective.
First the rehabilitation programme must be completed.
"This
will put the company's operations into new and current
technology that will
allow for improved productivity, improved product
quality, reduction of
production costs and open new export market with
competitive value added
products," he said. He also called for the
authorities to relieve Zisco of
its debt so that it can start to operate on
a clean slate. But this could
prove to be a tall order to the Government,
which is the controlling
shareholder in Zisco, given the pressing and
immediate task of financing the
land reform and importation of maize to
avert starvation. But that Zisco
needs to source offshore funding to limit
its exposure to punitive interest
rates prevailing locally cannot be over
emphasised. Zisco uses electricity
from ZESA and heavily relies on NRZ for
the distribution of its products and
raw materials. The company is also
dependent on WCC for coal and Sables for
chemicals. The bulk of these
companies are also wobbling from a number of
problems.
New Zimbabwe
By
Staff Reporter
Last updated: 12/31/2005 07:13:25
SENIOR officials of
Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) say they
have officially
expelled party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
Also expelled is MDC national
chairman Isaac Matongo, according to a
statement issued by the party's
disciplinary committee chairman, Gibson
Sibanda.
MDC deputy secretary
general, Gift Chimanikire, says the decision to expel
the two was reached at
a disciplinary committee meeting on December 20.
Chimanikire said:
"Having found both of them guilty of the charges, the
committee felt it had
to make a decision based on principle and not on
convenience and decided
that expulsion would meet the justice of the
offences."
Tsvangirai
and senior officials - including Chimanikire and MDC secretary
general
Welshman Ncube - fell out earlier this year, disagreeing if the
party should
contest the November senate polls.
Tsvangirai wanted a boycott, others
felt the MDC should stand by its
internal vote in favour of
participation.
Tsvangirai was suspended from the party as a result of the
disagreement.
However, Tsvangirai's group retaliated by claiming to have
suspended Ncube,
Sibanda, Chimanikire and other senior officials who have
clashed with the
MDC leader.
Chimanikire said Tsvangirai had ignored
the national council vote for
participation in the polls, and had publicly
denigrated other MDC officials.
Chimanikire added Tsvangirai had also
re-instated party youths suspected of
violent behaviour.
The Herald (Harare)
December 31,
2005
Posted to the web December 31, 2005
Patience
Nyangove
Harare
THE once beautiful and well-maintained recreational
parks in Harare have
lost their lustre and allure due to neglect.
Not
only have they become an eyesore, but several have been turned into
havens
for thieves and other undesirable elements in society.
The Harare
Gardens, situated in the city's central business district, was
once a park
renowned for its beauty, with flowers blossoming all year round.
It was
one splendid spot, where people from different walks of life would go
and
have a picnic, get wedding pictures taken, or even take a nap.
Couples
arm in arm would take a walk in the garden, admiring the
breathtaking
scenery, while inhaling the sweet scent of flowers.
However, what remains
of this once beautiful scenario is nothing but a gray
picture, leaving no
trace of the lavish lawns and evergreen that used to
occupy the big chunk of
the park.
One cannot help but take note of the flowerbeds that are
yearning for
attention, while dried or overgrown shrubs are just but one of
the many
features pointing to years of neglect.
Some of the
flowerbeds can no longer be considered as such, as they are no
longer any
flowers planted in them.
Litter is everywhere for all to
see.
Because of its unpleasant state, many people now shun
it.
"The only time I get to be in the park is when I pass through it on
my way
to and from work but besides that I never go anyway near
it.
"The problem is it's dirty, there is litter everywhere, conmen and
thieves
prowl the park night and day.
"To make matters worse they are
no lights when it is dark and it's very
dangerous and the toilets are so
filthy," complained Ms Lisa Tauya from the
Avenues.
Greenwood Park is
also another recreational park right in the middle of
Harare that has also
lost its glimmer because of lack of proper maintenance.
Once a haven for
kids from different walks of town, who under the watchful
eye of their
parents would hop from one swing to the other, the park is
nothing more than
a place to keep a few trees, fenced off from the public.
A survey carried
out by The Herald revealed a shocking trend where
recreational parks in
high-density suburbs are less kept and yearning for
attention compared to
those in low-density suburbs or in the central
business district
area.
Residents who live in the vicinity have now turned most of the
parks into
maize or sweet potato fields.
A visit to some of the parks
in the high-density suburbs revealed that the
recreational parks had been
demarcated into small "plots" measuring several
square metres, while others
are slowly turning into small jungles in the
middle of the
suburbs.
In areas like Glen View and Budiriro, among the areas where the
city council
has gone for months without collecting garbage, residents have
since turned
them into dumping sites.
