Wednesday, 31st October 2007

Howzit

I have just spent the last hour and a half trying to establish connectivity with my ISP. This is not a computer problem. I know that the ISP is up for sale, so they are obviously not that interested in their existing customer base. I think that I am going to have to seriously consider a change. Needless to say, I am not impressed, and I am now under pressure to get this thing out quickly.

My apologies to all those who wanted to visit my "Messages from Zimbabwe" page. Last evening I discovered that we had a problem and I am endeavouring to solve it ASAP... Apologies again.

-o00o-

I see that Global Politician has used a chapter from my book "Without Honour" to make an article advertising the book. This was organised a few weeks ago, and I do appreciate his work in this endeavour. The chapter featured, deals with a chance meeting I had with Mugabe whilst I was in the ZRP in Plumtree. the article is here.

-o00o-

I received an email yesterday which suggested to me that there was a breakthrough in the mediated talks between the opposition MDC and ZANU PF.

The breakthrough came as the negotiating teams enjoyed a cruise on a houseboat on Kariba.

"It finally happened on the second weekend of September - a few weeks later than the South African mediators had hoped-on a houseboat on Lake Kariba, northern Zimbabwe. The South Africans were led by senior political figures from the ANC liberation wing. This was important, as the Zimbabwean government's position has always been that a liberation revolution was still being fought-to free the land, and to resist a globalisation that privileges the west. The breakthrough came when the Zimbabwean delegations were persuaded to drop their public posturings for private talks. This had never happened before. Concessions and agreements on both sides began to flow."

I did note that this breakthrough was supposed to have happened well over a month ago, and that details have been 'leaked' by both sides...

"As soon as the Lake Kariba breakthrough occurred, it was leaked to the media. It was leaked by both sides of the Zimbabwean quarrel - the government and the two opposition parties-and the surprising thing about the leaks was how similar they were. No one was spinning. It turned out that over a few drinks, all those on the houseboat came to the liquid realisation that they could indeed share a common future. And that is the rub for Britain: it is a common future for the opposition parties and the government, even a residual future for Robert Mugabe-although his eventual package of immunities was not settled at Kariba."

I await absolute and total confirmation of this story, just as I watch and wait to see Mugabe will factor himself in or out of the basic agreement, as his decision will play a very large part - if, indeed, there was a breakthrough...

"Whether it works like this remains to be seen. Maybe Mugabe will decide not to go - or that he doesn't like his retirement package. Maybe, at Lisbon, the Africans will fail to persuade Europe to guarantee that Mugabe will not be indicted at The Hague. Other problems remain. For instance, if the Zimbabwean diaspora is allowed to vote, that is no problem in Britain. But in South Africa, the bulk of the 3 million refugees have no papers. They just crossed the border wherever and whenever they could. How these possibly decisive voters will be able to prove they are eligible remains to be seen. But they may hold the key to the future of the spoiled jewel of Africa."

I reserve comment.

-o00o-

"Zimbabwe's preparation for the synchronised presidential and parliamentary elections next year is running behind schedule as it emerged yesterday that there is inadequate money for the printing of the voters’ roll.

Edwell Mtemaringa, chief accountant at the Registrar General's office that prepares the voters’ register told a parliamentary portfolio committee on Defence and Home Affairs yesterday that the voters roll is supposed to be printed this year but this had not yet happened because of inadequate funds.

"Printing of the voters' roll has to be done this year so that it will be ready for inspection. We requested $3.5 trillion and were given only $110 billion," Mtemaringa said."

If I asked a straight question, is there any chance that I might receive a straight answer?

Why is there no money? Who spent it all? On What?

And I don't require a straight answer, because we all know the answer to my questions. Robert Gabriel Mugabe. He is the reason why there is no money. He has spent public funds on purchasing things that the Zimbabweans people do not need - but he has placed his own security above all other needs.

He buys bulletproof vehicles for him to ride around in - before he buys food for his people. And the reason that people don't have enough food? Mugabe's land grab - which he blames on the British - who did pay him money for compensation payments to the farmers - but Mugabe used the money elsewhere, and has never been asked for an accounting.

"This is a serious issue which the permanent secretary should raise with the minister," said Makova, who is a legislator of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party.

The voters’ roll requires major surgery to put it in order. For example, the roll is said to contain millions of names of voters who died or who have left the country over the years to work and live abroad.

Thousands of voters have failed to vote in previous polls either because their names were entered under wrong constituencies or did not appear at all on the roll."

As I have said, I left the country almost 9 years ago - but I guarantee that my name still appears in the roll.

"The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party has in the past accused the government of taking advantage of the lack of accurate figures on the number of voters to rig polls. The government denies the charge.

Meanwhile a senior police officer told the parliamentary committee that preparations by the law enforcement agency to ensure adequate security during polls were being hampered by a lack of resources.

Deputy Police Commissioner William Sibanda said there was need for the police to recruit and train more officers but there was such a serious shortage of resources with for example, new recruits having to train in their civilian clothes because there are not enough uniforms."

Why is there a need to recruit more police officers? When people exercise their democratic right to vote, and if (there's the operative word!) the voter roll is correct, voting should be a peaceful affair. And we know that police recruits are forced to show 'patriotism' which, in Zimbabwe, is an undying loyalty to Mugabe and his party.

A very difficult position.

"There is a serious shortage of uniforms. We can't buy uniforms, even shorts and T-shirts such that people are being trained in their own clothes," said Sibanda, who was however keen to emphasise that lack of resources or not, the police has acquitted itself well in previous polls."

I don't think so. The police are instrumental in the denial of people's right to vote. And they are not shy to use violence to underline their presence.

-o00o-

Haven't I been stating all along that no matter how the rest of the world leaders feel, Mugabe will be invited to the Lisbon summit?

"Zimbabwe’s embattled President Robert Mugabe yesterday scored a major diplomatic coup after Portugal said it was inviting all African Union leaders to a summit of European and African countries in December.

Mugabe’s presence at the summit has been a major talking point in the build-up to the meeting in Portugal, with former colonial master Britain and other European Union countries threatening to boycott the summit if the Zimbabwean leader was invited.

Mugabe’s colleagues in the African Union, who view the Zimbabwean president as an independence hero, had also threatened to miss the summit if he was not allowed to attend."

What is wrong with the people that are setting this up? Why pacify a few people at the cost of so many others?

This is plain silly. But if they have done it, then that is that...

I reckon that the organisers will go the extra mile as well - and give him unfettered access to the press (so we will be swamped with his anti-West rhetoric) - and just in case we manage to miss that, they will give him the floor and he will launch into yet another of his vitriolic attacks on the USA, UK and any other country he feels needs mention - all about sanctions and regime change. The fact that we have heard it all before - many times - seems to escape his notice.

But Mugabe is a person that likes the sound of his own voice and he will rabbit on ad infinitum to all and sundry.

Here's another question. Just how big an entourage is he intending to bring? Do the travel sanctions that are in place fall away for those who are just making up the numbers?

-o00o-

Mugabe does not care for any assertion that are made about his people practising violence on the opposition party members. He has never cared for anything that anyone has had to say that is negative - and historically we know that he shrugs his shoulders, denies it and moves on. He is famous for the 'last gasp contradiction'.

"The main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has warned that President Robert Mugabe’s dismissal of its claims about escalating violence against its members could undermine delicate talks between the opposition and the ruling ZANU PF party.

Mugabe last weekend dismissed as unsubstantiated opposition claims of state-sponsored violence against its supporters and labelled MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as being "amateurish" and "unacceptable".

But MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa yesterday accused Mugabe of undermining the spirit of ongoing talks between ZANU PF and the opposition by dismissing its concerns about escalating violence."

Let's remember that Mugabe sees himself as superhuman with the right to do what he wants, when he wants, how he wants - to whoever he wants.

He displays no respect the any other person (look at his outburst at Mwanawasa in Lusaka) - yet demands respect himself. There was a time where I was obliged to salute the man. I am mightily relieved that the requirement never surfaced (when I met him in Plumtree, at the time I entered the tent, I had removed my headgear and in Zimbabwe, uniformed personnel do no salute without headgear...).

"Mugabe is undermining the people’s confidence. It (Mugabe’s tirade) undermines the confidence of Zimbabweans in the dialogue process. People expect positive signals from the incumbent," said Chamisa, who last March was a victim of a government crackdown on MDC leaders and civic activists.

Chamisa said Mugabe was being economic with the truth by dismissing the opposition’s claims of violence."

Now put the tendering of a dossier to the government and this statement by the MDC in context. There are claims that there was a breakthrough in the mediated talks - about 5 weeks ago. Now we have the MDC being accused of all manner of subterfuge to make a point - not that we need convincing of the assaults that the ruling party has committed.

How does this all pan out now?

"Mugabe is either misinformed or is trying to be deliberately mischievous which is not going to aid and amplify confidence building. Our biggest problem in Zimbabwe is being in a denial mode," Chamisa said.

An opposition delegation last week met Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi to substantiate claims of escalating targeted violence against the party’s supporters following pressure from some Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders worried that the MDC could pull out of the talks."

-o00o-

In the past fews days, I have mentioned the possible introduction of a new currency. It would appear that this is not a possibility but a probability. And when it does happen, it will happen very quickly and without notice.

"A severe shortage of bearers cheques has hit the country and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is reported to be drafting plans to introduce a new currency.

Bearers cheques are currently the only legal tender in Zimbabwe. Our Harare correspondent Simon Muchemwa spoke to sources within the RBZ who said the plan is to bring in the new notes once a substantial amount of the current bearers cheques have been removed from circulation. Muchemwa said this is an attempt by the RBZ to lower the exchange rate and to limit hoarding. The exchange rate for US$1 surpassed the Z$1million mark in mid October.

Muchemwa explained that for 2 weeks now account holders have been finding it difficult to withdraw their hard earned money at the banks because they run out of notes as early as 10:00 am. This has made planning very difficult for people whose salaries are deposited automatically. Long winding queues can now be seen at most banks, including Stanbic, Stanchart, Zimbank, Barclays and all building societies."

I am of the opinion that bearer cheques are not legal tender - but maybe ZANU PF have rewritten the statute - a court in Karoi ruled that the cheques were not legal tender when a long distance truck driver was brought to court for taking an inordinate amount of bearer cheques out the country at Chirundu.

I stand to be corrected.

"Zimbabweans joke that they are "queue people" a funny way of dealing with the daily grind of spending hours in a queue. But the bank queues are now as long as queues for basic commodities which continue to be very scarce and extremely expensive."

If the introduction of a new currency is to happen, I can guarantee, once again, that it will be as devastating as the Operation Sunrise debacle last year where thousands of people lost their life savings due to government shortcomings. Not that that perturbed Mugabe or Gono.

I hold fingers and thumbs that any new currency (with however many zeroes lopped off) will be introduced a lot more smoothly than last year - but we are talking about Mugabe's fiscal plan, so I very much doubt it. He has realised that is he can keep the majority of people in the poor house, his life is so much easier...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Tuesday, 30th October 2007

Howzit

I note that there is not much news on Zimbabwe today. And that concerns me as I see it as the lull before the storm. Any day now we can expect Gideon Gono to announce the revaluation of the local currency (if you can call bearer cheques worth next to nothing 'currency'), whilst we also wait for confirmation that Portugal will invite Mugabe to their December summit.

-o00o-

-o00o-

It isn't the pipe they should have purchased - it's the contents!

"Fuel-starved Zimbabwe has purchased a 21-kilometre stretch of an oil pipeline running through Mozambique to the eastern border city of Mutare as the authorities try to ensure a minimum supply of fuel, reports said Monday.

The purchase of part of the 287-kilometre long pipeline that links Mutare to the coastal port of Beira, was made under an agreement that will allow Zimbabwe to continue using the line for the next 25 years, said the official Herald daily.

It was not clear how much the Zimbabwe government paid to buy the portion. The pipeline was formerly under the control of Mozambique's state-run Companhia-do Pipeline Mozambique-Zimbabwe (CPMZ), the report said."

Trust me, it is not in the interests of the Mugabe regime to know how much was paid for the pipeline, nor how they funded the purchase - but rest assured, they certainly didn't take bearer cheques!

"Almost all fuel stations are empty now following an order in July that petrol be sold at 60,000 Zimbabwe dollars, worth around 7 US cents at prevailing parallel market rates, a litre.

Only a handful of stations sell fuel for coupons paid for in foreign currency by account holders outside the country.

On the black market fuel sells at up to one million Zimbabwe dollars a litre, or 16 times the officially-ordered price."

Of course, we need to bear in mind that the black market price was fuelled (!) by the price slash order in July which has made Zimbabwean lives an absolute nightmare since.

Well thought out... Well planned... Well executed... Mugabe-style!

-o00o-

And a lack of fuel doesn't just affect the people of Zimbabwe (I nearly wrote 'normal' people of Zimbabwe and then realised that there is no such thing!), but has far reaching consequences for all manner of people.

Including those who are due to appear in criminal court...

"Six men accused of trying to topple Zimbabwe's veteran President Robert Mugabe failed to appear in court on Monday when fuel shortages forced the cancellation of their bus journey from prison.

The group had been hoping to have their applications for bail heard by a magistrate in Harare but their lawyer Charles Warara said it was now not known when their case would be heard.

"The court could not hear our application for refusal of further remand because my clients did not turn up at the court as they were not transported because there was no fuel," Warara told AFP.

"There was nothing I could do in their absence."

And if we were to ask the Mugabe regime to explain the lack of fuel, no doubt we will be met with a stream of vitriol claiming a Western plot designed to achieve regime change through international sanctions.

Blah, blah, blah.

When, in real terms, the slide into poverty and bankruptcy is to be laid at the feet of Mugabe who has this habit of purchasing rubbish to feed his ego instead of his people...

"Since Thursday last week, remand prisoners have not been appearing at the magistrates court because of the problems in finding petrol.

Zimbabwe has faced serious fuel shortages since 1999, a situation which has seen some garages going for weeks without supplies.

The six men were arrested in June over an alleged attempt to topple 83-year-old Mugabe and replace him with Rural Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa who is seen as a possible successor to the president.

They have denied the charges through their lawyers, saying they were discussing the formation of a new political party when security agents barged into their meeting in the capital and arrested them."

-o00o-

"Cash-strapped Air Zimbabwe won important backing from Parliament’s portfolio committee on transport to charge passengers in foreign currency for specific routes in a bid to raise hard cash for the almost bankruptcy national flag carrier.

The parliamentary committee on Monday said it backed a request by Air Zimbabwe board chairman Mike Bimha to demand payment in foreign currency to help shore up the struggling airline that has also suffered because of an acute fuel crisis gripping Zimbabwe over the past eight years."

One would have thought that the carrier would have pegged the sales of their tickets to cover the cost of the trips at least. Granted, they were paid in local currency, but what of those travelling from foreign countries to Harare? Are they not obliged to pay in forex?

This new move is to ratify the want for the national carrier to charge forex for certain routes... Simple. People will endeavour to use a different airline and that is reasonable easily done by catching a short flight to Johannesburg...

"The committee met and resolved that they will support Air Zimbabwe’s bid (to charge fares in forex)," said committee chairman Leo Mugabe.

Air Zimbabwe, which according to Bimha pays 70 percent of costs in foreign currency while only 10 percent of revenue was in hard currency, will still require approval from exchange control authorities in order to be able to charge passengers in hard currency."

I nearly fell over when I read the sample ticket prices given...

Z$87 650 000 for a return ticket to Johannesburg! That is 438 ZW$200000 bearer cheques! Eish!

-o00o-

I really do wish that Mugabe's government would stop parading themselves as victors who seized the land from the colonial white man to reallocate that land to the 'landless' blacks - when, in reality, what they have done is piecemeal a few small farms out to the povo, but have grabbed the best for themselves and their families.

Is there a list of the farms that have been seized - together with a full listing of the people that have been given them? I guarantee that we will read a list very similar to the Mugabe administration and his allies.

"Landless blacks" should mean precisely that. People who own no property - not people in positions of authority that don't own farm land (which they have no intention of working anyway...)

"Masvingo provincial governor, Willard Chiwewe, at the weekend evicted a white commercial farmer in Chiredzi district in southern Masvingo province as fresh farm invasions sweep across the country.

Chiwewe, who chairs a government land allocation committee in the province, stormed Senuko Farm last Friday in the company of armed soldiers and forcibly evicted John Alfford from his 40 hectare piece of land.

The resident minister also seized farm equipment at the property that used to produce over 1500 litres of milk per month in addition to fresh fruit, vegetable seeds and sugar cane.

A former farm worker at the property on Monday told ZimOnline that Chiwewe had also threatened to have the Alffords arrested if they defied the order to vacate the property."

Since when does the governor have his own miniature army? (Mind you, we know that some Minister's wives seem to have their own armed stick of soldiers on call...) According to the article, the farm has been seized for Chiwewe's daughter.

"Chiwewe confirmed taking over the farm adding that the Masvingo provincial land committee had since allocated the property to his daughter whose name and age could not be immediately verified.

"We had to seek the assistance of soldiers because some of these white commercial farmers have become dangerous," said Chiwewe without elaborating.

"We gave the Alfords enough time to leave but they did not listen hence we had to behave in the manner that we did. My daughter has since taken over after the land allocation committee gave her the property," said Chiwewe."

Zimbabwe - the only country in the world where you can be criminally charged with agreeing with the President, and where farmers are charged in a criminal court with... farming!

-o00o-

This article comes from the ZANU PF-sponsored Herald newspaper in Harare. I find is almost laughable that the newspaper should talk about feeding the nation when the new land owners leave the land lying fallow - when there is no sustainable farming to talk of...

"The first critical priority for Zimbabwe’s farmers is to produce enough food, and it is, thus, essential that prices offered for these crops are adequate to cover all costs and give the farmers a reasonable profit.

The actual affordability of the subsequent food is a quite separate question that can only be addressed once the harvest is in and is being sold.

In times of high inflation, such as Zimbabwe faces today, there might well be good grounds to subsidise consumers, at least in the first months after a harvest.

It needs to be remembered that, if the farmers do their part, a year’s supply of maize will arrive in the silos over a couple of months, and yet will take a year for these silos to be emptied and that maize to be eaten."

The operative phrase if 'if the farmers do their part' - in Zimbabwe the new farmers are either a few subsistence farmers who were given tiny slivers of land to work and are already under huge pressure from the government to produce huge amounts of produce, with the ever present threat of losing that land again, while the chefs sit in the halls of power, the land attached to their name doing nothing...

Is this what it will come to in Zimbabwe?

The ZANU PF hierarchy hang on to power and the best land, and put the small scale farmers under inordinate pressure to produce, whilst the country starves? Will the regional leaders finally see sense and actually do something about the situation, or will they do their normal and do absolutely nothing whilst Mugabe vilifies the West for sanctions, regime change plots and wanting to re-colonise Zimbabwe?

There must comes a time when the leaders, regional or world, have had enough and then they will either intervene (which I rather think Mugabe expects - although he will not say so in public), or turn their collective backs on the country.

Either way, it is going to be a tough decision.

But, in the meantime, the article in the Herald seeks to misinform the reader that all will come right - and in a hurry too...

"So the initial months’ supply to millers are likely to be very expensive when compared to the average pay packet while the food might well be ridiculously cheap shortly before the next harvest. It might well be possible, therefore, for a switched-on economist to devise a pricing scheme for selling maize or any other food crop to charge below the producer price at first, gradually raising the price each month until it is well above the producer price in the 12-month period.

The subsidies and the premiums could be arranged so that the average price is free of both profit and loss, ensuring that the consumers pay in full for their food, but while inflation rages are allowed to pay for most of a harvest in the last few months."

It continues with ridiculous claims to having rectified the wage differences immediately after independence. Like Mugabe got ANYTHING right since 1980 - I don't think so!

At least the reported agrees with the natural progression of feeding the people: "But, it must be stressed, the first requirement is that farmers can grow the crops and can make a decent living growing food."

Except that he/she wrote it as if the farmers are expecting a bumper harvest... An age-old (or should that be 'old-age') Mugabe tactic designed to misinform the public so that he can continue with his rape of the country.

-o00o-

This letter also appeared in The Herald, and to me epitomises the feelings of ZANU PF - where they have a collective opinion that the Tsvangirai-led MDC are trouble-makers and deserve the beatings they get - although the writer claims the beatings never happened.

"The MDC Tsvangirai faction’s fixation with violence deserves condemnation.

Its leadership and youths openly defy the law yet their Western masters never censure them on their excesses.

For instance, at a meeting held in Glen Norah on October 14, the faction leadership, among them four legislators, told youths to defy police orders yet when the police descend on the marauding youths, the opposition leaders are quick to cry foul over alleged repression.

Only recently the Tsvangirai faction threatened to pull out of the inter-party talks with ZANU PF claiming that the State was perpetrating violence against its supporters yet all they wanted was to draw the attention of the Western media ahead of the EU-Africa Summit.

What exposes the Tsvangirai faction is that the rival Mutambara camp has not made similar allegations; neither are they threatening to pull out of the talks."

Does it not dawn on the writier that although Mutambara may fly under a MDC banner, that he leads an entirely separate faction, and therefore is not to be confused with the Tsvangirai faction?

Whilst 'Sixpence' chooses to attack the Tsvangirai faction, why is it that he should choose not to say anything against Mutambara's faction? Surely the MDC is the MDC? Surely you cannot like one and hate the other. This is a divided party, not a divorced couple...

"It is evident the Mutambara camp understands that being an opposition party does not necessarily mean that relations with the ruling party should be antagonistic."

You what? The ruling party are the ones that know and understand that their rule will only be followed with violence and intimidation! It is almost impossible to talk with the ruling party without a threat, veiled or otherwise, being raised.

But 'Sixpence' - for all his inside information - claims that the dossier of violence handed to Kembo Mohadi last week is 'trumped up'.

"If the Government is persecuting opposition members, why would it concentrate on the Tsvangirai faction only leaving the Mutambara faction to enjoy peace yet they are all MDC elements?"

Good question. But how is it that the writer is privy to the government's action? Did he not see the beatings on video? Did he not hear Mugabe praising his police force for their action? Did he not hear the Gushungo threaten to do it again? Did he not see the pictures of the battered MDC members?

Very simply, this was targeted violence - and it continues today. Leave The Herald behind and read a newspaper that actually prints the truth!

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Monday, 29th October 2007

Howzit

An intermittent internet signal has caused me to be about 2 hours later than usual. Sorry about that, but when it is in the hands of others...

-o00o-

Foreign currency mid-rates updated.

-o00o-

In this week's ZNU podcast I look at the response by ZANU PF to the dossier submitted to them by the MDC of the violence perpetrated on them, and the rejection of the allegations by both Home Affairs minister, Kembo Mohadi backed up by none other than the President himself.

The ruling party say that the report is 'hearsay' and are 'fabrications'...

I also look at Tsvangirai's declaration in March last year that he does not want to be the President of Zimbabwe.

The podcast can be downloaded from here, listened to here, in the player below or in the sidebar on the right hand side. Or you can go to my Odeo page to listen to the file here.

powered by ODEO

-o00o-

Funnily enough, I was thinking about Air Zimbabwe just yesterday - thinking that they are lucky that no aircraft has fallen out of the sky yet. Testimony to the technicians who keep the old birds flying.

"British Airways flew out of Harare international airport yesterday, ending 62 years of service. The London-bound BA152 left with 200 passengers aboard the Boeing 777 without any acknowledgement of the occasion. The captain of the incoming flight from London had remarked over the intercom at how sad he felt not to be able to fly in and out of Harare any more.

Last month BA, the last foreign long-haul airline left in Zimbabwe, announced that it was ending its Harare service because it had been making "a considerable loss" that it could no longer sustain. The airline’s passenger numbers began to shrink in 2000 when President Mugabe launched his violent dispossession of white farmers.

"BA’s withdrawal is a major blow to what’s left of tourism," said a tour company operator requesting anonymity. "Air Zimbabwe (the state-owned airline) cannot make up the numbers that BA was carrying. That means people will have to fly here via South Africa or one of the other neighbouring countries, and having to make multiple stopovers is a severe deterrent to travellers."

If Mugabe does decide to say anything about this, it is bound to be negative - probably accusing BA of working with Western politicians wanting his regime to fail...

But, in all seriousness, this is not good - as now there are even less flights upon which a family may wish to depart the country - but they can fly to Johannesburg and there pick up a connecting flight to the UK.

I remember in the 1990s when the BA Concorde flew over Harare. I was at the BMX track in Harare and watched that huge plane glide over the city heading for Harare airport. Now that bird is retired and the connection is completely broken with the withdrawal of BA.

"In 1999 Harare airport was crowded with the emblems of 18 foreign airlines with Lufthansa, Air France and TAP Portugal also linking directly to Europe. BA was flying four consistently packed Boeing 747 jumbo jets to Harare four times a week.

In 2001 the service was cut to three weekly flights, in Boeing 777s, which carry half the passenger load. Now a handful of African carriers are left servicing regional routes.

Travel agents were told last week that one of them, Ethiopian Airlines, was also terminating its Harare service to East Africa. Pilots on cargo carriers were also informed that DHL, the international courier service, was closing its office here. No comment could be obtained from either company."

A serious situation, no doubt.

-o00o-

Staying with the flying theme...

"Authorities at Air Zimbabwe have expressed fears that the airline could face a ban from European skies if it fails a "must pass" audit carried out by the International Air Transport Association (ITA) last week, ZimOnline has learnt.

