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Archived News
5th November 2002
Common resolution on occasion of a joint DUA-EPP Conference
MDC Argues For Presidential Voters’ Roll
Mbare MP arrested
Results confirm militarisation and abuse of election management.
Amnesty International Press Release - Zimbabwe : local elections marred by state-sponsored violence
Behind The Scenes About How Jongwe was Killed
Tsvangirai calls for UN intervention
ICG Executive Summary and Recommendations
More teachers suspended for striking
Nyarota, Mudiwa charges unconstitutional
Genetically modified food aid rejected
MDC election agents purged
Thousands bid Jongwe farewell
Red herrings and Robert Mugabe
Yes, we have no prisoners
Expats scoff at Mugabe's plan to tax them
Ill-treatment of prisoners rife, says released suspect
Winter maize crop a flop
The lie of the land
US eyes end run around Mugabe
Mugabe slams oil companies
Libyan fuel deal faces collapse
Prosecution of journalist postponed
More money found
'Join the Zanu PF or lose seized farms'
WFP won't resume food aid
DR Congo sacks diamond mine heads
'Food shortages give me a sore tummy'
No money for new farmers
Donnelly trashes claims of diplomatic stand-off
The snake charmer
Reprisals in Insiza
SA cuts off fuel
Peer review: 12 nations agree
Mugabe promises land to DRC war vets
45 countries set to back rules against 'blood' diamond trade
New economic theory lauded
US looks at relief for Zimbabwe
Goals not achieved in fast-track land reform
Minister threatens municipal officials
Police assault PTUZ leader
Zimbabwe's currency collapses
Mugabe has us fighting each other
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From IRIN (UN), 29 October
More teachers suspended for striking
Johannesburg - The impasse between striking teachers in Zimbabwe and the government over better pay continued on Tuesday as a further 230 teachers were served with letters of suspension. So far close to 700 teachers have been ordered not to turn up for work following a break-down in talks between the government and the Progressive Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), the union told IRIN. "Contrary to reports none of the 627 teachers that were fired had been reinstated. In fact, just today [Tuesday] 230 of our members received letters of suspension. They have been ordered to stay away from schools," PTUZ spokesman Macdonald Mangauzani said. Mangauzani added that the suspension held for three months and that teachers would not be remunerated during this time. Moreover, teaching staff would not be allowed to leave the country without the permission of the department of education and could not seek other employment while under suspension. With a backdrop of 135 percent inflation, teachers began the nationwide strike on 8 October. They are demanding a 100 percent salary increment backdated to January this year and another 100 percent cost of living adjustment backdated to June. On Monday, Minister of Education, Aeneas Chigwedere, announced that the government would assess the conditions of service for teachers, in a move that will see them receiving hefty salary increments in January next year, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported. Zimbabwean teachers are among the poorest paid in the region. A high school teacher takes home Z $20,000 (US $365) a month.
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From The Daily News, 29 October
Nyarota, Mudiwa charges unconstitutional
Staff Reporters
The government has conceded that Section 80 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) under which Geoffrey Nyarota, the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily News, and Lloyd Mudiwa, the newspaper's municipal reporter, are being charged is unconstitutional. The concession is made in the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Bill of 2002, which the government says is designed to amend the principal Act with a view to improving it and correcting certain anomalies and errors that have come to the attention of the Department of Information and Publicity since the Act became law. Despite the admission, the Attorney-General (AG)'s Office, responsible for drafting Bills, yesterday instructed that Nyarota and Mudiwa be further remanded to 27 February 2003. But the State had undertaken to either provide them with a trial date or to remove them from formal remand when they last appeared at the Harare Magistrates' Courts on 23 July. Nyarota had volunteered to attend court eight days earlier although the State had not formally summoned him to appear.
Fatima Maxwell, the senior public prosecutor for the Eastern Division, who admitted she had not read the Bill, said Joseph Musakwa, the director of Public Prosecutions in the AG's Office, had instructed her to have the matter further remanded. She said the magistrate, Sandra Nhau, and prosecutors Thabani Mpofu and Never Katiyo, who previously dealt with the matter, were all away yesterday, while the original court record could not be located as it could have been referred to the Supreme Court where Nyarota and Mudiwa are challenging the section's constitutionality. Harare regional magistrate Leonard Chitunhu remanded Nyarota and Mudiwa using a 'dummy record'. Lawrence Chibwe of Stumbles and Rowe, who represented the journalists, asked Chitunhu to note on the court record that the State had undertaken to either provide a trial date or remove his clients from remand on the previous remand date. He asked Chitunhu to compel the State to do this on the next remand date.
Clause 20 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Bill of 2002 says it seeks to substitute Section 80 of the Act because it is ultra vires the Constitution of Zimbabwe. 'The new provision proposes to frame the offence of abuse of journalistic privilege' in a manner that avoids any apparent conflict with the constitutional freedom of expression,' reads the clause. The clause also seeks to reduce a maximum fine of $200 000 that can be imposed on a person convicted of the offence to $80 000. The maximum two year jail term, however, stands. Nyarota and Mudiwa are being charged with contravening Section 80 (1) (b) of AIPPA by allegedly abusing their journalistic privilege by publishing falsehoods. Charges against the two arose after The Daily News published a story claiming that Zanu PF supporters had beheaded a Magunje woman. Advocate Chris Andersen, who successfully applied for the case to be referred to the Supreme Court on 23 July to test its constitutionality, had argued that the section failed to define journalistic privilege, what a falsehood is and did not make intention a prerequisite for the offence.
The proposed substitution reads: 'A journalist who abuses his journalistic privilege by intentionally or recklessly falsifying information, or maliciously or fraudulently fabricating information, or publishing any statement knowing it to be false or without having reasonable grounds for believing it to be true and recklessly, or with malicious or fraudulent intent, representing it as a true statement, or committing or facilitating the commission of a criminal offence shall be guilty of an offence.' The person shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $80 000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
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From Business Day (SA), 30 October
Genetically modified food aid rejected
Claire Keeton
Genetically modified food aid would not be allowed into Zambia where about a third of the population needs thousands of tons of aid to avoid starvation in coming months, Zambian Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana confirmed yesterday. The final decision by the cabinet was based on recommendations by Zambian scientists, who visited the US, Europe and SA last month to study the risks of genetically modified food. "In view of the current scientific uncertainty surrounding the issue the country should thus refrain from actions that might adversely affect human and animal health as well as harm the environment," Sikatana said. Since the government decided to ban genetically modified food last month, it has been under pressure from opposition politicians and civic groups to reverse its decision and to accept the donations given the threat of famine to 2,9-million Zambians until the next harvest in April.
The biggest donor to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the US. However, its maize is barred from Zambia since it has genetically modified content. "It will be very difficult now to reach all those we have targeted in November. We only reached about 50% of the 2,5-million in October," the programme's regional spokesman Richard Lee said yesterday. "We will have 11 000 tons arriving in the country by the end of October and the next big donation will only arrive for the December distribution. We will work as hard as possible to fill the cereal gap with nongenetically modified donations." The WFP needs about 21 000 tons of cereals a month to feed the most vulnerable groups. Hungry Zambians have looted genetically modified maize from its warehouses three times in the last few months. Sikatana said the government would ask the WFP to remove any stocks of genetically modified maize stored in the country.
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From The Daily News, 29 October
MDC election agents purged
Correspondent in Masvingo
Scores of MDC polling agents have been displaced following a fresh wave of violence perpetrated by suspected Zanu PF supporters during the rural district council polls in Zaka. Last Njokoza, one of the victims was on Thursday severely assaulted and left for dead by so-called war veterans in Fuve communal lands because he was an MDC polling agent. Njokoza sustained serious injuries all over his body after he was assaulted. Njokoza said: "I was assaulted all over the body for supporting the MDC. Several other MDC polling agents have been assaulted and some of them have fled their homes to seek refuge in towns. My assailants threatened to beat anyone who supported the MDC during the council elections. I am not going back home until the situation improves." He was an MDC polling agent at Fuve Primary School. The situation in Zaka district remains tense as the so-called war veterans embarked on a witch hunt to identify MDC supporters. Leading the terror campaign is a war veteran only identified as Game Maduve and Zanu PF youths named as Hezekia Munwa and Freddy Munzwa. It was alleged that the so-called war veterans called for meetings during the day on the pretext that they wanted to give food aid to the people. At the meetings they then called suspected MDC supporters and assaulted them in front of other villagers. The police in Zaka on Sunday confirmed that a report was made by Njokoza. They said they were investigating the matter. Lucia Masekesa, the MDC Masvingo women's assembly chairperson, yesterday said scores of their supporters in Zaka have been displaced because of the violence. Masekesa said most polling agents in the district were ordered to leave the area soon after the elections.
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From The Daily News, 29 October
Thousands bid Jongwe farewell
Pedzisai Ruhanya Chief Reporter
Thousands of MDC supporters yesterday defied police teargas and marched through the streets of Harare to attend a service for Learnmore Jongwe, the Kuwadzana MP and former MDC spokesman, at the City Sports Centre after his body was collected from a funeral parlour. More than 25 000 people lined the streets of Kuwadzana as they bade farewell to the 28-year-old politician on his way to be buried today at Samambwa village in Zhombe. The riot police fired teargas into the crowd which included the Jongwe family and other families collecting their relatives' bodies at a city funeral parlour. Eyewitnesses said there appeared to have been no provocation for the police action. People fleeing the tear smoke took refuge in a chapel at the parlour as the riot police pursued them. The riot police used their batons to beat up the mourners, but only stopped after the MDC youths retaliated with stones. The police then retreated, monitoring the proceedings from a distance. The crowd sang songs accusing President Mugabe of killing Jongwe.
They made a brief stop near the Zanu PF headquarters along Rotten Row. Zanu PF workers in the building waved clinched fists in response. The marchers displayed placards reading Jongwe was killed we know it, You killed Jongwe, we know it and Jongwe was murdered, Jongwe is our hero. Others wept openly, accusing the courts of repeatedly denying Jongwe bail so the government could kill him. At the City Sports Centre scores of people who addressed the crowd blamed the government for Jongwe's death. MDC national chairman Isaac Matongo asked the people to be ready for protests after the burial. Matongo said: 'Jongwe has been stolen by Zanu PF.' He expressed outrage at the police action of attacking the mourners. 'Where else have you seen teargas being fired at mourners?' he asked. Lovemore Madhuku, the chairman of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), said people should demonstrate over Jongwe's death. 'We do not have to wait for another hero to be killed. Mugabe has the capacity to kill all of us and, as NCA, we want you to engage in demonstrations,' he said.
Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC president, said his party had 'lost an articulate, intelligent and brilliant young man who helped to form the MDC and this regime should be held accountable for his death'. He said the government should have been civilised enough to apologise to the Jongwe family for his death in custody. 'Jongwe was not a fugitive from justice. He handed himself to the police so that justice would take its course. The nation should know that Jongwe represents more than 150 dead MDC supporters and 50 000 displaced people who fought for democracy and justice. He should rest in peace, realising that we cherish the enormous and brilliant work that he did for this country and some of us will follow him and tell him about the struggle we are engaged in,' Tsvangirai said. He said that the MDC would do all it could to support Jongwe's mother Emilia and his 11-month-daughter Tawananyasha. The deceased's brother, Simbarashe Paul, yesterday said the family was devastated by Learnmore's death. 'As a family we are puzzled by his death because as far as we are concerned, Learnmore did not complain of any illness,' he said.
In Kuwadzana, his constituency, thousands of people lined the streets while others gathered at shopping centres to pay their last respects to the MP. Meanwhile, about 3 000 MDC supporters were left stranded at Jongwe's Ridgeview house after Kukura Kurerwa Bus Company withdrew their buses at the last minute from carrying mourners to Zhombe. Nelson Chamisa, the MDC national youth chairperson, said most bus operators refused to carry their supporters to Zhombe. They feared their vehicles could be burnt by government supporters or stopped from operating. Jongwe died in Harare Remand Prison last Tuesday while awaiting trial at the High Court for allegedly killing his wife, Rutendo, in July.
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Comment from Business Day (SA), 30 October
Red herrings and Robert Mugabe
John Kane-Berman
Among the discussion papers published by the African National Congress (ANC) to inform debate at its 51st national conference, to be held in Stellenbosch in December, is one called Facing the African Continent. The paper states that "tolerance of dictators" by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was one of the reasons why the continent "entered the 1990s with its hope for a renaissance shattered". SA, the paper argues, can now contribute to renaissance by "bullying" others or by "working through multilateral structures". The arguments for multilateralism, whether over Zimbabwe or any other problem (such as Iraq) are powerful and need no repetition. But the multilateral approach adopted by SA towards Zimbabwe has failed, along with "quiet diplomacy". Failure has been almost guaranteed by the ambiguity which has been the hallmark of our policy all along. Whatever disapproval President Thabo Mbeki might have expressed to President Robert Mugabe in private has been outweighed by a series of public statements conveying the opposite impression. Although various anonymous sources have lately again been tipping off journalists that SA policy is toughening up, contradictory statements continue. Cumulatively, the statements suggest that our government's sympathies are with the Zimbabwean president rather than with his victims.
Notably: SA repeatedly characterises the key issue in Zimbabwe as land reform (the subtext of which is that it's all really the fault of white farmers and British colonialism); We argue the violent dispossession of land should be accepted as a fait accompli, and criticising it would be "unrevolutionary"; We have characterised two violence-ridden elections (in 2000 and 2002) as producing legitimate results; We continue to denigrate the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, as beholden to other "masters"; We downplay events in Zimbabwe by saying the media are exaggerating them; We reiterate that the only people really bothered by what is happening there are selfish SA whites (ignoring harsh criticism voiced by black South Africans); When the attacks on the Zimbabwe bench began we said they did not undermine the rule of law; and we endorsed a Southern African Development Community (SADC) view there were no human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. Government complains Mugabe "would not listen to us". It is far more likely, however, he did listen to all of this and drew the reasonable conclusion that he had little to worry about from SA.
The question is, where do we go from here? The first step is for government to decide whether or not it actually disapproves of what Mugabe is doing. On the assumption it does disapprove, it needs to say so unequivocally. Unfortunately, it has already attempted to dismiss this option as "shouting from the rooftops" or "megaphone diplomacy". These are red herrings. It is quite possible to communicate condemnation of Mugabe's behaviour in compelling but measured terms using the global mass media government uses for all its communications. Given worldwide doubt about SA's stance on the Zimbabwe horror, Mbeki would be sure of huge coverage. This would be the beginning of a process of undoing the huge damage that two-and-a-half years of ambivalence has done to our reputation, our economy, and our people. It would help us to strengthen our claims that we are different from Zimbabwe. As for working through the SADC, that requires leadership. We are told that as the new boy on the block we have to tread warily in Africa. However, as the tragedy in Zimbabwe deepens, this argument is becoming a rationalisation for abdication.
It is also part of why the OAU led to one-party states that "became instruments for mass repression", as the ANC discussion papers recognise. The issue is not whether we are going to be a "bully" - another red herring - but whether we are willing to exercise the role of moral and political leadership that our relative size in Africa inescapably thrusts upon us. Contrary to what Mbeki says, we are not called upon to invade Zimbabwe - yet another red herring - but we are called upon to speak up for the values upon which our democracy is built. If Mugabe's friends in the SADC do not want to follow our lead, then they will just have to stay behind. Kane-Berman is CE of the SA Institute of Race Relations
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Comment from The Zimbabwe Standard, 27 October
Yes, we have no prisoners
Over the top by Brian Latham
Police in a troubled central African country have discovered a new method of avoiding troublesome paperwork - as well as difficult questions from lawyers, human rights activists and lawyers. The simple process, described as "brilliant" by the chief of police, involves arresting lots of annoying people and then denying that anyone has been arrested. It is believed the system was perfected in North Korea where the deranged leader of that country, a close friend of the most equal of all comrades, has managed to use the tactic on hundreds of thousands of people - who of course no longer exist. Still, it is only in recent months that the tactic has been employed in the troubled central African country. And while it has been used only to a limited extent on journalists, human rights activists, judges, union leaders and professional students, it is understood the police are pleased with their progress. "This is not Stalinist Russia," said a police spokesman, "It is not our intention to arrest millions of people and then deny their existence, mainly because we do not have any Siberian labour camps in which to hide them."
Still, it is believed the police are doing a sterling job by filling the limited space in various cells, holding centres and remand prisons to an extent never intended by the colonial architects who designed them. A non-existent prisoner told OTT that he was in contact with at least two other non-existent prisoners whom the police had vehemently denied were in detention. Meanwhile lawyers complain that it can take up to a week to trace non-existent prisoners. "Very often when we find them they are in need of medical attention, which is also worrying," said one lawyer. He explained that the treatment meted out to non-existent prisoners was usually worse than the treatment meted out to existing "official" prisoners. A troubled police spokesman denied the accusation of torture of non-existent prisoners. "There is no ill-treatment of non-existent prisoners because non-existent prisoners do not exist and therefore cannot be ill-treated," said the policeman. "Besides, our cells are full of criminals and other enemies of the state, and as everybody knows, some of these people are very rough and violent, so who knows what happens in there?"
The tactic was raised to new levels this week when a newspaper editor was charged for publishing a story about a non-existent prisoner who subsequently became existent, but was not tortured. Instead he accidentally wired himself to the national grid, which just happened to be switched on at the time, itself an increasingly unusual event in the troubled central African nation. A convincing police spokesman praised the ingenuity of innovative prisoners who managed to attach themselves to the electrical mains, despite the complete absence of any electricity in most cells. "They have obviously been taking lessons from their South African criminal colleagues who are experts at slipping on bars of soap, falling out of 20th floor windows and other such amazing tricks," said the spokesman. He retracted the statement when it was pointed out to him that such things no longer officially happen in the troubled central African country's confused southern neighbour, where, of course, all prisoners are treated humanely unless they are being attacked by dogs or beaten with truncheons. As for torture, the spokesman assured citizens of the troubled central African nation that it never happened. "While sometimes it’s kind to be cruel, we would never consider beating the soles of peoples' feet, attaching electrical wires to their bodies or putting their heads in buckets of water." Such methods of obtaining information from non-existent enemies of the state, he said, were old fashioned, outmoded and frankly implausible - except when absolutely necessary.
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From The Star (SA), 1 November
Expats scoff at Mugabe's plan to tax them
By Basildon Peta
Harare - President Robert Mugabe's cash-strapped government is planning to levy taxes on three-million Zimbabweans working abroad in a desperate bid to raise cash for fuel and electricity imports. But expatriate Zimbabweans are mostly scoffing at the attempt, noting that the same government had banned them from voting in the March presidential election. "No taxation without representation" is the unofficial response. "I am not prepared to subsidise Mugabe's regime when I was denied my inalienable right to vote," Jeremy Dube said in Johannesburg on Thursday. Others circulated emails among themselves dismissing the planned taxation. Deputy Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri said the Zimbabwean government was planning to levy income tax on Zimbabweans working abroad "in a bid to benefit from the brain drain and strengthen the country's revenue base". The government's rationale is that the state invested in their education, and so is entitled to a return in the form of taxes. It was unclear how the government intends to enforce the new expatriate tax, which it hopes to implement early in 2003. It claims that foreign governments will help, but, given Zimbabwe's world standing, this seems wishful thinking. Most Zimbabweans working abroad were driven out by the harsh economic climate, including inflation of 140 percent, unemployment, and shortages of basic foodstuffs such as bread and milk.
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From The Daily News, 31 October
Ill-treatment of prisoners rife, says released suspect
By Precious Shumba
Emil Margaritis, 50, yesterday said prison guards at the Harare Remand Prison behave like demi-gods and ill-treat prisoners by exposing them to torture by security agents. Margaritis, who spent three months at the remand prison before his charges were dropped early in January, said prisoners were forced to address the prison guards as "nduna" (chiefs). But a prison official denied the allegations. "During my three-month stay in prison, I witnessed brutal use of force by the guards," he said. "The prison guards have what is called "blanket treatment" of prisoners where some unidentified security men, aided by the guards, cover selected prisoners during the night with blankets and subject them to torture." Margaritis said due to the torture and inhumane treatment he was subjected to during his detention, he now suffered from thrombosis, a condition of blood clotting in the veins.
He said there was no guaranteed security in Zimbabwe for anyone suing the State. "There is no justice in the country," he said. "If I sue them, I can be ordered to leave the country and that will not help me at all. They will obviously find something to nail on me because I am a white man. It is very dangerous to be white in this country at the moment." Margaritis said injured or ill prisoners received no treatment at the remand prison hospital because of a shortage of drugs. Even if prisoners were seriously ill and bed-ridden, he said, they were still subjected to inhumane treatment on their hospital beds. Margaritis claimed several prisoners eventually died due to ill-treatment as well as shortage of food and drugs. He said every Sunday, the prison guards held a roll call during which prisoners were ordered to strip naked and dance in the open. "At times they ordered us to roll on the floor while naked and to sing obscene songs," he said. "The treatment there is degrading and embarrassing. The older guards are a responsible lot and respect prisoners, but the majority, who are young, are cruel and brutal."
