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Now that the small town of Goromonzi (site of the recent annual conference of the Zanu PF party) has returned to its normal poverty-stricken existence - albeit enriched by one kilometre of tarred road from the main road to the conference site, provided for the occasion - it is instructive to take another look at the state of the party responsible for the unprecedented suffering of the people of Zimbabwe.

The conference had as its theme “Consolidating Independence through Land, Mining Reforms and Empowerment”. A grand title indeed though, from reports in both the government and independent press, it is evident that the delegates barely touched on these issues. Rather, most of the time was taken up with the succession issue - who will eventually succeed the aging dictator, and when. The related infighting between the contending factions was as vicious as it was carefully camouflaged by those who cannot afford to be seen to be openly bidding for power - or even to question the official party line that the beloved leader will rule for ever. In short it was another dazzling display of the “smoke and mirrors” politics of double-speak and subterfuge for which Zanu PF surely stands in a class by itself.

Unintended revelations

As ever, the press coverage of the conference was revealing - though often unintentionally so! True to form, the regime’s mouthpieces - The Herald and The Chronicle - reported that “the conference itself was a huge success”, but there was the odd telling remark, such as the editorial in The Chronicle saying that though “Zanu PF emerged stronger and united from the conference, a big task lies ahead to make sure that the resolutions passed at the annual indaba are implemented”. And if that is not a reference to broken promises and ignored resolutions of the past we ask, what is?

The independent press concentrated more on the excesses of the conference, which were many - like the Mercedes-Benz limousines lined up in the car park, and the bottled water, turkey, lamb, pork, venison, and other delicacies laid on for delegates. Such conspicuous consumption contrasted painfully with the surrounding abject poverty and starvation. To their credit the independent press also picked up on the inconsistencies in the supposed universal acclamation of ‘Bob as President’.

The big issue

Whatever was on the official agenda, the one theme that dominated the conference from start to finish was the succession issue. In an almost unprecedented sequence of events, it became clear that the party was not uniformly behind Mugabe’s stated intention to continue in the top job, and to extend his presidential mandate from 2008 to 2010 by way of a proposed constitutional amendment.

First, just before the conference, the politburo met but was unable to agree on whether to support his bid. Then the central committee of the party turned him down. And finally the 4000-odd delegates at the conference were unable to come together around any consensus on either Mugabe’s own political future or the future of the party. There was some political face-saving in evidence when the delegates were informed at the end of the conference that the question would be further debated at a provincial level, prior to final decision-making by the central committee. Nor did it help his cause when Mugabe himself told journalists at the end of the conference that there was consensus over the harmonization of the elections. Patently this was a total distortion of the facts on the ground.

In reality, for Zanu PF and for Robert Mugabe in particular, this was a political defeat of the same magnitude as the result of the referendum on the new constitution in the year 2000, when the electorate served notice that the days of an effective one party state were over and henceforth the MDC was a force to be reckoned with in the land.

Mugabe himself knows that he is at the helm of a seriously fractured party; he also knows - and it must provide precious little consolation - that he is in some ways the only glue that holds it together. Indeed he could well say with the famed Madame de Pompadour (favourite of Louis XV of France) “apres nous le deluge” (”after us the deluge”). From the country’s perspective, the aging dictator is at the centre of the ultimate Catch 22: He himself is the main obstacle in the way of resolving the severe economic crisis, but because of the lack of consensus on who will succeed him, he is still needed by his party.

Infighting within the ranks

The political infighting that has riven his party was certainly uppermost in Mugabe’s mind before and during the conference. He implored members of Zanu PF to work together to ensure that they bequeathed a better future for the coming generations. He said there was need for unity of purpose within the ruling party. He admitted that “something has gone wrong”, and asked “what are we demonstrating to the people? That we are still one or divided? Still together or apart?”

“What are we doing there at the top?” asked the man at the top.

This public rebuke would have smarted in certain quarters. There are in fact three main contenders for the top job, aside from Mugabe himself - Gideon Gono, Joice Mujuru, and Emmerson Mnangagwa - and of course it is they and their surrogates who are stoking up the fires of division. But there are numerous other quarrels and splits, at both national and regional levels. Recently for instance we have been treated to the spectacle of various Zanu PF chefs in court, one suing the other, a spectacle that formerly would have been unthinkable.

In the succession issue, the tension between the competing camps is heightened by the rapidly degenerating economy - all the more so because the economy is controlled personally by one of the contenders, Gono - and by the impact of Gono’s policies on the personal fortunes of each.

Gono has been widely (and no doubt rightly) castigated for his irrational economic policies which have left the markets in bewilderment and chaos. Certainly both Mujuru and Mnangagwa are personally suffering from the effects of Gono’s own brand of policy-making. However the man at the top clearly supports him against the Finance Minister, Murerwa, and that is all that matters in the short term. Mugabe publicly signaled his own preference when he criticized the “bookish” economics of the Finance Ministry: “They have this word they like using; ‘quasi, quasi, quasi’”, he said, “but I tell them that this is expenditure that we need. We are under sanctions and there is no room for the type of bookish economics we have at the Ministry of Finance”, (the “quasi” referring to the criticism of Gono’s ‘quasi economic policies’ in Murerwa’s recent budget speech).

Changing the Constitution?

As far as forcing a change to the constitution to allow presidential and parliamentary elections to take place together in 2010, thus prolonging Mugabe’s political life for a further two years, Zanu PF is not in a strong position.

To amend the constitution, the party requires the votes of two-thirds of the 150 members of Parliament - a minimum of one hundred actual votes cast. Currently the MDC holds 41 seats and with Jonathan Moyo, that gives 42 against Zanu’s 108. So the regime will find it tough to get the full 100 votes that it needs. It only requires 9 disenchanted Zanu MPs to absent themselves from the vote (with a convenient “sickness” or “family bereavement”, so they can avoid the embarrassment of publicly voting against the old man) and the motion would be defeated.

Mugabe relies heavily upon the uneducated for what little real support he still enjoys. They provide useful votes from those who are not themselves involved in business and have little understanding of what is going on in the country and the economy. However it is very questionable whether he truly has many other party members behind him, whatever they might say in public. A successful constitutional amendment is not therefore a forgone conclusion.

Between an ailing and failing economy on the one hand and on the other a leader who has become a huge public liability but is still needed to save the party from disintegration, Zanu PF finds itself caught between a rock and a hard place. Moreover Mugabe’s personal interest is now directly at variance with those within the party scrambling to replace him. The incumbent must secure a further two years in office beyond 2008; equally those contending for the throne must have him out of the way by 2008.

Hence it comes as no surprise to learn that, in an unprecedented move, Zanu PF MPs have secretly launched a “Stop Mugabe Campaign” to prevent him from extending his term of office beyond 2008.

The Role of the Military?

Even the military and police are now baulking at the ruination of the economy. Those police constables who were getting only $20 000 at the end of last year (and even if their salaries doubled, would still be getting a mere pittance), are unlikely to be on-sides for the regime which is so obviously responsible for their misery. The military chiefs met Mugabe towards the end of last year, warning him of the effects of poverty on the previously unquestioned loyalty of the defence forces. Chihuri, the Police Commissioner, strove to diffuse matters from the other end of the lighted taper, by addressing senior police officers and urging them to remain loyal to Mugabe. But the mere fact that he considered it necessary to exhort them is an indication of how tarnished is the great leader’s once polished image, and how necessary it has become to shore up his support by all possible means.

Prognosis and cure

So what have we learnt about Zanu PF through the circus at Goromonzi ? It has indeed been a most revealing exercise, especially for those looking in from the outside on the inner machinations of a party without any single coherent objective or strategy and totally dominated by the crude politics of seizing and holding power. In a way it is like observing a patient in the painful, terminal stages of emphysema who refuses to give up the smoking addiction responsible for his condition.

Observing the sorry spectacle of Goromonzi 2006, we see a fractured and fractious party, not only at war with their fellow citizens but now on the point of open warfare within the ranks. We see a party which has undoubtedly lost confidence in its own leader, but which still cannot decide who should replace him. Ironically the old man who has become the party’s (and the country’s) major liability is still required by the party to hold it together for the time being.

Yet time is not on Zimbabwe’s side. While Zanu PF continues to prevaricate in public and to pursue its own vicious succession struggle in private the economy moves ever closer to the point at which uncontrolled forces take over. Already we see an economy in tatters. We see a legal system which can only pay its witnesses a paltry $5 (a fraction of 1 US cent!), teachers whose salaries do not even cover the transport to and from their schools; doctors who earn less than USD 20 per month (and who are fired for going on strike). And all this in a nation in which an estimated 3,500 citizens are dying each week of hunger, malnutrition and AIDS. Without being melodramatic in any sense we can say that our beloved Zimbabwe is now close to the end - not as a country, for countries endure whatever tragedies are played out across their rugged landscapes - but as a civilized society in which the basic amenities of health-care, education and housing are provided, the security of its citizens is assured and the fundamental human rights of all are respected within a legal and ordered framework. In that sense Zimbabwe is close to the end.

Therefore if ever there was a moment for a strong, coherent and principled opposition to emerge to show that there is a saner alternative, this is it. Which means that the onus is on a divided MDC to reunite within a wide-ranging coalition of opposition forces - and yes, for those few remaining reasonable members of Zanu-PF to desert their disintegrating party and join all those Zimbabweans who genuinely seek an end to this destructive tyranny and the dawn of a new era of freedom, justice and peace. To say this is now an urgent necessity is a considerable understatement.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, Mugabe, politics, Zanu PF, MDC, constituation, military, Gono

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Kubatana are publicising a number of adverts appearing in the Harare press banning the holding of public demonstrations/rallies within Harare. This one, banning public meetings in Harare Central, cites the following as justification:

On 16th February 2007, youths organized by the Broad Alliance comprising the Movement for Democratic Change, National Constitutional Assembly, Women of Zimbabwe Arise, and others went on a rampage in the central business district attacking police officers and destroying property. Five police pofficers were severaly assaulted sustaining serious injuries. Herald offices and the police base at the corner of First Street and George Silundika Avenue were stoned resulting in the destruction of windowpanes at the two premises.

