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Archived News
21st December 2004
Mugabe to post propaganda chief to UN
Commuter jailed for calling Mugabe 'thick-headed'
Protest at Zim mission
Opposition legislator arrested
Zimbabwe inflation down, but still highest
Disbelief greets Zim inflation
MDC dissatisfied with limited Zim poll reforms
Boycotting poll not an option, say analysts
MDC meeting banned to pave way for Zanu PF
When only gran is left
Zimbabwe finally on alliance agenda
Staying in business - at least until 2009
Zanu's only helmsman
Mugabe's right-hand man builds 112-roomed mansion
Mangwana's circus
Minister accused of fanning violence
100 MDC protesters demand MP's release
No consensus between Zanu PF/MDC on polls
Opposition advert refused
MDC in poll quandry
UK deports Zim asylum seekers
Zim will welcome back British refugees
Be wary of UK deportation threats: Moyo
Chinamasa, Moyo kicked out Zanu PF politburo
Top Zanu PF politician arrested
Zanu PF moves to rein in war vets
Graffiti highlights rough deal for Roy
Mnangagwa down.but out?
Zim elections: to boycott or not to boycott?
Police disrupt MDC meeting
First score for 'Free Bennett' campaign
Put on wrong outfit in Bulawayo, and you are off to the cells
Nkomo pleads for food aid
Zimbabwe opposition to decide on March poll in Jan
MDC to decide on elections next month
Opposition slams new voting laws as 'cosmetic, meaningless'
Desperate scenes as Zimbabwe bank shuts
Zanu PF propaganda chief's blue-eyed boys shake in their boots
Zim miners die in shaft flood
Villagers survive on leaves in Mudzi amid government claims of food sufficiency
MDC loses two potential seats
Mudenge, Mahofa in trouble
Mystery continues to surround Chiyangwa's whereabouts
Top Zim official arrested over land dispute
Soldiers attack MDC supporters
Bleak view of Zimbabwe's decline
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From Zim Online (SA), 15 December
Mugabe to post propaganda chief to UN
Harare - President Robert Mugabe will reassign his abrasive information minister and propaganda chief, Jonathan Moyo, to a top diplomatic post, possibly as Zimbabwe's new ambassador to the United Nations (UN), sources told Zim Online yesterday. The sources said other senior ruling Zanu PF party leaders, long angry with Moyo over what they perceive as his arrogance and disrespectful manner, had taken advantage of his fallout with Mugabe to push for his dismissal from the government altogether. The senior Zanu PF leaders, who the sources said include party and state First Vice-President Joseph Msika and chairman, John Nkomo, wanted Moyo replaced by his permanent secretary and long-time Mugabe spokesman, George Charamba. "The President (Mugabe) agrees to stern measures against Moyo but he feels he can benefit from his combativeness and hardworking nature by tasking him to defend his policies at the UN," a senior Zanu PF official said yesterday. According to the party official, who did not want to be named, Moyo was likely to replace Boniface Chidyausiku as Zimbabwe's ambassador at the UN only after the March 2005 election. "He (Mugabe) will keep Moyo here until after March because he knows he needs him for the election," the official said.
Mugabe, who two weeks ago blocked Moyo's nomination to Zanu PF's central committee, is expected to punish him further by dropping him from the party's inner politburo cabinet on Friday. Until three weeks ago, Moyo was one of Mugabe's most powerful and trusted confidantes. But the two fell out after Moyo led a secret plot to block plans by Mugabe to appoint Joyce Mujuru as the second vice-president of Zanu PF. Mugabe, who publicly voiced his displeasure with Moyo, has since suspended six of Zanu PF's 10 provincial chairmen because they had worked with Moyo in his plot to scupper the appointment of Mujuru. Mujuru, who has since been appointed state second vice-president is now firmly positioned to succeed Mugabe as Zanu PF and possibly Zimbabwe's president given that Mugabe and Msika are set to retire at the same time in 2008. According to the sources, parliamentary speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom Moyo wanted appointed vice-president was however going to keep his job as Zanu PF's secretary for administration and possibly at Parliament as well. A fierce proponent for democracy and arch-critic of Mugabe, Moyo swapped sides in 1999 to become the chief defender of the Zimbabwean leader and his policies. Appointed information minister in 2000, Moyo has in the last four years crafted tough media laws that have seen hundreds of journalists jailed and three newspapers including Zimbabwe's biggest and only independent daily paper, the Daily News, shut down.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 15 December
Commuter jailed for calling Mugabe 'thick-headed'
A Zimbabwean commuter will spend Christmas in jail for calling President Robert Mugabe "thick-headed", the Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday. Arnold Bunya (29) was arrested on December 1 after an argument with his brother on a bus during which he admonished his sibling by saying: "Do not be thick-headed like Mugabe." Bunya was warned by a member of the Central Intelligence Organisation travelling on the bus to stop insulting the veteran leader but persisted and was then taken to a police station where he was arrested. A Harare court on Tuesday remanded Bunya in custody until December 28. Zimbabwe's strict Public Order and Security Act (Posa) makes it an offence to insult the head of state. There are regular reports of people on buses being arrested for slandering Zimbabwe's long-time president. Usually those found guilty receive light jail sentences, fines or are ordered to do community service.
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From News24 (SA), 15 December
Protest at Zim mission
Pretoria - Trade union members, activists and ex-Zimbabwean citizens gathered outside that country's embassy in Pretoria on Wednesday to protest against alleged human rights abuses. The protesters were supporters of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu), Amnesty International and a grouping called "Concerned Zimbabweans Abroad". The toyi-toying group carried placards reading "F.. you Mugabe", and "It's not a Zim issue, it's a SADC (Southern African Development Community) issue". A spokesperson for Cosatu, which organised the protest, said it was part of an ongoing campaign to raise concern over events in South Africa's northern neighbour. A handful of protesters started gathering outside the embassy in Arcadia from 10:00. An hour later, the group had grown to about 50. They were expected to present a memorandum to an embassy official later in the morning. Other banners displayed by the group read: "Zimbabwe violates basic human rights" and "Union rights are human rights".
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From Zim Online (SA), 15 December
Opposition legislator arrested
Harare - Police yesterday arrested opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party legislator Paul Madzore at the party's Harvest House headquarters in the capital. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for clarification on the arrest of Madzore who is Member of Parliament (MP) for Glen View constituency in Harare. MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said the party was unsure yet about the reasons for Madzore's arrest. Police sources told Zim Online that Madzore was arrested in connection with violent clashes between ruling Zanu PF party and MDC supporters in Glen View last Sunday after a meeting the MP had addressed in the constituency. Political violence is on the increase in Zimbabwe as the country draws closer to a crucial general election scheduled for March 2005. The MDC has said it will not contest the ballot unless Zimbabwe's electoral laws were democratised and political violence ended.
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From Business Report (SA), 15 December
Zimbabwe inflation down, but still highest
Zimbabwe's official inflation rate dropped to 149.3 percent last month from 209 percent in October, the Central Statistical Office said yesterday. But the new rate still leaves Zimbabwe with the highest inflation in the world. Harare is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, with inflation peaking at over 600 percent last year. The Reserve Bank attributes the current drop to tighter fiscal policies aimed at reining in rampant profiteering and a lucrative black market in scarce commodities and hard currency. However, the official inflation rate excludes prices on a wide range of services and imports that have continued to soar throughout the year. Medicines, vehicle repairs and agriculture prices have risen over 600 percent. The state-owned telephone and postal service has hiked fees by 1 000 percent.
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From News24 (SA), 15 December
Disbelief greets Zim inflation
Harare - President Robert Mugabe's government on Tuesday claimed it had met its target of bringing inflation down below 150% before the year end, releasing figures showing the rate for the 12 months to November had fallen to 149.3%. State radio said this was in line with predictions made in December 2003 by the then newly appointed governor of the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank, Gideon Gono. The inflation rate in October stood at 209%, down from an all-time high of over 600% at the beginning of the year, according to the Government's Central Statistical Office. The official figures are, however, widely disbelieved, with the Zimbabwean dollar continuing to fall against all major currencies on the black market and soaring prices for fuel, postage and telecommunications, transport, medicines, and many basics. On the official market, the Zimbabwe dollar now stands at Z$6200/US$ and Z$8212/E. Mugabe claimed last week that the economy is in the midst of a "dramatic" recovery following redistribution of 5 000 seized white owned farms to black Zimbabweans, a policy which saw a massive slump in agricultural and manufacturing production, and near collapse of tourism, another traditional money-spinner.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 15 December
MDC dissatisfied with limited Zim poll reforms
Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have agreed to reform some of that country's electoral laws, but the opposition said it is "dissatisfied" by the state's attempts to portray absolute agreement. "The state press is trying to imply that the changes to the electoral laws have our blessing," MDC chief whip Innocent Gonese said on Wednesday. "Actually, we're anything but satisfied." A parliamentary committee made up of MPs from both parties said polls will be open for 12 hours in next year's election. Observers of Zimbabwe's 2000 and 2002 elections slated the Zanu PF government for closing polling booths and denying thousands the right to vote. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said he has already agreed that "translucent ballot boxes" will be used in the poll, expected in March next year. But the MDC said it is "bitterly disappointed" that civil and church leaders will not be appointed as election supervisors. Chinamasa told state radio: "You can't just pick up people in the streets, as no one would be prepared to take responsibility if anything goes wrong." Gonese said: "We're not suggesting people should be picked from the street. We suggested eminent citizens should be trained as electoral supervisors. The opposition is far from satisfied and far from happy with the way the Electoral Act is being drafted, but negations are over, they're finished and what is in the new law will mainly be what Zanu PF wants in the law," he said in a telephone interview.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 15 December
Boycotting poll not an option, say analysts
Pretoria - Political analysts said this week urged the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, the Movement for Democratic Change to contest the 2005 parliamentary election saying boycotting the poll would throw the opposition party into political oblivion. Speaking during a seminar on Zimbabwe organised by the South African Institute for Security for Studies, the analysts said the options were tough for the MDC. The MDC has threatened to boycott the election unless the government of President Robert Mugabe fully implements the Southern African Development Community protocol of free and fair elections adopted last August. But International Crisis Group director for the southern Africa project, Peter Kagwanja said a boycott was not an option. "Boycotting will deprive the MDC the voice they have in parliament and space to question the legitimacy of the Mugabe regime," Kagwanja said. He said there was still a chance for the MDC to do well in the poll if they start serious campaign. Kagwanja said if the MDC boycotts the election, they run the risk of being irrelevant on Zimbabwe's political map. "May be they can pull out and go back to the drawing board but it will be a very difficult option," said Kagwanja. Professor Brian Raftopolous of the University of Zimbabwe's Institute for Development Studies said there was no way any other party except Zanu PF could win the 2005 elections. He said the conditions were very discouraging and it was disturbing that Southern African leaders continued to shield Mugabe despite massive human rights abuses and lack of significant electoral reform to pave way for a free and fair election. Raftopolous said because of the cosmetic electoral changes that the Mugabe regime was undertaking, "it is going to get some kind of legitimation from regional leaders." He said the quiet diplomacy stance adopted by South Africa clearly indicated that the regional leaders would support Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF even if he did not fully implement the SADC protocol. The seminar, held under the theme "Zimbabwe: Imagining the future" was attended by political analysts from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
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From Zim Online (SA), 16 December
MDC meeting banned to pave way for Zanu PF
Harare - The police have banned two meetings by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, one to pave way for a ruling Zanu PF party meeting and the other because the police did not want the MDC meeting at night. The two meetings that were scheduled for tonight in the MDC strongholds of Harare and Chitungwiza were part of about 5 000 meetings the party wants to hold across the country to conclude discussions with rank and file members on whether to participate in next year's general election. MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube was unsure last night whether the police, accused by human rights and pro-democracy groups of using the law to suppress the opposition, would not also ban the remaining meetings. He said: "The police have refused us permission for our meetings in Harare and Chitungwiza. We are not sure what they will do with the other meetings." A police spokesman, Oliver Mandipaka, confirmed to ZimOnline yesterday that the police had barred the two meetings but said he could not give the reasons why the meetings had been banned.
