The Bearded Man: Wednesday (15-02-2006) Bulletin

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Each blue headline below is a link that will take you to the relevant article...

Meltdown Looms Large In Zimbabwe Amid Fear Inflation Will Hit 1000% TBM speaks: Inflation in Zimbabwe in January moved to 613,2%, up from December's rate of 585,8%. This move has fed fears that inflation within the crisis-torn country will hit the 1000% mark. Now, considering that only the very rich are able to afford any sort of life worth living, inflation increases are bad news to all Zimbabweans. The Central Statistics Office said yesterday that inflation accelerated due to rising costs of food, housing, education, water, electricity, gas and fuel. Related story: Resurgent Inflation, Topping 600%, Nears Zimbabwe's Record High.

"Bread & Roses" Protestors Held TBM speaks: In a protest mirroring that held in Bulawayo the day before, Woman of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) staged a protest in Harare yesterday. More than 400 women were arrested. "This year's theme is bread and roses (inspired by the 'Bread and Roses' strike by American women textile workers in 1912)," said Jenni Williams, national coordinator of WOZA, who was among those arrested on Monday. "The bread stands for the need for affordable food, and the roses represent the need to be dignified and the call for social justice." The article also has some very interesting figures: According to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ), a watchdog body, the Central Statistical Office's latest consumer survey indicated that the monthly cost of living, including non-food items, for a family of five rocketed to more than Zim $21 million (about US $211) in January, up from Zim $17.5 million (US $176) in December 2005. The average monthly salary of a public servant is US $121, despite a 231 percent increase in government salaries announced last month. Makes one think... Related story: Zimbabwe Lawyers For Human Rights Condemn Bulawayo Arrests.

Cholera Sweeps Country After Township 'Clean-Up' TBM speaks: As more and more people fall prey to cholera, the authorities claim that there is nothing new in the number of cases reported. "The Government says it is nothing unusual, that we have seen cholera in Harare before," said Peter Iliff, the secretary of Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights. "They’re wrong. It’s in the heartland now. Before, cases in Harare were traced to people who had brought the disease with them from neighbouring countries like Mozambique and Malawi. Now it’s home-grown. There is transmission inside the city now. There is going to be a lot of cholera." Lack of working sewers does not help with the attempts to stem the spread. This problem can be tracked back to the break-down in the authorities' infrastructure.

UZ Students Threaten Jambanja As They Seek Kofi Annan Intervention Over Shock Tuition Increase TBM speaks: University of Zimbabwe student leaders have written to Kofi Annan of the UN in an attempt to receieve some support in the recent huge increases in the tuition fees at that academic institution. The letter states that the fee hike is "a direct threat to our fundamental right to education embedded in the universal declaration of the human rights." It further states, "It is a clear reversal of the gains of the revolution, which thousands of the sons and daughters of this land died to achieve," the petition, signed by UZ Information chief Mfundo Mlilo said. "We doubt that the Chancellor, His Excellency, the President Comrade Robert Mugabe was consulted who at the time you made this decision was in Khartoum (Sudan) where all presidents in Africa endorsed a plan of action developed by a team of ministers pledging to devote sufficient resources to what they termed the Second Decade of Education. They acknowledged the existence of parallel initiatives in education on the continent such as Education For All, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and NEPAD." The hike was also "sputum aimed directly at the academic face." I stand to be corrected, but the threat of "jambaja" is the threat of civil unrest (sit-ins, strikes and lecture boycotts). Historically, civil unrest within the UZ has always spilled over on to the streets of Harare.

Zimbabwe's Supreme Court Refuses To Take Over Tsvangirai's Election Petition TBM speaks: In a clearly biased decision, the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe has dismissed Tsvangirai's petition against Robert Mugabe's 2002 election vistory. This flies in the face of the Zimbabwe's Constitution, which guarantees litigants the right to protection of the law and to a fair hearing within reasonable time. Supreme Court Judge Luke Malaba (I used to prosecute in his court when he was still a regional magistrate on circuit), ruled that Tsvangirai's rights had not been breached and that the opposition leader's fears that he would not get justice from the High Court were unfounded despite that court having delayed in setting down the election petition for hearing. Justice? I think not!

Mugabe Lays Off 10,000 Soldiers TBM speaks: I know I reported on this story a while back, but I just HAD to put this up, as I love the quote given behind the reason for down sizing the Zimbabwe National Army: "Zimbabwe says a lack of enemies is behind its decision to fire 10,000 soldiers, or a quarter of its army." Okay, to be fair, in full, the quote read, "Zimbabwe says a lack of enemies is behind its decision to fire 10,000 soldiers, or a quarter of its army, but insiders say fear of a coup by junior officers is behind the bloodletting."

'debvhu

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