That’s not how SW Radio Africa tell the story of the 16th February. According to them

Harare witnessed a spate of spontaneous demonstrations by supporters of the Tsvangirai MDC, members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union and activists from the National Constitutional Assembly. In an unprecedented move the protestors defended themselves against the brutal police and ZANU PF youths. It’s reported a police officer was injured during the clashes.

[...]

This is the second time this week that angry protestors have retaliated against police brutality. On Tuesday the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) staged mass protests in Harare and Bulawayo marking their 5 th Valentines Day and distributing the People’ Charter. WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams, who was with the protestors in Harare said they were confronted by riot police who fired teargas canisters at them but the activists threw the tear gas canisters back in defiance.

We published a blog on the 19th commenting on a weekend of violence and repression - please note, violence caused by the police.

The inclusion of WOZA as violent police bashing protestors made me laugh. As anyone who has followed the brave women of WOZA will know, overt violence is not very WOZA-like. For example, Kubatana have this wonderful typical image of the women of WOZA jumping for joy and handing out roses to the public on the 13th February. What would the police have us believe they did a few days later? Bash helmeted riot police over the head with flowers? Hug them till they hurt?

Things are clearly hotting up though. SW Radio Africa interviewed Raymond Majongwe of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, David Coltart of the Mutambara MDC, and lawyer Arnold Tsunga about the changing atmosphere in Zimbabwe. This is what David Coltart had to say in response to the question “what are your thoughts on the unfolding events in Zimbabwe and also what is the mood of the people”:

[...] I liken this to a pot on the fire. You’ve got this pot on the fire with ZANU PF stoking the fire all the time through inflation, through corruption, through mismanagement, and instead of allowing the contents of the pot just to bubble and simmer they are actually putting a lid on, and the lid is through this oppressive Police action, through trying to suppress the legitimate rights of people and this has resulted in this massive build up of pressure and tension in the country and it is inevitable that this will explode. If the regime does not allow this pressure to be released through allowing people to vent their emotions and their feelings through legitimate peaceful demonstration, it is inevitable, unfortunately that this will unravel and spin out of control. So, I fear that this tension will increase and that if the Regime does not sit down and genuinely negotiate with civil society, with labour leaders, with all political parties, with the Churches to work a way out of this mess, that Zimbabwe could explode. (our emphasis added)

In addition to banning meetings, The Standard reported yesterday that an illegal curfew has been imposed on Harare’s high density areas - a ‘curfew’ enforced by police brutality:

A snap survey by The Standard revealed that the police had imposed an illegal curfew in Harare’s political flashpoints.

There have been arbitrary beatings of people in Epworth, Highfield, Kambuzuma, Kuwadzana, Mufakose, Glen View and Glen Norah, under the cover of darkness.

One police victim, Ndaba Maphosa of Highfield, covered in bruises all over his body, said he was beaten up by the police on Wednesday around 11:00 PM while on his way home from Speedy Sport Bar in the Southerton area, where he had gone to watch a soccer match on television.

“They beat us up indiscriminately, accusing us of being MDC supporters. It was a terrible moment,” Maphosa said.

Another victim, Warren Sibanda (36) of Kambuzuma Section 3 said he was severely assaulted by a group of police officers while on his way home from a nearby bar.

“It’s so unreasonable. It’s as if we are back in the colonial days when Ian Smith’s forces could do anything with impunity,” he said.

Even night club owners are now complaining of plunging sales as a direct result of the police action.

Virginia Munyama of Fiyo Bar at Machipisa shopping centre said her sales had dropped significantly since the police action started. She said the police ordered them to close the sports bar around 8PM every day although their licence allows them to open until late.

Both the imposition of a curfew and the ban on political rallies and demonstrations are illegal under the Constitution, The Standard established yesterday.

The pressure is rising, and the powers that be are obviously feeling the heat.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, police, repression, violence, WOZA, NCA, MDC, women, gender

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Keeping in mind that Robert Mugabe, our extremely thin-skinned President, also experiences severe narcissistic injuries in response to even the slightest criticism (don’t even think about waving at his cavalcade!), my thoughts are with Abdel Kareem Soliman today.

He had used his web log to criticise the country’s top Islamic institution, al-Azhar university and President Hosni Mubarak, whom he called a dictator.

[...]

During the five-minute court session the judge said Soliman was guilty and would serve three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mr Mubarak. (via the BBC)

What has Egypt achieved by doing this? People like me who had never even read the Kareem Amer blog now have the entrenched view that Mr Mubarak is …. well, how can I phrase this… dictatorial! I’m sorry if that leaves you feeling insulted Mr Mubarak, but if the cap fits, wear it!

The person who set up the FreeKareem.org blog gets the simple point that dictators seem to struggle to cope with:

“I was offended by some of Kareem’s blog writings. But I cannot support his imprisonment merely because he said a few things that insult my identity. Freedom of expression and open exchange of ideas must be respected.”

