We have family coming to visit this Christmas, travelling from South Africa. They’ll be bringing with them gifts for the Christmas feast, as well as a few other much needed essentials like packets of powdered milk, soap, candles, light bulbs, and a good sense of humour.
My cousin arrived a few days ago and commented on how the difference between the two countries is exemplified by the border post experiences on either side of the Limpopo river.

South Africa was reasonably efficient, air conditioned, with smartly clothed officials and it was fairly quick to get through. But it had a dark side: my cousin witnessed a large police vehicle packed to the hilt with people he assumed were Zimbabwean refugees struggling to reach South Africa, rounded up and likely to spend Christmas in a South African detention centre.

My cousin joked that he knew he was in Zim the moment his nose crossed the border; the Zimbabwean border control stinks. He said it smelt like an overflowing sewer, which is probably exactly what it was. The building looked shabby and litter was strewn about the parking lot.
His car was greeted with a group of hustlers all claiming they could get him through very quickly and wanting to help. He declined, but almost changed his mind when he saw the queues snaking outside the builiding.

Inside the stinking building chaos reigned. The ordering system was little more than a few painted lines drawn on the floor to guide the queues. He saw the same hustlers moving among the crowds, whipping papers from weary travellors and boldly jumping the queue to give them to officials for stamps. My cousin hung on to his because we’d warned him to be careful. The hustlers are extremely helpful and effective, but at the end of it all it comes with a hefty price (in forex). If you refuse to pay the figure they quote, they get nasty and aggressive.

After hours of standing in lineless queues, tolerating people being constantly squeezed in ahead of him by the hustlers, my weary cousin finally managed to get his papers stamped and he left without any further hassles from the border. He said there must be some extremely wealthy officials working there, if they earn a bit of forex for each queue-jumping stamp going to a hustler and his ‘client’.

My cousin said there were at least three police road blockswith the first 15 minutes drive from the border post. He was stopped at each one and asked endless questions. He noticed many Zimbabwean cars driving through, and realised his SA number plates were being targeted. This pattern continued through the many other road blocks en route to his destination. At two of the road blocks he was forced to unpack his car on the side of the road and re-pack before he could proceed.

An exhausted cousin arrived and one of his first comments to us was “You guys have got to get out of here”. His story is fairly typical; in fact, we’ve heard far far worse. But there is something about seeing the same old story through someone else’s eyes to realise how far things are slipping in our country.
For now, I’m looking forward to Christmas with family we haven’t seen for a long time, and who have made an effort to see us in our home despite Mugabe’s best efforts to destroy everything precious to us.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, border post, customs, Limpopo, South Africa, Christmas

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Once again this week saw Business hesitating as the much vaunted “week of action” by the Reserve Bank came to nothing. It is now rumoured that the new currency is to be delayed further and the anticipated release of higher denomination notes (bearer cheques) did not materialize.

The shortage of cash is slowly grinding business to a halt and causing immense suffering in the community as, to this day, most retail transactions still take place in this manner.

The shortage of cash has seriously depleted fuel stocks as most of this cross border business emanates from a cash transaction to secure hard currency to fund the purchase in a neighboring country.

The Reserve Bank, is struggling to supply sufficient cash, the volume of which in circulation needs to grow by up to 150% per month just to keep pace with inflation.

The cost of producing cash exceeds its real value and this presents an enormous problem for the Central Bank economists. The shortage of cash has in turn created a shortage of currency which has forced up rates to new highs and the Old Mutual Implied Index now stands at 4.6 million to the US$. This is a good indication of the real value of the ZD$.

There have been new threats of yet other price blitz by the authorities and it is increasingly clear that the price of politics is too great for this fragile economy to sustain any further.

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Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, Business Watch, economy, inflation, currency, hyperinflation, cash supply

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Today’s mailing to our subscribers tells the story of Mandla Mpofu (not his real name). He is an eleven year old street kid living rough in Bulawayo. This is an extract of his story of survival:

How does he survive on the streets? By prowling the rubbish bins in the city centre, Mandla replies. And, giving the term “streetwise” a new dimension, the eleven year old explains that he finds “more, better and fresh pickings” in the bins outside the small restaurants than the big takeaways, like Chicken Inn. Of the latter he says, “I can see more customers going to these places, but I don’t know where they put their leftovers. Their bins are always tidy.” Ruefully he suggests that the larger restaurants and hotels deliberately keep their rubbish bins clean and empty in order to discourage street kids like himself, some of whom harass their clients with their constant begging. Lodges in the city centre lock the bins inside their premises for the same reason.

Read the full article on our website here. Subscribe to our mailing list to receive our articles by email.