Confidential documents seen by ZimOnline at the weekend showed that all was not well at Air Zimbabwe over the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) that ran from the 23rd to the 26th of October.

The reports, titled, "Report to shareholder to fast-track the turnaround programme," and "Operations and Service Improvement Plan 2007," said the audit was a "must pass" as it was a condition for the airline to retain its membership of IATA.

"In the event that the airline does not pass the audit, we anticipate the British government to lobby the European Union to include IOSA certification as part of the Operational Certificate Requirements for airlines flying into Europe."

Failure to pass the audit would mean that the airline would be barred from flying to Europe and the United Kingdom. The report reads that in the event of a ban from flying into the United Kingdom means that the "United Kingdom government would have won the battle to stop air services between the two nations."

Why has everything got to be politically base in Zimbabwe? The audit is something that all airlines must pass. If any of them fail, the same ban would be effected upon them - this is not a UK versus Zimbabwe decision.

Therefore, they (Zimbabwe) cannot expect to be passed just because they are Zimbabwean.

"Authorities at Air Zimbabwe say once the airline is banned from flying into Europe, creditors will rush to call in their funds, paralyzing operations at the troubled airline.

Air Zimbabwe is currently struggling with debts amounting to US$21 million, with US$13 million owed to local creditors, according to the documents.

"The airline has no capacity to liquidate these debts which accrued due to poor business performance. As a result of the debt, the company has been put on cash basis by various service providers including fuel suppliers, a situation which is unsustainable," Air Zimbabwe said."

Take a close look at the government handling of the situation and then, and only then, point fingers...

-o00o-

"Zimbabwe’s main opposition party has asked the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to convene an all-party meeting to agree "practical approaches" to the registration of voters to avoid mistakes made in a previous exercise to record voters.

Zimbabwe’s voters’ roll has been in shambles for years with hundreds of thousands of names of voters who died or left the country to live abroad still appearing on the register, while thousands more voters have failed to vote in previous polls either because their names were entered in wrong constituencies or did not appear at all on the register.

An exercise to update the roll ahead of next year’s joint presidential and parliamentary elections that was completed last August had to be extended last Friday after complaints mostly from the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party that thousands of newly eligible voters from areas it controls were left out."

The voters' roll has been a deadly weapon in elections in Zimbabwe. People are denied registration for the most mundane of reasons - but primarily this is based on tribe or political affiliation - if you are a known MDC supporter, you will struggle to register.

There are election results in the past which have beggared belief. Constituencies where the ruling party has won be a margin bigger than the number of registered voters!

And when queried the case has taken forever to come to court and then dismissed - mainly because international observers - carefully chosen by the ruling party - have rubber stamped the election as 'free and fair'.

Since 1980, not one of any elections held have been free and fair.

"We request formally that you call a meeting of the Multiparty Liaison Committee to agree more practical approaches to the voter registration challenge generally and the mobile exercise in particular," MDC’s director of elections in the Morgan Tsvangirai-led party, Ian Makone, wrote in a letter to the ZEC dated October 25.

"We are convinced that the initiatives recently announced by the Registrar General will yield the same poor results as the last one. We need to learn from our mistakes and we do not seem to have done so," Makone wrote."

I would bet that the request is either ignored or just dismissed - no reason given. This is how the ruling party works. This is how they win elections. By just side-stepping the main issues and forging ahead (how apt an expression!) regardless.

"Election observers have always criticised Zimbabwe’s chaotic voters’ roll, while the MDC has in the past accused the government of taking advantage of the lack of accurate figures on the number of voters to rig polls. The government denies rigging elections."

-o00o-

The war veterans in Zimbabwe have a huge amount of clout (another apt expression!)... and will stop at nothing to force their will upon the people.

But what I also note is the threat hanging over the government that war veterans want more money. We wait to see if the Mugabe purse strings can be fiddled with further to cover the increase that they are asking for - nay - demanding...

"Tension within Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU PF party is heating up ahead of an extraordinary congress in December where President Robert Mugabe is hoping to be endorsed for another run at the presidency,

While a faction led by retired Army General Solomon Mujuru was said to be working overtime to ensure Mugabe is not endorsed, the war veterans have threatened to deal with anyone who stands in his way.

The veterans - considered to be Mugabe’s storm troopers - have been staging so-called solidarity marches in major towns and cities, proclaiming Mugabe to be "the God-chosen" leader of ZANU PF and Zimbabwe."

Mugabe would have to be God-chosen - as he certainly wasn't chosen by the people!

The war veterans are beginning to build in strength and anger. Any former combatants not participating in the 'solidarity' marches in consider a 'sellout', and now "Sibanda said anyone contemplating challenging Mugabe at congress would be treated as a "renegade".

"We have said we will rally behind our president... and that position will remain the same until we win elections next year despite sabotage to our economy which is aimed at pushing people to revolt against President Mugabe and the ruling party,” said Sibanda."

All the while, Sibanda's return to the fold is being questioned, but in typical Mugabe fashion, any voices of dissension of just simply ignored...

"As far as we are concerned Sibanda remains suspended. What he is doing is without the blessing of the party," said Effort Nkomo, the spokesman of ZANU PF in Bulawayo, which last week refused to join Mugabe’s solidarity marches.

The war veterans are understood to have been promised lucrative incentives to break any opposition to Mugabe before the extraordinary congress set for December 12-15."

Once again, we see Mugabe's lot playing the game of: "you show me yours and I'll show you mine" as other people have to conform the request before ZANU PF does anything in return. Which they then renege on, but it is too late to reverse the favour given.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Sunday, 28th October 2007

Howzit

We put the clocks back one hour this morning - which means the worst time of the year is upon us. (And in case you were wondering, the 'local time' in the sidebar is server based and as I type, it still hasn't been changed back...) I hate the cold - mainly because it makes my arm ache so much. The days will shorten until it is only getting light at 9 in the morning and the sun has long gone (if indeed it has made an appearance) by 4pm...

Not an ideal situation. But we have food, running water, electricity...

-o00o-

Now that Mugabe has secured the endorsement of his nomination as candidate for next year's election he has brought out the whip again.

"Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has criticised recent price hikes as "daylight robbery", contradicting his central bank chief's call for the easing of controls.

The official daily Herald reported on Saturday that Mugabe told his party's central committee that his patience was being "stretched to the limit" and said manufacturers had a "political agenda" when they raised prices.

In a bid to fight Zimbabwe's record inflation rate, the 83-year-old president imposed sweeping price slashes in June and then a six-month price freeze that resulted in widespread shortages of basics like bread, flour, cooking oil, margarine, meat and even shoes."

The feeling is, no doubt, mirrored by the people of Zimbabwe who must be absolutely sick and tired of Mugabe's attempts to run the country. Time and time again his government has issued laws and regulations and various orders which do nothing for the economy. And then Mugabe finds a scapegoat to blame the fiasco on - in this case, none other than Gideon Gono.

"Perhaps on our side, the National Incomes and Pricing Commission and related authorities should get their act together and stop the daylight robbery of our people," Mugabe told a meeting of his party's central committee on Friday.

His comments came just days after his central bank chief Gideon Gono struck a conciliatory note, arguing that consumers should not expect prices to remain fixed and that producers needed a "modicum of price adjustments". Prices immediately jumped, including that of the Herald, which was more than tripled.

Meanwhile, the head of the National Incomes and Pricing Commission has warned his inspectors will soon descend on businesses flouting price controls, the Herald said in a separate report."

A typical Mugabe reaction. Play the blame game and then set upon the people. That way he is able to deflect the blame even further, claiming that he and his government were acting in the best interests of the people...

-o00o-

I publish the picture above in an attempt to display graphically the double standards practised by Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF.

The billboarded headlines are a threat to companies that fail to produce - if they fail then the government will take them over. Just like that. And, when it starts to happen, I would hazard a guess that companies that are producing will be taken over in the chaos... but that is another story.

To show the other side of the coin - Mugabe's government is currently taking 11 farmers to court - for producing food! Yes, the food is on farms which have eviction orders attached - but which is more important?

The ownership of land that is still producing, or the production of food for the people?

-o00o-

"On Wednesday, October 31, the Voice of America (VOA) will broadcast a special television program featuring exclusive reports from inside Zimbabwe, including footage of protesters being beaten and arrested by police for opposing the government of President Robert Mugabe.

This special 30-minute VOA TV broadcast, "Zimbabwe: A Country In Crisis," is an expanded edition of the weekday Perspectives program. It provides a rare look at Zimbabwe under President Mugabe's rule."

If you are able to watch this programme you may find the evidence you need to feed the anger... Unfortunately we cannot pick up VOA here in the UK - but maybe someone will post it to YouTube.

Stranger things have happened.

-o00o-

I find this almost unbelievable. Mugabe and his party are alleging that the dossier listing violence against the opposition party (MDC) is a work of fiction.

So that would mean that all the photographs of the beaten activists are false. The video footage of the women being beaten in Africa Unity Square was an enactment. The need for Sekai Holland and Grace Gwinjeh to have an Australian diplomat to accompany them as they left Zimbabwe for treatment in South Africa was just a ruse...

Maybe Mugabe praising his police force for beating the opposition was an optical illusion...

"Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe accused the main opposition party on Saturday of making false allegations of government violence to derail reconciliation talks.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the ruling ZANU-PF party are in talks mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki as part of regional efforts to end Zimbabwe's deepening economic crisis and promote political reconciliation.

"From out of the blue, his (Tsvangirai's) party is making unsubstantiated reports of growing and sustained politically motivated violence being perpetrated against its supporters," he told members of the ZANU PF central committee, according to the official Herald newspaper.

"It is, therefore, unacceptable that in light of the positive strides we have made, others like Morgan Tsvangirai, who is always the joker, find it necessary to frustrate this fledgling process."

I can see where this is going. The ruling party have used the talks as a lure for the MDC's support of the constitutional amendment, and have also possibly conceded a new constitution (although they give no ground on POSA and AIPPA) and now they claim falsehoods so that they can pull out of the talks, thereby not having to stand up to their side of the bargain.

"The MDC, led by Tsvangirai, said last week the government was heightening a violent crackdown against its supporters but said it would not walk away from the talks.

On Wednesday, Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi met MDC officials who chronicled cases of alleged politically motivated violence by the police, army, intelligence services and Mugabe's supporters.

Mohadi promised to investigate the claims.

"Let it be known that we will not take kindly to 'cry wolf' boys, desperately pretending to be politicians and seeking to embellish their faltering ambitions through falsehoods," Mugabe said.

Mugabe has in the past accused the MDC of being puppets of his critics in Britain and the United States. Zimbabwe is due to hold parliamentary and presidential elections next year."

If Mugabe had his own way, then you would never see these videos - but now that they are in the public domain, he says that his forces had the right to beat the people (and will do it again) - but the report on the violence is fabricated...

Maybe someone should remind Mugabe that not everyone in the world is a stupid as he thinks. The man is the one who lives in falsehood. I am amazed that he actually believes that the watching world will swallow his lies.

-o00o-

This not the first time we have read of rituals carried out by Mugabe's senior goons. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa held a ritual on his farm whilst he was being tried in court for 'defeating the course of justice' - or some charge similar.

That ritual was for him to be found innocent of the charges - which he was...

Now it is reported that Mutasa is also playing with rituals...

"A Chinhoyi man alleges his life is now in danger after he told President Robert Mugabe that Security Minister Didymus Mutasa performed bizarre rituals in a bid to succeed the President.

Jeremiah Mambo Jenami, a farmer in Chinhoyi who worked with the controversial spirit medium Nomatter Tagarira, told The Standard he sent a dossier to Mugabe that contained startling details about how Mutasa performed rituals in the Maningwa hills.

Details of Mutasa’s alleged involvement in the rituals are said to have angered Mugabe, who according to press reports, is considering replacing the Minister with Emmerson Mnangagwa."

I love it when the ZANU PF hierarchy fight amongst themselves for better footing so that they can be considered to take over Mugabe's position. What they have all discounted is that Mugabe has no intention of standing down and will die in office.

And with the luck going against the Zimbabwean people, Mugabe will probably live well into his nineties!

I will not knock the rituals carried out in Zimbabwe as I have no wish to insult the people, but the report does describe in some details the goings on with Mutasa. Worth the read at the very least.

"Mutasa yesterday told this reporter that he does not talk to The Standard.

"The Standard is out to make money. I have told you before not to call me. Do not waste my time…" Then the line was cut.

A second call to Mutasa was answered but the line went silent."

Do you think that Mugabe's ministers all went on a course to learn how to treat reporters?

It is plain to see how thankful the regime is of the service of the medium, who is in prison facing charges of misleading the government that diesel was flowing from a rock... I am not going to into the story as it is just so ridiculous...

-o00o-

I am saddened when I read stories like this. This is just one of the hundreds and thousands of stories about leaving Zimbabwe under duress. About having to leave the place that we called home in fear of our lives, our future and that of our children.

As luck would have it, my family left a year before the real break down began, but I remember the fear that I felt as I left Zimbabwe for the UK...

"For Wayne Deegan Ireland isn't really home. His wife Orla might be from Templeogue, but neither of them really planned to live here. Their children were born on the opposite side of the world and they feel displaced, removed from the place they call home.

But when that place has been denounced as the most corrupt country on the planet, a place where the inflation rate runs at 6,000pc, interest rates at 800pc and where you have to bring a wheelbarrow full of cash just to go grocery shopping, Ireland is by far the better option.

The Deegans knew they had had enough by 2000. They now live in Rathfarnham with their children (Zach, 14, and Niamh, 11). Wayne knew it would be easier to get work here.

"The catalyst was the day my friend Martin Olds was murdered," says Wayne. Olds, a white farmer, was attacked by a 14-vehicle convoy of 70 insurgents armed with AK-47s and machetes. After defending himself for three hours, he was killed as he left his home on 18 April, 2000. No arrests were ever made.

"We came here with €150, five suitcases and two children," says Wayne. "Everything else was left behind. I started labouring and working as a doorman the minute we got here." Wayne now works as a fireplace fitter. His children found the transition, "a little difficult, but they're very settled now. My wife and I both work and it's a great feeling knowing that we're not going to be hijacked or have to sleep with a revolver by the bed as I did for years."

Interesting that he should mention that no arrests were ever made for the killing of Martin Olds. Come to think of it, no arrests have been made for the killing of Olds' mother, or Dave Stevens. Or the MDC activists shot dead in Bulawayo - although I am sure that the powers that be know exactly who perpetrated the crimes.

"Life under a despot is cruel, and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe is crueller than most. Zimbabwe today is on the verge of famine. The UN has warned that half of the 12m population is in danger of starvation. To date, Mugabe has refused all aid: "Why do they want to choke us with their food? We have enough," he has said.

His senior minister, Didymus Mutasa, has even implied such a cull, in opposition areas particularly, would not be undesirable. "We would be better off with only six million people - our people," he claimed. Thousands of white business people in Zimbabwe are on the receiving end of new legislation which forces them to hand over 51pc of business interests to blacks. Paul Mangwana, the 'black empowerment', minister was reported as justifying the action by saying: "If a white person wants to start a business, he should partner with indigenous persons."

Mugabe wants a finger in every pie in Zimbabwe. And, as he enacts his 'master plan' we see the economy of Zimbabwe failing and only time will dictate when a total collapse will occur.

"Robert Mugabe has uncommonly lived the equivalent of almost three lives already. At 83, he rules with an iron fist, while overseeing the construction of his latest palace - the largest private dwelling ever in Africa: 24 bedrooms over 3 storeys on four acres set in a lush 50-acre garden.

Almost half of white Zimbabweans have dual nationality but since 2002 Mugabe has made it illegal to hold dual passports and banned long-term residents from voting, a decision which affected whites in the main who were forced to repudiate even a notional second nationality in order to exercise their mandate. Such is the perilous state of the economy that prices for everyday goods double every four months but the Reserve Bank is unable to circulate more banknotes as it doesn't have the foreign currency to pay for printing them."

And whilst this story is about a family that managed to get out, albeit with very little, spare a thought for those, who, for one reason or another, are unable to leave. No passport and/or no money to buy the required plane ticket... And, I can assure you, there are many that fit this category...

So the oppression continues.

-o00o-

And finally, with thanks to MM for sending me the link, Vice President Mujuru is under a cloud in Zimbabwe. The government has ordered a blackout on any news that features Mujuru - mainly because Mugabe had chosen to ally himself with Presidential hopeful Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Joice Mujuru's faction has a rather large website here that explains her aspirations and dreams - and it also details her political ethos. Interesting reading...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Saturday, 27th October 2007

Howzit

Yesterday I received a very limited printed stock of my book, "Without Honour".

If you live in the UK and are interested in purchasing a copy, they are £10 plus £2 postage each.

If you are interested, you can contact me directly at mandebvhu(at)ntlworld(dot)com for us to work out the logistics.

It is my intention to use the money from sales to replenish the stock.

-o00o-

These photos arrived by email yesterday evening:

Shopping in Harare in 1981...

Shopping in Harare in 2007...

Remember the 'spot the difference' pictures for kids? Apply that to the above... Makes the brain spin, huh?

-o00o-

-o00o

Proof that Mugabe's fingernails are a lot stronger and sharper than we ever thought...

"Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU PF party will endorse President Robert Mugabe as candidate in next year’s presidential election at an extraordinary congress in December, party legal affairs secretary Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Friday.

Briefing journalists in Harare after a meeting of ZANU PF’s central committee held to adopt the agenda for the extraordinary congress, Mnangagwa said party rules required that Mugabe - elected party leader by the last ordinary congress in 2004 - remains candidate for next year’s presidential race.

"The party elected the leader of the party in 2004 who essentially was going to be the candidate for president and that position is still binding," said Mnangagwa, in response to a journalist’s question whether the December conference would choose a new presidential candidate for ZANU PF.

"Essentially the December congress is going to endorse this candidate," added Mnangagwa, among senior ZANU PF politicians eyeing Mugabe’s job in the event he decides to step down."

Of course they are going to use Mnangagwa to make the announcement as they have to start easing him into the spotlight so that the watching world becomes used to him so that when (if!) Mugabe stands down or dies, Mnangagwa can take over seamlessly...

"Zimbabwe holds joint presidential and parliamentary elections next year. Mugabe, who earlier this year said there was no vacancy for his position, has said he will stand for re-election next year and no one in ZANU PF has openly challenged him.

But there has been speculation that a faction led by powerful retired army general Solomon Mujuru - that has been pushing for a new leader to be chosen - could nominate a surprise challenger to Mugabe at the December congress.

The Mujuru faction last December successfully blocked Mugabe’s bid to extend his rule to 2010 without going to the ballot but the veteran leader made an about turn and offered himself to stand in next year’s elections."

I would rather enjoy seeing a second candidate being introduced by the Mujuru faction as that would automatically dilute the ZANU PF vote for Mugabe. Well. in theory anyway...

-o00o-

"Police in Harare have arrested a fugitive banking executive who has been on the police wanted list for three years for allegedly contravening strict foreign exchange laws, state media said Friday.

James Mushore, a former deputy managing director of Zimbabwe's NMB Bank, was arrested Wednesday at his home in the posh suburb of Chisipite, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena told the official Herald daily.

"Investigations are still continuing," Bvudzijena said.

He told the Herald that Mushore was in police custody and would appear in court "soon."

Mushore and three other top NMB Bank officials fled Zimbabwe in 2004 after they were accused of siphoning around US$8 million (€5.6 million) out of Zimbabwe through a money transfer agency they set up in London."

It was hardly rocket science to drive to his house and arrest him, was it? If this was the master criminal as alleged, how come he wasn't arrested at the airport upon his arrival back into the country?

"Mushore took refuge in Britain, but apparently made several recent trips to Zimbabwe."

Whilst, interestingly, SW Radio Africa reports that the arrest was enabled for political reasons...

"There are claims that the protracted succession politics within ZANU PF are at the centre of the arrest of former NMB Bank deputy managing director James Mushore.

On Wednesday police in Harare arrested Mushore, allegedly over long-standing allegations of foreign currency externalisation.

But observers say Mushore has fallen victim to Robert Mugabe’s loyalists because he is related to Mugabe’s rival, retired army general Solomon Mujuru. Mujuru heads a faction angling to take over the ZANU PF leadership from Mugabe.

Mushore together with fellow NMB bosses, Julius Makoni, Otto Chekeche and Francis Zimuto, fled into exile in 2004 after they were accused of having violated the country’s exchange control regulations. At the time, Makoni, Mushore and Zimuto collectively held over 35 percent of NMBZ through family trusts, making them the single biggest block of shareholders, ahead of institutional investor Old Mutual."

Which throws the Mugabe succession battle into the public domain as both sides will be throwing all manner of allegations at each other.

Once again, I feel that this is good news for the voting public, as the longer that the ruling party argue amongst themselves, the longer that the MDC has to stiffen their resolve to take the voting battle to ZANU PF. I do not talk of armed insurrection or public disobedience. The MDC needs to spend the time educating the voting public and spreading the word about living in Zimbabwe without the repressive rule of Mugabe.

Without that, Mugabe will walk all over the ballot box, if his party have not already rigged next year's election already...

"We understand that Mujuru is Mushore’s uncle and we all know that there is some serious tussling for power between the retired general and Mugabe at the moment.

Speculations here have already concluded with some degree of reason, that he is a victim of his relationship with Mujuru and that the official allegation is just an excuse."

-o00o-

Mugabe really does enjoy stirring the pot, if for nothing more than to see the target of his comments squirm uncomfortably. But when it comes to the West, we've heard it all before, so I doubt that any government really cares what he has to say about them.

"Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has urged his country's intelligence service to be ever on guard, saying the country is under renewed threats from western powers, a state daily reported Friday.

Laying the foundation stone at the construction site of a national intelligence school, Mugabe named Britain and the United States, saying "they have unleashed a multiplicity of players, including non-state actors, to destabilise our nation."

"The phenomenon of the use of non-state actors has increased the vulnerability of small states to the dictates of big powers which can use non-governmental organisations... to threaten the sovereignty of small states," The Herald quoted Mugabe as saying."

I shake my head in awe. Not at the man - but at his allegations. Does he really think that Zimbabwe, a country now within a hairbreadth of collapse, is that high up the pecking order that the West should 'unleash' a plot to take over Zimbabwe?

That's rather like stealing ashtrays isn't it?

Once you've got it, what are you going to do with it? Not much except put cigarettes ends out...

I see no reason for the West to want to take over Zimbabwe - although I am sure that on a humanitarian basis, the West would like to see some sort of fair food distribution being enforced - but more than that...

"The important role of defending our country cannot be left to mediocre officers incapable of comprehending and analytically evaluating the operational environment to ensure that the sovereignty of our state is not only preserved but enhanced," he said.

"It is the expected purpose of this institution to vigorously interrogate all issues pertaining to our insecurity and evolve methods for our preservation."

Nice of him to call all the other security arms of his administration 'mediocre"... I'm sure that they will be wincing with the sting of his comments, whilst the CIO will puff out their chests and head out the door to perpetrate more violence and mayhem across the country.

As I say, he really does like stirring the pot...

-o00o-

"The death of MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai's bodyguard, Nhamo Musekiwa, has sparked debate over the cause of his death. A party statement linked the death to injuries sustained when he was brutally assaulted after an aborted prayer rally in March.

Other reports have however suggested Musekiwa was HIV positive and that he succumbed to this condition. While news agencies were unaware of his private health status the revelations have thrown up a debate over cause and effect, given he was indeed tortured in custody and was sent to South Africa for treatment."

I continue to stand by my comments of yesterday. If someone is terminally ill, it is still illegal to terminate that life. A crime.

I like the way that MDC spokesman Chamisa puts it:

"If someone is HIV positive and they get run over by a car, what will you say is the cause of their death?"

I agree - speeding up someone's demise is still illegal. Think of it this way. Assisted suicide is still illegal in many countries - but even if Musekiwa was HIV positive, was it his choice that his death be caused by an ZANU PF assault? A very strange assertion...

"Chamisa said Musekiwa was in good health before the beating but soon after had to be transferred to South Africa for treatment. Whatever the actual cause of death it should not take away from the fact Musekiwa was arrested alongside party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and brutally assaulted and tortured."

ZANU PF have broken the law insofar as Musekiwa's demise was directly attributable to the assault. Everything else is not relevant.

-o00o-

Did I not say that Mugabe was determined to attend the EU/AU summit?

"Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has said he is determined to attend a Europe-Africa summit in Lisbon next month despite pressure from Britain that he be kept off the invitation list.

"Portugal said they would invite me," Mugabe said in an interview published by state media in Angola on Friday.

While he had yet to receive an approach from the Portuguese, Mugabe said: "I will go if I get the invitation."

The build-up to December's summit in the Portuguese capital has been overshadowed by the row over the possible attendance of Mugabe who is currently subject to a European Union travel ban."

Of course, Mugabe has no intention to do anything more at the summit than to rub his presence in the face of the West. And - as I had said many times - the summit will give Mugabe the floor and we can look forward to a typical Mugabe-esque tirade of bitterness and loathing aimed at the USA and the UK... together with the normal dose of allegations about sanctions and regime change...

"Mugabe thanked SADC for its stance, adding that "Europe should not choose who of us should come and who should not".

Were that to happen "then we are a finished people", added Mugabe who has ruled the southern African nation since independence in 1980.

Europeans "have lots of sins themselves and many things we don't like they are doing" but "we will not say that if so-and-so comes to the United Nations we will not go," he added."

