July 24, 2008 - September 13, 2008
Zimbabwe: Power-sharing deal hailed
Posted: Saturday, September 13, 2008
Herald Reporters
September 13, 2008
The Herald
Ordinary Zimbabweans, political parties, analysts, church leaders, captains of industry, trade unions, the United Nations and the European Union have hailed the signing of a power-sharing deal by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations.
They urged the political parties to implement what has been agreed upon so that ordinary Zimbabweans benefit from the deal.
The three principals to the inter-party talks sealed the deal on Thursday night under the facilitation of South African President Thabo Mbeki.
The principals are President Mugabe of Zanu-PF, MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai and MDC president Arthur Mutambara.
Immediate-past leader of the Heads of Christian Denominations Bishop Trevor Manhanga said the signing of the deal was a positive development adding that was what the church has always been praying for.
"As church leaders we are very happy and we regard the signing of the deal as an answer to our prayers.
"We hope that the entire nation will support it," said Bishop Manhanga, who two years ago led a team of church leaders to meet President Mugabe at State House in their bid to find a lasting solution to the country's political and economic challenges.
He said the nation should not be deterred by some outside forces that might try to rubbish it, saying the country should remain focused.
"Other people might not be happy with the deal and we should be prepared for that, especially outsiders. This is a deal by Africans, for Africans, even if some outsiders are sceptical, we must give it our support," he said.
Former Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce leader Mrs Mara Hativagone said the business community was grateful over the signing of the power-sharing deal.
"We are very ecstatic. A huge milestone has been moved and we are hopeful that the economy will improve in a big way. We feel very relieved because industry was now on its knees. The signing of the deal is like a new lease of life breathed into industry," she said.
Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions president Mr Alfred Makwarimba said the signing of the power-sharing deal would naturally bring relief to workers.
"Naturally, we are happy if the deal has prospects of making workers begin to go about their work and realising value from their efforts. If the deal will address these issues, we will definitely support it," said Mr Makwarimba.
His counterpart at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Mr Lovemore Matombo, said while the deal was a positive development, he would be in a better position to comment after his union has gone through the entire document.
"It is difficult to comment substantively when you do not know the contextualisation of the deal. What we need is a document that will result in the restoration of people's freedom and if that deal seeks to do that, then we are home and dry," said Mr Matombo.
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer Mr Eldred Masunungure echoed Mr Matombo's sentiments, and applauded the deal as it sought to create a political settlement in the country.
"I am not privy to the details of the deal, but the news of reaching a political settlement is a welcome development if it will unlock the multi-layered crisis in the country," said Mr Masunungure.
"In light of the fact that we have not had sight of the actual document, we will treat it with cautious optimism. The real litmus test will be on the implementation. That is what is going to measure its credibility, integrity and its capacity to deal with the multi-faceted challenges the country is facing."
The Zimbabwe Organisation of Opposition Political Parties secretary-general, Mr Gondai Vutuza, said his organisation welcomed the development.
"The signing will definitely give many people new hope and we look forward to the signing ceremony," said Mr Vutuza, who is also Zanu (Ndonga) organising secretary.
The signing of the power-sharing deal is a culmination of intensive and protracted negotiations by representatives from the three political parties.
Zanu-PF was represented by the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa; and the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Cde Nicholas Goche.
MDC-T was represented by secretary-general Tendai Biti and deputy national treasurer Elton Mangoma while MDC was represented by the party's secretary-general Welshman Ncube and his deputy, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga.Ordinary Zimbabweans welcomed the signing of the deal between Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations to form an inclusive
Government urging the parties to bury their differences and work together for the betterment of the country.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Karamba Muchero of Harare said the deal was a welcome development and it was a major stride towards economic development.
"The signing of the deal is a welcome development. We hope everything will go on well. It also came at the right time when things were getting tougher.
"Our leaders should bury their differences and work together in harmony for the sake of the country. On Monday there will be great joy in Zimbabwe and we hope the police will be able to contain the situation," he said.
Mr George Mudzingwa echoed the same sentiments saying that Zimbabwe was ready to revive its economy.
"I think this is a very good development for the nation of Zimbabwe. It brings hope and sanity to the nation and generally a conducive environment for business. We salute all the parties who signed the agreement not forgetting the patient President Mbeki, we give him honour," he said.
Former Studio 263 actor Denzel Burutsa said the deal was a positive step that will heal the nation and usher peace and unity among Zimbabweans.
"I hope it's not all talk and no action because the deal has brought relief among the Zimbabwean population," he said.
Mr Mike Mandi said now that the deal has been signed Zimbabweans should stop fighting and work together to overcome the challenges the country is facing.
"I think the deal will let us overcome the challenges. We also hope it will benefit ordinary Zimbabweans. The signing itself showed that the party leaders have the nation at heart and should continue working for the country," he said.
Ms Etina Washaya also welcomed the deal adding that it showed political maturity among the party leaders.
The Zimbabwe National Liberation Supporters' Association has welcomed the deal reached between the country's three main political parties saying it was a sign that Zimbabweans had matured and were keen to start rebuilding their nation.
In an interview yesterday, the Zinalisa president Cde Collins Chipare said the association was delighted that the parties had finally struck an agreement that would pave way for economic recovery and help stop the suffering of the people.
Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations on Thursday night agreed to form an all-inclusive Government whose top priority would be to turn around the economy with emphasis on food security.
"As an association we are delighted that the three main political parties in the country have put their heads together and decided to work for the good of the nation. God has answered the nation's prayers because this is what everyone has been yearning for.
"It shows maturity among the political leaders who have decided to put people ahead of personal interests."
Cde Chipare said with the conclusion of the deal the world should now work with Zimbabwe on its economic recovery path.
"The political parties should carry forward the battle against poverty, tribalism, racism and ignorance. We urge the West to remove the sanctions and engage Zimbabwe for meaningful development. The West should now let us get on with the work of resuscitating the economy and the uplifting of the people's standards of living," Cde Chipare said.
He commended Sadc-appointed mediator President Thabo Mbeki for standing by Zimbabwe during the trying times and devoting his time to solving Zimbabwe political impasse.
He said the spirit shown by President Mbeki reflected the true concept of African brotherhood and was in line with his call for African renaissance.
"We are grateful to President Mbeki for devoting his precious time to resolving Zimbabwe's political dispute even when everyone else was against the country. Surely, with leaders like him, the African continent will not be found wanting on international forums," he said.
Details of the agreement struck by the political parties will be revealed on Monday after the signing ceremony.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed the power-sharing deal.
"The Secretary-General welcomes the agreement reached today in Harare between the Government and the opposition on a government of national unity," his Press office said in a statement.
"He hopes that this agreement will pave the way for a durable peace and recovery in the country and contribute to rapid improvement in the welfare and human rights of the people of Zimbabwe, who have suffered for long," it added.
Mr Ban congratulated the parties for clinching the accord and praised President Mbeki for "his tireless efforts to help them reach it".
The UN has been bolstering the South African-led mediation process through Mr Ban's special envoy Mr Haile Menkerios.
The European Commission expressed cautious optimism yesterday about the deal saying it wants to see how the agreement plays out.
"The European Commission, of course, welcomes this significant step forward," said John Clancy, commission spokesman on humanitarian aid and development issues.
"However, we will have to wait to learn much more about this on Monday," he said. "At this stage we are cautiously optimistic.
"Our main concern is that any solution is a positive solution for the people of Zimbabwe, that offers them a better future than obviously they've been living through in recent times," he added.
EU foreign ministers had been expected to extend the bloc's sanctions against Zimbabwe at a meeting on Monday but officials were reconsidering those plans yesterday in light of the agreement.
"An agreement seems to have been reached for a government of national unity. The news is coming in, we will have to evaluate the situation during the day," said a senior presidency diplomat.
EU ambassadors, preparing a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, drew up proposals on Thursday to extend the existing visa ban and asset freeze to 10 more individuals in Zimbabwe.
However, that decision came shortly before the announcement of the deal in Harare.
EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel yesterday said Tsvangirai is "satisfied" with the power-sharing deal hammered out with Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions.
