Sunday, 26th November 2006

Howzit

"The Department of Home Affairs has denied reports that South Africa has agreed to waive visa requirements for Zimbabwean nationals.

The reports surfaced during a meeting of the Zimbabwe-South Africa Joint Permanent Commission on Defence and Security."

South Africa and Botswana have both recently been in the news as they try to combat the rising numbers of illegal Zimbabweans pouring across the border, fleeing Mugabe's despotic rule. This article just confirms that Zimbabweans wishing to visit South Africa have to have a visa to do exactly that.

You can't blame the South Africans for wanting to control the movement of people into their country, as of late, Zimbabweans take their lives into their own hands and cross the crocodile infested Limpopo River in an attempt to find a better life.

-o00o-

I love it when things don't go according to the 'order of business' sheet that Mugabe hands out to his followers. Up until now we have had Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa looking like the top dogs to fight it out for succession of Mugabe's rule - that's should he EVER really step down.

Personally I believe that whilst he may step down in the public eye, he will still have MUCH control in the wings.

Anyway, John Nkomo has thrown a veritable spanner in the works.

"Asked about speculation that he aspired to replace Joseph Msika as vice-president, Nkomo said: "Why stop at the vice-presidency? Why not the presidency?"

Nkomo said it was right and healthy for the media to speculate on the succession in ZANU PF and the country.

Nkomo is the chairman of the party and Speaker of the National Assembly.

He has always been included among ZANU PF stalwarts aspiring for the party presidency."

I am not so sure. This could be an orchestrated move by Mugabe as he seeks to divert at least some of the tensions raised in the ZISCOSTEEL scandal, which has fingered his favorite for succession, Joice Mujuru, as being invloved.

Past activities prove that Mugabe will use mirrors and smoke screens to deflect whatever pressure he is unhappy with in order to put things in 'Mugabe' order - and when this doesn't work, he either passes it off with a loud, "No, no, no, no!", as if that will do the job, or has one of his Ministers begin to threaten the public.

I can believe it when Nkomo likens his relationship to politics as a 'cancer' - it's for us, the readers, to work out which is the politics and which is the disease.

-o00o-

Here we have one of ZANU PF's own playing the party at their own game. Now to that, you have to be prepared to reap the consequences (forgive the pun).

"Top civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture has threatened to 'spill the beans' on the substandard fertiliser fiasco if he is fired from his job.

The Secretary for Agriculture, Simon Pazvakavambwa, told The Standard when asked to comment on his reported dismissal last week:

"You know I am a civil servant. I can't give a comment but if I am fired you can come to me and I will give you the whole story. At the moment, as we speak I am sitting in my office."

In years gone by, when members of Mugabe's government got overly cocky and started running off at the mouth, they were 'tragically' killed in road accidents or found floating in swimming pools (there was another one found this last week!).

-o00o-

The Mugabe government is very good at 'losing' documents, papers and reports which are judged, by the powers on high, to be detrimental to the party, the people in government, or just plain ruinous if allowed into the public domain.

And his government will protect any of their own, no matter what they are alleged to have done.

"Efforts by the Attorney General's office to bring to justice Joseph Mwale, the state security agent accused of masterminding the murder of two opposition activists, have hit a brickwall, amid reports the docket is missing.

AG officials on Tuesday said efforts to have Mwale, a senior officer with the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), brought to trial were being frustrated by top police officers in the Criminal Investigation Department."

It must be a difficult line to walk - attempting to do enough 'police' work to satisfy the public, whilst in reality they are not doing anything in the pursuit if justice.

"When a follow-up was made on Mwale's docket, we were surprised to be told it was missing," said a senior official in the AG's office who did not want to be identified. "The problem is that this docket went missing when it was in the custody of very senior police officers here in Harare."

-o00o-

I suppose it must be said, that with all I have said and written about Mugabe, I would be permanently incarcerated in a Zimbabwean jail.

What a pathetic and fickle law! Democracy includes the right of free speech and every one who lives in a democracy has the right to state their opinion.

Not so in the Zimbabwean 'democracy'...

"A Gwanda man was sentenced to three months in prison at the beginning of this month (November), after being found guilty of insulting President Robert Mugabe.

But Gwanda magistrate, Douglas Zvenyika wholly suspended Bassanio Chikwiriri’s sentence for five years on condition he did not commit the same offence.

Chikwiriri was alleged to have insulted the President last year by saying Mugabe was the architect of the country’s economic woes."

If the cap fits...

-o00o-

In conversation with a fellow Zimbabwean this last week, I commented that I sincerely hope that someone has has the foresight to keep a copy of the original constitution, because when ZANU PF are finally moved out of power, the constitution, with all their changes, ammendments and additions, is almost unrecognisable!

And yet they say there will be no new constitution!

"ZANU PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira has ruled out the need for a new constitution, saying it did not guarantee good governance.

His statement, made at a workshop in Bulawayo last week, was seen by commentators as pouring cold water on agitation by pro-democracy groups to push President Robert Mugabe to agree to constitutional reforms."

I cannot help but observe that the ammended constitution has not done anything for 'good governance' - in fact, come to think of it, ZANU PF have done nothing for 'good governance'!

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu