Reuters
Tue May 2, 2006 4:05 PM GMT
By MacDonald
Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's embattled government is likely to
print money
and increase domestic borrowing to fund civil servants' salary
hikes, which
will push the world's highest inflation rate up further,
analysts said on
Tuesday.
President Robert Mugabe's government last
week raised public service and
military salaries by up to 300 percent amid
media reports that the step had
been initiated by security chiefs to ensure
loyalty against threats of mass
protests by the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change.
The government is accused by critics of ruining a once
promising economy,
plunging it into a crisis marked by rising joblessness,
shortages of foreign
currency, fuel and food and an inflation rate gliding
towards the 1,000
percent mark.
"There is no doubt the government
will have to borrow to finance the
salaries and this is destructive
economically," economic consultant Eric
Bloch told Reuters.
Political
and economic analysts say protest calls could resonate among a
broad range
of disgruntled citizens who also have to deal on a daily basis
with breaking
sewer systems, water and electricity cuts, uncollected garbage
and bad
roads.
Mugabe, in power since independence from Britain in 1980,
indicated in
February his government could print money to shore up an
economy ditched by
international donors over policy differences with Harare,
such as its
seizures of white-owned farms for blacks.
"Alternatively
(to borrowing) they will have to print money and this is a
more likely
option although it is not sustainable," said an economic analyst
with a
Harare financial institution.
BALLOONING DOMESTIC DEBT
Analysts
said borrowing would widen the budget deficit and balloon its
domestic debt
from around 15.1 trillion Zimbabwe dollars while printing
money would fuel
broad money supply growth.
The Ministry of Finance had projected a budget
deficit of 4.6 percent of
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006 while its
wage bill was expected to
stand at 40 percent of its total expenditures,
targets analysts said would
be missed.
The budget deficit amounted to
8.6 percent of GDP in 2005.
The government had initially set aside 30
trillion Zimbabwe dollars for its
wage bill, but analysts say this is set to
nearly treble after the new
salaries.
The analysts say Zimbabwe's
main source of inflationary pressures are
uncontrolled government spending
and borrowing.
"There will be huge implications on money supply growth
because the money is
for consumption purposes and will compound the problem
on the inflation
front," David Mupamhadze, an economist at Zimbabwe Allied
Banking group
said.
"The new salaries for civil servants will be used
as the benchmark across
the board which will have an impact on inflation but
some firms could close
after failing to award such increases," said
Mupamhadze.
Most Zimbabwean companies are operating below 30 percent of
capacity due to
high inflation and foreign currency shortages, forcing some
firms to
retrench thousands of workers since 2000.
Zimbabwe's main
labour body, which has led a series of anti-government
protests as workers
grapple with the escalating crisis, has vowed to launch
mass protests at an
unspecified time despite Mugabe's threats that these
would be ruthlessly
crushed.
Mugabe, 82, denies responsibility for Zimbabwe's economic rot,
and charges
in turn that the economy has been sabotaged by domestic and
foreign
opponents of his forcible redistribution of white-owned commercial
farms.
Political Gateway
HARARE, Zimbabwe, May 2 (UPI) -- Zimbabwe is a study in
contrasts, with a
new presidential palace that has 25 rooms and an inflation
rate closing in
on 1,000 percent.
That means that a no-frills funeral
costs about $6 million in Zimbabwean
dollars, and a loaf of bread costs
$250,000. At least, those are some of
this week's
rates.
Unemployment, meanwhile, hovers around 80 percent.
Oddly,
things look good in the capital of Harare. That's where President
Robert
Mugabe, an aging guerrilla fighter who became head of state 26 years
ago by
fighting rapacious British colonizers, just built his glimmering new
digs.
But outside Harare's leafy gated suburbs what used to be called
"Africa's
breadbasket" is little more than a basket case.
In fact, Zimbabwe's
inflation is rising so quickly that many Internet
currency conversion sites
don't even try to keep up with it. One that does,
however, listed it Tuesday
as being worth 0.00001017 U.S. dollar.
Last month the country's Marxist
government tried something new: Contacting
those rapacious colonizers to see
what it would take to get them to return
and do whatever it is they used to
do.
Mmegi, Botswana
KETO
SEGWAI
Staff Writer
5/2/2006 3:54:40 PM (GMT +2)
Two Botswana Television (Btv) crew,a journalist and an unidentified
cameramen were arrested by Zimbabwean authorities at the Matsiloje border
gate on Sunday. Journalist Beauty Mokoba and a yet to be identified
television cameraman were still in detention by late yesterday. The driver
of the government vehicle was apparently allowed to return to
Botswana.