There are other sites to visit: Release Abdelkareem Soliman, and Free Kareem!. And there’s a petition you can sign here.

This is what Abdel Kareem Soliman had to say about his experiences last year (via Egyptian Person):

“It is very terrible that freedom would be taken from a human being because of an opinion or belief of his, but… it is very beautiful that his detention would be an encouragement for him to stick by his principles, and a reason for him to defy and hold on to what he thinks is right, even if he violates the traditions and beliefs of the majority of the people within the boundaries of his society …”

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There is no question that food aid is necessary in this country; the lethal cocktail of aids, poverty and malnutrition is quietly killing 3500 every week. While the Mugabe regime is clearly the responsible party for these killings, the victims of this regime cannot be made to suffer more by withholding food aid from them in a bid to punish the government.

If anyone needs to be convinced of the need for food aid, they should read the latest Fews Net report on the hunger situation:

• 1.4 million rural people (perhaps even more) will not have adequate food during the peak hunger period
• the CSO food poverty line went up almost ten times between December 2005 and November 2006; it increased by an average of 23 percent every month during this period
• in November 2006, more than 3 000 MT of food was distributed to at least 500 000 people
• The forecast is for below normal rainfall for almost the whole country
• domestic wheat production is expected to yield less than 135 000 MT, against a requirement of about 265 000 MT, with the highest deficits in the southern districts and the western and eastern margins of the country

This makes grim reading.

The main problem, then, lies not in the granting of food aid, but rather in the way in which the EU and the West have kowtowed to the Zanu PF regime. Millions of (US) dollars worth of food aid has been used as a weapon by the regime, and of this we have numerous examples:

• Zanu PF MP’s and councilors clearly have a degree of control over distributors of food aid, and have used this control to manipulate distribution in the run up to all the elections held in this decade
• in the most recent RDC elections, the chiefs told villagers that they would ‘wait to see how the election result turns out’ before distribution took place
• Andrew Langa (the Zanu PF MP for Insiza) is often in attendance at functions held by some of the food-distributing NGO’s
• Binga has consistently been sidelined for its obstinacy in not recognizing the supremacy of the ruling party
• Serious corruption exists around the sourcing and sale of grain
• Sale of donated food to the GMB takes place

Added to this, The Grain Marketing Board, through which all maize must pass, appears to be bankrupt. They have failed to pay farmers for their 2005 maize crop (at $40 - revalued - per tonne) and for their 2006 crop (at $4 000 - revalued - per tonne); in many instances this maize was seized at gunpoint by the parastatal.

In many instances, former Agritex workers are the ones employed by NGO’s to organize and distribute food aid - a bitter irony as these are the very people who facilitated the farm invasions, and who now drive around in fancy 4×4 vehicles and earn US$-linked salaries. Quite apart from the utter inappropriateness of the situation, they are hardly likely to be impartial in their work of distribution.

Commercial farmers are reporting the Catch-22 situation which they are caught in, courtesy of the NGO’s misguided policies: their farm workers are resigning from their jobs because they will receive more food for their families if they are unemployed.

We have no argument then, with the fact of distribution of food by the NGO’s, but the manner in which this is being done is flawed, and we believe that it is incumbent upon the West to find more responsible ways of distributing food, through apolitical means.

We suggest that the churches are best placed to assist in this task, and should be the international community’s first port of call - remember that over 90% of Zimbabweans belong to a religious group. Many religious organizations have developed infrastructure which, with help, could handle the logistics of food distribution. They have some means or another of transport, and their church buildings could be used for short term storage, and as distribution centres.

Failing that, the neutral NGO’s could be brought in to assist. Zimbabwe boasts some of the best civic and social organizations in Africa, such as Orap, The Legal Resources Foundation, various Aids organizations, mission hospitals and mission schools. Again, these have existing links to the rural communities which they serve, and could provide an impartial service, linking the donors with the beneficiaries.

It is also imperative that the NGO’s engaged in food aid bring independent monitors into the field to ensure fair distribution.

If the regime baulks at such threats to its control over food supply, the donor countries should become more strident in their demands: increasing international pressure on Mugabe to put an end to human rights abuses in his country, publicly and vocally linking human rights abuses to the humanitarian crisis, and demonizing him in the international forum. The food must still come in, but Mugabe must be made to suffer.

We are moving towards catastrophe with the current dry spell, and drought is now a reality. The regime will of course use this to their advantage, by blaming the starvation on drought and on the West. But the reality is that people are dying, and food needs to get to them. It is not enough that the food is brought in by the international NGO’s, it must get to the people in need, and not be hijacked by politicians and their cronies - lives are at stake!

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Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, famine, drought, food aid, corruption, starvation, hunger

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These days in Zimbabwe Mugabe has brought a whole nation together in the struggle for survival and has pitted everyone against him. No one escapes reality of life in Zim.

The state controlled price of mealie meal, our staple food has just risen some 9567% in one jump and not long ago people were buying it for $500 -600 per 10 kg and now it is heading up to over $20 000, half of a domestic workers monthly wage.

