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Archived News
9th November 2004
Grace Mugabe's suspected lover picked up at airport
Makamba arrested aboard SA plane
Deportees in fatal jump to freedom
Refugee horror exposed
MDC leader facing a second set of charges
Mugabe tests the waters ahead of 2005 poll
Protest on Zimbabwe's borders to stress abuses
Pahad: We need evidence of Zim starving
Tekere speaks on Bennett
Political vultures circle over Bennett's seat
Devaluation stokes up forex black market
Zimbabwe to bar 'uninvited' election observers
That's when I said to them, "You must just kill me"
Coffin carried in Zim protest at Lindela
Lindela: 'My week in hell'
Bennett held in atrocious conditions
Zanu PF gurus plunder $50 billion agriculture fund
President robbed again
Cosatu blasts ANC's 'quiet diplomacy' in Zim
Cosatu's approach to Mugabe 'astounding': Mbeki
Committee to tell house of massive maize harvest shortfall
Mugabe flies to Equatorial Guinea
Lawyers lay siege to farm
Economic solution depends on political will
Parallel market's undying spirit
Insults fly between ANC and Cosatu
'Let's not put all eggs in one basket in Zim'
Zimbabwe's exiles live 'between danger zones'
Mutiple farm ownership scandal deepens
Corruption blow to Zimbabwe's heir apparent
Zimbabwe: what is to be done?
Mugabe faces mounting pressure
High hopes for Mugabe visit to Equatorial Guinea
Mugabe hailed as 'dear child' of Equatorial Guinea
Mugabe's relative fast-tracked in ZRP
SACP rallies behind union comrades
Voters' roll tampering accusations fly in Zimbabwe
Businesspeople in Zim's sights
Police fleece deportees
Zimbabwe MP jailed because he is white
Can Ottawa act against Mugabe?
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From Zim Online (SA), 3 November
Grace Mugabe's suspected lover picked up at airport
Harare - Police yesterday re-arrested top businessman and ruling Zanu PF party politician, James Makamba, allegedly on fresh charges of siphoning foreign currency out of Zimbabwe. The businessman, whom insiders maintain is being targeted by the police because of suspicions that he had been having an adulterous affair with President Robert Mugabe's wife, Grace, was picked up yesterday at Harare international airport as he attempted to leave the country. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena could not be reached for comment on the matter last night. But he told the state-owned Zimbabwe Television last night that Makamba will appear in court today on new allegations of externalising foreign currency. He did not say how much was involved. Makamba's lawyer, George Chikumbirike, confirmed the arrest to Zim Online, but he also was unsure of the details of the case. "He was arrested this afternoon at the airport. We are still trying to get to the bottom of the matter," Chikumbirike said. One of the country's richest businessmen and a former chairman of Zanu PF in Mashonaland Central province, Makamba, spent seven months in jail awaiting trial over charges that he externalised several million pounds and about US$1 million. The state also accused the businessman of buying properties abroad in contravention of Zimbabwe's foreign exchange regulations. But the state was never able to produce evidence to back up most of its claims. And Makamba, who was eventually convicted on his own plea on lesser charges of illegally selling US$130 000 to his mobile phone company, Telecel, was released in August.
Makamba sold forex to Telecel during the height of hard cash shortages in Zimbabwe and when nearly everyone including top government ministers and state corporations were sourcing forex on the black market. Even as the state's case against Makamba case visibly collapsed by the day since his February arrest, magistrates repeatedly refused to grant the businessman bail saying the businessman, who owns multi-billion dollar investments in Zimbabwe, would flee the country. But Zanu PF insiders and close relatives of Makamba privately said his ordeal in jail had less to do with breaking the country's foreign currency laws but more to do with suspicions by Mugabe that the charismatic businessman had been running an affair with Grace. They said operatives from the government's secret service police, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), who are seconded to guard Grace, had told Mugabe about the "unusually frequent and suspicious meetings" between her and Makamba at private places. They claimed that Makamba had also done "himself great harm" by sending flowers and presents to Grace through intermediaries. Some of the flowers were reportedly received on behalf of the First Lady by the CIO security men. Grace is said to have explained her meetings with Makamba as business.
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From The Daily Mirror, 3 November
Makamba arrested aboard SA plane
Brian Mangwende and Constantine Chimakure
It never rains, but pours for Zanu PF central committee member and Telecel Zimbabwe boss, James Makamba. Barely two months after his release from seven months in remand prison on charges of externalising foreign currency, the business magnate was yesterday re-arrested - this time allegedly aboard a Johannesburg-bound flight at the Harare International Airport around 1pm. The police yesterday confirmed the arrest saying Makamba was being charged among other things, with externalisation of foreign currency at Telecel Zimbabwe - the country's third largest mobile phone network, which is also being eyed by former board member Leo Mugabe. Sources in South Africa said Makamba was meant to meet businesspeople in Johannesburg today for marathon meetings. Makamba was then to attend a social function in South Africa. Sources told The Daily Mirror that Makamba was also being accused of non-compliance with regulations set by the Zimbabwe Investment Centre (ZIC) by not informing it of the new-look Telecel board of directors, after a number of them left the company.
Makamba was said to have been "dragged" out of the plane and whisked to Harare Central Police Station and surprisingly handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department, Homicide division, before being transferred to Highlands Police Station where he was expected to spend the night. Impeccable sources said Makamba - whose travel documents were returned to him after he paid a $7,3 million fine to the clerk of court following his conviction on other charges of externalization - had notified the Attorney General's (AG) Office of his trip to South Africa and return date. Makamba's lawyer, George Chikumbirike, said last night that the executive chairman of Kestrel Corporation - a farming, supermarket, security and telecommunications business concern - was nabbed and he was handling the matter. "He was arrested at the airport and taken to Harare Central Police Station's CID Homicide department. I understand he is now being detained at Highlands Police Station where I am going to visit him," Chikumbirike said.
Inquiries by this newspaper yesterday revealed that allegations against Makamba were related to Telecel Zimbabwe. The company was reportedly being accused of not remitting roaming funds to the central bank in terms of the exchange control regulations and also that the change in the board of directors was not communicated to the ZIC. The investigations also revealed that Makamba, through Chikumbirike, wrote a courtesy letter to the AG's Office last week informing it about the trip in the spirit of transparency and that he would return next Tuesday. Sources claimed that the AG's office accepted the letter, which Makamba was in possession of when he was arrested. Last night, acting AG Baret Patel professed ignorance of Makamba's letter. "I know nothing about the letter," Patel said. On allegations of breaching the ZIC regulations, The Daily Mirror is reliably informed that the matter was under arbitration. "Arbitration on the composition of the Telecel board is going on well and parties to the dispute met on Monday and expressed gratification on the progress so far. Makamba was briefed about the meeting before he was due to leave for South Africa," an impeccable source said.
Asked about the timing of the arrest, police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena said: "We do not have a timetable to arrest suspects." The source added that it would be surprising if Makamba were to be charged under the ZIC Act because the arbitration process was in progress. There have been squabbles over Makamba's 40 percent equity in Telecel, with former board member Mugabe saying he was unfairly treated and some demanding the whereabouts of shares that had been warehoused. They claimed that Makamba had changed the company' s shareholding structure and board of directors without their knowledge. At inception, Telecel International owned 40 percent of Telecel Zimbabwe and the Empowerment Corporation (EC) 60 percent. Mugabe said he invested in EC through his company, Integrated Electrical Group (IEG). EC was a fusion of indigenous groups including Makamba's Kestrel Corporation (15 percent), IEG (10 percent), Affirmative Action Group (AAG), IBWO, the Zimbabwe Farmers' Union, the Zimbabwe National Social Security Authority and the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association, all with nine percent each.
The company was granted a licence to operate a cellular network under political consideration, as government wanted to empower previously marginalised black Zimbabweans. Cracks began to emerge within the consortium following differences over the shareholding structure. Makamba's wife, Irene last night said the businessman was arrested intending to travel to South Africa on business and his arrest came as a shock since his criminal trial had ended and the courts returned his travel documents. "My husband was given back his travelling documents and there were no conditions attached if he intended to travel abroad," said Irene. On September 15, Makamba lost his multi-billion-dollar investment at a Mazowe farm he was leasing from the government, following an eviction notice served on him. A letter from the Department of Special Affairs in charge of Lands, Land Reform and Resettlement in the President's Office, said Makamba should vacate the farm in Mazowe District with immediate effect. However, he had since challenged the withdrawal letter.
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From The Daily News Online Edition, 3 November
Deportees in fatal jump to freedom
Johannesburg - Five Zimbabwean illegal immigrants died last week after they jumped from a moving train in a bid to avoid deportation by South African authorities. An eye-witness told The Daily News Online that four youths died near Louis Trichardt in South Africa when they jumped from a speeding train. Efforts to get comment from the South African police over the incident failed yesterday. "The train did not stop and police officers accompanying the deportees did not care or do anything about it," said an eyewitness who declined to be named. He said they were dumped at Beitbridge police station where they were told to go to their homes. He said he stayed in Beitbridge for two days before illegally crossing the border again into South Africa. The eyewitness said another immigrant was thrown out of a moving train by South African police officers. The witness said the immigrant had earlier tried to jump out of the moving train but was restricted by officers who later threw him out of the train. "There were two white police officers who earlier stopped him from jumping out when the train was moving slowly and threw him out when the train had picked speed. They said now you can go and threw him out," said the eyewitness. Scores of Zimbabweans fleeing poverty and state repression in the country cross the border into South Africa illegally where they are harassed and arrested before being sent back to Zimbabwe. A locally-based Zimbabwean non-governmental organisation, the Southern African Women's Institute for Migration Affairs (SAWIMA), said it provides counselling to immigrants who are harassed by South African authorities. The organisation also assists in locating and informing relatives of immigrants who die in South Africa.
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From The Star (SA), 3 November
Refugee horror exposed
Hearing told of death, torture and sodomy
By Jonathan Ancer and Shaun Smillie
They come here seeking a better life, but many of them end up beaten, detained - or in a mortuary. At a hearing into xenophobia yesterday, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) accused the government of not living up to its international obligations to protect foreigners. The litany of abuse against foreigners documented at the hearing, hosted by the Human Rights Commission and parliament's portfolio committee on foreign affairs, included deaths in detention; people with documents being detained; children being detained and abused; appalling facilities and prolonged detention; torture; men and women being held for up to three days under a tree, and South Africans being arrested in the frenzy to round up foreigners. According to Joyce Dube, the situation at Lindela Deportation Centre was so desperate that her organisation, the Southern African Women's Institute for Migration Affairs (Sawima), planned to hold a march tomorrow to call for God to intervene to protect the foreigners.