Senior Supe-rintendent, Foreman Baganetswe, the
officer commanding of
Number 15 Dis-trict - Francis-town, confirmed the
incident. "The case has
been brought to our attention. We understand they
were arrested at about 12
noon. We are however yet to get in touch with our
Zimbabwean counterparts to
ascertain the charges they could be facing. Our
officers from Matsiloje went
there (to Zimbabwe) today but were unable to
get assistance, apparently due
to the public holiday," he told Mmegi
yesterday. Baganetswe could not
however speculate on the circumstances
surrounding the arrest of the duo.
The newly appointed director of
Broadcasting Services, Bapasi Mphusu could
not comment. The presidential
spokesman, Dr. Jeff Ramsay and foreign affairs
spokesman, Clifford Maribe
were not aware of the incident. Mmegi had wanted
to establish with the
Department of Broadcasting Services the nature of the
assignment and the
charges they are facing in Zimbabwe. Unconfirmed reports
are that the crew
had apparently gone to Zimbabwe as a follow-up on the
stories of
cross-border livestock rustling, which recently led to the
destruction of 20
heads of cattle that were recovered from Zimbabwe. The
cattle had been
stolen from a Maitengwe farmer. The Botswana police are also
investigating a
case in which 35 young yearling oxen, one bull and seven
cows bearing
Zimbabwe brand marks were rounded up between the Dumela
industrial site and
the Monarch estate in Francistown last week. A
Zimbabwean herdsman is
assisting the police in the investigations. Zimbabwe
has some of the most
draconian media laws in the region, which were
introduced since 2002. Among
these, is the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (AIPA),
which bars all foreign nationals from
reporting in Zimbabwe. Foreign
correspondents may only be allowed to cover
special events. Under these
laws, a journalist working in Zimbabwe without
the government-issued licence
is liable to a two-year jail sentence or a
P10, 200 fine or both. The
architect of the controversial media laws, former
Zimbabwean information
minister, Jonathan Moyo by then defended the new laws
arguing that they are
intended to "protect the state from attacks by enemies
of the
country."
Business in Africa
Posted Tue, 02 May 2006
Harare - Zimbabwe's biggest mining
group, Rio Zim, said on Friday that
output of gold, nickel and diamond in
the first quarter of the year had
dropped compared to the same period last
year, but did not give reasons.
It said production of gold, its main
mineral, had gone down from 5 956
ounces in the first quarter of last year,
to 5 787 ounces this year, while
nickel output dropped from 1 604 tonnes in
the first quarter of 2005 to 1
527 tonnes this year.
The biggest drop
was in diamond production. Rio Zim said a total of 48 472
carats were
produced in the first quarter of this year, compared to 65 869
carats in
2005.
Although it did not give reasons for the drop in mineral
production, experts
said high inflation and interest rates - both in the 1
000 percent range -
were partly responsible for the decline.
Most
Zimbabwean companies, reeling under the heavy burden of high inflation
and
interest rates, have scaled down operations. It is likely that Robert
Mugabe's plans to nationalise foreign-owned mines have also had a negative
impact on production. -panapress
The Herald (Harare)
May 2,
2006
Posted to the web May 2, 2006
Harare
GOVERNMENT is making
strenuous efforts to ensure that the targeted 110 000
hectares are put under
wheat production, Agriculture Minister Dr Joseph Made
said last
week.
This is contrary to farmer organisations' projections that the
targeted
hectarage could not be achieved. The Zimbabwe Farmers' Union and
Zimbabwe
Commercial Farmers' Union both indicated that only 45 000 hectares
could be
put under the crop, citing late disbursement of funds from
Agribank. So far,
the bank has released just $70 billion, two weeks away
from the planting
deadline. Agribank has set aside $700 billion for this
year's winter wheat
production. However, Dr Made said all measures were
being put in place and
expressed optimism that the 110 000ha target was
still achievable.
"The ministry has distributed wheat seeds at all Grain
Marketing Board
depots countrywide so that communal farmers can have access
to them. "I urge
small-scale farmers to start preparations for the winter
wheat season,
especially in areas like the Midlands which have received some
rain showers
for the past two weeks," he said. The minister also took a
swipe at people
who masqueraded as farmers so a s to acquire fuel at
subsidised prices and
resell it at exorbitant prices on the parallel market.