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A friend in the UK directed me to this story and it has really made my day.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, is the second highest ranking cleric in the Church of England and a fierce critic of Robert Mugabe’s rule and record of human rights abuses. He appeared on a BBC TV programme in the UK this morning, and took off his clerical dog collar, cut it up into small pieces live on air, declaring that he would not wear a dog collar again until Robert Mugabe was out of power.

“As an Anglican this is what I wear to identify myself, that I’m a clergyman.

“Do you know what Mugabe has done? He’s taken people’s identity and literally, if you don’t mind, cut it to pieces. This is what he’s actually done to a lot of - and in the end there’s nothing.

“So, as far as I’m concerned, from now on I’m not going to wear a dog collar until Mugabe is gone.”

It is so refreshing to hear someone simply tell it like it is:

Dr Sentamu hit out at African leaders for not taking a stand against him.

“It is African leaders who seem to say ‘we are backing a revolutionary’. I’m sorry, that is a lot of nonsense. They ought to realise what he has actually done.

“It has become a scourge on the conscience of the whole of world.”

“Why aren’t we, as a world community, uniting against Mugabe?” he asked.

I thank him with all my heart for taking such a public stand.

Technorati Tags: Archbishop Dr John Sentamu, Zimbabwe, protest, action, Mugabe, human rights abuses, Anglican, Church of England, Christian

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This banner, laid out directly under the flight path to Lisbon, greeted delegates and the media as they arrived for the EU-Africa summit. Image via press release from Zimbabwe Democracy Now. More information on this and other protests via SW Radio Africa.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, protest, Lisbon, Portugal, EU-Africa Summit

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Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe (R) holds hands with Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during the family photo of the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon December 8, 2007. (via Yahoo! News Photos)

Technorati Tags: Robert Mugabe, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan, Zimbabwe, EU AU Summit, EU-Africa, Lisbon, Portugal

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According to the BBC today, Mugabe received a tongue lashing from Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel. He is attending the EU/AU Summit in Lisbon this weekend.

Mrs Merkel has been tasked with expressing the EU’s concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe, where Mr Mugabe is accused of economic mismanagement, failure to curb corruption and contempt for democracy.

“The situation in Zimbabwe concerns us all, in Europe as in Africa,” she said. “We don’t have the right to look away when human rights are trampled on.”

The video on the BBC site - available via this link - contains footage of the Zim Vigil protesters in action.

The Zim Vigil website carries a press release information about a protest that had been planned for today:

Zimbabwean exiles gathered in Lisbon are to display a huge banner on Saturday (8th December) protesting against President Mugabe’s attendance at the EU/AU Summit. The banner reads ‘Mugabe you’d be more welcome in the Hague’ – a reference to the International Criminal Court.

The banner, measuring 100 feet X 30 feet, will be laid out in Centro Comercial Vasco da Gama outside Gare do Oriente. It will be signed by Zimbabwean torture victims and the public will be invited to add their names in solidarity.

SW Radio Africa carries an update on the banner today:

A giant banner has been spread out on a beach under the flight path into Lisbon, telling airline passengers about Robert Mugabe´s crimes against humanity. The ribbon measuring 30 x 10 metres reads, “Mugabe You´d Be More Welcome at The Hague.”

I can’t help wondering if, when Mugabe dozes off during one of the sessions as he tends to do, he may be dreaming wistfully of happier days when he and Grace would visit Europe and shop till they dropped in Harrods. Or maybe he’ll be dreaming of retirement? Or how about nightmares about the Hague…? (Or am I the person wistfully dreaming now?)

Technorati Tags: zimbabe, mugabe, lisbon, portugal, eu/au summit, Angela Merkel

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Send this e-card from our website to everyone you can think of.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, ecard, e-card, protest, action, Lisbon, EU/AU Summit, Portugal

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The National Post has an article today that begins with these sentences:

At 83, Robert Mugabe has been called many things. Now Zimbabwe’s dictatorial President is about to become a world-class party-pooper.

Why? Because his presence at the EU/AU Summit in Portugal threatens to derail the planned agenda:

Portugal, the host, says it wants the first European-African summit in seven years to strike a new strategic partnership that will focus on issues such as counterterrorism, illegal immigration, trade, debt relief, climate change and international peacekeeping.

Another article in the South African Independent Online says that

African leaders do not want Zimbabwe to be on the agenda of the summit, the first between the two continents in seven years, and some have threatened to withdraw if it is.

It doesn’t sound to me like they’ll be met with much resistance from the Portuguese host:

“The violation of human rights and the lack of democratic freedoms in Zimbabwe, unacceptable as this situation may be, must not be allowed to interfere with relations between the two continents,” Jose Manuel Barroso, the EU President said yesterday.

“This is not — repeat, not — an EU-Zimbabwe summit, but an EU-Africa summit, with an ambitious agenda on issues as important as peace and security, climate change, development aid, migration and governance.”