You know what? I don't care what Mugabe wants or what he says about the summit. I don't even care if he does attend and if the conveners are silly enough to give him the floor. It is not like they weren't warned (not necessarily by me), but they will learn.

Mugabe will walk away from Lisbon 'vindicated', whilst his wife will walk away loaded to the gunnels with her purchases, all of which will probably not be the subject of any duty on entry into Zimbabwe...

"Mugabe said he was not at odds with Europe as a whole but merely Britain which he says has reneged on an agreement to fund land redistribution.

"Our problem is purely bilateral, between Britain and Zimbabwe, and that has to do with land," said Mugabe."

Is Mugabe really expecting the rest of the world to believe his lies? Let's just start with the basis of the land agreement.

WILLING BUYER-WILLING SELLER...

I don't think that the farmers that have been killed - or the farm workers that lost their lives - in the violent land invasions, were 'willing sellers'.

What did Mugabe do with the money that he was given in the 1980s for compensation? He has never been called to account for that money... Why not?

I rest my case. He used the money for his owns wants and needs - and then forcefully took the land - nothing like being paid for something and then taking it for free, is there?

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Friday, 26th October 2007

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

I found choosing stories to cover this morning harder than normal - as there are just so many different stories on the internet. If I were to attempt to cover them all, I would be writing all day and never get a chance to publish...

So here are the stories I chose - I trust you will forgive me if I miss any bigger stories out...

-o00o-

I would have thought that it should go without saying that if there is a Mugabe Version 2 or 3 - and in this I mean dictators - out there that are maybe to be invited to Eu/AU summits, then they should all be treated the same.

It is a bit silly stating the obvious - but the EU is looking to this reason as an excuse for possibly inviting Mugabe!

"Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe cannot be excluded from the upcoming EU-Africa summit just because he is a dictator, or others must be barred too, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said yesterday. "If we were to judge each of the dictators or personalities whom we consider unsuitable we wouldn't just have problems with Mugabe, there would be others," Michel told the European parliament in Strasbourg. The possibility that Mugabe could attend the EU summit in Lisbon in December has been a focus of Brussels's attention for weeks, not least because he is formally banned from entering the European Union due to human rights violations."

I have no query with any and all dictators being banned from attending a diplomatic summit. No whatsoever. I am a little concerned that the EU feels it necessary to issue such a statement - all designed to cover their butts at the summit - and the fact that Mugabe will attend.

I know that he will be invited - and that he will attend. Mugabe is loved by too many people for it to go any other way.

"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already warned his EU partners that if Mugabe attends the summit then neither he nor any of his cabinet ministers will be there. The same issue resulted in the EU-Africa summit being cancelled in 2003. Michel said the summit should be used to put the question of human rights in Zimbabwe on the table."

But if we are to play the 'like for like' game, then why is the democratic, free world not doing more to prevent starvation and poverty in Zimbabwe, whilst they fling millions of dollars worth every hour at the Darfur?

-o00o-

Murder is murder - no matter how long between the act and the death - as long as the death was directly attributable to the act.

But we will not see any person dragged in front of the criminal courts for this death.

Mugabe praised his uniformed forces for the assaults and threatened to repeat the actions. The murder is therefore, sanctioned by Mugabe. In my mind, this makes him as guilty as the men that perpetrated the actual assault...

"A former personal guard to Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai died at a Johannesburg hospital allegedly after failing to recover from injuries he suffered when he was assaulted by government agents in Harare.

Nhamo Musekiwa, 35, died on Wednesday at Thembisa Hospital, according to Roy Bennett, the treasurer of the faction of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Tsvangirai.

Musekiwa was in South Africa seeking political asylum after he, Tsvangirai and other MDC activists were last March severely assaulted and tortured by the police for attempting to attend a banned prayer rally."

And we will hear no outcry from the free world. The death of one man does not class high enough up the pecking order to ring alarm bells in judicial circles within the country either. The bodyguard's family just has to ride the storm caused by their loss. And for that my heart goes out to them.

Desperately unfair.

"I can confirm to the public that President Tsvangirai’s personal aide, Nhamo Musekiwa, died on Wednesday morning at Thembisa Hospital in Johannesburg," said Bennett.

"He was ill for a long time and did not recover after the attack by the police in Harare on 11 March," added Bennett, who lives in South Africa after also fleeing agents of President Robert Mugabe’s government."

And yet the EU/AU are still obviously intent on inviting Mugabe to their conference in December. I don't blame Gordon Brown for not wanting to attend. I wouldn't want to sit in the same forum with a man who praises the flagrant breaching of the law of the land by his security forces that results in the death of anyone.

-o00o-

Ah! A voice of reason in the wilderness...

Sadly, this will not be heard in the hallowed halls of power in Zimbabwe and other like African countries, where the 'paramount chief' has the final say - and by virtue of his position, he is able to act outside of the law - and the population has no choice but to grin and bear it.

I have no idea what living in a repressed society is like, as I left Zimbabwe a good year before the break down and the beginning of the land grab - but having seen the levels of basic living in Zimbabwe when I worked in the ZRP and had cause to visit kraals in the middle of nowhere, I have an appreciation of the destitution that people are having to live with.

"Former Mozambican president Joachim Chissano has called on African leaders to voluntarily relinquish power, warning the continent no longer has room for life presidents and that incumbents should not "gamble on the confidence of their people" by clinging to power.

In a keynote address to delegates attending the seventh African Governance Forum here in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, Chissano said peaceful change of leadership was vital to fostering good governance on the world’s poorest and conflict torn continent.

"Leaders should not be reckless power vendors who reap where they did not sow," said Chissano, who also proposed national dialogue as a way achieve reconciliation and harmony among societies in countries emerging from conflicts.

"Leaders should not be power-mongers... grabbing power by all means and clinging to it when their time to go has arrived," said the former Mozambique leader who addressed the Forum late on Wednesday."

It is a pity that Mugabe will not even consider stepping down, and he will view these comments as coming from a 'has been' rather than a figure of any authority.

Mugabe listens to his own decisions and will not be swayed by anyone or anything. Should they stand in his way, he has a habit of just steamrollering them all...

"Mugabe, who earlier this year said there was no vacancy for his position, has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron-like grip since independence in 1980 and intends to stand for re-election for another five-year term next year.

Under Mugabe’s charge, Zimbabwe has declined from a regional breadbasket to a classical African basket case, characterised by the world’s highest inflation of more nearly 8 000 percent, deepening poverty and shortages of every basic survival commodity."

If Chissano thought that his words would assist Mugabe is making a decision to stand down, all he did was waste the thought - and his breath...

-o00o-

I know the Bulawayo-Plumtree road very well, having been based in Plumtree in the mid-1980's for a couple of years.

"War veterans and members of the government's youth militia, otherwise known as the Green Bombers, are harassing travellers and bus crews along the Plumtree-Bulawayo Road, where they man 24-hour roadblocks.

Notorious for their violent behaviour against perceived opposition members, the state-sponsored thugs stop buses and commuters and ransack people's bags for imported goods.

They also harass public transport crews, whom they accuse of working with the MDC to try and incite a public revolt against Mugabe by continuously raising their fares.

"They have been there since the government launched its price-control operation three months ago. At first they demanded bus tickets from travellers and would commandeer a bus back if they found that people had been charged more than what the government stipulated. Now they have turned against cross-border travellers, whom they accuse of spreading wrong information about Mugabe when they go shopping in neighbouring countries," said Mkhulli Dube, a bus conductor who plies the Bulawayo-Francistown route.

Eye witnesses said the group, which alternates its roadblocks between Figtree and Marula business centres, confiscated imported goods such as bulk grocery and clothing items, claiming to be acting on orders from ruling party politicians."

This is bordering on marshall law where the government agents, in this case the youths and veterans, have taken the law into their own hand - knowing full well that the government will protect them should anyone ever try to prefer charges against them.

"Reporting them to the police does not help at all because at times you find them together and police seem to be afraid of them. Sometimes they ask for bribes in foreign currency from travellers, but most of the time they take away your goods," added another traveller."

Basically, if you are a paid up member of ZANU PF and belong to one of the activist arms, you have then got licence to commit crimes with no fear of prosecution.

-o00o-

If the Americans do decide to expel these people, no doubt the ruling party will link that action with the fact that the leader of the opposition, Morgan Tsvangirai, was recently in the USA...

"The USA government is planning to deport some 400 children and relatives of top ZANU PF and government officials at the beginning of next month, highly-placed sources have told The Zimbabwean.

US authorities have finalised a list of about 400 children and relatives of those it accuses of fostering the economic, political and social misgovernance that has condemned the majority of Zimbabweans to abject poverty, said the source.

"Recent meetings finalised the list and agreements were reached regarding the modalities. The deportations are likely to start as soon as next month," he added. "Efforts have also been made to establish the sources of income of those concerned, as well as the means that led to them being in the USA. This information will be used to prove that they benefit from the system of patronage operated by ZANU PF and the government."

The question begs asking... if the Zimbabwean system of education is as brilliant as Mugabe would have us all believe, then why are their children of his administration (400 of them!) being educated or working in America? What's wrong with their home country?

Oh. That's right... ZANU PF ruined it...

"Australia pulled the first trigger two months ago when it deported kids of Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, Rural Housing and Social Amenities minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, much to the chagrin of the ZANU PF regime which responded by issuing threats against the MDC who it accuses of being responsible for sanctions.

European countries, led by the United Kingdom, are expected to follow suit and deport ZANU PF leaders’ kids studying or staying there. These countries argue that it is immoral for senior officials in the Mugabe regime to spend huge amounts of scarce foreign currency on sending their kids to study in western capitals when their corrupt and repressive policies have led to the destruction not only of the Zimbabwean economy, but also of the education system."

I am a little concerned that the UK has taken so long to decide what to do. The Zimbabwean government doesn't want the British government there, so send their kids back home. I would! That way they will have choice but to find out the extent of the damage wrought by their families' insistence on hanging onto power.

-o00o-

It seems that, with every passing day, Mugabe has not got the control and power which he thought he had. More and more people within his regime are finding the courage to face him down.

I love it!

"President Robert Mugabe was on Wednesday confronted head-on by an unusually aggressive ZANU PF old guard during a heated politburo exchange over war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda’s controversial campaign for him to remain as party leader.

Well-informed sources said Mugabe tried to remain composed during the debate but was occasionally shaken as tempers boiled over.

At the end of the meeting, Mugabe prevented the conflict from spilling over into today’s potentially volatile central committee meeting by unilaterally striking the issue from the agenda.

The fierce attack on Sibanda - in which Mugabe also became a target - in the politburo was led by the party’s vice-president Joseph Msika and senior colleagues, mainly from the former PF-ZAPU."

The government over which Mugabe presides must be aware that he will do whatever it takes to remain in power. His actions to initially gain control of the party are viewed with deep suspicion, and since 1980, we have seen no end of his detractors meet 'accidental' ends.

He is renowned for his duplicity. What made them think he wouldn't practise the same with them?

"The angry clashes, it is said, were so ugly that for the first time they shook to its roots the 1987 Unity Accord between ZANU PF and PF-ZAPU, the foundation of Mugabe’s current power structure.

The sources said Msika led the offensive and was supported by senior party officials such as Dumiso Dabengwa, retired army commander General Solomon Mujuru, party chair John Nkomo, Angeline Masuku, Joshua Malinga, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu and retired General Vitalis Zvinavashe.

Veteran politburo members Didymus Mutasa, administration secretary, and Kumbirai Kangai were also involved in the intense debate sparked by an address on the Sibanda case by Emmerson Mnangagwa."

I don't care what they agree on, should they ever agree on anything. The fact that they are at each others throats, to me, is a blessing in disguise as not only does it show the voting public - those that are aware of these activities - the hatred that burns with ZANU PF, but it has the potential to change the entire political playing field. Opinions and support are molded in meetings such as these and Mugabe has got his work cut out for him.

"The sources said after Mnangagwa addressed the meeting on Sibanda’s legal status in the party, Msika took over and spearheaded the political assault.

Prior to that Mnangagwa had mumbled complaints about why he had to deal with the issue, but Mutasa said he had to tackle it in his position as the secretary for legal affairs. Mutasa said he had recently been inundated with complaints from party members complaining about the Sibanda issue. He said people wanted to know "what the hell is going on".

Mutasa said Sibanda was expelled from the party and he did not understand how he was campaigning for ZANU PF and its leader. Mnangagwa said while it was true that Sibanda was expelled, he had appealed against the decision and the issue was pending."

Sadly, Mugabe used more manipulating to get the better of the issue.

"After a two-hour battle, Mugabe emerged on top, but badly bruised about the fierce attacks. He saved himself from further assaults today by removing the Sibanda issue from the central committee meeting agenda."

Proof that the saying: "Power corrupts - absolute power corrupts absolutely" is very, very true...

-o00o-

And despite all the bad feeling, threats and bad mouthing in the politburo, Mugabe still holds enough sway to be endorsed as the ZANU PF Presidential candidate in next year's election...

Just how does he do it?

"As the ZANU PF power struggle rages on, President Robert Mugabe has all but secured the endorsement he desperately needs to be the party’s presidential candidate in next year’s elections. What remains is an automatic approval of his candidacy at the party’s extraordinary congress in December, it became evident this week.

Inside sources said debate on Mugabe’s endorsement would be effectively closed today after the central committee approves an agenda for the congress. The agenda, the sources said, will have four items: minutes of the 2004 congress; a report on the central committee meeting; a declaration and confirmation of Mugabe, the president and first secretary of the party, as the presidential election candidate in March; and any other business.

This is what the politburo decided on Wednesday and will be approved today, the sources said. Party official Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is supporting Mugabe’s candidacy, presented the agenda to the politburo. The politburo also agreed that Mugabe would be the candidate without resistance from the Solomon Mujuru faction which has been threatening behind the scenes to block his endorsement.

The Mujuru faction has been campaigning to block Mugabe."

Endorsing an 83 year old megalomaniac as the party's sole candidate is a devastating blow. Because it is proof to the voting public that the ruling party feel that they have done enough in the back corridors to rig the election, no matter how the true ballot goes.

Mugabe will be 84 by the time that the elections are held. There are people who are approaching their 30th birthdays and they know nothing more in Zimbabwe but Mugabe's 'leadership' - I write it like that because it is a law unto itself and cannot be classed as the normal leadership we see elsewhere in the world. I don't care if people disagree with me.

Mugabe is a bully. A bully with a history of dead bodies behind him - friend and foe. What makes him think that he is going to change anything anytime soon.

"After today’s approval of the congress agenda, carefully designed to lead to Mugabe’s endorsement without contest, the whole hullabaloo about Mugabe’s candidacy should die down in the party as his approval would become a mere formality in December. Congress will be railroaded into endorsing Mugabe and as a result he will - at least for a while - get a reprieve from his simmering succession crisis, it was said."

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Thursday, 25th October 2007

Howzit

A very late start today - mainly because I struggled to get an internet connection... and I have no idea if I can hang on to this connection for any viable length of time. I hope so...

-o00o-

"Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi on Wednesday acknowledged that opposition supporters were being victimised and admitted this could jeopardize on-going dialogue between the ruling ZANU PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.

Sources told ZimOnline that Mohadi told senior MDC officials he met Wednesday morning at his offices to personally report to him acts of violence against members of the opposition party.

"He (Mohadi) also undertook to study a dossier prepared by the MDC detailing all acts of violence against its supporters that took place after March," said a government official who attended the meeting between Mohadi and the opposition officials."

I wonder whether Mohadi's admitting the violence was orchestrated from on high - IE, from Mugabe - or whether this is a calculated risk, designed to show the ruling party as somewhat sympathetic.

We know from recent history that Mohadi marches to his own tune and routinely ignores court orders and any other authority. Why should we believe that he will take any action in light of the MDC file?

"According to our source, MDC home affairs secretary Sam Sipepa immediately impressed upon Mohadi that to test the government’s sincerity, the opposition party would seek permission to hold a public demonstration.

The police, who under state security laws must sanction all public demonstrations, have in the past banned the MDC from holding demonstrations although ZANU PF supporters are regularly allowed to march in the streets in support of President Robert Mugabe.

Mohadi, who could not be reached for comment on the matter, reportedly promised to look into a request by the MDC to hold demonstrations."

Looking into a request is not the same as lending support or actively shepherding a request through. I don't see the ruling party being of any assistance in this request, and, in the event of a demonstration being authorised, I feel that the event will degenerate into something akin to the scenes we had in March when the MDC activists, the hierarchy and any other hangers-on were mercilessly beaten by Mugabe's people.

"The meeting between Mohadi and MDC officials was held following the minister’s request to MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai that he wanted the opposition to corroborate statements that politically motivated violence was on the increase despite the South African brokered talks between the opposition party and ZANU PF."

I expect no change in the situation. Not for the better, at any rate.

-o00o-

I also wonder just how much of this meeting was precipitated by the call by Mohadi for the MDC to substantiate their violence claims. Could it be that the ruling party is actually interested in the views of the NGOs, or is this a ploy to infiltrate the 'enemy' ranks?

"Zimbabwe non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will meet the ruling ZANU PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party to press the political parties to consider the views of civic society during negotiations to end the country’s crisis.

Civic groups that have unsuccessfully attempted to persuade South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki - facilitating talks between ZANU PF and the MDC - to include them in the dialogue process, insist they should be part to any initiative to end the country’s crisis, arguing Zimbabwe’s future cannot be left to politicians alone.

Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) director Rindai Chipfunde said a meeting of civic groups held in Harare on Wednesday had resolved to "request for a meeting with the political parties involved in the talks and find out how we can be engaged and let our views be known and represented by the mediating teams."

So the ruling party have no choice in this meeting, it having been acceded to by Mbeki - probably the only real positive thing I see coming out of the mediated talks so far...

I do note the curtain of secrecy is to be utilised (which I am not sure I quite understand) and that the first meeting between the MDC and the NGOs will be today. I have no real faith in the mediated talks as I am of the firm belief that Mugabe is paying lip service to them really in an effort to placate SADC whilst on the ground he perpetrates violence against all and every one who may stand in the way of his party.

-o00o-

"President Robert Mugabe was rebuked on Monday night by South African President Thabo Mbeki over his failure to act against the mayhem that has seen heavily-armed police officers and groups of ZANU PF militia involved in incidents of lawlessness against the opposition this week.

Western diplomats confirmed the rebuke.

"The MDC is dismayed by ZANU PF's disdain for the SADC-initiated talks that are aimed at finding common ground between the regime and the opposition," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.

"While the MDC and ZANU PF are engaged in dialogue in Pretoria, the regime has continued to hound our supporters; brutally assaulting and attacking them against the spirit of the dialogue process."

The MDC delivered a detailed report to Mbeki on the last two weeks of violence and harassment its members have suffered from Mugabe’s security forces and militias, led by so-called guerrilla war veterans.

Mugabe indicated he knew nothing of the MDC attacks, SA sources said. "He asked Mbeki, 'why haven’t they been telling (Justice Minister Patrick) Chinamasa and (Social welfare Minister Nicholas) Goche," said our source."

Okay. Quite an advent. And, as usual, Mugabe has an answer for it. He claims not to know of any violence and claims that the violence has not been reported to his government. Ummm - let me think about this one.

The reports were more than likely made, but not documented as the very people to whom the complaints were made, are the very people that carried out the attacks. The police are in in up to their armpits and carry out attacks as frequently as the war veterans, youth militia, army and the CIO.

Mugabe's claim of ignorance is not valid, but if Mugabe says it, then too many people take that as fact and that is the end to that. The man is a believer of untruths and has an uncanny ability to turn any comment against his government upon those that made the comment. Here, he attempts to put the blame at the feet of the MDC for not reporting.

Funny how just a few months ago we saw Mugabe praising his police force for beating the MDC and he threatened that they would do it again. Now he claims to know nothing of it.

"At Mbeki’s insistence, Mugabe promised he would ensure that the protagonists met this week to discuss the deteriorating situation.

Mbeki dialogued with Mugabe as police arrested almost 100 WOZA women on a peaceful protest against the deteriorating national crisis. On the same day, senior police and intelligence officials summoned MDC Harare provincial organizing secretary and Glen View MP, Paul Madzore, to Harare Central Police Station in connection with alleged "hate speech" against police made at an MDC rally in Glen Norah on Sunday. The police said they took great exception to calls by the speakers at the rally for people to note down the names of police officers who are involved in human rights abuses."

How much more proof does the watching world need before they finally do something positive? Something poistive that will finally bring this man's rule to an end and spark some sort of hope for the Zimbabwean people?

-o00o-

The stpidity of this story makes me angry. It is like saying, "you can't call him a murderer just because he killed people"...

"Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe cannot be excluded from the upcoming EU-Africa summit just because he is a dictator, or others must be barred too, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel said Wednesday.

"If we were to judge each of the dictators or personalities whom we consider unsuitable we wouldn't just have problems with Mugabe, there would be others," Michel told the European parliament in Strasbourg.

The possibility that Mugabe could attend the EU summit in Lisbon in December has been a focus of Brussels' attention for weeks, not least because he is formally banned from entering the European Union due to human rights violations."

I have said it time and time again. The conveners of the summit, in an attempt to placate the African leaders, will invite Mugabe - who will attend and will do so with a huge entourage and he will be given the floor and he will deliver his normal anti-West tirade and will vilify Bush, Blair and Brown (Mugabe will not forget Blair, ever...) and the conveners will give him the floor, and unfettered access to the press so we can hear his regurgitated vitriol and hatred.

Meanwhile, his wife, Amazing (Dis)Grace, will be shopping for Africa - except everything she buys will be with money illicitly obtained and the goods themselves will be for the Mugabe family and no one else...

"British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already warned his EU partners that if Mugabeattend the summit then neither he nor any of his cabinet ministers will be there.

The same issue resulted in the EU-Africa summit being cancelled in 2003.

"I have heard the incantatory calls to denounce Mugabe, I can also say that that changes nothing," said Michel.

"We don't... have the right to say to our African friends 'you can invite anyone you like except him'," he added."

-o00o-

"Zimbabwe central bank chief Gideon Gono on Wednesday condemned a controversial government crackdown on prices that is blamed for triggering widespread shortages of basic goods around the country.

Addressing a press conference in Harare, Gono said the government was working flat out to ensure that empty shop shelves are replenished.

The Zimbabwean government last June ordered all shops to reduce prices by 50 percent after President Robert Mugabe accused business leaders of hiking prices in an attempt to foment rebellion against his government.

The crackdown however backfired as it resulted in empty shop shelves as retailers failed to replenish stocks."

I am not sure how much mileage Gono expects to get out of such a statement. Mugabe and some of his senior people have been cagey in their treatment of Gono as some people see him as a potential Presidential candidate, whilst others would like to see his back - primarily to sink knives into it.

But Gono has a secret weapon - well, perhaps not so secret... He has the inside knowledge of the dealing of the government with the RBZ and he could, potentially, blow the lid on the shady activities therein.

Which makes him a threat - which puts him under threat... Why does the name Peter Pamire come to mind?

"The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor said the government was working flat out to ensure that goods are back on supermarket shelves and the return of viability in the business sector.

"With the measures that we are putting in place and the close working relationship we are having, not just with manufacturers, but also with the retailers, Zimbabweans can expect to see a return to normalcy on their shelves.

There is going to be return to normalcy, but in an environment that respects the viability of producers of goods and services, and we must not be tempted to go back to the anarchy of the last three months," said Gono, who is regarded as among the few voices of reason in government."

I urge caution here. Gono obviously would like to see the situation improve, but is all too aware that he activities are often negated by actions within the hallowed halls of ZANU PF power.

He is frustrated.

-o00o-

"A documentary on Zimbabwe, A Bit Of Truth - Denied, which has some interviews with leading figures from both the government and opposition, was launched Monday night at the London School of Economics.

'Denied - this bit of truth', is a new documentary by LSE alumnus Shrenik Rao who gained access to Zimbabwe’s two deputy presidents Joice Mujuru and Joseph Msika, Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, Archbishop Pius Ncube and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change’s Arthur Mutambara.

Rao said he failed to get an interview with MDC founding president Morgan Tsvangirai despite countless attempts to do so.

In the documentary the Mujuru and Msika talk about Zimbabwe’s land grab policy which they say they never wanted to embark on but had no choice following Britain’s refusal to honour the Lancaster House Agreement that saw Zimbabwe becoming independent in 1980."

I take umbridge at the ruling party's continual allegations that England failed to live up to their side of the Lancaster House agreement. England gave Mugabe's government £144 million pounds in the 1980s - specifically for compensation payment to farmers who sold up on a 'willing buyer-willing seller' basis. The money has obvious not been used for that - but England has not asked Mugabe's government for an accounting.

The Lancaster House Agreement was signed by three parties. To my knowledge, only one of the three stood by their word - and for their time and honesty, they were consigned to the history books.

"Mujuru said the chaotic reforms were the reason Zimbabwe was suffering today, especially as the British government went out of its way to punish Harare for a programme she says was not authored by her government but by the landless peasants who were tired of waiting for land.

She said Zimbabweans were now suffering because the British government has been leading efforts to punish its leaders for embarking on land reforms that have dispossed thousands of white commercial farmers. Mujuru says the British are the ones who want to protect their "kith and kin" hence continued efforts to ostracize her government."

I get sick of the 'let's deflect the blame' game that ZANU PF plays. If I were to see this documentary, I may very well sit through the whole thing, but I rather think that my blood pressure will be very high by the end of it...