"I am not attacking
(genuine) farmers, but those who pretend to be farmers
in order for them to
obtain fuel. We are going to take stern measures to
make sure that
subsidised fuel will be put to good use.
"The security
agencies will be deployed to make sure that diesel will be
given to genuine
farmers who mean business," the minister said. The National
Oil Company of
Zimbabwe (Noczim) has also put in place watertight mechanisms
to ensure that
the subsidised fuel is utilised for productive instead of
speculative
purposes. Analysts believe that if the Government maintains its
present
resolve, wheat output for this year's winter growing season would be
significantly higher than last year's. For the past five years, the
Government has provided farmers with heavily subsidised inputs to stimulate
production, but these incentives have been the subject of rampant abuse by
some farmers wh o diverted the inputs to the black market.
Meanwhile,
an Agribank official was at the weekend quoted as saying the land
bank had
so far processed a total of 1 067 applications throughout the
country and
had already disbursed $145 billion. Manicaland had submitted 236
loan
applications worth $52,267 billion. Of these, 152 worth $26,640 billion
had
been granted. A total of 123 applications worth $23,173 billion were
received from Mashonaland East. However, only 96 were successful, resulting
in $10,669 billion being disbursed. Mashonaland West had the highest number
of applicants, at 463, with 410 of them worth $55,372 billion having been
approved. At the bottom of the list was Harare with 88 applications, with 64
farmers being granted loans worth $10,135 billion. The loan distribution was
in line with the geographical spread of Zimbabwe's wheat-growing areas,
which are concentrated in the fertile Mashonaland West, traditionally the
country's breadbasket.
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
02 May 2006
Water shortages and power cuts in
the capital have so far been a very
serious problem for residents in the
eastern suburbs and high density areas
like Mabvuku, Highlands and Hatfield.
But as the crisis has continued
without any solutions or practical repairs
being done, the western suburbs
are now also experiencing life without these
two basic necessities.
Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa said the
Central Business District
and the suburbs of Westgate, Marlborough and
Mabelreign have fallen victim
to extended power outages and days without
water. He said government offices
in the CBD have not spared. Muchemwa also
told us he has been seeing
residents from the eastern suburbs collecting
water from the pumps outside
the National Sports Stadium. The complex has 3
venues each with outdoor
pumps used by maintenance and construction and
security squads. Muchemwa
said those who live close by are carrying the
containers home, but others
coming from as far as Westgate are ferrying the
containers in their cars.
The Zimbabwe Water Authority (ZINWA) have
been blamed for failing to
acquire enough treatment chemicals for the water
and for failing to repair
leaking pipes and broken down pumps. ZINWA was
assigned to takeover the
billing for water charges in Harare when rates were
increased last month.
They are also responsible for distributing water to
residents in the
capital. Muchemwa said some of the decisions being made
make no sense. He
said sometimes water or power is cut off during the day
when people need it
most, and then turned back on at night while they are
sleeping.
Muchemwa said the bottom line is there is no money for
chemicals and
spare parts. The power cuts are also contributing to the water
crisis
because pump engines need power. He said the situation appears to be
getting
worse with many more people now looking for sources of clean water.
People
are also searching for alternative means to get power and this could
get
dangerous.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
New Zimbabwe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZIMBABWEAN
opposition legislator David Coltart has been trying to mediate
between the
two feuding factions of the Movement for Democratic Change. Last
week, he
spoke told of his frustrations at failing to get the two groups --
one led
by Arthur Mutambara and the other led by Morgan Tsvangirai -- to
agree on an
'amicable divorce'. In the second part of an interview with SW
Radio
Africa's Violet Gonda, Coltart says he will soon decide which faction
to
join based on their commitment to the principle of non-violence -- to him
the central issue that caused the
split.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last
updated: 05/02/2006 19:32:19
VIOLET: In a letter to the two factions, Coltart
noted that some of the
leaders are skeptical about his intentions and his
ability to play a
mediation role. So in this final segment, I first asked
him about his
personal views and where he stands.
COLTART: I think it's
inevitable, let me say this, I have been viewed with
suspicion by both sides
and that is an inevitable consequence of adopting
the position that I have.
I do have personal views which I am not going to
reveal on this programme
because it's not the right time to reveal those
views.
