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Archived News
29th June 2004
Southern Africa faces humanitarian crisis
Aids threat outweighs genocide, havoc of war
Secret meeting
Nedcor breaks off talks with Zimbabwe bank
Zimbabwean prices fall on forex clampdown
2m short of food in Zimbabwe
Election disputes 'ignored'
Another blow to press freedom in Zim
Ministers searched at meetings
The perils of opposing Mugabe
Strangling democracy
Mugabe MP's in revolt
Mugabe's harvest boasts exposed
Equatorial Guinea leader 'linked to R50m property spree'
No drugs for Zimbabwe's HIV patients
The method behind Mugabe's madness
Zim targets foreign papers
China denies jet fighters report
New anti-corruption legislation 'unconstitutional'
Much more than electoral fraud
Zimbabwe moves to keep out vote observers
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Zim will run out of food
Sunday Times takes on Mugabe, Nujoma
Alarm over HIV prevalence in armed forces
Now Moyo hits us with his music
Zimbabwe's ruling party sacks publisher
Mugabe bans western election observers
Mawere under siege
Mohadi sues Made
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From Associated Press, 22 June
Southern Africa faces humanitarian crisis
Johannesburg - Southern Africa faces the world's worst humanitarian crisis because of AIDS, hunger and a weakened capacity to govern, a top U.N. envoy said Tuesday. Southern Africa is at the center of the AIDS pandemic, with some of the highest infection rates in the world, James Morris said at the end of a four-nation tour. Nearly 38 percent of 19- to 45-year-olds in the tiny kingdom of Swaziland are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Except in Zambia, erratic rains have slashed food production across the region. Swaziland and Lesotho have declared national disasters. At the same time, AIDS is killing the very people needed to confront the disease and hunger: farmers, health workers, teachers and other professionals. "What is happening in southern Africa absolutely represents the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world today," said Morris, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's special envoy for humanitarian needs in the region. The crisis dwarfs even that in the conflict-ridden Sudanese region of Darfur, where thousands have died and more than 1 million displaced, Morris said.
Some 30 million of the 40 million people worldwide infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. Average life expectancy has dropped to just 46 and there are already 11 million orphans. While there is a growing sense of urgency on the part of the governments concerned, Morris said their capacity to bring help to those who need it is "modest at best." International donors have promised millions to help confront the crisis. Morris' weeklong trip included stops in Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland, although he postponed a stop in Zimbabwe when the government said it could not make senior officials available. Morris expressed disappointment, saying Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world, at close to 34 percent. Life expectancy has dropped to 33, and the disease has orphaned 800,000 of its children.
Zimbabwe's decision underscores a deepening rift between the United Nations and President Robert Mugabe's government, which says it is expecting a bumper harvest this year and no longer needs emergency food aid. Morris applauded the government's willingness to take responsibility for feeding its people. But he said it would be "one of the most remarkable turnarounds in history" if the country in which the World Food Program was feeding more than 6 million people last year could now support all but the most vulnerable on its own. UN crop forecasts estimate Zimbabwe will produce only half the food it needs this year. Opposition groups accuse Mugabe's increasingly autocratic regime of trying to use food distribution as a political weapon ahead of key parliamentary elections next year. Morris called the distribution of food on any criteria other than need "abhorrent" and said he looked forward to an invitation to meet with Zimbabwean officials.
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From The Star (SA), 23 June
Aids threat outweighs genocide, havoc of war
By Beauregard Tromp
Although there has been genocide in Sudan, terrorist attacks around the world and wars across Africa, the lack of a simple meal makes Southern Africa the site of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. The UN special envoy for humanitarian needs in Southern Africa, James Morris, recently returned from a visit to the Darfur region in Sudan where an estimated 1,2-million people have been displaced in what has been described as ethnic cleansing by government-backed militias. But he still believes that the huge HIV/Aids rate and massive food shortages have left Southern Africa worse off. "What is happening in Southern Africa represents the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today," said Morris. HIV/Aids continues to be the forerunner in exacerbating the problem, depriving countries of their human capital. Most countries are losing more teachers and workers in the agricultural sector than they are able to replace. Statistics gathered by the various UN organisations indicate that more than 4-million children have been orphaned due to Aids and that women constitute in excess of 60% of those infected with the virus.
Morris, who has just returned from a four-country visit, spoke yesterday of his deep disappointment at not being able to visit Zimbabwe, which was suffering under one of the top five HIV/Aids pandemics in the world. The HIV prevalence rate today stands at 34%. This is the main reason for the halving of life expectancy in Zimbabwe to 33 years. The unavailability of key government officials prevented a visit. In the past two years Morris had visited President Robert Mugabe on six occasions and had worked "fairly well" with him, he said. He refused to be drawn out on the Zimbabwe crisis, apart from saying: "To go from production of 980 000 metric tons to 2,8-million metric tons is a remarkable turnaround, unprecedented anywhere in the world." He was referring to Zimbabwe's projections of the maize harvest this year. Morris also rejected Zimbabwean media speculation that the World Food Programme (WFP) was using food aid as a political tool as "rubbish". "I wish I could use stronger language. This sudden hullabaloo suggesting we have any different focus or drive in our work is nonsense," he said.
He described the turnaround in agricultural production in Zambia as a real success story but refused to be drawn on whether this was due to former Zimbabwean farmers who had settled there after being kicked off their land in Mugabe's schemes. Last year the WFP was able to buy 100 000 tons from Zambia and a further 60 000 this year, he revealed. He attributed the success to the hard work by the Zambian government to supply agricultural inputs and the improved meteorological conditions. Morris said one of the biggest challenges was to make the additional resources available through the Global Fund and other sponsors. In Malawi more than 90% of posts for physicians and 60% of nursing posts remained vacant because of lack of resources.
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From SW Radio Africa, 22 June
Secret meeting
Emmerson Mnangagwa, long considered the successor to Robert Mugab,e may have been voted out of the running in the secret top level meeting. The issue of a successor for Robert Mugabe allegedly took centre stage last Wednesday when Speaker of Parliament Mnangagwa received a vote of no confidence at a high level Zanu PF meeting in the Midlands. We received unconfirmed reports that a team of top level Zanu PF officials gathered at Tshulu Tshanabe Lodge outside Gweru to discuss the land issue. They were apparently surprised to be woken up at midnight by local government minister Ignatius Chombo and called to a meeting. Among them were John Nkomo, Didymus Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo, Josiah Hungwe, Francis Nhema and July Moyo. The meeting allegedly had the blessing of Mugabe himself. Our sources report that the minister of Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo was barred from attending as he was too junior to be part of the succession discussion. Mnangagwa arrived halfway through the proceedings, only to find out he had already been voted out of contention for the number one spot in Zanu PF after Mugabe leaves. Although no name was thrown into the ring as a possible successor, analysts believe Ignatius Chombo, who has been flexing his muscles and running the affairs of town councils, might be the new contender.
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From Business Day (SA), 23 June
Nedcor breaks off talks with Zimbabwe bank
Due-diligence probe sinks Trust Bank purchase
Financial Services Editor
Nedcor, SA's second-largest bank by assets, disclosed yesterday that its purchase of Zimbabwe's Trust Bank was off. With problems in Zimbabwe's banking sector, analysts saw the deal as a cheap entry into that market ahead of an expected recovery. But they cautioned that Nedcor would be unwise to take on more than it could handle due to the problems it faced at home. Although no official statement has been released by Nedcor, spokesman Don Bowden said it was "unlikely to go ahead". Nedcor divisional director for Africa Mfundo Nkuhlu said yesterday Nedbank, a Nedcor subsidiary, would not pursue Trust Bank. "The due-diligence study was completed, and on the basis of that we felt advised not to go through with the transaction as initially envisaged. That was the commitment we had," he said. "We have advised the (Zimbabwean) central bank and Trust Bank management that we are not pursuing it."
Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said that negotiations had collapsed, saying Trust Bank was technically insolvent. At the time Nedcor said it had yet to finalise its due-diligence investigation, a normal procedure in any merger or acquisition process. The plan was to merge Trust Bank with Merchant Bank of Central Africa (MBCA) , which is controlled by Nedbank and parent Old Mutual. The two were seen as compatible as both competed in corporate and commercial banking and had similar client bases. Nedbank holds almost 39% of MBCA, while Old Mutual Zimbabwe owns just under 23%. Trust Bank was one of five banks baled out by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's troubled banks fund, but was one of the country's top-rated local banks before last year's banking crisis. It received an initial Z230bn from the fund to save its collapsing operations. The loan had ballooned to Z645bn by the beginning of this month. Coupled with hundreds of billions of almost unrecoverable loans owed to it, this left Trust Bank practically bankrupt.
There could be other suitors for Trust Bank, however. Old Mutual rival First Mutual owns 25% of Trust Bank's holding company, and put its resources up as security for the liquidity support provided to Trust Bank. This is the second collapse this week of a local bank's foray into Africa. Last week, the Zambian government said negotiations for Absa to buy a 49% stake in state-owned Zambia National Commercial Bank had broken off. Although Absa had not received official notification of this, it said it would not pursue the bank until an amicable resolution had been found with respect to the finance it put up for Trans Sahara Trading to provide oil to Zambia. The contract with the government was later cancelled, leaving Absa significantly out of pocket. Despite walking away from Trust Bank, Nedcor remains intent on growing its African operations. Nkuhlu said the group was looking at "one or two options" in countries where it currently did not have a footprint. He said it would again conduct duediligence investigations in the banking environments in those countries.
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From Business Day (SA), 23 June
Zimbabwean prices fall on forex clampdown
Residential prices in some parts of Harare have dropped 20% since the start of the year as the market sits it out
Property Reporter
Residential property market prices in Zimbabwe have slumped about 20% since the beginning of the year after last year's boom in Harare and in the prime areas of Bulawayo. But this has not been prompted by the recent announcement by Zimbabwean Land Reform and Resettlement Minister John Nkomo that the government was to step up efforts to acquire more farmland with the objective of nationalising all of it. Although there was speculation in SA that all private property would be seized in its troubled neighbour north of the Limpopo, estate agents based in Zimbabwe say that as far as they understand, residential property will remained untouched for now. Most have been taking a waitand-see stance. One estate agent, who does not want to be named, says that the slowdown in prices is due to the drastic changes the government has made to how foreign currency is dealt with in Zimbabwe since the recent appointment of new reserve bank governor Gideon Gono. "There has been a 20% dip in residential property prices as a result," the agent says. "Since the end of last year buyers and sellers have been sitting on the fence."
The agent says that last year, the only reason the property business survived was that the government had been turning a blind eye to the fact that the economy was dependent on the operation of a black market. "Even banks were buying money on the black market." The estate agent says Gono has clamped down completely on the parallel market and is making people go through auction. An auction for foreign currency is held by the reserve bank three times a week. The estate agent says the Zimbabwean government is "trying to hold the rate of the Zimbabwean dollar down as part of an anti- inflationary drive". Despite this general price drop, Seeff Property Services in Zimbabwe points out that cluster developments are still holding their own in terms of prices because there is a shortage of secure properties in good condition. John Spicer, MD of Seeff Property Services in Zimbabwe and one of Seeff's international consultants, says that in real terms excluding inflation the property prices of secure developments such as clusters doubled in value last year. "You would pay more for those properties than you would in SA," says Spicer.