"Ncube talked about the Matebeleland Massacres, the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe at the hands of the ZANU PF government, adding he was willing to lead the people in a programme to defy and remove the Zanu PF government from power.

He said the current sitution in the country cannot continue."

Pius Ncube - an incredibly brave man whose stand against Mugabe has already cost him his job...

"Once upon a time, in Africa, in a land called Rhodesia, there was a man. He was a humble teacher. He seemed to be full of ideas and ideals. He seemed to have dedicated to his life for a cause - a cause larger than his own - that of liberation, freedom and Independence from an oppressive regime which denied them their denied them their basic dignity, freedom and rights. And so, he was respected and revered by one and many as an able, honest leader who would liberate them from oppression, and restore their dignity and rights. The man was none other than Robert Gabriel Mugabe."

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Wednesday, 23rd October 2007

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

Our house is shrouded in sadness this morning - but we are thankful that our friend is recovering and is dealing with the loss of her baby daughter. It is just so sad. And we have lost too many friends and family members this year... We are in shock.

-o00o-

I have often said that government officials and their allied bodies should not be in charge of food distribution. Here it is - in black and white - and will no doubt be denied by the Mugabe regime, that food is being denied to suspected MDC supporters...

"Several villagers in drought-prone Mwenezi district in southern Zimbabwe were yesterday denied food aid by ruling ZANU PF officials amid fears President Robert Mugabe could increasingly use the humanitarian assistance bait to elicit support ahead of watershed elections next year.

Hungry villagers gathered at Rata rural service centre in the district were shocked yesterday after being told by ZANU PF officials and members of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) that they would not get any assistance because they supported the main opposition faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai."

This is typical Mugabe. He uses everything he can lay his hands on as a political tool. Something as basic as hunger should not be used as a weapon to beat people. Mugabe should be reminded that it is his pathetic rules and regulations that have reduced the country to a nation of hungry people.

The land grab. Operation Murambatsvina. His grandiose spending of public funds on rubbish that the country has no need for.

"Only a few people managed to get food while hundreds were denied the opportunity to get the maize for allegedly supporting opposition political parties," said villager Albert Manjengwa.

He said they were told to get food aid from Tsvangirai.

"Officers from the president's office told us that the people in our area were not politically correct hence they must starve or get food from their party," added Manjengwa."

If Mugabe had thought things through with any kind of rationale, he would have instituted the land programme on a more peaceful nature. The gradual take over - no violence, no deaths - and the new farmers could have enjoyed a 'take over' period from the dispossessed farmer.

A win-win situation. The situation today is dire. Most Zimbabweans are lucky to have one square meal a day as foodstuffs are difficult to find. And what little food there is, ZANU PF insists on giving to their proven followers. No one else.

And he wants not for food himself. His family are no doubt living in the lap of luxury in his mansion in Harare. No water shortages, no electricity cuts, food aplenty.

Mugabe, quite literally, makes me sick... Me - and lot more besides.

"According to the villagers, all suspected MDC supporters have since been summoned to a hearing on October 27 which will be presided over by CIO operatives at Chief Negari's homestead.

MDC officials in Masvingo yesterday said they were shocked by the government's decision to deny its supporters relief food.

"These incidents in which our supporters are being denied food ahead of the elections next year are on the increase. I think it is high time we take action as a party to save our supporters who are starving," said MDC Masvingo central legislator Tongai Matutu.

"We are also not happy to hear that members of the CIO have since taken over the distribution of food in rural areas where they screen beneficiaries on political grounds," added Matutu.

Agriculture Minister Rugare Gumbo yesterday confirmed that operatives from the CIO were part of food distribution teams in rural areas.

"It is true that members of the CIO are now part of the food distribution team. The aim is not to deny other people food but to ensure that the whole thing is done properly," Gumbo told ZimOnline."

And if you believe that, then more fool you...

-o00o-

In the same article above, I read that the chief concerned accuses the MDC supporters of 'biting the hand that feeds them'... Was the chasing of the farmers off their land, giving the farms to their colleagues and friends, not biting the hand that feeds them?

I mean, since the beginning of the land grab, has Zimbabwe been able to fend for itself with regard to food? No. So therefore they shoot themselves in the foot.

And yet they persist in chasing the remaining few farmers off the land, while the begging bowl is well and truly stuck in front of the noses of the West.

Pathetic.

-o00o-

And there are those in Zimbabwe in vaunted positions who believe that they qualify for land ahead of others and so take steps to secure the land. When this happens, all norms of behaviour are thrust aside as avarice takes over - and no amount of reasoning is going to make the invaders retreat.

"A Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) deputy governor, Edward Mashiringwani, last week invaded a white-owned farm, contradicting calls by the central bank to stop farm invasions blamed for destabilizing the mainstay agricultural sector.

RBZ governor Gideon Gono is among a group of top government and ZANU PF officials worried about the rapid decline in agriculture and who have pushed to stop fresh farm seizures - albeit without success.

Mashiringwani, who is responsible for financial markets, banking operations and national payment systems at the RBZ, last Wednesday stormed Friedwall farm located 150 km north-west of Harare claiming the government allocated the property to him.

A ZimOnline reporter, who happened to be at Friedwall farm on other business when Mashiringwani invaded the property, witnessed the RBZ official personally break open the gate and pull down part of the fence to let in a tractor and a group of people believed to be his workers."

This article would suggest that people who take over land are working as individuals. Why else would this Mashiringwani go against the wishes of his boss, Gideon Gono? Unless, of course, like so many other people in Zimbabwe, he views Gono as a de-clawed predator...

What gets me when I read this story and many like it, is the wanton destruction as they make claim to the land. Why smash down a gate and a fence? Surely they can make their point equally as well without breaking property...

"I want to get to the fields and start tilling the land in preparation for the coming rains, after that I will take over the whole farm," Mashiringwani nonchalantly told the owner of the farm, Louis Fick.

Mashiringwani told his workers to camp at the farm and to till the fields in preparation for this coming season’s crop before he drove off.

Attempts since last week to get comment on the matter from Mashiringwani have been fruitless, while Gono was also not immediately available for comment.

Fick, among the fewer than 600 whites still farming in Zimbabwe after President Robert Mugabe’s government grabbed land from most of the country’s about 4 000 white farmers, refused to discuss the invasion of his farm."

Another agricultural operation being taken apart - ostensibly to allow preparation of the land - but what makes me think that the farmer would have already been on the case? Surely he would have begun land preparation? This is just ZANU PF sleight of hand - designed to make the people think that the government is being assertive.

But where in the country have we seen any one farm being handed to the people, as opposed to Mugabe's shamwaris, and they have been able to continue with sustainable production? I can quite assuredly state that there is not one repossessed farm producing anything worth writing home about. Not one.

"Henrick Olivier, chief executive of the Commercial Farmers Union that represents white farmers, said: "A report was made to us about Friedwall farm. The RBZ deputy governor definitely went to Fick's farm with a couple of guys and asked him to wind up and move out."

Fick practices animal husbandry, keeping 3 000 pigs and about 1 500 cattle at his farm. He also breeds fish and crocodiles."

And while I am thinking about it, Gono is calling for the suspension of the land grab. Has Gono himself not been given a farm? If so, where is it, and is it being worked?

-o00o-

There is a feeling, and I read it on the internet yesterday, that this is a desperate attempt by the Mugabe administration to appear sympathetic to the plight of the MDC, but in actual fact is the government confirming to themselves that their activities are hurting the MDC.

I would think that this meeting will highlight to the ruling party where they were succeeding and they aren't - so that they can take steps to oppress the opposition further.

"Two senior officials of Morgan Tsvangirai-led opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party will today meet Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi over rising political violence in the country.

The MDC last week accused President Robert Mugabe’s government of stepping up violence against the opposition party ahead of next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, a charge Harare denies.

Mohadi last week invited Tsvangirai for talks after the MDC threatened to pull out of South Africa-led talks between the opposition party and the ruling ZANU PF party over alleged political violence.

Sources within the MDC said yesterday that Tsvangirai will not attend the meeting with Mohadi but will be represented by the party’s home affairs secretary, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, and Mutare Central legislator Innocent Gonese."

And I am not surprised that Tsvangirai will not attend the meeting. Did I not say that I feared Tsvangirai himself would be a target if he attended the meeting?

"In a letter to Tsvangirai last week, Mohadi demanded that the opposition party furnish him with specific cases of violence against the party’s supporters at today’s scheduled meeting.

The MDC says cases of political violence against its supporters have escalated despite ongoing dialogue with the government to seek an end to Zimbabwe’s political stalemate."

I am positive in my own mind that the ruling party is practising acts of violence on the opposition party, and that any negotiations in the mediated talks are purely decorative and not substantive."

-o00o-

"The Solidarity Peace Trust (SPT) has come out in support of President Thabo Mbeki's mediation efforts in Zimbabwe. It says although under some criticism, these efforts could still be a way of ending the crisis in Zimbabwe. The SPT released its preliminary Zimbabwe-South Africa economic relations report in Johannesburg today.

The SPT, a NGO committed to human rights, freedom and democracy - co-chaired by the Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo and the Anglican Bishop of KwaZulu-Natal - has been favourable about South Africa's role in the Zimbabwean mediation effort."

Praised? In support? Are they talking about mediated talks elsewhere? I see nothing that warrants any praise.

The ZANU PF managed to sucker the MDC into supporting the latest constiutional amendments and have them believing that a new constitution is on the table, but have managed to avoid any changes to POSA and AIPPA...

What is there to praise or support?

And, in particular, what has Mbeki done that needs praising?

"One has to be hopeful because the alternative may be too ghastly to contemplate. There has been a lot of progress so far under the mediation and a lot of ground has been covered."

-o00o-

I am sick of hearing about the question whether Mugabe should be invited to the EU/AU summit in December.

I am sure he will be invited and not only will he attend, but he will play up his presence there just to prove that he can...

And he will be there primarily because a bunch of 'do-gooders' refuse to see what he has done to Zimbabwe - and the immediate region.

"The controversial issue of whether Robert Mugabe should be invited to the European Union-Africa Heads of State Summit in Lisbon Portugal in December has surfaced again. A delegation of EU MPs reportedly visited the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in South Africa last Friday, and after meeting to discuss the issue agreed it was better to invite Mugabe and engage him on the crisis in Zimbabwe, rather than snub him altogether.

The EU delegation was headed by Michael Gahler and PAP was represented by legislator Marwick Khumalo. At a joint press conference Friday they revealed that EU-Africa MPs will be meeting a day ahead of the heads of state summit in December, and hoped to influence the leaders to meet Mugabe and offer to discuss his problems."

There is nothing that they can't tell Mugabe on the telephone or in a letter. Anything that is said about the situation in Zimbabwe will either be blamed on the West - or will be swept under the carpet as he doesn't think it should be the subject of any debate.

This is pandering to the real Mugabe. The Mugabe who loves to speak in public - long and loud. He will rub the West's face in it - despite facts that prove he is singularly and primarily responsible for the crisis in that country.

Enough already! Invite him if you want. But brace yourself for a biting, scathing attack on the West and his protesting his innocence...

"The EU and PAP parliamentarians are the latest addition to a growing list who believe engagement is a better alternative to the decision made by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has insisted he will not attend the summit if Mugabe is invited. Brown said it was important to take a strong stance against the abuses of the Mugabe regime. But those favouring engagement with Mugabe continuing to grow in numbers."

Let them do what they will. I, for one, will happily report "I told you so" when Mugabe launches a blistering verbal attack at the summit, when, against all pleas against it, they give Mugabe the floor...

And I see the State-sponsored mouthpiece, The Herald, has reported the parliamentarians decision to invite Mugabe to Lisbon, as a 'body blow' - let's see how they feel after they have been subjected to Mugabe's diatribe at the summit.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Tuesday, 23rd October 2007

Howzit

This posting is started late on because everything that I have started today seems to come with major hiccups and baggage... (it's not Friday the 13th, is it?)

Last evening I received an email about a new site/project being set up to help people focus on Zimbabwe...

"I am writing you on behalf of "Eyes On Zimbabwe", a project of the Open Society Institute designed to raise awareness of the crisis in Zimbabwe. In anticipation of the country's 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, we are launching a blog social networking outreach program intended to inform and involve as many people around the world as possible about the inevitable violence and corruption surrounding the vote."

Regular readers will know that I happily lend my support to any project that looks to educate people about the situation in Zimbabwe, and in that respect, I would ask that you visit the website, and watch the 8 minute video. Then email them and offer your support too.

Click on the graphic above the visit the website -
and watch the video! I will put up a link in the
right hand sidebar later...

-o00o-

-o00o-

"Zimbabwe police officers were two weeks ago asked to prove they were able to defend President Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reforms with “passion and conviction” as part of a test to determine eligibility for promotion, sources told ZimOnline.

According to sources, 40 senior officers sitting for a promotional examination at Morris depot in Harare on October 10 were each asked to give a 10-minute address to an imaginary group of foreign journalists defending the chaotic and often violent land reforms as top commanders watched and recorded the mock speeches on videotape."

As the vast majority of my readers will know that I did over 4 years in the ZRP. Not the longest service in the world, but four years experience that I draw on every day. In that 4 years I was only obliged to write two tests...

One was the promotion exam to Section Officer (I left the police before the results came out - and I found out many years later that I did pass), and another time, I was obliged to taken a written exam to continue to hold my office as Prosecutor.

But I was never questioned on my loyalty of patriotism... I think that my signature on a piece of paper swearing allegiance to the ideals of the force was good enough. Apparently not so these days...

"The sources said the police officers, all chief superintendents and seeking promotion to the rank of assistant commissioner, were required to show that land reforms blamed for plunging Zimbabwe into severe food shortages were a model agrarian reform programme carried out in an "exemplary manner."

"You are the Officer Commanding (Crime) and you have been asked to address a group of visiting international journalists. You know fully well that the outside world has a wrong and negative view of the land reform programme," read the police question paper shown to ZimOnline on Monday.

"You are supposed to correct this view, clearly illustrating to them that the land reform is a model and that the government was justified in embarking on this exercise and that it was done in an exemplary manner. You have 10 minutes to prove that you can defend and promote the land reform programme with passion and conviction."

So one of the things that is prerequisite to being promoted to the lofty rank of Assistant Commissioner is the ability to lie. Hell! With that sort of ability, they could surely go on to become politicians!

"We were caught off guard, but I did my best to praise-sing President Mugabe during the mock address to foreign reporters," said a police officer, who refused to be named as this would jeopardise his chances of promotion."

-o00o-

Hardly any event in Zimbabwe surprises me - but this one does...

"More than 20 people sustained serious injuries following violent clashes as war veterans, villagers, and ZANU PF supporters ganged up to block the eviction of a white farmer by militias aligned to a top ruling party official in Zimbabwe’s rich eastern farming district of Burma Valley.

The clashes, which have been going on for the past week, only stopped after Manicaland provincial governor Tinaye Chigudu promised the villagers that he would personally take up the issue with President Robert Mugabe and have the white farmer's eviction reversed.

The local traditional chief, Eddie Musabayana, war veterans from the area, villagers, and ZANU PF supporters told Chigudu during a meeting to calm tempers at Mapetu Farm last Monday that they would "continue laying their lives on the line" to protect white farmer Heather Guild."

Is this really a play for the white farmer who has reportedly 'assisted greatly in the area', or is this because the farm is to go to someone in ZANU PF that the war veterans don't respect?

If this is a genuine case of protecting the white farmer, then why wasn't the same consideration given the the farmers who have already lost their farms? Why were some of the most productive farms taken away forcibly and handed to ZANU PF bigwigs who today do nothing with the land? Would it not have been better to have the war veterans or the militia infiltrate the workforce to ensure that the farm did carry on with production, albeit with a political bent in it?

At least there would not be some 4 million people in Zimbabwe needing urgent food aid!

"Guild is facing eviction from Fungai Chaeruka, a ZANU PF official appointed to head Mutare City Council following the dismissal of an opposition-led council in 2005.

According to eye-witnesses who attended the meeting, the villagers told Chigudu that ZANU PF risked losing their support in elections planned for next year if Guild was removed from the farm.

When ZimOnline visited the area at the weekend, the atmosphere in the surrounding villages was tense, with some villagers claiming that militias aligned to Chaeruka had destroyed an onion crop worth over $1 billion after destroying irrigation equipment to force Guild off the farm.

Among those injured was a prominent elderly ZANU PF activist identifying herself as Eunah Matimba.

"We have been fighting Chaeruka's militias since last week. We cannot allow Guild to be removed because she has immensely assisted the community here," 62-year-old Matimba told ZimOnline."

The political climate is confusing in Zimbabwe. As is the attitude of the war veterans, who's influence throughout the country could easily swing any 'election' away from Mugabe and his party.

"We are united, the war veterans, our people and the party (ZANU PF) here that the land reform is no longer about removing white farmers. We want her to stay and work with her,” said Musabayana.

"As for Chaeruka, wherever he derives his power, we will resist him and he will find no peace here. His militias will be driven out no doubt," the chief warned."

Gee, what fun!

-o00o-

I believe that politicians should be people of action - as actions speak louder than words. But why is it that the MDC is continually wracked with problems within the upper echelons? Are these people not the ones to whom we watch for action? Are these people incapable of such action?

Or is it the fact that someone deems them to be the 'wrong' people?

"A senior official of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, Lucia Matibenga, has filed papers at the High Court challenging her ouster as the chairperson of the party’s Women’s Assembly.

Matibenga, who is also the first vice-president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), filed the urgent interdict seeking to bar the MDC from going ahead with elections to elect new leadership in the women’s wing.

The Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC two weeks ago dissolved the Women’s executive led by Matibenga in a move that has plunged the opposition party, into serious chaos ahead of next year’s presidential and parliamentary polls.

In a statement released yesterday, Matibenga lashed out at the MDC leadership accusing it of violating the party’s constitution.

"The MDC leadership is breaking the constitution left, right and centre. I have applied for an interdict to stop them holding an extraordinary conference on 28 October (to elect new leaders).

My application is an attempt to force the MDC to follow its constitution," said Matibenga."

You know what? Sometimes people act like naughty school children and what worries me is this is potentially the next government of Zimbabwe... Are we sure that these are the ones we want? Granted, they are streets ahead of the likes of ZANU PF - but is there any chance that we can put the personal feeling, the personality clashes and the individual needs aside and get on with the job at hand?

"The MDC leadership is showing it is allergic to strong women, they want women they can manipulate," said Matibenga in the statement.

MDC deputy secretary for international relations, Grace Kwinje, said Matibenga’s case was a cause for concern adding that Zimbabweans were tired with autocratic management.

"This is no longer just about women, but about how men and women in the MDC leadership uphold the laws that they have put in place.

They adopted both the Women’s Assembly and National Party Constitutions and it is absurd that they are violating them," said Kwinje."

The two women that feature in this story have both been the the 'sharp end' of Zimbabwean politics - and both have the scars to prove it - literally. They should, at the very least, be heard...

-o00o-

The war veterans in Zimbabwe are beginning to puff out their chests and flex their muscles. They have realised that Mugabe will probably not win next year's election without their loyalty - and in consequence have realised that they have bartering power.

"War veterans in Zimbabwe want 100 per cent local ownership of all resources, it was reported Monday.

Parliament has already passed a controversial law to make it mandatory for foreign-owned companies and mines to hand over a 51-per-cent stake to black business people in a move that economists warn will drive away many desperately-needed overseas investors.

But now President Robert Mugabe's most loyal supporters, veterans of the 1970s war for independence from white minority rule, want more, the state-controlled Herald daily reported.

Jabulani Sibanda, the chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association claimed the 83-year-old Mugabe was under attack.

"We are supporting our president because he has stepped forward in redeeming what is ours," Sibanda told reporters at a Harare hotel last week.

"We want to control 100 per cent of our resources," he added, claiming war veterans were not happy that locals were restricted to a 51-per-cent share of foreign businesses."

The war veterans should realise the destruction that the land grab has caused. It's right in front of them - they can't miss it. A firm grab will be the death knell for Zimbabwe. It will never survive that sort of destruction.

Taking over 51% or a 100%, you still have to have the ability to run that company. If the land grab is anything to go by, we may as well shut up shop and go home...

What does it take to show these people the errors of their ways?

-o00o-

I am sorry to do this, but I am going to cut this short as I have just taken a phone call from the hospital - one of my wife's dear friends has just lost her baby. I need to go and see her and comfort her - after, of course, finding my wife and informing her.

Please understand...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Monday, 22nd October 2007

Howzit

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

-o00o-

In today's ZNU podcast, I look at the achievements, or rather, non-achievements of the ZANU PF government since independence, and give examples of how their administration has failed the people. ZNU 91 can be heard here, or on the relevant player in the right hand sidebar, or even the player below. It can be downloaded from here, whilst programmes 50 through to today's programme (one a week!) can be heard from my Odeo page here.

powered by ODEO

-o00o-

At the risk of repeating myself, Mugabe will not rest until the last farmer is off the land, the last white business owner has given up any claim to that business, and the last white has left the country.

This is not 'black empowerment' - this is racism.

Mugabe stands against anything white, anything West. And he has ruined a viable economy, a beautiful country and a fantastic people in the process. The man should NOT be applauded at summits; he should be living in the same abject poverty into which he has turfed his countrymen already.

"The Zimbabwe government has intensified a drive to expel white farmers issuing eviction orders to more farmers and threatening to arrest those that have not vacated their properties after the expiry of a September 30 deadline to do so.

Less than 600 white commercial farmers remain in Zimbabwe after president Robert Mugabe’s government began seizing land from white farmers, then numbering about 4000, for redistribution to landless blacks seven years ago.

The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) that represents white farmers, at the weekend said the government had issued eviction orders to more farmers following a court ruling two weeks ago that farmers still occupying land after the 30 September deadline were in breach of the law."

Whilst I understand the reluctance of these farmers to vacate the farms, even in the event of a court ruling going in their favour, the powers that be in Zimbabwe will ignore those rulings and the farmers will be evicted - forcibly if necessary.

And the police, army, war veterans, youth militia and CIO are not scared to use extreme force. Many farmers and farm workers have lost their lives in their stance against the Mugabe administration. Do we see the police investigating these murders? Do we see people being arraigned in criminal courts for their wanton acts of violence?

No. They get promoted and/or given farms...

And the Mugabe regime is not about to start either. Their people are immune to any prosecution, because Mugabe says so. What kind of government is it, when they are able to place themselves, and their various allies above the law?

"About 10 of our farmers in different parts of the country were served with fresh eviction notices by officials from the Ministry of Lands and also received phone calls from the police notifying them of the intention to charge them and have them prosecuted in court," said CFU vice-president Deon Theron.

The farmers ordered to vacate are from the Karoi and Hurungwe farming districts, according to Theron.

A magistrate’s court in the farming town of Chegutu two weeks ago rejected an appeal against eviction by 10 white farmers, ruling that their continued stay on farms earmarked by the government for redistribution to blacks was a violation of the law."

I say let them have the land - they are going to have it anyway - by hook or by crook - the agricultural sector is so broken that any farmer remaining on the land and staying productive (if that is possible within the economic crisis in the country) will battle against the odds and will always end up the loser.

"It’s unfortunate, we have been trying to make efforts to engage the government but our members have already been given court dates and are going to be prosecuted for producing food for the nation on the farms."

Prosecuted for producing food... Who would have thought it?

-o00o-

If this is the case, then the war veterans are giving notice that a) Mugabe is going to be President for life, and b) that he has no intention to stand down. I mean, how can he stand down if his successor is only to be chosen after his death?

"War veterans at the weekend said the ruling ZANU PF party would only choose President Robert Mugabe’s successor after his death, raising the stakes in the tussle within the party over the Zimbabwean leader’s successor.

Mugabe, who is under pressure to step down from rival factions within ZANU PF, has of late received backing from the ex-fighters who have been holding countrywide marches in support of his candidature in next year’s polls.

Addressing a boisterous crowd of over 10000 people in the Mashonaland Central provincial town of Bindura on Saturday, the leader of the war veterans Jabulani Sibanda said ZANU PF will only choose new leader after Mugabe’s death."

Whether this move conforms to the wants and needs of Mugabe himself would appear to be immaterial. It is largely thought that Mugabe's continued tenure at the helm of the country that he and his government have destroyed with their draconian regulations, oppressive laws and heavy-handed politics is now deemed to have run its course and only a few loyalist stalwarts stand with Mugabe in his bid to remain President.

ZANU PF is split into three faction primarily, being Mugabe's lot, those that support the female Vice-President, Joice Mujuru, and ZANU PF heavyweight Emmerson Mnangagwa - to which Mugabe seems to have allied himself with...

"One cannot just wake up in the morning and (declare that one) wants to be the presidential candidate. Yes, you can be a president of a burial society and not of ZANU PF.

The ruling party’s constitution indicates that the President would remain President until he retires. To us retirement means death," said Sibanda."

Sibanda seems to be ruffling the feathers of quite a few in the ZANU PF hierarchy, and I am pleased to see it - as it takes the attention off the MDC... And Sibanda reckons that his activities have been sanctioned by Mugabe himself. I wonder if the statement about a successor being named only after the President's death falls within his remit?

"The war veterans’ leader, who is tussling for control of the former fighters’ body with Andrew Ndlovu, says he was reinstated to the party by a faction within ZANU PF backing Mugabe’s candidature.