10kgs lasts one person about 4 weeks.

Then on the other hand, there is a Rural Council by-election taking place and government trucks are delivering mealie meal to locations where the voting is to take place. It is being offered for sale at $400 per 10 kgs quite clearly an attempt to coerce hungry voters to return a candidate for the ruling party which, in reality, is the government as a separation of government and party no longer exists as Zanu PF help themselves to anything of the tax-payers resources.

With these latest price rises it is putting anxiety into everyone’s lives and there is discernable tension in the air. We pray for our Country at this time and sense that this cruel regime will hang on to power at any cost, most of the cost of which will be borne by innocent and decent people.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, corruption, food shortages, famine, voting, elections, Mugabe, human rights, inflation, hyper-inflation

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BBC News Video file here, and Peta Thornycroft’s coverage on her blog here

It has been an eventful weekend in Zimbabwe. Both factions of the MDC tried to hold political meetings and the government has again responded with violence and repression. David Coltart has published a statement on his website describing how the MDC Mutambara faction decided to go ahead with a meeting despite the fact it had been banned by the police. He explains the illegality of the police decisions in the context of Zimbabwe’s own consitution:

An urgent court application was made seeking an interdict preventing the police from banning the meeting. One of the points raised was that section 25 (5) of POSA violates both sections 18 and 21 of the Zimbabwean Constitution. Section 25 (5) gives the Minister of Home Affairs the ultimate power to determine whether political meetings should be allowed to take place or not. It is common cause that the Minister of Home Affairs is also a politician (in the present case a politician who holds a very senior position in the ZANU PF party). To that extent the Minister of Home Affairs is not a neutral arbiter; indeed he is a person with an obvious bias.

This description of events in Bulawayo via SW Radio Africa

However, the party defied the police ban and went ahead with the meeting. But supporters and MDC leaders including Professor Arthur Mutambara, Vice President Gibson Sibanda and Secretary General Professor Welshman Ncube were greeted by a heavy contingent of riot police when they arrived at the venue at Bulawayo City Hall.

It’s reported Professor Mutambara strode past the police and attempted to enter the City Hall but the door had been locked by the police. After failing to get into the venue Mutambara is said to have marched with the activists from the City Hall to their Provincial offices several blocks away.

In Harare, the Tsvangirai faction went ahead with their meeting with the permission of the police. Despite having been granted permission to hold a meeting, every effort was made to stop them, including reports of violence (see the BBC video). The image at the top of this post shows injuries inflicted on one supporter in Harare (circulated by the MDC-UK Coordinator).This via SW Radio Africa:

There are unconfirmed reports that at least 3 people died in the ensuing chaos but information is still being gathered. Over 120 people are reported to have been arrested. The party’s information officer MP Nelson Chamisa released a statement saying there were running battles between unarmed MDC supporters and armed riot police. He said the police cordoned off the venue and indiscriminately fired live ammunition, teargas and water cannons around the Machipisa shopping centre in the High-density suburb of Highfield. MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai, vice president Thokozani Khupe and members of their “Liberation team” were blocked from entering the stadium by police.

The statement also said: “police ordered the shopping center closed, searched people’s homes and indiscriminately assaulted any person seen outside their home. The terror campaign spread to all high density suburbs in Harare where running battles are still being fought between the people and the security forces.” According to the MDC, 2 of disabled supporters, Angeline Masaisai and Clara Muzoda, were seriously assaulted near the venue and 279 more are receiving treatment at Harare hospitals after clashes with the police.

Two things stood out for me. First, the reason given to the Mutambara faction by Minister of Home Affairs, Kembo Mohadi when he refused to grant permission:

“In the course of the meeting he (Mohadi) stated that a decision had been taken to ban all political meetings, save for those directly related to elections, because of what he described as the volatile situation Zimbabwe is in.”

It’s an indication that the government must be aware now that the crumbling economy is creating conditions of desperation where people will be left with fewer and fewer options and maybe more and more will decide to take action. Are Mugabe’s people beginning to feel the first real frissons of pure fear perhaps?

The second thing that jumped out was what an incredible crying shame it is that the MDC is no longer a united political force representing a united country. Two camps fighting separate battles? How does that help us? I hope that both factions will recognise the political opportunity presented to them by the so-called “volatile conditions”. I wish they’d get their act together, put egos to one side and unite for the good of everyone in the country.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, Mugabe, politics, political violence, police repression, torture, protest, action, human rights, free expression, justice

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This was left as a comment on our post on the Dignity! Period campaign. If you are able to attend the rally, please make a note of the date in your diary and contact ACTSA to let them know you’ll be coming (details provided below). We’ll re-post all the details closer to the date to remind you. Please can you also help to publicise the rally on your blogs. Leave a comment here saying you’ve done so so the organisers can follow back.

If you do attend, we’d love to hear from you. Send us your feedback and pictures to share here and possibly with our mailing list audience in Zimbabwe!

Many thanks for the support!

