zimbabwejournalists.com
By Taurai Nyasha
HARARE - THE
Save Zimbabwe Campaign, an outfit formed following the
Save Zimbabwe
Convention held in July in Harare, has attacked the Zanu PF
government
saying it has turned itself into an enemy of the people and no
longer
deserved the respect of the generality of the populace.
In a press
statement meant to introduce the organisation to the
public, the Save
Zimbabwe Campaign said a leadership that condoned the
assault, torture and
harassment of unarmed men and women peacefully
expressing bread and butter
issues affecting them did not deserve any
respect.
"The Save
Zimbabwe Campaign regrets that the use of torture, banned
and frowned upon
by both local and international law, is condoned by the
head of state,
supposedly the custodian of Zimbabwe," read the statement.
"His statements
put in serious doubt his posturing at the National Day of
prayer this year
where he called for peace and dialogue and indeed dampens
any efforts
towards a negotiated settlement of the Zimbabwean crisis."
The
organisation, which is chaired by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance
and boasts
the membership of political parties such as the Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) and 34 other civil society groups, says it was
appalled by
recent statements in which President Mugabe condoned the
beatings of labour
leaders during a protest over workers' poor wages.
"We condemn the
growing culture of impunity by the police force and
other security agents in
dealing with peaceful expressions of discontent
with the manner in which
Zimbabwe is being governed," the group said. "We
reiterate that the Zimbabwe
constitution, even in its present flawed state,
protects freedom of
expression and association. We further condemn the use
of repressive laws
such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) to ban
and restrict free
expression."
The increasing violent approach by security agents to
deal with
peaceful expressions of discontent with the prevailing economic
situation is
not only deplorable but shows insensitivity to people's
concerns, the
organisation said.
The Save Zimbabwe Campaign
demanded that Zimbabwe investigates and
prosecutes all those involved in the
torture of ZCTU and NCA members at
subsequent protests in solidarity with
the union leaders.
"No amount of violence against innocent
civilians can resolve Zimbabwe
economic and political problems and the
exercise of power through violence
is in fact a clear sign of failure and
fear." The campaign also questions
Mugabe's sincerity in setting up a human
rights commission "in an
environment where torture is celebrated by the head
of state as a means of
dealing with genuine social concerns".
zimbabwejournalists.com
By Wellington Chibhanguza
THE
resolution to the Zimbabwean issue has always been reliant on a
collective
effort between Zimbabweans and the region "SADC".
Given the recent
political and economic upheaval fuelled by ZANU (PF)
cocktail of African
culture and Politics. Comprising a deadly mixture of
ingredients elitism,
brutality, individualism, superiority complexes and
corruption.
One is to question the regions reluctance in pushing for a resolution
to the
Zimbabwean crisis. But forced to highlight a catalogue of missed
opportunities to address the issue head on.
At the recent SADC
Summit held in Maseru, Lesotho, the chairman,
Lesotho Prime Minister
Pakalitha Mosisili, said, "The situation in that
country is of concern. We
have been engaged with the leadership of Zimbabwe
on how best we can recover
the economic viability of that country. (But)
there has been progress,"
Please note the key word here being progress.
Signalling that the
regions attitude is still one being played on the
colonial card by Mugabe.
Intern the supposed illegal travel sanctions by the
international community
are crippling the economy right? Hence the regions
heads of states position
on Zimbabwean crisis is stagnant, with astonishing
support for Mugabe's,
outstanding record of the struggle against colonialism
and minority settler
rule.
It's somehow the norm amongst the African leaders not to
acknowledge
the Zim crisis as one of bad governance by one true liberation
hero. Due to
Looming fears of being labelled puppets of the west, resulting
in them
forming a legion of support for Mugabe.
Referring back
to the questions of reluctance, one is quick to point
out SADC's flaunting
of the regions economic, social and political growth.
Undoubtedly some of
the SADC's member states have be lavishing in economic
growth at the expense
of Zimbabwe's migrant skilled and labour workforce not
mentioning the vital
investment organs that flooded the region from
Zimbabwe.
Is
SADC's solidarity with the regime out of fear of Mugabe or is it
systematic
exploitation of Zimbabwe's economic and political meltdown.
"African to
African slavery" With Zimbabwe's highly educated and skilled
population at
grabs, the regions reluctance can be justified as "progress"
in the words of
Mr Pakalitha Mosisili.
Drawing to the general consensuses shared
amongst most young
Zimbabweans, that 'Our independence is meaningless unless
we can be totally
liberally and exercise our civil rights'. And the denial
of good governance
is a shamefully mockery to all those who died in the
struggle for a Free
Zimbabwe.
As for SADC's prosperity of
democracy within the region, its high time
the Political tide turns on the
Mugabe regime. There is a need of
transparency and immediate shift from the
"quite diplomacy" with Zimbabwe
and adopt an attitude that recognizes the
suffering being incurred by
millions of Zimbabweans and the negative impact
this has on the region.
The big question being how can we as
Africans move forward
economically, socially, political and most important
as a people, if we cant
uproot the evil unjust being done to our own people.
But it's important that
SADC uses its influence on the ever-isolated Mugabe
regime to push forward a
long overdue political resolution that has the
plight of Zimbabweans at
heart.
Zimbabwean crisis is collective
responsibility between Zimbabweans and
the region. Like how the region
played a pivotal role in the liberation
struggle "Chimurenga", South
Africa's Apartheid and the civil war in
Mozambique.
Wellington
Chibanguza is a founding member of Free-Zim Youth,UK.
zimbabwejournalists.com
Robert Mugabe
says police were right.
By a Correspondent
LONDON - The Human Rights Institute of the International Bar
Association
(IBA) has urged the United Nations and African Union to take
decisive and
immediate action to end impunity for serious violations of
international law
in Zimbabwe.
In a statement released today, the IBA says it was sad
to note
President Robert Mugabe's recent endorsement of the "unlawful
actions of the
Zimbabwe Republic Police against the leaders of the Zimbabwe
Congress of
Trade Unions".
Speaking in a rare interview with
the AP at the United Nations in New
York last week, Mugabe absolved his
police of any wrongdoing but blamed the
brutal beatings of the ZCTU
leadership on "one or two overzealous" officers.
The unionists were
severely assaulted on September 13 as they sought
to protests against the
plight of the Zimbabwean worker which they said
continues to worsen in light
of the rising cost of living as opposed to the
poor wages.
Barely five days after the AP interview, Mugabe told his staff in
Egypt over
dinner that the ZCTU leadership deserved the beatings because
they had not
listened to the police when they were asked to move. He blamed
"stupid"
journalists, some unnamed non-governmental organisations and
individuals of
being used by unionists seeking the attention of the British
Prime Minister
Tony Blair and U.S. President, George W. Bush.
Said Mugabe in the
statement that has invited worldwide condemnation:
"We cannot have a revolt
to the system. Vamwe vaakuchema kuti takarohwa, ehe
unodashurwa (others are
crying that we were beaten up, yes you would be
beaten up). When the police
say move, move. If you don't move, you invite
the police to use
force.'