The veterans have since last August held several marches across the country mobilising support for Mugabe who they say is the only one fit to govern the country despite a worsening economic crisis in the southern African country.

Mugabe has already indicated that he will stand as his party’s candidate in next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections."

-o00o-

No food, no houses, no jobs, no fuel, no medical services, no education - could it get any worse?

Yes!

"Zimbabwe’s sole fixed telephone company has warned of a further deterioration of communication services, citing ongoing power cuts and shortages of fuel as seen making it difficult to make or receive calls.

TelOne public relations manager Phil Chingwaru said the shortages had been so disruptive that the parastatal had regularly been forced to temporarily close some of its telephone exchanges.

He said the prolonged power cuts and shortages of diesel are the main reasons behind current difficulties by Zimbabweans to make or receive calls.

"Most of the disruptions are not as a result of network faults but are, therefore, related to the lack of energy resources," Chingwaru said in a statement.

Zimbabwe has been experiencing rolling power blackouts blamed on the inability of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to meet domestic demand and a critical shortage of foreign currency to import electricity from neighbouring countries."

Mugabe's government would have you believe that the power cuts are a 'Western plot' aimed at 'fomenting regime change" - but the truth is that his government has spent every cent that it has in its control, and more besides, purchasing rubbish which has no relevance to the population, and has turned a blind eye to the maintenance of many of their national reserve centres - like Hwange...

So they purchase power from their neighbours - I use the word 'purchase' very loosely as they very seldom pay any bills and the suppliers are beginning to reduce the amount of power supplied.

And in Harare, State House and Mugabe's mansion never go without power, whilst huge parts of the country continue with electricity for days.

Another power tussle. But one that affects the population on a daily basis - although the other one has far reaching consequences for all...

"The TelOne spokesman said back-up generators installed to minimise the effects of power cuts have failed to stem the disruptions due to the shortage of diesel.

"In the absence of electricity, our telephone exchanges use diesel generators and of late there has not been a steady supply of diesel resulting in some exchanges shutting down completely until electricity has been restored," Chingwaru said."

-o00o-

Two stories of interest here...

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the weekend said critics of President Robert Mugabe must speak out in his face than boycott a European Union (EU)-Africa summit in Portugal in December.

Mugabe’s presence at the summit has been the subject of fierce debate between African countries, who have rallied behind the Zimbabwean leader and the EU who are bitterly opposed to his presence at the summit.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he would boycott the summit if Mugabe was invited while several African leaders have threatened to boycott the meeting if the Zimbabwean is barred from Portugal."

Whilst other countries are beginning to rally behind the call from Britain that Mugabe not be invited...

"Finland and Sweden have joined Britain in calling for Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe to be barred from attending a summit of African and European leaders in December.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying he would decide whether to participate only after it is clear who would represent Zimbabwe.

"I hope that Zimbabwe can be at the meeting at another level (than Mugabe)" Vanhanen said.

Reinfeldt said the European Union (EU) should take a collective decision on boycotting the summit if Mugabe attended."

And if Mugabe is not invited, then other African leaders have threatened boycotting the summit.

As I said in today's podcast - who cares? I don't.

There is no real win-win situation here. Mugabe has a lot more influence outside of the borders of Zimbabwe than many realise, and I for one, am unsure of why.

But I don't care why. The man is a disruptive influence whether he attends or not.

Which would indicate that the problem - the real problem - has not been dealt with, and many world leaders need to wake up to that reality.

And whilst the political shoulder barging continues, Mugabe sits in State House in Harare with a huge grin on his face. He is in a no-lose position with African leaders prepared to fall on their swords for him, whilst some Western leaders are prepared to tolerate his presence.At the end of the day, I don't care if he attends on not. Either way it will make very little difference to the long suffering people of Zimbabwe.

-o00o-

And finally, I see that the Home Affairs Minister is actually getting his hands dirty, and doing some work for a change - albeit an attempt to shut down the opposition MDC party.

"Zimbabwe's home affairs minister summoned main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to explain claims of escalating violence against opposition supporters, a state newspaper reported Sunday.

Home Affairs Minister Comrade Kembo Mohadi summoned Tsvangirai to a meeting on Thursday "where the opposition party will be given the opportunity to substantiate claims that some of its members have been killed or maimed in incidents of political violence," The Sunday Mail said.

The newspaper said there were reports that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was planning to pull out of talks with President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party "and is trying to cite the porported violence as a pretect for the withdrawal."

When the state-sponsored newspaper is putting words into the mouths of the public, any meeting between Tsvangirai and Mohadi is going to be a tough one. Mohadi does not even have to step out of his office to get proof of the crackdown being practised against the opposition party.

People are being killed. People are being excluded. People are starving. All at the hands of the ZANU PF 'comrades'... To summon Tsvangirai to explain his claims is as foolhardy as Mugabe's rule. It will achieve nothing more than a heated conversation (we know that Mohadi has a bad temper - just listen to the way in which he treated Violet Gonda of SWRadioAfrica on the telephone) and will result in more bad blood between ZANU PF and the MDC.

Even if Tsvangirai is able, or permitted even, to state his case, the reaction will be more violence, more oppression...

I wouldn't be surprised if Tsvangirai is not arrested either at the meeting or shortly thereafter.

"The opposition party told journalists last week that they "have witnessed an increase in cases of violence and intimidations particularly in rural areas and also in urban areas."

Chamisa said the violence threatened an initiative by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to broker the talks between ZANU PF and the MDC.

The MDC said it was demanding more than 130 million US dollars in damages for party officials and activists arrested and tortured while in custody.

The claim followed the dropping of charges, two weeks ago, against the last of 33 opposition activists detained on terrorism charges in March."

As I have indicated before, any court order against the ruling party is routinely ignored, disobeyed, defied...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Sunday, 21st October 2007

Howzit

How many sore heads are there in South Africa today? It was a good game and I am more than happy with the result, although I would have preferred more of the running game. But it was good.

Well done the Springboks!

-o00o-

A friend in Zimbabwe sent me the news that ISP (Internet Service Provider) ZOL (Zimbabwe On Line) have announced that dial-up connections to the net will be offered for free...

Now that may not be strange here in the free world where many things are given away at no cost, but ZOL have decided that why should they charge under the cost for the service - so have made the decision to give it away.

"Here is the situation. The only bandwidth we can buy in ZWD is from TelOne. The charge from TelOne for this bandwidth is totally uneconomical and unsustainable. Taking their extremely low bulk cost, dividing it into smaller retail packages and adding our legally mandated 20% margin leaves us with an equally low price and effectively no profit. So quite simply why bother - let's just give it away!"

This is a cry in the dark - and Zimbabwean people who have access to the internet will at least be able to communicate with friends and family overseas, and I applaud this decision.

"In fact we hope this FREE service will highlight their plight and encourage the authorities to allow them to increase their price. If TelOne can charge an economically sound price, we can earn a healthy profit which we will use to improve our network - and everyone wins. To be clear, we fully support the concept of charging an economically viable and sustainable price for all products and services. However, as long as the TelOne service continues to be priced negligibly, we will offer it for free. There is no point in charging for it, or going through twists and turns to make it look expensive so we can make big profits. It's not fair to you, the customer, and it's not fair on the hard working people at TelOne."

A novel and new approach to the 'stacked' pricing structures forced upon companies by Mugabe's government...

-o00o-

"A dozen main districts of the Zimbabwean capital were without power for the fifth straight day Saturday. The state electricity company blamed technical faults for the massive outage, the worst in months of power shortages.

A power surge after a scheduled outage Monday blew a main high-voltage supply cable, the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority said, the official media reported. Power outages to ration supplies, known as load-shedding, occur daily across the economically troubled southern African nation.

Officials also said the theft of cables and oil from transformer units had left engineers - already facing chronic shortages of hard currency for spare parts, equipment and gasoline - battling with mounting breakdowns."

I am inclined to rewrite the first quoted sentence above as "The state electricity company blamed political faults for the massive outage, the worst in months of power shortages."

I think that my version is nearer the truth, don't you?

"Zimbabwe imports nearly 40 percent of its power from regional neighbors. Earlier this month, Mozambique said it was reducing its output to its western neighbor over a long-standing debt of US$35 million.

The five-day outage was the worst in memory in Harare, householders said. Routine outages last between four and 17 hours and have forced many homes and businesses to install gasoline-driven generators and inverters - rechargeable battery packs to power lights and low-voltage appliances that do not include kettles, refrigerators or stoves."

The government has much that it is responsible for, and none of it good... An ironic riddle. Mugabe has too much power, and the people haven't got enough.

-o00o-

This is another example of the treatment the police mete out to members of the public - even when the charges which they are subject to, do not make the slightest bit of sense.

This man was sent a mobile telephone by friends in the United Kingdom - and then was picked up by the police under suspicion of theft...

"A Cheltenham couple are fighting to clear a Zimbabwean friend who was wrongly accused of stealing a mobile phone.

Francis Chizamu was thrown into a cell and whipped and beaten by police after he was found with the phone.Friends Tony Manners and Jill Jarvis, who live in Brockhampton, say they sent Francis the phone as a gift, and he is a victim of the country's corrupt regime.

The 35-year-old has refused to confess to the charge of theft and the couple have stumped up cash for a lawyer to fight his case.

Mr Manners, 55, said: "It's a reflection of the way things are in Zimbabwe at the moment.

The police can be civilised. They aren't even armed in the streets but then suspects are beaten into confessing. Francis isn't the type to give in like that. We'll help any way we can."

A sad reflection of the rule of law and order in Zimbabwe. Surely the ZRP have more important cases to investigate - especially since the mobile phone was not stolen.

"Mr Manners said: "We got to know his family. He has two young children.

"His wife was killed two years ago, which makes it even more distressing for him. If he needs us to go out, we will.

It would appear that someone has accused Francis of stealing their phone, but we know Francis. He wouldn't steal anything.

We help Francis and our other friends where we can."

Justice in Zimbabwe - where you are considered guilty until (maybe) proven otherwise...

But who would have thought that the simple gift of a mobile phone from 6000 miles away would visit such hardship on this man?

-o00o-

"For motorists cruising along the Gutu-Chivhu highway, a "No Through Road" sign near the 43 km peg is just like any other road sign that signals the end of the road in the once thriving ranching area.

Yet if you ask any of the new owners of the land, where little or no agricultural activities takes place, the sign alone is enough to send shivers down their spines.

Less that two kilometres from the sign, along the well maintained gravel road, lies a small Air Force of Zimbabwe base where about 15 soldiers guard a radar installation mounted there in the late 1990s.

Ordinarily, the presence of soldiers should be a source of joy for the farmers who should feel "protected" from cattle rustlers wreaking havoc in their communities.

But as our investigation reveals, the base is dreaded by the villagers who see it as a "torture chamber."

Mugabe is happy enough for his youth militia, the army, the war veterans and anyone else he can muster to build torture camps all over the country. He doesn't really care what they do within those camps.

Anything. Torture, rape, maiming, murder - Mugabe doesn't care. He and his party achieved independence in Zimbabwe through the barrel of a gun - and he will hang onto that power through the barrel of a gun if need be...

"When we arrived at Eastdale on Monday, a number of soldiers were seated at the entrance. They all appeared to be in state of mourning.

Two weeks ago, the deputy in command at the base only identified as "Ranga" committed suicide in his house. A soldier identified as F.N Mungazivei, who was said to be in command of the base, refused to disclose why "Ranga" had committed suicide.

Police say he left a note that revealed he took his life in shame after he instructed junior soldiers to beat up farm workers, accused of stealing equipment from a farm, Irvin, owner by Finance minister Samuel Mumbengegwi. One of the victims, Fibion Mafukidze (58), died after the beatings. The minister’s wife Selina had laid the complaint against Mafukidze and two other workers."

Quite frankly, who cares that a soldier took his own life in a pang of conscience? I certainly don't care. He joined the wrong side and overstepped the mark. Game over.

-o00o-

"Civic groups and opposition parties based in Matabeleland have renewed efforts to form an alliance ahead of next year's elections, in a development that is set to shake the potentially restive region.

According to confidential documents seen by The Standard last week, the alliance that will bring together ZAPU Federal Party, the Patriotic Union of Matabeleland and various civic organisations based in the region will be known as the Federal Democratic Union.

This formation of the FDU coincides with deepening problems in the ruling ZANU PF caused by the re-admission of Jabulani Sibanda to the party. Former PF ZAPU leaders are threatening to pull out of the 20 year-old unity accord after President Robert Mugabe reportedly brought Sibanda back into the ruling party fold to spearhead his re-election bid."

Whilst I understand and appreciate the efforts to establish a new and fresh political party in Zimbabwe, the new party will take away some of the potential voter base of the MDC (and, one might hope, some from ZANU PF), but in all likelihoodthe reality is that too many different parties can only bolster flagging ZANU PF support.

"It also comes barely a month after civic groups and opposition parties dropped plans to set up a political party to rival the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) after the country’s biggest opposition party backed the controversial Constitutional Amendment Number 18.

The 26 organisations and 930 activists that met at a Bulawayo Agenda-organised conference agreed to give dialogue with the MDC a chance before meeting again to chart the way forward.

"This initiative (to form an alliance) started well before Constitutional Amendment Number 18," said a source close to the steering committee. "We are busy on the ground and very soon there will be an announcement concerning the setting up of the alliance."

I remain concerned that too many cooks will spoil the broth - and Mugabe will walk away with the lion's share - not so much by vote rigging, intimidation and oppression, but by sheer voter confusion.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhuv

Saturday, 20th October 2007

Howzit

I quietly look forward to tonight's World Cup Rugby final. With a surname like mine, I would be remiss to be anything else...

I don't really care who wins, but for the Springbok fans, I offer this, a video of Brian Habana, one of the Springbok speedsters, dicing against a Cheetah...

-o00o-

ZANU PF is jumping up and down about the marches and reactions to war veterans in the country and their intention to oppose Vice President Joseph Msika and other Matabele ZANU PF stalwarts, and they are angered by the fact that the veterans are led by Jabulani Sibanda who was chucked out of the ruling party a few years ago for being involved in the 'coup' meeting in Tsholotsho...

Now, it turns out that Sibanda was brought back into the fold by none other than Robert Mugabe himself, and his activities in Bulawayo are sanctioned by the highest office in the land.

"Zimbabwe war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda on Friday told ZimOnline that President Robert Mugabe sanctioned public marches that the former fighters have held in recent weeks in support of his candidature in next year’s presidential election.

The ex-combatants have since August held marches in Harare and other cities to show solidarity with Mugabe, who they say is the only one fit to rule Zimbabwe despite an unprecedented economic crisis and food shortages blamed on his controversial policies.

Sibanda said veterans were given the "mandate to march" by none other than Mugabe himself, adding the veterans would round up their marches in the provinces this weekend before staging a "million man" march in Harare next week."

As has been discussed on other forums on the internet, I cannot believe that there are a million ex-combatants in Zimbabwe - not only in total - but those prepared to march. A million men? I think that if the maths was done, many of the so-called veterans that do march are too young to have fought in the Rhodesian bush war, the chimurenga - and these people I have heard referred to as the "ZANU PF Navy" - as during the war, they were just seamen (semen)...

"He said: "We are forging ahead with the mandate we were given by the President (Mugabe) despite protests by sellouts in the ruling party who think the President should go."

The war veterans on Friday marched in Marondera city in Mashonaland East province and will today march in the city of Bindura in Mashonaland central province.

Analysts say the marches are an attempt by Mugabe to silence dissenting lieutenants from his ruling ZANU PF party who are pushing for him to step down and pave way for a new leader."

Why is it that if ever there is the slightest unsureness of a stance for or against Mugabe, someone stands up and brands those who stand in the way as 'sellouts'? Is this a magical misnomer which allows the ruling party the mandate to beat, oppress and, if necessary, kill that person? 'Sellout' was a word we used to hear an awful lot of during the bush war and it is a watered down expression that means 'traitor at the end of the day.

The chimurenga finished 27 years ago, but Mugabe has hung onto these men, obviously paying them inordinate amounts of money for their continued alliance. Surely it is time to move along.

Let's begin rebuilding Zimbabwe instead of pulling it down from within.

-o00o-

More countries are making the call for Mugabe not to be invited to the EU/AU summit in December in Lisbon. I personally believe that Portugal will invite Mugabe and that he will parade himself, feathers and all - and if given the floor, will delivery a typical Mugabe address - filled with vitriol, hatred and loathing...

Is it really worth it?

"Finland and Sweden have joined Britain in calling for Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe to be barred from attending a summit of African and European leaders in December.

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying he would decide whether to participate only after it is clear who would represent Zimbabwe.

"I hope that Zimbabwe can be at the meeting at another level (than Mugabe)" Vanhanen said.

Reinfeldt said the European Union (EU) should take a collective decision on boycotting the summit if Mugabe attended."

There is no win-win situation here - unless Mugabe is invited but decides not to attend... fat chance of that - going to Portugal is too good an opportunity to pass up. Mugabe has always travelled far and wide and is probably one of the most travelled world leaders - if you wish to class him as that.

"We are asking the (EU) Portuguese Presidency to tell him that he should not be here and he should certainly not be given a central role," Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU leaders in Lisbon.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen also said he had not decided whether to attend the December 8-9 summit in Lisbon if Mugabe was invited.

The Danish leader said serious discussion on Zimbabwe and its human rights was a precondition for Mugabe’s attendance.

The Czech Republic has also indicated it was considering joining Britain in boycotting the EU-Africa summit if Mugabe showed up."

-o00o-

I am no stranger to mortuaries, having done a few years in the police. It isn't fun recovering bodies from scenes of crimes, car accidents or suicides, and when the body has to be taken to the mortuary, you are visiting a place of death - big time. I remember the tiny mortuary in Esigodini which only took 6 bodies, but always had at least 20... Horrible.

"If you don't have a strong stomach, then perhaps you should skip what follows. Because today I am writing about the mortuary at Parirenyatwa Hospital. Once this was a facility renowned throughout Southern Africa for high standards of hygiene. Now it is a place where the difficult way of life for the average Zimbabwean becomes an appalling and disgusting way of death.

Many relatives who come to claim the bodies of their dear departed don't even get through the door. They stop outside, repelled, even nauseated. They clasp handkerchiefs to their faces, their natural distress re-doubled by what they are encountering. I must be frank and tell you what that is.

It is the stench of death. The mortuary is not only grossly overcrowded, it is now dysfunctional. And the result is often too much to bear."

Let us remember that death in Zimbabwe is a very moving family experience and care should be taken when dealing with the family of the deceased, and the deceased themselves. The body is sacrosanct.

But I do know that there is now a tendency within Zimbabwe, because the cost of funerals is so much, that families that cannot afford the death, that sick members of families are booked in to the hospital under an assumed name and when death occurs, the body is not claimed and the States is left to pick up the cost of a pauper's funeral.

"On the pretence of trying to find a fictional death relative, a friendly mortuary attendant took me into one of two "cold rooms" where the bodies are kept. But these cold rooms were not cold. Lack of electricity means that refrigeration cannot be maintained. The stench, which was bad outside, is redoubled as we enter.

"This is what we experience every day, but we are used to it now," the attendant, Elson Marufu, told me. "These cold rooms simply don't function any more."

The rooms were packed, with some bodies heaped on the floor, and some stacked on large trays. Identification tags had fallen off the corpses. I was told that there were maggots in the place, but fortunately I saw none."

This is a typical example of Mugabe's Zimbabwe - where the terrible time of loss and grief is superseded by his tyrannical power - where buying fancy motor cars and jet fighter aircraft are more important than looking after the basic needs of the population. When any senior member of the government die, they are simply declared 'heroes' and the State pays for a ceremonial burial at Heroes' Acre.

"This is a short posting because my visit to the mortuary was short. I left as soon as I possibly could. Now, well away, fresh air has never smelled sweeter."

-o00o-

Why is it that there is always a 'do-gooder' that believes that the wrong is right and the right is right - IE. can see no fault in Mugabe or his activities - or it is just easier to let him attend than to contend with the verbal attack which we all know will follow..?

"European and African parliamentarians meeting in Johannesburg said Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe should attend the European Union-Africa summit, reported SABC news on Friday.

European Parliament representative Michael Gahler said the summit's agenda would not be put at risk because of their opposition to Mugabe's policies. However, he said, Mugabe would be given a tough time by European leaders at the summit to be held in December in Lisbon, Portugal. "Our heads of state, behind closed doors, I think they will speak tough as well," said Gahler. "I would not pre-anticipate that it is a very cosy meeting. In order to hear the message he must be there I think to get some tough talk." EU and AU parliamentarians were holding discussions this week over a common strategy for the summit. SABC news reported that while in theory the EU travel ban prevents President Mugabe traveling to and within the EU, in practice he could be exempt - with certain conditions - to attend an international conference. British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has apparently said he will not attend the summit if Mugabe is invited."

Hmmm.

I reserve comment - on the grounds that it will cause me apoplexy...

-o00o-

And whilst the heads of State in Europe attempt to work out just what they are going to do in December, the fight on the ground continues.

"As we have reported, military, police and government officials are leading the current attacks on the remaining white farmers. In the sugar growing Lowveld area, the white farmers have already lost most of their land. Their houses and farm equipment are all they own now, but that is under threat after they were this week given 14 days to move out of their homes.

John Worsley Worswick of Justice for Agriculture said the evictions are illegal because the ‘new owners’ are bringing eviction orders from the Ministry of Agriculture, which has no authority to issue them. He said eviction through "jambanja" has continued while government pretends to be following the rule of law by taking a handful of farmers to court. 11 farmers were arrested this month and subpoenaed to a district magistrates court. Applications by lawyers for the case to be referred to the Supreme Court have been declined. Worswick said the court case gives the evictions the face of legality, while violent and illegal pressure continues.

Two weeks ago Masvingo Governor Willard Chiwewe closed the only dairy farm in Chiredzi. It was on a very productive farm owned by the Alford’s, whose 100-hectare property was reduced to 40 hectares over time as government allocated pieces of it to settlers."

Again, I know the Lowveld very well having managed the branch of a industrial company down there for three years plus. An amazing part of the country - and one that just looks to do its job - that of growing cane for the production of sugar for the country.

There were also wildlife companies, tanners, and various other companies there. Not the biggest town in the country, but a great place nonetheless.

Now the government has successfully broken the back of the agricultural sector, I don't know why farmers bother - they will lose eventually - but I do understand their stance.

"Governor Chiwewe is believed to already have 5 other farms in Masvingo province. He has given the Alfords’ farm to his daughter, who allegedly harassed the couple until they finally packed up and moved out.

The dairy was known by villagers from miles away for its lacto milk and yoghurt. Given the ongoing food shortages, the lacto was an affordable meal for many families that queued at the gates. The farm also produced about 1000 litres of milk per month, and a crop of oranges, vegetable seed and high quality sugar cane. The surrounding community that relied on these products now joins the rest of Zimbabwe in a search for milk, and other basic staple foods."

What happened to the 'one man - one farm' policy? Or did that go out the window with the 'one man - one vote' policy?

-o00o-

And finally, only because much of the news on the internet today is a remix of old stories, this article caught my eye, mainly because of the headline.

"When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers"... how true.

Whilst the politicians in Zimbabwe fight for elbow room and dominance, it is the people, the voting public, that suffer. And this is more prevalent in Zimbabwe now than ever. Very little happens in political circles in that country that does not have a forcefully negative consequence.

I cannot think of any one event in the last few years in Zimbabwe that brings any good to the people - can you?

"Whether or not Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe should attend the AU/EU Summit in Lisbon in December 2007, is a question that, apparently, has divided opinion between African and European leaders and, indeed, caused tensions between EU leaders, with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, taking a firm stand and vowing not to attend in protest against Mugabe’s potential presence.

It is, quite frankly, a needless fight, one that does nothing to practically assist the people of Zimbabwe out of their crisis. It brings to mind the Kiswahili saying, that, when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. The trouble for Zimbabweans, who constitute the "grass" over which the fighting is taking place, is that, there are too many elephants battling at the same time.

Zimbabweans have long been trampled upon by the giant elephants fighting for political power within the country, namely, Zanu PF and the MDC. Even within the opposition, the elephants are also waging a battle between the two formations of the MDC, led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, respectively."

The sad thing is, it is the control of that 'grass' that the 'elephants' are fighting over. And the more they fight, the less grass there is, or the more damage is caused making regrowth a very unlikely solution.

Are politicians throughout the world blinded to this simple cause and effect. Granted, not all countries are oppressing their populations, but I find politics to be a fight of egos instead of ideals...

When did it become a personal thing? Politics is a group effort - looking after the ideals of the people they seek to represent - or have I got it wrong?

"But the greater cause for concern are the battles at the international level, which few among ordinary Zimbabweans can relate to, let alone need, in their current predicament. The first is the apparent battle between Mugabe and Brown, which metamorphosed from the initial Mugabe versus Tony Blair, the previous British Prime Minister.

On its part, the British government has always resisted the perspective that it has a bilateral dispute with Zimbabwe, as claimed by the Zimbabwe government, a position that is also shared by its African counterparts. Yet, ironically, the conflict over Mugabe’s attendance at the Lisbon Summit, which pits Brown against Mugabe, appears to avail ammunition to those who have long taken it to be a bilateral dispute between the two governments. This circumstance, unfortunately, serves to dilute the grievances of Zimbabweans against their government, which has always been and should be considered as an internal matter."