Juliet Harris, MD of Pam Golding Properties Zimbabwe, confirms that house prices in the northern suburbs of Harare have dropped about 20% between January and now. She says that the uncertainty about general economic conditions in Zimbabwe has prompted a lot of people to leave the country and put their homes on the market. Harris says there is now more choice, creating a buyers' market, and this has driven down the prices to more realistic levels. Last year Business Day reported how the residential property market was booming because it was seen as a shelter against rampant inflation. Harris says that over the past two years people have invested in residential property instead of the money market because the "return was phenomenal". This drove property prices up. Asked whether there was concern that residential property may be next in line for seizure by the government, Harris says none of Pam Golding Properties' potential clients has expressed concern about this. Another estate agent based in Zimbabwe says the residential market has not reacted to the government's announcement that it would be seizing all farmland, parks, conservancies and game reserves. "It's business as usual." The Zimbabwean government confirmed this week that it would not nationalise land other than farms already seized in its land redistribution programme.
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From BBC News, 24 June
2m short of food in Zimbabwe
By Alastair Leithead
BBC correspondent on the Zimbabwe border
More than two million people in rural Zimbabwe will need food aid in the next year, a report has said. The survey, carried out in April, contradicts Zimbabwe's claim that the country will be able to feed itself. President Robert Mugabe has forecast a bumper harvest despite controversial land reforms. But a report from the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) says 2.3 million rural people will need food aid this year. Along with the UN and other aid agencies, the Zimbabwean government sits on the committee, contradicting its own claims to self-sufficiency. Combined with the results of a previous ZimVAC report on urban areas, it means a total of almost five million Zimbabweans will need assistance this year. A United Nations World Food Programme team was recently prevented from assessing the crop in Zimbabwe resulting in claims the country was trying to cover up a disappointing harvest. There have also been allegations from the opposition party that food aid could be used for political gain in next year's parliamentary elections.
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From News24 (SA), 23 June
Election disputes 'ignored'
Harare - Court disputes over 33 parliamentary seats dating back more than three years remain unresolved just nine months before fresh elections, Zimbabwe's main opposition party protested in a report released on Tuesday. The High Court has heard only 11 of the 37 challenges filed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Changes after the last parliamentary poll in 2000. It overturned seven of the ruling Zanu PF party victories, mainly on the grounds of violence, intimidation and vote rigging. But in each case the lawmakers filed appeals, which have still not been heard, and were allowed to keep their parliamentary seats until the matter was resolved. The long delays underscore the failure of the nation's judiciary to act impartially, the opposition said in the report on conditions for March parliamentary elections. It demanded the restoration of rule of law in the troubled southern African country, including speedy and impartial hearings of the electoral disputes. "The current delay in hearing electoral disputes is unacceptable and has no place in a functioning democracy. Justice delayed is justice denied," the report said. Judicial authorities did not immediately comment on the report. In the past, court officials have attributed delays to a heavy backlog in both civil and criminal cases.
The opposition won 55 of parliament's 120 elected seats in the 2000 vote, which independent observers said was deeply flawed. President Robert Mugabe appoints 30 other lawmakers, giving the ruling party a sweeping majority it has used to pass stringent media and security legislation. The opposition report said it aimed to open up debate on the "severe democratic deficit" at the heart of Zimbabwe's worst economic and political crisis since independence from Britain in 1980. Some opposition supporters are demanding the party boycott next year's polls unless its demands for electoral reform are met. Party officials have been touring the country to canvass opinion on the issue before making a decision. The opposition's demands include the formation of an independent electoral commission to replace the state-appointed commission and directorate that run the polls with government and military officials. They also want the repeal of security and media laws that have stifled dissent in the country. Such steps would have to be taken six months ahead of the elections to be meaningful, Tuesday's report said. The proposals are based on the Election Norms and Standards adopted by the parliaments of the Southern African Development Community, which Zimbabwe's government insists are not binding on the regional bloc's members. It proposes only minor amendments to the country's electoral laws.
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 24 June
Another blow to press freedom in Zim
Journalists from three banned newspapers would not be able to find work under a government proposal to tighten a section of Zimbabwe's sweeping media laws, an alliance of pro-democracy groups warned on Wednesday. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said such a move would be another blow to press freedom in the troubled southern African country, and appealed to the government to "desist from making laws that confirm local and international perceptions that Zimbabwe has become a full-fledged dictatorship". A government notice published on Friday proposes that journalists who continue to work while suspended by the state-appointed media commission be fined and jailed for up to two years, the coalition said in a statement. More than 100 journalists effectively had their government accreditation suspended when the state Media and Information Commission shut down their newspapers earlier this year as part of a media crackdown. Government officials did not immediately respond to the statement. Parliament, which is overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling Zanu PF party, is expected to approve the amendment in coming weeks. The same penalties already apply to journalists working without having applied for a licence or whose applications have been denied.
President Robert Mugabe's government, faced with a spiralling political and economic crisis, shut down the country's only independent daily newspaper, the Daily News, and its Sunday edition in February after a long legal battle. Earlier this month, the independent weekly Tribune newspaper was suspended from publishing for a year for allegedly operating without a valid registration certificate. The coalition said the proposed amendment was "meant to stop journalists from these media houses from practicing". "It is disheartening to note that after the closure of these newspapers, the government continues on its war path against freedom of expression by criminalising the journalism profession," it said. The independent papers had been a platform for dissent against Mugabe's increasingly authoritarian rule. Senior officials called independent journalists "traitors" for reporting on the country's political and economic woes. They have also accused former colonial ruler Britain of bankrolling independent newspapers and opposition leaders. Since the media laws were enforced in March 2002, 31 independent journalists have been arrested and charged for alleged violations. But no journalists from the five main state-run newspapers, or the national radio and television stations, have been arrested, despite abuses by some reporters, according to the coalition. The latest newspaper closure has brought international condemnation. The European Union, in a statement issued on Tuesday in Brussels, called the Tribune's suspension "a further attack on freedom of expression and democratic space" in Zimbabwe. "This is of particular importance in the context of approaching elections, a free press being a necessary prerequisite of a democratic society," it said.
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From The Financial Gazette, 24 June
Ministers searched at meetings
Brian Mangwende
The increasingly cryptic Zanu PF succession conundrum has taken another mysterious turn as it emerged that President Robert Mugabe now distrusts some of his lieutenants, who are now being frisked for electronic devices before politburo and Cabinet meetings. Politburo meetings are held at Zanu PF's party headquarters in Harare while the Cabinet meets at Munhumutapa Building, also in the capital. Reports of the searches, emanating from the ruling party's inner circle, have been widely interpreted to mean that the 80-year-old President Mugabe is increasingly getting paranoid. The President, who has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, has since indicated he is seeing out his last term in office. Impeccable sources said the move comes against the backdrop of accusations and counter-accusations by senior members of the party over the leakage of sensitive information - verbatim - to the local and regional press with a view to discrediting certain individuals whose names have been thrown up as President Mugabe's possible successors.
Suspicion has manifested itself within the party ahead of its crucial congress slated for December. President Mugabe, an object of attacks from Western and European governments over his style of governance, recently announced what critics said amounted to a distant departure date - 2008. This was widely seen as an attempt to patch up cracks emerging within the ruling party over the emotive succession issue. Lack of trust and cohesion, the sources said, had prompted the new developments as senior party members were now going for each other's throat by whatever means possible, including using the local and international media at a time when the government was at pains to spruce up the country's political image. "Cabinet ministers and politburo members are now subjected to thorough searches when they go for meetings," one source said. "The reason being that some people go for meetings with agendas different from the rest. Gadgets that record proceedings are no longer allowed because it is that information that is later published in various newspapers. These meetings are supposed to be confidential, but you see some very delicate information being splashed in newspapers, even abroad," the source added.
Another party insider said there was nothing amiss about not entering Cabinet meetings without electronic gadgets such as cell phones with camera facilities. In fact, the source said, it was general practice that people were searched at the buildings in question, including senior party officials. "It's normal for security reasons," the source said. "Unless those complaining are unaware of the security measures which have always been in place." Contacted for comment, Minister of State for National Security in the President's Office Nicholas Goche gave a belligerent response. "What has that got to do with you and your paper? Has anyone come to complain about that to you?" an audibly agitated Goche charged. As this reporter continued questioning, he ducked and repeated: "I said tell me whether anyone has come to complain, tell me. I want to know whether anyone has come to complain to you. Stupid!" Goche, who is also the Member of Parliament for Shamva, then switched off his mobile phone.
Of late, relative ruling party newcomers and the so-called "young turks" in Zanu PF and the government have clashed with the old guard over various issues without regard to party protocol and suffering no apparent reprisals. This is reported to be bothering the rank and file of the ruling party and has at the same time raised questions as to the source of their bravado. Political squabbles within Zanu PF have spilled into the public domain as senior party members openly attack each other in the media. Traditionally, this has been done in dark rooms at the party's headquarters. But now the disputes between party stalwarts are being played out in the public media, a development without precedence in Zanu PF, which has long projected a façade of harmony, with rifts rarely admitted over any issue. The state's own paranoia has also heightened ahead of next year's parliamentary election and only last month, the government, through TelOne, proposed new contracts for all Internet service providers compelling them to intercept e-mail content or report messages perceived to be politically incorrect. This has been slammed as another desperate bid to control the flow of information in the country by a government that has enacted laws that have put two newspapers out of business. However, the move hit a brick wall because the government had not anticipated the kind of wizardry involved in that technological sphere.
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From BBC News, 24 June
The perils of opposing Mugabe
By Alastair Leithead
BBC, Zimbabwe
A secret location outside Bulawayo was where we met the latest victim of political violence in Zimbabwe. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change youth leader spoke slowly and deliberately through his broken jaw about how he was beaten and tortured just for supporting the wrong party. His jaw is broken in two places, his hand still terribly swollen and on his back a mark from where he was beaten with a belt - the buckle as clear as if someone had traced a marker pen around it and filled it in with bruising. His injuries were two weeks old when I saw them. "I was attacked by 25 war vets from Zanu PF, who said I was an opposition youth ringleader so they wanted to get rid of me by eliminating me," he said. It's a familiar story - of those brave enough to stand up and campaign, or even just support the opposition in Zimbabwe. "Within a flash they started assaulting me. They beat me very hard. I think the main reason is that I support the opposition." He was attacked after the Lupane by-election in May was won by the ruling Zanu PF party. The area is an MDC heartland; those here hate President Robert Mugabe because of what he did to the people of Matabeleland in the 1980s. Thousands were killed by his specially trained soldiers, to quash opposition and ensure one-party rule. Today no-one who opposes the government is safe, and that puts opposition MPs directly in the firing line.