But Frank Meki, the public relations manager for the Zimbabwe Prison Services, said prisoners made some unfounded allegations. He said: "Prisoners are still eating white sadza and having relish prepared with cooking oil. I visited the remand prison personally in connection with the Learnmore Jongwe case. There is enough food. Our prison hospitals operate in the same framework as government hospitals." Jongwe, the MP for Kuwadzana, died in remand prison last week under suspicious circumstances. Meki said they obtained their drugs from Government Central Stores. "You cannot expect to find drugs in prison when they are scarce in government hospitals," he said. "Our health delivery system in prisons is better than in most countries. Prisoners infected with venereal diseases are treated for free. We operate within the government system." Commenting on the claims of stripping prisoners and inhuman treatment, Meki said the practice was accepted internationally as it gave the prison guards the opportunity to search prisoners. "There is high trafficking in contraband in remand prison. Contraband is anything that is not supplied by the Prison Services to prisoners. We do what we call strip search, to check that nothing prohibited is brought inside the prisons."
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From The Daily News, 31 October
Winter maize crop a flop
From Energy Bara in Masvingo
The much-talked about Masvingo food initiative has only produced 7 500 tonnes of maize - enough to feed the nation for just one day - out of the expected 18 000 tonnes of irrigated winter maize. The initiative was the brainchild of the provincial governor, Josaya Hungwe, who got the blessing of Vice-President Simon Muzenda, as the government resorted to desperate measures after failing to secure enough food reserves for the nation. Harvesting of the winter maize crop on 1 800 irrigated hectares in Chiredzi has already been completed and only 7 500 tonnes were realised. Experts, including government specialists and the Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU), were critical of the project from the start, saying it would be costly and that weather conditions were not favourable for maize. Under normal circumstances, a hectare of maize should produce six to 10 tonnes, but the Chiredzi experiment produced just three tonnes per hectare. A government expert, who refused to be named, said yesterday the initiative was projected to produce 18 000 tonnes of maize but not even half of the figure was harvested. He said: "We had warned the government over the project, but you know politics. The project was very costly and up to now no one knows how much money was used for the project."
The chairman of the technical committee of the food initiative, Dr Samuel Mumbengegwi, the Minister of Industry and International Trade, admitted the project was not budgeted for. Mumbengegwi said: "We did not budget for this. We only ordered the ministries to use their votes and the costs would be calculated later." Mike Clark, the Commercial Farmers’ Union (CFU) regional spokesman, said commercial farmers in Chiredzi had tried to grow maize in winter but realised the crop would fail. "We are talking of high irrigation costs. We had tried to do a similar project but to no avail. Inputs would actually outweigh the output and no farmer in his right frame of mind would embark on a similar project." Hungwe yesterday could not be reached for comment. Two months ago President Mugabe visited the project and admitted the government was gambling since it did not know whether the project would be successful. Regional leaders, including Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa, and diplomats from several countries, toured the project to find out if they could learn anything about growing maize through irrigation in winter.
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Comment from ZWNEWS, 1 November
The lie of the land
By Michael Hartnack
Daily, Zimbabwe's state-run media proclaims the success of the now-completed land reforms, which, they say, has roused the envy of the British government, the independent media and all the other opponents of Robert Mugabe. As ever, the issue of land redistribution is mired in propaganda and misinformation. In any case, the threat of famine has vastly more immediate importance to 12 million Zimbabweans struggling to find supplies of maize meal, bread, sugar, cooking oil, salt. As the first rains of the season fell a week ago, the state-owned Herald carried full-page advertisements telling old-established communal area and newly resettled farmers where to obtain free seed and fertiliser. For an optimum harvest come March 2003, these should have been distributed two months ago. The Famine Early Warning Network say most land recipients have no seed, nor any idea when they will be able to obtain it. Ruling Zanu PF party officials admit up to half of those allocated land have not occupied the farms seized from white owners, or made any move to work the soil. Critics of Mugabe put the figure much higher, with up to 90 percent of the 8 million commandeered hectares lying fallow. Only 600 of the 5 000 white farmers are still attempting to plant crops, many on extremely limited areas alongside fields that have been pegged by militants, but left to go derelict. "The rest have been driven out," says Jerry Grant of the Commercial Farmers Union. With them have gone 250 000 farm workers and up to 2 million dependants, and of these only 10 percent have found a place to squat on abandoned white farms.
Despite efforts to encourage production by the new farmers, output of tobacco, which traditionally earned a third of Zimbabwe's foreign currency, is expected to fall from more than 200 million kg to between 70 and 80 million kg. Commercial farmers' maize crop will decline from 810 000 tonnes in 2000 to virtually nil in 2003. While production in resettlement areas is not taking off, that in the established 20 million hectare communal areas is declining due to AIDS deaths, resulting labour shortages, and falling family incomes, say development agencies. Peasant maize production has always depended heavily on the ability of the now near-bankrupt state agencies to provide subsidies in various forms. Those with the best chance of reaping meaningful crops in 2003 are the members of the wealthy black elite who have seized farms. They include Jocelyn Chiwenga, wife of army commander Constantine Chiwenga, who has already been selling, to the British chain store Sainsburys, produce grown by the farmer she ousted.
This tiny, wealthy minority have the capital and the capacity to hire agricultural graduates - in some cases ex-commercial farmers - as managers. The commercial banks are giving them finance on the strength of urban assets, such as up-market houses, although realists warn that attachment of these assets is likely to be resisted at gunpoint should the owners prove to be a bad risk. The morality or otherwise of the banks' collaboration with the so-called "fat cat land grabbers" may come to haunt Zimbabwe's financial sector in years ahead. Their bankability must run out with the regime. And the new large-scale landowners - hardly the landless peasants who were supposed to be the principal beneficiaries of land redistribution - will have difficulty cashing in on export crops, since foreign buyers are wary of being sued in their home countries for receiving stolen produce. Sainsburys has said it thought the farmer had been compensated, and will now review the deal. However, the black elite should be well placed to plant food crops for local consumption with planned subsidies totalling Z$50 billion. An "Agri-bond" for this amount is being forced on the pension funds despite economists' warnings this may leave thousands of pensioners holding worthless annuities in their declining years. Inflation is already 139,9 percent and the IMF forecast it may go to 522 percent next year. One thing is for sure, everything that goes wrong with production under the Fast Track Land Reform will be blamed on others, ranging from sabotage by departing whites to Western governments' responsibility for climate change.
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From The Washington Times, 2 November
US eyes end run around Mugabe
By David R. Sands
The United States is considering delivering aid directly to millions of starving Zimbabweans in defiance of the government of President Robert Mugabe if the country's food shortages continue to worsen, a State Department official said yesterday. With the government's control of the food production and distribution system aggravating the effects of a regional famine, "we may have to be prepared to take some very intrusive, interventionist measures to ensure aid delivery to Zimbabwe," said Mark Bellamy, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs. Predicting that Zimbabwe's food shortages could leave up to 5 million people facing starvation, "the dilemmas in the next six months may bring us face to face with Zimbabwe's sovereignty," Mr. Bellamy said. Zimbabwe is one of six southern African nations facing severe food shortages as the result of a prolonged drought. U.N. and private relief groups say some 14 million people could be affected in the coming months.
The situation has been particularly acute in Zimbabwe, traditionally the region's breadbasket. The United States and European Union have been harshly critical of the government's coercive land-redistribution program, targeting white farmers who are the country's most productive growers. In addition, the United States and Britain have imposed targeted sanctions on Mr. Mugabe and other senior Zimbabwean officials for recent laws curtailing press and political freedoms and for violence targeting the country's political opposition. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner in August said the United States did not recognize Mr. Mugabe as the "democratically legitimate leader of his country," after parliamentary elections in March that were widely condemned abroad as rigged. Mr. Kansteiner said the Bush administration was working with Zimbabwe's neighbors to "isolate" the Mugabe regime, but U.S. officials have been frustrated by the unwillingness of South Africa and other regional powers to intervene in Zimbabwe. Mr. Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since he led it to independence from Britain in 1980, contends that the land-reform programs are needed to redress inequities dating back to colonial times and give millions of landless blacks a homestead.
A group of Zimbabwean opposition figures from Matabeleland, a region of the country where opposition to Mr. Mugabe was particularly intense, seconded accounts by private relief groups that the Mugabe government has channelled scarce grain and other foodstuffs to political supporters. The opposition leaders, during a visit to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, spoke of roadblocks in which government supporters confiscated food, of local tribal chiefs threatened with food cutoffs if they did not cooperate, and of government food-marketing monopolies that blacklisted districts where opposition candidates did well. "Food has been politicized. [Tribal] chiefs have been politicized. All the food-distribution system is in the hands of [government party] officials," said Johnson Mnkandla, a regional magistrate in Bulawayo, the largest city in the province of Matabeleland. "The distribution structure that exists does not benefit the Zimbabwe people, only supporters of the government," he said. "In some ways, we would be better off without international food aid at all."
Mr. Bellamy said the Bush administration was "considering all approaches" to Zimbabwe's deepening crisis, saying he hoped the United Nations, private relief groups and Zimbabwe's neighbors could pressure the Mugabe government to open aid channels throughout the country and permit international monitoring of aid deliveries. "It's safe to predict that the situation in Zimbabwe is going to get a lot worse and that there will be no change unless outside forces prove to be the catalyst," he said. The State Department official even compared Zimbabwe to Iraq, saying Mr. Mugabe "was holding his people hostage the way Saddam Hussein is holding his people hostage." With a new planting season approaching, international aid experts say the situation in parts of Zimbabwe is increasingly desperate. UN relief officials on Tuesday reported "serious malnutrition problems" on the rise among Zimbabwean children, while the amount of grain being imported through the official Grain Marketing Board "is insufficient in comparison to national consumption requirements." According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 94 percent of Zimbabwe's farmers in September lacked cereal seeds to plant for the next growing season.
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From CNN, 1 November
Mugabe slams oil companies
Harare - After more than two years of acute gasoline shortages, President Robert Mugabe said he will deregulate fuel imports and demand private oil companies supply gas from their external hard currency reserves, state radio reported Friday. Mugabe accused foreign oil companies of profiteering from long-standing arrangements in which they buy fuel imports at subsidized prices from the state oil procurement monopoly, the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe, the radio said. Multinational oil companies must now import their own fuel for sale, Mugabe told a meeting of government and business leaders, the radio said. Oil industry executives declined to comment on the announcement until an official order is issued cancelling the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe's import monopoly. Currently companies are not allowed to import fuel.