Whether Brown goes to Lisbon or not, or if Mugabe gets invited or not, will be little solace for Chibango who hasn't had more than three square meals this week in her father's kraal in the Dombodema area of Matabeleland. Of little comfort to Agnes Marufu who desperately needs dental work, but cannot afford the transport to get her to a dentist, and cannot afford the cost of the treatment or the drugs she needs to effect a full recovery.

Of little concern to Mashangaidze who has no job since the company he was working for closed its doors earlier this year. He has not the money to pay his rent nor be adequate food for his wife and four children. He has contemplated suicide, but knows that death by his own hand will leave his family even worse off than now.

People like this wish that the elephants would stop fighting so that they can rebuild their shattered existences and work together to build a new, stronger Zimbabwe.

One that not only the people of the country, but that the international community can be proud of.

Personalities must be put aside. Political oppression must stop. The time is now right for the people to come together to face down the oppressor. Not with violence - with their democratic right to vote into power the best people for the job.

The elephants must stop fighting...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Friday, 19th October 2007

Howzit

(Note: If there are any spelling mistakes today - well, more than the usual - please accept my apologies - the Blogger spellchecker isn't working...)

Video fans moenie panic nie! The VodPod widget has been moved (by me - no one else) to the bottom of the right hand sidebar - only because as videos are added, having it near the top of the sidebar, just pushes everything underneath further down.

And seeing as videos are just plain fun, as opposed to NEWS, I have made that decision, and that's just the way it's going to be. Sorry if that upsets anybody...

-o00o-

Foreign currency mid-rates updated. I see that the black market rate is now over ZW$2 million to the pound sterling...

-o00o-

"The black market exchange rate for the US dollar broke the 1 million Zimbabwe dollar mark Thursday and the government announced another sharp jump in inflation.

Worsening hard currency shortages more than doubled the price of the US currency in the past 10 days, pushed up by central bank buying on the unofficial market, dealers said.

"People are asking for a million and getting it in big bank to bank transfers. Cash for cash is anything above 750000-1," as the country faces shortages of local bills, said one dealer. "Technically, it's still illegal."

The official exchange rate is 30,000-1. In the first week of October, the black market rate surged to about 520,000-1, up from 400,000-1 in mid September.

"There's too little foreign exchange out there and too many chasing it," including the central bank, said the dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being punished by the government.Those with foreign exchange "don't want to part with it as a hedge against inflation," the dealer said."

I was discussing this with my wife this morning. Based upon this 1 penny is worth ZW$20000... not that there is very much in Zimbabwe that you could buy with that. 5p is worth ZW100000. Now that is scary! 5p here is not going to buy you very much either.

How do the Zimbabwean people survive. When they get paid - and let's remember that 80% of the workforce in Zimbabwe are unemployed - by the time they get to the bank to draw some money, the face value of their salary has already been lessened by inflation. That is no way to live!

What about to 80% unemployed? How on earth are they meant to survive?

"Travelers returning home to Harare from shopping trips for soap, cooking and other basics across the country's borders have reported central bank buyers at the downtown bus terminal offering top black market rates for leftover US, Botswana and South African currencies needed to pay for food, power and gasoline imports.

Police raids on currency dealers at the terminal have stopped.

Central bank governor Gideon Gono said in a policy speech this month that his bank saw the terminal as a source of hard currency and that the official exchange rate was all but obsolete."

It's not every day that you hear the boss of any country's central bank admitting that the black market is a viable source of foreign currency. I have often said that I believe much of the foreign currency that Mugabe's government has laid its hands on, has been through the black market, having ordered Gono to print trillions of dollars worth of useless bearer cheques.

And then there is the threat that the bearer cheques can be substituted with a new currency with little or no notice.

A truly tenuous situation - made even worse by the continual injection of more local currency by the government, which in turn fuels inflation...

"The state central statistical office announced official annual inflation rose to 7,982 percent in September, up from 6,592 in August, already the highest in the world. Independent estimates put real inflation closer to 25,000 percent and the International Monetary Fund has forecast it reaching 100,000 percent by the end of the year.

According to the monthly statistical review Thursday, the poverty line for a family of five nearly doubled to 22.6 million Zimbabwe dollars (US$22.60, €16.25 at the dominant black market exchange rate) in September, amid rising prices and rampant black marketeering in scarce staples. Most essential goods that have disappeared from store shelves.

A senior school teacher earns three-fourths of the benchmark for poverty - about US$17 (€12), having received a 200 percent pay increase awarded after a crippling strike closed down schools across the country earlier this month."

-o00o-

Regular readers of this page - and many other pages - will know that the MDC has been under pressure from many of their allied organisations and civic groups to ensure that any agreement on a new Zimbabwean constitution should be 'people driven'... and hence, they wanted a say in the negotiations.

I wonder just how then have the MDC and the ruling party agreed on a new constitution if they haven't consulted with the other interested organs?

"The ruling ZANU PF and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) have agreed on a draft constitution which emerged from ongoing talks to resolve Zimbabwe's crisis, it has been confirmed.

The final draft constitution - a product of intense negotiations by the two parties both in Zimbabwe and South Africa - was signed by ZANU PF negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, and MDC delegates Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti, as well as the South African mediator and chairman Sydney Mufamadi on a houseboat provided by the state at Kariba on September 30. The event was described as "cheerful".

However, ZANU PF and the MDC have not yet agreed on changes to the electoral laws, security legislation, and media restrictions. The parties are still haggling over these issues, sources said, as time runs out before elections next March."

What this means, in essence, is that the 'new' constitution is a white wash of much of the unchanged and undisputed parts of the work, whilst the ruling party is hanging on to those parts which make life, reporting and expressing an opinion in the country - which basically negates the negotiations.

ZANU PF will not give an inch, and the draft constitution will be largely the constitution that the ruling party has not played with.

"We have agreed on the new draft constitution, but we have not reached an agreement on the electoral laws, security legislation, and media laws because the issues at stake are complicated and there are disagreements," a source said. "We haven’t discussed the political climate. There is some progress but there are also hurdles on the way."

The deadline will now certainly expire with an agreement only on one item on the agenda, the constitution. The other remaining four agenda items are not yet settled. The negotiators are now also discussing an economic rescue package to bail out the crumbling economy. Donors met two weeks ago in the Netherlands to discuss aid for Zimbabwe tied to talks."

Is this the payback for the MDC's backing of amendment 17? If so, it is a sorry situation, as no real ground has been made with the 'draft' constitution, which would probably be better dubbed the 'daft' constitution.

I am appalled. You cannot agree a draft constitution if the ruling party refuses to change the key areas of concern - electoral policies, security regulations and the continued gagging of the press, and the people.

"ZANU PF also resolved that it would make a few insignificant concessions which would not affect its grip on power and disturb its preparations for the elections in March next year.

Evidence that ZANU PF is now playing games with the MDC mounted this week when the ruling party asked for the postponement of talks ahead of the deadline. In reaction, the MDC is now threatening to pull out of talks if repression - as shown by sweeping arrests of opposition activists this week - continues. MDC leaders now say that ZANU PF is negotiating in bad faith, something they were in denial about only a few weeks ago."

-o00o-

"President Robert Mugabe has reportedly named four top ZANU PF officials as his possible successors in a recent conversation with South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Reports this week indicate that Mugabe two weeks ago spoke to Mbeki about the ongoing talks between the ruling ZANU PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to resolve the country’s worsening situation and in the process delved into his leadership succession.

The reports say Mugabe noted that there were four serious candidates to succeed him, senior ZANU PF politburo members Emmerson Mnangagwa, John Nkomo, Sydney Sekeramayi and Simba Makoni."

A glaring absentee from the list is one of Mugabe's Vice-Presidents, Joice Mujuru, who has crossed swords with Mugabe more than a couple of times. Mugabe is at loggerheads with the Mujuru faction and I believe he is concerned about the possible powerful hold that Mujuru's husband, former Army chief, Solomon, would inherit.

"The notable omissions from Mugabe’s list are Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, both widely touted as potential successors. Mujuru, whom Mugabe during the ZANU PF congress in 2004 publicly anointed as the next president, has fallen out with her boss over internal squabbles."

So the playing field is now coming out in the open, although it is still not level.

"The reports said Mbeki asked if it was possible for Mugabe to indicate who his successor would be so that South Africa and other countries could help to facilitate a smooth transition and support that person to prepare for future responsibilities. The reports say Mbeki wanted to know if there were no credible successors to Mugabe in ZANU PF and he was told that there were."

Imagine that. Mbeki wanting to help Mugabe's successor...

-o00o-

I find it amusing that this article should describe the war veterans as "stormtroopers" - anyone happening over the story would be forgiven for thinking that they had fallen over a Star wars convention...

"Division is emerging among Zimbabwe’s war veterans, key allies of President Robert Mugabe who often uses the volatile former fighters to intimidate opponents and to defend his 27-year grip on power.

The veterans of Zimbabwe’s 1970s liberation war are hardline supporters of Mugabe who is their patron and have in recent weeks held countrywide marches in support of Mugabe, a campaign that observers say is meant to suppress dissent in the ruling ZANU PF party and ensure Mugabe is not challenged at a party congress in December.

The veterans plan a "million-man" march in Harare in support of Mugabe’s candidature in next year’s presidential poll that will be held together with elections for Parliament.

But a power struggle has emerged between interim war veterans leader Andrew Ndlovu and former chairman Jabulani Sibanda, in a tussle reflecting the tug of war between a faction of ZANU PF backing Mugabe to stay in power and a rival group led by retired army general Solomon Mujuru that wants a new party leader chosen in December.

Ndlovu’s group this week wrote to ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo, Vice-President Joseph Msika and Mujuru - who heads a board appointed by Mugabe to reorganise war veterans - demanding that Sibanda, who has led pro-Mugabe marches, be stopped from doing so because he was expelled from the party in 2004."

You would think that the ruling party would have foreseen this, and made provisions against it happening. But they are so focussed on running riot over the people that they have overlooked their own front doorstep.

Jabulani Sibanda was expelled, but has come back - much to some veterans' disgust. Good. Give them somethin else to agrue about. Makes a huge change from the MDC, NCA, WOZA, etc...

"The constitution and the protocol of the party is violated when expelled individuals are allowed to spearhead the campaign for the President," wrote Ndlovu in the letter dated October 17.

Ndlovu added: "True party members will not join such (expelled) individuals in campaigning for Mugabe, a thinly veiled threat that his faction of war veterans would not campaign for Mugabe if Sibanda is not pushed out."

Like vultures on a fresh corpse...

-o00o-

In Zimbabwe it is illegal for three or more people to gather in public for political purposes. Now these women may be active in civic rights, but sitting down for lunch at a hotel surely does not constitute a political meeting...

"At least 20 women from the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly holding an illegal meeting at a hotel in the southern town of Masvingo.

Armed riot police stormed the hotel in Masvingo, about 260km south of the capital Harare, and arrested the women from the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC who were having lunch at the hotel.

The police, who accused the women of holding an unsanctioned political gathering at the hotel, later bundled the women into trucks and took them to Masvingo Central police station.

The MDC women, who included Theresa Makone and former legislator Evelyn Masaiti, were however later released after four hours of interrogation."

Typical oppression by Mugabe's police force (who, in my opinion, are as useless as an ashtray on a bicycle) - they get an idea in their heads and then ally it with their instructions to crack down on political meetings and the MDC, and they just do it, no matter what the consequences...

"A lawyer representing the women, Tongai Matutu, who is also the MDC’s legislator for Masvingo central, confirmed the arrest of the women.

"The police accused them of holding an illegal meeting but we argued that the women were just having their lunch," said Matutu."

So in Zimbabwe, it is now illegal for opposition activists to eat in public...

"The women were having their lunch at the hotel on their way to Gutu to prepare the memorial service for the late MDC chairman Isaac Matongo,” said Matutu.

Matongo’s memorial service will be held on the 21st and 22nd of October after the High Court ordered the police not to interfere with the function.

An earlier attempt by the MDC to hold the memorial service failed after the police raided Matongo’s rural home and ordered party supporters to disperse saying the meeting was illegal."

-o00o-

"Johannesburg police were on Friday looking for three men driving a blue VW Polo believe to have been involved in the murder of reggae star Lucky Dube, 43.

Dube was shot dead in a botched hijacking in Rosettenville, around 8.20pm on Thursday, said police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht.

The singer was travelling in a grey Chrysler with his two teenage children at the time.

Engelbrecht said Dube had dropped off his son and daughter, aged 15 and 16, when he was attacked. The killers fled the scene, leaving the musician's car behind. The children were unhurt."

How sad. Lucky Dube I remember for tracks like "Prisoner", "House of Exile" and "Back To My Roots"...

Anyone who know anything about me will know that I am a music buff and I enjoy any music (except Grunge and Heavy Metal).

It saddens me that singers die, but that one is murdered is just so wrong (the murder of anyone is totally and utterly wrong in my book). What a waste.

-o00o-

Take care

'debvhu

Thursday, 18th October 2007

Howzit

This morning I received 15 photographs in an email, reportedly of Mugabe's mansion. Much as I would love to show the photographs, and show the double standards of Mugabe, I have reason to believe that the photos are not his mansion.

There is an outdoor swimming pool - but I can see nothing on the GoogleEarth pictures.

I doubt that Mugabe would allow a photographer in to take snaps which would somehow make their way onto the internet. I have a feeling that I have seen these photos before. The other point I raise is that there would appear to be very little by way of Africana in the photographs. Mugabe is mesmerised by Africana - just look at how he transformed Parliament House... Sorry - I remain unconvinced.

No offence to those that sent me the photographs, but I will not publish them until I am assured that they are of Bob's kumba.

-o00o-

How apt then when Eddie Cross decides to write about Operation Murambatsvina just yesterday...

"When the Murambatsvina operation was mounted by the government of Zimbabwe in 2005 it was directed at those who occupied illegal dwellings in urban areas and who operated informal businesses to support themselves and their families. According to the United Nations subsequent report on this operation 700 000 people were rendered homeless and some 2,4 million were affected in some way by the exercise over a period of three months.

In Bulawayo, one of the target areas was the squatter camp at Killarney just to the south of the City near the Old Nick Mine. This area was home to some 2000 people who had built small mud and grass homes and drew water from nearby urban settlements. The area was adjacent to low-density housing and many found work there or traveled into town to work in the informal sector."

And whilst people have been struggling for shelter and a place to sleep (some are obliged to sleep in the open), Mugabe lives in 'his' mansion. Tucked up warmly with his wife - young enough to be his daughter, living with all the trappings of wealth - sadly taken from others.

Why is it that Zimbabweans allow him to walk all over them like this?

"After three days, in the early hours of the morning, military trucks arrived at all the Churches accompanied by armed soldiers and police. The people were loaded onto the trucks and taken out into the rural areas. No attempt was made to try and find out where they would like to go, they were simply dumped in the rural areas - in many cases up to 200 kilometers from Killarney. They were simply left on the side of the road to try and find their way into the local community for help."

I am glad that we left Zimbabwe when we did. Not that Murambatsvina would have affected us as the house we lived in is still there - but would we have been allowed to stay there? The house was a few dozen metres from the local hotel that had been taken over by ZANU PF and the all-night parties were horrendously loud.

They even took to parking their fancy Mercedes in our driveway - blocking me from parking either my wife's Ford, or my BMW...

"...the Pastors involved have conducted burials at the rate of 2 to 3 a week amongst this displaced community since their eviction from their homes. Many returned to Killarney to try and rebuild their lives but have been displaced and their homes destroyed for a second time. In other urban centers this process continues - last week 28 homes were burnt and their contents destroyed by Police in the Kwe Kwe area for instance.

By our rough count half the community displaced from Killarney has died since 2005. The main reasons have been malnutrition, starvation, exposure (the 2005 and 2006 winters were especially cold) and diseases. The main casualties have been the children and men. The latter succumbing to hopelessness and despair when they were unable in any way to either protect or provide for their families.

The actual numbers of people displaced by Murambatsvina may in fact have been significantly higher than the UN estimated. Those estimates were based on official figures given to the UN team by the State. In one small centre - Beitbridge the total numbers of displaced were estimated at 22 000 out of an official numbers in the town of 50 000 - over 40 per cent. However the housing situation in Beitbridge was particularly poor and informal settlements extensive. 70 per cent of the displaced population remains homeless in Beitbridge."

Mugabe has ordered sustained evictions from farms, sustained demolition of houses deemed 'illegal' and sustained pressure applied to all people in Zimbabwe where the government believes that their existence can upset his future plans.

Two years later, very little has been done to rectify the chaos that the operations caused. Indeed, many, if not most, of the houses built for the displaced people have been handed out to ZANU PF sympathisers - not that this means very much, as not very many houses were built.

-o00o-

"Zimbabwe's inflation rate, already the highest in the world, rose to a new peak of nearly 8,000 percent last month, figures released by the central statistics bureau showed on Wednesday.

"The year-on-year inflation rate in September 2007 was 7,892.1 percent, gaining 1,389.3 percentage points on the August rate of 6,592.8 percent," the bureau said in a statement.

The month-on-month rate of inflation was 38.7 percent, the CSO added.

The new rise reverses a slight fall in the monthly rate that was recorded in September and punctures hopes by government that it was beginning to tame what central bank governor Gideon Gono has termed the country's "economic HIV."

I watch with bated breath for the Governor to announce the expected currency change - but do feel that he will probably repeat the dropping of three zeroes off the currency - as once again, the tills and calculators are struggling to deal with the inordinate number of figures.

Which will mean, in essence, that Gono will have effectively devalued the dollar a million times! But don't take my word for it - it will happen, and it will happen soon.

"Year on year food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation stood at 7,759 percent 149.1 percentage points from the August figure of 7,908 percent," the CSO said.

"Non-food inflation was 8,096.7 percent up from 5,983.9 percent."

The poverty threshold for an average family of five stood at 22,658,400 Zimbabwe dollars (755 US dollars) in September, up from the August figure of 11,961,000 dollars."

There cannot be that many families in Zimbabwe - and I don't include the government or any other ZANU PF bodies (at a pinch we could include the Army and Air Force - but we know that they are paid peanuts anyway) - that clear in excess of 22 million a month - and that is just the break even mark...

"At least 80 percent of the population is living below the poverty threshold, often skipping meals and walking or cycling to work in order to stretch their income to the next payday.

In August last year the central bank slashed three zeros from its currency and introduced new banknotes in a bid to rein in runaway inflation, as shoppers resorted to carrying cash in rucksacks on ordinary shopping trips."

Amazing that it took Mugabe just 27 years to ruin a brilliant country, the majority of the damage coming in the last 7 years...

-o00o-

I am very pleased that Reuters did this, as it saved me from producing something similar...

"Zimbabwe's inflation rate accelerated to a new record high of 7,982.1 percent year on year in September from 6,592.8 percent in August, the government's Central Statistical Office (CSO) said on Wednesday.

Following are major events since the economic problems began:

1998 - An economic crisis marked by high interest rates and inflation provokes riots and mass support for the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions headed by Morgan Tsvangirai. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is formed and Tsvangirai is appointed leader the next year.

1999 - World Bank and IMF suspend aid to Zimbabwe over differences with the government on policies.

2000 - Mugabe's government loses referendum on constitutional reforms, and his supporters invade and seize white-owned commercial farms, saying the land was illegally taken by white settlers.

2000 - Mugabe's ruling ZANU PF party wins parliamentary polls amid charges of fraud and vote rigging by the opposition.

2001 - Zimbabwe suffers food shortages that government critics blame on farm seizures, but Mugabe blames on drought.

2001 - Several Western governments quietly withdraw economic aid over rights abuses by the government and Mugabe's land policy.

2002 - Mugabe wins new six-year term in elections. Observers condemn poll as flawed and unfair.

2002 - Commonwealth suspends Zimbabwe, while EU imposes travel sanctions and freezes assets of Mugabe's associates.

2002 - Collapse of commercial agriculture and poor weather contribute to serious food shortages. UN agencies, Britain and the U.S. help fund food aid.

2004 - The EU renews sanctions against Mugabe.

2005 - Mugabe's party wins parliamentary election.

2005 - The IMF begins process to expel Zimbabwe from the fund over dues unpaid since 2001.

2006 - Zimbabwe's annual inflation rises above 1,000 percent in April. Redenominated notes are issued in August.

2007 - Ruling ZANU PF adopts a motion to hold elections in 2008 in March and endorse Mugabe as its presidential candidate.

2007 - Government institutes price freeze in June, followed two months later by wage freeze.

2007 - There is a run on shops as goods disappear from shelves. Zimbabwe imports 60,000 tons of wheat to ease bread shortages. The government said it did not meet its annual consumption requirements of between 400,000 and 450,000 tons of wheat.

2007 - Zimbabwe announces inflation slowed to an annualized 6,592.8 percent in August from 7,634.8 percent in July.

2007 - Central bank raises its main lending rate to 800 percent from 650 percent on October 1 to fight inflation.

2007 - The central bank also says it will launch a new currency soon to try to curtail a thriving foreign exchange black-market.

2007 - Zimbabwe announces on October 17 that inflation has risen to a new record high of 7,982.1 percent year on year in September."

Makes you think, doesn't it?

-o00o-

You would have thought that after 27 years in power, that the ZANU PF government nucleus would be aware of Mugabe's ability to short-change, wriggle away from and generally superimpose his own needs within government.

"A new wave of political instability is rippling through the fragmented ruling ZANU PF party after President Robert Mugabe enlisted a notorious war veteran to whip up support ahead of the party's critical extraordinary congress in December.

Mugabe recently reinstated via the back door dismissed party member and vocal war veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda to campaign for his endorsement as ZANU PF's candidate for next year's presidential elections.

The move has further divided the party and heightened instability before the crucial congress at which Mugabe will desperately be seeking endorsement as the party's presidential election candidate next March.

It has also raised fresh fears ZANU PF could split if Mugabe continues to provoke worsening factionalism and infighting."

Mugabe believes himself to be the all-knowing, all-powerful and obviously will not consider standing down or not standing next year.

I love it when ZANU PF bickers amongst themselves as it means that they have their eye off the ball - the problem being that the ZRP, now used as a pro-ZANU PF whip, are ever-present and vigilant and beat, arrest and torture anyone who looks remotely interested in starting a protest of demonstration against Mugabe and his government.

"Sibanda is holding rallies around the country, urging party members to back Mugabe in December.

Mugabe failed to secure outright support for his candidacy during the party's conference last December and at the central committee meeting in March. He is expected to browbeat his candidacy at the meeting.

ZANU PF administration secretary Didymus Mutasa said at the weekend the congress would endorse Mugabe as the candidate, while spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira said last week all the top four party positions - president, two deputies and chairman - would be up for grabs."

It appears that ZANU PF is confused. Good!

"Others in the running are politburo member Simba Makoni and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono."

Could you imagine Gono as the country's next President?

-o00o-

In my head, I can hear Queen singing, "Another One Bites The Dust".

"South African retail giant Pick ‘n Pay says it suffered heavy losses on its Zimbabwean operations during the half-year to August, forcing it to write off its investments in the struggling southern African economy.

Ongoing economic problems in Zimbabwe erased a comfortable R23 million profit earned by the group from its Zimbabwean investments during the comparable period last year, forcing the retail giant to write off income from the country for the six months to August.

Pick ‘n Pay chairman Raymond Ackerman said although his company's stores in Zimbabwe were operating well, the South African group was expecting no income from there during the first half of the year.

Pick ‘n Pay has a stake in one of Zimbabwe’s leading retail chain, TM Supermarkets."

If this is the effect on a large company such as Pick 'n Pay, what hope do we have for the smaller companies in Zimbabwe - the small shops owned by families, be they black, white, coloured or indifferent? Just how are they meant to have survived the price slash and the ensuing losses?

I am fast coming to the conclusion that the price slash was a deliberate ploy by Mugabe and his government to give the people something else to think about while he railroaded amendement 17 through Parliament.

Mugabe has launched all manner of Operations at the population and these have all been forewarnings of bigger things to come, but the population has been so busy trying to survive the previous onslaught that there is little or nothing they can do in the face of a new campaign.

"TM Supermarkets is among several Zimbabwean businesses negatively affected by a hostile operating environment in the country, largely blamed on a plethora of populist economic policies and ill-conceived political decisions.

These include a controversial price freeze imposed in June when President Robert Mugabe ordered companies to slash prices by half.

Authorities followed the price freeze with a blitz on manufacturers and retailers, forcing them to reduce prices and arresting those who refused to comply with the directive."

-o00o-

"Police Officers from Harare Central Law and Order Division briefly detained 3 members from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) at a restaurant in Harare, saying they wanted WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams to surrender herself to Harare Central Police station. The 3 women, Clara Manjengwa, Lilian Nketula and Kesina Munda, were interrogated for about 2 hours outside on the pavement. The police accused them of taking part in WOZA demonstrations on Monday, and planning more protests in the future.

Williams said she refused to turn herself in and wondered why the police did not deal with whatever the issue is on Monday, when she was in custody at Harare Central all day. According to Williams, the 3 WOZA members were ordered to walk to the police station with the officers. Just outside Harare Central the officers asked for Z$5 million from each member. The women refused and insisted on being charged if they had committed any crime. They were released without charge."

This is not the first time that Williams has been a target for the ZRP - and the fact that she is outspoken and will stand in the face of any adversity is proof enough that she is an incredibly brave woman, and if the police want her - they will have to give a very good reason, and she will attend with the required legal representative...