In response, the IBA's Executive Director Mark Ellis said:
"Mugabe's
statements add to the weight of evidence that torture and other
serious
violations of international law are sanctioned at the highest level
in
Zimbabwe. This underscores the urgent need for international and regional
action to hold the Zimbabwean Government to account.'
"The
torture of the trade union activists is not an isolated incident,
but part
of a dangerous and illegal system of repression which constitutes
crimes
against humanity in international law. Decisive action is required
by both
the United Nations and the African Union to end impunity and
violence in
Zimbabwe.''
Fifteen Zimbabwean trade union leaders sustained
severe injuries
after they were assaulted on the day in question while at
least 30 were
arrested. They are set to appear in court on the 3rd of
October. Credible
reports from several local sources contend that the trade
union leaders were
brutally tortured.
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
27 September
2006
The Save Zimbabwe Campaign, a coalition of civic groups and and
political
parties in existence for about a month, said Wednesday it has
established a
steering committee of 34 civil society groups, opposition
parties and church
organizations.
A Save Zimbabwe spokesman said the
establishment of a collective
decision-making structure marked the true
start of action to force the
government of President Robert Mugabe to make
significant economic policy
and political changes.
A news conference
to unveil the structure brought together prominent
opposition figures
including Morgan Tsvangirai, founding president of the
divided Movement for
Democratic Change, Democratic Party President Wurayi
Zembe, representatives
of the National Constitutional Assembly and the
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition, as well as diplomats from Great Britain,
Sweden and Tanzania,
among other nations.
Reporter Patience Rusere asked key organizer
Jonathan Gokovah of the
Christian Alliance for more details on how the new
leadership structure will
work.
VOA
By Blessing Zulu and Loirdham Moyo
Washington
27 September
2006
A faith-based human rights organization, Zimbabwe Peace
Project, has accused
the ruling ZANU-PF party of politicizing distribution
of humanitarian aid in
the Eastern Highlands province of Manicaland. But the
government dismissed
the charge.
It found abuses by opposition
politicians, but to a much lesser degree.
The Peace Project makes the
charges in a new research report that accuses
officials of diverting scarce
grain and selling it on the parallel market or
across the border.
The
rights group said it has documented cases in which distribution of drugs
or
other assistance to people living with HIV-AIDS has been decided on the
basis of political affiliation. The organization said the orphans and widows
of Aids victims have also been denied food and medical
assistance.
The report estimated that 83% of the incidents of
discrimination could be
attributed to ruling party officials, while about 6%
were laid at the
doorstep of the opposition.
But ZANU-PF Harare
province spokesman William Nhara, also principal director
of public affairs
in the office of President Robert Mugabe, dismissed the
Peace Project as a
"bogus" organization which was serving Harare's western
critics.
For
a response from government to the charges, reporter Blessing Zulu of
VOA's
Studio 7 for Zimbabwe turned to Zimbabwean Anti-Corruption Minister
Paul
Mangwana, who is also the acting minister of information.
Crisis in
Zimbabwe Coalition Coordinator Jacob Mafume, also a human rights
lawyer,
said such discrimination would violate the African Charter on Human
Rights.
Elsewhere, 21 families in Gandai, a village in Manicaland's
Zimunya
district, said they have been excluded from a grain distribution
program for
political reasons.
The families, all supporters of the
political opposition, charge that they
have been left off a list of
beneficiaries of Grain Marketing Board
distributions at the instructions of
a ZANU-PF rural district councilor. The
families said they have drawn up a
complaint in the matter which they
planned to send to Manicaland governor
Tineyi Chigudu.
The Herald
By Victoria
Muringayi
AIR Zimbabwe is set to acquire a new fleet of airplanes as it
seeks to
reduce the high operating costs associated with flying an ageing
fleet.
Board chairman Mr Mike Bimha said the national airline was
spending a
fortune on fuel and maintaining the planes, and this was
negatively
impacting on its viability.
"We are acquiring the new
aeroplanes as part of our turnaround strategy to
recapitalise the
organisation as well as reducing operating costs on fuel
and maintenance of
the aeroplanes," said Mr Bimha.
Air Zimbabwe currently operates three
Boeing and three MA60 aircraft.
Mr Bimha could, however, not disclose the
amount involved or the number of
airplanes
Air Zimbabwe was planning
to buy although sources indicated that the planes
were likely to be sourced
from Russia.
"We are scouting for the aeroplanes from several suppliers
in the world so
that we get the appropriate aeroplanes.
"As for the
funds, we are looking for private financiers, Government and
other sources,"
added Mr Bimha.
In line with this development the airline is in the
process of reviewing its
routes to assess the viability and the potential of
the routes to grow.
Meanwhile, the national airline was working flat out
to stop the
haemorrhaging that has cost it billions of dollars in losses
over the years.
Currently, Air Zimbabwe is operating without a
substantive chief executive
and finance director. Captain Oscar Madombwe has
been acting CEO since
November last year when Dr Tendai Mahachi was sent on
forced leave.
Recent Press reports suggested Air Zimbabwe the board had
made an
appointment, but was now awaiting approval from the parent Ministry
of
Transport and Communications.
The Herald
Herald
Reporter
THE Zimbabwe National Water Authority has failed to solve
Harare's water
crisis and has now resorted to partial supply cuts to cope
with rocketing
demand arising from the prevailing hot and dry
weather.
City waterworks have been running at full throttle since the
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe paid off chemical suppliers 10 days ago, but Zinwa
has failed to
extend these plants since taking over bulk supplies from
Harare City Council
last year.
Harare's northern, eastern and
southern suburbs will face cuts on alternate
days if demand exceeds supply,
although the high-density western and
south-western suburbs, where most
people live, are not affected.
Zinwa yesterday published its schedule of
cuts that can apply when necessary
until the beginning of November when
rains usually start falling while
demand drops.
Without such a move,
the eastern and north-eastern suburbs go without almost
continuously while
everyone else has a normal supply.
The outer ring of suburbs has been
divided into two groups: the northern
suburbs in one; and the southern and
north-eastern in the other.
Northern suburbs include Mabelreign,
Marlborough, Belvedere, Milton Park,
Avondale, Mt Pleasant, Highlands,
Borrowdale, Philadelphia, Hogerty Hill and
Vainona.
The southern and
north-eastern suburbs are Hatfield, Waterfalls, Queensdale,
Cranborne,
Eastlea, Hillside, Braeside, Greendale, Arcadia, Chikurubi,
Mandara, Glen
Lorne, Chisipite and The Grange.
Northern suburbs will be cut at 7am on
days when the date is an even number,
with supplies resuming at 7am the
following day. Southern and north-eastern
suburbs will be cut at 7am on days
when the date is an odd number.
A Zinwa official said some
densely-populated areas would be spared.
"Some areas, especially
high-density suburbs, would not be affected by the
water rationing because
there are too many people living there so they
cannot be cut off," said the
official.
Zinwa said in a statement yesterday that treatment plants can
only produce
620 megalitres a day against a top demand of 850
megalitres.