However, in letters written to the MDC banning the meetings, copies of which were shown to Zim Online, the police said they were barring the opposition party from meeting its supporters at Harare's Stodart Hall to allow a Zanu PF meeting to take place near the hall. On the Chitungwiza meeting, the police, who under tough state security laws must authorise all political gatherings, said they were banning the meeting because they did not want "the MDC to hold a meeting at night in the town." The MDC leadership wants to use the meetings to gauge the mood of ordinary supporters before deciding in early January next year whether to stick to the decision to boycott the March election. The opposition party last August said it was suspending participation in all elections until the government fully implemented Southern African Development Community (SADC) standards and recommendations for free and fair elections. The party also wants political violence ended before it can take part in elections. The SADC electoral guidelines, among other key conditions, require that independent commissions run elections. The political playing field should be fair and violence-free under the regional guidelines.
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From The Cape Argus (SA), 15 December
When only gran is left
Caught in the grip of an Aids pandemic and a crippling drought, Zimbabwe's orphans look to their grandparents
Until a week ago, elderly Hannah Dube and her five grandchildren living in the dusty village of Kezi in southwestern Zimbabwe had been surviving on small portions of dried white melon. Then Zimbabwe's social services stepped in, handing the 75-year-old Dube emergency aid of the staple corn grain to feed her family caught in the grip of an Aids pandemic and a crippling drought. The grandmother's plight in this remote corner of Zimbabwe tells the story of the burden of many other pensioners in a country where Aids has turned a million children into orphans. The UN children's organisation, Unicef, estimates that more than one in five children will be orphaned in Zimbabwe by 2010, with more than 80% of those orphaned by Aids which kills 3 000 people a week. Nine of her grandchildren are orphaned - she is looking after five children between the ages of five and 13. Three successive years of drought have exacerbated food shortages.
"We only eat one meal a day," said Dube. "We are used to it now and there is nothing unusual about it," she said. While food is available in the shops, people like Dube and her family, who have no source of income, cannot even dream of buying any. Driving up to Dube's home along a narrow dust road, hundreds of people, carrying empty sacks, were seen walking back home, looking tired, hungry and dejected. They are coming from the local business centre where they had gone to register their names for food aid to be handed out three days later. "We were told (by an international aid organisation) to come and register our names for food coming next week. But now they say only those on the old list will be given food," Dube said. The Zimbabwean government this year turned away foreign food aid saying the country produced enough to feed its people. But Harare has recently allowed the UN World Food Programme to undertake a one-off free food distribution to get rid of its stock left over from April when the government stopped general food aid.
Volunteer workers confirm the hunger in the area. "It is depressing to go out there visiting the sick, handing out soap, diapers, some antiseptic solutions but seeing that what is urgently needed is food," said volunteer Georgina Tshabalala. Dube is not only struggling to provide food for her orphaned grandchildren, but also shelter. She cleans up grass that fell while she was thatching the roof of her new mud and pole hut in this remote rural area of Zimbabwe. With nobody to help her build or maintain their home, Dube has to risk climbing on to the roof to patch it up before the rains bring it down. The elderly woman told AFP she had no choice but to look after some of her grandchildren. Those who are not under her wing are probably involved in illegal gold mining, rife in the area. "I don't know how they are surviving, but no one helps me with anything. The chickens and the goats you see outside I sell to send these children to school," she said. Despite the difficult living conditions and lack of food, one of her grandchildren, seven-year-old Dan, passed his year-end school examinations with A grades.
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From The Star (SA), 16 December
Zimbabwe finally on alliance agenda
By Karima Brown
The Zimbabwean political crisis has finally been put on the agenda of the tripartite alliance. SA Communist Party spokesperson Mazibuko Jara who attended a meeting of the alliance's secretariat in Johannesburg yesterday, told Independent Newspapers the issue of Zimbabwe would now be debated within the alliance. "We have started a political preparation process. All the position papers and documents of the various organisations will be collated and will be discussed in our structures." On whether this amounted to the alliance formulating policy on how to deal with the political crisis in Zimbabwe, Jara said: "It's a discussion process - whether it will amount to a policy position, I can't say." The ANC's left-leaning partners have repeatedly argued that there is no ANC or alliance position on the question of Zimbabwe. This notion was rejected by members of the ANC and in particular by ANC Youth League president Fikile Mbalula. He has contended that the ANC's Stellenbosch conference decided that it should enter into a bilateral agreement with Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu PF party. Fikile also dismissed the need for an alliance position on Zimbabwe. However, while the government soldiered on behind the scenes to try to get the parties to agree on a political settlement, Cosatu openly criticised President Thabo Mbeki's "quiet diplomacy" and called for strong action against human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. The SACP-backed Cosatu also publicly questioned whether the March elections in Zimbabwe would deliver a free and fair poll, given the levels of violence against members of the opposition, civil society and the media.
Matters came to a head after Cosatu's ill-fated fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe and the ANC's failure to shore up the Cosatu delegation after it was humiliated by President Robert Mugabe's government. A public spat between the Alliance partners ensued. Other issues that came up for discussion at yesterday's meeting included the alliance's programme of action, according to Jara. The twice-delayed alliance summit is now set to be finalised when the alliance secretariat meets early next month. Since the adoption of the Ekurhuleni Declaration at an alliance summit last year, Cosatu and the SACP have become increasingly impatient for a follow-up alliance summit. The get-together is meant to consolidate and build on the election programme of action as a way to remain in touch with grassroots support and tailor economic policy agreements to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and unemployment. The key question remains whether the summit will take place before the ANC's national council scheduled for June next year, at which alliance partners will come together as ANC members to reassess programmes and start the succession debate before the 2007 congress.
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From The Financial Mail (SA), 10 December
Staying in business - at least until 2009
By Prakesh Naidoo
Tension are more than ever linked to ANC succession plans
Each time the exchange gets more acrimonious, the language more vitriolic and the attacks more personal. And every time the tripartite alliance - comprising the ruling ANC, Cosatu and the SA Communist Party - hits another rocky patch, it is followed by the usual obituaries about its demise. Yet the only certainty of these public spats is that the alliance manages to soldier on, sometimes with renewed verve. Political observers believe the current upheaval among the alliance partners will be no different, though the circumstances leading up to the latest brawl would reverberate for a while yet. Though the fallout this time appears to be over SA's policy towards Zimbabwe and who should benefit from black economic empowerment , the tensions run deeper and are more than likely linked to internal rumblings over the ANC's leadership succession plans. "Within the alliance, for Cosatu the battle with the ANC is a fight for the soul of the ANC," says Adam Habib, executive director of the democracy & governance research programme of the Human Sciences Research Council. "Cosatu believes that the Mbeki presidency is much more supportive of a black middle class and business sector," he says, which explains the union's call last week to its members to become actively involved in choosing the next president of the ANC and to ensure that the party remains "pro-poor". The call was made when Cosatu released its much awaited report assessing political developments since its last national congress in September 2003.
Describing a relationship that is all but dysfunctional, Cosatu was anything but gentle with its senior alliance partner - especially ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama, who led the charge against Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi, who had slammed Ngonyama's business activities. Ngonyama had emerged as part of a consortium, together with former department of communications director- general Andile Ngcaba, which had bid to buy a R6bn stake in Telkom. Cosatu said in its report that some government officials were more concerned with their private investments than conducting their public duties. On the ANC succession issue it warned members to avoid at all costs "waking up at the last minute and hoping to influence any processes". The determination of Cosatu and the SACP to be part of selecting the next ANC leader in 2007 is what will keep the alliance intact, at least until the 2009 general elections, according to political observers. "Predictions of a split in the alliance are made routinely, which seems to suggest that there should be no issues of difference among the partners," says political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi. "You have to remember that Cosatu is an independent organisation with its own policies. Though this might presuppose conflict with the ANC, it is not always the case," he says.
One way of resolving their differences is for the alliance partners to meet more often, something that Cosatu laments is not happening. It was left to ANC secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe to defend the ruling party in the ANC's online newsletter last Friday. Motlanthe listed a series of meetings of the alliance secretariat since the April elections. He described some of Cosatu's criticisms as "distorted" and dismissed its contention that some ANC members resented the unionists attending ANC meetings. But Matshiqi says there has always been debate in the alliance about the labour federation's exact role in the transition process. "What is new and ironic is that the ANC always supported a role for the labour movement, which went beyond narrow worker issues," says Matshiqi. "The question now is whether the ANC believes that Cosatu needs to limit itself to shop-floor issues only and a political role in supporting ANC policy."