Residents have either dug large
pits in the parks, throwing the refuse
anywhere they deem
fit.
Besides being a monstrosity, the pits also pose a deadly hazard to
children
who frequent these supposed recreational facilities.
Old
rusty shells of vehicles are also becoming synonymous with the parks,
once
revered for their beauty.
One park in Kuwadzana has even been turned into
a flea market.
The park no longer has anything to show that it was once a
park, endowed
with flowers of all kinds.
All what remains of the park
that a couple of years ago used to be the
centre of attraction in the
suburb, are untrimmed shrubs, tall grass that
has gone for ages without
being cut -- all unlikely characteristics of a
recreational
park.
Another sad development is people of loose morals and questionable
integrity
are actually using the parks to conduct their illicit acts, just a
stone
throw away from the suburb.
One resident expressed her disgust
at the state of the recreational parks
and accused the Harare City Council
of failing to properly manage the city.
"Although everyone appreciates
that we are all going through a tough time,
the city has to offer quality
services.
"We can not even get water, or rubbish collected.
"For
years, they have really showed total disregard for the ratepayers. The
officials can not give someone a directive to just maintain a park, yet they
are people employed to do that
"Just look at it, condoms are
everywhere and you can not even bring your
children here to play, it is now
an eyesore and a health hazard," said Mrs
Maureen Gatsi from Glen
View.
Most of the infrastructure in the parks has also been vandalised.
Harare
City Council spokesperson Mr Leslie Gwindi said the council recently
created
a facility to ensure that parks in the city are
maintained.
"We are working on a budget for the maintenance of the city
parks. We will
carry out raids to remove those who have turned these parks
into flea
markets and we will not hesitate to prosecute them," he
said.
Despite the deterioration of most city parks, there is one park in
the
"Sunshine City" that proudly stands above the rest. The Africa Unity
Square
has managed over the years to retain its lustre and allure, thanks to
its
part adoption by Meikles Hotel.
Only two weeks ago, the hotel
planted 90 bougainvillaea trees in the park,
to the section adjacent to the
hotel.
As part of its efforts to complement the hotel's initiative the
City of
Harare quickly moved in and fixed a fountain, in the park that had
not been
working for years.
One cannot help but marvel at the
transformation the park is going through
despite years of neglect and abuse
that it went through.
The Herald
(Harare)
December 31, 2005
Posted to the web December 31,
2005
Ruth Butaumocho And Martin Kadzere
Harare
TRADE unions
want salaries automatically adjusted against inflation to
ensure the
purchasing power of workers remains stable.
The Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions (ZCTU) has formally proposed to the
Tripartite Negotiating
Forum that salaries should be automatically adjusted
whenever the consumer
price index rises.
Collective bargaining would then revert to seeking
real increases, improving
productivity and standards of living and adjusting
indexing to each sector,
rather than trying to catch up with the rising cost
of living.
ZCTU president Mr Lovemore Matombo said yesterday that salary
indexing was
the best way to stabilise workers' standards of
living.
"Under normal circumstances, increases in inflation and prices
should be
self-adjustable. Salaries should be automatically adjusted to
price
increases rather than wait for collective bargaining," he
said.
Collective bargaining should only come up in strategic issues,
where, for
instance, sectoral needs have to be addressed.
Mr Matombo
said it was feasible to implement salary indexing after having
taken aboard
several measures, among them stabilising the economy.
Some Zimbabweans
already have their income automatically adjusted to the
cost of
living.
Many professionals -- among them lawyers, accountants and doctors
-- are
already in this group along with those who run their own
businesses.
Employers in a few sectors of the economy -- notably
financial and
banking -- are now reviewing salaries of their workers in line
with
inflation.
But most salaried employees and wage earners are not
so fortunate, even
where they have been given regular quarterly
increases.
These have this year generally been below inflation, resulting
in a
significant erosion of their purchasing power.
Civil servants,
pensioners and general industrial workers are the worst
affected as budgets
drawn up late last year at a time of decreasing monthly
inflation have been
overtaken by events.
Large-scale employers generally find it harder to be
flexible while
employers of smaller numbers find it easier to adjust
budgets.
The year 2005 has been particularly bad for many because, unlike
2004 when
monthly inflation was fairly stable and predictable, prices have
been rising
too frequently and haphazardly for much of this year.
The
end result has seen the basket of essentials listed by the Consumer
Council
of Zimbabwe rising dramatically this year by almost 10-fold.
The general
cost of living, as tracked by the Central Statistical Office,
has also seen
significant increases, rising more than six times between the
end of
November last year and the end of November this year.