This is the capacity of the plant they inherited from Harare
City Council.
Maintenance has been done but the treatment plants have not
been extended
despite the urgent need.
"The scenario shows that at
any given time, there is always an area or areas
without water. It is not
possible in this situation for all residents to
access water at the same
time," said Zinwa.
The authority said the water supply infrastructure in
the capital city was
now old and prone to breakdowns and that severely
affected production.
However, Zinwa said it was working on repairs and
maintenance of plant and
equipment to reduce disruptions.
"The high
levels of water losses in the reticulation networks are being
addressed by
both Zinwa and the local authorities, namely Harare,
Chitungwiza, Norton,
Ruwa and Epworth.
"All consumers are encouraged to repair all leaking
taps and toilet cisterns
within their properties. A lot of water is lost on
private properties," said
the authority.
It said any disruptions in
pumping caused by power cuts at major treatment
plants might affect the
water demand management timetable.
Last week, RBZ made available $215
million to Zinwa to provide clean water
to residents after most suburbs went
without supplies.
People's Daily
The Zimbabwean government's domestic debt rose to 509.6
million U.S.
dollars as of last week from 57.2 million dollars in January
this year
according to the latest statistics from the central
bank.
The rise was mainly on the back of increases in Treasury
bills, which
stood at 179.2 million dollars, and attracting interest of
323.2 million
dollars. The government stocks, on the other hand, remained
stable at 6.4
million dollars.
However, since the mid-term
monetary policy review, the authorities
are now keen to realign Zimbabwe's
domestic debt from short term to long
term as evidenced by the continued
issuing of long-term paper with tenors
varying between 180 days and 365
days, albeit at lower interest rates.
Government's domestic debt
climbed to 85.6 million dollars in May 2006
before rising further to 198
million dollars in July 2006.
This was on the back of the central
bank aggressive open market
operations to mop up the excess liquidity from
the money market.
Source: Xinhua
USA Today
Posted 9/27/2006 6:15 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House on Wednesday said Zimbabwe is
subject to
U.S. sanctions because of the government's failure to take steps
to halt
human trafficking.
The impact is expected to be minimal because of the
number of
sanctions already imposed against Zimbabwe in recent
years.
Zimbabwe was on a State Department list published in June of
12
countries alleged to have done little to stop human trafficking. It was
the
first time that Zimbabwe had been named as a serious offender.
U.S.-backed
pro-democracy and health programs will not be affected by the
White House
finding.
There was no announcement as to which
programs will be suspended.
Countries that appear on the list are
given a 90-day grace period to
take steps to combat trafficking and protect
victims in order to avoid
possible sanctions.
Of the 12
countries named, only Belize and Laos were deemed to have
made good progress
during the grace period and have been removed from the
"worst offender"
list.
The remaining countries have been on the list for a year or
more and
their status concerning sanctions remained unchanged.
They are Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Iran, Laos, North Korea, Sudan, Syria,
Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The most common offenses
against trafficking victims are sexual
coercion and forced
labor.
In an interview, Ambassador John Miller said the main U.S.
goal is not
to impose sanctions against countries indifferent to trafficking
but to
encourage them to take the issue seriously.
Miller, who
heads the trafficking office, said Belize has rescued 62
trafficking victims
in recent months and carried out a number of
prosecutions of
traffickers.
He credited Ecuador, Jamaica and United Arab Emirates
with a serious
effort to deal with the trafficking issue in recent
years.
He noted that 32 countries are ranked just below the worst
offender
category.
Miller said the United States and Saudi
Arabia plan official
consultations next month on a broad range of issues,
human trafficking among
them.
Worldwide Faith News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From
"NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Wed, 27 Sep
2006 17:10:45 -0500
Zimbabwe remains good place to live, speakers
say
Sep. 27, 2006
NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Linda
Green*
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Though beset with economic problems,
Zimbabwe is
still "a very pleasant place to live," say United Methodists
working with
Africa University there.
Because of the country's
economic condition, officials with the United
Methodist-related school are
often questioned about operating in the country
and about how and why the
university continues its mission there. Zimbabwe
has been described as a
place of desolation and strife, but people who live
there disagree with that
image.
"Certainly the economy is in shambles. There is no question about
that," Bob
Armstrong told the Africa University Advisory Development
Committee during
its Sept. 23 meeting in Nashville. "The thing that you do
find is that it
still is a very pleasant to live."
Armstrong said
someone from the United States viewing the country from a
Western
perspective might not view the quality of life favorably. "There are
no
security problems any greater than any place else. The problem is an
internal struggle that will have to be worked out by Zimbabwe for Zimbabwe,"
he said.
He referred to the country's 1,300 percent inflation rate,
which makes the
cost of living expensive for citizens, and noted that
international costs
are the same as they have been for a long time, he
added.
Armstrong, a native of Western Pennsylvania, has worked and
resided in
Zimbabwe since 1991 as an employee of the U.S. Agency for
International
Development. He became a faculty member at Africa University
in 1996 and
helped establish the school's agricultural business department.
He and his
wife, Sandy, have since retired and still live in Mutare, and
they will
rejoin the university faculty in January.
They and other
Zimbabweans provided the committee with glimpses of life in
the sub-Saharan
country.
"It is a beautiful place to live," Armstrong said. "...We
thoroughly enjoy
it. We could live practically anywhere we want it, but we
choose to spend
half of our time in Zimbabwe, so we think it is
fine."
Armstrong described Africa University as "a role model for what
potential
education could be, and it can offer a great example as (to) what
can be
done to do educational training in Africa. It is an institution that
should
be continued and perpetuated."
His esteem for the university
stems from a "love (of) Zimbabwe and Africa
and helping students. I believe
quite frankly that the educated of the world
have an obligation to those who
are not educated, and Africa University
gives me a nice medium in which to
do that kind of work."
The development committee, established in 1993,
works with the Africa
University Development Office in Nashville and
agencies of the United
Methodist Church to raise money for the school's
capital, endowment and
operational needs.
University
'untouched'
Committee member Grace Muradzikwa, chief executive of
NicozDiamond in
Harare, Zimbabwe, said Zimbabweans "appreciate the Africa
University
miracle. It is unarguably one of the finest universities in
Zimbabwe at the
moment," she said. "With all that is happening in Zimbabwe
... Africa
University remains very much untouched."
She told her
fellow committee members that she participates in business
throughout Africa
and is "always happy to get back home."
"Zimbabwe still remains one of
the best places to live despite the levels of
inflation," she said. "It is a
very safe place. It has warm people with very
warm hearts." She added that
the "infrastructure is still very good." "With
that in mind, I do not know
if there could have been a better place to
locate Africa University," she
said.
University Vice Chancellor Rukudzo Murapa said student enrollment
is being
kept at a little more than 1,200, and student housing remains a
challenge.
"Because of the current prevailing macroeconomic environment
and the runaway
inflation ... which is the highest in the world, and the
extremely
controlled exchange rate, it has become extremely costly to put up
new
buildings," Murapa said. "We are sort of at a standstill with respect to
that." The school has 1,229 students from 25 countries, including Benin,
Mali and South Africa.