ACTSA is organising a major Rally for Dignity on Saturday 10th March 2007. The event will take place in Trafalgar Square from 1pm - 4pm.

Two days after International Women’s Day, the day will be a celebration of the role of women in the global struggle for justice - with particular focus on the struggle for freedom in Zimbabwe and the role of women in this struggle, and a chance to build support the Dignity! Period. Campaign

Speakers invited so far include:

• Lovemore Matombo, President, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
• Lucia Matibenga, Vice President, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions
• Baroness Amos, Leader House of Lords
• Frances O’Grady, Deputy General Secretary, TUC
• Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
• Glenys Kinnock MEP
• Ruqayyah Collector, Black Students Officer, NUS
• Kat Stark, Women’s Officer, NUS
• Kate Hoey, MP
• Anna Chancellor, Actress
• Henry Olonga, Cricketer and Musician

There will also be a balloon launch to mark the role of women in struggle.

Let us know if you plan to come along, and please try and get as many people as you can to join you campaigns@actsa.org

For more information on ACTSA and our Dignity! Period. Campaign visit www.actsa.org

Technorati Tags: Dignity! Period, Zimbabwe, women, action, gender, rally, march, human rights

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So honour is satisfied and Dr Gideon Gono, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, is satisfied that he has put the record straight and proved himself entirely innocent of the charge of squandering the country’s limited foreign exchange reserves by purchasing for himself through the Reserve Bank one of the world’s top performing and most luxurious cars, a Mercedes Benz Brabus E V12 Biturbo, costing US$ 365,000. The facts are, as Dr Gono has now established, that the vehicle purchased for him by a Reserve Bank very grateful for his services, was a Mercedes Benz S600 V12 (with a 5,5 L 493 hp twin turbo engine and a top speed of 250 km/h). And it cost no more than US$ 138,000, plus Z$ 23 million for related importation expenses.

Moreover, not only has the much-maligned Dr Gono cleared himself of any suspicion of unfairly enriching himself at the expense of his fellow Zimbabweans in a time of certain financial belt-tightening. He has also shown that he is a man of true magnanimity by holding no grudges against The Standard which published the original story, and even persuading the Reserve Bank’s Board not to sue that newspaper. Truly the man is not only a paragon of virtue; he also has the forgiving nature of a saint. Zimbabweans can be truly proud of the man who has made such a fine job of running the country’s economy almost single-handedly for the last three years. Look around you and see for yourselves what he has achieved. Surely it is little wonder then that our revered leader has in mind even greater honours for such a man as this. (The rumours are that it is His Excellency’s wish that when he finally hands over responsibility for the day to day running of the Mugabe Family Estate, to assume the role of titular head of state, those responsibilities should devolve upon none other than Gideon Gono, under the style of Prime Minister)

So yes, Dr Gono has set the record straight and we are all deeply indebted to him for the time and trouble he has taken to do so. And surely the Z$ 34 million of taxpayers’ money and the many pages of advertisements, penned by the Governor himself and appearing in our English, Shona and Ndebele newspapers, were fully justified in order that we might all be so enlightened, and the slur on the Governor’s character be removed.

Of course it is not excessive for any public official of the stature of Dr Gono to purchase for himself at the taxpayer’s expense a vehicle costing US$ 138,000 - even if this is several hundred times the annual salary of Zimbabwe’s doctors - isn’t Dr Gono worth it, I ask. And never mind the dismal chorus of unpatriotic citizens who now claim that the majority of Zimbabweans are living below the poverty datum line. Indeed some of Zimbabwe’s enemies - aided by the scare-mongering U.S. Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) - are now putting out the story that the country does not have the foreign exchange needed to pay to import even a fraction of the maize required to feed the nation. But I have no doubt that our illustrious Governor would have informed the nation in good time if this was the case, and even made a few personal sacrifices as an example to us all.

No, I say a man of Dr Gono’s stature whom our revered leader has already tipped for even higher service to the nation, is entitled to a few perks. It seems entirely appropriate that he should have a taste of the lifestyle reserved for Zimbabwe’s most patriotic (ZANU PF) citizens.

In conclusion I have to say there is just one matter on which I am a little unclear. Dr Gono referred to the apology and retraction published by The Standard for their infamy. I have scanned the pages of that newspaper and cannot find any such explicit apology - only a report (published on 21 January) of what Dr Gono said about the matter, set alongside the paper’s original allegations. I do hope The Standard is not trying to undermine the authority of the Governor by any subtle insinuation.

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Technorati Tags: Gideon Gono, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Mercedes, Zimbabwe

At the start of a new year it is appropriate to take stock of our
position, to see the gains and losses made, and to consider what
2007 might bring to those of us struggling to survive in the hell-
hole Mugabe and Co. have made of a once beautiful and prosperous
nation. The new year is traditionally a time for resolutions,
budgets and planning, but none of these are possible in the turmoil
that is Zimbabwe.