Executives said privately the announcement late Thursday caused disarray in the energy sector and if enforced could push up the price of gasoline by as much as 600 percent. It also gave credence to reports that a deal with Libya to provide $30 million worth of gasoline a month for the next year was falling apart after Zimbabwe failed to pay arrears in shipping and handling costs. A gallon of gas costs about 68 cents - one of the lowest prices in the region. The government has pegged the price in a bid to hold down inflation, now running at a record 140 percent in the nation's worst economic crisis since independence in 1980. Acute hard currency shortages since 1999 have led gas stations to run dry, with long lines of cars regularly waiting for deliveries. The hard currency shortages have pushed up the illegal black market exchange rate to more than 1,200 Zimbabwe dollars to one U.S. dollar, compared to the pegged official exchange rate of 55-1. International oil companies have said they would need to buy hard currency at inflated rates of a blended mix between the official and unofficial rates to remain viable.
Civil unrest erupted last year when bus and commuter fares were raised by 30 percent. Commuters boycotted transport firms and vehicles were stoned until fares were reduced on government orders. State radio said Mugabe said foreign oil companies would be required to use their external hard currency funds to import fuel, but oil companies said they must be allowed to remit some hard currency abroad to avoid being left with large amounts of Zimbabwe dollars in a hyperinflationary economy. Mugabe described state fuel imports sold by foreign oil companies in Zimbabwe as "this game of foolery" that reaped huge profits for them and losses for the state. "They must import and not wait for the government to do it for them. They have the foreign exchange. In true partnership, they should play their part ... they don't suffer from the headaches and stomach aches I suffer" over fuel, he said.
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From the Zimbabwe Independent, 1 November
Libyan fuel deal faces collapse
Vincent Kahiya/ Mthulisi Mathuthu
The Libyan fuel deal has been mothballed amid revelations that government is illegally availing itself of Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) fuel and has to date built up a US$18 million debt in three months. The Zimbabwe Independent has it on good authority that government despatched a team to Kuwait, led by Noczim chairman Charles Chipato and former intelligence operative Justin Mupamhanga to negotiate re-opening fuel links with the Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait. IPG last month delivered, through the pipeline from Beira to the Mabvuku terminal, just over 85 million litres of fuel. This is more than the current consumption of between 60 and 70 million litres per month. No Libyan product has, however, been delivered in the past six weeks despite last week's payment of US$9 million by the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe as part payment of the US$65 million composite debt.
Industry sources this week said the Libyan suppliers were currently secondary sources of the commodity as there were no real benefits from the Libyan arrangement. "In fact, the Libyan fuel is now 18% more expensive than what IPG is charging," the source said. He said Libyan suppliers had put a premium on the price because of Zimbabwe's poor creditworthiness and their being prepared to bring fuel all the way to the Mabvuku holding tanks without being paid. The tenets of the deals between Zimbabwe and Libya have always been shrouded in secrecy. The Libyans have reportedly protested that the oil-for-Zimbabwe assets arrangement had not yielded the desired results, hence their fuel had to be paid for in hard currency in line with supplies from other international players. The source said IPG was now doing exactly that but at a lower cost. However relations are reportedly frosty following government's "theft" of IPG fuel. More than 15 million litres have been illegally drawn down.
The Independent understands a consortium of Libyan businessmen, led by Mustafa Tayeb Khattabi of the Libyan Arab African Investment Company.(sic) The source said the government had kept the deal with the Libyans open for the purpose of goodwill. Zimbabwe and Libya this year renewed a US$360 million line of credit with a Libyan bank for the supply of fuel. This has, however, failed to operate normally because of Zimbabwe's failure to pay dues on time. "It is now back to over-the-counter deals and the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe is sourcing foreign currency on the black market to pay suppliers," the source said. Libyan ambassador Mohammad Azzabi confirmed this week that a business delegation from Tripoli was due in Harare "soon" but would not disclose their names and mission. "I don't know what they will discuss but we expect our people here soon," Azzabi said.
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From CPJ, 31 October
Prosecution of journalist postponed
Amended bill could restrict press further
New York Judicial authorities in Zimbabwe have agreed to postpone the prosecution of Lloyd Mudiwa, a reporter with the independent Daily News, after the government acknowledged that the section of the country's harsh new press law under which Mudiwa is charged violates the constitution. However, rather than dropping the case against Mudiwa, the government is seeking to amend the press law and plans to prosecute the journalist under the redrafted legislation. "To apply the amended press law retroactively to Mudiwa's case makes a mockery of the Zimbabwean legal system." said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "This is harassment, pure and simple." Last week, the government released the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Bill of 2002, which will update the original law. The original legislation was passed in March and has since been used to clamp down on Zimbabwe's already beleaguered independent media. Mudiwa was originally charged under the law's Section 80 for "abusing journalistic privileges" after a story he wrote in the Daily News in late March erroneously accused government supporters of beheading an opposition activist. The journalist's case has now been postponed until February 2003, reported sources in the capital, Harare. Zimbabwean journalists are also concerned that the amended bill will consolidate the state's control over the media by expanding the powers of the official Media and Information Commission, which currently registers news professionals and maintains oversight of media activities in the country.
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From ZWNEWS, 2 November
More money found
Baroness Amos, UK Foreign Office minister, confirmed yesterday in a debate on Zimbabwe in the House of Lords that a total of 28 bank accounts, containing £513 000, have so far been frozen in the UK and Crown dependencies under targeted sanctions measures against Zanu PF and government officials.
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From The Natal Mercury (SA), 31 October
'Join the Zanu PF or lose seized farms'
By Patrick Leeman and Mercury Correspondents
A top-ranking official of president Robert Mugabe's cabinet has said the ruling Zanu PF will take back land from newly-resettled black farmers who are not members of the party. Youth, Gender and Employment Creation Minister Elliot Manyika told the state-run Herald newspaper that farmers should "make sure they are members of Zanu PF or risk losing land". The statement provoked a sharp response from the main opposition party which said it proved that Mugabe's claims about his land reform benefiting the poor were "bogus". Mugabe's critics say most of the prime land seized from whites has benefited government ministers, senior state officials, military and police chiefs and ruling party cronies and supporters. Paul Themba Nyathi, spokesperson for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, said Manyika's remarks confirmed that the land seizures were part of Mugabe's grand plan to buy his prolonged stay in power without regard to the economic consequences. Lovemore Madhuku, chairperson of Zimbabwe's largest civic group, the National Constitutional Assembly, said there was nothing new in Manyika's statement since it had become an "open secret" that the main beneficiaries of the land were Mugabe's supporters. Meanwhile, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, local church leaders and their Zimbabwean counterparts said it was time for the churches in both countries to rediscover their "prophetic voice" and speak out against injustices such as the torture of innocent civilians, the erosion of civil rights and land invasions in Zimbabwe. These were among the conclusions reached after a two-day consultation between church leaders of nine denominations from the two countries held at Umzumbe on South Africa's south coast. The chairperson of the consultation, Bishop Rubin Phillip, said the factor of fear among the Zimbabwean church delegations had emerged constantly during the two-day meeting.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 1 November
WFP won't resume food aid
Louthy Dube
The World Food Programme (WFP) says it will not resume delivery of food aid to Insiza in Matabeleland South, suspended before last weekend's by-election because of violence, until government addresses its concerns. WFP suspended delivery of food aid in Insiza after Zanu PF supporters and officials intimidated its implementing partner - the Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (Orap). Zanu PF members looted a consignment of over three tonnes of food aid and distributed it to their supporters as part of the campaign. WFP spokesman in Zimbabwe, Luis Clemmens, said delivery of monthly food rations to Insiza remained suspended. "Food aid to Insiza remains suspended until further notice," Clemmens said. "There have been meetings between WFP and government officials but our concerns have not been addressed and until that is done, the position remains the same." Before suspension of the aid, the agency was doling out monthly rations to over 6 000 people in two wards in Insiza. Clemmens said WFP reported the theft of the maize to the police and the district administrator but nothing had been done to apprehend the culprits. Efforts to get a comment from police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena proved fruitless by the time of going to press. The government has reacted angrily to the suspension of the food aid and has accused the WFP of being used by the West in a hate campaign against Zimbabwe. "The issue of politicisation of food aid is unacceptable," said Clemmens. "If the matter is not resolved we will not go back to Insiza because we want to avoid the politicisation of international food aid."
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From BBC News, 2 November
DR Congo sacks diamond mine heads
By Mark Dummett, BBC correspondent in Kinshasa
President Joseph Kabila has dismissed the management committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo's state diamond mining company, Miba. The head of Miba, Jean-Charles Okoto, and the other members of the board were sacked on Saturday, state television announced. The decree comes two weeks after the publication of a United Nations report which accused senior Congolese officials of plundering the country's mineral wealth during its four-year war. The report alleged the board and senior members of the Congolese Government funnelled billions of dollars of state assets into the hands of private companies. It also alleged that these companies are owned by a network of Congolese officials, foreign businessmen and senior members of Zimbabwe's Government and army. Furthermore, the report claimed that the managers of Miba's largest diamond mine, and the Zimbabwean soldiers guarding it, had organised the theft of up to $25m in gems a year. Zimbabwe has sent thousands of troops to DR Congo to support the government there during its four-year war against Rwandan and Ugandan backed rebels. However, it said it pulled the last of its troops out of the country on Thursday. The Congolese Government and Miba have denied all allegations made in the UN report and spokesman Kikievin Karubi said the dismissal of the board had nothing to do with its publication.
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From Business Day (SA), 2 November
'Food shortages give me a sore tummy'
Harare - Zimbabwe's economy has lurched into a new crisis as the country's currency fell 60% in a week and its once world-leading tobacco industry appeared to be heading for oblivion. At the same time, President Robert Mugabe gave an unexpected insight into his anxiety over the country's parlous economic state when the state media quoted him as saying that the country's fuel shortages gave him "stomach aches." He said he would reverse his policy of exclusive state monopoly on the import of fuel and said he would henceforth allow private companies to import fuel - a change for which private oil companies have been pleading for years. "We crack our heads on importing fuel and have reports every Tuesday about how much fuel we have in the country," the state-controlled Herald quoted him as saying. "And what do we do? We call in the multinational oil companies. They sell and make profits. Government does not make any profits. Twenty-two years in government, 22 years of playing this game of foolery. They don't suffer from the headaches and stomach aches I suffer from," he said. "They must import fuel and not wait for government to do it for them."
Observers said the week's developments were the signs of new pressures tearing at the country's once-robust economy, after nearly three years of disastrous economic mismanagement and political chaos. The country's thriving commercial agricultural industry has been virtually destroyed by Mugabe's policy of forcing white farmers off their land, while the repression of political opponents has served to switch off Western financial and donor support. Fuel shortages, the first sign of the country's hard currency problems, began in December 1999 when the state-owned National Oil Company of Zimbabwe failed to meet payments on arrears to international oil companies for fuel supplies. Persistent shortages have been relieved in the last 18 months by easy-terms credit from Libya's Muammar Gaddafi. However, the usually reliable Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, quoting oil industry sources, reported yesterday that no Libyan fuel had been delivered for the last six weeks because of Zimbabwe's failure to meet payments on shipments. Supplies were being sustained by the recent reopening of credit lines with Kuwaiti suppliers, the newspaper said.