A greater irony was that Vavi is among those in Cosatu who preached a closer relationship with the ANC - in contrast to resistance from an ultra-left group that wanted limited contact. "One would have thought that the ANC would re inforce the position of those closer to it, instead of undermining people such as Vavi and run the risk of undermining the congress component in Cosatu," says Matshiqi. It is this component in Cosatu that is driving the case that the union be more closely involved in choosing the next ANC leader. With the candidature of some of the ANC frontrunners in question, the race could open up for a dark horse to emerge. "This freaks out the ANC leadership, who are desperate to manage the succession," says Habib. Which suggests that both sides of the alliance will have to agree on a compromise candidate. But right now neither side trusts the other enough for that to happen. How the ANC and Cosatu resolve this particular spat could be determined at an alliance secretariat meeting scheduled for next Tuesday.
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From The Financial Mail (SA), 10 December
Zanu's only helmsman
By special correspondent
Sekeramayi could rise to the top as Mugabe blocks Mnangagwa's ambitions
On the surface, the big winner at last week's annual congress of the ruling Zanu PF party was the country's new vice-president Joyce Mujuru, but few political analysts see her as a credible successor to President Robert Mugabe. The race for the top spot remains as open as before, though there is now a new frontrunner - and it's not Mujuru. Her election as Zanu PF second vice-president means she becomes junior vice-president of Zimbabwe, with the elderly Joseph Msika - also not presidential material, on age grounds - as senior vice-president. Mujuru, an undistinguished member of the government since independence in 1980, is unlikely to feature in the succession stakes when the time comes for Mugabe to step down - possibly, though not definitely, at the next presidential election in 2008. Despite that, her victory last week could have marked the end of the road for the former frontrunner, parliamentary speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa. His failure to win the number three post in the party hierarchy is not necessarily the end of his presidential ambitions. But party insiders believe that the quiet man, defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi (60), who, unlike Mnangagwa, has never declared his intention of running for the top spot, is now heir presumptive.
Sekeramayi is a central figure in the Zezuru faction, though arguably its most powerful member excluding Mugabe himself is retired General Solomon Mujuru, the new vice-president's husband. Like Sekeramayi, Gen Mujuru shuns the limelight. He is a power broker and kingmaker, the man best placed to deliver the presidency to Sekeramayi, a long-time Mugabe loyalist who, like Joyce Mujuru, has served in numerous ministerial posts for a quarter of a century. It is too early to say that Mnangagwa is finished. Three years is a long time in politics, especially in Zimbabwe where despite all the exaggerated official claims of impending economic recovery, the imminent return of lending by the International Monetary Fund and post-election recognition by the West, the ruling party remains unpopular. But the man who was the acknowledged frontrunner just three months ago may well have fluffed his chance. Love him or hate him, Mugabe is the supreme manager of his party. He had party members - who five years ago, after Zanu's defeat in the constitutional referendum were urging him to go - eating out of his hand at last week's congress. He dominated proceedings, saying nothing new, while he hammered the West, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, US President George W Bush and, of course, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
It was just what the doctor ordered for the party faithful, demonstrating beyond doubt just how vigorous and healthy he is, while underlining that he is Zanu PF. Take Mugabe away and the party is rudderless with no single personality capable of leading from the front. His management of the so-called "Gang of Eight" - the six party provincial chairmen, information minister Jonathan Moyo and War Veterans Association chairman Jabulani Sibanda - was consummate. The eight had arranged and attended an "unsanctioned" party meeting at Tsholotsho in rural Matabeleland, ostensibly to build a support base at the congress for Mnangagwa. Because the meeting had not been authorised by the party hierarchy, its decisions were overruled, contributing to Mnangagwa's failure to become party vice-president. And seven of the eight participants and organisers were suspended from the party for six months pending possibly more severe disciplinary action. The eighth - Moyo - was reprimanded by Zanu's most powerful body, the politburo. He was further humiliated at congress when he was not elected to the 240-strong central committee. Despite these setbacks to one of the country's most feared (and hated) politicians, it is premature to suggest that Moyo's political career is over.
Like Mnangagwa's, it may have been shunted into the slow lane, but Moyo has served the president well. He has emasculated independent and international media coverage of Zimbabwe. He has secured the closure of two critical newspapers and set up a media commission to control media coverage as far as possible. He has acted as a lightning rod for Mugabe. Though he is not a team player and - as the recent failed attempt to ban English cricket writers from accompanying the English tour shows - a loose cannon who can do the government more harm than good, Mugabe may well keep him for the time being. Now that Mugabe has clipped Moyo's wings, he may well feel that it is better to have the mercurial "professor" inside government attacking the "West", whites and the opposition, than challenging it from the outside. After the March 2005 election, it could be a different story, however. Moyo has made so many enemies that few will shed any tears if he goes.
With the succession on the back burner for now, Zanu will focus on the March parliamentary elections. It is in pole position to win easily, whether or not the MDC decides to contest. On his recent travels MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai was advised by leaders in Africa and Europe to fight the poll, even with a thoroughly one-sided playing field. African leaders want him to validate the poll so that this time election observers can declare it to have been free and fair and bring the whole sorry saga to an end. The West lives in the (misguided) hope that after all they have been through, the voters will turn against Mugabe, which would end the crisis from its viewpoint. Both sides are misjudging the situation. The West will not recognise another flawed Zanu victory, while Zimbabwe's voters lack the organisation - and indeed the stomach - to "do a Ukraine" by insisting an unpopular leader step down.
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From Zim Online (SA), 17 December
Mugabe's right-hand man builds 112-roomed mansion
Harare - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor and President Robert Mugabe's right hand-man, Gideon Gono, is building a 112-roomed mansion, with four helipads in Harare's plush suburb of Borrowdale. Architects told ZimOnline that they expected the opulent structure, whose interior furnishings are mostly imported, to cost more than US$5 million (about Z$25 billion) on completion. US$5 million is enough to build and equip at least four primary schools in Zimbabwe. The house, whose construction began in 2001, when Gono was still head of the partly government-owned Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, is located at Number 2, Luna Road on Sunlands Farm, which is part of Borrowdale Estate. Gono could not be reached for comment last night. The central bank governor - who has led a government crackdown against corrupt company executives and politicians who looted public funds to finance lavish lifestyles - is however said to have denied having anything to do with the Borrowdale mansion. But government Deeds and Registry office records shown to ZimOnline indicate that the farm on which the imposing castle-like house stands is registered in Gono's name under deeds registration number 6225/00. And sources said Gono had also been seen at the site on several occasions checking on progress. The house is likely to be finished sometime early next year, sources said. "Mr Gono supervises the construction himself," said one source who did not want to be named.
According to sources on the site, Gono, who is also Mugabe's personal financial adviser, had demanded the faces of his wife, children and himself be carved onto the house's stone castle tower. And among some of the features of the beautiful mansion are an art gallery, billiard room, library, a 60-guest dining room, servants' quarters, and plasma televisions in virtually every room. The grounds boast a magnificent swimming pool, with three islands and a gazebo. The house, believed to be the biggest in Harare, has a Victorian shingle style. Sources said the interior is expansive, but contains many classical elements. "The original quarter-sawn golden oak woodwork is magnificent," said a source. He added: "The home is furnished with museum quality oil paintings, furniture, and family heirlooms." Under the Gono-led anti-corruption drive, several top ruling Zanu PF party officials have been arrested mostly for siphoning foreign currency out of the country. But South African lawyers acting for Finance Minister Christopher Kuruneri, arrested for illegally externalising foreign currency to buy properties here, told a Cape Town court that Gono helped Kuruneri get the hard cash he is accused of siphoning out of Zimbabwe.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 17 December
Mangwana's circus
Shakeman Mugari/Conrad Dube
The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Paul Mangwana is a firm believer in his own statistics. He believes Zimbabwe's unemployment rate is only 9% instead of the widely accepted 70%. Mangwana also believes the troubled National Social Security Authority (NSSA) is the "best run" parastatal in the country. He even believes millions of Malawians will soon trek back to Zimbabwe like they did during the colonial era, to be employed by new farmers. The minister made these extraordinary claims this week at a press conference on the preparations for the East, Central and Southern Africa Employers' Conference to be held in Zimbabwe in January. The Employers Confederation of Zimbabwe (Emcoz) is hosting the conference. The conference will be held in Victoria Falls from January 26 to 28 and regional labour unions and employer organisations are expected to attend.
But it was Labour minister Mangwana who stole the show with his eloquent but far-fetched responses to questions from the media. "I don't believe that the unemployment rate in this country is 70%. In fact it's a lie. If that was the case it means 70% of the country's population would have been dead by now," Mangwana remarked poetically. "Therefore the correct rate of unemployment rate in this country is 9%, that is the correct figure that I am using. That is the figure that I was given by the Central Statistical Office (CSO)," Mangwana claimed to the surprise of everyone present. The minister was however bogged down by his mathematical errors when he said that 1,5 million people or about 30% of the employable labour force were gainfully employed out of the five million who are economically active - thus confirming that only 30% of the economically active are employed. He strained credibility further when he said about 1,8 million people were contributing to NSSA - a wide 300 000 above the 1,5 million he had early stated. A mathematical error perhaps. But the minister was not finished yet.
He said all allegations of mismanagement against NSSA were unfounded. "I came into office earlier this year. I immediately went into NSSA to verify these allegations and found nothing. "Really I found nothing amiss. In fact NSSA is the best run parastatal in Zimbabwe. In any case why are we not asking questions about private pension funds?" said Mangwana without indicating what independent enquiry he had employed to reach that conclusion. This is despite the fact that a parliamentary public accounts committee had earlier this year grilled NSSA officials and board chairman, Edwin Manikai, over the state of the authority's accounts and investment portfolio. But the circus was only just beginning, as the minister was to pull another shocker from his bag of startling revelations. "And mind you Zimbabwe is short of farm labour. So we might find ourselves trekking to Malawi for farm labour."
The Zimbabwe Confederation of Trade Unions (ZCTU) immediately lashed out at the minister saying he has little knowledge of labour issues. ZCTU secretary-general Wellington Chibebe said the figures Mangwana was "selling are coming from a legal expert who is however not well versed with labour issues". Mangwana is a lawyer by profession. "The minister is easily excitable and does not concern himself to research to verify his claims," said Chibebe. He said government figures on employment contradict CSO figures which show that the unemployment rate is between 65% and 70%. Chibebe said there was no need to view "people earning slave money as employed". "There is an element of employment, underemployment and unemployment which the government is not considering in the calculation of employment rates. "However, the figures the minister is using are for political expedience and cannot be relied on. If South Africa which has a vibrant economy has an unemployment rate of between 30% and 40%, how can Zimbabwe have such low figures when industry is going down?" About 40 companies have closed down this year alone, throwing many workers on the streets. More than 400 companies have closed down since 2000.
