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Archived News
15th July 2003
Banned Zimbabwe minister given visa
Tsvangirai corrects Mbeki
MDC welcomes Mbeki, Bush statement
Seeking help with a crisis, Zimbabweans go to Pretoria
Everyone wants change: Bush visit to South Africa a 'unique opportunity'
African ministers beg for US help in Liberia
Harare opposition mayor detained again
Zim crematorium suffers backlog
New law gives Mugabe a captive audience
Wake up, Mugabe!
Bush gives way to South Africa over call to topple 'evil' Mugabe regime
Union Buildings press conference transcript
'We share same objective'
Famine stares 5m Zimbabweans in the face
Zim farmers: Evictions continuing
Zim talks are denied, but they're on agenda
Mugabe makes overtures to the opposition
Harare sees support for talks as 'loud climbdown' by Bush
Zim govt evicts MDC mayor
MDC leader's treason trial postponed
Zimbabwe leadership in crisis over Mugabe's successor
Mugabe on his way, Bush told
Zanu PF factions court MDC
Zim to hike staple prices
Harare mayor fights eviction
President Mugabe elected AU vice chairman
Police search for Chavunduka/Choto
Mugabe’s shadow falls on Bush safari
Libyan fuel deal held up
Zim facing famine deaths
Land audit reveals arbitrary seizures
'Torturer' safe in UN Kosovo role
Outrage over Mugabe job 'mockery'
State inflating land beneficiaries - MDC
Why Mugabe's Zimbabwe has avoided economic meltdown - so far
Poking a stick in the ear of a lion
Secret deal paves way for Mugabe exit this year
'SA will do everything to assist Zimbabwe'
Bizos asks Zimbabwe court to drop treason charges
Mugabe 'blocked EU plan for peace force
EU freezes aid to Africa
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From The New York Times, 9 July
Seeking help with a crisis, Zimbabweans go to Pretoria
By Lydia Polgreen
Johannesburg - The attention of Zimbabweans is being diverted south this week as President Bush holds talks in Pretoria with the South African president, Thabo Mbeki, that will surely include discussion of the political crisis in Zimbabwe. The opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, whose leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is on trial for treason in Harare, has sent a delegation to South Africa in the hope of capturing some of the spotlight Mr. Bush's meeting with Mr. Mbeki will bring. The delegation hopes Mr. Bush will press Mr. Mbeki to condemn President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. "What we have seen is solidarity among African leaders," said Gift Chimanikire, the party's deputy secretary general, in an interview here today. "What we have not seen is solidarity from the leaders with the African people. We hope our presence here can change that." Mr. Bush, who will hold talks with Mr. Mbeki on Wednesday as part of a five-country tour of Africa, has called for a change of leadership in Zimbabwe. His South African counterpart has been hesitant to push Mr. Mugabe to step down despite the damage the crisis in Zimbabwe could cause to his country's economy and to regional stability.
The Movement for Democratic Change has a carefully crafted message for Mr. Bush: pressure Mr. Mbeki to use his country's standing as a regional superpower to defuse the crisis in Zimbabwe, and promise to do it on a specific timetable. "We want to lobby for regional support to bring a democratic end to the crisis," Mr. Chimanikire said. Last week a judge in Harare gave the Movement for Democratic Change a boost when it ruled that the party's challenge to the 2002 election, which President Mugabe won narrowly amid widespread irregularities and allegations of fraud and violence, must be assigned a court date. The court case had been stalled for 15 months. Mr. Mugabe, on a tour of Zimbabwe's eight provinces over the weekend, spoke at huge rallies at each stop in which he ridiculed Mr. Bush and called for him and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain to stand trial for war crimes for the "genocide which they recently committed in Iraq." Mr. Mugabe, who is 79 and has been in power for 23 years, told a roaring crowd over the weekend in Chivi, a rural town 140 miles southwest of Harare, the capital, "If Mr. Bush is coming to seek cooperation, then he is welcome, but if he is coming to dictate what we should do, then we will say, `Go back, Yankee.' "
While people across Africa have turned out to protest Mr. Bush's visit, in Harare, where idle young men with no jobs and no place to go fill the streets, many people wish Mr. Bush would intercede in the Zimbabwe crisis, forcefully, and cite Liberia as a model. "When Bush arrives he should immediately send a strong statement toward Mugabe, just like what he did with Charles Taylor," said Denis Tsanga, a 19-year-old computer science student in Harare, referring to the president of Liberia. "Because as it is right now, we are suffering." An intervention like the one under consideration in Liberia is highly unlikely, and opposition leaders have said they hope the United States will apply pressure carefully so as not to seem as though it is bullying a troubled African nation. Indeed, there are no rebel armies threatening Harare, no tide of refugees. But each day Zimbabwe slides deeper into misery. With the collapse of Zimbabwe's once robust farming sector, about half of the country will need food to get through to the next harvest without starving. But the United Nations food supplies in the country have dwindled to just a month's worth.
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From ICG, 8 July
Everyone wants change: Bush visit to South Africa a 'unique opportunity'
Nairobi - Zimbabwe’s citizens no longer talk about whether change will come but when. All acknowledge, however, that the road will be dangerous, possibly violent. The ruling Zanu PF party is split, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been able to demonstrate considerable popular support in recent months, and even President Robert Mugabe has hinted he is prepared to step down. South Africa is the country in the best position to help pull Zimbabwe back from the brink but it needs strong international support. So the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush there today is a unique opportunity to help chart action that could lead to a negotiated solution. A new briefing paper, Decision Time in Zimbabwe, published today by the International Crisis Group ahead of President Bush’s meeting with South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki, sets out steps for a negotiation process. First, ICG argues, South Africa needs to engage with sufficient determination to persuade ZANU-PF and the MDC to begin serious negotiations. Then it should be prepared to facilitate and mediate negotiations for a transitional government and new elections.
John Prendergast, ICG’s Special Adviser on Africa, said: "Getting Zanu PF and the MDC to the table for unconditional talks should be at the top of the agenda when Presidents Bush and Mbeki meet. It is not just Zimbabweans who are suffering. South Africa and its African partners fear the repercussions of state collapse. They have already seen the credibility of NEPAD crumble - largely as a result of unwillingness to confront Mugabe’s policies - while two million Zimbabwean refugees are now in South Africa. It’s estimated that Zimbabwe’s economic collapse has cost South Africa alone U.S.$ 1.9 billion over the past three years". ICG sets out objectives and a framework for such a negotiation, recognising that there are a number of issues that will cause the most difficulty. These are: when elections should be held, who in Zanu PF and the security sector besides President Mugabe should receive immunity from prosecution or extradition, how land reform will be handled, how power will be shared and what the Mugabe retirement package might look like. "There is a way forward for Zimbabwe, if the international community - especially and most directly the U.S. - works with South Africa", said John Prendergast. "Acting separately and at variance ensures the crisis will continue indefinitely, with increasingly grave repercussions in the country and the region". A range of international players as well as the U.S. would need to play supporting roles in a negotiation process including the EU, the Southern Africa Development Commission (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth.
From ZWNEWS: If you would like a copy of the ICG discussion paper, please let us know. It will be sent as a Word attachment to an email message - total size approximately three times the size of the average daily ZWNEWS.
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From The Cape Argus (SA), 8 July
African ministers beg for US help in Liberia
African ministers have piled pressure on the United States to deploy troops in lawless Liberia but side-stepped the thorny question of economic decay and unrest in Zimbabwe. Ministers in Maputo preparing an agenda for the second summit of the 53-member African Union said they wanted US President Bush - who arrived in Senegal on Tuesday - to show tangible commitment by sending soldiers to restore order in the West African country founded by freed slaves from America. "The US has a shared history with Liberia and it would show Bush is actually committed to something on the continent," said an east African diplomat attending the talks. The US has sent a military team to Liberia but says its president, Charles Taylor, must leave the country to enhance peace moves. Nigeria has offered him political asylum but Taylor has demanded an orderly exit, demanding that a force be deployed first. "The important thing is that this partnership must be in line with the aspirations of Africans themselves," said Leonardo Simao, Mozambican Foreign Minister and chairman of the ministerial council of AU foreign ministers. "But we are all working on creating peace and this is an important step."
African heads of state will meet in Maputo on Thursday for the three-day summit that is meant to strengthen regional integration and tackle the continent's many problems. The situation in Zimbabwe, whose breakdown has cast a dark shadow over the region, was not on the agenda. "As you can see from the agenda, Zimbabwe is not on it. It is not a subject that will consume our time," Simao told reporters. Diplomats said the issue was too divisive. "Zimbabwe has its supporters within the AU. A resolution that condemns it would be difficult to achieve by consensus," the east African diplomat said. "But a number of countries, such as Mauritius, would like Zimbabwe to be told to fix its problems." The summit host, President Joaquim Chissano, is pulling out all the stops to ensure the AU's most powerful figures come to Maputo, which has been spruced up for the event. Officials said Chissano had phoned Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Sunday to secure his visit. The Central African Republic has not been invited because of AU rules that prohibit leaders in power after a coup. However Madagascar, excluded from the AU launch in South Africa last year because of Marc Ravalomanana's violent accession to power, will return.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 8 July
Harare opposition mayor detained again
Harare,Cape Town - Zimbabwe police arrested the opposition mayor of Harare, Elias Mudzuri, for the second time in two days on Tuesday on unspecified charges, he said. On Monday Mudzuri, who has been suspended by the government for alleged misconduct, was arrested when he returned to his office after several weeks' leave. He was later released without charge. "They want to lock me up. Maybe they'll come up with a charge," Mudzuri said via mobile phone from a police station in Harare. Mudzuri denies the charges that led to his suspension, and has appealed against it in the courts. His party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accuses Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo of using his "political muscle" to hamper Mudzuri's work as the first opposition mayor of the capital. Mudzuri said on Tuesday his lawyer was with him at the police station trying to secure his release. In January Mudzuri was arrested along with 21 councillors, municipal workers and residents for holding a meeting in a Harare suburb without police permission, as required under a strict security law.
Earlier today, Zimbabwe riot police broke up an opposition demonstration in the capital Harare as a petition to US President George Bush was due to be handed over to the US embassy. Around 30 supporters of the MDC carrying placards reading "Mugabe step down" and "We want a transitional government now" ran chanting through the streets of central Harare. But they scattered when riot police, wearing helmets and carrying truncheons, arrived swiftly on the scene. Meanwhile an MDC official said another group of opposition supporters was due to hand over a petition to Bush via the US embassy in Harare. Bush is travelling to neighbouring South Africa on Tuesday as part of a five-nation African tour that began late Monday. The US embassy in Harare could not immediately confirm whether it had received the petition, which labels South African President Thabo Mbeki an "imperialist" who wants to see Zimbabwe perpetually weak so as not to pose a threat to his own country. "President Mbeki has indeed lost the moral authority to mediate in the Zimbabwean crisis," read part of the petition. "Zimbabwe cannot continue to suffer because of President Mbeki's imperialist ambitions."