Speaking during a visit to Burkina Faso, Mr Michel said Tsvangirai shared his feelings during a telephone conversation on Friday, a day after news of an agreement emerged in Harare.
"The one thing I can say is that I had a phone conversation with Tsvangirai this morning," Michel told reporters in Ouagadougou where he is attending a Euro-African forum on media and development.
"I asked him if he was satisfied with the agreement, and he told me: ‘Yes, I am satisfied with the content of the agreement'. I cannot tell you more than that."
Mr Michel said he would be getting details of the accord from Tsvangirai "in the coming hours", although President Mbeki has said the deal would be made public next Monday when the deal is signed.
Britain reacted cautiously yesterday to the agreement saying it was keen to see the details of the deal.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in a statement: "We look forward to seeing the full details of the agreement announced yesterday by President Mbeki."
Some Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora have indicated their willingness to return home and help rebuild the economy following the landmark power-sharing deal sealed by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations.
Zimbabweans living in Africa and abroad immediately welcomed the deal with enthusiasm.
Most had been forced out by economic problems.
When President Mugabe and leaders of the two MDC formations put pen to paper on Monday, hopes for a return to normalcy in Zimbabwe gathered momentum.In a snap survey conducted by CAJ News in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the United Kingdom on Friday, thousands of Zimbabweans expressed gratification with the deal and said they would consider going back home once the new political dispensation starts to take effect.
"This is the time we have all been waiting for. I am so sure that even investors from around the globe are happy to hear the breaking news from Harare.
"Business opportunities are plenty," said Misheck Makumbe, a PhD student at the University of Oxford, in England.
In Johannesburg, refugees at the Central Methodist celebrated the deal with song and dance. "I am going back home once the real document has been signed by the three principals in the power-sharing deal. My fears at the moment are that probably one of them might change his mind at the last minute, denting our hopes of going back home.
"We are tired of being chased down and hunted by South African Police Service as if we were criminals. Zimbabweans have been badly treated in this country by police, with the majority of them taking our hard-earned cash simply because we did not have papers. Some of our sisters have been used as sex machines by the police," claimed Evans Moyo.
"We have been hunted as animals, abused, beaten for no apparent reason, taken advantage of and rebuked publicly without committing any crime, and this is the time to say goodbye South Africa.
"That has come to an end if the deal indeed materialises on Monday. I tell you, there is no place like home, and we are just going back home whether it looks homely or not," Moyo added. Even the blind begging for cash and food in the streets of Johannesburg could be heard talking in Shona and Ndebele with some already starting to make plans to return home after the official signing ceremony.
"Finally, God answered our prayers. Before crossing the bridge, I will kiss the ground and lift the Zimbabwean soil into the air while glorifying the Almighty. I am sure this is the time everybody has been waiting for, and we should start rebuilding our country," said Muchineripi Manjengwa, of Mbare, who is based in Diepsloot.
In public places of entertainment, commercial sex workers from Zimbabwe hinted that they would quit the oldest profession and head back home to try to lead a decent life.
"I have done bad things here in South Africa, sleeping with men of all kinds, not because I wanted to, but because I needed cash to sustain my family back home."
My husband believes that I am employed yet I am earning a living through prostitution, and this is the right time to call it quits and go back home. I am a qualified teacher, but I could not do the same work here because my immigration papers are not in order," said a woman who refused to be identified to protect her marriage.
But some Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia said they were not so sure they could secure good jobs should they return home.
"Yes, I am happy but my worry is that I am not so sure if I can find a job again there and live comfortably. I had a top job there before leaving and it really worries me if I cannot reclaim it.
"I think I have to wait a bit while studying the situation. If business opportunities are promising then I'm flying back home in December for good," said Matthews Muchena, who is based in Manchester, Britain.
"Finally, God has answered Zimbabwe. Fellow Zimbabweans, are you from the east, west, north and south, it is time to celebrate once again.
"And more importantly, let us praise the Lord Almighty Jehovah for answering our prayers after years of socio-economic suffering in foreign lands.
"I am quite convinced that each and everyone of us, who is in the Diaspora is ready to go back home any moment. But let us not forget to contribute towards rebuilding of our beloved country. Ishe komborerai Zimbabwe zvakare. Meet me in Zimbabwe. Tired of being treated as second-class citizen in foreign lands," said a Zimbabwean journalist based in South Africa.
The African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party congratulated President Mbeki for a job well done despite some sharp criticisms from the Congress for South Africa of Trade Unions, saying the newly concluded deal would help improve people's lives.
ANC spokesperson Jessie Duarte said her party warmly welcomed news of the agreement of a landmark power-sharing deal by Zimbabwe's leading political parties.
"We congratulate President Thabo Mbeki for his sterling work during the mediation process that has led to this achievement. The ANC congratulates the leadership of Zanu-PF and MDC for having persisted in seeking a solution.
"The ANC is confident that all parties and leaders will now work together to advance the interests of the Zimbabwean people. Not only is the agreement important for Zimbabwe, but has far-reaching political and economic implications for Southern Africa and the entire African continent," said Duarte.
She added: "It will make a certain contribution to building peace and prosperity. The international community should now assist in reconstruction, reconciliation and nation building in Zimbabwe."
Elsewhere in Pretoria, diplomatic missions interviewed by CAJ News also expressed satisfaction with President Mbeki's perseverance even when the pressure was too much for him.
"Thumbs up to President Mbeki. This man is very strong, very courageous and focused. He was unnecessarily criticised and ridiculed by fellow African leaders --- mainly the shortsighted ones --- the West and the so-called human rights groups for unclear reasons.
"Today he has done the entire world proud by brokering the Zimbabwe deal. President Mbeki's quiet diplomacy, finally paid off," said Maunganidze Dzapasi, who is working in Australia. --- Additional reporting by CAJ News.
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President Mugabe in process of forming new Govt
Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Herald
August 27, 2008
herald.co.zw
PRESIDENT Mugabe is in the process of forming a new Government.
Addressing dignitaries attending a lunch hosted by the Minister of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, Cde Ignatius Chombo, to mark the official opening of the First Session of the Seventh Parliament, President Mugabe said:
"We shall soon be setting up a Government. The MDC does not want to come in apparently. This time they have been promised by the British that sanctions would be more devastating, that in six months’ time the Government will collapse," he said.
"I do not know when that day will come. I wish Tsvangirai well on that day," he said.
The President said he was going to appoint Cabinet ministers who can manage the business of the people.
"I need managers. I want workers — people who take people to work. I do not want people with own businesses. I want one business — the people’s business," he said to applause from the dignitaries who included traditional leaders, Government employees, business people and service chiefs.
He said Cabinet ministers who own businesses should employ other people to manage their business while they attend to the business of the people.
Cde Mugabe criticised some ministers in the outgoing Cabinet. "This Cabinet that I had was the worst in history. They look at themselves. They are unreliable, but not all of them," he said.
Cde Mugabe attacked the spirit of individualism and the tendency to undermine others saying some leaders were more interested in personal gain.
Cde Mugabe said Zanu-PF had lost some votes in the March 29 harmonised elections because some of its members worked against the party.
"Let’s be united. Let’s not be destroyers of our party. We have destroyed part of it. Now that we have survived, let us ensure the party is strengthened," he said.
Cde Mugabe attacked corrupt leaders saying he was receiving reports that some of them were diverting maize meant to feed the people to the black market and to Mozambique, giving as an example reports of a senior official who was caught diverting maize in Matabeleland North.
"The people are suffering and you want to exploit the poverty of the people. Let us police each other," he said.
Cde Mugabe said it was baffling that Zimbabwe had to import some products that were manufactured locally like sugar. Zimbabwe produced up to 400 000 tonnes of sugar and consumed about 150 000 tonnes a year but still had to import.
The President said the middle class was exploiting the lower class by illegally dealing in gold and other precious metals and stones.
Cde Mugabe said judging by the number of new cars on the roads, some of which included the latest models, it was surprising to note that Zimbabwe was regarded as poor.
He advised newly resettled farmers to reserve land for maize, sorghum and rapoko to ensure that the country did not starve.