Approximately 700,000 Zimbabweans were devastatingly affected by Operation Murambatsvina; an estimated 30,000 murdered during the Gukurahundi; millions plunged into poverty and despair by economic corruption and mismanagement; and thousands tortured, harassed and victimised by Mugabe’s thugs. I would have thought this a ‘peace and security’ issue, but apparently not.

The majority of people in Zimbabwe are too poor to eat, so I guess we have one small consolation, and that is they won’t know the full extent of their abandonment by the regional leaders and potentially the European community as a whole.

People who can’t eat, can’t afford satellite TV subscriptions; nor can they afford computers that connect to the Internet. Among everything else, Mugabe has suppressed freedom of speech and destroyed the free press in Zimbabwe. So people will struggle through another day of hardship and poverty in Zimbabwe, while the leaders meet and pretend nothing is too bad in Zimbabwe.

This is one distasteful bit of news I hope Zimbabweans don’t hear about; life is hard enough as it is.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, EU, AU, Summit, Portugal, Lisbon, Mugabe

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Remember the billboard that caused a furore in South Africa in October? According to an article on SW Radio today, more are planned and they promise to stir up more interest. This from SW Radio :

Now emboldened by the success of the first Musina billboard, Zimbabwe Democracy Now have commissioned their advertising agency to put up more billboards. They are planning one that will greet visitors on their way to top tourist attraction Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 27 years of his life in jail. Robben Island will be changed into the shape of Zimbabwe on the billboard and a message will ask people to ‘remember those who are still not free.’

The messages on the billboards have gone right to the heart of Zimbabwe’s problems. Reverend Nkululeko admits a lot of strategic planning is going into deciding the location and content of the messages. Thembisa in Soweto for example has a huge migrant population of Zimbabweans and many will be exposed to the messages. He said: ‘We are asking why there are so many Zimbabweans in South Africa? The answer is freedom.’ He urged all Zimbabweans in exile who are able to go back home, to use the opportunity and vote in coming elections. He says this is the only way to bring about democratic change.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, South Africa, diaspora, billboards

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This weekend will see Robert Mugabe flying into Europe despite travel bans to attend the EU-AU summit due to be held in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s a good chance to show him what real democracy feels like, to be confronted by decent people demanding their rights and objecting to things like murder and torture and gross violations of human rights.

The Mugabe delegation will be greeted by at least 30 members of the Zimbabwe vigil Coalition who have been holding a weekly protest against the Mugabe regime for several years now. This press release from their website:

The Zimbabwe Vigil, which has been demonstrating against Mugabe outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London every Saturday for more than five years, is to send a group of about 30 to Lisbon this week to protest during Mugabe’s attendance at the AU / EU Summit. The Vigil is linking up with a Portuguese human rights organisation, ADDHU (Associação de Defesa dos Direitos Humanos), to stage a demonstration as close to the Summit venue (Parque des Noacios) as the police will allow (100 metres). The demonstration will be on Saturday, 8th December from 2 – 5 pm. There will be singing and dancing to the sound of drums. Available for interviews will be Zimbabwean political activists and survivors of torture, rape and other abuses of Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.

For further information on the demonstration and other activities planned for the summit, contact Vigil Co-ordinator Rose Benton 07940 996 003. Details of other action will be announced later.

The ADDHU website adds the following:

We expect the presence of Zimbabwe Vigil and some representatives from a German/Zimbabwe friendship organization as well as some representatives of the British and Swedish parliament. The Human Rights concerns us all. Justice will prevail.

Please, if you know of people who will be in Portugal and want to add their voice to the protesters, contact them and share the information. The bigger the crowd, the louder the message.

Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, protest, demonstration, Lisbon, Portugal, Mugabe, EU-AU Summit, Africa

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There is more and more of the same as business edges its way towards Christmas shutdown with another week of confusion, threats and intimidation.

The currency market froze in anticipation of the Minister of Finance’s presentation of his 2008 budget proposals revealed on Thursday. Forex was withheld, this exacerbated the shortage and the rates rushed on as businesses tried to fund their imports.

The Minister of Finance continues to live in denial and blamed the 2007 budget deficit of 13.9 trillion dollars on drought and sanctions.

Zimbabwe’s domestic debt has increased from by 54% from September to October.

The highlight of the week has been the absence of cash as the Reserve Bank dries up the commodity deliberately in advance of the new currency which has still not appeared. This has exaggerated the hardship of the population resulting in long bank queues for non-existent cash.

Many businesses have been unable to pay their workers. In addition, workers have to be given time off to draw money; failure to receive any has meant households have been denied food and other basic commodities.

The Old Mutual Implied Rate has passed the 3.4 million barrier and scarce US$ are now trading at just under 4 million: 1

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Technorati Tags: Zimbabwe, Business Watch, economy, inflation, currency, hyperinflation, cash supply

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