LHR official Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh said the remains of 25 foreigners who died at Lindela, near Krugersdorp, had been unclaimed at the Leratong Hospital mortuary last year. While the Department of Health has alleged that deaths in detention were because detainees had pre-existing medical conditions, like HIV/Aids, the LHR said its investigation had revealed that most of the people had died very soon after being admitted to the centre. "Lawyers for Human Rights has investigated the circumstances of 16 deaths in Lindela. The causes of death varied from malaria and meningitis, to suicide in one case. The most common cause of death seems to be meningitis and pneumonia," Ramjathan-Keogh said. Dube, a Zimbabwean living in South Africa for the past 12 years, claimed that foreigners had been tortured at Lindela. "Our people face harassment. They are treated like animals and murderers. We heard of one man who was tortured to death - he wasn't a criminal, he just didn't have a green ID. We are going to march to Lindela on Thursday, to ask God to look at the dying children in Lindela."
Butholezwe Nyathi, who deals with health issues for Sawima, said it was shocking that most of those who died at Lindela had suffered from diarrhoea and chest infections. Ramjathan-Keogh said Lindela could accommodate 4 000 detainees but overcrowding was a serious concern - especially in winter, when temperatures can drop below zero. "Sickness and disease are easily spread and many detainees contract influenza and other viral ailments." Ramjathan-Keogh said there weren't adequate medical facilities at the centre, with a doctor consulting there for only an hour a day. The Department of Home Affairs had been arresting and detaining children and some had been abused. "There was an incident of sodomy of a Zimbabwean child by a group of adult detainees in December." Ramjathan-Keogh said there had been numerous incidents in which refugees with relevant permits were arrested and detained, despite being able to prove their status. Ramjathan-Keogh said 176 foreigners had been detained at Lindela for longer than the maximum 30 days last month.
Between January and September, the LHR secured the release of 295 unlawfully detained foreigners. They had serious concerns for the way foreigners were deported from Musina, near the border with Zimbabwe. "In September, more than 1 000 Zimbabweans were deported over three days. They are detained at the Musina police station under appalling conditions. "The detention facility comprises an area enclosed by a wire-mesh fence around a tree. "There is no drinking water or ablution facilities in the enclosure. Men, women and children are detained in the same enclosure. Detainees can be held here for up to three days until they are deported." But it wasn't only foreigners who were detained - in the rush to round up illegal immigrants, South Africans were also being unlawfully arrested. Ramjathan-Keogh explained that to identify illegal foreigners, authorities relied on "profiling" - darker skin colour, manner of dress and hairstyle.
NGOs agreed that the government had all the necessary legislation in place to combat xenophobia, but was not living up to its own laws. Florencia Belvedere, the acting director of the Agency for Social Enquiry, said that while SA had made great strides, the government should do more to fight xenophobia. "The government needs to lead by example. Politicians have said that foreigners are the reason that the RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) has failed, and for the rise of crime. "We need to separate myth from reality. We must be proactive. The government must make a concerted effort. We must not wait until we see on TV that the police are using foreigners for dog training before we react," she said. Belvedere's submission raised the hackles of MP Mewa Ramgobin, who said he did not appreciate being told what to do. "To say that this (xenophobia) is a responsibility of the government is a half-baked reflection of the past. For heaven's sake, don't exclude the question of race," he said. "I'm passing the buck to you (civil society). What are your programmes? When did you go to the government and say 'let's form a partnership (to combat xenophobia)'?" Lawrence Mavundla, of the African Council of Hawkers and Informal Business, said local traders did not have problems with foreigners, but the system was fuelling conflict. Lindela officials, the police and Home Affairs officials will be given the opportunity to respond to these allegations during the three-day hearing.
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From AFP, 3 November
MDC leader facing a second set of charges
Harare - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, recently cleared of plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe, appeared before a magistrate's court on Wednesday for a routine remand hearing on separate treason charges. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, who has been regularly appearing in court for remand since June last year, was ordered to return to court on January 13. The second set of charges against Tsvangirai arose from mass anti-government protests dubbed the "final push", which he organised last year after which he was accused of urging Zimbabweans to oust Mugabe, in power since independence in 1980. The state accuses Tsvangirai of inciting his supporters to overthrow the government and engage in acts of public violence. He denied that the strikes and marches were aimed at removing the 80-year-old head of state, arguing they were spontaneous demonstrations of public anger at the economic and social hardships faced by the common man. The southern African country last year went through its worst social and economic woes with acute shortages of food, fuel and bank notes, while inflation shot over the 600 percent mark. A fortnight ago, the High Court acquitted Tsvangirai of charges of plotting to assassinate Mugabe ahead of the 2002 presidential elections. But the government, unhappy with the acquittal, is preparing to appeal against the ruling.
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The Mail & Guardian (SA), 3 November
Mugabe tests the waters ahead of 2005 poll
Harare - Zimbabwe's ruling party has launched new membership cards as a way of testing its popularity ahead of next year's polls, state television reported on Tuesday. Members and senior party officials will now have to pay monthly subscription fees to belong to President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu PF, the party's finance secretary said. "Any serious political party, as Zanu PF is, needs to know its membership strength," David Karimanzira said in comments broadcast on the main television news. "What would be the best way to determine the membership strength besides through payment of membership fees and subscriptions?" Ordinary membership cards, which are valid from now until 2009, will cost Z$5 000 per card, the report said. Meanwhile, monthly subscriptions would also need to be paid by members, with officials in the decision-making politburo paying the highest amount of Z$42 000 dollars per month the report said. The announcement comes as the country prepares for polls next March. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is lobbying other countries in the southern African region to pressure Harare for a postponement of these. The MDC has said it would participate only if the Mugabe government stuck to electoral reforms.
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From The Star (SA), 4 November
Protest on Zimbabwe's borders to stress abuses
Amnesty International hopes it will encourage SADC leaders to take action
Amnesty International South Africa is to hold a border-to-border rally against human rights transgressions in Zimbabwe next month. Citizens of Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa are to march to Zimbabwe's various borders on December 10, which is also International Human Rights Day. Amnesty International South Africa (Aisa) campaign co-ordinator Joseph Dube yesterday said an estimated 5 000 people were expected to take part in next month's demonstration. "We have done polls in South Africa and found there is interest from about 2 500 people. With the participants from the other countries, we are expecting 5 000 people." Dube said the rally was meant to draw regional and international attention to the worsening situation in Zimbabwe. "We want to show solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, who are suffering under human rights abuses. We want to raise global awareness of the declining situation and to call on the Zimbabwean government to change its oppressive behaviour." Aisa would bus people to the borders and would also provide food and water. Dube did express concern about an e-mail sent out this week from the offices of the Concerned Citizens of Zimbabwe, which warned that the rallies would make entering Zimbabwe dangerous. The e-mail claims the borders at Beit Bridge, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique would be closed between December 4 and 8 due to the demonstrations.
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From The Cape Argus (SA), 4 November
Pahad: We need evidence of Zim starving
By Sheena Adams
The government will wait for "concrete information" that the Zimbabwean people are starving before intervening in the food crises alleged by certain aid organisations. Deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad told the National Assembly the government would intervene "if and when" it received evidence of President Robert Mugabe's government manipulating food policy. His comments came in response to a question by DA chief whip Douglas Gibson, who referred to a Amnesty International report which accused the state-controlled Grain Marketing Board of using a distribution system that discriminated against supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. "There are millions of our brothers and sisters there who are on verge of starvation ... I care about them," Gibson said. Pahad replied that there was "no indication" that the government was interfering in the food situation in a bid to manipulate the outcome of next year's elections. "If and when there is mass starvation in Zimbabwe and our high commissioner is able to report that, then obviously we will expect him and the Zimbabwean government to ask for further assistance," Pahad said.
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From The Daily Mirror, 4 November
Tekere speaks on Bennett
From Netsai Kembo in Mutare
In an extra twist to the Chimanimani legislator Roy Bennett saga, former Zanu PF secretary-general and veteran nationalist Edgar Tekere has queried the composition of the Parliamentary Privileges Committee that recommended Bennett be jailed for 15 months for flooring Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in Parliament. The five-member committee comprised Labour Minister Paul Mangwana as chairman, Chief Jonathan Mangwende and Minister of Rural Resources and Infrastructure Development Joyce Mujuru, all from Zanu PF, as well as Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti of the opposition MDC. Tekere - who fell out of favour with the ruling Zanu PF in 1989 - said the committee was improperly constituted because the ruling party members outnumbered the MDC . He also wondered why Minister of State in the President's Office responsible for Anti-corruption and Anti-monopolies Programmes, Didymus Mutasa, was let off the hook "when he had also assaulted Bennett". President Robert Mugabe expelled Tekere, a former labour minister, in 1989 allegedly because of his fierce stance against corruption, while it was taboo to query the transparency of senior party colleagues. Without showing any remorse, Mutasa, a Zanu PF stalwart, has admitted in local and international media interviews and also before the committee that he kicked Bennett during the scuffle in Parliament.
"While Bennett's conduct was extreme, one has to consider some extenuating circumstances that provoked the mayhem. Bennett claimed to have had been wronged," Tekere said. "Otherwise the whole thing had been over-publicised because it was a new thing in Zimbabwe. But mind you, the reason why all the furniture in Parliament is heavy was to avoid it being abused by some angry legislators to assault others. This means that those who made this property knew very well that such scuffles can happen there." The MDC has since said that it plans to challenge the constitutionality of Bennett's incarceration on the grounds that his trial by the committee was not fair. David Coltart, MDC shadow minister for justice, on Tuesday said party lawyers were working on the heads of arguments to be filed with the Supreme Court. Tekere, who Zanu PF was reportedly trying to lure back into its fold, added: "The composition of the privileges committee had also played a role in Bennett's fate as the ruling party legislators outnumbered those of the MDC."Bennett was last week sentenced to an effective 12 months' imprisonment with hard labour after Parliament found him guilty of assaulting Chinamasa in May. A total of 53 Zanu PF MP's voted in favour of Bennett's incarceration, against the MDC's 42, upholding the privileges committee's recommendations. However, it became clear that the committee itself had been divided, with Ncube criticising the sentence.
Bennett, affectionately known in Chimanimani as "Pachedu", floored Chinamasa who had accused his ancestors of stealing land and cattle from blacks during the colonial era, while debating the Stock Theft Amendment Bill. In retaliation, Mutasa stood up and kicked Bennett in the back and the opposition MP turned on him. Mutasa fell back into his seat, while the Zanu PF political commissar, Minister without Portfolio Elliot Manyika threatened to beat Bennett up. While a stunned Chinamasa lay on the floor, Bennett looked down at him, saying he had had enough of him. Critics concurred with Tekere, saying that there was no way that committee could have come up with an impartial recommendation because of its composition. MDC chief whip Innocent Gonese shared the same sentiments and said: "The outcome was obvious and all investigations were just carried out as a formality."