Cde Mugabe also talked about relations with other countries within the region and beyond saying the manner in which Zimbabwe relates to its neighbours should be reciprocated noting that no country within Sadc should dictate what others should do.
He said it was imperative that the spirit of Sadc should be kept alive and that he had told South African President Thabo Mbeki that he would never at any time speak ill of an African country in public to please the Americans and British.
Cde Mugabe said he preferred face-to-face criticism.
He said the British and Americans had visited all Sadc Heads of State to influence them to speak ill about Zimbabwe ostensibly because of the land issue.
Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, Cde Mugabe said, was the only one who had come out in the open telling him of the British and US machinations to denounce Zimbabwe.
Cde Mugabe said Zimbabwe was not averse to doing business with the British, but was not amenable to being commandeered to do things against its wishes hence he had told former British prime minister Mr Tony Blair to keep his England while he concentrated on Zimbabwe.
He said the West had also approached some of Zimbabwe’s friends and influenced them not to trade with the country.
In some instances shipments of goods paid for by Zimbabwe had been seized while in some cases payments meant for procuring goods from Europe and America were frozen.
Cde Mugabe congratulated the Zimbabwe Olympic team for doing well in Beijing and urged the nation to give the team a resounding welcome.
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President Robert Mugabe's Speech at the Opening of the 7th Parliament of Zimbabwe
Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Herald
August 27, 2008
herald.co.zw
Full text of President Robert Mugabe's speech at the opening of the Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe on Tuesday 26th August 2008
FULL TEXT
Madam President of the Senate, Mr Speaker Sir, Senators and Members of the House of Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades and Friends. I welcome you all to this First Session of the Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe.
This First Session takes place in the aftermath, and is indeed the logical outcome, of the country's historic harmonised elections. The elections were premised on Constitutional Amendment No. 18 as well as amendments to AIPPA, POSA and the Broadcasting Services Act which were agreed to by all the parties and were unanimously passed by both Houses of Parliament. This occurrence is highly instructive in reminding us that through constructive mutual engagement and by putting the country first, we can, as Zimbabweans, address problems and challenges on our own. The new dispensation of collaboration across the political divide should now see us single-mindedly devoting our energies towards the recovery of our economy.
Let me pay particular and special tribute to President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa for his outstanding role as mediator of the Sadc-initiated inter-party dialogue. He has been at it with the patience and endurance of the biblical Job, often against all-round revilement from well-known quarters that have never wanted peace for this land. Through his mediatory efforts, landmark agreements have been concluded, with every expectation that everyone will sign up to the agreement paving way for an all-inclusive Government.
I wish to pay tribute to all Zimbabweans for having exercised their democratic right in our recent elections in a peaceful manner, notwithstanding the regrettable and isolated cases of political violence, which were witnessed in the run-up to the presidential election run-off. Happily, all political parties in the country have acknowledged culpability in this violence, itself an important step towards putting behind us the odious habit of election-related violence.
I also congratulate all the members of this new Parliament on having won the mandate to represent the various constituencies. In doing so, I acknowledge the inordinate delay in opening this session of Parliament, hoping you will all appreciate that the delays owed to a praiseworthy search for peace and greater amity for our nation.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
The elections are now behind us. What currently is upon us is the challenge of a common vision and effort. The era of specialists who are heavy on critiques and empty on prescriptions is gone. Now is the time for us to put Zimbabwe first, and challenging the many things that stifle our potential and trammel our energies.
Foremost in this regard are the much-reviled illegal sanctions imposed by Britain and her allies, which seek to subvert the will of the Zimbabwean people. These must go. They cannot last a day longer if we, as true Zimbabweans speak against them in deafening unison. Surely, sanctions cannot be good for any Zimbabwean, and we have abundant evidence of their ravaging impact. We cannot need democracy and condone such blatant spiteful injury at the same time.
We are deeply indebted to Sadc, the African Union, members of the Non-Aligned Movement, our allies in the United Nations Security Council, and other progressive peoples of the world, for their invaluable support and solidarity with us, in the face of the vicious onslaught on Zimbabwe by Britain and the United States of America. We cherish their brotherly advice and support, and pledge that we will not let them down.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir.
The current global food shortage and the consequent price escalations are a powerful reminder to us of the need for concerted efforts to enhance food security at both the household and national levels. This past season saw our agricultural yields sharply reduced owing to a combination of floods, drought and shortage of inputs.
As always, Government has done its best to ensure that no one starved. Already, a massive programme for the importation of maize from neighbouring countries, notably South Africa, is underway. So is the procurement of locally available maize.
Regrettably, we have noticed the destructive hand of our enemies seeking to undermine our grain importation programme, in the process, pushing up regional food prices. Indeed, food is the latest of their weapons in their regime change agenda.
It is, however, not prudent that we should continue to subsist on food imports. Our efforts are thus being focused on empowering our farmers for greater crop production. Facilities such as the Farm Mechanisation Programme, the Agricultural Support Productivity Enhancement Facility (ASPEF), and the introduction of the Input Pack Support Programme for rural farmers should go a long way in meeting this objective.
These efforts will be complemented by the introduction of an appropriate agricultural commodity-pricing regime, designed to stimulate production. Furthermore, the local fertilizer industry is being supported with foreign currency in order to boost production, while projected shortfalls will be met from imports.
Government will also spearhead implementation of the targeted production of strategic crops. This programme will involve the provision of tillage; seeds, fertilizer, chemicals and harvesting support to identified farmers, who will be required to produce to set targets.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
On a broader level, our economy continues to face challenges associated with the hyperinflationary environment. These range from shortages of basic and essential commodities, foreign currency, fuel and power, as well as declining quality of infrastructure.
This negative state of affairs is further compounded by the prevalence of speculative and profiteering tendencies as well as in-built price misalignments in the economy. We have also detected an insidious foreign hand in the destabilisation of our currency.
Government, in conjunction with the other critical stakeholders, is embarking on a short- term bridging economic stabilisation programme. The programme seeks, among other things, to encourage price stability, introduce appropriate currency reforms, boost availability of basic and essential commodities, boost the availability of foreign currency, enhance food security, aggressively embark on infrastructure development as well as revamping service delivery by public utilities.
Targeted subsidies will be introduced to cushion vulnerable social groups from the anticipated adverse effects of the pricing reforms, while greater emphasis shall be on combating endemic corruption and wanton indiscipline that is so pervasive in the economy.
The initiatives I have referred to need to be complemented by enhanced fiscal prudence. Accordingly, the Public Finance Management Bill, which is designed to minimise misappropriation and mismanagement of public funds, shall be tabled before this august House. In addition, the Audit Bill, which should enhance accountability in the audit process and eliminate inherent limitations in the current Audit and Exchequer Act, will be introduced during this session.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
In the energy and power sector, the shortage of foreign currency has contributed to minimal maintenance of power supply infrastructure, a situation which explains frequent breakdowns and unscheduled power cuts currently being experienced.
However, the agreement signed between Government and NamPower of Namibia for the refurbishment of the Hwange Power Station will go a long way in redressing this undesirable state of affairs.
Already, this has seen the completion of Unit 1 of the station, while work on the other three units is expected to be complete by October 2008. The Energy Laws Amendment Bill, which seeks to facilitate the harmonisation of the energy sector, shall be brought to Parliament during this session.
With regard to fuel, the supply of the product continues to be constrained by the shortage of funding, coupled with the unprecedented rise in oil prices on the world market. This situation demands that we reorient our mindset and reduce the ostensible careless consumption of fuel.
For this reason, innovative measures such as the fuel conservation programme, promotion of bio-fuels production, and the resuscitation of blending of petrol with ethanol, are being implemented, while the exploration of solar and coal-bed methane gas as alternative energy sources is being accelerated.
I am pleased to note that the production of fuel-grade ethanol at Triangle has already started, while the Crude Oil Agreement with Equatorial Guinea, which had expired, has been renewed.
Measures to curb the current upsurge in cases of vandalisation of public utilities infrastructure must be strengthened. Service delivery by TelOne, NetOne, Zesa and the National Railways of Zimbabwe has been compromised, in some cases severely.