The Zimbabwe Institute, a think-tank based in South Africa, has launched a report detailing the human rights abuses opposition MPs have suffered. Fifty were questioned - that's 80% of all opposition members of parliament - and the report shows all of them have suffered some form of abuse or intimidation. "More than a third have survived assassination attempts, others have had family members beaten to death and killed," said Shari Eppel, a human rights campaigner based in Zimbabwe. "There have been policemen torturing members of parliament - including electric shock treatment. This has got to be one of the few countries in the world that allows the opposition into parliament and then tortures them and refuses to prosecute those responsible - even when they are extremely well known," she said. Shari Eppel believes there is now less violence - other methods are being pursued as the threat of violence is enough to persuade people to vote Zanu PF. "The MDC won the by-election in Lupane, but the ruling party is using tactics which made a difference," said the MDC's unsuccessful candidate, Njabuliso Mguni. "We had war-vets disrupting our meetings and we were getting no assistance from the police. The war vets were getting money to go and intimidate people - others were being bussed in to vote from other areas. When Zanu PF had political meetings people were forced to go."
And many are afraid that the youth camps, disguised as training areas for national service, are brainwashing a generation and creating a militia of so-called "green bombers" because of their military fatigues. A 20-year-old I spoke to was forced to go to a camp, afraid he would not be able to get a job, or that his parents would be tortured if he did not take national service. "The main aim was for us to beat people who supported the MDC - the opposition party. We were also told to kidnap people for the camps - people of our age." In the Lupane by-election there was also evidence that chiefs (traditional leaders ) were being used to compile lists of voters and to urge them to vote the right way. Lists mean a lot to the people of Matabeleland - in the 1980s those on lists were hunted down and killed. The ruling party denies the political violence and some say it might recede ahead of next year's poll. Critics says it may be able to ensure victory because of its control over the voters' roll. The MDC is banned from access to the roll and that leaves the door open to political fraud, they argue. The opposition has demands for electoral reform ahead of parliamentary elections next March and insists these must be met if they are to take part. It's a difficult decision - to take part in an election with a disadvantage and be well beaten, or withdraw from the democratic system altogether.
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Comment from The New York Times, 24 June
Strangling democracy
By Vaclav Havel
Prague - Last month the Czech Republic joined the European Union. Our country now has the same democratic principles and freedoms, brought here by the "velvet revolution" 15 years ago, as the community of nations that was built on the basis of respect for these values. This transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, the outcome of a wider movement against totalitarianism, would never have succeeded without the support of a democratically minded world public. Just five years after the changes that led to a new Europe, democracy made another huge step forward in South Africa. Under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and F. W. de Klerk, the apartheid regime was defeated. Two months ago the world celebrated the 10th anniversary of South African democracy — and South African democracy, like Czech and Slovak democracy, is of utmost importance to other countries of the region. The ideal of freedom must remain an inspiration and motivation for those fighting for human rights in Zimbabwe.
I can still remember vividly what it is like to live in a country where a party controlled by a politburo rules, where basic human rights and civil freedoms are trampled on, where public discourse is controlled by ideology that is expediently explained and applied by the chosen few. The state controls everything, even citizens' private lives. Opposition is suppressed or criminalized. Freedom of speech is seriously curtailed or nonexistent. These feelings, however, do not exist merely in my memory. Much to my regret, they are a living reality in various parts of the world. Zimbabwe's leaders know that the international community will cooperate with them only if they meet certain conditions. That is why they are trying to give the impression of democracy and thus escape international isolation, and why they distort the standard democratic mechanisms in order to create a semblance of citizens' participation. At the same time, they create legal instruments that violate human rights. Democratic institutions are partly controlled by the leadership, partly circumvented by it.
A report published this year by the International Crisis Group, an international nonprofit group that works to resolve conflict, showed that many opposition members of Parliament in Zimbabwe have been subject to murder attempts, torture, assault and arrest. In parliamentary elections, President Robert Mugabe nominates 20 percent of members, who then become parliamentarians without a democratic mandate. Elections are regularly accompanied by organized violence and intimidation. The independent judiciary, one of the pillars of democracy, has been severely compromised, with the benches packed with Mr. Mugabe's supporters. A law adopted before the presidential elections in 2002 requires journalists to provide detailed information about themselves. If they do not, they will not receive a journalist license. The law, called the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, has been used to close Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper and to arrest people for "suspicion of journalism." The state now claims a virtual monopoly of written and broadcast media; foreign correspondents, meanwhile, are a thing of the past. Another law restricts the freedom of association. The government in Zimbabwe has used this law, called the Public Order and Security Act, to stamp out any form of protest, to block practically any public activity of opposition groups. Under this law, women have been arrested for giving out flowers on Valentine's Day.
The Orwellian names of these laws are both chilling and relevant. Totalitarian regimes may differ in small details - by the nature of their deviations, the degree of their representatives' contrivance, the degree of their cruelty and brutality - but their nature is the same. And so is the manner of resisting such regimes. Like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I have been shocked and saddened to see the decline of the once prosperous and democratic country of Zimbabwe, where millions of people now depend on international food aid. The country, Mr. Tutu has said, is now a shadow of what it used to be. My hope for Zimbabwe is that one day it will drive away the shadows and return to the community of democratic nations.
Vaclav Havel was president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic from 1989 to 2003
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From The Cape Times (SA), 25 June
Mugabe MP's in revolt
By Basildon Peta
Johannesburg: In an unprecedented move, dozens of ruling Zanu PF Members of Parliament (MPs) walked out of parliament in protest against a bill that empowers police to detain corruption suspects for up to a month without trial. In an unusual departure from tradition, opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MPs remained in their seats as Zanu PF legislator Shuvai Mahofa led the walkout late on Tuesday evening. The Zanu PF parliamentarians also stayed away on Wednesday. This effectively thwarted plans to bulldoze the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill through parliament. Zanu PF MPs normally rubber stamp President Robert Mugabe's proposed legislation. But the proposed law has been referred back to the ministry of justice, legal and parliamentary affairs after it could not pass the first reading. The provisions of the proposed law were brought into effect in February through Mugabe's extraordinary powers, which allow him to bypass parliament and decree laws during emergencies. However, they have to be ratified or approved by parliament within six months.
Zanu PF businessman James Makamba and Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri have been the most high-profile victims of the regulations. Zanu PF MPs fear that, if they allow the regulations to become permanent law, many would be targeted as Mugabe seeks to win the hearts and minds of the urban electorate through his much-vaunted anti-corruption crusade. The regulations allow the police to detain a suspect charged with economic crimes for seven days for investigation. They can also disqualify the courts from granting bail if they invoke the regulations at the first court appearance. This allows the police to detain suspects for another 21 days. An accused person can thus be detained for up to 28 days. The provisions currently in use through the presidential powers are due to lapse in August. The police would then have to resort to the old rules under which they can only detain suspects for two days.
MDC MP Job Sikhala, who witnessed both the walkout and the stayaway by the Zanu PF MPs, said: "They have shot down their own bill. We did not even debate it because they did not allow it to reach the debating stage. This is the most bizarre incident since I came to parliament in 2000." Sikhala added: "Most of (them) are the key culprits in these economic crimes. They know that if the police enforce the law, they will be the main victims because they have externalised lots of money. "It's not like they are motivated by any desire for Zimbabwe to have good laws." Sikhala said the decision by MDC MPs to remain seated did not mean they supported the bill. Welshman Ncube, the MDC MP who chairs the parliamentary legal committee, has already declared the bill illegal and unconstitutional. "It was a Zanu PF circus ... We only watched as the Zanu PF circus unfolded. They started squabbling on their own after (justice minister) Patrick Chinamasa had presented it before they walked out," said Sikhala. Two Zanu PF legislators who refused to be named said the bill was "a witch hunt against those who are not wanted ... particularly in relation to the succession struggles". The proposed law could be easily used to settle political scores as the party is enmeshed in serious in-fighting over Mugabe's successor, they said. The Zanu PF MPs planned their protest against the bill at a special caucus before they walked out of parliament.
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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 25 June
Mugabe's harvest boasts exposed
By David Blair in Johannesburg
President Robert Mugabe's rosy forecast of a bumper harvest in Zimbabwe was contradicted by his own government yesterday, when an official report said 2.3 million people needed immediate international food aid. The seizure of white-owned farms has combined with drought to cripple agriculture in Zimbabwe. But Mr Mugabe's official message is that his land grab has markedly increased production and made Zimbabwe self-sufficient. Last month, he refused help from the United Nations World Food Programme, saying: "Why foist this food upon us? We don't want to be choked." He brushed aside the fact that Zimbabwe has lived on food aid since 2001 and that 6.5 million people, more than half the population, depended on international help last year. By contrast, his office forecast a maize crop for this year of 2.4 million tons, more than enough to meet domestic needs. Yet a report from the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee provides a strong antidote to the president's optimism. It concludes that 2.3 million people in rural Zimbabwe "will not be able to meet their minimum cereal needs during the 2004/05 season". The report adds that food aid "for the most vulnerable people" should be sought immediately. The UN, aid agencies and Zimbabwean government departments compiled the assessment based on a survey completed in April. Mr Mugabe's officials appear not to share his optimism.
The report did not cover the food needs of Zimbabwe's cities, where shortages last year were at least as serious as those in the countryside. Figures for December suggested that 2.5 million urban Zimbabweans were going hungry, bringing the total needing food aid to 4.8 million. But Mr Mugabe's regime has effectively ended co-operation with the UN. James Morris, the UN envoy for humanitarian affairs in southern Africa, is conducting a tour of the region. The Zimbabwean government declined to receive him, saying that officials in Harare had no time for a meeting. Zimbabwe will hold parliamentary elections next March. Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has been accused of channelling food to its supporters and denying help to anyone suspected of backing the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. By keeping the UN and aid agencies out of Zimbabwe, Mr Mugabe can ensure that his regime controls all food aid. Critics suspect that this is his real objective. But if Zimbabwe needs international help to avoid widespread starvation, Mr Mugabe's refusal to co-operate with the UN could have disastrous consequences. In Johannesburg, Mr Morris said: "If we were called upon to be helpful and respond, this is not something you can do on 24-hour notice."