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From The Financial Gazette, 4 November
Political vultures circle over Bennett's seat
Zhean Gwaze
Zanu PF political vultures are circling over the Chimanimani constituency, which is soon to be declared vacant following Roy Bennett's arrest over contempt of Parliament. Bennett, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legislator, was slapped with a one-year jail sentence for flooring Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Minister of Anti-monopolies and Anti-corruption Didymus Mutasa during a heated parliamentary debate in May this year. It has emerged that eight prospective Zanu PF candidates have lined up to fight it out, hoping for a soft landing pad following Bennett's imprisonment. Pro-government economic analyst Samuel Undenge and Wankie Colliery Company board chairman Munacho Mutezo and a member of the central committee, who lost the seat to Bennett in the 2000 parliamentary race, are the main contenders in the looming battle. Other candidates jostling for the position are Misheck Beta, a twin brother to Shadreck, a prominent business man in Manicaland, retired Major Matsikinyere, Major Musabeya, Mutambara, Mugebe, a vice-chairman for the Chimanimani council and a Mukono, a retired headmaster.
Mutezo, one of the front-runners in the race for the constituency, confirmed that he had been campaigning and working with the people of the constituency "since 1998". He said an earlier parliamentary poll in the constituency had revealed that he controlled 67 percent of the electorate while the other combined seven would-be candidates shared 33 percent. Sources from Chimanimani said in the primary poll Undenge, a vocal advocate of government policies but whose Zanu PF credentials are not known, polled only one vote. "I have been campaigning vigorously and I am ready for whatever is going to come, even for the MDC, assuming they want to field a candidate," Mutezo said. Undenge said he was anxiously waiting for the race for the seat to be declared open but would not be drawn into divulging more of his intentions. He said: "I am waiting for that to happen but we will talk about it when it happens. At the moment I am concentrating on the monetary policy."
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From Zim Online (SA), 4 November
Devaluation stokes up forex black market
Harare - The devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar last week has only helped stoke up the forex black with hard cash rates now at least 14 percent firmer than before the local unit was slashed from $5 600 to $6 200 against the US dollar. A snap survey yesterday by Zim Online correspondents in Harare, Bulawayo, Beitbridge and the resort town of Victoria Falls - the main hubs of the foreign currency black market - showed the US unit trading at between $7 500 and $8 000. Before the new rate that Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono said was meant to entice the more than four million Zimbabweans working abroad to shun the black market and send hard cash back home through official channels, the greenback was fetching at most $7 000 on the parallel market. The British pound, another sought after currency on the parallel market, was costing about $13 000 per unit before the Zimbabwe dollar was devalued. It now costs $14 500.
Announcing the devaluation during his third quarter monetary policy review last week, Gono indicated that devaluation was part of several measures aimed at undercutting and finally crushing the thriving hard cash black market. But firmer rates on the parallel market have left the official market even more short of foreign currency with the RBZ itself unable to meet industry demands of hard cash of more than US$300 million that have been piling up in the last three weeks. Results from the central bank's foreign currency auction market for the past three weeks obtained by ZimOnline show that of the 4 938 bids, the central bank managed to allot only 515 bids valued at US$31 million and rejected 4 423 bids valued at US$302 967 680.72 in the process. Money transfer agencies also reported a significant drop in business since the new rate was announced. An official at Stanbic Bank Money Transfer Agency said volumes had plummeted significantly with the agency now collecting an average of US$5 000 a day, about half of what they collected before Gono's monetary policy statement. "We understand that the black market is now paying firmer rates than the $6 200 we are prescribed to pay," said the transfer official who spoke anonymously for professional reasons.
A senior manager at Kingdom Bank's Currency King in Harare said the agency was on average collecting about 5 000 pounds per day compared to about 25 000 pounds they were collecting per day before the devaluation. The Kingdom official said: "Since the policy announcement, we have been writing very little business and it may be because of the rates that we are being forced to offer. We could be getting more business if we were allowed to offer rates that are commensurate with the situation on the ground." Another key player on the foreign currency market, Barnfords, said they had not done deals over the past week and that the situation was not looking good. Economic analyst John Robertson said the government should instead expend its energy fixing the supply rather than the exchange rate if it wanted to end Zimbabwe's foreign currency woes. He criticised a new directive issued by Gono on local platinum producers to close offshore foreign currency accounts and redirect deposits to accounts held with local financial institutions. "The new dictatorial policy for platinum producers to close offshore foreign currency accounts was one way that could discourage foreign direct investment and scuttle efforts to raise foreign exchange," said Robertson. Zimbabwe is in the grip of an acute foreign currency crisis that has manifested itself in shortages of essential commodities such as fuel, medical drugs and electricity because there is no hard cash to pay suppliers.
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From Zim Online (SA), 4 November
Zimbabwe to bar 'uninvited' election observers
Cape Town - Zimbabwe will only allow "invited observers" to oversee next year's parliamentary elections, the country's ambassador to South Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, said yesterday. Moyo told the foreign relations committee of the South African Parliament in Cape Town that organisations and countries not cleared by the Zimbabwe authorities would be barred from observing the poll. "Observers, both local and foreign, come to observe upon invitation - please take note of that - it is not a must that you can just walk in and say I have come to observe," he told members of the committee. "Some (at the) last election came in as tourists and ended up as observers. That is criminal...it is anarchy and we don't allow that," said Moyo, apparently referring to monitors from the European Union. He ruled out the possibility of the EU being allowed to monitor next year's elections. Moyo said he expected electoral authorities to invite observers from neighbouring South Africa, the regional Southern African Development Community, the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement, and "certain individual countries". However, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has made it clear that it wants all observers willing to oversee the election admitted. The issue of observers could add impetus to the opposition party's resolve to boycott the elections.
Moyo said his government also refused to entertain the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) delegation last week because the labour federation intended to meet organisations which were "critical" of the government. He said authorities had made it clear to Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi that the visit was "inappropriate" because the labour federation wanted to meet with "quasi-political organisations" and other unwanted groups. He said Cosatu had nonetheless ignored the letter banning its visit and decided to proceed to Zimbabwe. He said Cosatu's attitude was in fact telling the Zimbabwe government that: "To hell with you, we are going anyway." But Cosatu President Willie Madisha rejected Moyo's argument as "ridiculous". He said there was nothing political about the trip as Cosatu's sole purpose was to get first hand information about the conditions under which the trade union movement operated in Zimbabwe. "The Zimbabwe government's suggestion that we wanted to cause trouble is absolute rubbish," Madisha said. Moyo came under fire from several opposition MPs as well as ANC MPs. ANC's Obed Bapela quizzed Moyo about the violent youth militias which he said could unleash violence ahead of the elections. Moyo denied the existence of such militias. He said there was simply no such thing as youth militias in Zimbabwe. Moyo also promised that Zimbabwe would sign an agreement to protect South African investments in the country. Several South African farmers have had their properties seized in Zimbabwe and efforts by the South African foreign ministry to have these spared have been rebuffed.
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From The Globe and Mail (SA), 4 November
That's when I said to them, "You must just kill me"
After three days of torture in Zimbabwe, a human-rights lawyer flees to South Africa to pursue justice, Stephanie Nolen reports
Pretoria - For Gabriel Shumba, these days are a long, slow process of getting even. Slumped at a laptop, wearing a T-shirt and ball cap, he looks much like the other students at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. But Mr. Shumba is on a crusade, one that absorbs his time, his energy, his meagre personal funds and his considerable intellect. Last January, he was detained by police and members of the Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organization. It was the 12th time in his life that he had been arrested. "I could bear the pain - of course it was extreme pain, especially when they were switching on the electricity," he recalled of three days of torture at the hands of government security officers. "What I couldn't bear was the humiliation. When they urinated on me, or when they forced me to lick up the urine, and my blood that I had vomited on the floor. One can bear pain when it is for a cause, but when your whole humanity is taken away - that's when I said to them, 'You must just kill me.'"
Mr. Shumba, a human-rights lawyer who is now 30, reckons he is alive only because Amnesty International and other human-rights groups learned of his detention and immediately demanded his release. When he was let go, he didn't stop for so much as a change of clothes. He fled over the border into Botswana. From there, he moved on to South Africa, home to at least two million refugees from Zimbabwe due to the rapid deterioration of conditions under President Robert Mugabe. Today, Mr. Shumba works on his doctorate in human-rights law, with the student status that allows him to stay legally in South Africa. He co-ordinates the Zimbabwe Exiles' Forum, which aims to support political and economic refugees. The project dearest to Mr. Shumba's heart, however, is prosecuting Mr. Mugabe for crimes against humanity. His personal claim of torture will be heard by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in December, and he and his exile colleagues are also preparing evidence for the International Criminal Court. But the avenue in which they currently place most hope is an indictment in Canada under the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act. They have teamed up with volunteer Canadian lawyers who aim to indict Mr. Mugabe and several key figures in his regime on the grounds that they have personal knowledge of detentions, beatings and deliberate withholding of food aid.
Mr. Shumba is collecting meticulously prepared statements from victims of human-rights abuses and photographic medical evidence. "We are assembling the evidence to show that the government of Zimbabwe is involved in torture, rape, and crimes against humanity," he said, brandishing a sheaf of files that he is convinced make the case that Mr. Mugabe has personal knowledge of the abuses. Ever since a strong opposition party emerged in Zimbabwe before the presidential election in 2000, Mr. Mugabe and his Zanu PF party, formerly independence heroes, have become increasingly violent and repressive in their efforts to hold on to power. The country's once thriving economy has collapsed in the wake of a highly politicized land-redistribution process (inflation is now estimated at 525 per cent), and AIDS is ravaging the country even as the government seeks to outlaw charities that feed the dying. The few aid groups still active report that a national youth militia of Zanu PF supporters is terrorizing suspected opposition supporters, beating men and gang-raping women and girls. "People keep predicting an explosion in Zimbabwe, but they underestimate Mugabe's ability to terrorize," Mr. Shumba said. "They've driven so many people out of the country. Only the docile, gullible part of the population is left - the rural peasants who believe it when they are told there are cameras everywhere and they can see where you put your 'X' in the ballot box. Without intellectuals moving the change from outside the country, nothing will change."
The last time he was detained in Zimbabwe, he was with a client - an opposition member of parliament who was being harassed by the police - when security officers with snarling dogs burst into the room. During his three days in detention he was hung upside down and beaten with cables, bound in the fetal position, left to suffocate in a nylon bag, and subjected to electric shocks for nine hours. He was photographed naked and writhing in pain. "There is no place in Zimbabwe for a human-rights lawyer," he said his captors told him. It wasn't his first trip into Harare's excrement-smeared, vermin-filled holding cells. As a student activist campaigning against corruption and brutality, he was detained nearly a dozen times. At his graduation from law school at the University of Zimbabwe in 2000, Mr. Shumba was chosen to present Mr. Mugabe, who serves as chancellor, with a petition against lawlessness. As he approached, he was whisked off the stage by bodyguards. He languished in jail for days without being charged, and was unable to collect his diploma. "I still wake up all the time screaming and quite literally climbing the walls," he said. "The cuts heal but the nightmares don't stop."