The collapse of the national currency accelerated sharply this week, with currency traders reporting today that US1 on the semi-official "parallel" market would fetch Z$1500, against US1: Z$950 at the end of last week. The implication of allowing fuel companies to import and retail to the public at the current levels of the dollar did not appear to have been realised by Mugabe, fuel industry sources said. NOCZIM runs at an enormous loss, paying for fuel with hard currency, but then selling it for Z$76/litre, a price fixed by the government since June last year and now worth 5 US cents. "We've now got the cheapest fuel in the world because of the government's ridiculous policies," said a fuel industry executive. "If private companies brought it in and charged at the price they bought it for, Zimbabweans would suddenly find themselves paying about 20 times as much as they do now." Foreign currency traders said the dramatic slump in the currency's value was a result of NOCZIM buying hard currency on the parallel market to try and pay for fuel deliveries. "They need huge amounts of hard cash to keep us in fuel, and they're in competition for it with the rest of the market," said one banker.
The situation is expected to worsen sharply with the end yesterday of the six-month auction sales of the country's tobacco crop, Zimbabwe's most vital export commodity. "Tobacco has kept the forex dribbling in. Now it's stopped, we're in for a rough time," the banker said. Until three years ago, Zimbabwe shared with Brazil the position of the biggest tobacco exporter in the world. Growers on the country's embattled white-owned commercial farms produced 162-million kg of tobacco, earning $370 million. As a result of the constant harassment of farmers, output has been shrinking steadily since 1999 when they produced 237-million kg. During the last three months, police and Mugabe's militias have carried out a campaign of mass evictions of farmers, and there are now an estimated 350 commercial growers left, out of about 1,500 this time last year. The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association estimates that output next year will fall by over 50% to only 75-million kg. "Even that figure is questionable," said Pat Devenish, managing director of Tobacco Sales Floors, the largest auction company. "The effect of the land seizures has been huge."
However, the major European and American cigarette manufacturers who are Zimbabwe's biggest customers, are expected to continue to buy from Zimbabwe again next year, despite the low forecast crop. "They have indicated they will be tolerating a shortage for one year," Devenish said. "It took us decades to build up a reputation as a reliable, high-quality leaf producer. "If we have another short crop after next year, we will go back to being a 'catch market' where they buy occasionally, only if it's a really good crop or the price is very weak. If that happens and they pull out, it will be a catastrophe."
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 1 November
No money for new farmers
Augustine Mukaro/Ndamu Sandu
Private sector companies and banks which pledged financial aid to newly-resettled farmers have not remitted any while the District Development Fund (DDF) has admitted it has no capacity to provide tillage to all the new farmers, it has emerged. This has exacerbated fears that the country's agricultural production could fall dramatically next year amid warnings of a "mild" El Nino-induced drought. DDF director James Jonga said his organisation did not have adequate resources to provide tillage to all newly-resettled farmers. "DDF's tillage capacity is limited and is not intended to meet the needs of every farmer who requests such services," said Jonga. "In fact DDF's role is interventionist rather than a total take-over of national tillage activities. Out of a national annual demand to till three million hectares, DDF can only achieve 100 000 hectares with its current capacity," he said.
The private sector has pledged $35 billion to kick-start the chaotic land reform while government has contributed only $8,5 billion for inputs. The government estimates that $76 billion will be required to finance the 2002/03 crop alone. Another $76 billion is needed to restock the depleting cattle herd and provide infrastructural facilities to the newly-resettled farmers. Delta Corporation and Time Bank each pledged $10 billion, while Metropolitan Bank promised $7 billion. CFI Holdings joined hands with FSI Agricom to pledge $5 billion, and Seed Co another $25 billion to be remitted in tranches of $5 billion for the next five years. The Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe in conjunction with the National Social Security Authority pledged $500 million while the Agricultural Development and Assistance Fund said it would give $76,9 million. All the money was intended to purchase inputs, particularly for the fast-track resettled farmers.
FSI Agricom spokesperson Regis Nyamakanga said the arrangement was still in its infancy and nothing would be released for this season. "We are in the process of negotiating a government guarantee and identifying beneficiaries for the project," Nyamakanga said. Delta Corporation corporate affairs executive George Mutendadzamera said they had released the funds to their traditional growers contracted to the corporation and who could guarantee repayment of the loans. Delta supports barley, maize and sorghum farmers who produce inputs for beer production by its subsidiaries Natbrew and Chibuku Breweries. A $10 billion Time Bank loan facility failed to take off last year after government delayed to provide a guarantee on behalf of new farmers. A CBZ official yesterday said money was available but prospective beneficiaries had to apply and normal credit conditions would apply. Farmers associations said they hadn't benefited from any of the pledges or loan facilities. Zimbabwe Association of Tobacco Growers president Julius Ngorima said of the 1 500 farmers affiliated to his organization, none had secured full financial support for this season, including established farmers.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 1 November
Donnelly trashes claims of diplomatic stand-off
Dumisani Muleya
The government has contrived a phoney diplomatic stand-off with Britain in a bid to distract attention from its catalogue of problems at home, a senior British envoy has said. Commenting on Harare's political fall-out with London in the latest issue of Britain & Zimbabwe magazine, British High Commissioner to Harare, Brian Donnelly, said government created a "false fight" to camouflage the deepening political and economic crisis. "The last three months have seen official relations between Britain and Zimbabwe sink to their lowest levels since Independence," he said. "The government's rhetoric blaming Britain for the country's troubles has become louder and shriller as its own responsibility for the decline of Zimbabwe has become ever more evident to the rest of the world." Donnelly said government's claim that Britain wanted to re-colonise Zimbabwe was ridiculous. "The notion that Britain wants to re-colonise Zimbabwe - always implausible - has become simply absurd," he said. "Why would Britain want to take on responsibility for a politically-polarised nation with one of the fastest shrinking economies in the world?"
The crack British diplomat said Zimbabwe had a trade surplus with Britain, and Zimbabweans in Britain remit around £15 million each month. "So who is colonising who? British interests, however defined, are best served by a Zimbabwe at peace with itself and with a thriving economy. The rhetoric makes no sense and it just isn't true." Donnelly said government was determined to obfuscate real issues through demagoguery. "The intent is clear enough: to cast Britain as the scapegoat. But this is a false fight," he said. "It is not a fight which Britain seeks or wants. And it could be quickly ended if the government were to change course and put into practice the democratic values it repeatedly says in believes in."
Government, he observed, would not change to avoid self-destruction. "It (government) seems determined to continue to move in the opposite direction. The democratic space is still being progressively reduced by actions clearly designed to discourage or prevent legitimate opposition and to curtail freedom of expression," he said. "The continuation of unsustainable and chaotic land reform policies which have brought unjustifiable pain and suffering to farmers and farm workers alike, threatens to mortally wound the key sector of the economy."
Although Zimbabwe used to be self-sufficient, he said, it had now become a basket case. "And on top of all this the country now faces famine. We understand that small farmers produce 70% of the maize crop and that they were badly hit by drought. This is not at issue," he said. "But it is mismanagement that causes a drought to become famine. Inadequate preparations despite ample warning; inadequate response, hamstrung by economic and political policies which create obstacles rather than smoothing the path." Donnelly said Britain would continue to help Zimbabweans go through the current man-made food crisis. "But it is a matter of profound disappointment that we have to spend £32 million on emergency aid and assistance when we would rather have invested the money in sustainable development, including a viable land reform programme, in a country as full of potential as Zimbabwe." The British envoy said Britain would not withhold food aid to influence local policies because the masses would suffer and not the ruling elite. "It is undeniable that aid donors are filling the gap government should be filling itself," he said. "Britain does not think it is right that the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of society should pay that price."
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Comment from The Zimbabwe Independent, 1 November
The snake charmer
Vincent Kahiya
There was once a famous snake charmer who taught his giant snake to wrap around him and retreat at his command. He'd say, "Coil!" The snake would wrap around his body all the way up to his head where it would lick his face. Then the snake charmer would say, "Retreat!" And the snake would shyly uncoil and slither across the floor. This became such a great trick that he went on tour where auditoriums exploded at his artistry in dealing with the pet snake. One night he and the snake went on stage in front of the biggest crowd ever. It was his big night. Like always, he said, "COIL!" and the snake coiled around him but it began to constrict him. Everyone gasped. Then he said "RETREAT!" Nothing happened. Again he shouted, "RETREAT!" Still nothing. "RETREAT, RETREAT!" And there in front of the crowd the snake crushed him and began to swallow him headfirst. The crowd thought this was the charmer's new trick. Enthralled, the audience jumped from their seats and exploded into applause with calls of "encore" as the curtain came down. After the show, backstage, the charmer's assistant remembered how the poor man got the snake. It was just a baby - so small he could have crushed it in his hand. He played with it, let it grow and it became a source of his newfound fame. It finally crushed him and swallowed him.
President Robert Mugabe's pet has been his disastrous agrarian reform, severe food shortages and the accompanying economic meltdown, which have spawned inflation of 139,9% and forecast to touch 522% by the end of next year. Debate on the implementation of the fast track land reform exercise has made President Mugabe - a master of deception - a "star". He has charmed audiences with his oratory prowess, especially when taking a cheap shot at the British or any quarter that does not believe that he is the greatest thing that ever walked on the African continent. In the filled auditorium in Sandton during the Earth Summit, South Africa in August and in September at the United Nations headquarters in New York, audiences applauded the septuagenarian leader's tongue-lashing against British interference in Zimbabwe's domestic affairs. Meanwhile the charmer's snake has continued to grow as the audience lusts for more feats of grandstanding.