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From The Star (SA), 25 June
Equatorial Guinea leader 'linked to R50m property spree'
By Joe Sinclair
The Democratic Alliance has called for a probe into allegedly suspicious property deals by the family of the Equatorial Guinea president. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema's family are alleged to have purchased properties in Cape Town for about R50-million. This comes at a time that a United States federal grand jury is investigating a corporate bank account, allegedly under Nguema's control, into which oil companies are said to have poured millions. Critics of the president accuse him of profiteering from the country's oil reserves while ignoring human rights issues. Domestic workers at a spectacular Bishops Court house said they had heard that the son of Equatorial Guinea's president was scheduled to move in. The house is reported to have been sold for R26-million. This is the second house linked to Nguema. In parliament yesterday, Democratic Alliance leader Tony Leon said he had received information from councillors that Nguema's family was buying a property in Clifton worth R23,5-million. Finance spokesperson Cobus Grobler was not prepared to supply information on the rates clearance certificate reported to have been lodged with the Cape Town council, which showed the transfer of the house to Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president's 34-year-old son. Grobler said it was the policy of the council to protect the identity of the buyer. But councillor Belinda Walker yesterday confirmed that she had told the Democratic Alliance about the sale. Raenette Taljaard, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on finance, yesterday urged the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to investigate the sale of the two Cape Town properties. Under the FIC Act, all estate agents must report suspicious transactions or when they are about to receive the proceeds of unlawful activities. "The family is believed to have spent close on R50-million on property in and around the city while the family's finances are being investigated by the US senate and the FBI," Taljaard said.
US oil companies have invested heavily in the tiny West African state, which is expected to provide up to 5% of US oil within the next few years. However, the bulk of the country's people have seen little benefit, with 60% of the population surviving on less than R6 a day. In Zimbabwe, which has closed many embassies around the world citing foreign-currency problems, has agreed to exchange ambassadors with Equatorial Guinea and establish full diplomatic relations with the West African country. The move is most probably aimed at facilitating the extradition of the 70 South Africans arrested in Zimbabwe on charges of plotting to overthrow Nguema's government. Zimbabwe is also trying to get oil from Equatorial Guinea in exchange for the alleged mercenaries. The two countries, which did not have any diplomatic contacts prior to the arrests of the suspected mercenaries, have warmed to each other as they seek to make political capital out of the detained South Africans. Nguema, supported by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, has alleged that the coup plot was backed by powerful states bent on destabilising smaller African nations. Mugabe's government rushed to approve regulations allowing the extradition of suspects to Equatorial Guinea in April. If extradited, the men will face summary execution in Equatorial Guinea.
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From BBC News, 24 June
No drugs for Zimbabwe's HIV patients
How is Zimbabwe coping with HIV/Aids? Better or worse than its neighbours? The BBC's Alastair Leithead, banned from the country along with other BBC reporters, has been inside to find out.
Aids is cutting a swathe through southern Africa, but the economic crisis in Zimbabwe is placing the country in a terrible position. Officially around a third of the adult population is HIV positive, but in reality that figure is probably a lot higher. "The pandemic is really affecting so many people in our country - hundreds are dying in the hospitals on a weekly basis," said one Zimbabwean aid worker who did not want to be named. "There's no comparison to the other countries in southern Africa. I think we are way, way, way behind. In fact there are no drugs and there's nothing in place for Aids victims like there are in other African countries. "The anti-retroviral drugs are not available and you have to pay for testing. Where do people get money? There's very little education - and not enough being done for HIV/Aids." I would love to tell you this woman's name, or the name of the organisation she is running as it is doing some fantastic work, but she is too scared to draw attention to herself or to be seen to be critical. In fact none of the doctors, health workers, non-governmental organisations or people affected or infected by the virus I spoke to wanted their names published - such is the climate of fear in the Zimbabwe of President Robert Mugabe. People who are doing good work are afraid to talk about it in case it embarrasses the government into closing them down. "People struggle to afford transport to reach the clinics - attendance is going down," said one doctor. "If you do see patients then clinically speaking I guess 60, 70, 80% would be HIV positive. The young men leave the country, they go to South Africa, they go to Botswana. If they do have a job they bring back a few presents for Christmas or for Easter - and they bring back HIV." Zimbabwe held its first national Aids conference last week, bringing together most of those people working to combat the virus. I was not able to attend, but no doubt it was full of many keen and dedicated people who are doing all they can to help. But the state-run radio news report on the event suggested a government that was somewhat defensive: "The national HIV/Aids conference entered its third day today with concern expressed at the way some NGOs involved in HIV and Aids programmes are benefiting from donor funds at the expense of those infected and affected."
Before I even heard this broadcast, the message from those very NGOs confirmed the money was not reaching the people - but they blamed expensive conferences that were mere talking shops. "A lot of the conferences I have attended just stopped there," said one Zimbabwean aid worker. We have lavish meals and teas and the real money that is supposed to come directly to these people just hasn't reached them." A critical lack of funding in the Zimbabwean health system has been blamed for the breakdown in care. One doctor who has been living in Zimbabwe 15 years has noticed the difference. "There's been an incredible deterioration in health provision in this country. One lurches from a crisis to a crisis," he said. The basics are not even available for people, but the government's Aids levy - a tax to raise money to fight the virus - is failing to get through. "We pay the levy, but at the same time my hospital can't afford to do an Aids test, which is just basic. Doctors are frustrated and feel they cannot do anything." The economic crisis across Zimbabwe is compounding the problem. This country was once proud of its health system - but doctors and nurses are leaving to live and work abroad. There are anti-retroviral drugs, but they are still far too expensive for all but the elite to afford. Cost means there is no way Zimbabwe can contemplate the kind of drug treatment programme that South Africa is embarking upon. One woman I spoke to found out she was HIV positive a year ago, but still has not told her family. "There is so much stigma about the virus here - when I tested positive it was a shock and I cannot tell people," she said. Stigma is a problem throughout southern Africa, but in a country where state repression of independent media and any voices of opposition is endemic, it makes things even worse. The situation will improve in Zimbabwe, but this country's political and economic turmoil will leave a legacy for future generations - at the heart of that legacy will be the damage and the pain caused by the HIV/Aids epidemic.
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From The Economist (UK), 24 June
The method behind Mugabe's madness
Why Zimbabwe's leader wants to drive away his middle class and keep a frightened and starving peasantry in his thrall
You have to admire Robert Mugabe's chutzpah. First he makes life so miserable for Zimbabweans that busloads of them emigrate. Then he asks the fugitives to send money home to prop up the regime that drove them out in the first place. Gideon Gono, the governor of Zimbabwe's central bank, has been on a world tour to persuade expatriate Zimbabweans to wire money home using official channels. Most remittances are currently sent through informal channels. For example, a Zimbabwean nurse in London pays money into a friendly businessman's offshore account, who then asks his cousin in Bulawayo to pay an equivalent amount, in Zimbabwe dollars, to the nurse's mother. Such dodges are popular because until recently, if you sent money through a formal bank, the government confiscated most of it, by means of a rigged exchange rate. Mr Gono has made official channels more attractive by reducing the amount the government confiscates, and by cracking down on illegal foreign-exchange dealing. So some Zimbabweans may heed his call. But most won't, because that would mean giving the regime information about their finances, and no sane person would trust this regime with such information. Since he took over the central bank in December, Mr Gono has endeared himself to Mr Mugabe, largely because of his success in curbing inflation. Last month's official rate was "448.8%", down from over 600% late last year. But the real economy remains in disarray. The white farmers who used to provide the largest chunk of Zimbabwe's exports have almost all been driven off their land. GDP has shrunk by one-third in five years. Confidence cannot return unless private property rights are respected. There is no prospect of this with Mr Mugabe in charge. This month his land minister floated the idea of abolishing all freehold land tenure and replacing it with leases of up to 99 years. The government then back-pedalled a bit, though Mr Mugabe probably preferred the unadulterated plan. If all land belonged to the state, he could dole it out to his supporters and take it back if they proved disloyal.
Mr Mugabe sees property-owners as a threat. Many middle-class Zimbabweans (most of them black) have irritating ideas about democracy, and have the means to make themselves heard. They bankrolled the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), an opposition party that would have won the last two national elections, had they not been rigged. Mr Mugabe feels safer when whites and white-collar blacks leave the country: then they cannot vote. He pushes them out in various ways. Employing thugs to break their fingers is one. Confiscating private property is another. But he also uses more subtle techniques. For example, last month, his government ordered the country's private schools to reduce their fees or close. Armed police were sent to enforce the edict, so most schools complied. Given rapidly rising costs, this guarantees that standards will fall, which will prompt more middle-class parents to emigrate. One headmaster says that when he protested to the education ministry, he was told to raise extra cash by ploughing up playing fields and planting maize. The state education and health systems, the proudest achievements of Mr Mugabe's early years in office, are imploding. Only four years ago, primary school enrolment was 95% for boys and 90% for girls. Last year it was 67% for boys and 63% for girls. Zimbabweans are so broke that they cannot afford state school fees of $4 a term. Infant mortality has doubled in a decade, and life expectancy has fallen from 60 in 1992 to a projected 35 next year. As recently as 1997, Zimbabwe was twice as rich as the median sub-Saharan nation. Now it is crashing towards the norm. In keeping with this theme, Mr Mugabe is trying to replace the relatively sophisticated, pluralistic society that Zimbabwe once had with a stereotypical African patronage system. To enter university or to find a job as a teacher, it now helps enormously if you first join Mr Mugabe's youth militia.
Mr Mugabe wants a smaller, more dependent middle class. And he is content for the rest of the country to revert to subsistence farming. He claims that his policy of taking land from white farmers and giving it to blacks has been a success: that there will be a bumper harvest this year and so Zimbabwe will need no food aid. Actual crop-production statistics are now a state secret, so the picture is foggy, but a short drive through the countryside reveals vast swathes of barrenness. The World Food Programme estimates that 4.8m people-more than a third of the population-will need food aid this year. Incognito, your correspondent spoke to some peasants in a ruling-party stronghold in Mashonaland, who said that if there was going to be a bumper harvest this year, they had not seen any signs of it. All agreed that life was growing swiftly harder, and most thought the government was to blame. But - and this is why Mr Mugabe prefers peasants to middle-class folk-they all said they would vote for the ruling party, Zanu PF. Why? "Because we fear that if we turn against the government, we will be victimised," said one.
A general election must be held by early next year. The regime is stockpiling imported maize. With donors barred from the country, it hopes to use its monopoly of the national staple to reward its supporters and starve the opposition. The media are shackled, the leader of the opposition is on trial for his life, and the judiciary has been so thoroughly nobbled that the MDC's lawsuits contesting the results of the last election won't be processed before the next election is held. Where will it end? In English, for an international audience, Mr Mugabe occasionally hints that he wants to retire. But in Shona, his native tongue, he makes it clear that he does not. The man who was until recently tipped to succeed him, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been swatted down: several of his associates have been arrested on corruption charges. Mr Mugabe does not want any of his lieutenants getting too big for their jackboots. South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, told President George Bush last year that the Zimbabwean crisis would be solved by now. But he has made no serious effort to resolve it. At times, he has claimed that the MDC and ZANU-PF were in secret talks, though both parties denied it. He refuses to put any pressure on Mr Mugabe to respect the will of his own people, though he could. "South Africa could end the madness in a week, without a shot being fired," fumes a black Zimbabwean businessman in Johannesburg, "simply by threatening to cut off the electricity and blockade the borders. But they won't."