The consumer basket
of the consumer council for a family of six this month
hit $16,6 million, an
almost 10-fold rise this year.
The basket cost $1,7 million in
January.
Some have blamed this on profiteering manufacturers, importers
and
retailers. But most in these sectors operate on fixed percentage
mark-ups
and for most items there is enough competition to break any attempt
at
profiteering price-fixing.
Where it is possible to form a
price-fixing ring, or where an item is in
very short supply and profiteering
could be tempting, regulatory authorities
are needed.
Zimbabwe
already has a Monopolies Commission and is moving towards a Prices
and
Incomes Commission that would ensure fair trade.
A Harare economist, who
cannot be named for professional reasons, said: "A
regulatory board like the
proposed Prices and Incomes Commission would be
able to monitor the
production costs incurred by manufacturers and come up
with an acceptable
profit margin."
On the consumer's side, the economist said the commission
should ensure
employees' salaries are reviewed in line with inflation so
that every worker
would afford to buy basic commodities.
Progressive
Teachers' Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Mr Raymond
Majongwe called on
the Government, labour and industry to come together and
find a lasting
solution to the issue of salaries and pricing.
"As teachers, we feel
there is a need to regularise all economic tenets that
help us come out with
sustainable salaries for workers in the country.
"If most goods are
produced in the country, what would be the rationale for
prices that are
being quoted by manufacturers? It is, therefore, the duty of
the Government
to ensure they protect the vulnerable in the country," he
said.
All
things being equal, Mr Majongwe said, the country ought to consider
implementing salary indexing to give every worker parity purchasing
power.
There are three main ways of indexing, or partially indexing,
salaries and
wages.
The classic way is to use the cost of living
index. A 30 percent increase in
the cost of living in one month sees
salaries automatically rise 30 percent
to cope.
A second way, popular
in some professions in Zimbabwe, is to create a
virtual salary in United
States dollars and translate this into Zimbabwean
dollars at the prevailing
exchange rate on payday to give the real salary.
A third way, which
factors in both productivity and inflation, is to
maintain staff costs of a
business as a fixed percentage of total costs.
That is, if a business
traditionally pays 25 percent of its costs as staff
costs, then as the cost
of other inputs rises salaries rise by the same
percentage.
In the
first two methods of indexing, purchasing power remains roughly
stable
regardless of inflation and regardless of whether a business is
growing or
declining.
Loosely translated, if the indexing purchasing power remains
stable
regardless of inflation, a worker whose salary is indexed would still
be
able to afford to buy a loaf of bread even if it goes up to $1
million.
In the third way, salaries will rise faster than inflation if
the business
grows without extra staff, that is if productivity increases,
but pay will
rise slower than inflation if the business is declining without
any staff
made redundant.
Pure indexing is considered, in classical
economics, as potentially
inflationary as it removes all incentives to bring
inflation down and leaves
all economic fundamentals -- some of which create
inflation -- unaltered.
It is also seen as fixing salary differentials
between different groups of
workers and skills, even if changing economic
conditions mean that holders
of some skills should receive bigger or smaller
slices of the cake.
Others argue that since in most businesses staff
costs are not the highest
single cost, fairness demands that they be made
neutral in the battle
against inflation, that is they should match inflation
but should not exceed
inflation.
In Zimbabwe, staff costs are not the
largest item in business. Inputs, goods
or raw materials easily dominate
most companies' cost lists.
One example of a business that has a near
monopoly and makes profits shows
that other inputs -- not staff costs -- are
the principal cause of rising
prices.
Dairibord chief executive and
past president of the Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries Mr Anthony
Mandiwanza gave a breakdown of his business
yesterday.
To produce 500
millilitres of milk, Mr Mandiwanza said, 52 percent of the
total costs is
for raw materials, 21 percent for packaging while 20 percent
goes towards
labour.
What it means is the milk producer would be getting a profit
margin of less
than 10 percent.
"Several manufacturers, particularly
those who produce basic commodities,
have been surviving by increasing the
product line to cover up losses.
"In our case, we are producing products
such as ice creams and juices to
cover up for the minimum returns we are
getting from milk," Mr Mandiwanza
said.
Comment from The Monitor (Uganda), 31 December
Omar D.
Kalinge-Nnyago
Kampala - Staying next door at the time, I keenly
followed the opening days
of Zimbabwe's opposition leader's trial. On 3rd
February 2003, Movement for
Democratic Change, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai,
party Secretary General
Welshman Ncube and shadow Minister for agriculture
in the MDC, Renson Gasela
were charged with conspiring to murder President
Robert Mugabe, a charge
that carried a maximum sentence of death. According
to the prosecution, the
trio had contracted a Canadian company Dickens and
Madson, to assassinate
Mugabe ahead of the 2002 presidential elections.