Looking back to 2006, we have little to cheer us; the losses seem
to far outweigh the small gains made. A straw poll taken recently
listed the following as the major events of the year:

• The continuing food shortages and increasing levels of
  poverty and malnutrition - despite all Agriculture Minister Made’s
  bluff and bluster
• A deepening health crisis, and the bleak news that the average
  life expectancy has plummeted to 34 years for women and 37 years
  for men (and this for 2004)
• The continuing scourge of AIDS and the abysmal shortage of anti
  retroviral drugs
• The doctors’ and health workers’ desperate resort to strike
  action
• The increasingly blatant use of torture tactics by elements of
  the ZRP to suppress any sign of dissent, most notoriously in the
  violent abuse in the police cells of leaders of the trade union
  movement.
• Reserve Bank Governor, Gideon Gono’s spectacular failure to
  control the “number 1 enemy”, inflation, which started the year at
  585 per cent and ended the year just about double that figure !
  (the effect of lopping off 3 of zeros from the currency in August
  has already been negated just 5 months later)
• The continued harassment of private schools, and huge increases
  in fees in government schools.
• The desperate ratcheting up of the regime’s “Look east” policy
  which is effectively mortgaging the nation’s future in order to buy
  a frightened clique of ZANU PF politicians a little more time.
• The crumbling infrastructure evident everywhere but perhaps
  most conspicuously in the increasingly polluted water supply in the
  capital and the breakdown of sewage disposal services.
• The dislocation of normal life (and business) by the
  increasingly frequent power cuts and fuel shortages.
• The continuing haemorrhaging of Zimbabwe’s population in
  (mostly illegal) emigration to South Africa and other
  countries.
• The increasing harassment of industry by NECI and Zimra
  officials, and the jailing of company executives
• Repeated threats of a compulsory 51 per cent takeover by the
  state of significant mining interests - without compensation
• The nauseating spectacle of the whole “succession debate”
  which continues to mesmerize the entire ZANU PF party machine
• The failure of a fragmented opposition to begin to repair the
  damaging split in the MDC

The total breakdown of society is reflected in this list; what it
does not reveal however is the human side of the tragedy - the pain
and heartbreak caused to individuals and families by the evil
policies and practices of the few corrupt men and women who rule
this country for personal gain - and the fear-driven complicity of
others who lack the courage to say No to the bullies.

For the human face of things, consider the family torn apart by
emigration: the father who has crossed the border illegally to try
to earn an honest wage in Johannesburg, living in a crowded room
that he is forced to share with too many others, constantly
watching his back for police and immigration officials, and
hampered in his bid to secure a reasonably paid job by his illegal
status. He is denied the right to family life and unable to give
his children the love and guidance that a father should provide.
Meanwhile back home his wife struggles to bring up the family
alone, and to feed and provide for them with her own meager income
and the few Rand that her husband sends back. His children barely
know this stranger, and resent his sad attempts at parental
discipline on the occasions when he does come home. And so the
cracks in the family begin to appear, and it is only a matter of
time before they drift apart, by divorce de facto or de jure.

Or consider the grandmother, looking after her grandchildren whose
parents - her own children - have died of AIDS. She is in her
seventies, and has had her own time of child-rearing, when she was
younger and more able to cope with the demands it inevitably
brings. She is a widow herself, but now has four grandchildren
living with her, aged from 12 years down to 18 months. She is also
caring for another son who is sick with the same disease: he used
to have a decent job with the Railways, but he had to leave there
as the disease got worse. He did not have access to anti retroviral
drugs when he needed them, and now it is too late: his body is
thin, skeletal; his skin is covered with weeping sores; he is
becoming incontinent and barely able to feed himself. It is only a
matter of weeks before his body joins the three and a half thousand
others being buried across the country every seven days. How does
this grandmother survive ? Miraculously, since she has no regular
income whatsoever, from a combination of church handouts, sporadic
assistance from her last surviving (and working) child, and the
paltry proceeds from her tuckshop selling sweets, cigarettes and
whatever fruit is in season. And when she dies what happens to the
children?

This is the real tragedy, and statistics and the few independent
news reports reveal only inadequately the depth of personal
suffering involved for the majority of Zimbabweans.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is being looted and pillaged by its rulers.
They access fuel at the official price of $400-odd per litre, and
run thriving businesses selling the same fuel back to the public or
the industrial sector at five or six or seven times that amount.
They pocket the difference, and term it profit, when its real name
is theft. The same thing happens with scarce foreign currency out
of which ZANU PF chefs make a killing, while at the same time hard-
working company directors who seek to access small amounts of
foreign currency to keep their businesses going and to protect the
jobs of their workers, are sent to jail.

Even the (to date) limited revelations of the extent of the looting
involved in the Zisco scandal indicate an almost unbelievable
enrichment of the few favoured - and protected - by the ruling
elite at the expense of the whole nation. (See our article on the
cost of Zimbabwe’s kleptocracy for further details …)

The names of many of those who are enriching themselves obscenely
by essentially criminal means are already known. The perpetrators
should be afraid. We know who they are, and there will surely come
a day when they will be called to account for their ill-gained
wealth. Justice may be delayed but be assured, once the people
have removed a criminal regime, justice will take its course.