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From The Daily Mirror, 16 December
Minister accused of fanning violence
Daily Mirror Reporter
The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Paul Mangwana, has been accused of fanning violence against supporters of his rivals in Kadoma East, ahead of Zanu PF's primary elections to choose a candidate to stand in next year's parliamentary elections. Mangwana, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament and is member of the party's central committee, is alleged to have hired a group of people to assault party officials in the constituency early this month. The officials, who were accused of siding with Mangwana's chief rival former Zupco boss Bright Matonga, were on December 1 accrediting delegates to the recent Zanu PF congress when the assailants attacked them. Matonga has publicly declared his interest to stand in the constituency after resigning from the public transporter. According to Zanu PF Kadoma East district coordinating committee (DCC) secretary, Onward Chikonamombe, violence erupted at the ruling party's offices in Kadoma. Chikonamombe alleged that a gang of people, at the behest of Mangwana, manhandled him and another party official in the district. "They accused us of plotting the downfall of Minister Mangwana when we recently carried out a district restructuring exercise," he said.
Chikonamombe also accused Mangwana's supporters of abducting Zanu PF Kadoma East political commissar, Cain Mushauri. He said the assailants that assaulted him and Mushauri were ferried to the party's offices in Kadoma by lorries belonging to a local businessman (name supplied) at the request of Mangwana. Efforts to get a comment from the businessman were fruitless yesterday. Mushauri confirmed that he was abducted and assaulted by people he alleged were sent by Mangwana. "They assaulted me before they drove me to Chegutu where they said Minister Mangwana wanted to see me," Mushauri alleged. "On our arrival in Chegutu, Mangwana phoned his driver demanding to talk to me. I told him I had nothing to discuss with him and that I had done nothing wrong to be abducted," related Mushauri. He said they then waited for Mangwana at Chegutu Hotel. "When the minister arrived, we had a heated argument, as I sought an explanation as to why I had been abducted," Mushauri said.
Contacted for comment, Mangwana said being a legislator did not make him accountable for the behaviour of each and every member of his constituency. "I don't think I own anyone in Kadoma East. It is only the behaviour of my three kids that I can account for, not of every Zimbabwean just because they are in my constituency," Mangwana said. He denied any involvement in the violence that took place on December 1. Mangwana said he only knew of demonstrations that took place in his constituency over party cards. "The only incident that took place were demonstrations in Kadoma town by some members over party cards and I was called by the police to resolve the case, which I did," he added. He accused this newspaper of fabricating falsehoods about him and threatened to take action against it at "the appropriate time". Mashonaland West ruling party chairman Philip Chiyangwa was evasive when asked to comment. Chiyangwa said he had heard that the matter had been taken to higher offices and he had nothing to do with it. But as the chairman of this province, the aggrieved parties have not made a formal report to me and as a result l do not know exactly what transpired. Had l got a formal complaint, l would have investigated the case and come up with a judgment."
Zanu PF spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira said the matter had not yet reached his office, but called upon members of his party to desist from any forms of violence. "We have been telling people all along that we do not want violence. This was made clear to everyone and I am surprised to hear about the incident. We do not want any violence, especially amongst members of the same party," he said. Kadoma police confirmed the intra-party violence, but referred further questions to Police General Headquarters in Harare. "There were incidents of political violence recently, but you are a stranger to me and I cannot give you any details about it. Contact Mandipaka or Bvudzijena, they are both aware of it," a police officer who identified himself as Moyo said. Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka said he had not received any reports of political violence from Kadoma East. Chief Nyika of Mhondoro-Ngezi last month warned Mangwana and Matonga to restrain their supporters from engaging in violence.
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From Zim Online (SA), 17 December
100 MDC protesters demand MP's release
Harare - About 100 supporters of Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party protested in Harare yesterday demanding the release of parliamentarian, Roy Bennett, from jail. The protesters, who appeared to have caught the police by surprise marched along Harare's Nelson Mandela Avenue and along the capital's First Street mall before armed police broke up the marches. Some of the protesters interviewed by Zim Online vowed to continue the "Free Bennett Campaign" marches until the government released him from jail. "We are not intimidated but we will continue to hold these demonstrations in solidarity with our jailed" one of the protesters, Mark Dzengera, said. The demonstrators sang anti-government songs and distributed pamphlets written, "We want our MP back," "Free Zimbabwe! We want our freedom back." Bennett, who is the MDC MP for Chimanimani constituency was last month jailed for 12 months after ruling Zanu PF parliamentarians used their majority in Parliament to vote for the imprisonment of the legislator as punishment for shoving Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa during debate earlier this year.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 17 December
No consensus between Zanu PF/MDC on polls
Dumisani Muleya/Itai Dzamara
Three months before next year's general election, the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are still "worlds apart" on contentious electoral reforms. This follows reports in the government media that the two parties are in agreement on electoral reform. MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube said the two parties were still poles apart on the political reform agenda. The reforms are contained in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Bill and the accompanying Electoral Bill. "There still remains an extremely wide gulf between Zanu PF and the MDC on the electoral reforms," Ncube said. "It's not true that we are now proceeding by consensus because there is no agreement. What has happened is that they have made a few technical concessions, like improving the quality of drafting of the Bill, but not on fundamentals issues." The ZEC Bill was passed by parliament last week while the Electoral Bill was passed yesterday. The changes will result in voting in one day instead of two, use of translucent ballot boxes, and the counting of ballots at polling centres. The Electoral Bill will amend the Electoral Act to facilitate reforms.
Reports in the state media this week claimed Zanu PF and the MDC had found common ground on key electoral issues, but Ncube said this was untrue. He said the parties were still entrenched in widely divergent positions. "We still have irreconcilable differences on the method of appointment of commissioners to the ZEC, the role of the Registrar-General's Office, the voters' roll, and the issue of repressive legislation," Ncube said. "Yesterday (Wednesday) we were refused permission to hold consultative meetings and where permission was granted there were impossible conditions attached." Ncube, who has previously engaged in informal talks with Zanu PF negotiator Patrick Chinamasa on the current crisis, said Zanu PF's obduracy militated against a negotiated political settlement. "There are still a lot of contentious issues," he said. "Out of the more than 30 proposals we have made, Zanu PF has only accepted about five. They have agreed to give us access to the state media but it's an empty agreement if there are no enforcement mechanisms.
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From ZWNEWS, 17 December
Opposition advert refused
ZBC has refused to air a party political advert for the MDC, in contravention of SADC principles governing the conduct of elections in member countries. The MDC submitted the advert to the state broadcaster for transmission on national radio in early December, together with a guarantee of payment, but ZBC refused to air it. "We submitted this advert with the view to having it broadcast by ZBC radio," said MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi. "ZBC radio refused to flight it on the basis that it has some offensive reference to Zanu PF. We don't believe that it was turned down because of its content. We believe that the problem was simply that Jonathan Moyo and Zanu PF simply refuse to adhere to the SADC Mauritius protocol." One of the electoral principles contained in the SADC protocol provides for "equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media". The Zimbabwe government undertook to abide by the protocol at the SADC summit in Mauritius in August this year. ZBC officials at the state broadcaster's commercial offices in Mbare took less than half an hour to take the decision to refuse to transmit the advert, saying that MDC adverts should not criticise the government, or make any reference to Zanu PF, which in effect prevents any campaigning on national radio by opposition parties as they are unable to challenge the ruling party's record. The advert was broadcast on SW Radio Africa, which broadcasts to Zimbabwe, and South Africa's Radio 702 this week.
If you would like to hear the advert, please let us know. It will be sent as an .mp3 file attached to an email message, approximately ten times the size of the average daily ZWNEWS. You will need either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player on your computer in order to play the audio file.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 16 December
MDC in poll quandry
Godwin Gandu
Harare - The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is under pressure from its youth wing to rescind its decision to boycott Zimbabwe's parliamentary elections scheduled for March next year. "We will be giving the dictatorship a blank cheque to run Zimbabwe the way they like for the next five years. I need somebody with an alternative answer to convince me there is another route we can take besides through the electoral process," said former student leader and MDC MP Job Sikhala. "It's an excruciating decision for the party to make. There are strong views either way. The party is probably split 50/50 on participating, but we don't vote on these matters, we go along by consensus," said MDC spokesperson Paul Themba Nyathi. The MDC's national executive committee will retreat to the Mazvikadei Camp, 45km west of Harare, on Saturday, after spending much of the week consulting provincial structures and canvassing their members' views.
Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders have also weighed in with advice. "There have not just been meetings, but phone calls; particularly President Thabo Mbeki has been exerting pressure on [MDC leader] Morgan Tsvangirai," said Nyathi. "Mbeki feels if we participate, it gives them some kind of leverage to say Mugabe is failing to level the playing field. Mbeki is afraid of chaos in Zimbabwe and that if we don't participate it will prolong the political chaos. But I'm not sure if the same regional pressure was being applied on Mugabe to play ball." President Robert Mugabe is on record as saying that his Zanu PF party will claim all 120 seats if the opposition does not field candidates. The MDC is in a quandary over other opposition parties' reluctance to call Mugabe's bluff and pull out of the race. We are not sure of other parties' commitment to boycott," Nyathi said. "If the MDC boycotts and other parties do not, Mugabe will claim there was a legitimate voting process involving other parties."
But there are dangers in taking part, said University of Zimbabwe political scientist Alois Masepe: "The MDC came on the platform of change and if that change doesn't happen, you risk becoming irrelevant. People become disillusioned if you participate and still can't change the repressive laws. Some of the repressive laws were passed while the MDC was in Parliament. They were part of the system. People want to see the difference but the difference is not there." Hundreds of MDC supporters have been killed in violence since the 2000 parliamentary polls and at least half of its 57 legislators have been arrested under the controversial public order laws. Masepe is of the view that the MDC should change its approach. "You have to become revolutionary. You start by saying you want to dismantle the status quo. You can tell the people about the strategy of fighting from within and articulating the dangers of opting out. Mugabe has been in power because people opted out. Zimbabweans deserve the government they have. They are adjusting to dictatorship; they are making it normal because they are not doing anything serious about it." The MDC is expected to make the outcome of its weekend deliberations known on Monday.