Murapa noted that the university has kept
faculty and staff turnover at a
minimum, unlike other academic institutions
in the country.
In his report to the committee, James Salley, associate
vice chancellor of
institutional advancement, said the university is
"managing by the grace of
God." The university has "to do a juggling act" to
maintain all of its
operations, and it "continues to operate without
interference from the
government," he said.
In other actions, the
committee:
* Heard about a campaign to build housing for married
students. * Learned of
a Senior Servants program opening in the Faculty of
Management and
Administration. * Received an update on the clinical trials
for an AIDS
vaccine by St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and its approval
by the
Zimbabwean government. * Learned of proposed plans by the
university's U.S.
alumni association for special projects such as a soccer
game to benefit
Africa University. * Learned of an Oct. 9-13 celebration at
the school in
honor of Dag Hammarskjöld (pronounced HAM-mar-shold), who
assisted emerging
nations in Asia and Africa as the former secretary general
of the United
Nations, before dying in a 1961 plane crash in Zambia
(formally Northern
Rhodesia). * Learned about the United Methodist
Foundation from its
director, Byrd Bonner.
Before the committee
meeting, the Africa University Development Office
hosted the Sixth Annual
Richard E. "Dick" Reeves Legacy Society Recognition
Dinner. The dinner is
held in memory of a key supporter of the school who
died in 1999, and the
legacy society was created in 2001 to recognize, honor
and thank those who,
like the late United Methodist layman, reach beyond
their own lives to have
an impact on future generations at Africa
University. The 2006 society
honorees included four people who received
posthumous recognition, six who
were honored for deferred gifts to the
university, five for contributing to
the general endowment and two for
endowing scholarships.
The Jarvis
Brothers, a singing group from Orangeburg, S.C., performed a
concert for
Africa University's friends and supporters at the Sept. 22
dinner.
*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based
in Nashville,
Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470
or newsdesk@umcom.org.
********************
United
Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org
New Zimbabwe
By
Mutumwa D. Mawere
Last updated: 09/28/2006 10:23:19
AS THE British Prime
Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, Gordon
Brown, as a "remarkable servant to the UK", I could
not help but imagine if
the same could happen in Africa.
The contemporary African story is
intertwined with the de-colonisation
struggle and the post-colonial era
where former liberation movements in the
main were forced by circumstances
to transform themselves into political
governing institutions.
The
experience in Africa is checkered particularly in so far as democracy is
concerned. To date, no single inch of African soil is under colonial
occupation and notwithstanding the fact that most African countries are over
the age of twenty, the challenges on governance are all too
obvious.
Yes, Africans fought for sovereignty and won but the African
people in the
majority have been condemned by the very people that purported
to fight for
their liberation to a hostage status where the spectacle in
Manchester where
Blair could consent to bowing out without any blood is
unprecedented.
We have observed in country after country how risky
succession aspirations
can be in Africa. What is striking is that the
Bush/Blair strategy to remove
Saddam Hussein through the creative use of the
UN by creating the perception
that Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) did
exist in Iraq, and the world was
safer without Hussein, is no different from
strategies that have been
employed by African heads of state to eliminate
their would-be successors.
In the case of Africa, the trick used is that
the potential successor
possess Weapons of Mass Corruption (WMC) and the
country is better off
without the person and all too often the corruption,
like the weapons of
mass destruction, is never found. If Blair was an
African head of state it
is conceivable that he would have used the state
machinery to punish Brown
and any would-be successor. Equally, post-colonial
Africa would not have any
place for persons like Brown.
What the
Labour Party has experienced in the last few weeks is remarkable
and has no
parallel in many African countries. Can you imagine African
Ministers and
parliamentarians deserting the great leader on a succession
issue? We have
seen what has happened in South Africa and how the ANC has
responded. The
story is no different to what is taking place in Nigeria
where the incumbent
President and his Deputy are at each other's throat.
Again the corruption
undertone is the operative word and if corruption does
not eliminate the
aspirant, then the state machinery can be used to demonize
the person. The
culture of intolerance is prevalent in Africa and unless the
root causes
that generates an environment where the rights of other
citizens, even those
who choose to aspire for higher service, becomes
subservient to the great
leaders of Africa the prospect of our continent
rising up on the moral and
democracy ladder is remote.
We have leaders who see in themselves the
salvation of the country and
cannot imagine anything and anyone else doing
any better. It is also ironic
that most of our leaders display a profound
concern about global governance
and would want Bush and Blair to be
accountable to the world forgetting that
in the case of Blair, he was
elected by the British people and now his own
party (club) is of the view
that he must step down.
However, in as much as Blair may want to continue
in office, he is smart
enough to realize that his party is supreme and his
personal choices have to
give in to what is good for the party and the
country. We cannot say the
same about our political institutions in Africa
where the leader invariably
becomes the personification of the party and his
destiny becomes the destiny
of the party and the country.
How can
Africa overcome this challenge? What kind of conversations do
Africans need
to have to ensure that the people shall govern and leaders
remain their
servants? What kind of covenant does Africa need with its
leaders? What kind
of institutional and governance framework does Africa
need to discourage
monsters from taking the highest office and running away
with the baton and
disappearing into the wilderness? It is important that
Africa draws lessons
from the Blair/Thatcher experiences.
What is instructive is that the
Labour party, in as much as the ANC, was
able to assume ownership of the
future of the party and in the end they
triumphed. However, Brown did not
have to go through the ordeal that his
counterparts in South Africa and
Nigeria are going though. In debating this
issue we need not be blinded by
our own African experiences but we can be
comforted that even in Asia and
Latin America the dynamics of political
power and succession are not too
different.
Malaysia provides another stark reminder of what can be
possible if the
incumbent is determined to ensure that the people will be
denied to choose
their leaders when he leaves office. It is also interesting
to note that
corruption is the biggest raw material for eliminating
potential aspirants
from seeking the people's mandate to govern.
In
the case of Zambia and Malawi, corruption has been used to cripple the
former heads of state into a new prison where they have to spend most of the
retirement defending themselves from a litany of accusations that they
abused office.
Blair's statesmanship was obvious at his last Labour
Party conference as
Prime Minister, when he stopped short of endorsing his
finance minister.
Blair said of Brown: "He's a remarkable man, a remarkable
servant to this
country and that is the truth."
Blair underlined that
New Labour and its three unprecedented election
victories would not have
been achieved without Brown. It is my fervent hope
that a day will arrive in
Africa where a black Blair and a black Brown will
be at the same conference
paying tribute to each other and allowing the
people to decide their destiny
without fear or prejudice.
The machinations that took place prior to the
conference and the
personalities involved all serve to demonstrate that
democracy should not be
taken for granted. I am sure that even Blair was not
happy about Brown's
maneuvers but there was nothing he could do to Brown
other than praise him
for being loyal and patient.
Africa is still
the youngest continent in so far as democracy is concerned.