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From The Star (SA), 5 November
Coffin carried in Zim protest at Lindela
By Basildon Peta
Claims of "appalling treatment" of asylum-seekers and "general xenophobia" have led to a demonstration outside the Lindela Deportation Centre on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Yesterday's protest was held by Zimbabweans and South African sympathisers. It coincided with the final day of a Johannesburg hearing into xenophobia hosted by the Human Rights Commission and parliament's portfolio committee on foreign affairs. The 100 protesters marched to Lindela carrying a coffin wrapped in a Zimbabwean flag to represent people who either had died at Lindela or as a result of the general crisis in Zimbabwe. They sang songs and prayed for detainees, who include women, whom the protesters said bore the greatest brunt of ill treatment. They alleged that some of the women were pregnant or had young kids on their backs. The protest drew prominent human rights activists, including Central Methodist Church Bishop Paul Verryn, of Johannesburg. They handed a Lindela official a petition demanding appropriate treatment of asylum-seekers.
Zimbabweans detained at the detention centre have alleged a litany of abuse, including heavy beatings and torture as well as being denied access to immigration officials. They also claim an increasing number of deaths at the centre. While acknowledging that deaths had occurred, the head of communications at the Department of Home Affairs, Nkosana Sibuyi, rejected claims that they were because of torture and ill treatment. He said some Lindela inmates had died from diseases they had before being brought to the centre. He insisted that conditions at Lindela were conducive for human habitation. "We are guided by country and international conventions which prohibit any form of ill treatment of detainees," said Sibuyi. Activist Emily Welman, an organiser of the protest, said: "We have started a process to hold these people accountable for their appalling treatment of legitimate asylum-seekers. Genuine political asylum- seekers are being unlawfully treated by the South African authorities. They are being thrown back to Zimbabwe, where they face all sorts of dangers, including being murdered." Welman said it was "high time South Africa ended this xenophobia and bad treatment of these asylum-seekers".
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 4 November
Lindela: 'My week in hell'
Joe Ncube, a Zimbabwean asylum seeker, spent a week in the Lindela Repatriation Centre in Krugersdorp. This is his story:
'People die every day here." This warning, from a Burundian I met on my first day in Lindela detention centre in Krugersdorp, came as no surprise. I 'm a Zimbabwean who has been living in South Africa for the past six years - and the centre's reputation is legendary among us - the amakwerekwere (foreigners). For illegals it is the first stop on a round-trip journey back into South Africa. But for legal foreigners like me, who have asylum-seeker status, it is where we learn what it feels like to be a victim of this phenomenon called xenophobia. The day my luck ran out was September 28 when I was travelling to work in a taxi that got stopped at a road block. I was immediately identified by the police as a foreigner. Maybe it is because I am darker skinned, or maybe because I replied in English, and not in Zulu, that I had no ID on me. I was told to get into the back of the police truck where I joined more than 100 people. There were children, women, men and old people. But I knew I was better off than many of them - I had my asylum papers with me.
But the police said: "No we don't need an asylum papers, you must have a South African ID." I asked how they expected me to have a South African ID when I was not a citizen, but they were not interested. It was as if their orders were exclusively that all foreigners must be arrested and taken to Lindela. I also have a work permit, but it would not have made a difference because the police were arresting anyone foreign - regardless of whether they had papers or not. The fear in the truck was tangible on the journey there, with children crying and women clutching their meagre possessions. The truth is that many Zimbabweans give other names so they can get back into the country. We all know how to get around the system, but this time I had no reason to lie. I was a legitimate immigrant. What could possibly happen to me? The procedure on arrival at Lindela is that men and women are separated in a courtyard. Security guards then do roll-call and allocate prisoners according to nationality. Our names are called out by the detention centre's home affairs officials to identify our immigration status. But we arrived late that day and the officials had closed their offices - which meant we all had to stay until they returned the next morning.
My first impression of the dreaded place was that it was a prison. We were searched for any cellphones, cameras, pens and notebooks, and warned that we were not allowed to take these to the cells. But the fear started clawing at my gut when I realised that I would be spending my first night in a cell with 50 other men. I did not know what to expect or how to behave. But I decided to keep my mouth shut and watch what happened. I remembered my friend Edwin Ndlovu, who died at the age of 24, just a week after he was released from Lindela. His cause of death was unknown, but his nose was bleeding and he was coughing before his death. I was curious about why he died and what happened to him. Was there TB or other illnesses in the air at Lindela? Dinner was a plate of anaemic cabbage and pap that looked like it had been cooked days before. I refused to eat, remembering tales of food poisoning and noticing that other inmates looked unhealthy. The time for sleeping grew closer. We were given a blanket each and divided into different cells. I wasn't expecting a five-star hotel, but I was not prepared for the conditions of cell number 29 where I was taken. Picture about 54 men all crammed into a tiny cell with double bunks and room for only 24 people. But the putrid smell of a blocked shower and toilet overrode my anxiety about where I was going to sleep.
An elderly Zimbabwean, who seemed to command respect in the cell, ejected a guy from the Côte d'Ivoire from a bunk bed for me. Lying on the bunk with the smell of smoke and the soft sound of cards being played I wondered what I should do. My girlfriend could bring my work permit in the morning, but I knew that this was the place where Edwin had died and wanted to stay longer to see what really happens to us foreigners in Lindela. I could not sleep because there was an old man who was coughing and whose nose was bleeding. The elderly Zimbabwean called the security guard to take him to the clinic. Thirty minutes later they brought him back. It did not seem as if he was any better. The next day I heard he had died. How will his family know what happened to him? Where will he be buried? I thought about how my mother would feel if she never heard from me again. Could I die like this - having been persecuted into coming to South African by Zanu PF, just to rot in this hole? I felt like everything was for nothing because the only decision left was where I preferred to die - in Zimbabwe or in Lindela. I tried to find out what it is that happens in Lindela that causes people to die here or get sick.
I sat with three South African boys who were mistaken for foreigners because they were found in the street and did not have IDs. In the courtyard, where most of the foreigners sit around to pass the time, I noticed that dagga was openly sold for R5 a bankie (a packet of dagga). I phoned my girlfriend. She was afraid I would be kept in Lindela indefinitely. This is what happened to Eugene Makwinja, a former colleague who I met on the second day there. He had been in Lindela for three months and had no way of knowing why he was being detained instead of being sent to Zimbabwe. "If I had R900 to pay for a bribe I could get out of here," he said. Looking around I began to realise that there weren't many Chinese and Indians. "That is because the Chinese and Indians can afford to pay to get out of here, even the Nigerians," Makwinja said. If you are a foreigner and you don't have the money to pay bribes you go back to your own country. Many Nigerians pretend to be Zimbabweans because it takes three months to get back to Nigeria; but Zimbabweans and Mozambicans leave every month and it is easier to get back to South Africa across a river than across a continent. Those too poor to afford bribes get deported and make their way back, even if it means jumping off a moving train. Ishmael, one of the two Malawian brothers who slept on the beds next to mine, had been living in Lindela for two months because the train to Malawi was not yet full enough to warrant a trip. His brother was sick during the stay and I later heard he had died when he reached home. We had spent time talking about our countries and what it felt like living in South Africa.
I knew that I could not live in this place for two or three weeks, having two meals a day, being beaten up, sleeping in a cell with blocked toilets. On Saturday and Sunday the electricity was cut and when there is no electricity there is no water. You are left alone most of the time unless you piss-off security guards, as did one of the foreigners who lost his identity tag (which we all had to carry). They beat him with sjamboks until he bled from his mouth. It was a lesson that made us feel powerless. We knew that there was no one here who cared whether we lived or died. No high commissioner from our country fighting for our release, no lawyers to sue the security guards for torture or abuse. The clinic is a joke: there is only Panado available, even for the most severe pains. Most of the foreigners who are sick are left to rot on bunks until it is too late to save their lives. Just when I thought I would never see my baby or my girlfriend again, I was released - a week after my arrest.
Maybe the reason why the South African government treats foreigners so badly in Lindela is to ensure that we never want to come back to this country. But most of the people who stay in Lindela will come back: they have no other option. Ultimately I blame the South African government, which claims to fight for the rights of all human beings. We are not animals. Even though we Zimbabweans work among South Africans I always feel like a prisoner here. When President Thabo Mbeki talks about Zimbabwe and says we should solve conflict in the region I want him to go to Lindela and see how South Africans treat other Africans. What is the New Partnership for Africa's development if other Africans cannot be treated with dignity and respect ? As a foreigner I feel that some South Africans are too proud of their nation, but too blind and forgetful to remember that it is the same amakwerekwere who you scorn that allowed you to flee your apartheid government. I never heard a South African exile saying there was a hell like Lindela waiting for them.
As told to Nawaal Deane
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From ZWNEWS, 5 November
Bennett held in atrocious conditions
Roy Bennett, the opposition MP sentenced last week to a year's hard labour after he shoved the justice minister Patrick Chinamasa to the floor during a parliamentary debate, is being held in atrocious conditions in prison. Speaking yesterday, his wife Heather told of serious overcrowding, very poor diet, inadequate clothing and restricted access to her husband. Bennett shares these privations with the large numbers of other prisoners in Zimbabwe's prisons, which are notorious for brutality and insanitary conditions. Bennett was sentenced to 15 month's imprisonment, with three months suspended, by a parliamentary vote, becoming the first person to be given a prison sentence in Zimbabwe outside the court system. Immediately after the vote in parliament, Bennett was taken to Harare Central Prison, where he has since been held. He has been given a prison uniform that is so badly torn that he cannot keep himself adequately covered, and is subject to the dietary deficiencies which affect Zimbabwe's prison population. He is not allowed to receive any food from outside prison, except for the possibility of fruit once a week, which would be dependent on the good will of his prison guards. His wife is only allowed to see him once a week for ten minutes, and then only in the presence of a guard who writes down everything they say. His prison cell, designed for four inmates, is shared by Bennett and 17 others.
Bennett's sentence has been widely condemned inside and outside Zimbabwe. Peter Hain said yesterday in the British parliament that "the treatment of Bennett is outrageous, the way trade unions are being treated in Zimbabwe is outrageous". The human rights committee of the English bar association said "twelve months hard labour for shoving the Justice Minister in Parliament is unprecedented and fundamentally unsafe. Bennett was given no right of appeal or other recourse to a court of law. The speaker of the Zimbabwean parliament is reported to have obstructed efforts to have the sentence set aside by a court of law." The Geneva-based Inter Parliamentary Union has written to the speaker, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and the minister of justice to express their concern at the actions taken against Bennett. Bennett's lawyers have lodged an application with the High Court to review the sentence he received and have appealed to the Supreme Court over the flawed parliamentary process by which he was tried.