Williams' colour is not an issue. She stands by women of Zimbabwe and WOZA makes no division in colour. But the ZRP will be targetting her as she is so easily identified.

Williams is forthright is her appraoch. "...the ordinary people have no platform to voice their anger about this. So we speak on their behalf."

-o00o-

Let me get this straight. You own a company and have earned foreign currency by making sales in the form of exports. The foreign currency is deposited in the company's bank account.

Now Gideon Gono and his merry men have taken over that foreign currency and in the event that you wish to use foreign curency to purchase any stock, you would have to apply for foreign currency and no doubt have to pay handsomely for the privilege...

"A mid-year monetary policy announcement by the Reserve Bank, effectively taking over foreign currency accounts held by exporters and NGO's, is now being implemented.

Last week some banks, including Barclays, sent out circulars to their corporate clients indicating that all foreign currency accounts held by exporters and NGO's were now under the Central Bank. This means all transactions made by forex account holders need the approval of the Central Bank. More worrying is that banks like Barclays have issued disclaimers saying they will not be held liable for any delays or claims not met."

Obviously this is the Mugabe government legalising the use of other peoples' foreign currency - in a word - THEFT...

"South African based businessman Mutumwa Mawere has in the past accused government of raiding foreign currency accounts to pay off arrears with the International Monetary Fund. Mhlanga says there is credibility in those claims and the new system implemented allows them to do exactly that."

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Wednesday, 17th October 2007

Howzit

A good hour later than usual as I struggled to get a signal from my ISP - a phone call proved useless - only increasing my blood pressure... and then suddenly, within minutes of the call, I was able to connect! Seven years of loyal custom obviously counts for nothing nowadays...

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

-o00o-

I absolutely loved the cartoon in today's issue of ZimOnline:

-o00o-

I have queried the lack of any prosecution of the people that assault the MDC and their allies. No one is charged with the murder of Gift Tandare, or the two men shot dead in Bulawayo recently... Just because Mugabe praised the police for beating the MDC leadership in March does not mean that he was right.

Being a member of ZANU PF - or their various wings, uniformed or otherwise - does not give than carte blanche to commit the crimes of assault, or murder.

"Zimbabwe’s main opposition on Tuesday demanded the prosecution of police officers and state security agents for allegedly torturing its activists arrested last March on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said the 34 activists were also suing Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi and Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri for Z$4 trillion in damages, vowing to end what it called the "the culture of impunity in state institutions."

"Apart from the $4 trillion that our members are demanding in damages from the state, we demand the immediate investigation of the heinous acts of torture against the detainees and the consequent prosecution of individual police officers and state security agents involved in the same," the party said in a statement."

Of course, the MDC will be hard pushed to find a Judge that is prepared to look at the merits of a case of this nature, as the judiciary has been bought by ZANU PF who have given them farms, fancy vehicles, pay increases and computers...

And even if the MDC was lucky enough to find a sympathetic Judge, any any in favour of the MDC would be ignored, as have so many other orders in the past.

ZANU PF is a law unto itself...

"The MDC activists spent up to three months in jail facing charges that they received training in warfare and insurgency work in neighbouring South Africa and planned to overthrow President Robert Mugabe and government.

The MDC denied plotting military insurgency, dismissing charges against its activists as politically motivated and trumped up, a claim upheld by the High Court in July when it freed the opposition party’s activists, saying the police had lied and fabricated evidence against them.

Harare lawyer Alec Muchadehama, representing the activists who all belong to the larger faction of the MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai, said the money the activists were claiming was for unlawful arrest and detention without trial, assault, torture, denial of food and lack of medical attention while in police custody.

"We have served the Minister of Home Affairs, the Police Commissioner and several other police officers fingered in the detention and torture of our clients," said Muchadehama."

This case will never be heard in a unbiased court - so the case is going to be seen as a taunt against the ruling party, and itself, will probably result in an escalation of violence against the opposition party activists... and anyone else that dares to be sympathetic...

-o00o-

And right on cue, we have a story of the ZRP assaulting demonstrators...

"Police on Tuesday severely assaulted and injured more than 30 members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) political pressure group for attempting to march to Parliament to protest against constitutional reforms agreed between President Robert Mugabe and the opposition last month.

Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party agreed in Parliament to amend Zimbabwe’s Constitution to bring forward parliamentary elections by two years so they will be held together with presidential elections in 2008.

The NCA and other civic society groups have opposed the constitutional changes, saying any process to amend the country’s governance charter should include all stakeholders and that what is needed are not piecemeal changes but wholesale constitutional reforms to produce a new and democratic constitution for the country.

In a statement, the NCA said its activists were on a peaceful march to Parliament to show their disapproval of Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill No. 18 when the police pounced, beating up and injuring 34 of the marchers."

As far as the ZANU PF regime is concerned, the police action was justified. About the only thing we haven't hear is a statement from Mugabe's Minister of Threats, Didymus Mutasa, saying that demonstrators could face live ammunition in their protests.

And this is acceptable to the Mugabe administration.

Don't obey our rule and you'll get blown away.

"We wonder why the regime still believes in bloodshed. We were merely exercising our right to demonstrate against something we abhor," the group said, adding that those injured were taken to a private hospital for treatment.

Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena confirmed the police had clashed with the NCA demonstrators but denied excessive force was used."

Spoken by a man who killed a child whilst drunk in charge of a motor vehicle - who has yet to be charged with any offence - of course he going to sing the ZANU PF party line...

-o00o-

"The lawyer representing the 75 activists from Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise who were arrested in Harare on Monday has reported that he was assaulted by a senior police official while attending to his clients.

Lawyer Tafadzwa Mugabe said he was patiently waiting inside the station for an Inspector Shumba, who was processing arrest sheets for WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams and other members who had been arrested. A Superintendent Tendere arrived with some riot police officers and began interrogating Tafadzwa about his presence at the Station. The Police Superintendent’s words soon turned to physical pushing and shoving. Tafadzwa said Tendere then hit him on the jaw with a left jab and ordered the riot police to throw him off the premises.

Fortunately Williams and the WOZA members were released without charge Monday evening. The group had staged a peaceful demonstration earlier to protest police brutality against its members. They marched up First Street to the parliament building’s steps where they intended to handover a report on political violence against their activists. It was here that they were arrested, after sitting down instead of dispersing when police arrived."

One place that the ZRP are most comfortable is in the police stations. I had cause about a year before I left Zimbabwe to go to Harare Central Police Station. Upon arrival, to report a case to them, I was manhandled into an office and my briefcase, which I was carrying was taken off me.

Once I had been forced to sit and listen to a lecture from some jumped up Section Officer, I was finally able to make my report (which was never actioned). My briefcase was returned to me - minus my cash float, my calculator and a set of Parker pens. The briefcase had combination locks, but that didn't stop whoever from forcing it open, rendering it useless.

When I went to my vehicle, there were traffic cops waiting for me who wanted to know why I was driving a vehicle without front parking lights (which I could see lying on the pavement nearby having been removed by someone whilst I was inside). They threatened me with a ticket, until I pointed out to them that the lights were just a few metres away and it was daylight anyway.

I was then told to leave - which I did - driving over to PGHQ where I took the matter up with senior personnel. Two days later the lights were returned with my Parker pens, but the money never resurfaced.

Now that was in 1997 - what must it be like now?

"The defiant lawyer returned to Harare Central on Tuesday and filed charges against the Superintendent who assaulted him. Tafadzwa said he was able to get into the police station because the officers at the entrance were not the ones that were ordered to block his entry. He also said as much as the environment is intimidating, he will continue to do his work as a lawyer."

The case against the Superintendent will never see the light of day - I'll put money of it...

-o00o-

In a move which I see as way overdue, the MDC have threatened to pull out of mediated talks if the violent activities against the opposition party does not stop.

But let's remember that ZANU PF in essence 'owe' one to the MDC for their support of the Constitutional Amendment 17... not that the ruling party intends to repay anything.

ZANU PF are aware that by escalating the violence, the MDC will walk away - that way the talks failure can be blamed on the MDC.

"Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Monday that his faction of the Movement for Democratic Change will quit South African-mediated crisis talks unless a stop is put to violence and intimidation accuses the ruling party of carrying out.

Tsvangirai did not say whether this would also mean a boycott of the elections due for early 2008. But he has previously said that his faction's participation in those elections depends on whether they shape up to be free and fair. Earlier elections, like the 2002 presidential election, have been marred by violence mainly against the opposition.

Tsvangirai’s statement differed significantly from remarks attributed to the secretary general of his faction, Tendai Biti, who was quoted by Web news agency ZimOnline as saying the MDC would stay with the negotiating process despite rising violence and intimidation of opposition members, "pursuing it to its logical conclusion."

One would think that Biti's remarks were made in innocence to the intention by Tsvangirai to issue the threat.

The mediated talks are a small part of the whole picture - and are basically carrying on to placate SADC. There has been little or no progress, apart from ZANU PF getting the MDC's support for the passing of Amendment 17. I see not 'payback' for that support - unless, of course, you take the violence as a reward...

"In a statement Monday, Tsvangirai faction spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the ruling party acted in bad faith because it has continued to "hound our supporters, brutally assaulting and attacking them against the spirit of the dialogue process." Since the negotiations began, police have barred 103 Tsvangirai faction rallies, he said.

In an interview, Tsvangirai told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that his party is committed to the talks - but added that there are rising doubts as to whether the ruling party is committed to the Pretoria-mediated negotiations."

-o00o-

And just a quick note before finishing this posting. I decided to have a look at The Herald's website this morning, as I was able to access the portal (which is not always the case here in the UK). I know that The Herald and the ruling party are virtually joined at the hip, but I was quite astounded that the headlines and ancillary stories were totally inconsequential and did not even give an idea of the true political climate in Zimbabwe, let alone the 'news'...

Nothing about the NCA protest and the resultant violence and arrests. Nothing about the WOZA protest - and subsequent arrests.

Nothing about Tsvangirai threatening to pull out of the SADC mediated talks. Nothing about anything really.

This is State-sponsored journalism where if they have nothing nasty to say about the opposition, and no adulating articles about their illustrious leader Mugabe, then the newspaper becomes a useless publication (I only ever bought The Herald to keep up with the hatch,match and dispatch - and the cryptic crossword...).

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Tuesday, 16th October 2007

Howzit

To start with, this is a picture show that is up on the BBC website. Entitled "Hardship In Harare" it shows the standard of life that currently exists in Zimbabwe. What struck me was the lack of hope on the faces of the people photographed.

-o00o-

I see that the Zimbabwean government has lost its manners again, appealing to the EU to tell the British Prime Minister to 'shut up'.

Why is it that if anyone says something about the Zimbabwean government that they don't like, that they come out fighting, but should a Western government say the same to the Zimbabwean government, they play the wounded party?

"The European Union should tell Prime Minister Gordon Brown to "shut up" on democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe ahead of an Africa-EU summit in December, Zimbabwe's information minister said on Monday.

Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told Portuguese radio station Renascenca that Brown had no right to lecture Zimbabwe when he himself was "running away" with power by taking over from Tony Blair without an election.

"Other EU countries should tell Gordon Brown to shut up," Ndlovu told the radio station. "Gordon Brown is not even qualified to talk to us on human rights and as you can see he failed his own country's internal democracy in Britain."

And I am not sure as to why the Zimbabwean government should even ask the EU as, should Mugabe attend the Lisbon summit, Brown has vowed not to.

"EU president Portugal is hosting the first summit of EU and African leaders in seven years in December but Brown has said he will not attend if Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe goes. Mugabe faces a travel ban in Europe.

The African Union supports Mugabe in attending the summit and Ndlovu said the issue was a closed chapter. "No one can stand between Portugal and inviting (all) heads of state from the African Union and European Union," he said.

A summit between the African Union and EU failed in 2003 after Britain and other EU states - who accuse Mugabe of rights abuses - refused to attend if Mugabe did. Portugal has said it will not discriminate in who it invites but has yet to send the invitations."

I do note, once again, that the Zimbabwean government is not denying the accusations, but is alleging themselves, that the abuses are just as bad in other countries...

-o00o-

I have never known Mugabe to forgo a trip elsewhere in the world. He loves travelling and probably has clocked up many more airmiles than we realise. I remember years ago, whilst I still lived in Zimbabwe, there was a cartoon in one the papers, in which someone is saying to the President, by way of a latter, "on one of your infrequent trips into Zimbabwe, please attend to x or y"...

His upcoming trip to Lisbon he will milk for all it is worth, and I wouldn't be surprised if we have a repeat of Lusaka, where regional leaders applauded his arrival.

"Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe plans to be at a European Union-Africa summit in December despite Britain's threat to boycott the talks if he attends, a senior Zimbabwean official said Monday.

"Our president will be at the summit," Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said in a telephone interview with Portugal's Renascenca radio station."

-o00o-

"The British Government will mount a total boycott of a forthcoming European Union and Africa summit if Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe attends.

David Miliband, Foreign Secretary, hit back at a Zimbabwean declaration that Mugabe was planning to defy Britain by attending a Lisbon meeting between EU and African leaders this December.

"If Robert Mugabe decides to come the summit there will be no ministerial representation," he said last night. "We don't think it will be anything other than a media circus if Robert Mugabe goes and that is why we are clear that if he goes Gordon Brown and I won't go."

I concur. Mugabe will play the victim and will claim that the West is mounting a personality attack upon him and also placing his government under undue pressure. This is Mugabe's way of shifting the focus, ever so cleverly, by keeping Zimbabwe in the news at the summit, but as the country that everyone loves to hate.

"Officials had hoped that Mugabe would spare the blushes of European leaders by not accepting an invitation to the summit, saving EU face while meeting African demands that Zimbabwe should be not be excluded from talks on their continent's future by former Western colonial powers.

But earlier yesterday, a senior Zimbabwean official said that Mugabe would attend the EU summit despite Britain's threat to boycott the talks.

"Our president will be at the summit,” Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said in an interview with Portugal's Renascenca radio station. Ndlovu claimed that Britain has no right to lecture Mugabe because Mr Brown had failed to call general elections after becoming Prime Minister this summer. "Other EU countries should tell Gordon Brown to shut up," he said. "Gordon Brown is not even qualified to talk to us on human rights and as you can see he failed his own country's internal democracy in Britain."

So Ndlovu says that Brown's not calling a general election is an abuse of human rights? How is this so? At least in Britain we have elections - not the shams that we have witnessed in Zimbabwe for the past 27 years!

-o00o-

And what would the announcement that Mugabe will attend be, without a little bit of gloating?

"The European Union-Africa summit planned for Lisbon in December will go ahead with or without British Premier Gordon Brown, the foreign ministers of South Africa and Portugal said Wednesday.

"A summit does not depend on one person and one person does not make a summit," South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said.

"For the record, the then British prime minister Tony Blair did not attend the previous Africa-EU summit in Cairo in the year 2000. And prime minister Gordon Brown was not at the United Nations General Assembly last month.

"We are optimistic that the Lisbon summit will go ahead and that we will have enough African and European leaders there to make it successful," she added."

In other words, Mugabe was always going to go - regardless of who or what boycotts the summit. I always knew that if Mugabe was invited, he would jump at the opportunity - if for nothing more than to call Brown's bluff and rub the noses of the West in it.

Except that Brown is not bluffing.

"Brown has said he will boycott the Lisbon summit if Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is permitted to break an EU travel ban to attend.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado said that as much as they would like Brown to be present at the summit, it would be a "mistake" not to have a complete African delegation."

Politics. Who would dabble in it?

"But we need to talk to African leaders whatever happens. To paralyse relations between Africa and Europe would be a huge strategic mistake."

-o00o-

This is not news - this is confirmation of what we have suspected all along. The point must be made, that the MDC has given its support to amendment 17 - but we have seen nothing of like value coming back from the ruling party - except, of course, an escalation of violence against the MDC and their officials...

"Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party on Monday said continuing violence against its supporters showed President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF party were not committed to dialogue.

Nelson Chamisa, the spokesman of the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC said ZANU PF militants had escalated violence against opposition supporters in the past weeks. He also accused the police of banning 103 opposition rallies since the beginning of dialogue under the mediation of South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki."

One begins to wonder just what the ruling party had promised in return for the support given to the amendment. No one has ever told us. Surely the support was not given as a token of confidence? Surely the MDC would not gamble the continuation of negotiations by lending support to the amendment?

I am absolutely convinced that the MDC would not gamble with the future of the country without having some sort of fall back position.

The ruling party has stepped up their violence against the opposition. Why have we not heard the outcry from the MDC negotiations team if the ruling party have not stood by their word?

"The MDC is dismayed by ZANU PF’s disdain of the SADC-initiated talks that are aimed at finding common ground between the regime and the opposition," said Chamisa.

"While the MDC and ZANU PF are engaged in dialogue in Pretoria, the regime has continued to hound our supporters, brutally assaulting and attacking them against the spirit of the dialogue process," he added."

What is to be gained here? The MDC can walk away from the negotiation table, but they have still lost by giving support to the amendment. Surely someone is to be held accountable in this?

-o00o-

As a male, I often find myself ignoring some of the hardships that accompany being a woman. Childbirth, mothering, menstruation - and of course, the mismatch of the sexes in the open market with a view towards salaries.

So when I read this, I felt so much better knowing that there are people in Zimbabwe who see the bigger picture and are prepared to do whatever it takes to look after women in Zimbabwe, no matter where they are...

"A group of top Zimbabwean businesswomen has sourced sanitary pads and food supplements for women serving jail terms in the country’s prisons where prisoners are living in de-humanising conditions and often suffer from malnutrition and other diseases as a result of food shortages.

The group had been touched by the plight of women in Zimbabwean prisons, many of whom do not get a chance to observe their reproductive rights as result of the shortage of sanitary pads in prisons.

The donation, coordinated by Harare businesswoman Abigail Magwenzi through her organisation called Celebrate A Sister, was sourced by Grace Muradzikwa, Pindie Nyandoro, Charity Jinya and Chipo Mutasa."

My hat is off to these women. In a crazy scenario as is presented in Zimbabwe today, the needs of others are often overlooked.

Prisons in Zimbabwe are of a horrendous standard and these women looking beyond themselves to the women in prison is to be hailed as a huge humanitarian service.

"We have signed a memorandum of understanding with ZPS and we will assist it with critical logistics such as sanitary pads and food supplements for children who live with their mothers in prisons as well as help with the rehabilitation of these female inmates," Magwenzi told journalists yesterday.

"The situation in the prisons is bad and we would like to help and do our role as women to help children some of who are suffering from malnutrition. It is only when you get in there that you will appreciate the magnitude of the problem," said Magwenzi who also announced plans to get a farm where the organisation would produce food for female prisoners and their children."

-o00o-

And to finish, staying with the plight of women in Mugabe's Zimbabwe...

"At least 75 activists from Women of Zimbabwe Arise and Men of Zimbabwe Arise were arrested outside the parliament building in central Harare, after staging a peaceful demonstration against police brutality against its members.

WOZA co-ordinator Jennie Williams was one of those arrested and taken to the central police station in the capital. Patuma Sonyowa who took part in the protest march said police needed five trucks to ferry the activists from parliament to the central police station.

"We started our march from First Street right up the parliament door steps where we intended to handover the report on political violence against our activists. It was also here where police ordered us to disperse but we refused and instead sat on the pavement. We were singing songs that denounced police brutality and we also called for a new constitution and the return of the rule of law," Sonyowa said."

As I have written so many times in the past - WOZA have a strategy that works. They first of all will not retaliate of beaten or arrested. And their protests are peaceful and never pre-announced. They just happen.

WOZA has an amazing communication within their number that everyone knows what is going on, and the 'need to know' basis is strictly abided by.

"The lawyers told us they were chased away by the police and that they were making frantic efforts to engage more senior practitioners to handle the case," said Sonyowa."

WOZA co-ordinator, Jennie Williams has been arrested more times than we realise. She always is treated badly and we have read how a member of the ZRP threatened her with death (although the ZRP do nothing to that individual to bring him to book - threatening someone with death, and that person believing it, is a crime in Zimbabwe) before and she continues with the ideals of the organisation.

An incredibly brave woman.

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Monday, 15th October 2007

Howzit

I am sorry that this posting is later than usual, but this was caused by my having to go into town to sort a couple of things out that just couldn't wait. It is so very true that time and tide (and banks) wait for no man. I hope that you all understand.

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

-o00o-

I am getting pretty good at preparing, recording and producing today's podcast a day early...

In ZNU 090, I look at the next step in the murder charge against the Finance Minister's wife (or rather, the dropping of the charge against her), the influence that Mugabe's reign will leave long after he has gone - no matter whether he goes to Lisbon in December or not, and the change in attitude by the Judge President less than a year after she admonished the government for their failures to support and finance the judiciary.

It can be heard here, or in the multi players in the right hand sidebar, or in Odeo here, can be downloaded here or played from within this posting using the player below...

powered by ODEO

-o00o-

This could be Robert Mugabe's one chance to put a lot of ills right - but, true to form, Mugabe will not see his way clear to repair any ill feeling or correct his offensive stance, and these farmers will be thrown forcibly off their land.

"The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) says it will continue to engage the government after a court ordered white Zimbabwean farmers to vacate farms earmarked for resettlement.

Several Zimbabwean white farmers now face an uncertain future after Chegutu magistrate Tinashe Ndokera last week ruled that those still on targeted farms after a 30 September deadline to vacate the properties were in breach of the law.

Any white farmer still on his land would be deemed to be trespassing on state property.

A number of white commercial farmers have so far been arrested for defying the government order to vacate their properties."

The farmers, upon vacating, are not permitted to take any farm machinery and will only been paid (!) according to State-sponsored valuations of irremovable improvement - some packages reportedly as low as between 3 and 10% of the true value.

But do the farmers have actually any choice when it comes to leaving the land, or the compensation paid?

No. If they don't get off the land, they are terrorised and brutalised - then thrown off, if not into jail. And the compensation? If they don't accept it, then they get nothing...

"As CFU we will encourage our members that we keep on engaging with the government and look for ways in which we can put these cases to finality," said Theron.

"We don’t want to get tied up in individual cases but we want to find ways of breaking the impasse and make sure that we reach a compromise with government."

Hasn't Mugabe worked out that his land grab is the single most destructive policy ever visited upon Zimbabwe in 27 years - and it ranks up there with Operation Murambatsvina..?

"I am not sure what the farmers would like to do but some have indicated that they would want to appeal while others are thinking of abandoning the legal route."

-o00o-

ZANU PF's attempts at controlling price by issuing wholesale (excuse the expression) orders that force the retailer to sell at prices below cost - and their subsequent attempt at raising prices in line with inflation have failed.

"Bakeries in Zimbabwe remained closed Sunday and shop shelves were empty of bread despite a 300 percent rise in the official price of a loaf.

The state Sunday Mail, a government mouthpiece, said the National Prices and Incomes Commission allowed the bread price to increase to Zimbabwe dollars 100,000 (US 20 cents, euro 14 cents at the dominant black market exchange rate) Friday as part of a review to help businesses remain viable.

The rise came after the government slashed the price of bread by more than a half in June aimed at fighting the world's highest official inflation.

Bread, the cornmeal staple, meat and other basics then disappeared from store shelves as businesses were forced to sell their goods at below production costs."

Each day, as we watch events unfold, we see the ability to purchase daily necessities either grow smaller, stumble and fall, and then stop. What do normal Zimbabweans have instead of toast and coffee in the morning? School children cannot be expected to make it through the day without something substantial in their stomachs...

The last time I looked, "fried fillets of fresh air" have absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever.

"The independent National Bakers' Association said chronic bread shortages would continue despite the price rise until flour supplies improved.

"Only a few bakers have flour stocks... the rest are likely to remain closed," said Vincent Mangoma, chairman of the association.

Earlier this month, the agriculture ministry blamed daily power outages in the crumbling economy for disruption in production of irrigated wheat, with harvests two thirds of what was required.

Acute shortages of hard currency have delayed wheat imports."

More ducking and diving by the Mugabe administration - or should that be 'maladministration'?

-o00o-

Private families in Zimbabwe have enough to contend with each day, trying to ensure that their families have food and shelter, without the education sector demanding money from those who have children at school, to keep teachers at the various workplaces.

"Several Zimbabwean schools have ordered parents to pay a "retention allowance" to teachers in a desperate attempt to stem the mass exodus of experienced staff, ZimOnline has learnt.

Zimbabwean teachers, who last week ended a two-week strike over poor pay and working conditions, earn about Z$14 million a month, a figure which is below the poverty datum line (breadline) that stands at Z$16 million.

Hundreds of teachers have fled the country in search of better paying jobs in neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Botswana and as far as Australia, Britain and New Zealand.

To stem the mass exodus, government schools in the second city of Bulawayo have introduced the novel idea of 'retention allowances' with some schools ordering parents to pay between Z$1 million - $2 million to "assist" teachers."

Whilst I understand the need for extra finance for teachers - and I also respect their importance in the society, and will not belittle it one bit - but why should the parents of children pay when they already pay school fees?

"That is why we have always asked for better salaries and improved working conditions to avoid a situation where our teachers are reduced to surviving on donations and charity like what is happening.

It is sad that they have to ask for donations from parents when it is the job of the government to pay teachers."

Whilst the government had stated that this practise is illegal. What is even more disturbing is the situation that prevails that means that parents are obliged to supplement the salaries of professional people - all because the government has let society down.

"We have heard such reports from schools but it is not part of government policy and it’s illegal as it marginalises the poor that cannot afford to pay."