The applause that has rung in auditoriums for our dear leader appears to have given Mugabe another layer of thick skin. But it has not changed poor villagers' diet from wild fruits to the sadza they should eat, after people in 2002 voted for a responsible president who promised that no-one would starve. The applause has not filled shop shelves with bread, mealie-meal, cooking oil, margarine, flour, sugar etc (The shopping basket is already full of emptiness). The applause has not provided tillage to the new farmers nor has it provided seed and fertiliser. It has not opened closed factories or reduced the unemployment rate from the conservative estimate of 70%. There is a real threat of a drought this season, which means another famine on top of an already unfolding humanitarian disaster induced by the agrarian reform and fictitious estimates given by Lands and Agriculture minister, Joseph Made. Remember the Bible says: "If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials become wicked." (Proverbs 29:12)
President Mugabe has used the applause to confuse national values manifesting themselves through land reform with the survival of his political order and protection of personal projects. If anything, it has strengthened his resolve to engage in acts of bravado with the snake that is growing! President Mugabe, currently bubbling with youthful enthusiasm not matched by the requisite strength and resolve to deal with the simmering national crisis, will yearn to carry his snake to more international capitals and do more tricks. But then there is always the looming danger of the snake growing big enough to want to try new tricks on its handler. "COIL" RETREAT, RETREAT, RETREAT YOU DAMN SNAKE!! Applause and Curtain.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 3 November
Reprisals in Insiza
By Cynthia Mahwite
Insiza - As Zanu PF basks in the glory of what they call a resounding victory over the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Insiza last weekend, weary villagers say the whole electoral exercise was a mere sham. Villagers who escaped the constituency this week told The Standard that violence in the area still continues unabated as Zanu PF supporters and its youth militia intensify a witch-hunt to sniff out MDC supporters from the constituency. The ruling party has started a retribution exercise to harass and force opposition supporters to denounce the MDC and join Zanu PF. "The Zanu PF youths have given us two weeks to surrender all MDC material and join Zanu PF and they have started moving around the district punishing suspected opposition supporters. "Despite their winning the seat, which we think was on unjust grounds, they continue to intensify violence in the area and we are being beaten up night and day as they continue searching for MDC sympathisers and polling agents," said a villager who declined to be named for fear of victimisation.
On Monday Zanu PF supporters are reported to have rounded up 11 MDC polling agents from their homes and severely assaulted them. According to villagers, many people are now spending nights in the bush for fear of being attacked by the Zanu PF youth militias. "The happenings of Gukurahundi have resurfaced once again. How can the government use our own children, whom we have sent to be trained in the name of national service, to beat us up and attack us at night?" said Baba Sibanda who declined to give his first name. Villagers in Insiza feel that the election was stolen as the electorate was manipulated to vote for Zanu PF if they did not want to be killed and have their homes burnt. "Our village headmen pleaded with us to vote for Zanu PF or there would be no peace in the area. However, what is shocking us is that despite their victory violence is still prevalent and is getting worse," said another villager. "They have forced us to vote for their candidate and he has won, we are not sure what they want from us now." "We knew Zanu PF was winning because they told us to vote for them. They gave us food, something that the MDC could not do, and told us that if we voted for the opposition then we would starve," said Melusi Msipha, a villager in the constituency.
The Standard had difficulty interviewing villagers as most shied away from questions asked by this reporter. However, the few that spoke to this paper had horrific tales to tell. A man who identified himself as Zimutho told The Standard that there was a lot of violence in some districts in the constituency during the elections, where a number of MDC sympathisers were beaten up and arrested. "Silalatshani, Filabusi and Mahole were the areas most affected with violence during the elections. Shops in Mahole were attacked and destroyed with some being burned down whilst the electorate in Silaltshani were stoned by the militia," said Zimutho. MDC spokesman, Paul Temba-Nyathi, said his party would challenge the outcome of the poll as there was overwhelming evidence pointing to a flawed electoral process. "We are definitely contesting these results because the situation is crying out for us to do something. This is another seat stolen from us by the government, only it is so much in the open that people can see it," said Nyathi.
According to Nyathi, war-vets in Insiza are still maintaining a reign of terror. He said the number of cases of villagers being beaten up and tortured continues to increase. "We have a number of villagers who have managed to escape from Insiza and their reports are just so appalling. The situation of violence in the constituency continues to worsen as people are being raided night and day in search for MDC members." He dismissed the existence of democracy in the nation saying it had been destroyed by Zanu PF. Meanwhile addressing a victory celebration in Insiza on Friday, President Robert Mugabe said the people of Insiza had refused to be deceived by the "British sponsored" MDC which championed the cause of the minority whites. Mugabe also attacked British Prime Minister Tony Blair for meddling in Zimbabwe's internal affairs and attempting to influence the outcome of the Insiza poll through his High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, Brian Donnelly.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 3 November
SA cuts off fuel
By Chengetai Zvauya
Zimbabwe’s precarious fuel situation is set to deepen following revelations that South African fuel company, Sasol, has stopped its supplies to Zimbabwe following last week's expiry of the US$20 million facility which saw the country receive fuel from across the border, The Standard has learnt. The deal between Zimbabwe and Sasol had resulted in the southern and central parts of the country receiving fuel overland from South Africa from 2000. It could not be established whether fuel from another South African company, Engen, which was also being sourced for the southern and central parts of the country, was still flowing in. The fuel provided by the two companies amounted to 30% of the country's total requirements. But with the facility now exhausted, there are signs that national fuel procurement entity, Noczim, will struggle even further to cope with demand. For the past two weeks, the southern and central parts of the country have been experiencing sporadic stock outs at filling stations, while supplies in the capital Harare have also been inconsistent.
The Standard understands that last week, the government sought forex from local financial institutions in a desperate bid to renew the facility with Sasol. The government is also said to have gone onto the black market to source forex for another fuel deal with Libya, causing the latest crash in the dollar which is now trading at up to 1 800 against the US dollar. The US$360 million facility with Libya, which was personally signed by President Mugabe and his Libyan counterpart, Muammar Gaddafi, in September, was supposed to assure Zimbabwe of uninterrupted supplies until the same month next year. The Libyans normally supply 70% of Zimbabwe's fuel needs. But with news that the forex-starved country is defaulting on payments, the Libyans are said to have shut their pumps until all dues have been settled. Apart from a shortage of petrol and diesel, Zimbabwe is experiencing the more severe shortage of paraffin and liquid petroleum gas (LPG).
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From News24 (SA), 4 November
Peer review: 12 nations agree
Abuja, Nigeria - Twelve African nations agreed on Sunday to create an all-African peer review system monitoring their governments' conduct in a bid to attract lucrative trade and aid from Western governments wary of wars and human rights abuses on the continent. Representatives of at least four of 18 African nations present at a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja left without signing the declaration of intent, organisers said. It was not immediately clear whether the two remaining nations signed. Stressing that wars and civil unrest were hindering development on the world's most poverty-ridden continent, summit host President Olusegun Obasanjo said peer review was essential. Work must be done to "enthrone genuine democracy, the rule of law and good governance in all its ramifications", he added. Little was known, however, about how the peer-review system would operate. A copy of the document would only be made public on Monday, summit organisers said.
Peer-review has been cautiously supported by Western supporters of the New Partnership for African Development, or Nepad. Nepad was designed by the leaders of South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal and Algeria to energise the continent's economies through partnerships with industrialised nations. But it's uncertain how tough leaders of politically fragile, ethnically diverse African nations are prepared to be in policing themselves, and whether the panel would cover misgovernment or human rights abuses. Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade, an outspoken figure who has cajoled African counterparts for failing to speak out about abuses in Zimbabwe and other states, did not sign the document and left the summit hall less than an hour after the meeting began. The reason for his early departure was not known. Botswana, Tunisia and Cameroon also did not sign, Obasanjo said. South Africa, with Nigeria one of sub-Saharan Africa's two most influential nations, insisted in recent days that peer review should be limited to matters of economic good governance, like ensuring accountability for public funds and growth-friendly policies. Political matters should be left off the job description. Others had envisioned a more expansive policy, which would take to task African regimes that condone political corruption, undemocratic policies and human rights abuses. "There was never ever any suggestion that we have a Nepad peer review process that would conduct the work of the commission on human rights," Mbeki said in recent days.
In the end, South African President Thabo Mbeki signed the document, Obasanjo said. "The peer review mechanism must be African-owned, African-led, and African-managed," Obasanjo said. "It must be voluntary, technically competent, credible, non-discriminatory and free from political manipulation from any quarters." He did not specify whether it was the participants or judgments of the proposed panel that should be "voluntary". "We recognise in Nepad that peace and security is a condition precedent on poverty eradication and promotion of rapid economic development," Obasanjo said. Obasanjo called on summit participants to support attempts to end civil unrest and insurrections on the continent. The phased withdrawal of some UN peacekeepers from Sierra Leone after more than a decade of civil war, meanwhile, "bears eloquent testimony to what is possible ... when all stockholders demonstrate political will". "Heartwarming developments" had also been made in efforts to end years-long conflicts in the Congo, Sudan, Angola and Somalia, he added. "I urge all parties to the conflict in Ivory Coast to demonstrate their genuine commitment to peace and national reconciliation in the ongoing negotiations and peace talks," Obasanjo said. Conflicts in Central African Republic and Liberia "must also be brought to a speedy end." Along with Obasanjo, the presidents of South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Algeria, Senegal and Mozambique attended along with diplomatic representatives of Angola, Gabon, Ghana, Tunisia, Cameroon, Egypt, Mauritius, Uganda, Mali and Republic of Congo.
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From IOL (SA), 3 November
Mugabe promises land to DRC war vets
Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has said soldiers returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo war will get preferential treatment in the carve-up of seized farms, a local newspaper reported on Sunday. The official Sunday Mail said Mugabe told a rally of his Zanu PF party in north-western Zimbabwe that land was still available for all aspiring farmers, but soldiers who fought in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were a special case. "Those who were in the DRC are a source of pride and honour because they accomplished their mission well," he said. "Those who have applied for land will be given special consideration and everyone who desires to go into farming should not be denied the opportunity," he added. Last week Zimbabwe withdrew the last of its troops from the former Zaire where they fought alongside Angolan and Namibian soldiers to defend the Congolese government against rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda. At the height of the war, which broke out in August 1998, about 11 000 troops or a third of Zimbabwe's army was deployed.
Zimbabwe has been in turmoil since pro-government militants began invading white-owned farms in early 2000. Mugabe, in power since the former Rhodesia gained independence from Britain in 1980, says his land drive is aimed at correcting colonial injustice, which left 70 percent of the country's best land in the hands of white farmers. The Zimbabwe government has ordered nearly three quarters of the country's 4 500 commercial farmers to quit their land without compensation under a programme to seize farms to make way for largely landless blacks. The campaign has drawn criticism at home and abroad and is blamed by analysts for a severe food shortage affecting nearly seven million people or half of the population. The government insists the shortages are solely the result of drought.