The experiences
of countries like the UK with a long tradition that has seen
citizens rise
from being subjects of other people to common citizenship
firmly grounded on
values and customs provides a useful standard of what we
should aspire for
and how democracy and tolerance can be constructively used
to advance the
cause of not just the leaders but the governed.
The importance of
institutions like the Labour Party and personalities like
Brown cannot be
overstated if Africa has to transform itself from a
continent dominated by
warlord type of leaders who will not countenance or
brook any opposition
from within their own ranks and from without choosing
to call names those
that dare challenge their authority.
Mutumwa Mawere's weekly column
appears on New Zimbabwe.com every Monday. You
can contact him at: mmawere@global.co.za
People's Daily
A senior Zimbabwean official said on
Wednesday that the southern
African country, which is reforming its economy
to reduce foreign control,
was eager to strengthen ties with China to
benefit from the Asian giant's
better trade and investment
terms.
The Zimbabwean government was shifting focus in its
relationship with
China from politics to economic cooperation, having
cemented the former
firmly since independence from Britain in 1980, Industry
and International
Trade Minister Obert Mpofu told Xinhua in an exclusive
interview.
"We have all-weather relations with China, both at the
economic and
political level, but it has become more imperative now for us
to grow our
economic ties for mutual benefit. This is particularly so given
that we are
reforming our economy, and China is doing the same," he
said.
He said the two countries had in recent years signed a series
of
protocols to enhance economic cooperation, in areas of infrastructure
development, tourism, trade and investment.
This had paved the
way for the Chinese government and private
companies to explore more
economic opportunities in this Southern African
country in various sectors,
Mpofu said.
"We have opened up the whole economic spectrum between
the two
countries, and each is going into areas where it has strength. In
the case
of China, this is almost in every sector of the economy and this is
mutually
beneficial for the two countries," he said.
He
highlighted huge Chinese investment in tobacco production and
processing,
and the agriculture industry as a whole where last week the
central bank
announced a 200 million U.S. dollars capital injection from
China in
farming, manufacturing and mining.
Tobacco is among Zimbabwe's top
exports, and China has become the
largest importer of the commodity from the
country. But Mpofu said China had
now moved beyond just importing Zimbabwean
tobacco, and had gone into the
crop's production and
processing.
He said a huge Chinese investment, running into
millions of U.S.
dollars, was on the cards in tobacco processing, but could
not give further
details as sensitive discussions on the project were still
pending. In
tobacco production, Mpofu said Chinese investors had moved into
out-grower
schemes with local farmers, providing critical financing to boost
the crop's
output, which has been falling in recent years.
"We
have a project proposal that has been brought up by Chinese
investors to
process tobacco into cigarettes and export this as a finished
product. This
(value-addition) is what the government encourages very much
and we are very
supportive of such ventures," he said.
He also spoke of other
Chinese investment projects on the cards in
steel-making, tractor assembly
and mining, saying these would bring in large
amounts of foreign currency
into the country.
A recent visit to China by Vice President Joyce
Mujuru secured 1.3
billion U.S. dollars potential investment in power
generation and mining.
Mpofu said in view of rising Chinese
investment interest in Zimbabwe,
the local government was working on
measures to ease customs and immigration
formalities to facilitate the flow
of capital from the Asian country.
"We are working on measures to
facilitate investment flows into
Zimbabwe, especially from China and other
developing countries. We are
essentially doing away with a lot of the red
tape that was in place to give
investors convenience and confidence in us,"
he said.
In infrastructure development, he said Chinese companies
were active
in the construction of roads, hospitals and other projects, and
the firms
were generally price-competitive even compared to local ones in
some
instances.
Mpofu, who has recently been to China,
highlighted existing Chinese
investments, particularly the huge cement
factory in Gweru which has gone a
long way in meeting national demand for
the commodity. The project is a
joint venture between Chinese investors and
a local company, and has ensured
Zimbabwe no longer imports
cement.
He said China offered better trade and investment terms,
compared to
other foreign nations, and this was the main attraction for
Zimbabwe, in
addition to Beijing's friendliness to Harare.
In
most cases, Chinese investment was in the form of joint ventures,
something
Mpofu said the government preferred because it ensured mutual
benefits.
Investors from the developed countries often insisted on outright
ownership.
Source: Xinhua
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Zimbabwe's
leading opposition party said this week one of its
members in Buhera South
had her house burnt by supporters of President
Robert Mugabe, in what it
charged were politically motivated attacks.
The authorities confirmed the
house was razed by fire.
A spokesman, for the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) told The
Zimbabwean that supporters of the governing party burned the
house over the
weekend.
According to Nelson Chamisa, the ruling party
thugs set MDC provincial
chairperson Veronica Dingwiza Mashonga's house
alight under the cover of
darkness. He said the ruling party thugs had
shouted political slogans in
support of the governing party, Zanu (PF) while
torching the house.
No-one was injured but property worth billions were burnt
to ashes.
Opposition party officials said they were gravely worried about the
escalation of violence in the run up to district local elections. They said
there had been several clashes between members of the two rival parties,
whose leaders are contesting the election scheduled for October.
Police
spokesman Andrew Phiri described the disputes as random and
spontaneous. "I
think it is political immaturity, where people don't respect
other people's
political views," he said.
However, Chamisa said he believed that the
violence was coordinated by the
government. He said he feared that violence
would only intensify as election
day approaches. "The situation is quite
bad," Chamisa said. - Gift Phiri
The Zimbabwean
INSIZA -
Villagers in Singwambizi and Mbaulo are complaining of poor service
delivery
by the department of Veterinary Services.
Villagers who spoke to The
Zimbabwean pointed out that their cattle had
spent almost two months without
being dipped, because of a shortage of
dipping chemicals. They said
government had made them pay $60.00 per beast
per year for the procurement
of dipping chemicals.
"Unfortunately things did not go as expected. We now
suspect that this is
an artificial shortage created by some big fish in the
district offices who
has convert the chemicals for his own personal use,"
said a spokesman for
the villagers.
Efforts to get a comment from Mcgown
Dube, the dip-tank administrator
based at Avoca Business Centre were
fruitless. - Francis Sibanda
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The gap between the rich
and the poor in Zimbabwe has never been
wider. About 10,200 Zimbabwe dollars
now buy what 100 Zimdollars bought in
1995. The official exchange rate rose
from about 8 Zimbabwe dollars to the
U.S. dollar in 1995, to 250-1 this
year, alongside a current black market
exchange rate of up to
850-1.
Mugabe, 82, who has been in power for 26 years, travelled to Guinea
recently
to discuss fuel supplies after being cut off by key suppliers after
Zimbabwe
didn't pay millions in arrears for previous
shipments.
Anti-government strikes called by the ZCTU a fortnight ago
demanding better
pay were thwarted by a massive show of force by police,
soldiers and ruling
party militiamen.
The protests appeared to be of
little concern to one pro-Mugabe businessman
who threw his 54th birthday
party soon afterward. He hired a replica of a
Mississippi paddle steamer on
Zimbabwe's northern Lake Kariba, a stone's
throw away from where a meeting
called to discuss the new government human
rights commission. The meeting
was snubbed by Zimbabwe's left-wing civic
society.