I recognise
that time is running out and I will have to make a decision
fairly shortly
because it does appear as if my attempts to broker peace, to
broker an
amicable divorce, are not going to be achieved. But having said
that, let me
say that I believe both sides are to blame for this division. I
am not going
to apportion blame, or rank blame this evening but I think that
ultimately
it was a collective failure of leadership, it was a collective
failure (and)
both sides are to blame.
All of us are not immune from blame. I think it
is a collective
responsibility. I am responsible for this, and everyone
should recognise
that there are no saints in politics, there are no saints
on either side. It
has been a failure of both sides of the MDC, it's been a
failure of people
in the media, it's been a failure of people in civil
society and human
rights movement who have taken such absolutist views and
positions, and in
so doing, they have ensured that this dispute will become
permanent, that
this divorce will become permanent.
I come back to
the theme of intolerance. I have been appalled by the
intolerance shown on
both sides. I believe that had we had seen more
responsibility, more
restraint shown by leaders on both sides early on, way
back in October and
November, this still could have been resolved and both
sides could have been
reconciled.
But at the end of the day I recognise that this attempt to
reconcile will
probably fail, and when that happens, I am going to be forced
to make a
decision. I am going to be forced to one or other camp, but let me
say this,
ultimately my decision is going to be based on what for me is the
core
issue, and that is our commitment to non-violence.
Let me stress
this Violet, that there are many different tiers, many
different reasons why
this dispute has taken place. The personal issue for
me is the issue of our
commitment to non-violence and ultimately my decision
will be based on which
group, which faction has demonstrated a greater
commitment to respecting the
principle of non-violence.
VIOLET: But do you not think right now is the
time you should make your
position clear or known for the sake of progress
as you say time is running
out, and maybe if these issues were thrown out
into the public domain people
will be able to make the right decisions. Do
you not think that you have
been sitting on the fence for too
long?
COLTART: Well I think, first of all let me say that I disagree with
that
phrase 'sitting on the fence'. Sitting on the fence implies that a
person is
waiting to see which way the wind is blowing and then the person
just goes
with the direction in which the wind is blowing hardest. I don't
believe I
have been doing that. I believe that in the position I have put
myself in, I
have if anything, developed suspicion from both sides. I didn't
attend
either congress, I could have, I am sure gone to one of the
congresses and
tried to get a much higher and lofty position than I am sure
I may be
offered now by either faction.
So I dispute this notion of
sitting on the fence. I think I have been more
in the political wilderness
on my own trying to broker peace, but having
said that, I agree with you
that I think that the time is rapidly coming
that I do have to make a
decision. I think I have given this a full go, I
think that I have tried for
six months now, I hate to admit but I think I
have failed and now I will
have to make a decision and in fact I already
have started a process of
consultation. As I see it, I have four possible
options.
The first is
to join the Tsvangirai faction. The second is to join the
Mutambara faction.
The third is to try to become an independent and the
fourth is to resign
from politics completely and go back to my roots which
is of course the
civic society and the human rights movement.
And I have started speaking
to people I trust and respect right across the
board to gauge their opinion.
The majority opinion seems to be at present
that I should not leave
politics. In the course of the next few days and
weeks I will get greater
clarity on what decision I have to make.
VIOLET: What's your gut feeling
though?
COLTART: (Laughs) Well I know that you are keen on the scoop
Violet and
unfortunately I can't give you that tonight. But of the four
options, civil
society doesn't appear to be an option because virtually
everyone has said
that I should remain in politics, that I have an
obligation to people who
elected me. Some people lost their lives to get the
likes of me elected and
it would be irresponsible for me to abandon my
constituency.
I think constitutionally, that is, in terms of the Zimbabwe
constitution, it
would be difficult to become an independent. So I am
probably down to two
choices, will I join the Tsvangirai faction or the
Mutambara faction? That's
the decision I have to make and I am sure I will
make in the not too distant
future.
VIOLET: And you said earlier on
in the discussion that the issue of violence
is what's going to determine
your decision isn't? Now in your letter to the
two groups, you said that you
notice that there is an even more disturbing
trend and that is that of
violence. Who is primarily responsible for that
and who do you blame for
frustrating your efforts to try and reconcile?
COLTART: Let me say this,
that there has been violence perpetrated by both
sides in the last six
months. I was absolutely appalled by the assault on
Bekithemba Nyathi on the
eve of Morgan Tsvangirai's star rally in the run-up
to the senatorial
elections. I have known Bekithemba Nyathi for a long time,
he works in a law
firm close to my law firm and that young man lost his eye
as a result of
that assault which was perpetrated against him by hooligans
in what is now
termed the Mutambara faction even though Arthur Mutambara of
course didn't
have a role at that time.