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From The International Herald Tribune, 4 November
45 countries set to back rules against 'blood' diamond trade
Alan Cowell, New York Times
London - Representatives of 45 countries that produce, sell or trade in diamonds are about to endorse the beginnings of a system to prevent African warlords from fueling their conflicts through so-called blood diamonds. The representatives were scheduled to meet at Interlaken, Switzerland, on Monday and Tuesday, two years after a passionate debate over illicit diamond sales galvanized the gem industry and forced even the giant De Beers cartel into a major shift of corporate strategy. The 45 countries, which include the United States, are to give formal approval to new rules intended to make sure that, from the gravel of diamond mines to distant jewelry stores, diamonds will be certified as untainted. The goal is to prevent illicit diamonds being used to pay for the weapons used in wars, from Angola to Sierra Leone. But many of the advocacy groups that first inspired the debate said Friday that a system of written warranties that was offered last week by the diamond-cutting and trading business to complement the government effort was critically flawed because it could not be audited. "Despite two years of repeated promises, the diamond industry has failed to deliver a detailed and credible self-regulation system that will stem the flow of conflict diamonds," said Alex Yearsley, a campaigner from the London-based group Global Witness, which raised the issue in 1998.
The 45 countries are meeting to discuss what is known as the Kimberley Process, under which government and industry figures have been trying to formulate legally binding rules. The U.S. government has taken a particular interest in pressing the countries to introduce a certification system by Jan. 1. A senior State Department official, James Bindenagel, was appointed the special negotiator for conflict diamonds. The U.S. concern coincides with persistent but largely unsubstantiated reports that operatives of Al Qaeda laundered money through diamonds mined illicitly in Sierra Leone. The United States also accounts for half the world's $60-billion-a-year trade in stones sold as jewelry after rough diamonds are cut and polished into sparkling gems. "It's imperative that we launch on time," Bindenagel said in a telephone interview from Washington on Friday. He said that the United States intended to require certification beginning Jan. 1, and if European and other governments failed to commit themselves to introduce the new system by then, the world diamond trade could be disrupted. "We still regard this as an emergency," he said, citing reports of continued diamond-fueled conflict in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Christine Gordon, an independent, London-based diamond analyst, said that, while there had been no corroboration of reports linking the diamond trade with Al Qaeda, there were strong suspicions of ties between Lebanese diamond smugglers in West Africa and the militant Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
To a large extent, the Kimberley Process has come too late to prevent the worst excesses of diamond-financed warfare in Africa. However, a UN report chronicled the continued activities in Congo of what it termed "elite networks" of politicians and soldiers involved in "the illegal exploitation of the country's national resources." In theory, such illicit traffic will become much more difficult. Governments of diamond-producing countries will be required to license the miners, and the trade in rough diamonds across borders will be controlled by tamper-proof methods for certifying shipments and other measures. Previously, buyers in cutting centers like Antwerp, Belgium, or Tel Aviv were under no formal obligation to ascertain the origin of rough diamonds offered by sellers. Once diamonds are cut and polished, their origins are even more difficult to trace. In addition, rough diamonds, particularly those found in riverbeds, are easy to smuggle. Eli Izhakoff, the leader of the World Diamond Council, an industry body, said that the work to create the system had "squeezed out a lot of the profit-taking from the blood diamonds."
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Comment from The Zimbabwe Standard, 3 November
New economic theory lauded
Over the top by Brian Latham
A new economic theory has been developed in a troubled central African country where analysts say it will revolutionise development and fuel a new world order. The theory, touched upon by the troubled central African country's most equal of all comrades, sees goods being bought with foreign currency obtained at outrageous prices, then sold at an enormous loss to the public. "This means that businesses will go broke and not the government," said a clearly uncertain spokesman from the troubled central African country's economics ministry. First to be affected by the revolutionary economic theory, said to be the finest since Karl Marx sent over half of Europe into bankruptcy, will be multinational fuel companies. They must now import their own fuel, said the most equal of all comrades. Fuel company executives scratched their heads and asked how they were to do this when the troubled central African nation's corrupt and bankrupt oil procurer had a monopoly on petrol imports. "That's the beauty of the beauty of the scheme," said someone from the economics ministry. "If we tell them to import it and they can't, then we can blame them and their imperialist bosses for any fuel shortages that occur."
Still, a fuel executive said that if the most equal of all comrades thought oil companies were going to import fuel at, say, 50 US cents a litre and sell it at 5c, then clearly the most equal of all comrades was using a calculator made in North Korea. "If we can't sell it at a profit, then we won't sell it," said the oil executive. The oil executive's statement was dismissed as treasonable rubbish by the troubled central African country's disinformation department. "It's obvious that these imperialist saboteurs haven't grasped the fundamentals of the most equal of all comrade's genius revolutionary thinking," said a functionary reading a prepared script, without saying how the genius revolutionary thinking would transform the economy. But he did say it would transform the government's economy because it would no longer have to subsidise the price of fuel. When asked whether fuel would be sold at world prices or whether oil companies were expected to run at massive losses, the functionary said imperialist profiteering would not be allowed and prices would be vigilantly monitored by revolutionary cadres from the Zany Party.
"Until such time as we own all the fuel companies there will be no profiteering. After that prices may rise because the fuel companies will belong to the people and they will be buying the fuel from themselves," he said, adding that this was where the revolutionary bit came in. The idea was so simple that it was pure genius, he went on to say. "It's much the same as with the farms. Now that the people own all the farms, they can blame only themselves if food costs too much or if, as is more likely, there is no food." When it was pointed out that only members of the Zany party owned farms, the functionary said that only members of the Zany party could be classified as people. "The rest are subversives, imperialists and puppets of the west," he said, "and they should go and live with their colonialist puppeteers in those foreign places where such people are tolerated." Meanwhile, an economist who was not a member of the Zany party advocated mass hoarding of fuel because it was unlikely there'd be much to go around for some time to come. "All I can say is buy now while stocks last, because in the realms of weird economics, this has to be the weirdest I've ever encountered, even here," he said.
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From SABC News, 5 November
US looks at relief for Zimbabwe
The United States, charging Zimbabwean authorities with politicizing famine relief, says it is looking at ways to ensure food reaches Zimbabweans who need it, regardless of political affiliation. "We're talking to others on how to make sure the grain gets to people who need it," said a senior State Department official, who asked not to be identified. A deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Mark Bellamy, was quoted on Saturday as saying the United States was considering intrusive and interventionist measures that could challenge Zimbabwean sovereignty. "The dilemmas in the next six months may bring us face to face with Zimbabwe's sovereignty," said Bellamy, quoted in The Washington Times. He gave no details of methods. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the review of food distribution methods arose after the Zimbabwean authorities seized grain the World Food Programme was distributing and gave it to supporters of the government.
"Politicalization of food distribution by the ruling party in the face of an urgent need and real human suffering is very cynical. It's a very self-serving response to a major humanitarian catastrophe," he told a briefing. "We need to look very carefully at this situation to make sure that we can monitor the use of the food and make sure it goes to the neediest of people without any political consideration. So we're looking at that now." Once the breadbasket of southern Africa, Zimbabwe now needs food aid because of a sharply lower maize output, which aid agencies blame partly on President Robert Mugabe's seizure of land from minority whites for redistribution to landless blacks. The government says the shortage is due solely to a drought that has hit small-scale black farmers, who account for 70% of Zimbabwe's annual maize output. An estimated 4,5 million people are expected to need aid between September and November. The figure is expected to rise to 6,7 million between December and March 2003. The United States does not recognize Mugabe as the legitimate leader of Zimbabwe, on the grounds the ruling party rigged the presidential election in March.
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From IRIN (UN), 4 November
Goals not achieved in fast-track land reform
Intended beneficiaries not getting land
Harare - Among the initial goals of the land reform programme in Zimbabwe was the resettlement of people from densely populated communal rural areas to newly acquired farm land. However, in the rush to implement the government's fast-track land reform programme, this has not happened, say analysts and the would-be beneficiaries of land reform. They also point to signs that cronyism has affected land redistribution. John Chirova, 55, seems a bitter man. Chirova comes from Chiweshe district in the sprawling Mashonaland province, a region renowned for its rich soil. But instead of busying himself with the acquisition of agricultural inputs during the pre-planting season, Chirova spends most of his time at Nzvimbo Growth Point in Chiweshe, on the look-out for anyone who can buy him the opaque beer popularly known as "scud". "For the past two years, we have been battling to get plots of land with no success. Here in Chiweshe we are still packed like jailbirds. Nothing has changed whatsoever," Chirova said. He told IRIN how he was forced to give part of his already tiny plot to both his married and unemployed sons. For Chirova and the thousands like him, the fast-track land reform programme represents a shattered hope.
Analysts say there exists ample evidence to prove that the broad objective of President Robert Mugabe's government to "achieve optimal utilisation of land and natural resources and to promote equitable access to land to all Zimbabweans" was far from being achieved. Despite Mugabe's statement last July that decongestion of communal areas had been achieved through the land redistribution programme, analysts and the intended beneficiaries of the exercise say rural areas are still densely populated. "There is considerable lack of decongestion in some areas," said Professor Sam Moyo, a land expert. Professor Moyo believes the resettlement of people in rural areas - where the majority of Zimbabweans live - was being frustrated by the manner in which land was currently being redistributed. "Some farmers under the [commercial farming] A2 model have excessive pieces of land, with some of them owning two to three farms each. This obviously tends to limit decongestion," Professor Moyo said. A cabinet minister who recently visited Mashonaland Central's Mount Darwin district also voiced her concern about the lack of resettlement in the area. "There was chaotic allocation of land in the district with the council waiting list not being followed," the cabinet minister, Olivia Muchena, was quoted as saying in a local daily newspaper.
Mashonaland Central, also blessed with fertile soils, is home to more than a million people. However, Elliot Manyika, the governor of the province and Minister of Gender, Youth and Employment Creation admitted that only about 15,000 people from the province have been resettled. This despite the deadline for the processing of the applications of people wishing to be resettled having passed two months ago. In Chiweshe most homesteads resemble tiny villages. Generations of families share the plots of their parents and grandparents. More mouths to feed from the already low yields from farm plots. In areas like Padare, Kanyemba, Gweshe, Howard, Mutsarara and Panzvimbo, residential space is fast running out. As a result, it is becoming a familiar sight for homes to be sited on hills in the rocky terrain. Despite the Chiweshe people, who number more than 100,000, having registered for resettlement, less than 1,000 have been moved. "I am sure the governor and the provincial land committee have something against the people of Chiweshe," Chirova mused.
Manyika acknowledged that no resettlement occurred in Chiweshe from the early 1980s when the government began land redistribution. The area was also overlooked during the second resettlement phase in the 1990s. A similar scenario to Chiweshe can be found in the other provinces: in Manicaland, Masvingo and the Midlands. The lack of a transparent and effective redistribution programme has been blamed on corruption. A senior member of the war veterans' association, Mike Moyo, said his organisation would carry out a land audit because of the numerous complaints it had received. "We are extremely disturbed by the reports we are receiving. We decided to carry out an audit of how land is being distributed after many people approached us saying there are so many corrupt practices in the allocation of land," Moyo told IRIN. Moyo said the main culprits were apparently provincial governors, provincial administrators and district administrators as well as the land committees tasked with the processing of applications and the allocation of land. He added that most of the reports were received from people in Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West provinces.