The fracas between Bennett and Chinamasa occurred after Chinamasa insulted and provoked him by calling his father and grandfather "thieves and murderers". Had he been tried in the courts, it is likely that he would have received a modest fine, or a caution. The insults in parliament were the culmination of four years of relentless political persecution against Bennett and his family, and their employees. Bennett has been arrested twice and assaulted three times. His wife Heather suffered a miscarriage when they were first forcibly evicted from their home by Zanu PF supporters. One of Bennett's employees was murdered by soldiers, another shot and wounded. Many more workers and constituents in Bennett's constituency in Chimanimani have been viciously beaten or detained without charge. Three young women were raped. None of the Zanu PF and State agents responsible for these crimes have ever been prosecuted or even arrested. Over 800 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes and the Bennett's house in Chimanimani has been looted and vandalised. State agents have also killed or stolen their cattle, and have stolen over 150 tons of coffee. For more information on the efforts to get Bennett released, contact freeroybennett@yahoo.com .
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From Zim Online (SA), 5 November
Zanu PF gurus plunder $50 billion agriculture fund
Harare - Senior government and ruling Zanu PF party officials have looted a Z$50 billion state fund intended to assist poor black peasants settled by the government on former white-owned farms, Zim Online has established. The fund was being administered by Agribank, a wholly state-owned bank created by the government last year specifically to raise funds and resources for black villagers resettled on white-owned farms under President Robert Mugabe's often violent and chaotic land reform programme. The fund, created under the 2004 national budget, is now penniless after Zanu PF and government officials, their relatives and friends helped themselves to most of the money. A list of some of the senior government and Zanu PF officials who looted the fund includes, Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, and Transport Minister Chris Mushowe. Air Force of Zimbabwe Commander Perence Shiri, Matabeleland North Governor Obert Mpofu, Mashonaland West Zanu PF chairman Philip Chiyangwa and former governor of the province, Peter Chanetsa, also feature prominently on the list. A senior Agribank manager, who spoke anonymously for professional reasons, said: "In addition to these, there are several other junior government and Zanu PF officials who obtained various amounts of money from the fund." Agribank chief executive officer Sam Malaba refused to discuss the issue when contacted by this reporter citing bank/client confidentiality. But sources at the bank said Malaba had already told the government that he was unable to finance farmers this season because the fund was broke.
But Agriculture Minister Joseph Made, under whose ambit the fund falls, said the government had already ordered a probe into the fund. He said: "There are investigations into the issue of money allocated to Agribank and it is after the process has been completed that we will be able to identify the culprits." Some of the senior politicians contacted by Zim Online yesterday admitted receiving money from the fund but said this was above board. Chiyangwa, who heads the quasi-government National Economic Consultative Forum's anti-corruption committee, said: "Whatever I have benefited was done above board." Air Force chief, Shiri admitted benefiting from the fund but said he was unaware that the fund had been looted dry. Government and Zanu PF officials have also seized most of the best land acquired under the land reforms with some of them taking as many as six farms each. They have so far largely ignored pleas by Mugabe to return the excess land. Meanwhile, agricultural production has plummeted by about 60 percent since the farm invasions four years ago, chiefly because black families resettled by the government on former white farms do not have funds to acquire resources to maintain commercial production on the farms.
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From The Daily Mirror, 5 November
President robbed again
Thieves make off with designer suits from State House
Clemence Manyukwe
Thieves have once again targeted President Robert Mugabe - this time hitting his wardrobe at State House and making off with an undisclosed number of designer suits worth millions of dollars. It is suspected that the theft was an inside job by employees at the heavily guarded State residence. Only two months ago, the President lost irrigation equipment worth millions to as yet unidentified thieves at his rural homestead in Zvimba communal lands, Mashonaland West. A senior spokesperson in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) public relations office, Lloyd Mukoterwa, yesterday confirmed the theft, but referred further questions to police spokesperson, Wayne Bvudzijena. Mukoterwa said: "This story is bad. Even if we know something, we cannot tell you. Why don't you challenge Bvudzijena to tell you? You are a journalist, you must know that the police are the ones who provide those details. Police must tell you because even if it is a soldier who happened to be the one who stole, they can arrest him. But first you must understand who guards where," said Mukoterwa.
However, Bvudzijena refused to comment. In an earlier interview, following the theft of the irrigation equipment, Bvudzijena said he did not comment on Presidential matters and referred all questions to the Department of Information and Publicity in the Office of the President and Cabinet. " I do not have a comment," Bvudzijena said. The secretary for Information and Publicity, George Charamba, also refused to comment. "I don't want to talk to you. After what your paper wrote about me, do you expect me to talk to you?" Charamba said. He was referring to a commitment that he made to furnish this newspaper with details of the Zvimba theft, but on which he later backtracked. According to sources, the theft at State House, which took place towards the end of last month, was discovered by the President's housekeepers. The incident is said to have angered the President, who demanded an inquiry into the matter. Some security personnel who were on guard duty that day were reportedly transferred. It could not be established if any culprits had been brought to book as yet. Said a source: "The suits were stolen by people who are believed to be employed at State House. There is tight security at State House, and the only logical explanation is that it must be someone who is trusted, and could not be searched. But I must tell you that this has come to be an issue of considerable concern." Over the years, President Mugabe has been a victim of theft at both his official residence in Harare and his Zvimba rural home.
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From The Star (SA), 6 November
Cosatu blasts ANC's 'quiet diplomacy' in Zim
By Peter Fabricius
Cosatu has openly defied its tripartite alliance partner, the ANC government, by vowing to go ahead with protest actions against the Zimbabwe government - despite President Mbeki's policy of quiet diplomacy. It became clear yesterday that Mbeki's efforts to bring Cosatu into line were not succeeding. Mbeki is reported to have chastised Cosatu for sending a delegation to Zimbabwe last week to meet its union allies in Harare despite the Zimbabwe government's warning that it was not welcome. He is reported to have told them that this had jeopardised his quiet efforts to bring the Zimbabwe political parties together to negotiate a way out of the crisis. But yesterday Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi openly rejected the official policy of "quiet diplomacy" on Zimbabwe. Writing in the Mail and Guardian, Vavi said that the SA government's efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the Zimbabwe crisis would not stop Cosatu acting out against President Robert Mugabe's government. "A diplomatic breakthrough can only happen when Mugabe is forced to change by a mass movement from below, by the Zimbabwean people, assisted by a campaign of international solidarity action, to compel him to restore human rights, repeal repressive laws, and allow free and fair elections," Vavi wrote. "This is exactly how we defeated the tyranny of Smith and apartheid. Cosatu will not flinch from its international duty to organise activity in solidarity with its comrades in the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and the people of Zimbabwe." This might include "protests at border gates and other, harsher forms of solidarity action. For this we need no permission from our government or other tripartite alliance formations," he vowed.
Vavi also slammed Mugabe's information minister Jonathan Moyo who had accused Cosatu of acting as agents of British Prime Minister Tony Blair in coming to Zimbabwe. Vavi wrote that the "absurd buffoonery" of this charge suggested that Moyo had learnt his propaganda trade from Hitler, who believed that if you repeated a lie often enough, ordinary people would believe it. Yesterday department of foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa declined to comment on Vavi's remarks apart from reiterating that the government had already announced that Cosatu's trip to Zimbabwe would be discussed within the tripartite alliance. He referred further inquiries to the ANC. ANC spokesperson Steyn Speed said the issue had been discussed at a meeting of the alliance secretariat on Wednesday. He denied press reports that Mbeki had castigated Cosatu at the meeting, saying Mbeki had not attended the meeting as he was not a member of the secretariat. According to some reports Mbeki also criticised Cosatu at an ANC parliamentary caucus meeting. Speed said the ANC had told its alliance partners at the secretariat meeting that it would make a full statement to its members on the issue of the Cosatu visit to Zimbabwe. Late yesterday, Speed said this statement had not yet been made but that it might be released with the ANC Today Internet newsletter which normally goes out on Fridays.
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From SABC News, 5 November
Cosatu's approach to Mugabe 'astounding': Mbeki
President Thabo Mbeki today described as "astounding" the original approach by the Congress of SA Trade Unions to President Robert Mugabe about its intention to conduct a fact-finding mission in Zimbabwe. In his weekly letter on the ANC web site, ANC Today, Mbeki said Zimbabwe's Financial Gazette newspaper had reported 16 months ago that Zwelinzima Vavi the general-secretary of Cosatu, had written to Mugabe requesting that he should "grant an audience to our delegation". Mbeki said the report further added that Cosatu had said "the delegation also wanted to see Paul Mangwana, the Zimbabwe minister of labour, and requested that President Mugabe should assist the delegation to meet the Minister". He went further to advise President Mugabe to direct all enquiries to Simon Boshielo, our International Relations Secretary, in our head office or alternatively at. (mobile). Mbeki added: "Presumably Cosatu expected that President Mugabe, a head of state, would accept that the situation in Zimbabwe justified that a South African trade union federation should send a political fact-finding mission, whose fact-finding activities he should facilitate, and with which he should then communicate, through its International Relations Secretary, to indicate when he would meet the Cosatu delegation; what arrangements he had made for the delegation to meet the Minister of Labour; and, which other organisations the delegation should meet." Mbeki said Cosatu's approach showed contempt for a head of state, and a sovereign government, and could not have created a climate conducive to serious discussions.
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From Zim Online (SA), 6 October
Committee to tell house of massive maize harvest shortfall
Harare - A parliamentary committee will next week tell the House that maize harvests last season totalled about 600 000 tonnes or a third of national yearly requirements, parliamentary sources said yesterday. Zimbabwe requires about 1.8 million tonnes of maize for consumption and for strategic reserves per year. The next maize harvest begins around the end of March. "The report will show that the country has between 500 000 and 600 000 tonnes of maize with some of it actually having been brought into the country from Zambia and Malawi," said a source, speaking on condition she was not named. Both the chairman of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Lands and Agriculture, Daniel Mackenzie Ncube, and his deputy, Renson Gasela, refused to discuss the report before it was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday next week. But Ncube told ZimOnline: "We have submitted (for tabling in Parliament) our findings on this year's harvest after consulting with the GMB, the Central Statistical Office as well as done an on the ground assessment. We also assessed the issue of imports." Ncube's committee was last June tasked to probe Zimbabwe's food security following conflicting statements with the government claiming the country had a bumper maize harvest of about 2.4 million tonnes last season. President Robert Mugabe has even told international food aid agencies to take the food elsewhere because Zimbabwe had produced enough to feed itself. A joint government and World Food Programme (WFP) survey to establish the number of Zimbabweans who would need assistance before next year's harvest was also called off earlier this year with government insisting it was no longer needed given what it said was a surplus harvest. But local agriculture experts and the WFP insisted that, while the country had an improved crop last season, harvests were still far below national requirements and that up to 800 000 tonnes would still be required to feed about 2 million hungry Zimbabweans. The WFP this week said it had 100 000 tonnes of maize, the country's main staple food, ready for shipment to Zimbabwe in the event of a crisis.