But equally, the other faction, the Tsvangirai
faction, has been recently
responsible for equally disturbing assaults in
the form of hijackings and
verbal assaults in the form of Morgan Femai the
Harare chairman saying that
their goal was to, and I quote, 'stamp out the
Mutambara faction before they
move on to tackle Zanu PF'. Now that's
unacceptable in my view. I am not on
this programme going to say who I
believe is responsible for most violence,
I will will do that in a very
considered way. I will write about it because
I think people need to
understand my thought process, and it's impossible on
a radio interview like
this to go through the full history and to explain
who I believe to be most
responsible for violence. Let me say that as I make
decisions, I will be
seeking assurances from people on both sides regarding
their commitment to
non-violence. Let me say that I am not talking about
mere lip service, if
you look at that letter that I wrote regarding the
Alabama human rights
movement and the pledge drafted by Martin Luther King,
at one stage he says
that people are to refrain from the violence of the
fist, tongue and
heart.
And the point I am making in that letter is that it is very easy
for leaders
to refrain from the violence of the fist and the tongue. The
question I put
to leaders is whether they are prepared to refrain from the
violence of the
heart. And by heart I mean the issue of leaders who are
prepared, behind
closed doors, to encourage young people to go out and
perpetrate acts of
violence so long they, that is, the political leaders,
are not in any way
associated with that.
Let me bring in my own
history. As everyone knows, I fought for (Ian) Smith.
As an 18-year-old, I
was conscripted to go and fight for Ian Smith as a
gullible, impressionable
18-year-old. I was subjected to peer pressure, and
let me say against the
wishes of my parents who were liberals who did not
want me to go and fight
for the white minority regime, I went and fought and
I could have lost my
life. I thank God that I didn't lose my life but I saw
and I learnt a lesson
then that all the politicians are very often willing
to sacrifice young,
gullible, impressionable men and women in the pursuit of
their own political
goal.
I am very disdainful, I'm very skeptical of political leaders who
are
prepared to act behind closed doors in Zimbabwe today. And so I am not
impressed simply by mere statements by political leaders at rallies that
they condemn violence, that they are committed to non-violence.
What
I want to see is a political leader who behind closed doors is prepared
to
deal with violence, prepared to tell his or her followers that they will
not
tolerate violence in any form. I seek those types of assurances from
leaders
in both factions, and it is that issue that will ultimately
determine which
faction I go to.
VIOLET: Now, just to end, do you still believe that the
MDC is a viable
party and can they lead mass action?
COLTART: I
suppose it depends what you mean by the MDC. As I said right at
the outset
in October and what I have consistently said since then, I don't
believe
that these two entities, these two factions, will ever be as strong
independent of each other as they were as one united political party. There
is no doubt in my mind that this division has greatly weakened opposition
politics Zimbabwe.
And whilst it is encouraging to see how many
people have turned out for the
Tsvangirai faction's rallies, that is not a
new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. And
Morgan Tsvangirai has always managed to
attract people but the sad reality
is that despite all the rhetoric and the
propaganda, he is still not
attracting the same number of people that the
united party used to attract.
That is an indisputable fact and because of
that, and this is the sobering
reality of our situation, (sic) let's assume
that the Tsvangirai faction
continues to grow from strength to strength I
still believe it will not be
as strong as it was when it had the likes of
Priscilla Misihairabwi
Mushonga, Welshman Ncube, Gibson Sibanda and all the
other patriots who were
not with that group. And likewise, the Mutambara
faction is greatly weakened
without the talents of Morgan Tsvangirai and
Tendai Biti.
Everyone needs to understand that and those who have adopted
such biased,
intolerant positions should recognise that we all need to work
together even
as two separate political factions or entities or political
parties, we need
to work together because we are not going to bring
democracy to Zimbabwe
until we start respecting each other and working
together albeit as two
separate organisations.
VIOLET: We have to end
here, thank you very much Mr Coltart.
COLTART: Thank you very much
Violet.
From ZWNEWS, 2 May
Book
review
What Happens After Mugabe? Can Zimbabwe Rise From the Ashes? -
Geoff Hill
Consider this scenario: After six years of open conflict,
a deeply unpopular
administration, short of both cash and ideas and aided
and abetted by the
South African government, seeks an accommodation with the
West. Power will
shift, they say, and we will bring the opposition into
government. In
return, they demand, we need huge amounts of money to flow
from the IMF, the
World Bank, and your taxpayers, to rebuild the shattered
economy. Not 1979.