The MDC rejected Mugabe's victory in presidential polls last year, in which he beat MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai by 400 000 votes. The opposition and international observers said the election was rigged and marred by violence and intimidation. Last week Bush said he wanted Mbeki to put pressure on Mugabe to hold fresh elections in Zimbabwe. Mbeki's policy toward Zimbabwe has been one of behind-the-scenes efforts to reconcile the government and the opposition. Tuesday's petition signed by "MDC supporters", called on the US president to impress on his South African counterpart the need to "advise Mugabe to see sense and retire now." "We need a transitional government within the next three months leading to free and fair elections under international supervision," it added. Police spokesperson Oliver Mandipaka said he could not confirm whether anyone was arrested in connection with Tuesday's street protest. An AFP reporter saw some civilians on the back of a police Land Rover near a central Harare park where a policeman was picking up discarded placards.
Meanwhile the Democratic Alliance criticised the African Union (AU) as hypocritical to expect the United States to solve the crisis in Liberia while ignoring US concerns about Zimbabwe, Democratic Alliance (DA) acting leader Joe Seremane said on Tuesday. "The Liberian civil war should certainly feature high up on the agenda of this week's AU summit in Mozambique, but it is a travesty that the political and economic meltdown in Zimbabwe is completely absent from that agenda," he said in a statement. While the crisis in Zimbabwe was no more important than the conflict in Liberia, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or any other trouble spot on the continent, it had one of the highest international profiles. "Consequently, it has considerable potential to deter foreign direct investment in the region and to impact on the success of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). "Solving the crisis in Zimbabwe is a sure way to kick-start Nepad," he said.
The effectiveness of the AU and the success of Nepad would not be tested by the simple cases where consensus was easily reached - such as the civil war in Liberia, or the military coup in the Central African Republic. "They will be tested by the tough cases where the erosion of democracy is more insidious, and the abuse of human rights is perpetrated by past liberation struggle brothers-in-arms. Zimbabwe is just such a case," Seremane said. It was a poor rationalisation to say that the issue of Zimbabwe was too divisive to be addressed by the AU. If it had the potential to be divisive, that was all the more reason to have it on the agenda. "Those AU members that would like to deal with Zimbabwe at the summit should lobby other members to come round to their point of view. "As the outgoing chairperson of the AU and leader of the Southern African Development Community region's biggest economy, President Thabo Mbeki should lead this campaign," Seremane said.
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From iafrica.com (SA), 8 July
Zim crematorium suffers backlog
The crematorium run by the Harare city council has run out of gas for its furnaces where cremations are carried out, a state-run newspaper reported on Tuesday. The Herald said more than 30 bodies had been "piled up" in funeral parlours around the capital because of the suspension of cremations. Gas used for the furnaces is imported from South Africa. Zimbabwe is going through an economic crisis and has been plagued by shortages of basic commodities. The Herald also reported that Rido Mpofu, the president of the Urban Councils Association of Zimbabwe, said municipalities around the country had been forced to halt housing projects because of the shortage of fuel and cement. The suspension of building had "serious implications" for attempts to meet the national urban backlog of 700 000 housing units needed, he said.
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From Business Day (SA), 9 July
New law gives Mugabe a captive audience
Harare Correspondent
The Zimbabwean government has moved to ensure that President Robert Mugabe has a captive audience when he addresses parliament, announcing measures to punish MPs who boycott his speeches in the house. In terms of the Privileges Amendment Bill, to be tabled in parliament soon, MPs who refuse to listen to Mugabe's speeches will forfeit six months' pay. The law is intended to deal with opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MPs who have refused in the past to listen to Mugabe's addresses, arguing that he is an illegitimately elected president. MDC MPs have also walked out or booed Mugabe during his addresses. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa warned last year measures were being looked at to deal with MPs who behaved in this way. "A member who, being present before or after such an address has commenced, wilfully interrupts or disrupts such address or wilfully walks out during its delivery or absents himself or herself from parliament during such an address without the prior leave of the speaker, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of an amount equivalent to six months' salary," the new bill says. It purports to be concerned with "upholding the dignity of the office of the president of Zimbabwe by outlawing the boycott of presidential addresses to the house". In terms of another law, Zimbabweans are banned from making any gestures that may be deemed insulting to Mugabe when his motorcade is passing by.
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Comment from New Vision (Uganda), 8 July
Wake up, Mugabe!
Kampala - President Robert Mugabe has warned President Bush to steer clear of southern African politics during his continental visit this week. Otherwise Mugabe will declare: 'Yankee, go home!'. Mugabe is losing touch with reality. In today's global village, countries are increasingly concerned with the behaviour of their neighbours. This works both ways. The United States is constantly in the spotlight as the world's dominant superpower. It has been fiercely criticised for its pre-emptive attack on Iraq, its treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, its abrogation of international treaties on weapons and climate control, and many other issues. This is right and proper. The world's most powerful nation should not remain above criticism, especially when the present administration is so willing to go it alone without worrying about world opinion. Similarly, other nations should be willing to listen to criticism and comment from the United States. The USA has been a strong supporter of the Uganda's economic and social reform programme but also a stern critic when it believes government has gone wrong, as with the later stages of Uganda's military intervention in the Congo. At his country's July 4 celebrations the American ambassador pointedly welcomed the fact that Uganda now has the chance to create systems to facilitate 'the peaceful handover of power from one leader to another' in the near future. The ambassador was perfectly entitled to express his opinions and the government should certainly listen to them. Where we will go wrong is if we all start refusing to listen to constructive criticism from our neighbours in the global village. Mugabe should wake up.
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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 10 July
Bush gives way to South Africa over call to topple 'evil' Mugabe regime
By Tim Butcher in Pretoria
President George W Bush disappointed millions of Zimbabweans yesterday when he said America would defer to South Africa's quiet diplomacy on changing the behaviour of President Robert Mugabe's regime. Having stoked up expectations in recent weeks with statements from Washington calling for Mr Mugabe to stand down, Mr Bush gave way to the more cautious, non-confrontational approach of President Thabo Mbeki. During a joint press conference in the gardens of the South African presidential lodge in Pretoria, Mr Bush said Mr Mbeki was "the point man" driving international policy on Zimbabwe. "He is the one who is most involved," said Mr Bush in South Africa as part of a five-nation African tour. "He believes he's making good progress. I don't have any intention of second-guessing his tactics. We want the same outcome." But crushing any idea that American policy had changed, Colin Powell, the US secretary of state, indicated in an interview with the BBC that the softly, softly approach towards Mr Mbeki's handling of the Zimbabwe crisis was taken to prevent a row overshadowing the stop-off in Pretoria on Mr Bush's Africa tour. Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change was left fuming by Mr Bush's comments, as America has been the standard bearer of international efforts to bring pressure on Mr Mugabe. But Mr Powell reiterated that America's hardline policy towards Mr Mugabe's regime had not changed. Last month Mr Powell called for a change of regime and branded Mr Mugabe "ruthless and violent". The recent increase in America's anti-Mugabe rhetoric was the result of diplomatic pressure from London for Washington, which is harder to accuse of neo-colonialism, to tackle the Zimbabwe issue.
Controversy has dogged Mr Mbeki's policy of failing to condemn publicly Mr Mugabe's abuse of the rule of law, murder of political opponents, harassment of independent judges and electoral skulduggery. He claimed his policy was making progress as it had led to direct negotiations between Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. "We have urged the government and the opposition to get together. They are indeed discussing all issues. That process is going on," Mr Mbeki said. But this was immediately denied by Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, whose willingness to take part in secret negotiations with the Mugabe regime has been sorely tested by his repeated arrest and detention on treason charges. "Statements claiming that there is dialogue going on are patently false and mischievous," Mr Tsvangirai said. "Such statements are manifestly partisan, designed to buy time for the beleaguered, illegitimate Mugabe regime and ward off potential genuine brokers. Since the aborted talks between the MDC and Zanu PF in April 2002, there has been absolutely no political engagement between the two political parties. The Mugabe regime has remained intractable and sustained an arrogant and defiant programme of violence, torture, murder, rape and all manner of crimes against humanity."
Mr Bush and Mr Mbeki used their press conference to paper over their disagreements over the war in Iraq. They did not refer to it, preferring to dwell on bilateral economic treaties and the promise made by Mr Bush to donate up to £9 billion to Africa to help fight the Aids pandemic. Mr Bush praised South Africa's attempt to encourage regional stability across Africa by deploying its first peacekeepers to two countries, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, although peace is still a long way off in both countries. The resentment of Mr Mbeki's government towards America for sidelining the United Nations over the war in Iraq remains strong. Outside Pretoria's Union Buildings, where Mr Mbeki formally greeted Mr Bush, about 1,000 demonstrators protested against the presidential visit. Marchers included hippies, anti-war pacifists, Leftists and anarchists. "Go away, we've got enough Bushes in Africa," read one placard.
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From The White House, 9 July
Union Buildings press conference transcript
The relevant excerpt from the transcript of the press conference. The only other reference to Zimbabwe came in President Bush's opening remarks, where he said: "And in Zimbabwe, I've encouraged President Mbeki and his government to continue to work for the return of democracy in that important country."
Q During the past week, the two Presidents or the governments of - the government of the U.S. and South Africa - have expressed sharp differences about the best way to deal with the Zimbabwean question.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.
Q And having met this morning, I wonder if the two Presidents have found the best approach or have agreed about the best approach to deal with Zimbabwe. I see that it is has come up. Can we get from the smiles that you now have a formula to deal best with Zimbabwe? (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT MBEKI: I didn't know, President, that we'd expressed sharp differences.