Accordingly, Government is establishing co-ordinated security structures incorporating local communities and other relevant stakeholders for purposes of safeguarding public infrastructure. The levels of such unlawful activities require a reclassification of the crime. It now has to be viewed as economic sabotage.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
The empowerment of the formerly deprived indigenous majority of our people is the centre- piece of our development efforts. Now that the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, which provides for the acquisition of at least 51 percent shares in every public company and any other strategic businesses by indigenous persons is law, implementation of the empowerment policy shall be pursued with renewed vigour on a sector-by-sector basis.
However, to facilitate implementation, some amendments of the Act will have to be brought to this Parliament during this session. The amendments will, among other things, empower the relevant minister to prescribe what constitutes a strategic company or sector, the timeframe for compliance with the Act, and the approval format for indigenisation arrangements.
This development will also facilitate expeditious tabling of the Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill in Parliament, which seeks to broaden participation in the sector by indigenous players.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
Government will also press ahead with the implementation of initiatives to promote the growth and development of the small and medium enterprises sector. One such initiative is the US$5 million grant availed under the Indo-Zimbabwe Project, in terms of which machinery and equipment have been availed to assist the designing and manufacturing processes in the sector.
Under the same project, SMEs Technology Centres have been established at the Harare Institute of Technology, in Bulawayo and Chitungwiza. Other such common service facilities will be established at growth points throughout the country.
However, to guarantee sustainable development of the sector, it is necessary to create a conducive regulatory and operating framework. To this end, the Small and Medium Enterprises Bill shall be brought to Parliament during this session.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
Whereas as a country we have made tremendous strides in the education sector, there is still need to ensure that our education remains globally competitive as well as relevant to national needs. This is consistent with our goal to become a knowledge-driven and globally competitive economy.
Accordingly, the Zimbabwe Qualifications Authority Bill, which seeks to integrate and harmonise qualifications, and superintend the development and registration of national qualification standards, will be brought before this august House.
The Bill will also seek to align the Zimbabwe Qualifications Framework to the proposed Sadc Regional Framework of Qualifications and Quality Assurance Systems. The Education Act shall also be amended to provide a more sustainable basis for pegging school fees.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
Health service delivery continues to be constrained by the shortage of essential drugs, equipment, food, transport and skilled personnel. It is, however, pleasing to note that steady progress is being registered in addressing these challenges. For instance, the introduction of a generic training programme has ensured that there is at least one trained nurse at every health facility. The training shall be scaled up to achieve a full complement of staff at the health centre level and in laboratory and X-ray services.
Staff retention in the sector is set to be enhanced through incentives such as the provision of affordable transport and housing under the recently launched Medical Skills Retention Scheme. Government is also pursuing arrangements for the local manufacture of affordable drugs, while the sector is being prioritised in terms of foreign currency allocation.
It is, however, noted with concern that efforts to promote sanitation, health and hygiene continue to be undermined by the persistent erratic water supply situation, especially in major urban areas. To address this challenge, steps are being taken to build the requisite capacity in Zinwa.
I am pleased to note that Government has already taken delivery of considerable quantities of the required equipment and machinery procured from China. Installation of the equipment is already in progress, as a result of which some improvement in water and sewer pumping is already evident in parts of Harare.
The District Development Fund, in conjunction with Zinwa, is carrying out a borehole sinking and rehabilitation programme in some parts of our urban areas, while work will continue in mobilising funding for the procurement of the much-needed water treatment chemicals.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
The shortage of coal for tobacco curing has resulted in increased deforestation on farms. To reverse this negative trend, Government shall come up with regulations that compel tobacco farmers to grow woodlots for purposes of tobacco curing.
Furthermore, in the area of environmental management, Government will, during this session, bring for consideration by Parliament the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Basal Convention on Transboundary Hazardous Waste, the Rotterdam Convention on Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade and the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species.
The phenomenal growth witnessed in the construction industry has raised the need for enhanced regulation of activities in that sector. Accordingly, this Parliament will during this session consider the Zimbabwe Construction Industry Council Bill, which provides for the establishment of a council responsible for maintaining standards in the sector.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
Workers across the board continue to face an acute shortage of accommodation, ever increasing transport costs and declining disposable incomes, owing to the prevailing hyperinflation. Government will continue to periodically review tax thresholds, thereby increasing workers’ disposable incomes.
To address the plight of the commuting public, increased support shall be availed towards the recapitalisation of Zupco as well as boosting the fleet of buses under the District Buses Programme.
Increased fuel allocations and waiver of duty on spares shall be extended to private transport operators. Moves by some companies to provide transport for their employees should be applauded, and indeed, encouraged.
The current harsh economic environment has also undermined the welfare of pensioners and other older persons, who now also have a huge dependants burden, owing to the unabating HIV/Aids pandemic.
Accordingly, the Older Persons Bill, which will cater for the entire welfare of older persons, shall be tabled during this session. On its part, Government has since indexed the pensions of retired civil servants to the salaries of serving members so as to improve their livelihood.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir.
Corruption imposes a huge cost burden on the conduct of business. As such, efforts to revive the country’s economy could remain a pipedream unless they are supported by stern and decisive action to eradicate the scourge of corruption, which has now reached alarming levels. This will have to be done sooner rather than later. There will be no sacred cows seeking to hide behind the banner of social positions or party affiliation for their venal tendencies.
Madam President, Mr Speaker, Sir,
Zimbabwe, as Vice Chair of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) regional grouping, will be the next host of the regular Comesa Summit. Accordingly, the country has to position itself to reap from the expected benefits as well as the anticipated establishment of the Comesa Customs Union.
Following the signing of the Beira Development Corridor Agreement between Zimbabwe and Mozambique in December 2007, work is now underway to implement the identified projects. One such project is the Forbes/Machipanda One-Stop Border Post.
Concerted efforts are being made to expedite implementation of co-operation agreements with our "Look East" development partners. The agreements cover strategic sectors of the economy such as power and energy, mining, infrastructure development and agriculture.
The tractor project between the Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company (ITM Co) and the Industrial Development Corporation is set to yield tremendous benefits to Zimbabwe by way of technology and skills transfer; import cost savings and expert revenues.
On the diplomatic front, we continue to call for the reform of the United Nations, in order to render it truly representative of its broad constituency, thus providing checks against the abuse of power by those who are favoured by the current unipolar geopolitical system. The prevailing order where the stronger nations tread over the rights of smaller nations and manipulate the United Nations mechanisms with impunity constitutes a grave threat to international peace.
Zimbabwe has been a victim of this not only cynical but abusive manipulation of the UN Charter. Equally, we have seen attempts by bigger nations at destabilising world peace. Western countries must stop their unholy policy of global encroachment, which can only undermine the status quo or even re-ignite a new arms race.
In conclusion, I wish to urge all Zimbabweans to rekindle the spirit of national pride and self-belief as we strive to build a strong, united and prosperous Zimbabwe. Let us exert our full effort towards raising our country and its flag in the manner our Olympic team has done in Beijing.
I am sure you all join me in congratulating them, especially Kirsty Coventry, most heartily on that heroic performance.
I wish you fruitful deliberations and have pleasure in now declaring this First Session of the Seventh Parliament of Zimbabwe officially open.
I thank you.
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Tsvangirai's U-turn: The facts
Posted: Thursday, August 14, 2008
By Political and Features Editor
August 14, 2008
The Herald
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed 13 agreements with Zanu-PF and the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC formation before abruptly pulling out of the South African-facilitated talks on Tuesday evening, it has emerged.
Documents seen by The Herald show that Tsvangirai's negotiators in the inter-party dialogue – Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma – were authorised by their party leader to append their signatures to the 13 agreements as and when they were reached.
However, on Tuesday, Tsvangirai presented the other two principals – President Mugabe and Mutambara – with a fresh position paper titled "Notes on the Dialogue to Date", which appeared to repudiate all the agreements already signed and would have set back the status of the negotiations by weeks.
At the time that Tsvangirai said he could not sign the final agreement, which President Mugabe and Mutambara had already endorsed, only four issues remained on the agenda.