Not Smith, Muzorewa and the short-lived jurisdiction of
Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
Rather, Zimbabwe in 2006. The Mujurus replace Mugabe.
Tsvangirai is offered
a vice-presidency. Power appears to shift and
balance-of-payments support
and donor aid again begins to flow. In the last
few weeks, there has been
claim and counter-claim about "bridge building".
The government, bankrupt
and floundering, claims they are trying to build
bridges. The US ambassador,
the new British and Swedish ambassadors, the EU
commissioner for Aid and
Development, and the IMF have all in played down
the possibility of any
policy change. But, whatever the details of the
negotiations, one can almost
smell a Diplomatic Initiative on the move. The
language we have heard from
both sides is that of the relationship
counsellor's office, not the divorce
court.
Those who are the
targets of the government's current advances could do a
lot worse than read
What happens after Mugabe?, by veteran southern African
reporter Geoff Hill.
A companion to his 2003 book, The Battle for Zimbabwe,
this volume peers
beyond the horizon, at what would be needed to rebuild the
country once
Mugabe's reign ends. Hill is not as pessimistic as one might
expect,
considering the descriptions he gives of the extent of the damage
wreaked by
six years of what can only accurately be described as civil war.
He
enumerates, in detail, the complete hollowing out of the education and
health systems, and the wholesale destruction of the agricultural sector. He
sets out the process by which the justice system has been suborned and
perverted. Yet, without being prescriptive, he finds examples from around
the world that might serve as models for rebuilding these
institutions.
But the real value of his book lies in its latter
chapters. Firstly Hill
raises the issue of the Zimbabwean diaspora. The huge
emigration of
Zimbabweans since 2000, by some reckonings as much as a
quarter of the
population, represents the accumulated investment in
education and training
of a quarter of a century. Each year these exiles
stay abroad, they become
less like exiles and more like immigrants. Each
successive year they become
less likely to return. Squaring this particular
circle will require the
wisdom of Solomon. Secondly, he discusses the need
for justice for those who
have been the victims of Mugabe's rule since
independence. Those with only
passing contact with Matabeleland often find
it difficult to believe how
ingrained in the social fabric is the need for a
public acknowledgement of
what happened during Gukurahundi. To those
thousands of families can now be
added those who lost their livelihoods
during the farm invasions (who by far
out-number the beneficiaries of
resettlement), the thousands of victims of
political violence, as well as
the 700 000 who lost their homes during
Murambatsvina. Mugabe was able to
make nefarious use of the lingering
resentment over land in order to prop up
his regime in 2000. How much future
mischief lies in store if the grievances
over Gukurahundi and Murambatsvina
are not dealt with. An acceptable form of
justice is not just morally
desirable, but politically
imperative.
Hill does not claim to provide the answers. But those who
are being asked to
pay for the bridges should consider the uncomfortable
questions in this
book - if they want those bridges to last, and before they
sign the cheques.
What Happens After Mugabe?: Can Zimbabwe Rise From
the Ashes? by Geoff Hill
is published by Zebra Press. ISBN: 1-77007-102-4
Zim Online
Wed 3 May 2006
HARARE - Zimbabwean police on Monday
night released seven people who
had been arrested during Workers' Day
celebrations in Chitungwiza town,
about 25 kilometres south of the capital
Harare, for allegedly insulting
President Robert Mugabe.
The
celebrations were organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions (ZCTU)
labour federation, an ally of Zimbabwe's main opposition
Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) party.
The police said the seven, who
included two members of the ZCTU
general council, Vukile Kupe and Lawrence
Mangezi, were arrested in the town
after they allegedly uttered statements
denigrating Mugabe. They were all
released after paying Z$250 000 each
admission of guilt fines.
Under Zimbabwe's tough security laws, it
is an offence punishable by a
two-year jail term to insult
Mugabe.
Speaking to ZimOnline last night, ZCTU spokesman, Mlameli
Sibanda
condemned the arrest of the seven and described the arrests as a
desperate
"act of intimidation" by the Harare authorities.
"The
arrest was an act of intimidation because the police followed
them well
after the event as an after-thought," said Sibanda.