The calligraphy for
the handwritten dinner place name cards alone cost five
times Zimbabwe's
average annual per capita income. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
Disturbing reports have
been received of government sanctioned hunting,
operating in Zimbabwe's part
of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.
Some local tourists who visited
Sumaweni camp at Buffalo bend, southwest of
Gonarezhou, two weeks ago were
told they had to move camp because a safari
outfit, Victoria Falls Hunters,
had arrived a few days earlier with a client
Mr Edd Chiziva, to hunt in the
park. They were told that the safari company
had government
connections.
Johnny Rodrigues, Chairman for Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
(ZCTF),
said: "The next morning the tourists saw two safari vehicles leave
the camp
with people on the back of the vehicle holding rifles, a few
minutes later
they heard shots fired from a heavy caliber rifle which made
them very
nervous because it was so close to the camp. The tourists then
decided to
pack up and leave, whilst they were doing this three more shots
were fired
with one bullet ricocheting somewhere close by."
When the
tourists questioned the warden about the hunting he was "very
apologetic"
and said that he had no control over the matter at all. He also
suggested
that the tourists not talk about what they had seen. In addition
to this
incident there have been other reports of hunting and poaching in
the area
involving National Parks personnel. Tourists on a game drive
opposite the
Nyahomgwe River confluence with the Lundi River, stumbled
across a camp full
of National Parks employees hanging and drying vast
quantities of meat which
they said had come from two impala caught in traps.
The tourists noted,
however, that they quantity of meat was much more than
two impala's
worth.
The Transfrontier Park was set up in 2003 and covers 35,000 square
kilometers in Mozambique (Limpopo Park), South Africa (Kruger Park) and
Zimbabwe (Gonrezhou). The park was opened by President Robert Mugabe himself
along with Thabo Mbeki and Joachim Chissano in December 2002. The idea was
to turn the area into a huge ecosystem to help protect the wildlife and also
attract tourists from South Africa's Kruger Park to visit Zimbabwe's
Gonarezhou and Mozambique without the hassle of long border crossings.
Mr
Rodrigues said that the ZCTF had reported the illegal hunting to both
National Parks and the Minister of Environment and National Resources but to
date had "no response whatsoever".
The Zimbabwean
Zimbabwe's wildlife
continues to suffer terrible atrocities. Snaring is
reported to be rife,
with the country's larger, stronger animals (such as
the elephant) sometimes
managing to break free of these deadly wire traps,
and later seen with
hideous wire injuries. Conservationists do what they
can, destroying
snares, immobilising and treating suffering animals,
arresting poachers and
pushing for harsher penalties for their criminal
acts.
The country's
wildlife also continues to suffer the effects of wanton
gunfire. "It took
time, but high-level authorities have reversed some
underhanded hunting
practices which accompanied land claims in this area,"
says Sharon Pincott
of the 'Presidential Elephant' Conservation Project in
south-western
Zimbabwe. "Land has been returned for tourism purposes, and
some hunting
licences have been revoked."
While the wildlife attempts to recover from the
mayhem of the past few
years, some interesting elephant statistics are
emerging.
Australian Sharon Pincott has spent more than five years among 'The
Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe' - a clan of over 400 free-roaming
elephants, individually known in over 20 family groups, so named when
Zimbabwe's President Mugabe decreed them 'protected' in 1990; to be a
symbol, it was then said, of Zimbabwe's commitment to responsible wildlife
management. These habituated elephants can be found on the unfenced Hwange
Estate, bordering Zimbabwe's premier Hwange National Park, where their
social structure and population dynamics are being studied. Ongoing
conservation efforts remain the key focus of this long-term elephant
project.
"The key home-range of the Presidential Elephants was
underhandedly taken
over by hunters - a situation now thankfully rectified,"
Sharon confirms.
"The elephants did however endure more than two years of
unethical hunting
problems."
From data collected to date it is becoming
clear that elephant conception
rates during this hunting period were
negatively affected, with elephants
coming into estrus up to four times
before they eventually conceived.
"Female elephants only come into estrus
once every three months. Some
elephants took another 6, and even 9 months
to conceive after the first time
I witnessed them in estrus," says Sharon.
"Some elephants, for example, who
I witnessed in estrus (and being mated)
during late 2003 have only recently
had their babies, some 31 months
later."
Data collection continues now that the gunfire is better under
control, in
an attempt to confirm that conception rates have improved. Some
of
Zimbabwe's conservationists are now asking the question: Is gunfire
negatively impacting conception rates of all of it's wildlife species? "It
is difficult for me to believe that only elephants would be negatively
affected," says Sharon. - Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force
The Zimbabwean
BY CAJ NEWS
HARARE - Army officers are
furious about the recent arrest of
retired Colonel Samuel Muvuti, the
managing director of the Grain Marketing
Board (GMB), which is the sole
authority over the country's grain supplies.
Muvuti is facing
charges of corruption for allegedly having used
GMB engineers at his farm
and authorizing the fraudulent payment at GMB
expense of compensation for
one engineer who was injured while felling a
tree there.
A
Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) brigadier, who requested
anonymity, told the
South-African based news agency, CAJ News, that Muvuti's
arrest had angered
many in the ZNA. He said the Zimbabwe Republic Police
(ZRP), and Police
Commissioner, Augustine Chihuri in particular, was far
more corrupt than
Muvuti and yet had not been arrested.
"Chihuri is the last person
to condemn corruption. He is one of
the filthy-rich ex-combatants in the
country. He used police resources, that
is material and personnel, to build
a modern house near Rushinga turn-off in
Mount Darwin. He used the same
facilities to built another house at his
plot in Darwendale, and to
construct a house and borehole in Chitungwiza,"
alleged the
source.
Another senior police source claimed that Chihuri was
currently
doing the same for his Deputy Commissioner, Barbara Mandizha, in
Borrowdale.
"To add to his list of massive properties, Chihuri owns a
construction
Company named Kidsdale. Also his relatives manufacture police
uniforms. That
man is administering the most corrupt organization in the
country," alleged
the source.
Recently the ZRP acquired top
of the range vehicles for senior
officers. The move is seen as a bribe to
these officers, as junior members
of the force find it difficult to attend
scenes using bicycles and foot in
an environment where criminals use fast
cars.
Another Colonel said the arrest of Mvuti marked the
beginning of
Chihuri's downfall.
"Senior Officers in the ZRP
are the most corrupt people. Chihuri
and his deputies have more than five
top of the range vehicles each. The
Senior Assistant Commissioners enjoy
unlimited fuel. Their wives and
husbands are given police vehicles and fuel
when constables have no bond
paper or typewriters.
"Each
Assistant Commissioner is given an executive command car,
a pick-up for
himself and another one for the wife. These guys own adjacent
farms to ours,
you can visit these farms and see for yourself we have this
Woman Assistant
Commissioner who owns a farm near mine in Marondera. This
lady uses highway
patrol cars to run her farm," alleged another police
source.