PRESIDENT BUSH: That's right. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT MBEKI: No. We are absolutely of one mind, the two governments, President Bush and myself are absolutely of one mind about the urgent need to address the political and economic challenges of Zimbabwe. It's necessary to resolve this matter as quickly as is possible. We have said, as you would know, for a long time that the principle is rooted, principal responsibility for the resolution of these problems rests with the people of Zimbabwe; and, therefore, have urged them - both the ruling party and the opposition, the government and the opposition - to get together and seriously tackle all of these issues. I did tell the President that, indeed, the government - Zanu PF and the MDC are, indeed, discussing. They are engaged in discussions on all of the matters that would be relevant to the resolution of these political and economic problems. So that process is going on. We have communicated the message to both sides that - indeed, as we agreed with the President - that it is very, very important that they should move forward with urgency to find a resolution to these questions. Of course, again, as the President was saying, was saying that apart from these important political issues about democrats and so on, you actually have ordinary people who are hungry in an economy which can't cope with them, and you can't allow that kind of situation to go on forever. So they are discussing. We had discussed this matter earlier, sometime back, with the U.S. government that we have to find, we've got to find a way of getting a political solution and we would, indeed, count very much on such economic, financial support as would come from the United States afterwards, in order to address urgent challenges that face Zimbabwe. So we didn't fight about any of what I've just said. (laughter.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: We were smiling because we were certain a clever reporter would try to use the Zimbabwe issue as a way to maybe create tensions which don't exist. Look, Zimbabwe is an important country for the economic health of Africa. A free, peaceful Zimbabwe has got the capacity to deliver a lot of goods and services which are needed on this continent in order to help alleve suffering. And it's a very sad situation that's taken place in that country. Look, we share the same objective. The President is the person most involved; he represents a mighty country in the neighborhood who, because of his position and his responsibility, is working the issue. And I'm not - not any intention of second-guessing his tactics. We share the same outcome. And I think it's important for the United States, whether it be me or my Secretary of State, to speak out when we see a situation where somebody's freedoms have been taken away from them and they're suffering. And that's what we're going to continue to do. But the President is the point man on this important subject. He is working it very hard. He's in touch with the parties involved. He is - he's making - he believes, making good progress. And the United States supports him in this effort.
Last question. Randy.
Q Yes, Mr. President. Do you regret that your State of the Union accusation that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Africa is now fueling charges that you and Prime Minister Blair misled the public? And then, secondly, following up on Zimbabwe, are you willing to have a representative meet with a representative of the Zimbabwe opposition leader, who sent a delegation here, and complained that he did not think Mr. Mbeki could be an honest broker in the process?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think Mr. Mbeki can be an honest broker, to answer the second question.
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Comment from The Cape Times (SA), 10 July
'We share same objective'
By John Battersby
Pretoria: If atmospherics and body language were the only criteria that determined the success or failure of bilateral summits, the Bush-Mbeki encounter would score an A-plus. United States President George W Bush does not have the burning charisma and flowing oratory of a Bill Clinton. But he has a certain disarming appeal which comes from being neither naturally charismatic nor clever with words, but tending to say what he thinks, bringing a spontaneity and endearing quality to his often awkward sentences and continual search for the right word. But yesterday Bush was bending over backwards on the east lawn of the presidential guest house to be the perfect guest and not to venture into areas which might have cramped his host's comfort zone. The two areas with the potential to bring to the surface tensions between the two countries - apart from Iraq - were HIV/Aids and Zimbabwe. An exchange with City Press journalist Jimmy Seepe, who referred to the "sharp differences" between South Africa and the US on Zimbabwe, perhaps best captured the careful footwork between the leaders. "Sharp differences?" remarked Mbeki. "I didn't know we had any sharp differences," he said with a perplexed look on his face. "We didn't fight about Zimbabwe." But Mbeki was being slightly disingenuous. In a CNN interview on Tuesday night, he expressed surprise at US Secretary of State Colin Powell's highly critical article in the New York Times last month which criticised South African inactivity over the Zimbabwe crisis. Perhaps Mbeki was then rubbing in the differences between the White House and the State Department over Zimbabwe. "I think it is ill-advised for him (Powell) to create the impression that he is directing what South Africa should do," Mbeki said in the CNN interview.
Bush, who along with Mbeki smiled when the question on Zimbabwe was asked yesterday, took up the questioner's point about "sharp differences". "We were smiling because we thought the journalist was trying to create tensions where they don't exist," said Bush in a gesture which further put his host at ease. Bush went on to say that while the US would continue to make statements about human rights violations in Zimbabwe and regarded the situation in that country as "very sad", he saw Mbeki as the "point man" on Zimbabwe and would not try to second guess his tactics. "We share the same objective," Bush said. Bush also refrained from rubbing Mbeki's nose in the obvious point he could have made about access to the $15-bn HIV/Aids grant: namely that the US would make funds available only to those who had anti-retroviral treatment plans in place. Instead, he gave Mbeki the space to say that he agreed that the matter was urgent and that he would put together a proposal to access the money as soon as possible, including a costing plan. Bush polished his bona fides on his commitment to African development and made continual warm acknowledgments to his host. The gestures were reciprocated by Mbeki.
So was this visit just about symbolism and Bush's image in the developing world after the battering over the Iraq war? Or was it about America's strategic oil interests - it is estimated that by 2005 the US will be getting 25% of its oil from Africa compared to the current 15%. Mbeki dismissed these mercenary motives in the CNN interview and gave Bush the benefit of the doubt: he truly cared about Africa's development and had been consistent since their first meeting in Austin, Texas in mid-2000. Certainly, Bush has undergone some kind of turnaround since the early part of his administration when he publicly accorded a relatively low priority to Africa. No doubt, the events following the 9/11 terror attack played a major role.After two major al-Qaeda attacks in Kenya, Bush realised the frightening potential of failed African states to provide a breeding ground for terrorists. But there seems to be another dimension to Bush's African conversion. His no-holds-barred condemnation of slavery on Goree Island and his passion in addressing the HIV/Aids pandemic, Africa's food crisis and determination to help in conflict resolution, appear to represent some kind of personal change that Bush has undergone over the past couple of years. It could certainly have done Bush's international image in the developing world no harm to be received with such warmth by one of its most prominent leaders and one who had been one of his sharpest critics in the run-up to the Iraqi war. For Mbeki, on the eve of his departure for the African Union summit in Maputo, it could have done him no harm in the eyes of most of his African colleagues to be seen having such access and commanding such respect from the leader of the world's only superpower and the man who, more than any other, could help change Africa's fortunes. One was a left with a clear impression that Bush's need for Mbeki outweighs their sharp differences - and vice versa.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 9 July
Famine stares 5m Zimbabweans in the face
Harare - The United Nations (UN) warned on Wednesday that famine risks were increasing because of political and bureaucratic delays by the Zimbabwe government in appealing for emergency food aid. A humanitarian situation report by UN agencies in Zimbabwe said current stocks of foreign donated food will run out in August when tens of thousands of Zimbabweans are expected to need food aid. It said more than 5-million people will need emergency aid before next year's harvests. The government had promised to release in early May its forecasts on local food production this year, enabling donors to consider a formal appeal for help and assess the country's food aid needs. No appeal for aid, which must be accompanied by the local crop forecasts, has been received, the UN report said. "Several major donors have made it clear they require such an appeal before committing resources to fund food aid," it said.
The UN said it takes at least three months from the time of a donor pledge until food aid is delivered. Because of the lag, UN officials said they feared aid would not be available for those facing starvation in September and the following few months. Two months after it was expected to release them, the government has given no reasons for not announcing its official crop forecasts or submitting a formal appeal for aid. Donor agencies have blamed divisions within the government over making public crop forecasts that might cast doubts on the success of President Robert Mugabe's land reform programme that saw thousands of white-owned commercial farms confiscated and handed over to resettled black peasant farmers in the past three years. Zimbabwe once helped feed much of southern Africa. Food production, however, has been wrecked by erratic rains and the state's often violent seizure of most commercial farms. Many large farms that were given to ruling party supporters are lying fallow. Others have been carved into small subsistence plots occupied by families without access to fertiliser, tractors and other equipment.
The UN report said its food agency, the World Food Programmme (WFP), remained "extremely concerned about the lack of food security and the very limited supply of food in Zimbabwe in the coming year". Last month, the WFP said almost half of all Zimbabweans will need food aid at least until next year's harvest in April to avoid starvation. Crop assessments by the WFP and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation showed Zimbabwe will have to import more than half of its staple food during the next nine months. Their assessments said Zimbabwe will need to import an estimated 1,27-million metric tons of cereals maize, the staple, and wheat - to feed 5,5-million people, or 47% of the population. Once a formal appeal is made, international aid was likely to provide just under half the imports, leaving the government to buy the rest. The southern African nation is facing its worst economic and political crisis since independence in 1980. Mass famine was avoided this year only by foreign humanitarian aid. An estimated 70% of Zimbabweans are unemployed and inflation has soared to an official rate of more than 300%. Farm seizures and political violence since 2000 have disrupted production of tobacco, the main hard currency earner, and slashed hard currency earnings from mining, industry and tourism, leading to acute shortages of food, gasoline and essential imports.
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From News24 (SA), 9 July
Zim farmers: Evictions continuing
Harare - Zimbabwe's white farmers' union claimed on Tuesday that attempts are still being made to evict remaining white farmers from their land, disrupting the production of vital food crops. In a statement, the president of the white-run Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) said the attempts to seize farms had been made during the past two weeks in two prime farming areas in northern and north western Zimbabwe. "These illegal evictions have disrupted production extensively, and several wheat crops, as well as export flower crops and preparations for summer food crops, have been affected," said Colin Cloete. He added that some farmers were still receiving government eviction notices, even on farms that did not qualify for acquisition. Three years ago the government embarked on the acquisition of white-owned farms for redistribution to new black farmers. Aid agencies say the programme has contributed to severe food shortages in the country, and estimate that 5.5 million people will be in need of emergency food aid by early next year. The government says its land reform programme has been successful, with more than 200 000 black peasant farmers and nearly 15 000 black commercial farmers said to have been allocated former white-owned land. The government blames the country's food shortages on drought. In April Cloete was reported to have said that only 1 000 of the country's original 4 500 white farmers were still farming.
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From The Star (SA), 11 July
Zim talks are denied, but they're on agenda
By Basildon Peta & Brian Latham
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party has vehemently denied that it is talking to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to resolve the Zimbabwean crisis, as claimed by President Mbeki. He said on Wednesday at a joint press conference with President George Bush that the main foes in Zimbabwe's political debacle were talking. Mbeki's remarks, which he had made a day earlier in an interview with CNN, attracted an angry response from Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who initially dismissed them. He described them as "false and mischievous", and meant to buy time for President Robert Mugabe regime. Yesterday, Mugabe's Zanu PF joined the MDC in denying any talks. Two Zanu PF officials said they were not aware of the talks referred to by Mbeki. "I am totally unaware of what Mbeki was talking about," Didymus Mutasa, Zanu PF's secretary for external affairs and a close Mugabe confidant, told the Financial Gazette newspaper. "I have no knowledge at all about that and I do not think President Mugabe knows either. He has not said anything to that effect to any of us, so I don't believe it's true." Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who originally represented Zanu PF in the first talks brokered by Mbeki before they were called off by Zanu PF last year, said he too was unaware of the talks.