The ZCTU has
threatened to call street protests to demand better wages
and living
conditions, stocking up tensions in a country already on edge
after the MDC
issued similar warnings two months ago. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
o
Wed 3 May
2006
BULAWAYO - A South African disc jockey and music producer,
Cleopas
Monyepeao, successfully performed in Bulawayo last weekend despite a
ban
imposed on him for insulting President Robert Mugabe.
The
National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) banned Monyepeao,
popularly known
as DJ Cleo, for allegedly insulting President Robert Mugabe
during a music
show in Zimbabwe last year.
In a letter to the Chief Immigration
Officer and organisers of the
Bulawayo show, the NACZ last week withdrew
its recommendation allowing the
musician to perform in the
country.
"The National Arts Council of Zimbabwe would like to
withdraw its
recommendation made in earlier communication to allow DJ Cleo
into the
country.
"Information that reached us after
recommending him has necessitated
the need to ask the immigration department
to withdraw the temporal permit
it had already issued to the
DJ.
"May this message be conveyed to the relevant borders, as it is
a
matter of urgency. DJ Cleo is said to have uttered bad things and until
our
investigations are through, we are unable to recommend his
performances,"
read part of the letter.
But despite the order
banning him from performing in Zimbabwe, DJ Cleo
evaded the immigration
officials at Joshua Nqabuko Nkomo airport in Bulawayo
and managed to perform
at the Umthwakazi Arts Festival in Bulawayo
DJ Cleo is among three
South African musicians, including jazz great
Hugh Masekela and kwaito king
Mzekezeke, who have banned from visiting
Zimbabwe after they criticised
Mugabe for ruining the country. - ZimOnline
Sunday Times, SA
Tuesday May 02, 2006
08:22 - (SA)
HARARE - Zimbabwean union and civic leaders vowed to take to
the streets to
protest worsening hardship under President Robert Mugabe's
rule, and asked
police to refrain from beating them.
"If we don't get
a living wage of 35 million (350 US dollars) for the lowest
paid worker we
will take to the streets," Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
(ZCTU)
president Lovemore Matombo told thousands of people at a stadium in
Harare
to mark May Day.
"I urge you police, soldiers and Central Intelligence
Organisation
operatives and your commanders, when we go out of the streets
over the wage
issues, please don't block us or beat us up."
Matombo
said plans for the protest strikes and dates would be discussed at
the
union's congress later this month.
Zimbabwe National Students Union
secretary-general Promise Mkwananzi blamed
government for the country's woes
and urged Zimbabweans to join the
opposition and engage in mass strikes to
force Mugabe to relinquish power.
"When the Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) calls for democratic
resistance, we will join them," Mkwananzi
said referring to protest calls by
Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of a faction of
the divided MDC.
The calls came a few weeks after Mugabe accused his
opponents of plotting to
topple him and issued a stern warning to activists
planning protest action.
"I want to warn those who say they no longer
want to follow democratic
principles and reject elections and want to topple
the government by
gathering people to stage strikes, burn businesses and
destroy our wealth,"
he said at celebrations marking Zimbabwe's 26th
anniversary of independence
in mid-April.
"I want to warn them they
are playing with fire which will burn them," said
Mugabe, who has been in
power since independence from Britain in 1980.
ZCTU leader Matombo
deplored the growing poverty, and the lack of services
in major cities
including erratic power supplies. He urged Zimbabweans to
stop paying
utilities bills to pressure authorities.
"At independence 25 years ago,
30% of the population lived below the poverty
datum line, now in 2006 it's
over 90 percent," he said.
"Unemployment was between 15 and 20%, now its
over 85 percent if we want to
be conservative and use government
statistics."
Matombo called for a price freeze and wage increases as
government, labour
and business prepare to conclude a series of negotiations
to alleviate the
plight of workers.
Lovemore Madhuku, leader of the
National Constitutional Assembly, a
coalition of organisations demanding a
new constitution for Zimbabwe, urged
civic groups to confront Mugabe's
government.
"Our hardships are not caused by God but by the Zimbabwe
African National
Union-Patriotic Front ZANU-PF government and if we unite
and confront them
they will give in," he said.
"Democracy is not
about elections, it's about the will of the people. If
elections fail, we
resort to other means and demonstrations are the only way
we can ever
succeed."
"We as the NCA, ZCTU and the MDC should go out on the streets
of Harare and
other towns and tell Mugabe to go," said
Madhuku.
Zimbabwe is in the seventh year of economic recession
characterised by
world-record inflation galloping towards 1,000 percent and
an unemployment
rate hovering over 80%, while the majority of the 13 million
people live
below the poverty threshhold.