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From SAPA, 18 December
UK deports Zim asylum seekers
Britain has begun deporting failed asylum seekers from Zimbabwe, rights groups said on Friday, claiming that at least 10 people had been expelled since last month when the government lifted a ban blocking enforced deportations to the southern African country. "We know definitely that they have removed 10 people," Hannah Ward, spokesperson of the Refugee Council, told AFP. "We are very, very worried about what might happen to people" when they return to Zimbabwe, she said. Sarah Harland of the Zimbabwean Association said at least 20 people had left, with some of them headed for South Africa or Malawi. The Home Office declined to give any numbers for expulsions, saying they would be published as quarterly asylum figures. Zimbabwe's state media this week reported that former colonial ruler Britain was planning to deport 10 000 Zimbabweans in the coming months after their pleas for political asylum were turned down. Harland, however, said that about 2000 people may be affected by the lifting of the moratorium on deportations, first introduced in 2002.
"We suspended temporarily all enforced returns to Zimbabwe in 2002 for the best of motives, but it has been exploited," said Desmond Brown, minister for citizenship and immigration. Brown said Zimbabweans and people posing as Zimbabweans were making claims for asylum when they did not need protection, adding: "We need to stop this abuse while continuing to offer protection to genuine refugees." Up to one million Zimbabweans are estimated to be living and working, some of them illegally, in Britain. Thousands of Zimbabweans have fled a severe economic crisis that has gripped their country for the past four years. Others have sought haven from political persecution by President Robert Mugabe's regime due to their support for the main opposition party. In 2004 alone, 2025 Zimbabweans requested refugee status in Britain, according to official figures. Only 10 percent of applications were accepted. In 2002, 7655 Zimbabweans requested asylum, and in 2003 the numbers dropped to 3295.
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From AFP, 17 December
Zim will welcome back British refugees
Zimbabwe will unconditionally take back all Zimbabweans who fled the country in recent years to seek political asylum in Britain, state media reported on Thursday. Some 10 000 Zimbabweans had failed in applying for political refuge in Britain and will be forcibly repatriated in the coming months, the Harare-based The Herald reported. Britain announced a month ago that a blanket ban on enforced deportations to Zimbabwe - introduced in 2002 - would end because of "clear evidence that it had been exploited" by Zimbabweans and others posing as Zimbabweans. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told parliament late on Wednesday that any Zimbabwean sent back home from Britain would be welcomed. "We accept all our citizens, they are still Zimbabweans," Chinamasa said in answer to a question by opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lawmaker Job Sikhala. Many Zimbabweans, claiming political persecution, fled the southern African country for Britain, Canada, the United States and South Africa in the run-up to and after parliamentary elections in 2000. Chinamasa alleged: "The British now know these people were running away from nothing, they were just economic refugees." "The chickens are coming home to roost. It's wrong to suggest that they went there as victims of torture, but the truth is that they were economic refugees," Chinamasa was quoted as saying in The Herald. Hundreds of Zimbabweans reportedly marched to 10 Downing Street and the British parliament Wednesday in protest at the pending removal of some Zimbabweans in Britain.
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From The Herald, 17 December
Be wary of UK deportation threats: Moyo
Harare - Threats by the United Kingdom to deport about 10 000 Zimbabweans could be a cover to deploy elements trained in sabotage, intimidation and violence to destabilise the country before and during next March's parliamentary elections, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. The Minister of Information and Publicity in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Professor Jonathan Moyo, said there was need for the country to be vigilant following the threats by the Tony Blair government to deport the Zimbabweans. Britain, which has over the past four years encouraged Zimbabweans to migrate to its territory on false claims of political persecution in the country, has reportedly set in motion a process to deport at least 10 000 locals within the next few months.
Prof Moyo said Britain has been luring young Zimbabweans to train some in all kinds of sabotage, intimidation and violence to be deployed in Zimbabwe for political purposes when convenient to do so. "So Blair's threatened deportation of 10 000 Zimbabweans might very well be a cover for the deployment of such elements. It is for this reason that there is need for vigilance. Zimbabweans, Africans and other progressive people in the international community will watch the saga of Blair's threatened deportation of such a large number of Zimbabweans to see whether it's not a cover to deploy trained and bribed malcontents to cause mayhem during and after the March 2005 elections," said Prof Moyo. He said while Zimbabweans have always enjoyed the freedom of travel whether leaving the country or returning, the figure of 10 000 was staggering to the point of inviting reasonable suspicion. "The suspicion is made more critical by the curious timing of Blair's deportation of such a large number of Zimbabweans. Why now only some 90 or so days before the March 2005 elections, which are an anti-Blair election? It seems Blair wants to stop the impending final and decisive defeat at the polls when he has employed all tricks to no avail to effect illegal regime change. Now he wants to use all possible foul means available to him," said Prof Moyo.
He said there had been, for some time, a number of media reports that as part of Britain's illegal regime change agenda, it had been training some Zimbabweans in acts of sabotage and violence. "Tony Blair and his local cronies must not be allowed to abuse the right to freedom of travel enjoyed by Zimbabweans to derail the democratic process and Blair's inevitable defeat in March." Prof Moyo said MDC MP Mr Job Sikhala's question to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, in Parliament on Wednesday seeking to know whether Zimbabweans returning home would be safe, betrayed the sinister motive behind the deportations. He said this was so because the safety of Zimbabweans had never been an issue unless those Zimbabweans had something to hide upon their return. "Sikhala might know something more than meets the eye. This is more so considering that just in June, Blair said he has been working closely with the MDC to effect regime change in Zimbabwe. "So we have a right to ask whether these would be deportees or Blair's mercenaries of regime change or plain law-abiding Zimbabweans returning home after having been abused and dehumanised in Britain. Their treatment will depend on which is which," Prof Moyo.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 18 December
Chinamasa, Moyo kicked out Zanu PF politburo
Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Speaker of Parliament and secretary for administration in the ruling Zanu PF was yesterday moved to a lesser important portfolio of legal affairs in the new-look politburo announced by President Robert Mugabe. Didymus Mutasa, the secretary for external affairs becomes the new secretary for administration, a position he held before Mnangagwa's appointment. Also left out was firebrand Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and leader of the House Patrick Chinamasa. Unelected junior Minister of Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo, who had been in the politburo for the past four years as deputy secretary for information and publicity was also left out. Moyo's nightmare in the high echelons of Zanu PF began after he convened an unsanctioned meeting in Tsholotstho at which six now suspended Zanu PF chairmen attended. Mashonaland West provincial governor and resident minister Ephraim Masawi took over Moyo's politburo post. Women's league boss Thenjiwe Lesabe was replaced by former Manicaland governor Oppah Muchinguri. Other appointments included the retaining of Elliot Manyika as political commissar, Nathan Shamuyarira as information and publicity secretary, Nicholas Goche as security among other senior Zanu PF heavyweights. Former Zipra commander Dumiso Dabengwa returned to the politburo while Matabeleland North governor Obert Mpofu entered for the first time.
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From Zim Online (SA), 17 December
Top Zanu PF politician arrested
Harare - Ruling Zanu PF chairman for Mashonaland West province and top businessman, Philip Chiyangwa was arrested by the police on Wednesday night for allegedly externalising foreign currency. Chiyangwa, who last night was still in police custody was also being quizzed on corruption by officers from the police's Criminal Investigation Department and the secret service Central Intelligence Organisation. ZimOnline was unable to establish the amount of foreign currency Chiyangwa, a self-styled champion of black economic empowerment, is alleged to have siphoned out of the country or other details concerning corrupt activities police accuse him of. Police spokesman Oliver Mandipaka could not be reached for comment as he was said to be on his way to Bulawayo on duty. Chiyangwa, who is also the Member of Parliament for Chinhoyi constituency, earlier this year spent 10 days in jail after he was arrested for contempt of court and obstructing the course of justice. He was eventually cleared of the charges by the courts. Several top Zanu PF officials and other private business executives have been arrested or jailed since the beginning of the year in a government anti-corruption drive.
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From The Daily Mirror, 18 December
Zanu PF moves to rein in war vets
Farirai Machivenyika
President Robert Mugabe yesterday appointed a high powered committee to restructure the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA) as the ruling Zanu PF moves in to rein in the militant body torn apart by protracted power struggles. The committee comprises retired defence forces chiefs, Generals Vitalis Zvinavashe and Solomon Mujuru, retired air marshal Josiah Tungamirai, and former Minister of Home Affairs Dumiso Dabengwa. President Mugabe said the team would also include the current armed forces. The current commanders are Air Marshal Perence Shiri and Constantine Chiwenga. The committee was mandated to overhaul the leadership structure of the former guerrillas' body, among other tasks. During the Zanu PF fourth National People's Congress at the beginning of the month, President Mugabe indicated imminent re-structuring of the war veterans' association. "I am constituting the committee made up of Mujuru, Tungamirai, Dabengwa and Zvinavashe to look into the war veterans issue. They will work together with the army commanders on how the leadership and the whole organisation should be restructured," he said.
War veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda's suspension from the ruling party for taking part in the controversial Tsholotsho meeting has resulted in the emergence of another faction led by Andrew Ndlovu and Endy Mhlanga. The controversial duo claim being given the mandate to re-organise the ex-fighters' body after Sibanda was ditched. Sibanda, however, insists his executive was still in charge of the liberation war fighters. Dabengwa, a former PF Zapu intelligence chief, known during the struggle by his nome de gurre, "The Black Russian", said government erred in the first place by giving war veterans too much freedom and power to do as they please. It was our own mistake to give them power to vote each other in and out without supervision and this has resulted in unnecessary divisions within the party. We have to streamline the leadership and make sure that we have genuine war veterans in the organisation," he said. He said they would streamline and vet the former fighters in the same manner they did during the liberation struggle. "The committee will sit down soon to discuss the finer details of how to deal with the issue," said Dabengwa.
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Comment from The Saturday Argus (SA), 18 December
Graffiti highlights rough deal for Roy
By William Saunderson-Meyer
Graffiti flourishes wherever officialdom gets heavy-handed. One of the most ubiquitous bits of modern graffiti is the obscure phrase "Kilroy Was Here", originating in Europe at the end of World War 2. There is now a Zimbabwean equival-ent. It reads "Free Roy". It refers to Roy Bennett, an MP for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Bennett is serving a one-year hard-labour sentence for assaulting Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. The assault was no more than a scuffle in parliament, after Chinamasa taunted Bennett over the seizure of his farm and called his ancestors "thieves and murderers". Never mind that Bennett bought his farm after liberation, in accordance with the laws of an independent Zimbabwe. During the seizure one worker was murdered, many were beaten and tortured, and two girls were raped - and the only person convicted was given a presidential pardon. Bennett's pregnant wife was held hostage and subsequently miscarried. One would expect that a parliamen-tary fracas would fizzle out with an order to the parties to keep the peace, or at worst, a small fine. Instead Zanu-PF sentenced the apologetic Bennett to a year in prison, with hard labour.