With the denials by both Zanu PF and the MDC it has become increasingly difficult to understand which talks Mbeki is persistently referring to. Prominent Zimbabwean analyst Lovemore Madhuku said that as Mbeki had declared that talks were taking place, it would be helpful if he provided more details because there was no longer anything secretive about the talks. Madhuku said that if there were indeed any serious talks between Zanu PF and the MDC, he saw no benefit that the two parties could derive from denying their existence. Mbeki said South Africa had always urged Zanu PF and the MDC to get together and tackle the issue of governance. "The two parties are indeed in discussions. We can't allow that situation to go on for ever. We have to find a way to get a political solution," Mbeki said. The MDC and Zanu PF began talks in April last year after Mbeki and Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo intervened to break the impasse in Zimbabwe after the controversial March 2000 presidential election. The talks broke off before the parties agreed on an agenda and after the MDC had filed a court petition challenging Mugabe's victory. Meanwhile Tsvangirai said he was pleased that there had been a "meeting of minds" between Mbeki and Bush. He hoped that Mbeki would now ensure that formal talks started within days rather than weeks. Tsvangirai said yesterday he was looking forward to any future talks, and that the MDC was encouraged by comments made by the two presidents. "President Mbeki is particularly encouraging when he says the two presidents are of one mind about the urgent need to address the political crisis in Zimbabwe."
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 10 July
Mugabe makes overtures to the opposition
Harare/Gabarone - Emissaries from Zimbabwe's ruling party, and South Africa, have approached the opposition in recent days about restarting talks to end the nation's political and economic crisis, the opposition said on Thursday. In the latest overture, a Roman Catholic priest linked to the ruling party visited Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday, just hours before US President George Bush and South African President Thabo Mbeki discussed the crisis, opposition officials said. Father Fidelis Mukonori, used as a Mugabe emissary in the past, wanted to know the opposition's terms for restarting talks and whether any progress could be made to bring the two sides to the negotiating table. He met with Tsvangirai just two hours before Mbeki told Bush the two Zimbabwe parties had begun talks to end the nation's crisis. Tsvangirai said that claim was "patently false and mischievous".
Responding to Mbeki's claim, Tsvangirai said emissaries from churches, civic groups and the South African government were shuttling between the parties, but no talks were under way. "So far, none of these efforts has succeeded," Tsvangirai said. Previous talks broke down because of the dispute over Mugabe's narrow victory in last year's disputed elections and demands that the opposition drop a court challenge to the poll. Addressing supporters in recent weeks, Mugabe has again insisted the opposition recognise his election and drop the case before he would meet with them. The opposition has refused and demanded unconditional talks. Tsvangirai said he was encouraged Bush and Mbeki mentioned the urgent need to address the political crisis in Zimbabwe. "Significantly, we note that President Bush said that they share the same objective to restore democracy, peace, and peoples' freedoms to Zimbabwe," he said.
The state-controlled Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said on Thursday Bush "snubbed" the Zimbabwe opposition by saying he was "of one mind" with Mbeki on Zimbabwe. The opposition has described Mbeki as a "dishonest broker" who failed to use the leverage of Zimbabwe's most powerful neighbour to pressure Mugabe to negotiate democratic reform. Meanwhile, the Information Ministry described Bush's statement on Zimbabwe after his meeting with Mbeki as "a loud climb down" after both Bush and US Secretary of State Colin Powell had called for regime change here. In a statement, the ministry said Bush had been misled on conditions in Zimbabwe and "now leaves the region better enlightened on the issues at stake". Bush retaliated later on Thursday, slamming Zimbabwe's "bad governance". Bush said, after meeting Botswana's President Festus Mogae, that he would continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe. "e expect there to be democracy in Zimbabwe, in order for the people of that country to advance," Bush said in the capital of Botswana, a country viewed by Washington as a rare African example of good governance. It's a shame that the (Zimbabwean) economy has gotten so weak and soft. It is a shame for Botswana, it's a shame for southern Africa, and that the weakness in the economy is directly attributable to bad governance. Therefore we will continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe," Bush added, on the third leg of a five-nation African tour.
The opposition blames Mugabe for plunging the economy into its worst crisis, with 70% unemployment and acute shortages of food, gasoline and medicine. Official inflation has soared to more than 300%, but a thriving black market in food and fuel has led to inflation estimates of about 600%. The official currency exchange rate is Z$824 to the $1, but the black market exchange is as much as Z$2 700-$1. A state programme to seize thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to black farmers has crippled the agriculture-based economy in the past three years. Investment and foreign aid has dried up in protest of human rights abuses and last year's tainted presidential elections.
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From The Washington Times, 11 July
Harare sees support for talks as 'loud climbdown' by Bush
By David R. Sands
The government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said yesterday that President Bush's endorsement of low-key diplomacy to resolve the country's political crisis was a "loud climbdown" from previous U.S. demands for out-and-out regime change. The Mugabe government said Mr. Bush's strong statement in support of South African efforts to broker a deal with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) amounted to a repudiation of the MDC's tactics and of the more confrontational approach pushed by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell last month. Mr. Bush, talking to reporters in Botswana yesterday, said he remained committed to democratic reform in Zimbabwe, blaming the country's economic and political crises on "bad governance." But Mr. Bush's tone during a press conference Wednesday with South African President Thabo Mbeki was sharply muted compared with that adopted by Mr. Powell in a New York Times editorial late last month. Mr. Powell said the time of the "violent misrule" of the Mugabe regime "had come and gone," and called on South Africa and other regional powers to play a role "that reflects the urgency of the situation."
The MDC has been sharply critical of South Africa's failure to take a more activist role in Zimbabwe's crisis. Britain, the former colonial power in Zimbabwe, also has pressed Washington and European countries to isolate and sanction Mr. Mugabe and his top aides. But Zimbabwe's Department of Information and Publicity said in a statement that Mr. Bush's "fleeting and perfunctory reference" to Zimbabwe during the press conference Wednesday was "a loud climbdown by a president all along misled, but who now leaves the region better enlightened about the issues at stake." Appearing with Mr. Mbeki in the middle of a five-day Africa trip, Mr. Bush offered a surprisingly effusive endorsement of the South African leader's cautious efforts in neighboring Zimbabwe. Mr. Bush called Mr. Mbeki an "honest broker" and the international "point man" in resolving Zimbabwe's political standoff, even though Mr. Mbeki's government has rejected any suggestion of ousting Mr. Mugabe and has come under sharp criticism from MDC leaders for failing to condemn the Harare government's attacks on civil liberties and its mishandling of the collapsing economy. "I don't have any intention of second-guessing [Mr. Mbeki´s] tactics," Mr. Bush said. "We want the same outcome."
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who faces treason charges lodged by the government, said yesterday that Mr. Bush had been "misled" by Mr. Mbeki's assurances that real negotiations were under way in Zimbabwe. "Statements claiming that there is dialogue going on are patently false and mischievous," he told reporters in Harare, the capital. "The Mugabe regime has remained intractable and sustained an arrogant and defiant program of violence, torture, murder, rape and all manner of crimes against humanity," he added. The MDC leader, however, softened his criticism in a later statement, saying the opposition was "heartened by the sense of urgency displayed by President Mbeki and Bush" in breaking Zimbabwe's political impasse. British Prime Minister Tony Blair also has worked to rally international opposition to the Mugabe regime. "We must deal with the problem in Zimbabwe, because it threatens to blight and destroy the lives of many people, not only in that country, but all over south of Africa," Mr. Blair recently told Parliament. Mr. Bush and Mr. Powell, in separate press briefings yesterday, insisted that the U.S. demand for political overhaul in Zimbabwe had not diminished. "It's a shame that the [Zimbabwean economy] has gotten so weak and soft," Mr. Bush said. "It's a shame for southern Africa, and the weakness in the economy is directly attributable to bad governance. Therefore, we will continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe," he added.
John Prendergast, a Zimbabwe expert for the International Crisis Group, said Mr. Bush's praise of Mr. Mbeki was a calculated gamble that Pretoria will take a more activist approach if the United States pulls back. "Essentially, we're betting that if we tone it down, they'll turn it up," he said. Bill Fletcher, president of the TransAfrica Forum, said the harsh criticism by Britain and the United States in the past had proven counterproductive. "Their comments ended up polarizing the situation in Zimbabwe," he said. "They were used by Mugabe to paint the opposition as in the pocket of Western interests." He said Mr. Bush was only recognizing reality in calling Mr. Mbeki the point man for a diplomatic solution. But Mr. Fletcher added that he doubted the soothing words at the press conference had papered over wide differences between the two leaders on how to handle the crisis in Zimbabwe. Mr. Prendergast said it was still not clear whether South Africa was prepared to take a tougher approach toward Mr. Mugabe, or whether Mr. Mbeki could overcome his doubts about the MDC. "If the Bush administration truly supports the current South African policy on Zimbabwe, nothing is going to happen," Mr. Prendergast said. He said Mr. Bush's "over-the-top" praise of Mr. Mbeki's role in the region reflected in part tensions between advisers in the National Security Council and the State Department, with the former skeptical of the latter's tougher line against Mr. Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF. In what appeared to be the first test of South Africa's new line, Mr. Mbeki failed even to mention the Zimbabwe crisis in a speech yesterday at a summit of the African Union in Maputo, Mozambique. With Mr. Mugabe seated in the audience, Mr. Mbeki called on African governments to take a more active role in resolving the continent's many conflicts, but did not name Zimbabwe as one of the countries requiring attention.
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From News24 (SA), 10 July
Zim govt evicts MDC mayor
Harare - The Zimbabwe government has given the opposition mayor of Harare until Thursday evening to leave his mayoral mansion and give up other perks of his job, a newspaper said on Thursday. The official Herald quoted a notice from the local government minister ordering Mayor Elias Mudzuri, the first opposition mayor of the capital, to vacate his official residence "not later than end of day on Thursday". He has also been ordered to give up his Mercedes Benz and bodyguards. Mudzuri, who was suspended from office in April for alleged misconduct, was arrested earlier twice this week while returning to work after he had been on leave for several weeks. He was released without charge after both arrests and his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), claimed the arrests were part of ongoing state harassment. The Herald quoted Mudzuri as saying he did not go back to his offices again on Wednesday because police officers were now stationed outside the main entrance. Mudzuri is being investigated by a government commission for allegedly bungling the running of the city and flouting tender procedures. He denies the charges. The opposition accuses the government of using "political muscle" to interfere with Mudzuri's work, and not allocating the town council with enough fuel and foreign currency to carry out essential service. The MDC mayor was elected overwhelmingly by Harare residents last year in polls that coincided with those that returned President Robert Mugabe to office for another six years.
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From AFP, 10 July
MDC leader's treason trial postponed
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is facing a second charge of treason, appeared at a magistrate's court on Thursday for a formal appearance, his lawyer said. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, who spent two weeks in police cells last month before being granted bail, was told to come back to the court on October 6, lawyer Innocent Chagonda told AFP. Tsvangirai was arrested on June 6 after a week of anti-government protests called by the MDC, which the government said were aimed at ousting President Robert Mugabe. He was charged with treason and inciting public violence in connection with the mass protests. A conviction on treason charges carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe. Tsvangirai denies the charges. The MDC leader and two other senior party officials have been embroiled in a marathon treason trial for allegedly plotting to "eliminate" Mugabe ahead of last year's presidential poll, which Mugabe won. The three officials deny the charges, and claim they were set up.