It is understood that President Mugabe and Mutambara subsequently agreed on these issues, paving the way for Cde Mugabe to form a new Government and for the Seventh Parliament to start sitting following elections held earlier in the year.
The parties were putting their signatures to agreements as and when they were reached, meaning that the final settlement is a compendium of documents that had been assented to by the three principals.
The main issue that Tsvangirai was not amenable to, insiders revealed, was the framework of a new Government, which is an issue that was laid on the table on July 28, 2008.
Other outstanding issues were legislative agenda priorities (tabled on July 25), and implementation mechanisms and electoral vacancies (both tabled on August 5).
Below are the agreements:
-- On the 25th of July, Tsvangirai agreed that sanctions were not targeted and the Western economic embargo was hurting the nation and should be lifted as a matter of urgency.
-- Part of that agreement, titled Restoration of Economic Stability and Growth, reads: "All forms of measures and sanctions against Zimbabwe (must) be lifted in order to facilitate a sustainable solution to the challenges that are currently facing Zimbabwe."
-- The three principals also agreed on the same date that there was undue external interference in the country's domestic affairs and they would not tolerate the subversion of the sovereign will of the people of Zimbabwe by outsiders with vested interests that ran contrary to national aspirations.
-- "The parties reaffirm the principle of the United Nations Charter on non-interference in the internal affairs of member countries.
"The parties hereby agree that the responsibility of effecting change of Government in Zimbabwe vests exclusively in and is the sole prerogative of the people of Zimbabwe through peaceful, democratic and constitutional means," they said.
-- They added that they would "reject any unlawful, violent, undemocratic and unconstitutional means of changing governments" and that "no outsiders have a right to call or campaign for regime change in Zimbabwe".
Despite this earlier agreement, it is understood that in his new position paper Tsvangirai unconstitutionally wanted the foundation of the next Government to be premised on the results of the inconclusive March 29 elections – a demand that has been the cornerstone of Western opposition to Zimbabwe's electoral processes.
Another interesting agreement that was reached was on the issue of land reform.
-- On the 25th of July, the three parties said Britain must honour its Lancaster House obligations to fund land tenure reforms in the country.
-- The parties called "upon the United Kingdom government to accept primary responsibility to pay compensation for land acquired from land owners for resettlement".
-- It was also agreed that the issue of multiple farm ownership and productivity on farms be dealt with as a matter of urgency by the Seventh Parliament through the institution of a holistic land audit.
-- On the issue of freedom of expression and communication, in an agreement that was also signed on July 25, the parties said: "(We) call upon governments that are hosting and/or funding external radio stations broadcasting into Zimbabwe to cease such hosting and funding."
-- Zanu-PF, MDC and MDC-T also urged those journalists working for these pirate radio stations to return to Zimbabwe, get proper accreditation and start working for the good of the country rather than for its enemies.
-- Other agreements signed were on State Organs and Institutions, Rule of Law, Respect for the Constitution and Other Laws, and Free Political Activity on July 25.
-- The next day the parties signed agreements on the Security of Persons and Prevention of Violence, the National Youth Training Programme, Freedom of Assembly and Association, Traditional Leaders and Humanitarian and Food Assistance.
-- On August 5, the parties signed an agreement titled Promotion of Equality, National Healing, Cohesion and Unity.
The insiders said everyone had been caught unawares when on Tuesday Tsvangirai brought to the table a document that made it appear as if no agreements had been reached.
It was at this point that the other two parties, in the presence of President Thabo Mbeki, decided they could not start the negotiations all over again and would proceed with the formation of an inclusive Government and the convening of Parliament.
Tsvangirai, the insiders said, would be accommodated in the new Government when he was ready to sign.
However, according to AFP news agency, Tsvangirai yesterday issued a statement in which he said: "We knew negotiations would be difficult, but a resolution that represents anything other than the will of the Zimbabwean people would be a disaster for our country.
"We are committed to a solution that recognises that the people spoke on the 29th of March, 2008," said Tsvangirai, in reference to the harmonised elections that failed to produce a winner in the presidential poll in which he was leading.
This result was overturned in the June presidential run-off election that President Mugabe won resoundingly and Tsvangirai has not challenged that result in the courts.
Insiders said Tsvangirai was parroting the same sentiments expressed by the United States, European Union and Britain.
He also repeated the same demand that Government should unban the NGOs that were being accused of sponsoring opposition activities in the country with Western sponsorship.
"Without further delay, we are demanding that NGOs be allowed to resume humanitarian assistance – distributing food, medicines and life-saving assistance. This destructive policy of banning humanitarian assistance can be reversed with one letter," said Tsvangirai.
On the eve of the talks on August 8, the governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and US, and the European Commission issued a similar demand.
"The magnitude of the humanitarian crisis requires the immediate and unconditional lifting of the suspension on all NGO field operations. Harassment of NGOs must cease immediately, and protection for humanitarian workers must be guaranteed. Timing is critical. Steps must be taken now in order for food to be available to those in need in future months," said the statement.
The government has accused these NGOs of using food to campaign for the MDC-T in the rural areas, which are the traditional stronghold of the ruling Zanu-PF.
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Africa's wealth for Africans
Posted: Thursday, August 7, 2008
By Tsitsi Makwande
August 07, 2008
The Herald
Africa, is without doubt, the richest continent in the world in terms of both natural and human resources yet, ironically, it is also the poorest.
This may be a bit difficult to understand for someone who appreciates the vast wealth of minerals to be found across the length and breadth of the continent.
Countless valleys, innumerable mountain ranges, limitless flowing rivers, a variety of flora and fauna, the most beautiful natural tourist attractions and so many more features of wealth and interest abound in Africa.
This picture contrasts sharply with the levels of poverty on the ground.
Of course, all is not doom and gloom, but the fact is that pandemics like Aids have wreaked havoc, wars have played their part and food insecurity is real and present across the continent.
According to one Unicef report, about 30 000 children die daily due to the effects of poverty.
Water-borne diseases such as cholera caused by poor sanitation also claim their share of precious lives.
Life expectancy has been declining, while in other parts of the world, which do not have the kind of natural and human resources that we have, people are living longer and leading improved lives.
It has been estimated that the gross national product in the countries worst affected by HIV and Aids could contract by 18 percent by 2020, and the disease could kill 13 to 26 percent of the agricultural labour force in those countries during the same period.
The United Nations said its efforts to provide anti-retroviral treatment for one million infected people in 2007, was outpaced by the number of new infections, which numbered 2,5 million that year. (Thankfully, though, in Zimbabwe's case new infections are declining.)
Millions others have died or were displaced as a result of civil wars and natural disasters. The disturbing images of malnourished children in Sudan or Somalia with more bones than flesh, quickly come to mind.
But this is more than just an image; it is a stark reality that has to be dealt with immediately.
The question we have to ask ourselves is: why are our people living under such conditions when the continent is the richest in the world?
Mining giant De Beers details in one report that Africa produces about 76 percent of the world's supply of diamonds valued at US$10 billion.
Zimbabwe alone boasts of deposits of more than 40 minerals, including ferrochrome, gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, copper and asbestos, and about 19 million hectares of forest as of 2000.
With such amazing wealth, it is confusing to see our people so disadvantaged.
The reason is although we are rich, we continue to live in poverty because we still have not found ways to harness our resources for our own good and for that of our children. Instead, many African countries continue to be a source of raw materials, leaving foreign countries to benefit from the real business in the resultant finished product, a situation no different from what happened during the slave trade and colonialism.
As Zimbabweans, we need to come up with sustainable strategies that will allow our people, and not only foreigners, to benefit from the vast treasures of gold, diamonds and other minerals available in our land.
We should open our eyes and see how other countries have done it and follow suit. It may take a while and require strong financial backing, but if others have done it, so can we. Zimbabwe needs to take charge of its economy and alleviate poverty in our nation without having to depend on donors and aid relief organisations.
Despite the economic challenges we are facing, we can take a leaf from Cuba, which has been under economic sanctions since 1963 but still managed to revive its economy and boast of the best social services in the world.