It is an action that Elinor Sisulu of the SA office of the Crisis Coalition of Zimbabwe describes as "unprecedented and illegal". The International Bar Council slated it as harsh and degrading and, along with several governments, has appealed for Bennett's release. To no effect. Bennett started his sentence among hard-core criminals. He is in a farm gang all day and is not allowed a hat to protect against the blazing sun. His wife can see him for 20 minutes a fortnight. He is allowed no other visitors and may not receive food parcels. Zimbabweans of all races speculate that the government hates and fears Bennett because he, a white man and fluent Shona speaker, dared to win a parliamentary seat with overwhelming black support. Zanu-PF wants to break him. So is it to be "Free Roy", or, as the Zimbabwean authorities undoubtedly would prefer, "Kill Roy"?
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From The Sunday Mirror, 19 December
Mnangagwa down.but out?
Better to have him inside than out
Kuda Chikwanda, Mabasa Sasa, Kudzanai Musengi
Alleged beneficiary-in-chief of the Tsholotsho Declaration, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was demoted from being Secretary of Administration to becoming Secretary for Legal Affairs, is likely to become the country's next Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister in what appears to be appeasement on the part of the Zanu PF Presidium. Mnangagwa lost the post that made him the fifth most powerful man in Zanu PF to Anti-corruption and Anti-monopolies minister, Didymus Mutasa - who was touted as another vice presidential aspirant - during the politburo appointments made on Friday. President Robert Mugabe flexed his muscle in legendary style on the all fingered Tsholotsho Declaration conspirators, announcing a new look politburo that saw some party members who tried to scuttle Joyce Mujuru's bid to become the country's first female Vice President, fall by the wayside.
Sources told the Sunday Mirror that there had been concerns in the ruling party over the form of punishment to be meted out to Mnangagwa, with the ultimate result being the inclusion of the Speaker of Parliament in the new look politburo, albeit in a less influential post. The sources further allege that prior to the announcement of the new Politburo on Friday, indications were showing that despite his central role in the Tsholotsho debacle, Mnangagwa was too senior within the ruling party's hierarchy to suffer the same fate as "mafikizolos" like Jonathan Moyo who lost his post as deputy information secretary. "It is definitely better to have the man on the inside than on the outside. He is a formidable opponent .the leadership could not bear to think of Mnangagwa leading all disgruntled party members and fighting the party from the outside," said one highly placed party insider who refused to be named.
Mnangagwa's appointment has been seen as some form of appeasement for the man many see as Zanu PF's ultimate Presidential candidate when the time comes. The source added: "He is likely to become minister, and if he performs quite well in the coming parliamentary polls, he will definitely make it to cabinet as Justice minister." The source added that President Mugabe was now using the "divide and rule" tenet over all the Tsholotsho conspirators, whose botched attempt to influence to sideline Mujuru's presidium ambitions was a serious threat to the party. "They all cannot be punished. Some are to senior to be just dumped like Moyo and Chinamasa, so the Presidium has decided to re-orient these influential party gurus while punishing those who are seen to be insignificant in the party. It is safer to have people like Mnangagwa on the inside," said the source.
On the different treatment of all implicated in the Tsholotsho fiasco, the source said: "By retaining others in the party, all disgruntlement will be contained ensuring these people will not gang up again and become a threat to the party. In addition those who are left out in the cold will be unhappy with their colleagues who will have been spared." Apart from the Mnangagwa issue, the nation could witness interesting changes in the Cabinet - in which major appointments are based on the structures of the politburo, despite cabinet appointments being a Presidential prerogative - after Jonathan Moyo was axed from his post as deputy secretary of Information and Publicity.Moyo's boss and veteran politician Nathan Shamuyarira, who clashed with Moyo over a number of issues - the most notable being the Sky News fiasco - retained his post as secretary for information and publicity. Speculation is rife that the country's next Information minister could be Mashonaland Central governor, Ephraim Masawi, who took over Moyo's post in the politburo. It has been alleged that Shamuyarira - who is reported to be good friends with Masawi - facilitated the latter's rise to the post of deputy secretary for information and publicity. However other sources have said current Minister of Policy Implementation, Webster Shamu, who is a veteran journalist, could land the information ministry ahead of Masawi.
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From The Sunday Argus (SA), 19 December
Zim elections: to boycott or not to boycott?
The MDC has blown hot and cold on the question
Morgan Tsvangirai is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't take his party into Zimbabwe's general legislative election expected to take place in March next year. The threat of boycott is his beleaguered party's only weapon to try to pressure President Robert Mugabe to level the political playing field before the election. Yet if he stays out, his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) may fade into insignificance. "It's an excruciating moment, an excruciating decision," says MDC spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi. The party has blown hot and cold on the question. Earlier this year, it announced it would not contest the election unless Mugabe reformed the election laws to conform with regional guidelines. Then three months ago, it seemed those for participation in the national election had regained the upper hand. Now, in the absence of any meaningful electoral reforms, it seems the MDC's national executive is once again against participation. The MDC leaders have all heard and debated the argument that it is better to have a small presence in parliament than none at all, to keep and eye on the ruling Zanu PF. They know that for a few of their younger MPs, keeping the only job they ever had is crucial as unemployment increases. And MDC leaders say the party has been strongly advised by African governments to take part. Western governments advise the same, though less enthusiastically.
But at home it's different and external opinion counts for little in the hard bargaining of such a strategic decision. MDC insiders say Tsvangirai and other leaders who have been travelling far and wide, consulting and lobbying for support, are now resigned to the fact that Africa is unable or unprepared to cajole or pressure Zanu PF to gamble its fate with free elections. However, the West will stay the course by keeping up pressure on Mugabe. Even if there is nothing they can do to assist a return to democracy, Western diplomats have told the MDC they will not give Mugabe legitimacy without fundamental electoral reform, no matter how large Zanu PF's majority in March, either against the MDC or new "stooge" parties. Lovemore Matombo, president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) from which the MDC emerged in 1999, said: "As ZCTU will not take a position until late January, the elections are irrelevant. We have the most repressive legislation in our history ahead of these elections. Workers have taken the brunt of the brutality and that will continue whether the MDC takes part or not."
Welshman Ncube, secretary general of the MDC, said time had run out for any of Mugabe's "so-called" electoral reforms, including the establishment of a new election commission - to be in place for elections in March. "Even if people of integrity are appointed to the Zimbabwe Election Commission - and the law has not yet been signed by the president - that will only happen next month, 10 weeks before elections, and it doe s not even have a desk or a telephone. So the registrar general's office will run the elections as usual with the same flawed voters rolls. Reforms such as one-day voting and translucent ballot boxes are cosmetic." He said even in past elections, foreign election observers had found few problems on election day itself. The real problems had been in the run-up. Brian Raftopoulos, co chair of the Crisis Coalition, one of the group of non-governmental organisations which will be banned when Mugabe signs the law passed by parliament a week ago, said: "The ability of the MDC to mobilise without state violence are limited and the chances of a legitimate election in March are almost zero."
Civil society is united in its opposition to the MDC participating in the poll. And so, privately at this stage, are the unions, the MDC's roots. "If they have a clear post-election programme of resistance, then they should not take part. If they don't, then they will become just a small political party like others in the past," said Lovemore Madhuku, leader of a constitutional reform pressure group, the National Constitutional Assembly. The MDC has serious internal problems, its morale and resilience have been shattered by five years of persecution; there are internal squabbles and insufficient funds to pay even the telephone bills at its headquarters, let alone run an election campaign which inevitably entails not only the usual costs but also huge amounts of money to hire lawyers to free campaigners after arrests.
Why is Africa indifferent to the MDC's plight? President Thabo Mbeki revealed some of the answers when he addressed the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) before the last Zimbabwe legislative elections during June 2000. He reportedly said that only 13% of Zimbabwean voters supported the MDC, lowering the ANC's earlier estimate at about 24%. Mbeki briefed the NEC that the MDC was an imperialist creation and that a new reactionary force was threatening southern Africa - an alliance of Renamo, Unita, possibly also the MDC and others, and that it should be stopped. The MDC went on to win at least 49% of the vote a month later, and probably well over 55% in the disputed presidential poll in March 2000, according to evidence led in legal challenges to both elections. These results have helped to change the ANC's perception of the MDC somewhat and to accept that it represents the real aspirations of many Zimbabweans. That change probably does not go far enough and, in any case, it has come too late for the MDC, say some analysts. Many argue that the MDC has already become irrelevant, not necessarily through its own fault. That it will make no difference whether or not it participates in the elections. Whether the MDC participates in a twisted plebiscite and is defeated, or stays out - and whether or not that decision leads to its disintegration - the country's humanitarian and economic crisis will deepen.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 19 December
Police disrupt MDC meeting
By our own Staff
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)'s crucial national consultative meeting yesterday deferred to today a decision on whether or not to take part in the March 2005 parliamentary elections. Paul Themba-Nyathi, the MDC spokesperson, told The Standard last night: "We have not yet concluded our discussion. It will continue tomorrow." Yesterday's meeting comes against the background of complaints by the opposition party that police were deliberately disrupting their meetings. Police in Masvingo disrupted a strategic meeting by the leadership in the Province, according to the opposition party. Themba-Nyathi said the opposition's president, Morgan Tsvangirai, was billed to address the meeting that was authorised by the police at the Civic Centre on Friday. "The consultative meeting in which the president (Tsvangirai) sought to meet provincial, district, ward and branch structures was scheduled to start at 9 am but the police came to the venue of the meeting and demanded to be part of the meeting," Themba-Nyathi said. According to the SADC Principles and Guidelines on democratic elections that were agreed in Mauritius this year, police should be impartial to all political parties. "The disruption of the Masvingo meeting follows the refusal to authorise two other meetings in Harare and Chitungwiza this week. All the meetings are part of the consultative process that will culminate in a decision by the National Council of the party as to whether the party will take part in the 2005 parliamentary elections," he said.