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From SABC News, 11 July
Zimbabwe leadership in crisis over Mugabe's successor
Zimbabwe's ruling party stalwarts are locking horns over the succession of Robert Mugabe. Counter-accusations are emerging and inquiries about the loyalty of others at disciplinary hearings are being set up. Eddison Zvobgo, Zanu PF's prominent politician, is being summoned to appear before the party's disciplinary committee to answer charges that he decampaigned President Mugabe in the last presidential election. He denies the charges and accuses colleagues of tarnishing his name as the succession debate hots up. There was no doubt in 1980 that Robert Mugabe was the victor and the head of state. A bitter-armed struggle and subsequently landslide electoral victory had preceded his ascent to power. Today, the debate on who takes over from this man is threatening to divide his ruling Zanu PF party. Other senior Zanu PF politicians have thrown in their names declaring their candidacy for the first job in the country. Joseph Msika, his ageing vice, John Nkomo, the ruling party's national chairperson, are among them. The maverick Edison Zvobgo is being dragged into a disciplinary party hearing for allegedly decampaigning President Mugabe during presidential elections last year. This week he has been telling the SABC that it is the beginning of the struggles for President Mugabe's seat. Many in Zimbabwe say these grey-haired politicians are now to old for the political game and should instead consider retiring. They believe front runners for Mugabe's post are yet to stand up. Heneri Dzinotyiwei, a political analyst, said Zimbabweans can only be kept guessing. There are no front runners-but dark horses. The issue of Mugabe's successor is now a case of cloaks and daggers. Senior politicians smearing each other as the succession debate hots up. Succeeding Mugabe is proving costly for aspirants.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 11 July
Mugabe on his way, Bush told
Dumisani Muleya
South African President Thabo Mbeki has assured his United States counterpart George Bush that President Robert Mugabe will soon quit to make way for fresh elections, diplomatic sources said yesterday. Mbeki and Bush also discussed an American reconstruction package that would be released once Mugabe leaves office. Bheki Khumalo, Mbeki's spokesman, said the two leaders discussed the package but no details were put on the table. Reports from Pretoria yesterday said Mbeki indicated to Bush that Mugabe has promised to give up the Zanu PF leadership in December during Zanu PF's annual national conference. A fresh presidential poll would then be held in March in tandem with a parliamentary election. Mugabe is said to be pressing for a June poll, but the South Africans want it out of the way before their own general election which is scheduled for June but might be brought forward to April. Some of these arrangements were discussed when Mugabe attended an Aids conference in Lesotho last week, it is understood. Mugabe has already hinted he is preparing to go and declared his succession debate open during a television interview in April. Bush, who despite combative remarks prior to his arrival in South Africa on Tuesday has agreed to follow Mbeki's lead on Zimbabwe, in return promised the generous package for Zimbabwe's recovery in the post-Mugabe era. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change will today meet members of Bush's team to sell its road map to the restoration of legitimacy and democracy in Zimbabwe. Mugabe's exit is also expected to feature at the meeting. Sources said an opposition team comprising party deputy secretary-general Gift Chimanikire, spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi and secretary for legal affairs David Coltart will meet a high-level US delegation either in Pretoria or Johannesburg this afternoon to exchange notes on crucial issues. The US group is likely to include Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner and other senior officials.
After his meeting with Mbeki, Bush said he had "no intention of second-guessing his (Mbeki) tactics" because "we share the same outcome". Mbeki said he had agreed with Bush on the way forward on Zimbabwe. "President Bush and myself are absolutely of one mind about the urgent need to address the political and economic challenges of Zimbabwe," he said. "It's necessary to resolve this matter as quickly as is possible." Sources close to the Bush/Mbeki talks said Mbeki had expressed the view that the MDC leadership lacked political maturity and wasn't ready to take over. The South Africans are thought to prefer Zanu PF national chairman John Nkomo as a successor to Mugabe rather than Mugabe's nominee, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Bush is currently on a whirlwind African safari to meet continental leaders over a wide range of political, economic, and social issues. His swing across the continent has already taken him to Senegal, South Africa and Botswana. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said that his party's position is that there has to be a three-phased transitional plan in Zimbabwe. The first stage of the plan involves working out an exit strategy for Mugabe who is seen as a stumbling block to the resolution of the local crisis. Then a transitional authority tasked with introducing fundamental democratic reforms would be set-up. The last and final stage would be the holding of fresh elections under a new electoral system and under international supervision. Observers say Bush's ready compliance with Mbeki's stance on Zimbabwe suggests he has been given firm assurances on Mugabe's exit. But the details could not be confirmed yesterday.
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From The Daily News, 11 July
Zanu PF factions court MDC
By Sydney Masamvu, Assistant Editor
Three factions within the ruling Zanu PF party have made secret representations to the opposition Movement Democratic Change (MDC) in a bid to strike a deal that would break the political impasse between Zimbabwe’s main political parties. Sources close to the discussions said factions within Zanu PF backing different candidates to succeed President Robert Mugabe had sent emissaries to the MDC, selling different proposals that they hoped would break the ice and lead to a power-sharing agreement. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday told the Daily News that he was fully aware of the overtures made by emissaries of senior Zanu PF officials to the top leadership of his party, proposing scenarios to end the political impasse. "The top leadership in my party has received emissaries of senior Zanu PF officials who have put forward various proposals," he said. Tsvangirai added: "The MDC leadership is fully aware of these unofficial initiatives. We have no official position from Zanu PF, all we have had are factional positions. It is up to them to get organised, the MDC has its position already. But talks about talks are not talks. We have been flooded with emissaries from Zanu PF leaders representing various interests. The clergy and businessmen with links to Zanu PF have also come up with their proposals. But all these are not the official ZANU PF position. Until and unless there is resumption of the official initiative led by (South Africa’s ruling African National Congress) ANC secretary-general Kgalema Monthlante and Professor Adebayo Adedeji (on behalf of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo), which had an official agenda, then there are no talks to talk about."
Sources said approaches from the Zanu PF camp had intensified in the past month, especially when Tsvangirai was detained in June on charges of calling for the overthrow of Mugabe. MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube is said to have kept Tsvangirai fully briefed about the overtures while he was in remand prison. Tsvangirai’s disclosures come after South African President Thabo Mbeki told American President George Bush on Wednesday that Zanu PF and the MDC had resumed dialogue, which both parties have denied. However, MDC officials yesterday said three Zanu PF factions had brought their proposals to the opposition party, one proposal being for the formation of a Zanu PF-MDC government of national unity. Another faction proposed a transitional government headed by a Zanu PF leader with a long grace period within which to prepare for fresh elections. The third group had proposed the amendment of Zimbabwe’s Constitution. The amended Constitution would include sections from a draft document rejected by Zimbabweans in a referendum in 2000 and from a draft produced by the National Constitutional Assembly. This would lead to the country being headed by a ceremonial president and an executive prime minister after fresh elections were held, the sources said. Moves to break the political impasse in Zimbabwe come after talks brokered by South Africa and Nigeria collapsed last year when the ruling party demanded that the MDC withdraw a court case challenging Mugabe’s re-election in March 2002. Repeated efforts to rekindle the talks have since failed. Efforts by local inter-denominational church groups to help kick-start dialogue between the two parties have also not yielded any results.
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From News24 (SA), 11 July
Zim to hike staple prices
Angus Shaw
Harare - Zimbabwe braced for at least a 500% increase in the price of mealiemeal as the government appeared on Friday to have given up enforcing its price freeze on key foods in the beleaguered economy. Mealiemeal was set to rise from about Zimbabwe $100/kg - the fixed government price - to Z$630/kg, milling company and food store executives said. Tiny increases in the past have led to food riots, which pushed the government to impose price controls buttressed by state subsidies. The state-run Grain Marketing Board, which has a monopoly on grain sales, announced earlier this month massive increases in the price of cereals. The price of corn rose from Z$9,600 a metric ton to Z$211 756 on July 3. Similar increases in wheat prices led to a fourfold increase in the price of a loaf of bread this week. The official currency exchange rate is Z$824 to the US dollar, but trading on the black market is as much as 2 700-1. Zimbabwe is suffering acute grain shortages as part of its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980.
Official inflation has soared to more than 300%, unemployment is estimated at 70% and a black market in food and fuel, where inflation is as high as 600%, is thriving. The UN World Food Programme estimates food shortages will leave 5.5 million out of about 12 million Zimbabweans in need of emergency food aid this year. The mealie price increase is expected to be felt next week when deliveries of the more expensive mealiemeal, used to make a traditional porridge, begin to reach stores, industry executives said. In a rare departure from the government's price control policy, the state Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said Friday the Grain Marketing Board had no alternative but to massively hike corn prices even though the effects on ordinary people would be "negative." "It would be impossible to keep the retail prices of mealiemeal, flour and bread at prices affordable by the majority of ordinary people despite the fact the prices of these products are controlled," it said in an editorial.
Past price fixing of goods led to shortages on the shelves and intense black market trading in the scarce foods, it said. The higher grain prices forced stores to charge consumers more and "it might be difficult for the government to intervene and keep a lid on soaring prices," The Herald said. A 25% increase in mealiemeal prices in 1998 led to food riots. Bakers this week increased the price of a regular loaf of bread to Z$1 000, defying a government price freeze at Z$225 a loaf. The government took no action against the bakers. John Makumbe, a political scientist at the main Zimbabwe University in Harare, said much of the country's formal economic activity was now replaced by black market trading. Price controls, meant to cushion the 80% of Zimbabweans living in poverty, threatened the viability of many businesses, risking closure and job losses. "The black market has been allowed to expand because the government has literally run out of ideas" to do anything else but let market forces of supply and demand determine prices, he said.
Black market petrol and mealies already fetch as much as five times fixed prices. Most regular petrol stations have been dry for the past month. Main stores have not received corn meal deliveries for several weeks. Part of the economic crisis is blamed on a state program that seized thousands of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to black settlers. Hard currency earnings from tobacco, tourism and mining have collapsed. Investment and foreign aid has largely ended in protest of human rights abuses and disputed presidential elections last year that gave President Robert Mugabe another six-year term in office. Two national strikes called by the opposition have further dented the economy this year. Last month, opposition-led street protests were crushed before they started by a massive show of force.