Dickens and Madson was
headed by a former Israeli secret agent, Ari
Ben-Menashe. The trio denied
the charge. Ari insisted that his company had
been hired and had received $
100,000 as deposit from the accused, on the
$500,000 contract to kill
Mugabe. It was not clear whether the company was
in the business of killing
presidents.
Morgan and his friends
said they had actually paid the said amount to the
company, yes, but for
public relations work. As part of his evidence,
Ben-Menashe produced clearly
audible and visible video recordings in court,
of a series of meetings he
had held with the accused in London and Montreal.
He said the CIA and
Britain's MI6 was involved, and had promised Sterling
pounds 6.5 million to
pay for Mugabe's assassination. He added that on
occasions, the accused were
escorted to the meetings by a CIA officer called
Edward Simms. The US
embassy in Harare declined to comment on the
implication of the CIA in the
alleged assassination plot, citing standard
procedure of not commenting on
intelligence matters. Several months later,
Morgan and his friends were
acquitted of the charges. Morgan is a free man
now, but not before losing
his party's support, which is now split into two
factions.
The
Zimbabwe opposition leaders' case sounded every bit sophisticated and
could
not ordinarily be dismissed as a fabrication. Western diplomats took a
lot
of interest in it. The detail was intricate. The evidence was
overwhelming.
Video recordings can be powerful evidence. Everyone waited. I
for one knew
Morgan was dead! As the days went by and the trial unfolded, it
became clear
that the charges were fabricated, a high tech lynching project
where an
opposition leader in search of international attention had fallen
into a
trap. He had thought he was procuring PR services. Technology turned
it into
an assassination plot.
The moral of the story is that it is very
dangerous to be an opposition
politician in a reluctant democracy. And that
it is possible for the state
to fabricate the most believable evidence
against an accused, strong enough
to alienate even your own closest friends
and supporters. In fact, except
the first day of their trial which attracted
a few hundred MDC supporters,
subsequent appearances gradually turned into
non-events, leaving the trio
isolated. Security was even later reduced to
normal deployment levels at the
high court. Even without the evidence,
public interest does wane, as a trial
drags on. The timing of the trial
coincided with the Cricket World Cup that
was taking place in Zim. MDC's
strategists had called Mugabe silly, for
choosing the 'wrong' date. They
thought the moment was a godsend. The plan
was that Morgan's trial would
spark off mass demonstrations that would
disrupt the World Cup, thus
embarrassing Mugabe. No demonstrations took
place. Instead it was MDC which
lost face. The World Cup passed off without
incident.
Like
Museveni who had flown out of the country before Besigye's arrest,
Robert
Mugabe flew to Addis Ababa for an African Union meeting as the trial
opened.
Mugabe looked fully in charge. Indeed he was, until today. The MDC
was
demoralised, it nearly crashed. The other moral here is that the so
called
masses are very hard to harness and galvanise. Therefore making
strategies
on their basis can be fatal. They should never be taken for
granted. As they
are ordinary people struggling to have ends meet on a daily
basis, it is
difficult to keep them from work for days on end. Mass action
can only be
successful if planned long in advance. Trade unions can spend
several months
saving money for a planned sit down, so that they can hold
out for some
time, before hunger and other needs strike their striking
workers families.
Spontaneous demonstrations die out as fast as they were
ignited.
Besigye's riots didn't go into the third day. By the
fourth day, it was life
as usual. There is now less interest in his court
appearances from the
public. Christmas celebrations went on normally. Apart
from his family and a
few party diehards, no one really remembered Dr
Besigye's plight. Mass
action is also sustainable if an event concerns the
masses directly, like
food or fuel shortages, job losses and the like. An
opposition leader being
harassed is a remote concern. Mugabe's intention to
charge Tsvangirai, Ncube
and Gasela was not to hang them. It was to
disorganise, demoralise and
divide their party. He just achieved it after
two long years. A section of
MDC has defied Morgan and ignored his call for
a boycott of elections. This
month, an MDC delegation travelled to South
Africa to meet Thabo Mbeki.
Tsvangarai was not one of them. Now humbled and
confused, I would not be
surprised if he struck a deal with Mugabe one of
these days. Moses Ali spent
some time at the government prison. Today, he is
one of the most decorated
military officers in Uganda, a cabinet minister
and one of Museveni's vice
presidents in the NRM. Are there any lessons
here? Have a thoughtful new
year, folks.