This is not an event that will happen overnight, but a process requiring innovative and dedicated people and strategies.
We have such people in our country, people who can make things happen, people who can build realities out of dreams, intelligent and hard-working people.
It is pleasing, therefore, to see Government embarking on its empowerment drives with such gusto.
Land reform signified the first stage of the process of harnessing our resources for our own development and now we have an all-encompassing empowerment law.
Our goal should be to ensure that this piece of legislation is fully implemented to improve the livelihoods of the people of Zimbabwe, who are the rightful owners of the resources found across the country.
The entire African continent can learn from the manner in which Zimbabwe has striven to empower its people.
The imagination of people from all walks of life in Zimbabwe has been captured by the empowerment drive that started in 2000 with the Land Reform Programme.
Over the past eight years, about 300 000 families – which translates to over a million individuals if we assume the average family size is five – have been empowered by the changes in land tenure systems.
When the situation in the country stabilises and people can access agricultural inputs on time, one can only imagine the benefits these families and the entire nation shall reap.
Recently, President Mugabe signed into law the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
This piece of legislation will see the manufacturing and mining sectors being indigenised in the same way that agriculture has been.
The requirement is that Zimbabweans should own at least 51 percent of any company in the country and already big firms such as Old Mutual have said they see no problem with such an arrangement.
After all, the resources are for Zimbabweans and it only makes sense that locals are enriched by them ahead of foreign companies.
South Africa has also embarked on its own Black Economic Empowerment policy and the challenge for the rest of the continent is to move towards the strengthening of the economic position of indigenous people. Various models can be employed to do this, but the ultimate aim should be the empowerment of Africans.
Indeed, the African Union should declare 2009/2010 as the year for 100 percent empowerment of Africans using African resources for Africa's development.
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Botswana stance on Zimbabwe is hypocritical
Posted: Wednesday, August 6, 2008
By Batho Montsho
August 06, 2008
This writer recently learned the meaning of the word hypocrite – it is someone who kills both his parents and then pleads orphanage as a mitigating factor when being sentenced. And this writer does not intend to use this word ever again . . . and not in this article.
The Government of Botswana recently pronounced that it does not recognise Robert Mugabe as the President of Zimbabwe as he was not elected in free and fair elections.
Even Members of Parliament (here in Botswana) are not elected in a free and fair election. Who forgets how Gomolemo Motswaledi and Botsalo Ntuane were forced to shift from where they wanted to contest, and identify constituencies elsewhere to pave way for the untouchables of the ruling party?
A case study is our own President, was he elected by the people of Botswana in a free and fair election? Who observed whether the process by which he ascended into power was free and fair?
And where does he get the moral high ground to think he can dictate to another President how he should ascend to the high office. Does anybody remember anything about transparent ballot boxes that are to be used by Sadc member states? Has Botswana complied? What about counting ballots at polling stations, is Botswana in compliance of the requirement?
Botswana thinks democracy in Zimbabwe tarnishes the word democracy! Now, the government, in its quest to instill discipline in Botswana, has decided to impose a 70 percent increment on the price of alcoholic drinks.
The question on everybody's mind is: how did the Government consult on this initiative? I mean, as it turns out not even the most important stakeholder, KBL, was consulted. And we say our Government is democratic! If any consultations were done, what advice did the Bank of Botswana give to the President regarding inflation that is ever on the rise? What role did the Central Statistics office play in this decision regarding (un)employment figures?
What role did the Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture play in this decision regarding the multitudes of youths employed in sectors directly or indirectly dealing with alcoholic beverages? Or the Government just does not care?
Some parents have been using proceeds from Chibuku to educate and feed their children yet without any consultation, the Government wants to kill all these businesses. In their minds, (the Cabinet or (President) want to punish liquor drinkers but they are so blinded by their prejudices that they forget to look at the consequences of the 70 percent decision.
Is the increase in petrol prices deterring motorists from driving around? People just adjust their budgets to accommodate these drastic changes with the resultant poverty to all concerned.
Is anybody not seeing the creeping in of dictatorship? After students who is next on the line. Workers? The Mmegi (newspaper) of (last) Thursday captured it correctly when they said it started with the mobile companies, next was the brewery, the media is very soon to follow suit, and which business is next? We can only guess.
But the pattern has been seen a while back by Rampholo Molefhe. He saw the Government usurping the role of the music union and alas the president launched government-sponsored cultural competitions.
We, the public, are being gullible to think this is a gesture that promotes culture; it is going to kill BOMU and our culture such that by the time we realise that artists are being turned into Government praise singers it will be too late. Then it was again a Government-sponsored constituency league. BFA now is going to administer a league based on political boundaries.
A sport with political leanings exists only in Botswana. The opposition, though voicing its concerns, is just talk and not actively countering (President) Khama's actions. Press conferences are just that, for the media to report on issues discussed therein, but how does the public get engaged? I think the opposition has a habit of sending the media to fight its wars.
The public should be engaged with vigour and not just empty talk at Press conferences.
The opposition should, by now, be proactively making their positions known. And they should be having shadow ministers, not rushing to form their own intelligence, like the BNF was reported to be pondering – to spy on its members! It is also reported in Mmegi that the Chief Justice used his position to influence his junior, a magistrate to change the sentence of his relative.
It is quite regrettable that this incident has passed and the law society is silent. What happened to the likes of activists like Duma Boko, who happen to be leaders of the law society?
Does anybody remember how the Chief Justice once boasted of being a personal friend of the then President Mogae?
Did this not ring any alarm bells? Now the chief justice tries to defend his actions and the question that needs his answer is: is it usual for him to act in that manner in all cases including those where his relatives are not concerned?
Can anybody call a magistrate or a Judge of the High Court in the same manner? A few weeks ago, this writer was taken aback by people, including Government officials, who accused the Sunday Standard of sensational reporting after it reported that Botswana was preparing for war.
In the Mmegi of Friday 25th July, a whole Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation made utterances to the effect that if the Zimbabwean negotiating parties fail to reach an agreement on a Government, there is going to be a civil war in Zimbabwe.
Is this statement not what we call sensational talk, if at all there is sensational reporting? This Minister is not just bluffing because whatever he says has to be scrutinised. Is it information that was passed to him by the intelligence agency?
Or he is just instilling fear in those that have vested interests in Zimbabwe or worse still, may be this is the war that Botswana is purported to be preparing for.
My point was that the government of Botswana has no moral authority to talk on presidential elections because it has a President who never went through the due process of law, as provided for in the constitution of Botswana.
The President of Botswana did not even go through the formalities required by the constitution of his party.
In his own party's constitution there is also, just like the constitution of Botswana, nothing about automatic succession.
As per the constitution of the ruling party, there is no President as of now. This is because (President) Khama was never elected by any structure of the party to become the leader of the BDP.
It was not automatic that when (Ketumile) Masire stepped down (Festus) Mogae became president of the BDP.
And it was not automatic for Khama to take over the presidency of the party when Mogae stepped down.
This writer has noticed that this has escaped the attention of legal experts and our self-styled political analysts.
The question to ask therefore is in what capacity does Khama sit on the central committee of the BDP? Ex-officio?
This is possible given a similar scenario in South Africa where the sitting State President is not a member of the National Executive Committee of the ruling party.
By becoming President of the Republic of Botswana, one does not automatically become the president of the BDP unless the constitution of the BDP was changed to create such a scenario without consulting the wider membership of the BDP.
Does this then not call for the Government to make the constitution of Botswana part of the educational curriculum that ever Motswana should go through? And now we have a situation where the President of the Republic goes around making pronouncements that may later become a nightmare for the ruling party.
BCP on the other hand is no threat to the BDP, and that's the reason why they are never going to say the BDP has planted people in it to destabilise it.
But the moment you hear those word. . . mosi ke molelo betsho!
This article first appeared in Botswana's Sunday Standard online edition.
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Zimbabwe: Major boost for SMEs
Posted: Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Herald Reporter
August 05, 2008
The Herald
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday officially launched the Indo-Zimbabwe Project and state-of-the-art equipment worth about US$4 million procured from India for use by small and medium enterprises.