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 25 June
Zim targets foreign papers
Vincent Kahiya and Gift Phiri
Harare - The Zimbabwean government has now set its sights on foreign newspapers circulating in Zimbabwe. Officials are making threatening noises about foreign publications, including the Mail & Guardian, which they deem to be hostile to the ruling establishment. Two weeks ago the government accused a United Nations security official based in Harare of spreading dangerous information about Zimbabwe through the Internet. The official had issued a security warning to UN workers based there. At the beginning of the week, the state-controlled The Sunday Mail - usually a mirror of the government’s disposition - published a story accusing the M&G of using "unaccredited journalists". The state weekly, quoting unnamed sources, also questioned why the M&G was circulating in Zimbabwe when its major shareholder, Trevor Ncube, was running the Zimbabwe Independent. The impression that The Sunday Mail’s attack on the M&G was officialdom thinking aloud received backing this week when the chairman of Zimbabwe’s Media and Information Commission (MIC) - a quasi-judicial body pliant to government manipulation - described the newspaper as "unprincipled" and accused it of violating the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa) by using unaccredited journalists.
"We have noticed that there are Zimbabwean journalists who are exporting stories to the Mail & Guardian’s foreign desk but who are not accredited with the Media and Information Commission," said MIC chairperson Tafataona Mahoso in an interview. "There are two offences here. Firstly, they are not registered with the MIC. Secondly, they earn rands for publishing their stories. That money is not accounted for. So you see there is a forex question here and that of registration. It’s not only Aippa; even the RBZ [Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe] would be concerned." Under Aippa it is an offence for a journalist to practise in Zimbabwe without a licence. And RBZ governor Gideon Gono’s new monetary policy has seen the government clamping down on the illegal trade in scarce foreign currency. Mahoso could not explain who had lodged the complaint. "This story was in The Sunday Mail, a duly registered entity in Zimbabwe. Because The Sunday Mail has carried the story, it is a complainant," he said. "Besides, the commission can institute its own investigations. All foreign desks should be registered. Reuters, Agence France-Presse and even the Chinese news agency Xinhuanet’s foreign desks are registered with the commission."
M&G publisher Ncube said this week that the M&G management had not used the articles of any unregistered journalists in Zimbabwe and had not made payments to any news writers there. "In any case, what would be the point of doing this when we have our own pool of registered journalists at the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard?," he said. "We have Zimbabwean-based columnists who contribute to the M&G, which is distributed all across the world. We have no plans now or in the future of publishing in Zimbabwe, as claimed in the [Sunday Mail] story. And for the record: we have turned around the M&G in just under two years and our circulation is growing in both South Africa and the region, as our audited circulation figures will attest." Ncube said The Sunday Mail article was a good example of how the Zimbabwe government had, over the past five years, abused the state media to pursue narrow political agendas and to victimise perceived opponents. "It is one example of how state-employed journalists have prostituted themselves to the political elite and done away with all pretence at professionalism," he said. "The story is defamatory, malicious and highly irresponsible. It serves no public good at all. Its sole intention is to portray me and the Mail & Guardian in a bad light and to help the Media and Information Commission build up a case against the paper. I am disappointed that the MIC chairman gave the story some respectability by commenting before verifying the veracity of the claims in the story."
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 25 June
China denies jet fighters report
Dumisani Muleya
China made frantic efforts this week to deny reports that it sold Zimbabwe US$240 million worth of jet fighters and military vehicles. Chinese diplomats in South Africa and Zimbabwe scrambled belatedly to deny reports of the military hardware purchase. One of the diplomats claimed China had not sold weapons to Zimbabwe since he arrived in Zimbabwe in 2001. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Harare, Nan Xiao, said Zimbabwe had not "ordered or bought" fighters and army vehicles from his country. He said Zimbabwe had not bought any arms from China since he arrived in Harare in 2001, despite reports to the contrary. "It's not true that the Zimbabwe government bought military equipment from China," Xiao said in an interview. "The Zimbabwean army has not bought anything from us." This followed a similar denial by Liu Guijin, China's ambassador to South Africa. Guijin said he had contacted the Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Zhang Xianyi, and established that the report was not true. "We find that the report is not true and it is baseless," he said. Zimbabwe reportedly ordered 12 FC-1 jet fighters and 100 military vehicles. The story broke three weeks ago after the Ministry of Defence's permanent secretary Trust Maphosa appeared before parliament's portfolio committee on Defence and Home Affairs on the issue. Neither Maphosa nor the parliamentary committee have publicly denied the reports. Saviour Kasukuwere, chairman of the committee, on Tuesday refused to discuss the matter, citing "national security". "It's a confidential matter. Let's leave it because it compromises national security," he said. Efforts to get comment from Maphosa failed. Military sources said China was denying the reports to avoid publicity over its burgeoning arms trade. South Africa - the only country in Africa with a well-established arms industry - has reportedly voiced concerns about Chinese arms "floating in the region".
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From IRIN (UN), 25 June
New anti-corruption legislation 'unconstitutional'
Johannesburg - New anti-corruption legislation, effective from this week, which formalises regulations allowing Zimbabwean police to hold suspects accused of economic crimes for up to four weeks without bail is "unconstitutional", human rights activists alleged on Friday. The Criminal Procedure and Evidence Amendment Bill went through parliament this week, despite opposition from some ruling Zanu PF MPs. President Robert Mugabe had already used his extraordinary powers to decree the provisions of the bill in February. The amendment enables the police to detain people suspected of committing economic crimes, including corruption, money laundering and illegal dealing in foreign exchange and gold, for up to a week. The police can also hold suspects for a further 21 days if prima facie evidence of their involvement is produced, without giving them the option of applying for bail or paying a fine. "The legislation violates the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Zimbabwean constitution. Even the parliamentary legal committee had given an adverse report on the legislation, despite which it has gone through parliament," said John Makumbe, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe and chairman of Transparency International in Zimbabwe.
The regulations were introduced as part of Mugabe's attempts to clamp down on corruption after a senior Zanu PF central committee member, James Makamba, was arrested in February. Makamba, the chairman of Telecel, Zimbabwe's third largest cellular telephone company, last week pleaded guilty to six counts of illegally dealing in foreign currency in his trial at the Harare magistrate's court. Zanu PF MP for Chinhoyi, Phillip Chiyangwa, and Jane Mutasa, another Telecel director, have also been arrested on charges of sabotaging the economy. Zimbabwe's attorney-general, Bharat Patel, denied that the new legislation was "unconstitutional", and said it was to be used in "specific cases", the merits of which would be assessed by at least two authorities: the court and his office. "The courts have the right to apply their minds" to decide whether the police have the grounds to continue the detention of the suspect, as does the attorney-general to ensure that there is no abuse of powers by the police. "The legislation is still being hotly debated - and rightly so - for the inclusion of more safeguards," Patel told IRIN.
"Corruption cannot be fought in isolation, without the protection of the rights of individuals, especially fundamental rights such as the presumption of innocence, which is the supporting tenet of our criminal justice delivery system," said Otto Saki, a projects lawyer with Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. "You don't have to be a lawyer to ascertain that the regulations are patently and overtly unconstitutional. Section 13(1)(e) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that one may be deprived of the right to liberty upon reasonable suspicion of having committed, or being about to commit, a criminal offence. However, there must be prima facie grounds for arresting that person," he said. According to Saki, the legislation legalises the "heretical theory" of "arrest first and investigate later", which he alleged had already become characteristic of the police. He argued that the legislation would make room for more corruption. "The police have effectively been given wide powers to arrest without reasonable suspicion and to detain suspects in custody until they have completed their investigations," Saki said. "The police will effectively be the arresting detail; the prosecution will be rendered useless; the magistrate and the judge will not have a say in the bail application; the accused, to buy his freedom, will have to bribe his way out."
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Comment from ZWNEWS, 26 June
Much more than electoral fraud
"War consisteth not in battle only, or the act of fighting; but in a tract of time, wherein the will to contend by battle is sufficiently known" [Thomas Hobbes.Leviathan.1651]
Thus we might describe Zimbabwe since February 2000. Whilst this characterization might seem a little extreme to the bystander, this is undoubtedly common cause as all the evidence shows. It is reflected in the rhetoric of the State and the Government; in the statements made from president Mugabe downwards the state and the government continually describe their situation as one of war, and claim to be besieged on all sides by "enemies", and describe all their opponents, internal and external, as "enemies". This might be dismissed as mere rhetoric if it were not for all the other evidence. The evidence of gross human rights violations, of epidemic levels of organized violence and torture, cannot be separated from the rhetoric. The application of repressive legislation and extended use of the security forces, with the setting up of militia groups, cannot be seen separate from the rhetoric. The muzzling of the press and the interference with normal civilian activity cannot be seen as unrelated to the rhetoric. And, like all periods before in Zimbabwe’s history, the rhetoric accompanies a military style solution to a civic crisis, and the State and the Government wage war upon the citizens.
This conclusion is easily supported by all the existing evidence, and the evidence makes allegations much more serious than is evident from the international response to the Zimbabwe crisis as a small "illegitimacy" problem. The "reduction" of the Zimbabwe crisis to a problem over elections, and hence amenable to a solution around tinkering with electoral law and process does not do justice to the alleged facts. The allegations suggest a much greater problem; much more than electoral fraud or persistent human rights violations. The allegations suggest crimes against humanity, the most grievous crime that can be levelled at a nation. It is not shown in the deaths, but in the policy of politicide implemented by the Mugabe regime since February 2000. As the definition in the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court states, "crime against humanity" mean acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. Torture, when part of a widespread and systematic attack directed at a civilian population, is thus recognized as a crime against humanity, and this allegation can be levelled against the State and the Government of Zimbabwe.
That such a state of affairs describes Zimbabwe today was the clear conclusion of Zimbabweans meeting in Johannesburg in August 2003, and formed the basis for the Declaration of the Johannesburg Symposium. The conclusion is based on a vast outpouring of reports; from local human rights groups, international human rights groups, election observer groups, and even international governments. The allegations in total amount to an extremely serious and unacknowledged problem. The major focus for all this horror is actually very simple to see, but usually leads to an incorrect analysis about the nature of the crisis. Elections are the cause and the goal for all the organized violence and torture, because the issue is the maintenance of political power for Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF. Like Ian Smith before him, Robert Mugabe deals with the legitimate challenge by repressive violence. Unlike Ian Smith, where the issue could not be elections and resort had to be made to purely military defense of his illegitimacy, Robert Mugabe applies military-style defense to the subversion of elections. This is much more important than it appears, for, if the modern world insists that legitimate elections are the constitutive principle for democracy, it follows that subverting this principle becomes one of the most serious violations of the international democratic order.