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From BBC News, 6 November
Mugabe flies to Equatorial Guinea
Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is in Equatorial Guinea to discuss a suspected failed coup plot by foreign mercenaries to topple the regime there. Mr Mugabe is due to meet his counterpart, President Obiang Nguema, during his three-day visit. In September, a court in Zimbabwe jailed 68 people, including a Briton, in connection with the alleged plot. Nineteen people - including eight South Africans - are on trial in Equatorial Guinea for the suspected coup. "The two leaders are expected to discuss the issue of the terrorists arrested in Zimbabwe in March while on their way to stage a coup against Comrade Nguema," Zimbabwe's state radio said. Equatorial Guinea's state controlled media welcomed Mr Mugabe's visit, saying "in adversity and illness we recognise real friends". Sixty-seven of those jailed in Zimbabwe, all South African citizens, had been found guilty of violating immigration and aviation laws, while the Briton, Simon Mann, was jailed for seven years for trying to buy weapons without a licence. Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi had said the group could not be extradited from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea as there was no such arrangement between the two states. Sir Mark Thatcher has been accused of involvement in the coup attempt - charges he denies - and has appeared in court in Cape Town, as his lawyers argued against an order forcing him to answer questions relating to the plot. The trial in the Equatorial Guinea capital, Malabo, has been suspended but is due to begin again this month.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 5 November
Lawyers lay siege to farm
Agustine Mukaro/Gift Phiri
Information minister Jonathan Moyo's legal counsel Johannes Tomana and two colleagues - Wilson Manase and Joseph Mandizha, are allegedly blocking the movement of 120 tonnes of seed maize from a farm they were offered in September under government's sullied land reform programme. Tomana, Manase and Mandizha moved onto Maryland Farm in the Darwendale/Trelawney area on September 19 this year, evicted the white commercial farmer and allegedly seized his equipment and personal belongings. On the property there are also 90 tonnes of grain, 500 head of cattle, 97 sheep, eight race horses and farming equipment. The seed and grain were due to be delivered to Seed Co and the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) when the three lawyers moved in. Speaking to the Zimbabwe Independent yesterday, the evicted farmer, Pieter Gertenbach, said the lawyers prevented him moving his produce and equipment. "We are still making frantic efforts to deliver the seed and grain to the marketing authorities," Gertenbach said. "We have been barred from getting to the farm which means that we can't move our property and equipment valued at not less than $5 billion." Gertenbach said the 1 300-hectare farm was diversified and highly-productive. "Other than producing seed maize, we were also engaged in seed tobacco, flowers for export, horse breeding as well as cattle and sheep," he said.
Tomana yesterday said he moved on to the farm after the expiry of a notice of compulsory acquisition. "Gertenbach was served with a Section 8 (notice)," Tomana said. "His continued occupation became a violation of Section 8 and then he was served with a Section 9. I was offered the farm. And at the time I moved in, he had taken flight. I never seized anything and my movement on to the farm was procedural," he said. He denied that he was blocking the movement of any crops from the farm. "Did he tell you that he has just finished moving his tobacco to the auction floor? Now he has been moving his seed maize," said Tomana. Gertenbach however maintained the three lawyers were helping themselves to household goods from the three farmhouses. "They have broken into the farmhouses and looted all household goods, including food and furniture," he said. He said the lawyers had divided the farm into three plots and allocated themselves a house each. The lawyers have also been accused of denying the animals, which include chickens, access to food and water. The animals were only rescued through the intervention of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). SPCA national executive Merylin Harrison confirmed having visited the farm twice in the past week. "Poultry and sheep were locked up in a building for two days without food or water," Harrison said. "I insisted that I would not leave the property before they set the animals free. On my second visit to the farm the animals were being looked after."
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From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 5 November
Economic solution depends on political will
Persistent fuel shortages, a flourishing foreign-currency black market and empty pharmacy shelves at state hospitals seem to jar with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono's portrayal of the economy. During his Monetary Policy Statement for the third quarter last week he described the economy as being in the "spring season characterised by improvements all round". Economists maintain that the central bank boss has missed most of his targets and that he set the bar too high when he was appointed in December last year. Targets included bringing inflation down to 200% from a peak of 622,8% in January; strict supervision of the banking sector and the unification of multiple exchange rates to stimulate foreign currency inflows. Inflation is currently at 251%. A dual interest rate system was introduced to fight inflation. Through this exporters and companies in the productive sector pay 50% interest, up from December's 30%, while importers and local consumers pay between 261,5% and 271,5%, down from about 920% at the beginning of the year. "The objective, desire and passion are there to turn around the economy. But his mistake is that he thinks he can do it alone," said Godfrey Kanyenze, director of the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute. Gono has managed to coax President Robert Mugabe into agreeing to depreciate the Zimbabwe dollar from $820 to $6 200 to the greenback. He has also restored sanity in the banking sector, albeit at a high cost. "Dr Gono can - and does - claim to have slowed the inflation rate and brought stability to the exchange rate, but his achievement has been at very considerable cost to exporters, many of whom have downsized their operations and some of whom have closed down," said economist John Robertson. A report entitled The State of the Manufacturing Sector released by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries shows that about 2 600 jobs will be lost when 25 companies are forced to downsize and eight to shut down.
Gono's go-it-alone approach and drive for immediate compliance in the banking sector has had dire consequences. Of the country's 40 banks, 29 have met capital adequacy requirements, two others have three months to reach the desired levels while a further seven banks are under curatorship and two others are under provisional liquidation. "The financial market was crazy and he has managed to tame it, but at very high cost. He has created panic, bankers are fleeing, and he has chased away brilliant minds," said Kanyenze. Unification of the exchange rate is yet to be attained and the Zimbabwean police have been unable to stem the trade in foreign currency on the black market where the greenback fetches at least Z$8 000. But the central bank governor's biggest hurdle is his policy variance with Mugabe: they differ on the country's relationship with international bodies - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank; who the country's major trading partners should be; and how to get the Zimbabwe diaspora to repatriate their earnings. Mugabe wants nothing to do with the "imperialist" IMF; is looking east for trade partners; and is steadfast in refusing migrant Zimbabweans the vote in return for remitting foreign currency. Gono, on the other hand, is wooing the IMF and has stepped up repayments to the body from $1,5-million a quarter to $5-million since June; remains focused on the West for trading partners and backs the Homelink initiative - a money transfer system introduced by the central bank for migrant Zimbabweans to channel foreign currency into the country. "Every one of the economic problems has its origins in political decisions and it is these that have to be attended to ... it is political leverage, rather than economic leverage, that should be used to bring the government into line with international standards of acceptability," said Robertson.
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From The Zimbabwe Independent, 5 November
Parallel market's undying spirit
Staff Writer
Reserve Bank officials have found a convenient Trojan horse to devalue the local currency without provoking President Robert Mugabe's ire. They merely raise the diaspora rate of exchange to remove the lustre from the black market. Their efforts have often come short. Sibonile Moyo sits on a make-shift stool fashioned from a disused metal crate, a length of lace cloth material spread over her lap, ready to wrap it round her head into a neat, flat-topped turban. Behind her are rows of neatly arranged cosmetics in faded packages and motley trinkets that appear to have remained unsold for ages. Moyo is among scores of women who stand to lose business if police continue their crackdown on informal foreign currency dealers. The white lace turban is now an identity tag for women who depend on exchanging foreign currency on the streets of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city, for a living. "If police continue like this we are all finished," Moyo bemoans. As a single mother she fears losing her only means of providing for her family.
Scores of women have moved to Bulawayo's Lobengula Street and Fifth Avenue from towns and cities around the country, swelling the numbers of informal foreign currency dealers who prowl the city's streets in search of customers. They have gotten used to scouring the pavements along a section now commonly referred to as "The World Bank", discreetly asking whoever they think intends to exchange the local currency into pula, rand, pounds sterling or greenbacks, or vice versa. Past police blitzes on black market forex dealers, which threatened to send Moyo and those of her ilk's "business" over the edge, have not dampened the women's determination. Police spokesman Inspector Smile Dube said police would "not rest until we stop their operations". He said police were now aware that forex dealers had changed their style of operating. "We will get to the bottom of it all," said Dube.
An Anti-Money Laundering Act provides for the police to search persons they suspect of holding large amounts of cash without a warrant in cases of emergency. The regulations have done little to discourage informal foreign currency traders who continue doing their business, spurred by the lucrative exchange deals. The introduction of large $20 000 "bearer cheques" after Zimbabwe experienced the worst ever cash crunch last year has enabled the women to conceal large amounts in smaller pouches that are hard to detect. Such is the magnetism of informal forex trading for the women that at one time Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono disguised himself at flea markets in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls to see for himself what it is that emboldens them to take risks to defy the law. "We have provided an essential service for those that work in Botswana and South Africa coming on holidays, but the police do not recognise that. Instead they arrest us and confiscate our money, blaming us for the shortage of foreign currency," complained 33-year old Zodwa Muraisi. It is a cat and mouse game here. To succeed, one always has to keep a step ahead of the authorities," Muraisi says mimicking a popular ad-line from a major commercial bank.
The central bank announced last week a new exchange rate of $6 200 to the American dollar, 11% higher than the previous benchmark of $5 600. Informal traders offer up to $8 000. Stringent monetary measures to curb forex leakages and shore up dwindling official reserves have failed to staunch illegal dealings on the parallel market. Economists hailed the steps taken by the central bank and predicted the measures would "destroy" the thriving illegal foreign currency market largely blamed for stoking hard currency shortages and negatively impacting on the economy. But economic commentator Eric Bloch says unless the measures taken by the central bank are reinforced by political commitment on the part of government on exchange rates, the informal market will continue to thrive. Eddie Cross, the opposition Movement for Democratic Change economic advisor, scoffed at the central bank's ineffectual efforts to stamp out informal foreign currency dealing. He said the current practices of attempting to manage and manipulate exchange rates would not work. "The only real market arbiter remains the street - dangerous, illegal and inefficient," Cross said. For Moyo and Muraisi the informal currency market has been a steady means of earning a living and they vow to continue. "We offer customers better rates than the banks. That is why people prefer to deal with us than the banks," boasted Muraisi.
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From The Sunday Times (SA), 7 November
Insults fly between ANC and Cosatu
Brendan Boyle
A war of words has erupted between the ANC and Cosatu over the labour federation's fact-finding mission to Zimbabwe. The ill-fated Cosatu mission appears to have plunged relations with the ANC to untested lows and has torpedoed plans for a tripartite alliance summit this month. The ANC has accused Cosatu of playing to the gallery and the labour federation has said the ANC lied about alternative structures for confronting President Robert Mugabe. On Friday the ANC launched a blistering attack on Cosatu, saying it got what it deserved when its fact-finding mission was deported from Zimbabwe last week. Smuts Ngonyama, head of the Presidency in the ANC, said yesterday that with Cosatu's intervention, South Africa had been sending mixed signals and setting Zimbabweans against one another. "There is no way you can find solutions to a sensitive situation like this if you try to play to the gallery," he said yesterday. However, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said there was no time to wait for a single-track diplomatic initiative to deliver, when elections next year could condemn Zimbabwe to another four years in political and economic limbo. He said Cosatu would launch actions, possibly including a border blockade, as soon as possible to support Zimbabwe's labour unions.