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From BBC News, 11 July
Harare mayor fights eviction
The opposition mayor of the Zimbabwe's capital, Harare is resisting his eviction from his official residence by the government of President Mugabe. Elias Mudzuri told the BBC's Network Africa programme on Friday that he had been told to leave his residence by Thursday and had also had his other benefits withdrawn. The mayor was suspended from office, without pay, in April for alleged misconduct and was arrested twice this week. He was released without charge on both occasions and his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), claimed the arrests were part of ongoing state harassment, accusing the government of using "political muscle" to interfere with Mr Mudzuri's work. Mr Mudzuri was the first opposition figure to become mayor of Harare since President Robert Mugabe came to power in 1980. Mr Mudzuri, who said he was in a police cell when he received the letter, said the local government minister did not give any explanation for his eviction. "The order did not come directly to me. I was given a copy of the letter which was written through my deputy who is acting mayor to effect my eviction within 48 hours," he said. "He (the minister) has simply written a letter of withdrawal of all benefits. So there is no more benefit for me. He has given no real reason. It only shows the vindictive nature of the minister... It also shows that his purported suspension is not rational," he said. The MDC say that President Mugabe's administration is not allocating the town council with enough fuel and foreign currency to carry out essential services. The MDC mayor was elected overwhelmingly by Harare residents last year in polls that coincided with those that returned Mr Mugabe to office for another six years. Mr Mudzuri has expressed his concern over his security because his bodyguards and aide were removed on Thursday. "I think they (the government) want to create a scenario where I am probably harmed," he told the BBC. But the defiant MDC Harare mayor, said he was staying put as he had nowhere else to go. "If I vacate where will I go? I cannot just vacate and start walking in the street." The Zimbabwean Government recently announced that it was seeking to introduce a bill in parliament which will allow the administration to withhold six months pay of all opposition MPs who boycott President Mugabe's speeches in the chamber.
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From ZBC, 12 July
President Mugabe elected AU vice chairman
The president Cde Robert Mugabe who is attending the African Union summit in Maputo has been elected vice chairman of the AU Southern African Bureau. His election follows the election of Mozambican president Joachim Chissano as chairman of African Union, taking over from president Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. Observers say the election of President Mugabe is an endorsement of his popularity among Africans, dispelling notions that Zimbabwe is not in favour of other African states. Cde Mugabe on Thursday chaired the session on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Nepad, which reviewed the progress made on the implementation of the programme. A progress report presented by out going chairman president Mbeki noted that the war on terrorism has over shadowed the focus on the fight against poverty, hunger and development in Africa. The report also highlighted the weak state of the world’s economy and uncertainty in global markets as posing serious challenges for African economies. President Mugabe also met with the Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa Mr Medhatt Lofty. The bank has financed several economic developmental activities in Zimbabwe, which include agriculture, road construction and fuel procurement to the tune of US$90 million.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 11 July
Police search for Chavunduka/Choto
Mthulisi Mathuthu
Three years after the Supreme Court ordered full investigations into the torture of Ray Choto and Mark Chavunduka of the Standard, police this week visited the newspaper's offices saying they wanted to interview the two. Two police officers from Braeside police station shocked journalists on Wednesday afternoon when they appeared at the Standard offices looking for both Chavunduka and Choto. Chavunduka died last November and Choto relocated to the United States. The policemen said they wanted to record statements from the two to complete a docket which had gone missing. Choto is currently reporting for the Voice of America. In March 2000, the Supreme Court ordered police commissioner Augustine Chihuri to investigate reports that the two were tortured by the military in January 1999 for publishing an article about a foiled military coup to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government. Then Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay agreed with the full bench that the journalists had been denied the right to the protection of the law when police failed to investigate their abduction by the army. Chavunduka and Choto, then editor and chief writer for the Standard respectively, were arrested after publication of the article and charged with publishing false news likely to cause alarm. They were detained for almost a week. They were allegedly tortured before being released on bail. A doctor's examination confirmed their claims that they had been subjected to torture through electric shocks and beaten with wooden sticks in a case which shocked the international community. In 2001 the Supreme Court ruled that Section 50 of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act under which they were charged was unconstitutional. Chavunduka and Choto also tried to sue the army for wrongful arrest and torture and to bring contempt of court charges against Defence secretary Job Whabira for ignoring a High Court order to release the two journalists.
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From The Sunday Times (UK), 13 July
Mugabe’s shadow falls on Bush safari
RW Johnson, Johannesburg
Throughout the African safari of President George W Bush last week, tension mounted over Zimbabwe. Colin Powell, his secretary of state, had been deeply affected by a meeting with Pius Ncube, the Bishop of Matabeleland, only a few weeks before. Ncube had told him in terrible detail of the many murders, rapes and tortures orchestrated by the regime of President Robert Mugabe and the way in which its opponents were being systematically deprived of food aid from America and Britain. Powell declared that Mugabe’s time had "come and gone". The Bush team was also determined to be rid of Charles Taylor, Liberia’s president, whose atrocities have made him an international pariah. Taylor appeared to take the hint and indicated his readiness to go, but Mugabe was spitting defiance. His ruling Zanu PF party labelled Powell an "Uncle Tom" - a black man servile to whites - and declared that Africa did not need lectures from the West on how to run its own affairs. "Africa has come of age. We are not for sale. America’s hegemony has neither space nor place in Africa," the party said. The greatest obstacle to ousting Mugabe, P owell knew, was South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki who has extended the Zimbabwean leader’s credit and diplomatic cover. "I think it is ill-advised for (Powell) to create the impression that he is directing what South Africa should do," Mbeki said. However, Bush and Powell had powerful leverage too. What Mbeki wanted most was Bush’s backing for an American free trade deal with the five-nation Southern African Customs Union, of which South Africa is part. America’s trade with South Africa has almost tripled within the past six years, making it by far the country’s biggest trade partner. For Mbeki, facing record unemployment and an election next year, Bush’s support for the deal, now placed before Congress, was vital. Bush had hinted at his intentions on his first stop in Senegal. At a former slave trading post on Goree Island he gave a moving account - which stopped just short of apology - of how millions of slaves were sent to America in atrocious conditions. He applied the lesson he drew about the inevitable victory of freedom back to Africa, saying there must be "no future for dictatorship".
As the Bush team travelled on to South Africa, Powell knew that he had another problem: Mugabe has an ally deep within the national security council (NSC), chaired by Condoleezza Rice. Dr Jendayi Frazer, a black American of radical views, is the NSC’s senior director for African affairs. As a student at Stanford University - where Rice taught for 20 years - Frazer was a close friend of Jonathan Moyo, the Zimbabwean minister of information. Frazer dislikes Walter Kansteiner, the American undersecretary of state for African affairs, whom she is said to refer to as "that white boy". Bush flew into Pretoria on Air Force One but a second jumbo jet carried Powell, Kansteiner and 300 other administration officials and staff. Powell vowed not to leave South Africa until he had secured change in Zimbabwe. The Bush team knew it was flying into the lion’s den. Mbeki’s own African National Congress helped to organise anti-Bush demonstrations in Cape Town and Johannesburg, handing out posters of Bush as Hitler and one bearing the slogan, "A village in Texas is missing its idiot". Despite the friction and the corps of American secret service bodyguards around Bush, he and Mbeki were determined that all should appear to be sweetness and light. Mbeki told Bush that South Africa was greatly strengthened by his friendship. Bush was the perfect guest, praising South Africa as a "force for stability". He said he regarded Mbeki as "an honest broker" and "the point man" on Zimbabwe. There was an immediate rush to judgment that Bush had conceded to Mbeki. Moyo hailed "a loud climb-down by a president all along misled", while the state-controlled South African broadcaster signalled a triumph for Mbeki. Hardest of all for Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was to hear Mbeki, standing next to Bush, insisting that the crisis was on the way to being resolved, with talks already in progress between Zanu PF and the MDC. This, everyone knew, was an outright lie. Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, furiously denounced Mbeki’s "false and mischievous misstatements" as an attempt to "shield Mugabe by buying him time". Even Zanu PF denied Mbeki’s claim. A Washington source said later that "neither Powell nor Kansteiner sees Mbeki as an honest broker over Zimbabwe".
However, concern that the American president’s contrasting attitude signalled victory for Frazer in her turf battle against Kansteiner quickly faded. "Anyone who thinks that way just doesn’t understand how the Bush White House works," said one staffer. "Bush is a professional nice guy. He learnt from his father: always be polite. He was always going to slap Mbeki on the back and tell him he was a swell guy." Realising that embarrassing Mbeki in front of Bush was not a winning strategy, the MDC quickly switched its line, congratulating both on finding agreement and looking forward to talks with Zanu PF. "It’s up to Mbeki now to make a reality out of what he promised," an MDC official said. The unspoken thought was that Bush’s job would be to sit on Mbeki to make sure it happened. An unconfirmed report in the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper yesterday said that Mbeki had indicated Mugabe would leave office in December during his party’s annual conference, preparing the way for elections next March.
Bush, meanwhile, had flown off for a six-hour visit to Botswana, praising President Festus Mogae for having "the courage and the resolve to defeat" Aids with the use of free drugs. Throughout Bush’s trip the talk was of Aids — "the deadliest enemy Africa has ever faced", as he put it. The president was also at pains to correct any false impressions that people had about Zimbabwe, whose problems, he said, were "directly attributable to rank bad governance". He added: " We will continue to speak out for democracy in Zimbabwe." On Friday Bush was greeted by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and, after just four hours, moved on to Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and an important oil supplier to America. Nigeria is the key to the Liberian crisis. Bush had been asked all week whether he would commit American troops to a peace-keeping mission in Liberia, and always responded by saying he would consider it but that Taylor must go. President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria had already offered Taylor sanctuary. Bush, however, wanted Nigeria to take the lead role in any peace-keeping mission as well. With this business apparently concluded he flew home last night. Bush’s pressure had effectively brought the Taylor regime to an end in the course of his trip. By journey’s end it was reported that Taylor’s son "Chucky", who has been accused of multiple human rights abuses, had fled to South Africa. However, the larger question of regime change in Zimbabwe - and of whether Mugabe and his equally bloodstained coterie would also try to seek refuge in South Africa - still hung in the balance.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 11 July
Libyan fuel deal held up
Vincent Kahiya/Dumisani Muleya
Libyan fuel will not be coming any time soon as Zimbabwe is still trying to clear the issue of asset transfers as well as reviving its financing agreement with the Libyan Arab Bank, it has been learnt. Despite official claims that fuel would be coming "as soon as possible" following President Mugabe's recent visit to Libya, nothing has been released because negotiations over a new deal are still on. Libyans have remained in the country to pursue further talks about assets and payment methods. Government sources this week said Harare, which had a US$90 million financing facility with the Libyan Arab Bank, owes the institution US$43 million. It also owes Libyan oil company Tamoil US$67 million, Independent Petroleum Group (IPG) of Kuwait US$65 million, and Engen of South Africa US$25 million. IPG cut supplies three months ago, resulting in the current crippling shortages. The ballooning of the Noczim debt comes amid reports this week that the Libyan delegation agreed on a price tag of US$60 million with the government for the Mutare to Harare pipeline and storage facilities. The Libyan delegation, which includes officials from Tamoil, arrived in the country last Monday and have been holding discussions with officials from Noczim, fuel pipeline company Petrozim and the Ministry of Energy and Power Development. Energy minister Amos Midzi confirmed the Libyans were in the country to continue fuel negotiations. "They came and are still here and we are discussing," he said. "The announcement on fuel was made (in Libya) and there has been no change to that. What we are waiting for are dates and times of when the fuel will be coming." But sources said there were many loose ends to be tied.