The consequences, of course, are enormous. As in common with all wars, the usual signs and symptoms of conflict can be seen, but there is a new twist: the Mugabe regime has replaced the bodies of the dead with the shattered psyches of countless victims of torture. In truth, the scale is difficult to estimate, but can be gauged from all the reports, as well as the creation of a vast stream of asylum seekers and refugees. And we have yet to count the long-term costs for the victims, although we know from the previous conflicts in the 1970s and 1980s that we will bear them for decades more. It is not merely the subversion of elections that is at issue here. The waging of civil war, through a policy of politicide, subverts another crucial constitutive principle of democracy: the vital consensus that people must give to the State for it to have "deep" legitimacy. It was the withdrawal of this consensus from the racist White government of the 1960s by the black people of Zimbabwe that led inevitably to the conflict of the 1970s and the demise of the Smith regime. Zimbabweans have long since withdrawn their consent for the Mugabe regime.
Since 1999, all opinion polls, reports, and research have shown the gap between the demand and the supply of democracy. Zimbabweans have demanded a change in the nature of their governance, and indicated very clearly their dissatisfaction with the existing democratic arrangements. Their aspirations have not been met, and instead they have learned rather that they cannot popularly elect their leaders; that they have no power to control their leaders; that they cannot protect their own rights and freedoms; and that their aspirations to social justice have collapsed with the rampant corruption and catastrophic economic mismanagement. This is all common cause, and hence the problem is much greater than elections. The response by the democratic forces in Zimbabwe to this onslaught has been to insist throughout on democratic, non-violent resistance. This too is common cause, despite all the attempts by the Mugabe regime to paint the opposition political party and civil society as enemies in cahoots with imperialist forces, aiming at the unconstitutional overthrow of the State. The response internationally has been less than satisfactory. The tendency to respond in a "reduced" fashion around the problem of elections has avoided the problem over consensus, and hence the need to respond politically to a political crisis. Furthermore, the reduced problem leads exactly to the terrain upon which Robert Mugabe feels most comfortable; that of the validity of elections rather than the validity of the State.
The way forward is not to ignore elections, but to also focus upon the bigger picture, and here it becomes critical to consider the allegations as a whole. Like South Africa before, it is imperative to focus on the whole picture; to have considered the disenfranchisement of black South Africans only could not have led to the world understanding apartheid as a crime against humanity, and to the political isolation of South Africa. Political crisis requires political action, and only two courses lie before the international community if it is serious about abbreviating the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans. Political crisis requires a multi-lateral response, and the two appropriate multi-lateral institutions have remained wholly aloof. The first of these institutions is the Security Council of the United Nations, and it has been imperative for some time now that the Zimbabwe crisis requires at the very least investigation by the Secretary-General’s Office. A visit to investigate the allegations put forward by all observers is not only in order, but long overdue. Not to do so leads to the perception that the international legislation that governs the UN has no real meaning.
The second institution is the African Union. In terms of the new statute, the AU recognizes the right of the Union to intervene in a member state pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in respect of grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. It can legitimately asked how the AU will determine whether such a state of affairs exists in the absence of direct investigation, and it can thus be asked of the AU when it will investigate Zimbabwe. Today, on the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture, it seems fair to ask that at the very least the allegations made by Zimbabwean victims be investigated. The victims do assert the right to more than a fair hearing, and to fail to do this will violate another important aspect of the consensus that must underpin international democracy. Zimbabwe is not merely a problem of national consensus, but is yet another opportunity to protect and expand the consensus for international democracy. Failure to observe this consensus leads inevitably to Iraq. For the victims of torture in Zimbabwe, it will mean the prospect of further betrayal and the probability of more suffering, for they will not heal until the crisis is done. It will lead to the creation of new victims, and deeper problems for a hoped for posterity. All it takes is a small step: to investigate seriously what is happening in Zimbabwe, and to see the crisis as political, both in root and branch. It is not about elections and the problems these cause; it about the withdrawal of consent that cause elections to become problems. See this and the world will see the crisis in its true light; see this and the plight of the victims of torture will become visible.
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From Associated Press, 26 June
Zimbabwe moves to keep out vote observers
Harare - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's government has agreed to adopt regionally accepted election standards - including translucent ballot boxes - in a bid to eliminate the need for western "imperialist" observers, a state newspaper reported Saturday. Mugabe's hand-picked 26-member politburo agreed in a special session to adopt election guidelines drawn up by the 14 member Southern Africa Development Community ahead of the March 2005 general elections, the state-run Herald newspaper reported. The reforms were necessary because of "the intrusive behavior of the U.S. and (European Union), who often declare elections not free and fair when the results are not in their political interest," the newspaper quoted a politburo source as saying. Zimbabwe will seek regional approval for the new guidelines at the development community's summit in August in Mauritius, the report said. International observers rejected the June 2000 parliamentary and March 2002 general elections, citing widespread intimidation and vote rigging. But Mugabe, 80, claimed victory in both polls. Mugabe vowed last week not to allow Western observers to monitor future elections. "We will not allow the erstwhile imperialists to judge our elections. We ask our friends to judge us." Under the reforms, Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede will no longer run elections, which will instead be overseen by a five member electoral commission whose chairman would be appointed by Mugabe. Elections will be held on a single day, not two or three as before. Translucent ballot boxes will used to prevent "stuffing," and counting will be done at polling centers rather than at a single, central location. A special court will be established to arbitrate all disputes within six months of the elections, the report said.
Opposition Movement for Democratic Change party's leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims the courts have delayed challenges to previous elections for more than four years. The MDC won 57 of the 120 elected seats in 2000. Successful challenges to another 37 are pending. These would have sealed a majority in the 150 seat house despite Mugabe's ability to nominate 30 members. Modeled along the lines of the politburo of the former Soviet Union, the ruling party Zanu PF body outranks the cabinet as the nation's top policy making council. Its members include veteran politicians, ministers and service chiefs appointed by Mugabe. John Makumbe, a political scientist at the University of Zimbabwe and head of the local chapter of the anti-corruption group Transparency International, dismissed the government's reforms. "It has the perfected air of hoodwinking the regional community," Makumbe said. "Mugabe always places the right people in positions to manage elections. It is a step backward because as a result of this the whole of SADC is going to say our elections are free and fair when it is not true." Zimbabwe is in economic and political turmoil blamed on the government-sanctioned seizure of thousands of white owned forms for redistribution to landless black Zimbabweans. Inflation is at a record high and there are shortages of food, medicines, fuel and currency.
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From ZWNEWS, 27 June
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Zimbabweans who gathered in London on Saturday at a service of solidarity for torture victims heard tales of brutality and witnessed enduring courage. Several of the speakers, an opposition member of Parliament, a human rights lawyer and a former student leader, came from Zimbabwe to testify and then return home. "I am not afraid. I have experienced a lot … I am now prepared to die for the sake of the people of Zimbabwe," MP Evelyn Masaiti said in almost matter of fact tones as she left the service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. Mrs Masaiti, opposition legislator for Mutasa in Manicaland, arrived in London just hours before the service, after being detained, threatened and having her luggage searched by intelligence agents at Harare Airport. "They tried to stop me going and they threatened to deal with me when I came back to Zimbabwe. I am prepared for any eventuality." And the 39-year-old well knows what that could mean. Over the past few years she has been jailed, beaten and threatened by police, soldiers, so-called war veterans and Mugabe’s violent youth militia. After her husband was beaten up, his health deteriorated and he died. Her five children seldom leave home for fear of being abducted.
The London service was organised by Amnesty International UK and other human rights organisations to show solidarity with Zimbabweans on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. A simultaneous service was held at St Mary's Cathedral in Bulawayo, led by Archbishop Pius Ncube. "We, who gather here freely, honour their courage and their witness," the Rev. Liz Griffiths said of those at the Bulawayo service. In London, a choir of Zimbabwean exiles sang hymns in Shona, Ndebele and English, culminating with the anthem Nkosi sikilel’ iAfrica. Afterwards, in a procession of several hundred, the Zimbabweans walked to the nearby Zimbabwe Embassy, laid wreaths, and sang. In the foreground, Mugabe stared from a huge picture above the slogan "Wanted for the Murder of" - followed by long list of the names of victims. Both services focussed on the plight of youth and children living in a climate of hatred and fear, in a land wracked by HIV/AIDS. "We have created a generation of torturers who will be with us for many years to come," said human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, referring to the notorious youth camps set up by the regime. After the service, Ms. Mtetwa joked as she prepared to head for Heathrow Airport and back to Harare. "I hope they are not too many people to meet me," she said.
Tinashe Chimedza, general-secretary of the Zimbabwe National Students Union until 2002, who was expelled from the University of Zimbabwe for opposing the regime, was also returning home. He described being beaten semi-conscious in April by half a dozen policemen after police sealed off a hall where he had been invited to address a meeting on education. Outside, his lawyer was barred from entering. After the beating, he was taken to a police station and thrown on the floor, bleeding. He spent eight days in hospital. Because of his facial injuries, he has difficulty eating. "What about those people whose torture you have not heard?" said Chimedza. "There are many there whose stories are far more gruesome than mine." During the service, the voice of Archbishop Ncube, in a taped interview, echoed through St. Martin-in-the-Fields. He spoke of the misery, the hunger, the starvation and widely discredited claims by Mugabe that the country needs no more international food aid. "Mugabe would not care if 500,000 Zimbabweans died of starvation,’’ said the archbishop, who is denounced and harassed by Mugabe agents at home, and internationally renowned abroad. He said the international community was keen to speak out against the abuses by the Mugabe regime. "The people who are at fault are the African leaders," he said. "The African leaders back Mugabe hook, line and sinker...Mbeki knows what is going on in Zimbabwe, but he doesn’t face the truth about it." He added that, apart from the presidents of Botswana, Kenya and Zambia, the African leaders’ stance is "since he is African let us support him, even though he is wrong."
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From News24 (SA), 26 June
Zim will run out of food
Bulawayo - A prominent Zimbabwean Roman Catholic archbishop warned on Saturday that his countrymen would soon start dying of starvation and accused the government of lying about the level of foodstocks. Speaking at a service to mark United Nations Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Pius Ncube, Archbishop of Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo, also said "lots" of Zimbabweans had been tortured to death. "We will have people perishing because of a government that tells lies," Ncube, an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe's government, told some 2 000 people gathered in a Bulawayo cathedral for a special service. "The people have no food. I have been to a couple of places this week. I have been to Lupane, Tsholotsho, Plumtree and Beitbridge (in southern Zimbabwe) and the people say that they will run out of food by the end of August," said Ncube.
On Friday, the government repeated its earlier claims that it expected a bumper maize harvest of 2.4m tons, which it said was sufficient to meet local needs. It said it would not need food aid from donor nations, which last year fed some six million Zimbabweans, who are already grappling with sky-high inflation, a crippling unemployment rate and occasional fuel shortages. The government's optimistic food forecasts have been disputed by independent analysts and the opposition. During the two-hour long service, choirs sang hymns in Zimbabwe's different languages - Shona, Ndebele and English - while members of the congregation lit candles in memory of torture victims. "We have lots of people in this country who have been tortured and they have left everything to God," Ncube said. "But as Christians we have to stand up to torture." Opposition groups and non-governmental organisations in politically tense Zimbabwe allege that supporters of Mugabe's party have used torture against government opponents over the last four years.