Zimbabwe and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2006 in which the latter pledged US$5 million for the development of the small and medium enterprises sector in the country.
Speaking before a gathering that included the Indian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Venkatesan Ashok, and senior Government officials at the Harare Institute of Technology, President Mugabe hailed the Indian government for its continued support and challenged SMEs to take advantage of the project.
President Mugabe expressed his sincere gratitude and that of the Government of Zimbabwe to the government of India for its continued support in the development of the SMEs sector in Zimbabwe.
The President said India and Zimbabwe enjoyed close and cordial relations dating back to the days of the liberation struggle.
"The machinery which we are launching today is worth more than US$3,8 million. Some of the machines have already been installed here at the Indo-Zim Technology Centre which has branches also housed at the Harare Institute of Technology, Bulawayo Polytechnic and Small Enterprises Development Corporation's Chitungwiza factory shells," he said.
The Indo-Zimbabwe Project seeks to promote technology transfer by introducing new technologies like computer-numerically-controlled machines and other modern equipment for carpentry and metal fabrication.
India has provided precision high technology machines and measuring instruments for the training and manufacture of tools and dyes including computer-numerically-controlled machines used to impart training skills.
President Mugabe said the machines would be utilised by SMEs as common facility centres.
Government plans to install such machines for rural facility centres.
President Mugabe said technological innovation has diversified in the global market and demanded SMEs to provide quality products and services.
He said the Indo-Zimbabwe Project would assist in building the country's industrial base as well as developing technically qualified entrepreneurs to set up businesses.
"I would like to urge SMEs to take advantage of this project and produce quality and competitive products. It is therefore necessary that SMEs move from traditional and general type of businesses to high-tech enterprises that will increase national wealth and earn the country foreign currency," President Mugabe said.
He challenged SMEs to venture into new territories and pledged Government's full support.
President Mugabe said the equipment and machinery would also benefit large enterprises.
"For example, the plastic industry will certainly benefit since tools and dyes are made locally whilst mining, railway and other heavy industries will also benefit as spare parts and components required are manufactured locally. Local electronics industries are also set to benefit through the manufacture of printed circuit boards and the training of personnel."
He said Zimbabwe was excited about the project as it was poised to mould a new techno brand of SMEs which would contribute significantly towards saving scarce foreign currency.
Mr Ashok said his country was aware of the importance Zimbabwe placed to the development of SMEs.
"This project has had a long gestation since 1996, when my government, under the aegis of G-15 co-operation, announced 'a grant-in-aid' of US$5 million for the development of SMEs in Zimbabwe. We wish to express appreciation to the Government of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises Development for the co-operation extended to us," he said.
Mr Ashok said India and Zimbabwe had long ties as evidenced by the Asian country's involvement in a number of activities in the country.
He expressed India's wish to see companies from that country investing in power, railways, mining, energy, dairy and the agriculture sector and hoped the launch of the Indo-Zimbabwe Project would mark the beginning of sustained co-operation between the two countries.
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'Your farm is on our land'
Posted: Tuesday, August 5, 2008
By Stephen T. Maimbodei
August 05, 2008
The Herald
Recently, Black Power Pan-Africanist and renowned author Chinweizu challenged Zanu-PF when he wrote: "It is our comradely duty to also ask Zanu-PF to thoroughly review its methods of fighting sanctions and its methods of telling its story to its people and to the world. For it seems not to have done an adequate job of that so far."
In view of that, this writer went on to interview Cde David Karimanzira, Governor and Resident Minister for Harare Metropolitan Province, to share some insights on how the Third Chimurenga, spearheaded by the Svosve community of Mashonaland East Province, started 10 years ago and how it has so far fared.
Cde Karimanzira was the Governor and Resident Minister for Mashonaland East Province when these land reclamations started in June 1998.
It is also befitting that the nation pays tribute to these heroes and heroines of the Third Chimurenga as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the heroes' commemoration.
Cde Karimanzira narrated to The Herald the first footmarks set by the people of Svosve in June 1998, and how they impacted Zimbabwe's geo-political and economic landscape.
Soon after the first farm occupation, white former farmers went to see Cde Karimanzira and complained that the Svosve villagers had "invaded" their farms.
Cde Karimanzira said that he told the farmers that contrary to their allegations, the villagers were actually claiming that, "your farms are on their land".
This probably is one of the most critical statements on the Zimbabwe narrative and the land issue.
It is a statement pregnant with symbolic meaning, and it cannot be naively interpreted. It also puts the land question into its historical context, and also places the whole land issue and property rights into their proper perspective.
This is also a statement that the judges at the Sadc Tribunal in Namibia should understand and appreciate in its entirety as they decide on the case brought before them by the white former farmers.
President Mugabe has time and again said: "The land is ours. It's not European and we have taken it, we have given it to the rightful people."
This is also why the land issue has been designated a non-negotiable issue at the current Sadc-mediated inter-party talks between Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations, since Zanu-PF has made it clear that land reform is irreversible.
But how did the people of Svosve become the first heroes and heroines of the Third Chimurenga? Why was it a revolution that saw people of all ages including mothers with babies on the backs taking part?
Cde Karimanzira pointed out that the answer lies in where they were settled: mountains, and also in the fact that these were land-hungry people who genuinely wanted land to cultivate, and genuinely wanted to return to their roots – which were the farms occupied by white commercial farmers. They had also waited for resettlement, which had been promised by the Government soon after independence.
Notwithstanding, the Svosve people represented all land-hungry peasants who had been pushed off their fertile land by successive settler colonial governments since 1890.
To date, land remains a topical issue across the globe as it is the only source for total empowerment and indigenisation.
Cde Karimanzira also argued that the people of Svosve wanted to correct a misconception in the international community that President Mugabe was politicising the land issue, and trying to use it to justify the Government's "failed" policies.
Said Cde Karimanzira: "The people of Svosve occupied land because they wanted to show the international community that President Mugabe, as their leader, was speaking on their behalf, and that they were doing the only normal thing: reclaiming their stolen land."
"They also proved to a world that has become obsessed with notions like democracy, governance, human rights, rule of law that they were waging a justified war against the 'realities of colonial dehumanisation', and that theirs was "a morally and legally justified position".
Thus they made history the world over and their images brought to the fore that the land question remained the unfinished business in Zimbabwe's quest for total independence.
Theirs was also an image symbolic of skewed property rights and ownership structures in an independent Zimbabwe.
When they marched onto the first farm in June 1998, the villagers from Svosve were thus demonstrating the importance of addressing once and for all the land question for economic, political and cultural reasons.
But how best does one unpack the villagers' statements as recalled by Cde Karimanzira who said that it was on a Monday afternoon that a delegation of seven, comprising war veterans, farmers, ZPEDRA, business and the youths came to his office and told him matter of factly:
"Tauya kuti tikuudzei kuti tiri kudzokera kumusha musi weChitatu. Tatosiya vakomana vachigadzira mavhiri ezvikochikari . . . Tigere mumakomo. Takavimbiswa navaMahachi kuti tinokubvisayi. Hatichada kuti vaMugabe vangonzi ndivo bedzi vari kutaura nezveivhu. Tave kudzokera kwatakabva kune ivhu." (We have come to inform you that on Wednesday we will be going back 'home'. We left the young men already preparing the scotchcarts . . . We were settled in mountains, and Cde Mahachi promised that we'd be resettled on better land. We don't want the world out there to think that Cde Mugabe is the only one talking about the land issue. We are going back where we came from, where there is better soil.)
As he narrated the events of those first weeks he said he vividly remembered the seriousness on these people's intentions, and that the tone of their voices said that they meant every word.
Any attempt to stop them would be fruitless, and he also said that it was apparent that this was a well-thought out mission and there was no going back.
On the Tuesday, the Svosve people held two meetings where they agreed that they were going to occupy the nearby farms and on Wednesday they moved onto a farm.
Cde Karimanzira said they could not be convinced by the argument that Government had put in place an orderly land resettlement scheme, which was first launched at Mt Pleasant Farm in Murewa.