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From The Sunday Argus (SA), 19 December
First score for 'Free Bennett' campaign
Jailers handcuffed opposition lawmaker Roy Bennett and forced him to kneel on the concrete floor during a visit by his lawyer. He was not allowed to wear a hat while working under the searing African sun which burned weals into his skin. Now supporters of the popular white lawmaker are fighting back. The "Free Bennett" campaign has generated a website, street graffiti and thousands of support letters - rallying opposition among both blacks and whites to President Robert Mugabe's increasingly autocratic rule. Bennett, 47, is the first legislator to be imprisoned by parliament's Privilege Committee, which has powers of arrest for breaches of conduct. He was jailed for a year with hard labour on October 18 for getting into an altercation with a cabinet minister during a particularly heated debate. Assault cases in Zimbabwe typically carry small fines of less than Z$20 000. But the ruling Zanu PF-dominated parliament appears to have sought to make an example of Bennett, a member of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
Friends and family formed the Free Roy Bennett Campaign to call attention to his arrest and what his wife, Heather, describes as the degrading treatment he receives from vindictive prison guards egged on by ruling party officials. The campaign has been overwhelmed with messages of support from around the world, including human rights and lawyers groups, foreign governments and parliamentarians. "Free Bennett" graffiti has appeared on fences and walls around the country. And the campaign website recorded more than 1 000 hits on its first day on December 1. Last week, they had their first success: Bennett got a hat to wear when he digs trenches inside the prison yard. But that is little consolation to Heather Bennett, 42, the mother of his two teenage children. "Nothing has had an effect, nothing gets done," she lamented. Bennett is not allowed food or clothing from outside the spartan prison at Mutoko, 150 kilometres northeast of Harare. He shares a cramped, filthy and lice-infested cell with 38 convicts who sleep on the floor with a single blanket each. Their meals comprise a teacup of rice or beans served with cabbage gruel twice a day. Bennett's wife is permitted to see him through a fence once every two weeks for just 10 minutes, though she managed to stretch out the last visit to 30 minutes. Mugabe's government and prison authorities "are not in a conciliatory mood," said Bennett's campaign.
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From Zim Online (SA), 18 December
Put on wrong outfit in Bulawayo, and you are off to the cells
Bulawayo - A keen sense of fashion is fast becoming a necessary survival skill for women shoppers in Zimbabwe's second largest city here. These days, venturing into downtown Bulawayo wearing the "wrong outfit" in the eyes of the police can easily land women shoppers in cells. The Zimbabwe Republic Police, desperate to clear the streets of illegal foreign currency dealers has deployed plain clothes and uniformed officers to arrest suspects. But the police must first catch culprits physically exchanging money before they can arrest them - an almost impossible scenario given the deep secrecy with which illegal money changers carry out their activities. But an equally easy solution as far as the police here are concerned. For easy identification by their clients, illicit money changers, most of them women, prefer to wear certain trendy outfits. For example, the attire in vogue these days among women illegal forex traders in Bulawayo are tailored denim skirts worn with multi-coloured tops with or without a lacy white head scarf.
And that is what the police simply look for before pouncing on and arresting their victims. Because the Foreign Currency Exchange Control Act requires that only suspects caught in the act changing money illegally can be charged, police simply resort to the archaic Miscellaneous Offences Act to make their charges stick. Under section 3 (g) of the colonial Act, Zimbabweans can be fined for blocking pavements and that is the section under which suspected money changers are charged. But in the process of rounding up the money changers, innocent shoppers have been caught and harassed by the police simply because they wore the wrong dress to town. As Sinini Moyo narrated to Zim Online: "I was walking from a movie house when a police officer stopped me and said I was a money changer. He said I dressed like them (foreign currency dealers.) But he later changed and accused me of blocking the pavement."
Suspects are fined Z$25 000 for blocking pavements. Sources at Bulawayo Central Police Station where the shoppers are detained told Zim Online the force was collecting an average of Z$3.5 million a day from the pavement blockers. And men have also fallen foul of the police's new and certainly legally questionable tactic of ridding Bulawayo of illegal money changers. For example, Mandlenkosi Sibanda, who is an accountant with one of the country's biggest accounting firms, says he was picked up for blocking the pavement while talking to a friend outside a supermarket. Suspects who fail to pay the fines are detained in overcrowded cells until they pay up. And another, who would only identify himself as Msipha said: "I spent four days in detention for allegedly blocking the pavement. I was arrested when I was about to enter a supermarket to buy some groceries." But occasionally, the officers are on target and pick up the foreign currency dealers. Lungile Moyo admits she changes money downtown. Moyo has been arrested several times but vows she will never abandon the World Bank as Bulawayo's foreign currency black-market is known in local parlance. She said: "It is not easy to pay a bribe or pay a fine everyday. But I have an ill husband who needs about $56 000 for tablets every month. And I have children to look after. I have no option but to stick to money changing which I know."
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 19 December
Nkomo pleads for food aid
By Savious Kwinika
Bulawayo - Zanu PF National chairman and Minister of Special Affairs in the President's Office Responsible for Land, Land Reform and Resettlement, John Nkomo, last week pleaded with Bulawayo Rotary club and other Bulawayo-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to re-introduce food relief to starving peasants in Matabeleland to avert an unfolding disaster. In a speech read on his behalf by Bulawayo Metropolitan Governor, Cain Mathema, at the annual Rotary Club meeting held at the Bulawayo Golf Club, Nkomo acknowledged chronic food shortages being experienced in the expansive Matabeleland region. However, Nkomo's pleas did not go down well with some Bulawayo residents, who quizzed Mathema on why the government was now willing to let NGOs distribute food aid in the countryside when it had barred international donor agencies from doing so. "How safe is it for the NGOs to go to rural areas alone and start distributing food to needy villagers considering the attitude of Zanu PF and war veterans?" asked one man, who would not be identified. Mathema, who appeared perplexed by the unexpected questions, said security would be guaranteed for NGOs that specifically go to rural areas with a view to feed hungry people without involving themselves in local politics. "I feel there is a need for both NGOs and government to work together in order to provide food aid to the needy," Mathema said. Bulawayo Rotary Club has more than 30 000 tonnes of food stocks for distribution that is stuck in warehouses because it cannot go into the countryside to feed the needy under the new NGO's Act. The NGO fears it would court the wrath of the government, which has been disputing statistics of a food deficit by donor agencies saying it has enough food stocks.
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From Reuters, 19 December
Zimbabwe opposition to decide on March poll in Jan
By Cris Chinaka
Harare - Zimbabwe's main opposition said on Sunday it would decide in early January whether to contest general parliamentary elections set for March, which it had previously threatened to boycott. In August, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) announced it was suspending participation in all elections until President Robert Mugabe's government implemented "real" electoral reforms in line with those agreed by the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC). The MDC says reforms recently passed by the government will not guarantee free and fair parliamentary elections in March and has called on regional leaders to reject them. On Sunday, the MDC's national executive said it had reviewed Zimbabwe's political situation, and decided to continue consultations until early next year. "The MDC national executive resolved to convene a meeting of the national council soon thereafter in January 2005 so that a final decision on the question ... is made by the council," it said in a statement.
In early December Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF party used its majority in parliament to pass a set of electoral reforms, including setting up an independent election commission, a single day of voting instead of two, and counting of votes at polling centres. But the MDC said the reforms were not enough to guarantee a fair vote in a country where critics say an independent media has been under relentless attack and where the courts are seen as being in the pocket of the ruling party. Foreign critics ranging from Western governments to African churches have said Zimbabwe's ruling party rigged the last parliamentary elections in 2000 and the 2002 presidential poll and accuse the government of widespread human rights abuses. Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980, accuses Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler of leading a Western campaign to oust him over his government's seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.
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From The Mercury (SA), 20 December
MDC to decide on elections next month
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition MDC will decide whether to participate in the March general election early next month. Party spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said several districts had been unable to canvass views to present to its national executive's weekend retreat which ended yesterday because meetings had been broken up all over the country. "We reviewed the prevailing political situation... and recognised that the electoral reforms so far implemented are inadequate and do not comply fully with SADC principles and guidelines on the conduct of democratic elections." He said food and social welfare benefits were being used as a political weapon against party supporters in rural areas, and that arbitrary arrests and torture of supporters continued. Topping the list of MDC demands yesterday was the "immediate and unconditional release" of its popular MP Roy Bennett, and for all repressive security and media legislation to be repealed. However, the MDC national executive said it noted "the determination of the members of the party to continue with the struggle for democracy and to participate in a free and fair election." Party insiders said there was a strong call to take part in the elections. "We call upon the people of Zimbabwe and SADC leaders to continue exerting pressure on the Mugabe regime to bring its government to full compliance with the SADC protocol, and establish a constitutional and truly independent electoral commission." The MDC also said that recent legislation that proposed the banning of all non governmental organisations involved in human rights and governance should be abandoned.
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From The Sunday Argus (SA), 19 December
Opposition slams new voting laws as 'cosmetic, meaningless'
Zimbabwe has passed a second new electoral law which state media Friday praised as an overhaul of the country's electoral system but the opposition branded as cosmetic and meaningless. The Electoral Bill, which was passed on Thursday and replaces an earlier Electoral Act, has been hailed by state media and the government as progressive and in keeping with electoral standards in the region. It follows another law passed last week by parliament that aims to reform Zimbabwe's electoral system - the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Bill. The electoral bill, among other things, allows for the setting up of an electoral court to settle disputes arising from elections, and creates a body to monitor the elections. "Zimbabwe is now compliant with the Southern African Development Community guidelines and principles governing democratic elections after parliament passed the electoral bill," Friday's edition of the state-run Herald reported.
But the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has challenged some of the bill's provisions. These include allowing government employees to work as poll monitors and only allowing government employees and their spouses to cast postal ballots. The opposition claims this will disenfranchise millions of Zimbabweans living in countries such as South Africa and Britain. People who have escaped Zimbabwe's economic hardships to look for work abroad are largely seen as being sympathetic to the opposition. During debate on the bill the ruling party threw out a recommendation by the MDC that opposition parties be given electronic copies of the voters' roll to guard against rigging. The opposition, which has threatened to boycott next year's elections if there is no meaningful electoral reform, says neither the electoral bill nor the ZEC bill go far enough in levelling Zimbabwe's political playing field. Opposition spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi said the MDC was still unconvinced as to the genuineness of the poll reforms. He said the opposition party's decision-making body, the national executive, would meet this weekend to discuss whether or not to contest next year's polls. "One way or another a decision will be reached on whether or not to contest," he said.