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From The Sunday Times (SA), 27 June
Sunday Times takes on Mugabe, Nujoma
The Sunday Times is fighting an attempt by Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and Namibia's President Sam Nujoma to hijack its name for propaganda purposes. The newspaper has taken legal steps to fight plans by Mugabe and Nujoma to launch a regional newspaper called the New Sunday Times, widely believed to be a direct challenge to the Sunday Times - which has exposed greed and corruption in Zimbabwe and Namibia, as well as the economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe this week stepped up its efforts to launch the new newspaper. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, who is leading the media crackdown in the country, is spearheading the project. Moses Magadza, who is to edit the New Sunday Times, has been dispatched from the state-owned Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (Zimpapers) to Namibia to prepare for the launch. Sources said Magadza, the assistant editor of the state-run daily The Herald, is in Windhoek to finalise issues on staff, offices, computers, and logistics. So far the paper has only two cars, one for the editor and one for the newsroom. Dummy editions have already been produced and the paper's masthead is said to be similar to that of the Sunday Times.
But attorneys acting for the Sunday Times have written to the publishers of the new paper in both Namibia and Zimbabwe, warning them that any use of the name New Sunday Times would constitute an infringement of the Sunday Times's rights to the well-known trademark. The letter was sent to Namibia's New Era Publishing Corporation, which is wholly owned by Nujoma's government, and to Zimpapers. New Era acknowledged receipt of the letter, but there has been no response from Zimbabwe. The Sunday Times is distributed in both countries. "The Sunday Times is a credible and trustworthy newspaper, and we will not allow Mugabe and Nujoma to hijack its good name without putting up a fight," said Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya. "We will continue to investigate and publish stories of interest to the people of Southern Africa, regardless of the discomfort this may bring to those in power."
It is understood the new paper will be funded by the Zimbabwean and Namibian governments as well as by Zimpapers and New Era. Moyo has visited Namibia, Zambia and Mozambique to make contact with state-media organisations to counter the "hostile press" - Zimbabwe's independent press; South African papers, in particular the Sunday Times and the Mail & Guardian; and foreign media. Zimbabwe's government-controlled Sunday Mail this week warned that authorities want to gag the Mail & Guardian for using "unaccredited" journalists and for printing and distributing its editions "clandestinely" in the country. The government-appointed Media and Information Commission is to probe the Mail & Guardian. Commission chairman Tafataona Mahoso and Moyo have presided over the closures of the Daily News, Daily News on Sunday and the Tribune.
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From IRIN (UN), 24 June
Alarm over HIV prevalence in armed forces
Harare - Health workers in Zimbabwe have called for increased efforts to stem the high number of AIDS-related deaths in the armed forces. The recently released 2003 Zimbabwe Human Development Report claimed that HIV prevalence in the armed forces far exceeded the general population infection rate of 24.6 percent in the general population, and three-quarters of soldiers died of AIDS within a year of leaving the army. A UNAIDS survey undertaken in 1999 showed that 55 percent of the then 36,000-strong army were HIV-positive. "In the military, young and socially inexperienced people are recruited and trained to be fearless and aggressive. While this is good for war situations, research shows that the youthful soldiers carry this approach into civilian life and into their private sexual interactions," the report noted. The study was compiled by the Poverty Reduction Forum and the Institute of Development Studies, with support from the UN Development Programme.
Sostain Moyo, director of the Pan-African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM), told IRIN the high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the army could be attributed to how the military functioned. "Even though there is no concrete research done to prove it, the military would tend to be [more] vulnerable [to HIV infection] because of the manner in which soldiers operate," said Moyo. "They are highly mobile, and this exposes them a lot [to possible infection]." The situation was compounded by a lack of HIV/AIDS intervention programmes in the army structure. "The army needs voluntary counselling and testing centres. [Soldiers] would be counselled on how to live positively and what they can do to avoid passing the virus on to other people," Moyo suggested. "Recruits can be screened if the practice is guided by the goal to fight HIV/AIDS in the army. It [testing] should be regular [and] extended even to those who have served for some time. Screening, however, becomes meaningless if it is meant to stop some people from joining in the military, since this promotes discrimination and stigmatisation," he said. Civil rights groups have opposed compulsory testing, citing the infringement of privacy.
The health ministry has pointed out that soldiers were put at greater risk of contracting the virus by the very nature of military operations: military camps, where soldiers are posted on missions or for training, are often situated in remote and poor areas; and the camps are seen as high-income areas by the local communities, particularly female sex workers. A military base can have as many as 1,000 soldiers, of which most reside in single quarters or are placed with civilian families in neighbouring villages. "Research suggests that members of the military [guarding borders] are offered sex in return for allowing vendors and other traders to pass through [customs] without paying duty," the report added. Twenty-three year old James Guyo (not his real name), a Lance Corporal with the Zimbabwe National Army, told IRIN that frequent posting away from the base was one of the major factors contributing to the high HIV infection rate among soldiers. Soon after graduating four years ago, Guyo was posted to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), when Zimbabwe was part of a Southern Africa Development Community effort helping the besieged DRC government repel a rebel takeover.
"As you can imagine, like hundreds of my colleagues, I was excited to be in the bush for the first time - more so because I had never ventured outside our borders," he said. "The war experience was horrible, but we found our solace in the brothels of Kinshasa [DRC's capital]. Also, it was my first time employed, [and] I found it gratifying to spend my money on women of the DRC, maybe also as a way of beating homesickness," Guyo told IRIN. He admitted that he had unprotected sex and contracted a sexually transmitted disease while in the DRC, but thought it unlikely that he had contracted HIV, as he had not experienced any symptoms of infection since returning home. Although more than 10 of his friends have died of AIDS-related illnesses over past two years, Guyo was reluctant to undergo an HIV test. "Even if the army would set up its own testing centres, I do not see myself going there. Being tested or not, what difference does it make when you are going to die? After all, as a soldier, I was taught not to fear death," he told IRIN.
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From The Sunday Times (S), 27 June
Now Moyo hits us with his music
Sunday Times Foreign Desk
Zimbabwe's Information Minister Jonathan Moyo is now literally singing for his supper - he is to launch a propaganda album next month. The 26-song, double-CD collection titled Back2Black and an accompanying video will be launched in Zimbabwe's leading holiday resort town, Victoria Falls, on July 10. Moyo's department is picking up the tab, which is believed to run into millions. A group called PaxAfro is understood to have recorded the album although some of the songs were compiled and produced by Moyo, according to a musician associated with the project. Moyo, who studied music in the US, has in recent years roped in musicians, Zimbabwe's national soccer team and even beauty queens in bids to shore up the battered image of President Robert Mugabe's regime, which is battling with a deep political and economic crisis. According to the invitation to the launch of Moyo's album, the country' s information department will pay some of the expenses of the function. The department has made a block booking at the five-star Elephant Hills Hotel where lunch and dinner will be provided to guests for free. The launch itself will take place on a boat.
Moyo has defended Mugabe's beleaguered regime tirelessly, using whatever platform available. However, he has of late found himself clashing with colleagues - including Mugabe's London-based international publicist David Nyekorach Matsanga - in a vicious power struggle for Mugabe's job. Mugabe is set to retire in four years' time. Matsanga, a Ugandan, recently accused "thugs" associated with Moyo of assaulting him at the Harare airport and robbing him. And this week, he called Moyo an "indefatigable gay pig and shallow-minded gay rant". Matsanga said he had written to Mugabe, asking the president to control his "minister of disinformation and regime change from within". "The agony of defending Zimbabwe abroad has brought self-inflicting damage and misery to my international image. I faced the Zimbabwe situation without fear but with devotion and passion," Matsanga said. "[But] the last few months have seen an upsurge in dirty gay toxins printed against me in the government-owned newspaper, The Herald." Matsanga accused Moyo of engineering "rabid gay attacks" against him. The Herald has slammed Matsanga, taking him to task over his former role as spokesman for Ugandan rebel movement the Lord's Resistance Army, which has been accused of killing, raping and torturing people.
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From The Star (SA), 28 June
Zimbabwe's ruling party sacks publisher
Harare - President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF has expelled the publisher of a weekly newspaper that was closed down by a state commission this month, on charges of undermining the party. Kindness Paradza, publisher of the weekly Tribune newspaper and a member of parliament for Makonde, was sacked yesterday after a meeting of a provincial party committee. "Paradza is no longer a Zanu PF member and he has to immediately vacate his seat in parliament," said Phillip Chiyangwa, Zanu PF chairperson in Mashonaland West province, where Makonde is situated. "He is guilty of misconduct and undermining the party by working with anti-government elements, which makes him a threat to Zanu PF. He also has problems in working with the provincial executive and we can't work with him," Chiyangwa said. The state's Media and Information Commission cancelled The Tribune's licence early this month after accusing its new owners of failing to report ownership changes as required under the country's tough media laws. State media reported this year that Paradza had sought foreign funding for the paper from former colonial power Britain.
Paradza denied the charge, saying he was looking for new markets for The Tribune among Zimbabweans based abroad. Last week, he challenged the paper's closure in the high court where judgment was reserved. Chiyangwa said Paradza was expelled unanimously and the party was looking for a candidate to replace him. Under Zimbabwean laws, an MP expelled from a political party immediately relinquishes the seat to pave way for a by-election. Paradza was not immediately available for comment. The Tribune's shutdown followed the forced closure of Zimbabwe's leading private daily newspaper on charges of publishing without a licence as required by the media laws. The Daily News, critical of Mugabe's government, has been closed since October pending a final determination on its legal status by Zimbabwe's Supreme Court. Mugabe says private media have spearheaded a Western propaganda campaign against his government over its seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.
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From The Daily Telegraph (UK), 28 June
Mugabe bans western election observers
By David Blair, Africa Correspondent
Zimbabwe's opposition accused President Robert Mugabe of trying to "fool" the world yesterday when he banned election observers from any western country from covering parliamentary polls due next year. Coming amid food shortages and economic collapse, the contest represents a crucial hurdle for Mr Mugabe. He has already begun a campaign to guarantee victory and hand his African allies enough reason to give the election a clean bill of health. Mr Mugabe, 80, told a summit of developing countries in Mozambique that only observers from "our friends in the Third World" would be allowed to monitor the polls. "We will not allow the erstwhile imperialists to judge our elections," he said. His regime agreed to adopt some international standards designed to ensure a fair contest. Transparent ballot boxes will be used as a safeguard against "stuffing". Counting will happen at polling stations instead of a single location and voting will be on a single day rather than over a weekend. But Zimbabwe's opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), believes these reforms are wholly inadequate. It suspects that Mr Mugabe's real aim is to give South Africa, his crucial ally, enough grounds to declare the election free and fair.