In a statement on the ANC website, the party said Mugabe's government had a right to decide who to admit, and made no comment on the way the Cosatu delegation was detained, denied food or water, roughed up and then dumped over the border at dawn. The ANC, the dominant partner in the tripartite alliance with Cosatu and the SACP, said the union federation should have worked through the "Joint Tripartite Commission", formed under the leadership of Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana in 2003. Cosatu fired back yesterday, saying the ANC had lied about the tripartite commission. "No such structure exists. This untruth is being peddled in order to create an impression that Cosatu ... had other intentions when it sent its mission to Zimbabwe," the union said. Vavi told the Sunday Times yesterday he had no regrets about the failed mission into Zimbabwe. "Hiding behind spurious notions that Zimbabwe is within its right to enforce its immigration laws in order to justify ill-treatment of Cosatu leaders does not help," he said. He said Cosatu was finalising its plans for action to show solidarity with Zimbabwe's labour unions. "It's not a question of whether we will go ahead, it's a question of what and when," he said.
The government believes Mugabe's Zanu PF and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change are close to agreement on constitutional changes that will create an independent electoral commission to ensure a free and fair poll next year. Vavi said that could be too late, adding: "There is a very, very real deadline, otherwise we go into another four years of political and economic uncertainty. The real test, not only for South Africa and the SADC, but also for the African Union, will be whether they can deliver a free and fair election." He said a tripartite summit, that had been planned for this month, had been postponed to next year.
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From Sapa, 6 November
'Let's not put all eggs in one basket in Zim'
The Congress of SA Trade Unions on Saturday said South Africa could not afford to place all its Zimbabwean eggs in one basket. The trade union federation was replying to media comment on an apparent attack on the labour movement in the ANC Today, the party's online publication. While reaffirming its support for all attempts to reach a diplomatic solution to the Zimbabwe problem - and while acknowledging "the sincerity and integrity of the SA government and the African National Congress in their efforts to achieve this", Cosatu said diplomacy had to be "supplemented by mobilisation of the people to change their own circumstances". "Diplomacy has its role and place, but we cannot afford to place all our eggs in the basket of diplomacy. Mass mobilisation and solidarity have an equally important role. The challenge is to co-ordinate these efforts to reinforce one another and not use one to the exclusion of the other," the organisation said in a statement on Saturday. Cosatu added it had a right and duty to act in solidarity with fellow trade unionists.
"The federation itself is a product of international solidarity and understands the value of support from the international community. Apartheid South Africa would not have been brought down in 1994 purely through diplomatic pressure. Apartheid was ended firstly by the struggle of the mass liberation movement, assisted by an international solidarity campaign. While Zimbabwe is not of course equal to apartheid South Africa, there is still a need to express our solidarity with our fellow workers in their fight for trade union rights and for political space," Cosatu explained. "Cosatu has consistently taken a similar view of attacks on trade unions rights in Swaziland, Nigeria and other places and will continue to do so. "Cosatu cannot be held responsible for either the ignorance of those who suggest we have suddenly woken up to target Zimbabwe nor we can be made to account for selective amnesia of others. "Nor can we be held responsible for views expressed by the media, opposition parties and political commentators, in response to the expulsion of the Cosatu mission. Most of the time our views are freely available in our public positions and resolutions."
"The aim of our mission was not to undermine the Zimbabwean government, nor to embarrass the ANC or President Mbeki. We reject any insinuation that Cosatu seeks to unseat the Zanu PF government. All we have called for is free political activity, repeal of repressive legislation and ending of routine harassment of trade unionists. It is also preposterous to say that the expulsion of the mission somehow suggests a split in the alliance or that Cosatu both deserved and invited expulsion from the Zimbabwe government," the statement added. If other groups such as the Democratic Alliance opportunistically derived political capital out of the Cosatu mission, "this should not serve as grounds to delegitimise our position," Cosatu stressed. "The letter to Cosatu from the government of Zimbabwe stated that the mission was 'not appropriate' because it bypassed a process agreed upon between the governments, labour and business leaders of South Africa and Zimbabwe which was to address the political dimension of labour in Zimbabwe.
"An article in ANC Today refers to this as a 'Joint Tripartite Commission' between South Africa and Zimbabwe. But in fact no such structure exists. This untruth is being peddled in order to create an impression that Cosatu and the ZCTU (Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions) failed to use existing structures to address their concerns and therefore had other intentions when it sent the mission to Zimbabwe. Cosatu said the "commission", which to its and the ZCTU's knowledge never materialised, was a consequence of an informal meeting at a International Labour organisation meeting in 2003, where Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana had suggested to Cosatu and business representative Bokkie Botha that South Africa's they should initiate a more constructive engagement between the parties in Zimbabwe. "Both the ZCTU and the Minister of Labour of Zimbabwe agreed that a meeting involving all the tripartite parties of both countries could be held." This never happened. "Giving the initiative a name 'Joint Tripartite Commission' is an attempt to give a non-existent structure political weight. This forms part and parcel of a strategy to launch a political attack on Cosatu and ZCTU by the Zimbabwe government. The question that must be asked is when was this so-called Joint Tripartite Commission inaugurated? Who are the commissioners? When was its first or last meeting? Who attended such a meeting? Certainly COSATU and ZCTU were not part of the meeting. Neither were the employers. While this was an excellent initiative... it has unfortunately not become a reality."
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From The Globe and Mail (Canada), 6 November
Zimbabwe's exiles live 'between danger zones'
An estimated 4 million people have fled Mugabe's regime, many of them finding work in South Africa, Stephanie Nolen reports
Atteridgeville squatter camp, South Africa - Climb the hill through the shacks and past the water pump. Take a right at the Luv is in Da Hair beauty salon, built in half a shipping container painted turquoise. Here, 20 minutes outside Pretoria on a dirt road crammed between houses constructed of scrounged metal scrap, is the workshop: Behind thick green tarp to block prying eyes, 30 men labour, sawing old shipping pallets and turning them into crude furniture. It's hot, and the curls of sawdust stick to sweat-streaked skin. The men work seven days a week, from early morning until long past dark. They risked drowning, crocodiles, electrocution and worse to get here. But they can earn the equivalent of $40 a week, a fortune for their families back home. All of these men are Zimbabwean, and with one exception are 17 to 25 years old, the prime age for forced recruitment into the Green Bombers, Zimbabwe's notorious youth militia. They fled their home country, where the fields are empty, the stores are empty, inflation runs at about 400 per cent and any suspicion of sympathy for the opposition to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his regime is enough to have the police pounding at the door in the dark of night. "We live," July Bistongo said, "between danger zones."
There are an estimated four million Zimbabweans, or a quarter of the population, in exile. Some are political exiles -- judges, journalists, lawyers driven out of the country for supporting the opposition or simply attempting to operate independent news media. Others are the so-called "economic refugees," like this group, although their exile, too, has its roots in politics. A decade ago, Zimbabwe was an African success story, with one of the highest literacy rates on the continent, a thriving economy and an agricultural sector so healthy the country fed many of its neighbours. Then Zimbabwe was hit hard by structural-adjustment programs put forward by international institutions such as the World Bank, which badly undercut spending on health and education. The country really went off the rails in the late 1990s, when the Movement for Democratic Change emerged as the first serious opposition to Mr. Mugabe's Zanu PF Party. Mr. Mugabe had embarked on a heavily politicized "fast-track land-reform" program that was supposed to see the large, mostly white-owned commercial farms that dominated the agricultural sector handed over to landless black Zimbabweans. In reality, however, most of the farms were transferred to the wealthy colleagues of Mr. Mugabe. Many white farmers and their considerable expertise were driven from the country. The black farm workers who once worked for the white farmers are jobless. The large farms lie idle and the great majority of blacks are subsistence farming on small plots.
The region is experiencing a drought this year, as it has for the past several years, and that exacerbates the problem. Zimbabwe, once so productive, will have a serious food shortage this year, though the government continues to insist there is no problem. About 4.8 million people will be critically short of food, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization warned. The FAO estimates the harvest this year at 950,000 tonnes (as opposed to the government figure of 2.4 million tonnes) and said that an estimated 30 per cent to 40 per cent of farmers are running out of food (the next harvest will be in April). Meanwhile, the average labourer earns enough only to feed a typical family for two days a week, and the price of corn has doubled since April. And there is only one sort of job to be had these days in rural Zimbabwe. "You can't work if you don't go and do their training, join their forces - but the only job you get from that is beating people or being one of 10 guys to rape a girl, and you get AIDS," said Timothy Mhlang, 25, one of the workers in the bustling little furniture co-operative, part of the secretive network of ways in which Zimbabweans refugees try to assist each other.
Human-rights groups such as Amnesty International has documented numerous incidents of forced conscription into the national youth militia that is ostensibly a skills-training program for young people, and of assaults and gang rape by militia members. Suspicion of sympathy for the opposition is enough to have you killed. It's also enough to keep you from being fed. "Everybody needs food at home now," said Mr. Bistongo, 23, who left home in Chipenga two months ago. "But if you don't show a membership card [in the Zanu PF] or if they think you are opposition, you can't get it. Sometimes there are soldiers with lists [of Zanu members, at distribution points for heavily subsidized food by the National Grain Marketing Board] and sometimes they just have their spies there to say who should be allowed to get food." Such allegations are confirmed in a new Amnesty International report called Zimbabwe: Power and Hunger, Violations of the Right to Food.
Rocky Rakings, 19, in charge of varnishing table tops, left home in Checheche, Zimbabwe, last month. His family could no longer survive on the 40,000 Zimbabwean dollars (about $8) he was earning each month doing agricultural labour. He has saved $40 from the furniture shop to take home to his parents, four brothers, wife and baby son, none of whom can find work. But the journey from Checheche was perilous, and he dreads the thought of returning to deliver the money. "To come here, you must travel through the bush, and then you have to cross the [Limpopo] River -- there can be crocodiles and hippopotamus. Sometimes you must swim. When you get across, there are the fences." Here, Mr. Mhlang took up the narrative. They cross at night, to avoid patrolling South African helicopters. The first fence is not so bad, about 1.5 metres, he said, and they climb over or dig under that one. The next fence, though, is much higher and electrified. He used a couple of tools from the workshop to mime the pole-vaulting technique they use to clear it. "The third fence is better, but it has razor wire at the top." Once over, often bleeding, they head for the bush again, to avoid patrolling jeeps. Travelling at night, they finally reach the highway, and flag down a truck headed for Johannesburg, Durban or Pretoria, somewhere they can get lost in a squatter camp like this one. "You have to say everything you need to say to your family when you go," Mr. Bistongo said, his voice cracking a little. "Because you don't know when you're coming back."