Outlook for 2007

Realistically 2007 is unlikely to be any better than the year just
gone. In all probability it will be worse as the multi-faceted
crisis continues to spiral out of control and the regime becomes
ever more desperate to postpone the inevitable day of reckoning in
which both personal and corporate misconduct will be exposed.

Health services, education, housing and transport services are
likely to deteriorate still further. As for the business sector,
assuming Gideon Gono stays at the helm of what has been referred to
as Zimbabwe Inc., it will have little choice but to continue to run
on crisis-management as it reacts to his whimsical and ill-
conceived policies.

Even the UN forecasts for Zimbabwe are gloomy: The United Nations
Office for Humanitarian Affairs has launched an appeal to donors
for USD 215 million for Zimbabwe in 2007, projecting - like us - a
worsening of the economic and humanitarian crisis. They cited a
grim list of looming problems, including increasingly scarce inputs
for agriculture, significant food shortages, vulnerable populations
on the move, and the “continued impact of contentious human rights
and governance issues and reduced resources for humanitarian
programming”.

What would we put forward as the absolutely minimal requirements to
arrest the present decline towards a totally failed state and to
begin to turn the situation around? Three things:

First, a new coalition of opposition forces, including but not
limited to the MDC. The two branches of the MDC must overcome
their differences sufficient at least to establish a working
partnership and eliminate internal squabbling and competition.
Other civic and church groups would need to be drawn in too to a
grand alliance for democracy, similar to the United Democratic
Front which helped to make the final push for freedom and democracy
in South Africa.

A second pre-requisite for progress towards a democratic future is
a new constitution. Such a people-driven constitution would need to
be drawn up after consultation with all stakeholders, and modeled
on international best-practice. Needless to say it would have to
incorporate all the necessary checks and balances compatible with a
fully functioning democracy. Without such a new start the best
government in the world could not perform to its full potential, as
it would be hamstrung by a failed constitution dating back to the
Lancaster House agreement, and further emasculated by Mugabe’s self-
serving amendments. (The enactment of such a democratic
constitution would also address the problems inherent in the
judiciary which has become increasingly partisan over the last six
years).

And once a new democratic constitution is in place and the
opposition has overcome its apparent wish to self destruct, the
stage would be set for a fair and free election under the auspices
of a credible international team - with a run-up period free of
violence and intimidation, and with equal access provided to the
state and independent media for all parties.

Once a new government has been elected and invested with the
necessary moral and legal authority to do so (authority which the
present regime has long since forfeited), it would be bound to
establish an acceptable mechanism to bring into the open the truth
about the terrible years of mis-rule under Robert Mugabe - perhaps
along the lines of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. Those responsible for criminal acts should be brought
to justice and those who have enriched themselves unfairly under
ZANU PF patronage should be made account to the people of Zimbabwe.
The reason for this is not so much retribution as the desire to
achieve a measure of restorative justice - and the laying down of a
clear marker for the future that the perpetrators of serious crimes
against the people will not henceforth be able to walk free.

Once these minimal pre-requisites for a new beginning are in place
we have no doubt that Zimbabwe would be able to engage once more
with the whole international community - rather than being limited
as at present to a one-sided interaction with the world’s most
authoritarian and anti-democratic regimes. International confidence
would soon return, bringing the much needed new investment to
rebuild the country’s shattered economy, and no doubt a reversal of
the outward flow of Zimbabwe’s own skilled workforce. In short
Zimbabwe would be on the road to a new era of peace and prosperity.

How many of the above minimum requirements for a turnaround may we
expect to see achieved in 2007 ? Realistically we have to say,
probably none. But that should not deter us in the least from
keeping them firmly in mind and working steadily towards their
realization. Let them be clearly etched in the nation’s
consciousness as not only our common goals but the minimum demands
we make of those who have brought Zimbabwe to these desperate
straits.

The immediate question is whether Mugabe will voluntarily step down
in 2007 to make way for new leadership. Following ZANU PF’s
December congress at Goromonzi media reports have revealed
unprecedented anguish at every level within the party on this
issue. For Mugabe to step down now, leaving a fragmented party to
fight it out (perhaps literally on the streets) for the spoils of
power, and before any one of the three minimum demands listed above
have been put in place to protect the people of Zimbabwe, would
clearly not best serve the interests of the nation. Equally however
for Mugabe to extend his term as president to 2010 would spell
complete disaster for the nation. If there were a third
alternative, namely that Mugabe could step down in the near future
leaving a united ZANU PF with moderates holding the reins of power,
that would certainly increase the chances of implementing a
peaceful and orderly turnaround. However it has to be said that the
prospects for such a “third alternative” are extremely remote. The
fact is that ZANU PF is in serious disarray with a number of
powerful factions (each with a long history of violence) contesting
for power.

In all likelihood then, 2007 will not prove to be a year of
significant change. Rather will it be another year on the long road
to freedom in which those of us who believe passionately in freedom
and democracy had best batten down the hatches, consolidate our
positions, and continue to work steadily forwards towards the goal,
so that when the opportunity for change comes we shall not be found
wanting.

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