Government sources said the new fuel deal should be signed in the next two weeks after the carrying out of a due diligence study and drawing up of contract documents. This week government and Libyan negotiators agreed that the total value of the pipeline should be US$60 million. The government has agreed to sell off half of its 50% stake in Petrozim and ancillary facilities. This effectively means the Libyans would claim a 25% stake in the pipeline. The other 50% stake is owned by Lonrho, which is winding up business in Zimbabwe. The shareholding in the pipeline is believed to be Lonrho's largest investment in the country. "The most likely scenario is that if Lonrho decides to sell off its shareholding in Petrozim the Libyans would be ready to snap it up," a government source said. "That means the Libyans would have an effective 75% in Petrozim." The Libyans would like to establish a joint venture company, Tamoil-Zimbabwe, with Noczim. The conclusion of the deal is crucial to fuel supplies from Libya. There are fears that the Libyans would create a monopoly in the country if it acquires the pipeline. This has been heightened by allegations this week that they also wanted to control rail loading facilities at the Feruka depot in Mutare. Zimbabwe gets fuel through short-term and long-term credit financing and cash. Before the collapse of the Libyan deal, the long-term payment plan was through a 90-day credit financing facility provided by the Libyan Arab Bank. The revolving facility was drawn up with stand-by letters of credit. There was also a clearing agreement between the Reserve Bank and Bank Negara of Malaysia. Both these facilities had back-to-back arrangements of commodity and service exports to Libya and Malaysia.
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From News24 (SA), 12 July
Zim facing famine deaths
Harare - Zimbabwe's main opposition on Saturday warned that there will be "deaths" in the country if the government does not appeal to aid agencies to supply relief food. Zimbabwe has been in the grip of severe food shortages since last year. The UN's World Food Programme estimates that 5.5 million Zimbabweans will be in need of food aid this year. "What is required now is government to appeal" for food aid from the WFP, Renson Gasela, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) shadow agriculture minister told a press conference. "If they don't do that, we are actually going to have deaths," he warned. The WFP has said it needs the government to make a formal appeal for food aid before donors will commit resources to fund the exercise. There have been unconfirmed media reports that 43 people, mostly children, have died in the country's second city of Bulawayo due to malnutrition in the first few months of this year. The WFP estimates that out of the total amount of people who will be in need of food aid, more than one million of them are in urban areas. "Until they (the government) actually formally request, the donors will not come and supply food," Gasela added. The MDC official, who is also an opposition legislator, criticised the government for what he said was a callous disregard for the consequences of its delay. "What other rationale is there other than the desire to hurt your own citizens," he said. The WFP says that as of May this year it had, together with partner organisations, distributed 346 000 tons of food aid to 4.7 million people. Aid organisations say a controversial government land reform programme that has seen white-owned commercial farms seized for blacks has contributed to the current food crisis. MDC's Gasela claimed that new black farmers resettled on formerly white-owned land had not yet produced any food. He said the bulk of this year's maize harvest was expected to come from growers in the country's traditional communal lands.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 11 July
Land audit reveals arbitrary seizures
Itai Dzamara/Dumisani Muleya
President Robert Mugabe's land audit team appointed last month to review government's land reform programme has submitted a preliminary report that reveals a pattern of corruption and ad hoc seizures in the allocation of farms. Official sources said the committee, headed by former Secretary to Cabinet Charles Utete, submitted its initial report recently. When it was appointed in May it was expected to submit a comprehensive report within two months The preliminary report is said to be similar in form and content to Minister of State for Land Reform, Flora Bhuka's report that unearthed gross irregularities and multiple-farm-ownership in the land redistribution exercise. "There is already a preliminary report that details the abuses by ministers, top government officials, senior Zanu PF members and higher ranking civil servants," a source said referring to the Utete committee. "Mugabe's comments last week-end in Chivi that those who have amassed land would lose the extra farms were based on that report."
The Bhuka report, which was suppressed in the corridors of power in March, named ministers, governors, senior military officers and civil servants as having grabbed more than one farm in violation of government's own one-man-one-farm policy. The report of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Lands, Agriculture, Water Development, Rural Resources and Resettlement also exposed grave abuses in the land reform programme. The report, presented to parliament last month, was compiled between January and March. "Regarding aspects of land acquisition, planning and allocation, the review acknowledges the unprecedented levels of property gazetting which are, however, proceeding against sluggish legal confirmation amidst a flurry of contestations," the report says. The report noted that politicians usurped the powers of the executive and management institutions tasked with implementing the programme and seized many farms and parcelled them out to their families and friends.
Although not identifying names, it said "prominent government leaders and politicians" were involved. The report alludes to the issue of abuse of political power and multiple farm ownership. "It is very clear that senior politicians do not respect these institutions resulting in some of these politicians appropriating the functions of the Identification Committees by deciding what farm must be settled," it says. "In some cases, they also decided who must be settled even on properties not identified for resettlement." The report gives the example of Matabeleland South province where a prominent politician directed that small pieces of land owned and used by a businessman as a filling station and hotel should be acquired for settlement by his spouse. It also refers to newspaper publisher and businessman Ibbo Mandaza's five farms that he controversially acquired in Matabeleland North province for private projects. Mandaza also appears in the Bhuka report. The report highlights the environmental and wildlife destruction caused by the land reform programme, which it describes as "a ticking time bomb".
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From The Guardian (UK), 14 July
'Torturer' safe in UN Kosovo role
Andrew Meldrum
The UN has refused to arrest a Zimbabwean police officer accused of torture who is currently working for it in Kosovo as a member of an international training team. The UN was informed in early June that the alleged torturer, Detective Inspector Henry Dowa, was working for it in Prizren, Kosovo, but it declined to take any action, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. Zimbabwean police thought to have done a good job by the country's government are often seconded to UN peacekeeping missions, where conditions are comparatively good and they are paid in dollars. Mr Dowa has been named by several Zimbabwean torture victims as having directed and carried out beatings with fists, boots and pickaxe handles, and as having administered electric shocks to the point of convulsions, at Harare central police station throughout 2002 and in early 2003.
The charges have been backed up by medical examinations which confirm injuries consistent with torture. Redress, an organisation that seeks reparation for torture survivors, had urged the UN to detain Mr Dowa until he could stand trial under international law. But the top UN official in Kosovo refused. "We acknowledge the gravity of the allegations made about the officer," wrote Michael Steiner, the UN's special representative in Kosovo, to Redress. "We have with regret concluded that the United Nations interim mission in Kosovo cannot pursue criminal prosecution of the officer in Kosovo on the allegations you properly brought to our attention. We have to dedicate our scarce resources to pressing and serious cases in Kosovo." Calling the UN decision "unacceptable", the executive director of Redress, Frances D'Souza, has appealed to the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, to have the accused officer arrested and tried.
The controversy highlights the concern of human rights groups that the UN is not properly vetting police and troops seconded to it. "We question why the UN is accepting secondments from Zimbabwe, where it is well documented that torture is endemic," Dr D'Souza said. Mr Dowa is a well-known figure in Harare where, wearing a traditional fringed hat made of tree bark, he has been seen commanding police when they inflicted inappropriate force on peaceful Zimbabweans. Lawyers working for Redress said the UN had a legal obligation to arrest Mr Dowa, as it was extremely unlikely that he would face charges laid by the Mugabe government when he returned to Zimbabwe. According to sworn testimony from victims, the torturers said they had been granted special powers by President Mugabe, and they would never be charged.
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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 14 July
Outrage over Mugabe job 'mockery'
By Graham Boynton in Johannesburg and Tim Butcher, Africa Correspondent
President Robert Mugabe's regime pulled off an extraordinary diplomatic coup yesterday when it was given a senior position within the African Union, the grouping set up to promote good governance in Africa. The move was seen as a direct snub to President George W Bush who called for a "return to democracy in Zimbabwe" during his African tour last week. It also outraged Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change which claimed that it was a "betrayal of the people of Zimbabwe" and made a mockery of the AU's founding commitment to good governance. The MDC leadership claimed that the AU, founded a year ago, was no better than its widely discredited predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity. This was notorious for appointing Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator, as its head in the 1970s. Mr Mugabe is expected to exploit Zimbabwe's appointment as a deputy chairman of the AU to bolster his claim that he is the victim of a Western conspiracy against Africa.
The appointment exposed the yawning difference in attitude between Africa and the West over Zimbabwe. While America and the European Union have condemned the Mugabe regime's systematic abuse of the rule of law, African leaders have been more tolerant if not completely supportive. Heads of state gathering in Maputo, Mozambique's capital, for the annual AU summit had signalled their condoning of the Mugabe regime by removing Zimbabwe from the main agenda of the summit. Instead it was dominated by calls for America to intervene in Liberia and for the West to finance an economic package to solve poverty across the continent. But the rewarding of Zimbabwe with a senior administrative position overshadowed the summit. "This really is a great betrayal of the people of Zimbabwe who have suffered so much under Mugabe," said Paul Themba Nyathi, an MDC spokesman. "He is going to interpret this as nothing but an endorsement of his policies. In reality this is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction by other African leaders unable to commit themselves genuinely to good governance."
The appointment comes at a time of crisis in Zimbabwe. So impoverished is the state that fuel stocks are all but exhausted and the national carrier can now barely fly. Air Zimbabwe does not operate between Bulawayo and Johannesburg, and its few remaining flights have to refuel in foreign countries. Senior sources in the aid community say there is a famine that the government cannot afford to acknowledge because it would be too humiliating to admit failure. The Foreign Affairs Ministry in South Africa, which has been criticised in the West for its "softly softly" approach to Harare, confirmed that Zimbabwe would hold the deputy chairmanship for the next 12 months. However, a spokesman said it was "merely procedural". For the coming year, the Southern Africa Deputy Chairmanship will be held by Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa before rotating to three other countries within Southern Africa next year. Until recently Mr Mugabe held the chairmanship of the powerful defence committee of SADC, the Southern African Development Community, even though his troops and security forces were guilty of widespread human rights abuses.