"They are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of southern African countries," said Tendai Biti, the MDC's economic affairs secretary. "No one should be excited by measures that are meant to fool the international community. You cannot achieve a free and fair election on the basis of these measures." Militias from Mr Mugabe's Zanu PF party have for four years conducted a reign of terror against his opponents. Draconian laws ban criticism of the president and force the opposition to seek police permission for any gathering. Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, is awaiting the verdict of his trial on charges of treason, which carries the death penalty. All radio and television channels are conduits for official propaganda and the Daily News, the only independent daily, was shut down last year. The BBC and most foreign news organisations are banned from Zimbabwe. Mr Biti said this amounted to a "state of emergency by the back door" and rendered normal political campaigning impossible. "The government has done nothing to address basic law and order issues such as the violence we have seen all over the country." The MDC is unable to function effectively and the party is likely to lose most of its 52 seats in parliament when the election is held next March. It recently lost two by-elections in former strongholds. Election observers from South Africa gave a favourable verdict on Mr Mugabe's victory in the presidential polls of 2002. The president hopes they will do the same for the coming parliamentary contest - while any observers likely to disagree will be banned.
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From The Sunday Mirror, 28 June
Mawere under siege
Masimba Rushwaya
It never rains but pours for embattled businessman, Mutumwa Mawere as it has emerged that the acquisitive tycoon’s companies have run into a spot of bother. Reliable sources have confirmed that the ruling Zanu PF party has tightened its screws on the "thankless" Mawere by squeezing the cash flows of his two entities, namely FSI Agricom and SMM Holdings. The sources revealed that one of Mawere’s sphere of influence, First Banking Corporation (First Bank), had received instructions "from above" not to process any transactions from the two stables. In effect the companies cannot do business. Mawere, through Zimre Holdings, owns a 21 percent stake in First Bank and, naturally, in order to keep funds within the same circles, most of his companies had accounts with "the family", i.e. First Bank. The Sunday Mirror is reliably informed that all companies linked with Mawere have had their accounts with First Bank frozen. Most of them had usually borrowed from First Bank under SMM during times of losses and foreign currency exposure. Mawere, when contacted yesterday, said that he could not talk much as he has a pending court case. "In any case I don’t know why you are asking me all these questions when I am just a shareholder. I am not a signatory to First Bank’s cheques. I am not involved in the day to day business of these companies that you say have had their accounts frozen," he said. This has always been Mawere’s main line of reasoning when quizzed about his empire. When told that as a major shareholder in most of these companies, he should have cause for concern over the latest developments he said: "Shamwari, kondikafa (My friend if I die) will those companies cease from existence? Do you know the shareholders of Barclays Bank? The original shareholders died a long time ago but the bank is still in existence. Anyway, in terms of corporate law there is what is termed limited liability. I cannot answer for all companies that I have made an investment in. Hunenge husisiri hupenyu (It would not be life)."
As to whether it was true that he would never again set foot in Zimbabwe, Mawere dismissed the media reports saying that this was spicing up of news. "Zimbabwe kumusha kwangu (is my home), and why should I run away? The way you people sometimes write your stories, I don’t know." Pressed as to when he intended to return to his country, Mawere preferred to keep mum saying that he was not sure when he would return. It has been revealed that First Bank had garnished US$3 000 from SMM’s account after it had failed to settle a Z$6 billion advance loan with the bank. SMM has, in effect, moved to Genesis Merchant Bank, which is now facilitating all its business. Apparently, Mawere also has an indirect interest in Genesis, and his right hand man, Solomon Tembo, is the current chairman of the bank’s board. Tembo is the chief operating officer of Zimre Holdings and also sits on the board of First Bank. Tembo revealed yesterday that he was not aware of the latest goings on, as he was a non-executive director of the bank. "Look, I don’t know the day to day running of the bank. For example, you may have an account with the bank but I would not know that. In any case, even if I were aware of the status of the companies accounts, I would not be at liberty to divulge such information to you. The status of corporate accounts is confidential. The best you can do is get in touch with the executive directors." Several of the "top dogs" that head the intricate web in Mawere’ s empire could not be reached on their mobile phones yesterday. These included First Bank’s managing director, Livingstone Gwata and executive director, Mberikwazo Chitambo and FSI managing director, Ivan Savala.
Unconfirmed reports point to the fact that the current crackdown on the business mogul is at the behest of an influential government and ruling party official, who is said to be maternally related to Mawere and with whom it is rumoured that they have since fallen out. Mawere is said to have been "ungrateful" to the party for what it has done for him, in view of the fact that he was given Shabanie and Mashaba Mines (also known as African Associated Mines) on a silver platter as he virtually did not pay a cent for its purchase. When Mawere returned to Zimbabwe from his World Bank brief in South Africa, he established African Resources Limited, a holding company registered in the British Virgin Islands, and used it to purchase Shabanie Mashaba Mines (Private) Limited. The owners, Turner and Newall were looking for a buyer of their mines and associated companies, Turnall Fibre Cement, Tube and Pipe Industries and Tap Construction, a Zambian based building products supplier. The ruling party and government official is said to have taken an active interest in promoting Mawere, and aggressively lobbied Turnall to sell him the mines, during the then heydays of the government’s economic indigenisation policy. The mines were being sold for US$60 million but he (Mawere) only paid out a meagre US$1 with the balance being paid over a year in monthly instalments, from company sales. To protect its interests, Turnall held the company shares in trust until they were paid in full.
Both the government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe approved the deal, as part of its then much vaunted indigenisation programme. The government simply issued a guarantee to the sellers. This was to be the first negotiated buy-out of a foreign held mine by a single black Zimbabwean. The confirmed entrance of Zanu PF director of information, Frederick Shava and Manicaland provincial chairman Mike Madiro into the scheme of things as directors of First Bank is viewed as a calculated attempt to neutralise Mawere and to audit the way he has done business. This comes on the back of allegations that Mawere, or his associate companies, had indulged in foreign currency externalisation practices. There are reports that the High Court of Witwatersrand Division in Johannesburg (South Africa) had granted a company called Peter Trading of South Africa access to US$18.5 million, Canadian $620 000 and R4.5 million. These amounts were supposed to be remitted to Zimbabwe by Southern Asbestos Sales (SAS), the marketing arm of African Associated Mines (AAM).
Peter Trading, SAS and AAM went to court after AAM failed to pay a debt for equipment and spare parts supplied to AAM. Peter Trading and AAM had an agreement that allowed the former to access funds held by SAS as payment for services rendered. Sources have revealed that as at March 31, 2004, SAS owed AAM a total of R127.1 million. However, SAS indicated to AAM that a balance of R52.2 million, which had arisen after paying Peter Trading, would be used to pay other AAM debts. Consequently, no funds were to be remitted to Zimbabwe.The Sunday Mirror is reliably informed that on April 29, 2004, William Mudekunye, chairman of SMM Holdings, wrote to SAS indicating that Peter Trading’s action was in accordance with an existing agreement and offered no defence against Peter Trading’s desire to access SAS funds. The following day, SAS in turn wrote to Peter Trading indicating that it would not oppose the court application. AAM is accused of not having followed Zimbabwe Exchange Control regulations that stipulate that before any payment is made to a foreign company for goods and services, the local partner should seek central bank approval first. Shava and Madiro were present at First Bank’s recent annual general meeting (AGM) and Gwata is on record as having confirmed their appointment as directors.
The SMM stable comprises asbestos giant Turnall Holdings, Steelnet, General Beltings, Shabanie Mashava Mines and Fortress Travel Tours. FSI Agricom is mainly involved in the contract farming scheme with mainly new farmers. Recent media reports have indicated that the company is facing severe cash flow and liquidity problems. Retrenchment is said to be looming at FSI with many facing the axe. It is alleged that the new regulations contained in the monetary policy statement had a negative effect on FSI Agricom’s operations as government announced that it would channel funds to assist newly resettled farmers through the Agricultural Development Bank of Zimbabwe (the Land Bank). Previously, agricultural service and input suppliers dealt with various ministries and financial institutions of their choice. The lack of institutional support to A2 farmers through companies such as FSI had further strained the company’s financial position. Three of the company’s subsidiaries had been affected by the latest developments, namely FSI Tobacco, FSI Soya and FSI Farms. The subsidiaries have since been bundled into FSI Farms Northern and FSI Southern, with significant reduced outgrower schemes in all crops.
The Sunday Mirror also has it on good authority that Mawere’s posh South African nightclub, Kilimanjaro, has fallen on hard times. It has been revealed that the nightclub is probably the best in Africa and its cover charge averages R80 or even R300 during public holidays. The club is based in Johannesburg’s plush Melrose Arch, a new multi-billion rand shopping mall development that caters for the elite. Facing liquidity problems, the club was allegedly sold to Zimre by Mawere for R7 million. Effectively, this means that he sold the club to himself, as he is the major shareholder of Zimre through Africa Resources Limited. He was reportedly unable to sustain the two-storied infrastructure and management has since began a crusade of persuading blue chip companies such as Old Mutual (South Africa) to host meals such as dinners en bloc from 5.30 to 1100 p.m. after which the nightclub would open to revellers. Mawere dismissed the idea that he had ever made such an investment in the entertainment industry in the first place, despite reports to the contrary. The empire that Mawere built comprises Zimre, the holding company of Nicoz Diamond, Fidelity Life Assurance, Fidelity Life Asset Management Company, Fidelity Securities, Fidelity Life Medical Aid Society and Zimbabwe Insurance Brokers. Also in the picture are AAM, Steelnet, Turnall, General Beltings, Tube and Pipe Industries, First Bank, Pigott Maskew, FSI, CFI Holdings, with its subsidiaries, Agrifoods, Victoria Foods, Dore and Pitt, Farm & City, Suncrest, Crest Breeders and Ross Breeders, among others. Zimre also once had a 49 percent stake in public transporter, ZUPCO. Other investments are Midsec Security, Fortress Travel and Tours, Words and Images (a PR firm), Textbook Sales, Cernol Chemicals, Ukubambana-Kubatana Investments (UKI), Regatta Financial Services and Firstel.
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From The Zimbabwe Standard, 27 June
Mohadi sues Made
By Nyasha Bosha and Savious Kwinika
Minister wants war veterans evicted from farm
As the government’s chaotic land reforms continue paralysing further the country’s agriculture industry, Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi is suing his Cabinet colleague, Joseph Made, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, in a bid to stop the illegal resettlement of war veterans at his farm in Beitbridge, The Standard can reveal. Mohadi who owns Lot 1 of Lot 10 in Jopembe Block in Beitbridge says he has incurred costs close to $300 million after some war veterans illegally settled on his farm with the blessing of Made. These invaders were interfering with workers, pegging new plots as well as cutting firewood on the farm, he says in court papers filed with the High Court in Bulawayo. The Home Affairs Minister says some of the settlers have even cut the security fence erected at the farm letting loose 75 steers worth $ |