A Senior Intelligence officer in the Central Intelligence
Officer
organization (CIO), which falls under the President's office also
claimed
that the police commander and some known senior police officers were
"extremely a corrupt lot".
Asked to comment on the
allegations of corruption in the ZRP
Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka,
the source said the allegations of
corrupt tendencies were a mischief which
needed to be ignored.
When further pressed to explain, he
referred the reporter to the
police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner
Wayne Bundzijena, who could not
be reached by the time of going to press. -
CAJ News
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Arthur Mutambara, leader
of the breakaway MDC faction, addressed a
cheering 4000-strong rally in
Zengeza 4 at the weekend, according to a
statement from the party. He was
accompanied by the Youth Chairman, Gift
Nyandoro and Secretary for Security
and Defence, Job Sikhala.
Mutambara outlined his party's economic vision for
Zimbabwe. He described a
nation characterized by prosperity, economic
opportunities, affordable high
quality public services, business growth,
productive commercial agriculture,
innovative entrepreneurship, a living
wage for all workers, fair taxation,
and respect for human and economic
rights. He painted a future with
functional and affordable schools and
hospitals, universal access to ARVs,
and housing for all. Specifically, he
envisaged a competent and efficient
local government, capable of delivering
high quality services, in
Chitungwiza, St Mary's and Zengeza. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Seed Co,
one of Zimbabwe's biggest seed producing companies,
recently shocked invited
guests when it donated more than 23 tonnes of maize
and wheat seed to vice
President Joseph Msika who had visited its properties
in Mashonaland East
province. This represents more than 10% of its annual
production,
Msika
toured Rattray Arnold Research Station and Frascoti Seed Production
Farms in
the province, both owned by Seed Co, and officially launched a new
wheat
seed.
Sources said that after the tour, management at the company took Msika
by
surprise when they announced that they were giving him more than 23 tones
of
seed.
The sources said many people were taken aback by the donation,
given the
magnitude of the seed that was being donated to President Robert
Mugabe's
deputy.
"After the tour, the management at Seed Co told guests
that they wanted to
give the vice president a token of appreciation.
Everybody expected
something modest.
"But then they announced they were
handing over a token of appreciation that
included 10 tonnes of wheat seed
as well as another 10 tonnes of maize
seed," said the source that attended
the tour.
Apart from the maize and wheat donation to Msika, Seed Co allegedly
donated
a further truckload of seed, which management said was for the vice
president's donation to people of his choice.
The source said other
invited guests to the tour suspected the generous
donation was a kickback
that Seed Co was paying to the government, through
Msika, for the farms that
had been allocated to the company by the
government.
"People thought it
was a kickback of some sort because if they had really
wanted to make a
donation, they could have simply donated at least five
tones or less
combined of both maize and wheat seed variety. To many, it was
a thank-you
for the farms that government had given to Seed Co," the source
said.
Contacted for comment, Pat Devenish, the Seed Co chief executive
officer,
said that there was nothing sinister about the donation, adding
that it was
"company policy to thank officials who would have visited their
properties.
"I am pretty sure there was nothing sinister about that. It's our
company
policy that we donate some seed to senior government officials who
visit us.
It was simply following company policy and nothing else," said
Devenish,
before referring more questions to the company's managing
director, Dennis
Zaranyika, who would not answer his mobile phone.
The
donation comes against a background of projected reduction in seed
production by Seed Co, with sources saying the company could produce only
200 tonnes of the annual target of 400 tonnes, the sources said. - CAJ
News
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - The Zimbabwe dollar
continues to devalue against all convertible
currencies. Changing money on
the parallel foreign currency market is
illegal but remains the only source
of survival in the country for
individuals and companies, as well as the
government itself.
The local dollar, weighed down by falling production amid
a deepening
political and economic crisis, has plummeted to 800 to the
American dollar,
while one British pound fetches about Z$1 200.
The South
African rand, one of the main sought-after currencies by
Zimbabweans who
source most of their food and other goods from their giant
neighbour, is now
fetching around Z$110.
On the official interbank market, the United States
dollar is trading at
$250, the British pound sterling at $470 while the
South African rand is
trading at $40. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - A Zimbabwean inventor has come up with a way to ensure
that rigged
elections are a thing of the past. "Elections in the third world
are a major
problem. But modern technology is on our side," said software
developer Alex
Weir in an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean this
week.
He explained: SEEV (sms external encrypted voting) is a new innovative
concept which uses existing technologies (mobile phone sms and
TAN-envelopes) in conjunction with an external international processing
centre to ensure that phantom voters, ballot-box stuffing, count fraud etc
are a thing of the past. And the cost of this electronic voting is
potentially less than present-day paper voting systems. SEEV could hold its
first election within six months of project go-ahead.
Weir said the
system did not mean that one had to own a mobile phone in
order to vote -
you only need access to one.
His plan is for all votes to be processed for
all participating countries by
a Global Electoral Commission data centre
sited in Norway or Sweden; these
countries are suited because they have a
reputation for integrity and
impartiality.
"The key to the process is the
secret sealed envelopes with secret numbers
and codes inside which enable
the voter to vote with no-one (including KGB,
CIA, CIO and all these people)
ever being able to tell which way he or she
voted; only the centre in Norway
will know, and they will destroy that
evidence some months after voting is
completed," said Weir.
In order to assure the voter that his or her vote was
counted, some minutes
after sending the voting sms, a confirmation reply sms
is received on the
same phone - this should match another line of data on
your secret envelope,
and is your guarantee that your sms got all the way to
Norway and was
processed correctly. Once again this confirmation sms can
never in 1000
years be de-encrypted by domestic or foreign intelligence
services.
"The system will need extensive voter education to enable everyone
in the
rural areas to vote, and also additional mobile phone masts will have
to be
installed. Also on the week of voting, NGO's will have to arrive in
the
rural areas with mobile phones which voters can use to vote using their
secret envelopes. Voting is not a trivial matter and extensive resources
will have to be devoted to ensuring that a real election is held. But the
dividend is that in many countries throughout the 3rd world, the people will
finally know that count fraud by the sitting government has been rendered
impossible. This will herald a new era of democracy, the elimination of
corruption, and an economic and social renaissance," said Weir. - Own
correspondent. More detail on SEEV at http://www.cd3wd.com/SEEV/
The Zimbabwean
HARARE - Zimbabwean motorists
battled for scarce petrol supplies during the
weekend as a deepening fuel
crisis brought the southern African country to a
near halt.
Many fuel
stations completely ran dry. Riot police were called in to stop
motorists
fighting at those, which still had petrol.
In the capital Harare, there were
few cars and buses on the roads, with
thousands of motorists jamming a dozen
or so petrol stations in search of
supplies. A litre of petrol was selling
for $1,200.
"I have been here since last night, waiting for petrol and I have
seen about
half a dozen fist-fights and one guy threatening to shoot anyone
who tries
to jump the queue," one man told The Zimbabwean at a fuel station
in central
Harare.
Riot police was summoned to those stations with fuel
to control rowdy
motorists fighting among themselves.