President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique said that the summit had focused on improving economic governance and working to halt regional conflicts and the spread of Aids. The summit was surprised by yet another bravura performance from Muammar Gaddafi of Libya who appears to enjoy being outrageous at such events. This year he caused consternation by claiming that Aids, malaria and sleeping sickness were armies ordained by God to protect Africans from white imperialism. Last year he toured South Africa and Swaziland handing out large wads of US dollar bills to bemused villagers. The AU was meant to mark a clean break from the past, when the OAU repeatedly failed to stand up to the continent's dictators such as Amin or to stop atrocities such as the Rwandan genocide. After 38 years it passed into history last year bankrupt, owed money by 45 of its 53 members and with few better epitaphs than that coined by the current Ugandan leader, Yoweri Museveni. He described it as a "trade union of criminals".
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 13 July
State inflating land beneficiaries - MDC
By our own Staff
Only 129 000 farmers have been resettled under the chaotic A1 model fast track land reform exercise since 2000 and not 300 000 as claimed by the State, official government documents leaked to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have revealed. MDC shadow minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Gweru rural legislator, Renson Gasela, told journalists in Harare yesterday that reports from 10 provincial governors indicated that government had misled the nation about the number of people who have benefited from its controversial land redistribution exercise. After the historic 2000 referendum that saw thousands of Zimbabweans rejecting the government-sponsored draft Constitution, President Mugabe embarked on the fast track land reform exercise that resulted in the disruption of agricultural activities and the deaths of several commercial farmers and farm workers. The reforms, according to Mugabe, were meant to redress land hunger among the country's majority black peasants who were living on marginal areas.
The government has claimed that it has so far resettled 300 000 people on the A1 model scheme, for villagers and small scale farmers, even though it was apparent that the rural areas remained heavily congested. "We have discovered that the (Zanu PF) regime lied that they had resettled 300 000 farmers on A1 farms," said Gasela. "Only 129 000 have actually been given land ... the majority of whom have been a dismal failure on their new pieces of land and failed to produce any significant harvest in the last season," Gasela said. The former Grain Marketing Board general manager warned that Zimbabwe faced a lengthened spell of famine that might spill into next year because of the haphazard land reforms. He said according to a study the MDC had carried out, the country's current stock of wheat will run out in the next two months while the GMB's maize stocks have a shortfall of 1,1million tonnes.
Gasela said: "There is no current stock of wheat in the country to talk about. Production this year will be down from 145 000 tonnes last year to a mere 60 000 tonnes." Zimbabwe is in the throes of crippling food shortages which threaten over six million of the country's 11.6 million people. The shortages have largely been blamed on Mugabe's controversial land reforms which resulted in white-owned commercial farms being grabbed without any contingent plans to cater for the disrupted food production processes. Gasela added: "The import requirement of wheat is 340 000 tonnes costing over US$85 million while that of maize is US$64 million. Again, this kind of money is not there. Even if the next crop has sufficient rainfall, we will not, as a country, produce enough food next year. The reasons include shortage of seed, fertilisers and fuel." He urged government to heed to last week's advice by the United Nations to urgently launch an appeal for food aid after a survey by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Food Programme showed that the country was in dire need of cereal replenishment. "It takes three months between request (of food aid from donors) and arrival of food. The government is aware of this crisis but has chosen to do nothing," said Gasela.
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Comment from The Scotsman, 10 July
Why Mugabe's Zimbabwe has avoided economic meltdown - so far
Roger Nicholson
Why has Zimbabwe’s economy appeared to defy all predictions by avoiding a terminal meltdown? There is a serious economic crisis. But as President George W Bush should find on his visit to southern Africa, its nature is more complex than the headline information reveals and its political implications more profound. For the past three years, through suspect parliamentary and presidential elections, drought, and the removal of 90 per cent of the commercial farmers from their land, commentators have been predicting imminent "freefall" collapse of the Zimbabwean economy. There is enough material around to support the predictions. Inflation is running at 280 per cent and rising. There is a mirror-image collapse of the currency and 70 per cent unemployment. And there are desperate shortages of fuel and basic requirements. Some are unavailable at any price. Despite these trends, reinforced by the five-day stayaway organised in early June by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), an economy of sorts staggers on well past what most people would have considered the deadline for meltdown. This is because Zimbabwe really has two economies: a First World sector and a Third World sector. The First World sector consists (or consisted) of commercial agriculture and processing, mining, urban retail, regional-scaled industry, tourism, and a small but quite sophisticated service segment, including finance and information technology. It is the First sector that has taken the hammering and understandably caught the headlines. Out of a total population of 12 million, falling now because of AIDS and emigration, between one and 1.5 million people worked in or were dependent on these activities. Individually, white farmers have lost the most. But hundreds of thousands of urban blacks have no jobs - or have jobs whose wages cannot keep pace with weekly price increases.
The Third World sector absorbs about ten million people, eight million Shona, the governing party tribe, and two million Ndebele, largely supporting the MDC. This sector has also suffered from droughts, job losses in adjacent commercial agriculture, up to 400,000 displaced farm workers, often originally from Malawi, scavenging for food, increasing cost of cooking oil and other essentials, higher health and education fees, and the blight of AIDS-related deaths. Thus, life has got harder. But it has always been hard and many of these people have only two tenuous links with the First World. They continue to scratch a living from dry-planting or mostly communal lands. They owe an allegiance to tribal chiefs, who are looked after the by the government. The First sector on its old scale needed the attachment of the Third sector. In the medium term, at least the Third sector can grind alongside a much reduced First sector, which is why the final stages of freefall or meltdown have not yet materialised. The money is in the First sector, the people are in the Third. There are other strands which marginally ease this dire situation. In the First sector, with three currency rates - official, so-called "parallel’’ and black-market - more deals are done than are recorded. There are still long queues for petrol. But with a phone that works and hard currency, it is possible to trace a supply source.
Chillingly, the upper echelons of Zanu PF think this two-tier economic structure can go on long enough while Zimbabwe, led by a president in his 80th year, converts itself to an agrarian command economy rid of colonial influences, a kind of African Albania. This is an absurd notion, but it could happen if the Zanu PF nexus survives two years or so with good rains. There is little prospect of a Velvet Revolution. The impetus for controlled change can only come from outside the country. The South African president, Thabo Mbeki, misleads when he says Zimbabwe must follow the South African pattern and solve its own problems. This approach would lead actually to an agrarian peasant state on his border, or a chaotic implosion. It needs the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, to lean further on Mbeki, Mbeki to lean heavily on Robert Mugabe, and the Mugabe regime and the Zanu PF nexus to be replaced by a popular government freely elected and acceptable to the international community. If this were to happen, the economy could recover quite quickly. Neighbouring Mozambique, after years of a debilitating civil war, is now compounding economic growth at 7 per cent, driven in part by expatriate Zimbabwean farmers.
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Comment from The Zimbabwe Standard, 13 July
Poking a stick in the ear of a lion
Sundaytalk with Pius Wakatama
President Robert Mugabe, according to The Sunday Mail of last week addressed "thousands of people" near the much talked about but never built Tokwe Mukosi Dam in Masvingo. He told the people of this half-starved province that his government was working towards ending the relentless price hikes and the prevailing acute shortage of local bank notes and foreign currency by recouping "billions of dollars stashed away by individuals and institutions who were responsible for the cash shortage." Ho! Hum. Here we go again. He then for the umpteenth time said the government would ensure that those who benefited from the land reform programme produce enough maize and wheat for the country to eliminate the need to import grains. Didn't we hear this last year and the previous year? What a pipe dream. If wishes were horses beggars would be riding. Of course, he blamed the depletion of the grain reserves on the drought. Did you expect him to blame it on the violent and chaotic government land reform programme?
On US President Bush's visit to South Africa, President Mugabe was in top form. He was his usual cocky belligerent self. In a threatening voice he told the President of the United States of America: "If Mr Bush is coming to seek co-operation, then he is welcome but, if he is coming to dictate what we should do, then we say go back home Yankee." I felt sorry for the old man's hollow bravado. Indeed, if the United States would decide to directly interfere in Zimbabwe's internal affairs, what would Mugabe do? The United Nations including our so-called friend, France, were totally helpless against the invasion of Iraq. The United States, rightly or wrongly, ignored them and attacked anyway. What did the United Nations and France do about it? Nothing. They are instead working together with the United States and her allies to rebuild that country into an acceptable democracy. In the light of such events, isn't it rather childish for Mugabe to even try to threaten President Bush? He will only succeed in strengthening the man's resolve to help put an end to our suffering. Go on Mr Mugabe of Zimbabwe, threaten and insult the American President some more. It may hasten our emancipation from your tyrannical rule! The same kind of childishness is now found in our government controlled Press. I pride myself in being a fair minded person. I, therefore, buy as many newspapers of the day as I can afford, including the government ones, in order to comment objectively in this column. However after reading the drivel in The Sunday Mail last week I gave up the habit. I had decided to comment on the weird views of Tafataona Mahoso, Udo Froese, Munyaradzi Huni and Tonderai Nyamayevhu. After some thought I said to myself, "Pius, you are now also getting mad. Don't you know that if you argue with a fool no one will know which one is the fool?" I, there and then, decided to divert my newspaper money to bread which is now a whooping thousand dollars a loaf. So, good-bye Sunday Mail. I definitely will not miss you. I warn all those who may be inclined to continue reading such nonsense that they are in danger of ending up in the nuthouse.
Just imagine. Udo Froese quite seriously wrote: "As much as US President George Bush wants to reward Britain's Tony Blair for his zealous support in Afghanistan and Iraq and the rest of the world by returning Zimbabwe to the British crown, such brutal action would create chaos, and terrorism would take advantage of us. If President Mugabe's government would be destroyed, thousands of highly trained Zanu PF guerrillas would retreat to the bush in order to again pick up the war for their country. It would be inevitable to happen, as they would otherwise become targets. This would cause havoc in the region." If the poor English is not enough to make you go bananas, the twisted thinking in the article will do the trick. In one of the editorials The Sunday Mail called upon African leaders not to "buckle"under US pressure to accept US blood dollars which would be offered in return for the pro-Western reforms in Africa, for the benefit of corporate interests and to win African support in the fight against terrorism. I wonder which African leaders are meant here. Are they not the same ones who are pleading with the United States to send a peace-keeping force to Liberia in order to bring stability to that war torn country? Who caused the war in Liberia? Was it caused by Western imperialists or by the very same African leaders who shout the loudest about anti imperialism? Give us a break.
I just don't know what some people have for brains. On one hand they are asking African leaders to spurn the United States and its "blood" money. On the other hand, they are at this very minute asking the World Food Programme (largely funded by the United States) for food to feed starving Zimbabweans. Even South Africa itself is asking the United States for aid. The coming of the American President to the region should have made our President to sit down and seriously take stock. The people have suffered enough. The words from the powerful American delegation calling for fresh elections in Zimbabwe should have signalled to hi |