Disgruntled would-be beneficiaries have complained that the government officials ask for bribes and other favours in return for a recommendation of their applications. In other cases, it was alleged that they favoured friends and relatives or supporters of the ruling Zanu PF. In Mashonaland West's Banket area, concerns have been raised that Zanu PF loyalists are using their political influence to obtain farming plots for their children, some of whom are still going to school, under the communal or A1 resettlement programme. John Mautsa, the director of the Indigenous Commercial Farmers Union (ICFU) said: "We are aware that families are being involved in the multi-ownership scandal. However, the problem is difficult to stem because some of the culprits use different names." Official figures put the number of beneficiaries under the A1 model at 330,000 while 54,000 have been approved under the A2 model. When the fast-track programme started, the government said it intended to resettle more than a million people over a three-year period. The recently appointed Minister of Land Reform, Flora Buka, played down allegations of corruption in the land redistribution exercise. "Concerning allegations of corruption in the provincial land committees, I do not have evidence. I can't act on the basis of speculation," said Buka. However, she said her ministry was doing an audit in the provinces and investigations could follow.
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From The Daily News, 4 November
Minister threatens municipal officials
From Our Correspondent in Bulawayo
Abednico Ncube, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, allegedly stormed into the offices of the Gwanda Municipality and threatened staff following the council’s decision to enlist the services of the messenger of court for the recovery of at least $120 000 he allegedly owes in unpaid rates. Sources within the council said on 14 October 2002, an angry Ncube, accompanied by war veteran Robson Mafu, and Councillor Sungano Chademana of Gwanda Rural District Council’s ward four, stormed into the council offices, where he confronted the Gwanda executive mayor, Rido Mpofu. It is alleged Ncube demanded that the council fire Ronnie Dube, the chamber secretary, for showing what he termed "disrespect" by recommending that he, a minister, be handed over to the messenger of court. He also demanded the dismissal of Jonathan Sibanda, a fire brigade officer, whom he accused of campaigning for the MDC in the run-up to the Insiza parliamentary by-election last month. He is reported to have proceeded to the chamber secretary’s office, where he confronted Dube and threatened to beat him up for allegedly not respecting him. Ncube could not be reached for comment, but Dube confirmed the deputy minister came to his office on the afternoon of 14 October 2002, and threatened him for handing his accounts over for debt recovery. He said Ncube arrived in the company of Chademana and Mafu, a war veteran who is also the Zanu PF provincial secretary for Matabeleland South. Mafu is the man who led a group of Zanu PF supporters which hounded 25 teachers out their work stations following the victory of some MDC candidates in the recent local government elections. Mpofu, the Gwanda mayor, would not comment on the matter. "I do not know if Ncube owes us anything, but you can check that with accounts," he said.
Sources within the municipality’s finance committee said the deputy minister was last month served with a letter of demand by the messenger of court. His outstanding bill with the council covers water charges, supplementary charges and refuse collection for property No 82 Senondo Township and for another property under construction in Jacaranda suburb. Ncube’s problems with the council date back to the end of 2000, when the municipality started registering concern at his failure to settle the arrears, which at that time stood at $31 477,10. Documents show that a full council meeting on 30 May 2001 to evict Ncube from No. 82 Senondo Township over his arrears. Ncube wrote to the council and requested a stay of the eviction. But the council resolved to hand him over to the messenger of court for attachment of property to settle the debt again this year when he failed to honour his earlier commitments. It is understood that after being served with papers last month, Ncube paid $38 000 of the $120 000 he owed when he was handed over to the messenger of court. He promised to settle the balance as soon as possible. That time he did not make a written commitment but still owes the council about $82 000.
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From The Daily Newspaper, 4 November
Police assault PTUZ leader
From Our Correspondent in Bulawayo
The Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) organising secretary for Matabeleland, Innocent Moyo, sustained facial injuries and a suspected broken rib in an attack by two uniformed police officers in Bulawayo last week. Moyo alleged the two pounced on him when he was about to board a taxi near the city’s Parkade Centre and started assaulting him, accusing him of having shown no respect for the uniformed police officers. Moyo said the attack was a clear sign that the State’s retribution campaign against the PTUZ members was continuing. "The police pounced on me for no reason and assaulted, handcuffed and dragged me to the Central Police Station where I was assaulted by more police officers and detained for about 30 minutes. When I asked what wrong I had done to deserve the assault, they assaulted me further," said a traumatised Moyo. He said he was assaulted with fists and booted feet. He said he feared his eye could have been seriously affected by the assault.
On 8 October, the PTUZ called for a strike, which was heeded by thousands of disgruntled teachers demanding better working conditions and a 100 percent salary adjustment. Moyo and Enock Paradza, the union’s vice-chairman, championed the strike in Matabeleland. The two were arrested at the height of the teachers’ strike, and charged under the repressive Public Order and Security Act. They last appeared in court last week and were remanded to 6 December. Moyo alleged that when he challenged the police to explain why they were beating him up, they said they were employed to beat up people who did not respect uniformed State security agents, and that they had the powers to shoot anyone. The assault comes after some teachers were served with letters accusing them of misconduct for participating in the recent strike. The affected teachers are expected to respond to the letters not later than 8 November.
Most of the Bulawayo-based PTUZ members who took part in the strike teach at Mzilikazi, Sobukazi, Nkulumane and Milton High schools. Out of those who heeded the strike in Bulawayo, Victor Mhlanga, the union’s Matabeleland chairman, and Nyasha Magirigide, the treasurer, have been suspended for three months for alleged misconduct. The suspension letter reads: "You are alleged to have committed act(s) of misconduct in that you engaged in a work stoppage as defined in section 56 (1) of the Public Service Regulations, 2002, paragraphs (a) and (b). As provided in section 59 (1) of the above regulations, you are suspended from duty for a period of three months." The two are not entitled to any benefits during the suspension period.
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From The Cape Times, 5 November
Zimbabwe's currency collapses
By Beauregard Tromp
Harare - Zimbabwe could face economic meltdown this year unless its government acts to end the economic crisis that has seen the country's currency collapse in the last fortnight, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Just two weeks ago Zimbabweans were paying Z$750 for an American dollar on the black market. On Monday, after a fortnight of freefall, a staggering Z$1 600 was needed to buy US$1 and it is expected that the beleaguered currency will fall further. Meanwhile, the IMF has predicted that inflation could rise to 522 percent next year. IMF country representative in Zimbabwe Gerry Johnson said on Monday: "You're moving into a situation where it could go much higher than that. Once you get to that point, it can go very fast." With prices rising daily, businesses selling imported goods have stopped advertising prices. One computer company's adverts simply say "$ Call next to items for sale". And in supermarkets the price of imported goods like butter last week doubled, reflecting the fall of the Zimbabwe dollar against the rand.
Zimbabweans now pay up to Z$160 for R1 as foreign currency-starved businesses clamour for anything they can get. And it's not just imported goods that double in price. On Monday beef prices rose 100 percent overnight, anticipating a shortage caused by the slaughter of three-quarters of Zimbabwe's commercial beef herd. The slaughter, forced by the eviction of thousands of white farmers, will turn Zimbabwe from the region's most famous beef exporter into a net importer of beef within a year, say industry insiders. Movement for Democratic Change economic affairs spokesperson Eddie Cross said the meltdown had been "engineered by the ruling Zanu-PF party". "In 22 years, the life expectancy of our people has declined 22 years on average. We have gone from being a net exporter of food to being dependent on imports for 75 percent of what we need to survive."
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Comment from Business Day (SA), 4 November
Mugabe has us fighting each other
Tim Modise, that witty master of talk show radio, tells the funny story of how when his programme runs out of zap (this doesn't happen often) he is tempted to simply ask his listeners what they think of President Robert Mugabe. That way, he says, his show would immediately effervesce as South Africans of all colour and creed love to air their views on Zimbabwe. Yes, Zimbabwe is a big deal in SA sometimes even bigger than it is in Zimbabwe itself, so my colleague Mzi Malunga often reminds me. Very rarely, indeed, do South Africans get excited about continental issues the way we do about Zimbabwe. We spend lots of time debating the question of who is right and wrong in our neighbour's deepening crisis, wondering how a country that showed so much promise a few years ago could have descended into chaos so quickly. What fascinates visitors to SA though, are the racial tensions that often boil over in discussions over the House of Stones (literary translation of the Shona meaning of Zimbabwe).
This maze of emotions over Zimbabwe appears to stem from our close cultures and similar pre-independence and immediate post-Uhuru history which makes Zimbabwe less the simple issue of a neighbour's plummeting fortunes, but one of the nature of our own political growth and future. But if there is one thing I have to give Zimbabwe's embattled rulers (in addition to the above factors), it has been their ability to also confuse South Africans and the rest of the international community about the real issues in their country. This mastery in obfuscation has not only helped Uncle Bob extend his long rule, it has also meant that in SA, public opinion on him is often divided needlessly along racial lines, despite the fact that the victims of Mugabe's tyrannical rule are almost entirely black.
Zimbabwe's deepening economic and political crisis is simply not a black and white issue. The fact is that while attacks on white farmers by Mugabe's supporters often grab the headlines, his treatment of the black opposition and its millions of black followers, black journalists and black judicial officers is infinitely more brutal and disgraceful than the pressure he has exerted on the commercial farmers. Zimbabwe's 80 000 or so whites may be relatively wealthier than their 13-million black countrymen, but they don't threaten Mugabe at all. In order to clarify our own thinking on the issue, therefore, particularly as black South Africans, we should ask ourselves who has presided so miserably over the country since 1980 to the extent that black Zimbabweans are today worse off than they were at independence? Indeed, we should also analyse who has been in charge of the policies that have resulted in 80% of the Zimbabwean population now living well below the poverty line.
I suspect that if we were to allow ourselves just a little room to think along these lines and less emotively, we would all reach the obvious deduction that the economic and political crisis now destroying Zimbabwe is not of the west's making, and neither is it engineered in Sandton. The hard facts are that Mugabe has been in power for 22 years and has thus presided majestically and alone over the decay of the country - not white racists, even if they may secretly be wishing Zimbabwe's young democracy ill. In the same vein though, expectations that Pretoria can rein in Mugabe are equally misplaced. Pretoria can only work to minimise the damage to SA by nudging and encouraging Mugabe to resume stalled unity talks with the country's beleaguered opposition. And for this to work, he will need the support of other African leaders. Ultimately though, if the anarchy in Zimbabwe is to ev |