Poor workers are resorting
to cutting down on their daily meals and walking
or cycling to work in order
to make it to the next payday.
Street protests have in the past been
swiftly and brutally broken up by
police enforcing the country's tough
security laws.
Sapa-AFP
The Herald (Harare)
May 2,
2006
Posted to the web May 2, 2006
Bulawayo
Bureau
Harare
MALARIA claimed 125 lives in Matabeleland North Province
between January and
April this year, acting provincial medical director for
Matabeleland North
Dr Kulkarni Radhar has said.
Addressing medical
doctors on malaria at the Continual Medical Education
Day, Dr Radhar said
malaria-related deaths were on the increase with the
most affected areas
being Hwange, Binga, Tsholotsho and Nkayi. Most of the
deaths occurred last
month. An average of 34 000 cases of malaria were also
reported weekly in
those areas. "Malaria cases have been on the increase
since the beginning of
the year in Matabeleland North although the ministry
has put in place
measures to try and reduce malaria-related deaths," she
said.
Dr
Radhar said in February they received a donation of insecticide-treated
nets
from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations
Children's
Fund (Unicef), which they distributed to people in the affected
areas. She
said the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for indoor
residual
spraying had been reintroduced in the province as it is said to be
safe when
used indoors and an effective vector control measure. "We are
using DDT as a
vector control measure so as to fight malaria which is the
cause of a number
of deaths in the province," she said.
Dr Radhar said pregnant women and
children under the age of five were a high
priority group since they were
most vulnerable. "Pregnant women in the
province are being given
intermittent presumptive therapy to prevent
malaria," said Dr Radhar. The
Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare,
Dr Edwin Muguti, said since the
beginning of the rainy season the ministry
had been spraying the entire
mosquito-breeding areas in Matabeleland North
with larvicide and DDT. "A lot
has been done to control malaria, with homes
in the rural areas being
sprayed since the beginning of the rainy season and
people are advised to
seek early treatment when they feel the signs and
symptoms.
The
anti-malaria campaign is an ongoing one," he said. The worst affected
districts are Hwange, Binga and Umguza. Chemically treated mosquito nets,
chloroquine and sulphadoxine pyrimethamine (SP) for preg nant women have
been supplied to the areas. About 50 percent of Zimbabweans live in
malaria-prone areas and 1 500 die of the pandemic annually.
May 2, 2006
By albert
mazhale
GWANDA(AND)- ZANU PF Matabeleland South secretary for
administration
Mr Esau Moyo has hinted on a possible break-away by former
ZAPU members from
the ruling party after calling on all former ZIPRA cadres
to re-group and
come up with new strategies.
Moyo was speaking
on Saturday at the Provincial Heroes Acre during the
burial of the late
Bekezela Maplanka,a former freedom fighter.He reminded
ZIPRA cadres that
they should not forget that they belong to ZAPU and not
ZANU
PF.
"Let's be inspired by the words of wisdom from our late leader
Joshua
Mqabuko Nkomo who said that we should join them and fight them from
within-we are ZAPU,we only become ZANU PF when we go to Parliament,"he said
stunning mourners who included war veterans and the deputy minister of
labour and social welfare Abedinigo Ncube.
Moyo a former ZIPRA
cadre also took a swipe at some ZANU PF officials
for promoting tribalism in
the country. He said currently some people in
Harare are unhappy with the
elevation of Gabriel Nyathi to the presidency of
the Zimbabwe Farmers
Union(ZFU) just because he hails from Matabeleland
region.
"I
urge you ladies and gentleman as you go back to your homes remind
others
that ZAPU is our true identity," he said in his closing remarks.
However the
guest of honour at the funeral Abedinigo Ncube who spoke after
Moyo urged
the gathering to ignore Moyo's remarks saying Moyo needed a few
lessons in
the history of Zimbabwe.
The visibly angry minister told mourners
that ZAPU went into
extinction in 1987 following the signing of the Unity
Accord by Joshua Nkomo
and Robert Mugabe. "ZAPU is dead so don't worry about
it,if you have
problems you can come and see me rather that say such
statements in these
gatherings," he said.
Later in the day
Dumiso Dabengwa also a former ZIPRA cadre held a
meeting with war veterans
at the ZANU PF offices in Gwanda, however details
of the meeting could not
be made available to AND.
ALBERT MAZHALE, AND ZIMBABWE
--