The men said they were glad to have the work in South Africa, but life is hard here, too. They pay about $20 a month to rent living space in shacks, and they are in constant fear of raids. South Africa, with 40 per cent unemployment, does not want the immigrants. And the government takes a weak stand on Zimbabwe because much of the prime land in South Africa is still in white hands and because Mr. Mugabe is still revered here for his role in the liberation of Zimbabwe. So South Africa will not acknowledge the political crisis in Zimbabwe, and thus few refugees can claim asylum; they must live as "illegals." "It's worst at the end of the month, when the police are short of money. They come and pick you up and they want 100 rand or 80 rand [about $20] to let you go," Mr. Mhlang said. None of these men was an active or formal member of the opposition. "You must keep your political affairs only in your heart," Mr. Rakings said. There will be an election in Zimbabwe in March, but the men do not think it will change things. "You know who will win," one said. "So we will stay here, earning money to give our families."
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From The Sunday Mirror, 7 November
Mutiple farm ownership scandal deepens
Staff Writer
In a shocking revelation, Minister of Special Affairs responsible for Lands, Land Reform and Land Resettlement, John Nkomo told The Sunday Mirror that contrary to public belief, the contentious issue of multiple farm ownership was on the increase in the country. "We are getting news that there are more multiple farm owners, not only in the A2 commercial farming scheme but also in the A1 villagisation scheme...I am having to sign tonnes and tonnes of withdrawal letters," said Nkomo. He said the lack of a governing law at the start of the fast-track land reform exercise in 2000 had prompted many individuals to amass more than one farm. Nkomo said: "They (multiple farm owners) took advantage of the fact that there was no law then (in 2000), whilst others simply acted out of greed and the desire to amass more than one farm." The Special Affairs minister highlighted that the issue was not confined to VIPs in government and the ruling party, but also extended to ordinary Zimbabweans in the A1 villagisation scheme, who had managed to grab more than one farm at the height of the land reform programme.
He however said government would not compromise on the matter of multiple farm ownership, as all excess farmland and under-utilised land would automatically revert to being State land. "Anyone who remains on State land once given a withdrawal letter by my ministry will be guilty of a criminal offence. We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone refusing to give up excess farmland." Nkomo also assured the Zimbabwean public that his ministry would soon be on top of the problem before the end of the year, saying he had streamlined the system in a decentralisation drive through which anomalies within the land reform programme were identified and dealt with effectively. He said that his ministry would work in conjunction with district land identification committees, which would identify underutilised land and cases of multiple farm ownership, before reporting the cases to the provincial land identification committees. "Provincial land identification committees will then give head office their findings from the province. The findings are made up of schedules with names of multiple farm owners and the properties in question from which my ministry at head office will proceed to sign withdrawal letters," said Nkomo.
The Ministry of Special Affairs recently held a two-day workshop where Nkomo warned against corrupt people who were circumventing normal procedures in acquiring land. At the workshop, Nkomo admitted that under the model A2 commercial farming scheme, a lot of land was currently underutilised due to multiple farm ownership. The problem of multiple farm ownership has long been a contentious issue for government after a number of senior party stalwarts allocated themselves more than one farm, more often than not in areas of prime arable land. Nkomo, who was given charge of the ministry to solve anomalies arising from the land reform programme earlier on this year, has been struggling to bring the problem of multiple farm ownership under control. President Robert Mugabe has repeatedly blasted multiple farm owners over the past two years declaring that every individual was entitled to one farm under the one-man one-farm policy, but these efforts met with little success. Tangible results started to materialise this year for Nkomo after a number of fingered senior government officials were issued with withdrawal letters for the excess farmland that was identified in the withdrawal letters.
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From The Sunday Times (SA), 7 November
Corruption blow to Zimbabwe's heir apparent
Sunday Times Foreign Desk
The ambitions of Zimbabwe's Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa have suffered yet another blow. Mnangagwa - widely perceived as Mugabe's heir apparent - has been named in a Zanu PF corruption probe into party-owned businesses which he runs. A Zanu PF report in possession of the Sunday Times says that the party's run-down business empire has been mismanaged. Mnangagwa has presided over the swathe of companies for a long time. The report is likely to further damage his reputation ahead of the Zanu PF congress in December where new leaders will be elected. Mnangagwa and Zanu PF chairman John Nkomo are seen as joint frontrunners in the race to succeed Mugabe. Mnangagwa has in the past been accused of trading illegally in gold and of being involved in the looting of precious minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A few years ago he was linked to a massive airport bribery scandal and although he denied the allegations, his image was badly damaged. Mnangagwa stands accused by colleagues of mismanaging Treger Holdings, Mike Appel, Catercraft, Fibrolite, Zidlee, Southern African Re-Insurance Company (Sare), Zidco Holdings and First Bank. The report says that the mismanagement has led to the closure of some of the firms, including Fibrolite and a First Bank branch in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the report:
A Zanu PF investment company, Namibia/Zimbabwe, was recently also closed "due to mismanagement and its property looted by unknown people"; Most Zanu PF companies have not been audited for years and their books are in a shambles. Dividends due to Zanu PF cannot be accounted for; A $650-million Treger Holdings cheque for dividends declared on February 18 2003 for the year ended December 31 2002, was also missing; and About $120-million was missing from M&S Investments. The report also questioned the sale of Zanu PF interests in National Blankets, Woolworths and the Ottawa Building. Three directors of M&S Syndicate, Zanu PF's holding company - Manharlal Chiunilal Joshi, Jayant Chiunilal Joshi and Dipak Pandya - fled in May. Mnangagwa, who was grilled by the investigation committee, denied that he had assisted the men to flee the country in an attempt to frustrate the probe. The three directors, who had been in charge of the companies since 1980, worked closely with Mnangagwa and were responsible for the M&S Syndicate's financial records.
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Comment from The Sunday Argus (SA), 7 November
Zimbabwe: what is to be done?
By Blade Nzimande
The recent expulsion of Cosatu from Zimbabwe reminds us that we in the ANC-led alliance have not always found it easy to effectively position ourselves on the Zimbabwe crisis. Of course, Zimbabweans themselves must find their own solutions, but no one doubts that South Africans - whether in government or in civil society - also have an important role. In the first place, we in the South African liberation movement have a long, common history with the ruling party in Harare (in particular its Zapu component). This history should never be forgotten. It should also be remembered that, in the immediate post-independence period, the Zimbabwean liberation movement led the country on a significant social redistribution programme, with notable gains in education and health care. However, much of the present crisis is centred on Zanu PF itself through internal stagnation, social distance from the mass base, factionalism and serious policy mistakes.
For the first decade of independence, the ruling party accommodated a capitalist growth path in the industrial and dominant commercial agriculture sectors, encouraging some capitalist indigenisation, while pursuing redistributive policies for the majority: the so-called "two economies" approach which essentially left the mainstream capitalist economy untouched. There were successes but by the mid-1990s the redistributive social programmes could no longer be sustained fiscally within the constraints of a largely untransformed capitalist economy.
With a burgeoning debt, Zimbabwe was increasingly vulnerable to an externally enforced structural adjustment programme. From an ANC-led alliance perspective, then, Zanu PF presents a complex challenge. The complexities have not been helped by a wider domestic setting in which certain opposition parties (notably the DA) have run a thinly disguised racist campaign. They have sought to use the Zimbabwean crisis as an example of what happens when "they" (a black majority) take over. This is complemented by a nauseating barrage of white voices sermonising on Zimbabwe on radio phone-in programmes, and in this case the racism is even less disguised. At a popular level in our country and movement, there has often been a knee-jerk back-lash against this current: "If Tony Leon insults Mugabe, then Mugabe must be a hero."
Yet another complicating factor has been the role played by external forces, notably the UK government. It is against this general background that last week's heavy-handed expulsion of a Cosatu fact-finding delegation to Zimbabwe occurred. We should, of course, not allow any of this to deflect us from a sober, thoughtful and comradely intra-Alliance analysis and discussion of Zimbabwe in order to fully debate the Zimbabwean situation and reach a common approach. The main features of the South African government approach to the Zimbabwe crisis are:
While the crisis in Zimbabwe has multiple dimensions, the critical blockage at present is political in character. A political resolution as such will not resolve all the other economic, social and moral problems, but it is the precondition for being able to make any serious headway. The SACP agrees. Based on this assumption, the South African government has, with the apparent concurrence of the two major political protagonists in Zimbabwe, identified free and fair elections, whose outcome will be accepted by both major parties, as the key unblocking mechanism. The assumption is that after such elections, and regardless of who wins, the political conditions will have been created for some kind of patriotic, nationally unifying developmental project that addresses the all-round crisis.
The SA government, again with the apparent concurrence of Zanu PF and MDC has identified a three-step process to unblock the impasse and to arrive at conditions for free and fair elections: These include negotiations between Zanu PF and MDC to agree on the measures necessary for elections including constitutional reforms; a phased implementation of these agreed pre-electoral measures and constitutional amendments and other confidence-building steps; and the actual holding of parliamentary elections. But are free and fair elections in Zimbabwe actually a realistic short-term prospect?
The 2000 launch of MDC to successfully contest a constitutional referendum, and then (nearly successfully) parliamentary elections in 2000, and subsequent presidential elections in 2002, has resulted in a Zimbabwean political reality that is very (perhaps excessively) focused on elections. On the side of the MDC, the very rapid rise to electoral prominence has meant that social movement, trade union and other energies have been considerably focused on an electoral project, on winning elections, on contesting in court the results of elections, and on preparing the ground for different elections with a palpable sense that everything will change at the "next elections". On the side of Zanu PF the electoral rise of the MDC has led to an ever-narrowing laager mentality. Conspiracies are seen (or constructed) everywhere. The hastily launched land reform programme was less about land reform, and more about seeking to consolidate the Zanu PF apparatus and its electoral base.
The unleashing of youth militias and other violence is also very much based on electoral calculations, with heightened violence occurring around by-elections, etc. Anti-democratic steps - tightening up on media laws, outlawing newspapers, the prosecution of the MDC leadership - are all also driven essentially by electoral calculations. Zanu PF is less and less a liberation movement confidently fostering a progressive hegemony in the country and region, and more and more a repressive machine focused narrowly on holding on to power. Therefore, while pushing firmly for democratic elections in Zimbabwe, we must be sober in our expectations. There is very little to suggest that Zanu PF, in particular, is seriously and confidently preparing to lay the foundations for a democratic process. Almost all of the indicators (including the expulsion of Cosatu) are pointing in the opposite direction for t |