Speaking in Egypt
en route home from the UN General Assembly, President
Robert Mugabe said the
fuel crisis was particularly bothersome to him, as he
had worked out a
special deal with South Africa and Equatorial Guinea.
The 82-year old leader
blamed the crisis on government officials who he said
had failed to take
advantage of the arrangement with Equatorial Guinea,
where Zimbabwe buys oil
in local currency in exchange for joint-ventures in
tourism and exports of
beef and soya-beans.
Industry sources however accused the oil procurement
agency of engineering
the shortage through corruption and sabotage.
They
reported petrol stations were running dry because the National Oil
Company
of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) was hoarding fuel, and pushing for cash oil
import
deals that could give company officials a chance to benefit from
illegal
foreign currency deals.
Government and industry sources, said NOCZIM was
moving to scrap a deal with
SA, endangering one of the last fuel lifelines
Zimbabwe has left.
South Africa and Equatorial Guinea currently supplies 70
percent of
Zimbabwe's fuel while the balance comes from Kuwait's Independent
Petroleum
Group.
Senior government and NOCZIM officials refused to
comment, but sources in
Mugabe's government confirmed there was a probe into
the shortage, which has
left motorists queuing for kilometers to fill their
tanks.
The current fuel shortages have created a black market for
unscrupulous
officials who were now selling fuel at more than 10 times the
official
price, undercutting government efforts to cushion hard-pressed
consumers. -
Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
r
HARARE - The
Harare metropolitan governor admitted this week that anti-AIDS
drugs were in
perilously short supply, endangering the lives of HIV-positive
people.
David Karimanzira, speaking after his appointment as patron of
the
Provincial Aids Action Committee at the weekend, attributed the
crumbling of
Zimbabwe's healthcare system - which is threatening the free
antiretroviral
(ARV) programme - to sanctions imposed by western
nations.
"Only 42,000 people are on anti-retroviral drugs out of a possible
171,000,"
Karimanzira said, adding government was battling to set aside
US$250,000 to
procure HIV drugs every month.
Zimbabwe has one of the
world's highest rates of HIV infection and is
currently under going a severe
economic crisis. The prevalence rate for HIV
has declined from 20,1 percent
in 2005 to 18,1 percent in 2006, but 3,000
still die to the disease in
Zimbabwe every week. Karimanzira said 2,000
people were getting infected
every month.
Karimanzira said the government's response to the AIDS crisis
has been to
declare a state of emergency in 2002, allowing cheaper generic
drugs to be
imported as well as locally made under World Trade Organisation
rules.
But local generic drug manufacturers are hamstrung by the scarcity of
foreign currency, which they need to import raw materials to make the
ARVs.
Karimanzira said there were more than 80,000 orphans and vulnerable
children
and 6,000 people living openly with HIV/AIDS in the Harare
province.
He said there was serious donor fatigue. After a three-year delay,
a US
$10.3 million grant by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria is finally making its way to Zimbabwe. But activists have stressed
that this paled in comparison to what countries "just across the (Zambezi)
river" were receiving from international donors.
Nevertheless, AIDS NGOs
are managing to make a difference.
But aid workers said the brutal Operation
Murambatsvina last year had
compounded the problem as many were displaced
and their treatment programmes
disrupted. - Own correspondent
The Zimbabwean
MUTARE - Six years after the
start of the chaotic land invasions the
Zimbabwe government is still
evicting white farmers. Last week prominent
Manicaland farmer, Dave Meikle's
farm was invaded by people waving letters
of offer from the minister in
charge of the spy agency, CIO, and lands,
Didymus Mutasa.
Meikle's farm
is one of the most highly-developed commercial agriculture
properties in the
province - farming timber and fruit.
A friend of his told The Zimbabwean:
"Dave is a born African with parents
and grandparents who lived in Zimbabwe.
He has been dispossessed in the past
few days together with many others in a
similar position. His personal
losses will run to many millions of US
dollars. This is not only unjust, it
is patently illegal and racist. Again
Mutasa is the principle player - his
own home is not far from the farm.
Mutasa was also present when the Trade
Union and MDC leaders were being
beaten into pulp in Harare two weeks ago -
he was actually seen during the
beating at the Police Station in Mbare.
"The family arrived home from a
funeral to find invaders in the house who
forced them to pack immediately.
They realised that the offer letter was a
genuine Didymus Mutasa thing and
that there was absolutely nothing they
could do about it. A senior policeman
finally arrived and restored a bit of
order. The family spent a very
uncomfortable night, and broken-heartedly
made the decision to vacate their
home of 32 years. Many tears were shed but
they are going forward. They lost
everything, including all equipment and
tools etc. Only their personal
effects were recovered." Ironically, on the
same day, Reserve Bank governor
Gideon Gono appeared on South African
television declaring that farm
invasions in Zimbabwe were over. Apart from
the Meikles,12 farms in
Chiredzi/Masvingo and six in Chipinge have been
taken recently. - Own
correspondent
The Zimbabwean
When people grow old, some
develop various mild forms of dementia and lose
touch with reality. Others
go completely bonkers. That is life. The
important thing is to recognise it
and deal with it. Not to ignore it and
pretend it is not happening.
Our
82-year-old President has been saying some pretty weird things lately.
And
although his top officials continue to close ranks around him, surely
even
they must be getting to the limit of their credibility.
Speaking in an
interview in the hallowed halls of the UN in New York last
week, Mugabe was
obviously somewhat embarrassed by the barbarism of his
police force. He
seemed to try and distance his government from the riotous
behaviour of the
police at Matapi Police Station in Mbare, where 15 leaders
of the ZCTU and
MDC were thrashed while in custody.
He dismissed the brutal assaults as "the
work of one or two overzealous
policemen". Here we have a huge reality gap -
it was not one or two who
perpetrated the atrocities. It was a gang of
thugs in police uniform.
Didymus Mutasa is said to have been seen at Matapi
Police station at the
time. We wonder what he was doing there - if it
wasn't to egg them on.
Then, earlier this week, Mugabe spoke again about the
savage attack - this
time obviously more comfortable - from another Africa
country, Egypt. This
time he came out strongly behind the torturers and
accused the victims of
having "brought it upon themselves" by "sitting in
places not allowed".
"They want to become a law unto themselves," he said.
Although he said he
did not know what the protests were about, he dismissed
them as "nonsensical
and stupid". He also accused Zimbabwean journalists,
presumably from the
independent media, of being "the stupid ones, who always
write stupid
things".
Another reality check: the leaders were not beaten
in the streets. They did
not resist arrest. They were not sitting in "a
place that is not allowed".
They were beaten while in police custody.
He
also continues to talk of an expected bumper harvest, while soldiers are
going around the country beating up villagers for not surrendering their
harvest to the GMB and more than half the population of Zimbabwe goes to bed
hungry every night.
This country needs a leader who has his finger on the
pulse. We cannot
continue to be ruled by a doddering old man who is living
in cloud cuckoo
land. It is time somebody showed him the way back to
Zvimba.