The MDC says although the ruling party conceded to some of its demands for changes to the electoral bill during a marathon debate this week, key concerns were not adopted. "They (the changes) don't deal with the fundamental issues," MDC legal secretary David Coltart told AFP. However, the ruling party did adopt some of the opposition's demands. These included allowing polling stations to remain open for 12 consecutive hours instead of eight, and for indelible ink to be used during voting. The bill now needs President Robert Mugabe's signature to take effect. The ZEC bill, which was strongly opposed by the MDC, bars outside funding for voter education unless it is channelled through the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, which also gets to approve which organisations conduct voter education.
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From Business Day (SA), 20 December
Desperate scenes as Zimbabwe bank shuts
Harare Correspondent
Zimbabwe's central bank move to shut the seventh commercial bank in the country on Saturday shows that the banking crisis gripping the troubled country is far from over. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe put CFX Bank under the management of a curator for six months after it suffered a staggering Z$115bn loss in October. The loss prompted a severe liquidity crisis at the bank. Auditors revealed that the bank, the result of a merger between CFX and Century Bank, was in a trouble and needed an urgent bale-out. Efforts by CFX , whose chairman is former Barclays SA CEO Isaac Takawira, to secure a lifeline from the central bank failed after the central bank refused to release the bank's statutory reserves. Takawira, who is also former CEO of Barclays Zimbabwe and Barclays Kenya, indicated in internal reports that the problem was largely caused by Century Bank's failure to provide crucial information during the merger completed in July.
CFX was besieged by depositors on Friday. A manager at the CFX main office in central Harare was almost manhandled by angry clients who stormed the bank demanding their money. Riot police had to be called in to drive away the depositors who invaded the bank. Some depositors jumped on the bank tellers' desks and threatened to "attach" computers and other properties if their funds were not released. The central bank moved in on Saturday to close the bank, bringing to seven the number of banks closed since early this year. Trust, Barbican, Royal, Intermarket, Time and FNBS were among the banks closed to due liquidity problems. The central bank has said the collapsed banks would be merged to form the Zimbabwe Allied Banking Group (ZABG), which is expected to start operating in January. ZABG is expected to need at least Z2-trillion for capitalisation. The central bank said CFX was experiencing a "serious solvency crisis". It said that apart from severe liquidity problems and undercapitalisation CFX Bank was affected by extended periods of "mismanagement, poor corporate governance and imprudent banking practices". Zimbabwe's banking crisis has been caused largely by a difficult operating environment and the stringent monetary policy regime enforced in December last year.
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From Zim Online (SA), 20 December
Zanu PF propaganda chief's blue-eyed boys shake in their boots
Harare - Panic has gripped senior editors of the state's sprawling media empire who fear they could lose their jobs if information minister and government propaganda chief, Jonathan Moyo, is sacked. When Moyo was appointed information minister four years ago he immediately purged all senior editors and journalists at the government's Zimpapers newspaper company and at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, whom he accused of being too soft on the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party. Moyo bypassed management of state media companies handpicking his own editors for the state's flagship title, The Herald newspaper, other government titles and for ZBH's television and radio stations. But Moyo, a former arch-critic of the government who changed sides in 1999 to become its most zealous defender, bitterly fell out with President Robert Mugabe after secretly attempting to scuttle plans by Mugabe to appoint Joyce Mujuru as one of his vice presidents and possible successor. Mugabe two weeks ago blocked Moyo from being appointed to Zanu PF's central committee and last Friday fired him from the party's inner politburo cabinet strongly indicating he might also sack him from the government. "We are out of jobs," an editor at the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper told Zim Online. The anxious journalist, who did not want to be named, added: "There is uncertainty over our future in the government media. If a new person comes, he or she will certainly appoint his own people he will be comfortable with." The editor said their situation was further worsened by the fact that Moyo had used them to fight his personal wars with fellow Zanu PF politicians. Those likely to fall with Moyo include editor-in-chief of ZBH's Newsnet news service, Tazzen Mandizvidza; Herald editor, Pikirayi Deketeke; Sunday Mail editor, William Chikoto and Chronicle editor, Stephen Ndlovu.
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From News24 (SA), 19 December
Zim miners die in shaft flood
Harare - Four gold miners were killed when a stream burst its banks and flooded the underground shaft where they were working, state media reported on Sunday. The miners were digging for alluvial gold in a riverbank shaft near the provincial town of Chegutu, 110km west of Harare, during heavy seasonal rain, the Sunday Mail newspaper reported. Continued flooding was preventing police rescue teams from retrieving the men's bodies more than a week after the shaft was swamped. Zimbabwe's worst economic crisis since independence in 1980 has spurred panning for gold in river beds across the country. Relatives of one of the dead miners said he turned to gold panning to boost his meagre earnings from selling vegetables in Harare, the Sunday Mail reported. Accidents in makeshift shafts are common. Zimbabweans face soaring prices and record unemployment of about 70%. Acute shortages of food, petrol and other imports are routine.
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From Zim Online (SA), 18 December
Villagers survive on leaves in Mudzi amid government claims of food sufficiency
Mutoko - At Masikochi village in the poverty-stricken Mudzi district, about 200km north-east of Harare, Chipo Rwizi despairs. "We are certainly going to die," Rwizi, a 43-year-old widow, who looks emaciated and much older than her age, told a Zim Online news crew that toured Mudzi and the surrounding areas this week. She added: "Unless someone donates food to us now then the government might as well start preparing for mass burials, there is simply no way we can survive." Poor rains in the last three years coupled with high cost of farm inputs have cut food production here in Mudzi. In previous years of shortages, Rwizi and her fellow villagers had always relied on formerly white-owned commercial farms, not far from here, where they would go to work in exchange for maize most of it produced by the well-resourced farmers through irrigation. Not much can be found at the farms anymore after President Robert Mugabe seized the farms and parceled them out to poor landless black families whom he did not give inputs or skills training to maintain production. And for Rwizi, the cruel HIV/AIDS epidemic has been on hand to compound her problems, claiming her elder sister and her husband. Now she must single-handedly find enough to feed her own eight children plus the seven orphans left by her sister. "The burden is just too much for me," said Rwizi, fighting hard to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. She continued: "When we run out of food, I ask the children to go out into the mountains to scrounge for wild fruits." Sometimes the children do not find much in the mountains and they bring back baobab tree leaves which Rwizi said she grounds into an okra-like liquid for them to eat. Two of her younger children have since dropped out of school because, she said: "They were no longer able to keep walking the five-kilometre journey to and from school everyday on empty stomachs."
But Rwizi is not alone in her plight. Varying only in detail, Rwizi's story is the story of over 2.3 million Zimbabweans across the country, who contrary to claims by the government that the country harvested enough to feed itself, require emergency food aid or will starve. Mugabe, blamed for plunging the country into a food crisis through his chaotic and often violent land reforms, told international food aid groups that fed Zimbabwe for the last three years to pack and go because the country had produced more than enough to feed itself. Critics have dismissed Mugabe's claims of food sufficiency as dangerous politicking meant to portray government land reforms as successful. And a probe by Parliament last month into Zimbabwe's food security appeared to prove the critics right revealing that the country would have at most 600 000 tonnes of the staple maize in stock by year-end - which is not enough to ensure that all hungry families here in Mudzi and elsewhere across Zimbabwe have something to eat. "We have also heard on national radio these claims by the government that there is enough food. But you can see for yourself the situation here," was Constance Chayambuka's reply when asked for her views on Mugabe's claims that Zimbabwe had a bountiful season last year. Chayambuka, who lives at Kanzara village a few kilometres from Masikochi, added: "Where it not for the food brought to us by the World Food Programme, how would we have survived?" The government appears to be finally backtracking on its claims that Zimbabwe does not require food aid and last month allowed donor groups to resume aid. But international food relief experts say unless Harare officially appealed for help, not much food would come its way.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 21 December
MDC loses two potential seats
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change has lost two potential seats in its political strongholds after a government-appointed delimitation commission cut the number of constituencies in some areas and increased seats in known ruling party strongholds. The Delimitation Commission, which presented its findings to President Robert Mugabe yesterday, said the number of urban voters had reduced, which resulted in the number of seats in the affected areas being cut. There are 120 constituencies in the country. "There are 5.6 million registered voters in the country, the majority of whom are now living in rural areas," said Commission chairman Justice George Chiweshe. The other commissioners are Dr Job Whabira, Dr Charles Mukora and Dr Maclean Bhala, all of whom were handpicked by President Robert Mugabe. Chiweshe attributed the increase in the number of rural-based voters to the government's land reform programme which he said had seen a reversal of the rural-urban migration. Under the reform programme however, only about 150 000 people were resettled in the whole country under the government's land programme. The provinces which have lost seats are Bulawayo and Harare which each lost one constituency, while the provinces of Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Manicaland each gained one constituency. Each constituency is said to have a total of about 46 000 voters.
The commission was appointed in September and took eight weeks to complete its work. The urban areas of Harare and Bulawayo are considered MDC strongholds as the party romped to victory in all the contested seats in the last election in 2000. In the rural areas, however, the situation is different as a number of factors have over the years ensured that the ruling Zanu PF party wins all seats in the provinces. The ruling party has adopted a number of measures, among them violence, denial of permission to the opposition to contest in the rural areas and use of war veterans, police, army and militia gangs to intimidate potential voters not to cast their vote for a party of their choice. Only last week, the ruling Zanu PF demonstrated its penchant for undemocratic policies, with the Mutoko district co-ordinating committee (DCC) openly declaring it would not tolerate any opposition party politics within its constituencies. DCC chairman Petros Chatambarara declared that even if the MDC chose their candidate in Mutoko - some 220km north-east of the capital Harare - the aspirant would have to hold rallies elsewhere, notably Harare, as they would not be allowed to campaign there. He said they reached a consensus with the district war veterans' association to "bury any British-sponsored candidate", once and for all. Zanu PF has since accused the MDC of working in cahoots with the British and the West to topple President Robert Mugabe and his government - a charge vehemently denied by the opposition.
Remius Makuwaza, the MDC director of elections, said the "work" of the delimitation commission was a mockery of promises of electoral reforms in the country. Makuwaza said the determination of boundaries was part of the electoral process, and with proposed changes on the way elections are run, an acceptable situation would have been for the delimitation commission to fall under an independent electoral supervisory commission. He said as long as members of the body were hand |