-o00o-

What a way to run a country!

I would hazard a guess that in future generations, economic students will be obliged to study the Mugabe regime as a 'how not to' example - but when even the smallest thing like a satirical play is stopped because of Mugabe is due in town...

"An increasingly paranoid police has again stopped the performance of another provocative theatrical satire titled "Overthrown" as artists step up their challenge against President Robert Mugabe’s controversial rule.

The play was set to be staged on Friday at Amakhosi Arts Centre in Zimbabwe’s second largest city of Bulawayo.

Police also ordered the premature closure of the venue which has arts offices, a restaurant and theatres, where the play was set to perform the same day Mugabe was visiting the city on official business to cap graduating university students.

Agents from the Police Internal Security Intelligence (PISI) told artists and guests, who had come to watch the satire, that they were under instruction from their "commanders" to stop the play. They then ordered more than 100 artists and guests to disperse and the centre to close prematurely.

"The play is not going ahead and that is an order from our commanders. Everyone must now disperse," one of the PISI officers said to grumblings from the artists and guests who soon dispersed after the officers warned of "serious trouble" if the artists defied the order."

Zimbabwe is increasingly becoming a country which is run on fear, terror and threats. And yet regional leaders support Mugabe in his endeavours and people in the country admire him...

Why?

Because he is doing - and getting away with - the things that they would like to do? Or has Mugabe shown them that he is about the only man in the world that can stand up to the 'oppressive' West - whilst simultaneously oppressing his own people?

"Serious trouble" is in reference to the unleashing of the brutal riot police who beat up people indiscriminately in similar situations.

"Overthrown", written by Stanley Makuwe and produced and directed by playwright Cont Mhlanga, generally reflects the deepening political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.

However, police were adamant the play deliberately targets Mugabe and that Mhlanga and his artists wanted to embarrass the 83-year old President by staging the satire on the same day he was visiting Bulawayo."

Another question is why would Mugabe want to visit Bulawayo? The southern half of the country is often ignored and sidelined by the Mugabe regime. It has a chronic water emergency - but Mugabe remains unmoved on that - even though he is the only person that can initiate any recovery.

The man is paranoid. Any other leader would allow a satirical play to go ahead as it is an 'easing of springs' by the public, and by allowing that play to go ahead, the leader is seen to be benevolent and understanding.

Not so Mugabe...

-o000-

"The shops are empty, petrol is only available on the black market, and the country’s once abundant wildlife is under threat from hungry poachers - so come to Zimbabwe for a holiday.

Exhibitors at a four-day tourism fair in Harare made no bones about the difficulties they face selling the country as a destination.

"Zimbabwe is treated with strong suspicion, as if it’s another part of the world in the mould of Darfur," said one, who has taken part in government-sponsored promotions abroad.

"Convincing tourists they can come here and enjoy themselves without a scene requires all the energy a marketer can muster in the world."

In fact the country has world-class attractions, from Victoria Falls on the border with Zambia to the ruins of Great Zimbabwe in the south-east, but nowadays visitors only have to share them with a few other intrepid travellers."

I agree that Zimbabwe has some of the most beautiful things in the world to view - Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe, the Matopos, Chimanimani, Chinhoyi Caves... But with an oppressive government in power, the joy of visiting anyone of these stupendous sights in spoiled, because a tourist with a camera is suspicious.

Two photographs (melded together) I took in the Chimanimani near Skyline
Junction in about 1989 whilst visiting friends in Chipinge...

Tourists with foreign currency and fancy cameras are targets.

Hotels and restaurants charge for meals in foreign currency and meals are hard to come by.

How can they serious expect someone to come on holiday to Zimbabwe when the people of Zimbabwe - the very fabric of that country's make-up - is impoverished, oppressed, bullied, beaten and silenced (unless they are ZANU PF supporters)?

What must they think tourist think when they see a few thousand ex-war combatants staging a public march in Bulawayo - singing and dancing - chanting for revenge on the very people that they see as opposition - even within their own party?

What must they think when tourists read of the violence, the deaths of people at the hands of the ruling party?

What must the tourists think when they cannot go on a game viewing trip because a) there is no fuel, and b) there is no game?

Who would want to go to Zimbabwe for a holiday?

"Given the political challenges facing Zimbabwe it’s been difficult convincing buyers, particularly in the West, that it’s a safe destination," the exhibitor added.

In keeping with Mr Mugabe’s 'Look East’ policy, Harare is now trying to draw in tourists from Asia, and the few European buyers present said they were only there because of pleas from Zimbabwean embassies in their home countries.

The authorities claim tourist arrivals were up 24 per cent in the first half of this year, to just over a million, although all statistics in Zimbabwe have to be treated with caution and most visitors only go to Victoria Falls, many of them on day trips from Zambia.

"It’s politics at the end of the day, if it doesn’t change, we will continue witnessing marginal improvements for many years to come," said a local hotel chain representative."

And good luck to them.

"Tourism was once a valuable source of foreign exchange, and officials at the show followed Robert Mugabe’s practice of blaming the West for their problems, rather than his own gross human rights violations.

"Because of the barbaric onslaught on Zimbabwe in the past six weeks by some countries in the west led by the United Kingdom, a good number of our buyers from those markets have withdrawn their participation at this years’ Travel Expo," said Karikoga Kaseke, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.

"We don’t care, it’s their own funeral, they are drinking poison," he added, in a not entirely welcoming manner."

No. Not their funeral. It's avoiding the possibility of someone else funeral...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Sunday,14th October 2007

Howzit

I was messing about on the internet last evening (as you do) waiting on the England/France rugby match, and I discovered VodPod. "What's that?" I hear you say. You know how I am always putting up video clips to entertain you? Well, some clever people have taken it to another level. Just look in the right hand sidebar and see for yourself.

Good fun!

I will put up some more Zimbo videos in the next few days (I don't want it to get too long - or I might me obliged to move it further down the blog...).

Enjoy!

-o00o-

Political stances are being made by all manner of hopefuls within ZANU PF.

"War veterans have threatened to roll out a new wave of protests against senior ZANU PF officials ahead of the ruling party's potentially explosive special congress set for December.

The threats, which bring a new dimension to the long running succession war, are directed at ruling party officials who are opposed to the former freedom fighters’ campaign to mobilise support for President Mugabe.

Mugabe, in power since the country’s independence in 1980, is battling internal opposition as he seeks to represent the ruling party in next year’s presidential election."

This is typical Mugabe-esque support. If the support is not given voluntarily, then it is to be given under duress.

"The war veterans - led by Jabulani Sibanda who has been secretly brought back into the fold by Mugabe after he was expelled from ZANU PF in 2004 for disrespecting the PF ZAPU old guard - have been holding so-called solidarity marches in support of the ageing leader’s candidature.

Vice-President Joseph Msika, ZANU PF chairman John Nkomo, politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa and other former senior PF ZAPU leaders have openly criticised Sibanda’s involvement in Mugabe’s campaign. Sources in the war veterans body revealed these senior politicians would be the target of the demonstrations.

Sibanda said the ex-combatants were soon going to launch a campaign to remove officials "surrounding the President who are corrupt and tribalists"."

It should be noted that those that the veterans are prepared to protest about are Matabele... Mugabe's nemesis...

"We want to remove ZANU PF officials who are known for peddling tribal wars. Let me assure you that the war veterans are going to demonstrate against tribalists," Sibanda said. He said Mugabe was "a man of wisdom surrounded by corrupt ministers," who were destroying the economy.

"Action will be taken against the ministers," he said. Mugabe is battling a faction led by former army general, Solomon Mujuru, which is pushing for Vice-President Joice Mujuru to represent the ruling party in the elections.

Rural Housing and Social Amenities minister Emmerson Mnangagwa is also said to be harbouring ambitions to succeed Mugabe but his faction backed by war veterans has reportedly struck a deal to back the President’s re-election campaign for now in return for future support."

We watch and wait. But I do love it when the 'patriotism' displayed by various parts of ZANU PF borders on obsession.

-o00o-

Further to the stand being made by the war veterans, the leader has come out with some very strong comments.

"Jabulani Sibanda, a former ZANU PF provincial chairman and war veterans' leader, has told ruling party heavyweight in Matabeleland to openly campaign for a candidate of their choice in next year's Presidential elections or shut up.

Sibanda has raised the ire of the politicians by holding marches across the country aimed at mobilising support for President Robert Mugabe, who is battling to secure another term of office, against a groundswell of opposition to his rule.

The marches are being held less than two months before ZANU PF holds an extraordinary congress, which will decide the party’s presidential candidate for 2008 harmonised polls."

It concerns me that no one is allowed to think or say anything anti-Mugabe, but here we have an ex-freedom fighter able to mouth off all manner of veiled threats at one of the Vice-Presidents. Is Mugabe really 'more equal' than others? Obviously he is - but when we have people openly threatening the top brass of the ruling party, is there no provision to prevent this (not that I care one iota, but I do ask in the spirit of keeping the right side of the law)?

"Many senior ZANU PF politicians have avoided campaigning for Mugabe, who is expected to seek endorsement as the ZANU PF candidate for the 2008 elections at the extraordinary congress.

But war veterans led by Sibanda continue to march across the country in support of Mugabe. The move has angered politicians in Matabeleland.

Effort Nkomo, the ZANU PF spokesperson, said Bulawayo was a "disciplined province" and would not join any of Sibanda’s marches.

ZANU PF national Chairman John Nkomo warned Sibanda to stop the marches. This was echoed by Vice-President Joseph Msika, who said Sibanda had "no mandate to campaign" for the party. He said the war veteran had been expelled from the party "a long time ago".

A defiant Sibanda told The Standard last week he had appealed against his suspension to both the Central Committee and the Congress and, on the basis of that appeal, he remained an ordinary party member of ZANU PF."

And so the powerplay continues. I love it, because it diverts attention within the ruling party away from the oppression of the opposition party and their allies. It costs time, people and money to fight in-party, all of which the ruling party can ill-afford.

"I did not need any permission from any of the heavyweights to carry on with the marches. If they have any other candidate, they should come in the open and campaign for their candidate. I have come in the open and I am actively campaigning for President Mugabe," said Sibanda.

"I am doing the marches as a war veteran in support of my patron President Mugabe. In ZANU PF, I am an ordinary member and as an ordinary member, I have a right to campaign for the President of my party," said Sibanda. "The constitution allows me to do that, and that is precisely what I am doing."

-o00o-

"The High Court has ordered State security agents to stop interfering with the memorial service for the late opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) chairman, Isaac Matongo."

Which is like waving a red rag to a bull. Not only will they ignore and defy the order and interfere, but the fact that the MDC managed to get an order against them, but the reaction will be even more vicious because of it.

And I doubt very much whether there will be any follow-up by the courts, the police, anyone. Because Mugabe has the leadership and all his various extensions of power in play, and no amount of legal wrangling will prevent a beating being issued, or a order being obeyed that seeks to protect the MDC.

"In August the police barred MDC activists, relatives and friends from holding the memorial service at the Matongo rural home in Gutu.

This prompted Matongo’s wife, Evelyn Masaiti, to lodge an application with the High Court.

The order cited nine respondents including the Minister of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi, Commissioner of Police Augustine Chihuri and Officer Commanding Gutu district.

High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu ordered the respondents or anyone acting through them to stop interfering with the memorial service proceedings.

"The respondents, their agents or anyone acting through them, be and are hereby interdicted, restrained and prohibited from harassing, assaulting, threatening, intimidating or dispersing any person or persons invited or attending the memorial service proceedings of the late Isaac Matongo..." said Justice Bhunu.

The order also bars the police from stopping anyone from attending the memorial and further interdicts police from barricading roads."

No court order is going to stop the ruling party's agents from attending and causing trouble. The MDC members will find themselves besieged and will all incur a beating. With absolutely no legal recourse.

"Attempts to frustrate, interrupt or disrupt such proceedings is tantamount to disrespect for the dead."

-o00o-

"Residents in urban areas across the country must brace for shocking municipal bills this month-end after government set aside it controversial price controls and gave councils permission to increase tariffs, backdating them to September, The Standard has learnt."

A perfect example of Mugabe's rule. One rule for the ruling party - another rule for everyone else. And they compound the insult by backdating the increase.

What on earth did the price slash order achieve - especially if the order is rescinded at will by the government and backdated - for a government controlled money maker (the councils)?

"The government’s approval comes amid a fresh round of steep price increases of almost all goods and services with the State taking a back seat. Schools have also started asking parents to pay "top up" fees barely two months into the third term because of spiralling inflation.

Last month, President Robert Mugabe, through the Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act, outlawed all rates and fee increases linked to the Consumer Price Index for the next six months in a desperate bid to fight inflation.

But in an apparent policy reversal, Partson Mbiriri, the Secretary for the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, recently wrote to all provincial administrators informing them that all councils had been allowed to effect tariff increases proposed in their budgets for this year."

With no regard to the needs and wants of the paying population, the Mugabe administration 'rules' as much as it ruins - with even less regard to the economy of the country which is about as unproductive as it can be without complete and total collapse.

Supplementary budgets are bigger than the original budget. Expenditure exhausts coffer within a couple of months of being filled. The Datum Poverty Line for a family of five is very close to the ZW$20 million mark - and yet Mugabe is still intent on spending money which the government doesn't have.

Of course, he doesn't care, because by the time that his government falls from grace, his government will be a collection of old men, who could no longer care for their own futures, let alone the futures of the population they swore to serve and protect.

-o00o-

And finally, to back some of my comments I have made about the Lancaster House Agreement regarding the land grab, this was published yesterday on Uganda's New Vision website...

"Laman Masaba's article about Zimbabwe in The New Vision issue of October 11 on page 13, is wrong in the assertion it makes that people should "Blame Britain for Zimbabwe's woes". Masaba is mistaken in his claims regarding the UK's commitment to addressing the important issue of land reform in Zimbabwe.

Although the Lancaster House agreement, that brought an end to the conflict in Zimbabwe, contained no specific financial commitment on land reform, the UK government made clear at the time that it would support land reform and encourage others to do the same. The UK itself contributed £47m between 1980 and 1985 specifically for land reform. All but £3m of this had been spent by 1988. The £3m surplus remained unused when the UK land resettlement grant was closed in 1996.

At the Harare Land Conference in 1998, Zimbabwe, the UK and others endorsed principles for further land reform: transparency, respect for the rule of law, poverty reduction, affordability and consistency with Zimbabwe's wider economic interests. The subsequent flouting of these principles by the Zimbabwean Government made it impossible for the UK and others to assist land reform further. Similar principles were again agreed at a meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, including the UK and Zimbabwe, in Abuja in 2001."

I think I can quite happily and quietly rest my case...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Saturday, 13th October 2007

Howzit

I note that there are not that many articles concerning Zimbabwe on the internet this morning, but that doesn't mean that everyone has lost interest, it just means that nothing of any great interest has happened...

-o00o-

I have once again dropped the price of "Without Honour" - and I think that this time it can stay at £9.99 (plus postage)... I never intended to make loads of money out of it anyway!

Price slash in time for consideration as a Christmas gift for someone...

-o00o-

My knee jerk reaction to this is that it was a prayer meeting that precipitated the violence in March of this year when we read of MDC activists, officials and even Morgan Tsvangirai having seven shades beaten out of them.

Who can forget the photos of Grace Gwinjeh lying on hospital, Sekai Holland bruised and battered, and Tsvangirai being discharged from hospital with a head wound - whilst Mugabe appeared on international television saying how proud he was of his police force, and if need be, they would 'bash' people again?

"Churches across Zimbabwe today hold prayer meetings seeking divine intervention in a country battling an unprecedented economic crisis, food shortages and record-breaking inflation.

The Ecumenical Peace Initiative Zimbabwe (EPIZ) - an umbrella assembly bringing together the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ) and the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) - organised prayers for the nation.

Last year, the EPIZ presented a document to President Robert Mugabe titled "The Zimbabwe We Want: Towards a National Vision for Zimbabwe" that called for dialogue between Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party and the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change party.

EPIZ communications officer Gladmore Dzunga on Friday told ZimOnline that the police had cleared the prayer meetings that take place between 1pm and 5pm."

Police clearance was not an issue in March as the MDC had secured a High Court order reversing a police denial of the meetings.

I watch, and wait...

"Under tough government security laws, Zimbabweans must first seek police approval to gather in groups of more than three to discuss politics.

The church is exempt from this requirement. However, the police have broken up prayer rallies before which they claim are political gatherings.

For example, last March heavily armed police officers beat up opposition leaders, church and civic society activists who were attending a prayer rally in Harare’s Highfield suburb. The police said the prayer meeting was illegal because the organisers had not sought permission from the law enforcement agency."

-o00o-

"Three more white farmers have been arrested in Zimbabwe for defying a government order to leave their farms, reports said Friday.

The three, from the eastern farming districts of Rusape and Nyazura, have already appeared in court and have been released on bail, the state-controlled Manica Post newspaper reported.

Kenyon Ziehl, Peter Landos and Lodewyk Van Rensburg were arrested last week for failing to vacate their farms by September 30, the paper said.

Having been duly notified of the expiry of that date, they failed to vacate the farms. They had no right to continue occupying the farms, state prosecutor Tafara Chawatama told the Rusape magistrates court."

Here's a question. Even if the farmers had got off the farms in good time - just how long was the Mugabe administration going to make them wait before paying them compensation for improvement on the farms? And, even more importantly, how much?

I find it unacceptable that Mugabe's government should expect the farmers to leave at a moment's notice, and they are not allowed to take any of their farm equipment with them, and yet are expected to be able to survive on a daily basis on virtually nothing, whilst the land they have lost remains unworked, and they, the farmers, remain unpaid - even a trivial amount.

"Independent reports suggest that as many as 200 of those remaining white farmers now face eviction.

On Thursday a magistrate in the central town of Chegutu ordered that 11 white farmers from surrounding farming districts would have to stand trial for defying the eviction orders.

If convicted of breaching Zimbabwe's land laws the farmers could face two-year jail terms or hefty fines.

The Chegutu farmers had wanted their case referred to the Supreme Court to give them the chance to challenge the land laws that they say are violating their constitutional rights."

-o00o-

"The Zimbabwean government authorised Friday new increases in the prices of basis foodstuffs in a bid to ease widespread shortages that followed an order for retailers to halve their tariffs.

The National Incomes and Pricing Commission announced it had approved rises of between 50 percent and 200 percent for a range of staples including a bag of sugar which will now cost 255232 Zimbabwe dollars, up from 84,000 dollars.

A packet of milk has been increased by 51.51 percent while retailers will also be able to raise the price of a bag of fertilizer by 82.39 percent to cost 893714 dollars."

The question must now be asked... What good did the price slash bring? Companies have made a huge loss, being obliged by Presidential order later ratified into law, to operate at a loss. Now, a few months later we see increases be authorised that return the prices to their former level - whilst the costs have increased, and companies still operate at a loss.

"Supermarket shelves were left bare and shopowners have been battling to replenish their stocks since June when President Robert Mugabe's government launched Operation Dzikisa (Reduced Prices), forcing shops and businesses to halve their prices.

Mugabe accused businesses of colluding with his foes in the West to push prices beyond the reach of many and ignite a popular revolt against his rule."

Like so many of Mugabe's 'ventures' the price slash has caused untold misery and unhappiness - and has cost many people their life savings - with no advantage being played out for the economy. What an absolute waste.

"Central Bank chief Gideon Gono promised last week that he would help to to restock empty shelves by the end of the month."

A bit pointless stocking shelves if the goods for sale are so expensive. A false economy - a false dawn...

-o00o-

The judiciary has enough power to stop this sort of thing. But instead, the courts make orders - many of which are ignored deliberately - and then the payback starts. What is stopping the police from taking Nyathi to hospital as ordered, allowing him to receive minimal treatment, and then torturing him again once they take him back into custody?

Nothing whatsoever.

"A magistrate in Chipinge on Thursday ordered MDC activist Charles Nyathi to be rushed to hospital for treatment after he was badly tortured in police cells. Nyathi is the information secretary for Chipinge.

The 27 year-old self employed Nyathi, who has a wife and small daughter, was arrested on Monday by the police in Chipinge following political disturbances that saw at least 10 MDC supporters sustaining injuries in violence ignited by ZANU PF councillors."

The above paragraph shows the imbalance in policing in Zimbabwe. ZANU PF starts the violence, and MDC people are arrested.

"Nyathi who had visible cuts and abrasions when he appeared in court to answer charges of public violence was later released on Z$500000 bail. He had some of his front teeth knocked out and is also suspected to have suffered a broken jaw.

The MDC district chairman for Chipinge, Godfrey Chenjerai, said many of the party’s activists are leaving police cells so seriously ill that instead of going home, they have to be taken straight to hospital."

But will the watching world, or the African regional leaders do anything to curb this practise? Forget it! Mugabe is an icon to them and he and his government and the various affiliates and allies can do no wrong.

As I have said so many times in the past - Mugabe's government has legalised murder - but only if ZANU PF is the perpetrator.

-o00o-

Staying on that sort of line of tack, "Tortured Movement for Democratic Change activists, accused by the government of petrol-bombing public institutions in March this year, have sued the State for a record 3.8 trillion dollars.

A statement released by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition on Friday said the separate claims for damages by 34 opposition activists arising from unlawful arrest, detention without trial, assault, torture and denial of food as well as medical attention came after the state withdrew charges against them last week for lack of evidence."

Whether the case ever make court for decision is one thing, and if any court in the land is prepared to rule against ZANU PF (which would be openly disobeyed anyway...), remains to be seen.

"The state had alleged that the MDC activists had attended terrorist training programmes and were responsible for the bombing of a Marimba Police Station among other public institutions."

The case fell to pieces when the State was unable to prove the existence of a farm in South Africa where the alleged training took place.

The activists were released upon the collapse of the case - much the worse for wear having been in custody for so long...

-o00o-

"Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, honoured us with her presence this past week, admiring our scenery, singing "Shosholoza" and making the obligatory pilgrimage to the sainted Nelson Mandela. She found the experience very moving, she said.

But like George W Bush before her, apparently she came here to betray a principle, sell out or to be duped - on Zimbabwe. And our president, sitting beside her, once again made promises which he surely must have known he's unlikely to keep.

A mini-tussle is going on between the European Union and African leaders over a summit to take place in Lisbon in December this year. Some EU countries rightly want to exclude Robert Mugabe from the summit in line with EU sanctions against his country. The EU has imposed a travel ban against 131 Zimbabwean politicians, including Mugabe. Typically the Africans would have none of it. The EU, they say, cannot decide the composition of their delegation for them."

African regional leaders are allying themselves with Mugabe and have stated that if he is not invited they will boycott. Of course, the way to make everybody happy would be if Mugabe were to be invited, but decides not to go...

"Before leaving for her African safari, Merkel's officials let it be known that she would not mince her words on human rights abuses, especially in Ethiopia, and that she would read Thabo Mbeki the riot act on the mess in Zimbabwe. But once seated next to Mbeki, she suddenly became a pussycat. Yes, she said as Mbeki nodded approvingly, Mugabe should be allowed to go to Lisbon. She lost her nerve. Her stand is likely to sway other countries. Poland has since come out in support of Mugabe's presence in Lisbon."

(The "Shosoloza" link above will take you to the YouTube video of that song being sung by Helmut Lotti.)

Like so many other leaders in the free world, when it comes to voicing an opinion about Mugabe and his activities in Zimbabwe, she lost her bottle.

Pathetic.

"African leaders have decided to avert their eyes from the suffering in Zimbabwe. Europe should not emulate their callousness."

-o00o-

It is hard to believe that the situation in Ethiopia is so bad that the people from there seek refuge in Zimbabwe? It is almost beyond belief!

"Zimbabwean police have arrested 51 Ethiopian nationals believed to have escaped from a refugee camp in the capital, reports said Friday. The 51 were arrested on board a bus bound for Zimbabwe's border with neighbouring South Africa, the official Herald daily said.

"We sent them back to their refugee camp in Harare," Lancelot Matange, a senior police officer in southern Zimbabwe, was quoted as saying.

None of the Ethiopians had passports, the paper said. Ethiopian refugees often cross Zimbabwe as they try to illegally enter South Africa."

Of course they would want to cross the border into South Africa. Who wouldn't? Leaving Ethiopia to live in a refugee camp in Zimbabwe is rather like jumping from the pot into the fire. No one wins...

-o00o-

Take care.

'debvhu

Friday, 12th October 2007

Howzit

Before doing ANYTHING today, I want to publicly thank my webmaster for the stalwart work he does in the back ground with "Messages from Zimbabwe" and "Without Honour". Not only has he designed and built both sites, but he tolerates me flying articles and 'funnies' at him that I need loaded - when I should just learn how to do it myself... {Insert grimace here.} And then add in that he hosts both websites...

Seriously, CG - my huge thanks for you assistance, tolerance and input. It is appreciated muchly!

-o00o-

Foreign currency mid-rates updated...

-o00o-

Those of you that listened to this week's ZNU podcast would have heard and, hopefully, understood my indignation at the Finance Minister's wife being given all sorts of latitude with regards to a murder charge hanging over her head.

"The patronage system that keeps Mugabe's regime together came out clearly this week when Vice President Joseph Msika helped a minister's wife escape the murder charges she was facing.

The wife of Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi was arrested at the end of September after allegedly leading a group of ten soldiers in fatally assaulting Fibion Mafukidze, a former farm worker accused of steal