Footmarks and implications
Cde Karimanzira said that when Government officials arrived at the farm that Wednesday, they had a lengthy meeting with the villagers where they tried to persuade them to return home.
After the meeting there was an initial agreement that they would vacate awaiting the orderly allocation of land. However, they were surprised when they told the governor that they were already expecting inputs from the State for the next farming season.
He also said that despite the passage of time since the villagers had been moved off the land under the Land Apportionment Act of 1930, some of them had vivid recollections of some of the landmarks they had left on that farm.
There was no doubt that they knew exactly what they were doing and that they were not laying claim to property that was not theirs.
They showed Government officials "guyo nehuyo" (grinding stone) that they had left on the land when the racist Smith regime forced them out, which were now covered with dead leaves.
Another woman disappeared for a while and when she reappeared, she told them that she had gone to check on her grandmother's grave.
Later on, the white farm owner – the head of the sprawling Campbell Holdings – accompanied by other farmers complained to the governor that the people of Svosve had "invaded" his farm.
However, the governor told him that the people were instead saying that, "your farm is on their land".
Unpacking the metaphor
"They are saying that your farm is on their land!" Herein lies the crux of the whole land saga.
The two constructs (farm and land) juxtaposed reveal the complexity of the land issue, and also reveals the underlying perceptions from both the people of Zimbabwe, and the white former farmers, and their kith and kin in the West.
How then can one deconstruct this loaded statement in order to make the British and their allies understand the significance and meaning of land to the people of Zimbabwe?
For, the statement encapsulates the whole debate on land reform in Zimbabwe.
This writer will argue that the villagers did not deny that the white farmers owned farms.
However, what they were laying claim to was the land on which those farms were situated. They were, in short, arguing that the farms that all the white former farmers owned were, in actual fact, situated on their land, implying therefore that if the farmers "removed" their farms from their land, then they could reclaim their land in totality.
The implication is that the Svosve farmers regarded the farms as movable assets situated on "their land". Thus, a farm could be removed, while the land remained to be used for other purposes.
For all the people of Svosve cared, the white farmers could move their farms to any other land which was not "their land": they just had to move.
This argument became a reality when the white former farmers left behind the Zimbabwean land and its people and were still be able to farm in Zambia, Mozambique, Nigeria and other parts of Africa where they were offered opportunities to carry out their farming activities.
However, did the white farmers understand and did they even care considering the outcry from the whole Anglo-Saxon world?
Although the people have been vindicated, the price has been high. It is also evident that the West still wants to impose its will on Zimbabwe, showing that they have no respect for other people: what they are, what they think, what they say and what they do.
Zimbabwe has been reeling under illegal economic sanctions since then, and there have been several attempts to effect illegal regime change in order to reverse this radical, no looking back land reform programme.
Cde Karimarinzira also pointed out that the problem has always been that of racism whereby whites have always believed that black people cannot think, let alone take the initiative like the people of Svosve did.
They did not and still do not realise that President Mugabe is the leader of the people of Zimbabwe and their spokesperson, too.
They also did not understand that black people could tell them that they had stolen their land, and that they wanted it back. Thus their reaction to President Mugabe's leadership, especially on the land issue, has always been to isolate and try to illegally remove him from power.
The British government has reneged on its Lancaster House agreement obligations, and since the Tony Blair regime came to power, they have completely refused to have anything to do with Zimbabwe's land issue, and has ganged up against Zimbabwe with the United States and other Western allies.
It has also influenced some in both the Sadc region and the African Union to believe that the problem in Zimbabwe is one of governance, hence the need for Western intervention and regime change.
Cde Karimanzira also pointed out that the progressive world should, however, not lose sight of the fact that the British government under Blair, and now Gordon Brown, has repudiated the Lancaster House agreement, which in itself was an act of war.
The infamous letter to the Government of Zimbabwe by former secretary of state for international development Claire Short on November 5, 1997 was proof of that. She wrote in part: "I should make it clear that we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe. We are a new government from diverse backgrounds without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and, as you know, we were colonised not colonisers."
The United States also reinforced the act of war through the imposition of illegal sanctions when they enacted the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.
Chinweizu also reminds all progressive people in the international community that they should also recall that "former US assistant secretary of state on African affairs Chester Crocker said in a 2005 testimony to the US Senate for the Zimbabwe Democracy Act (i.e. sanctions and regime change legislation): "To separate the Zimbabwean people from Zanu-PF we are going to have to make their economy scream, and I hope you senators have the stomach for what you have to do." (Democracy Now! April 1, 2005). And that is precisely what is happening. The economy is indeed screaming, by enemy design.
One writer says: "When propaganda is taken out of the Zimbabwean story, what emerges is the struggle of a very poor people against gross historical racism and neocolonial energies that continues to marginalise and threaten their human hood.
"The Svosve people as proponents of the Third Chimurenga are representative of such a people who are daily bludgeoned by a system that tells them that they care for their interests only if they act according to their dictates.
"It is a system that also has no qualms about piling more suffering on them when they are fighting to be their own persons."
United behind the land reform programme
According to Cde Karimanzira, the West and their allies have failed to appreciate, let alone understand that the land issue was correcting colonial imbalances, and the villagers from Svosve became the heroes and heroines who pioneered the Third Chimurenga, and put Zimbabwe on the international map both for the right and wrong reasons.
He also called on the people of Zimbabwe to rally behind the land reform programme arguing that it brings about unity because as long as some people welcome it as a solution, while others oppose it, then there is no unity. Once Zimbabweans unite behind the land reform programme, that unity becomes an everlasting solution that brings about peace.
Zimbabwe Image, an Internet blogger, has also argued why the world continues to acquiesce to Anglo-Saxon machinations against Zimbabwe by defending their primitive systems that flourish through stealing from the weak, disadvantaging the poor and abusing power – a system no moral being would willingly support, condone or work to preserve.
Thus the nation toasts these heroes and heroines of the Third Chimurenga who through their radical approach showed the world that the unfinished land issue had to be brought to its logical conclusion.
They also triggered what eventually became one of the most crucial and most controversial policies undertaken by the Government of Zimbabwe since 1980. For the land reform has defined the geo-political and landscape in our time. Thereafter, the Government embarked on a radical, no looking back land acquisition and redistribution programme.
Some of the villagers from the Svosve community lived under sanctions during the Smith regime. They saw apartheid-ruled South Africa assisting the Smith regime.
Surely, they must be wondering what brotherhood means if the whole of Africa folds its arms and accepts that governance and not property rights in the form of stolen land is central to the problems that are now bedevilling the country.
They were also around when Zimbabwe lent financial, material and moral support to brothers and sisters in the region. They again must be wondering why the African brothers and sisters are not assisting them in the same manner.
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Mbeki: A brave, principled man
Posted: Thursday, July 31, 2008
By Obi Egbuna
July 31, 2008
WHEN the history of Zimbabwe is told, one point that everyone across the board from President Mugabe's closest comrades and friends to his most antagonistic detractors will have to admit is that the Zimbabwean leader is a grandmaster when it comes to articulating the nation's vision.
If the adage "experience is the best teacher" is true then it is no secret why articulating the country's politics comes as naturally to President Mugabe as walking or eating.
Many people throughout the world got their first real glimpse of President Mugabe during the 1979 Lancaster House talks, where both British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and US president Jimmy Carter openly admitted they were awe-struck by President Mugabe's brilliance and vision.
The world has really had a chance to see President Mugabe display his courage on the world stage numerous times since then; his stern and uncompromising message to former British prime minister Tony Blair is still used as a cellphone ring tone by many Zimbabweans almost six years on.
His presentation at the African Union Summit in Egypt last month and his brilliant paper at the EU-Africa Summit at the end of last year are among the more recent of his eloquent vision.
It is at these platforms, more than anywhere else, that the world has come to see that US and British imperialism have been hypocritical and reactionary in their handling of Zimbabwe.
While they tell anyone who still listens that all they want is for democracy to take its course in Zimbabwe, it is clear that they are ever ready to use undemocratic means to subvert Zimbabwe's internal political and economic processes.
Why does the US Ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation keep trying to stop the President from speaking at these gatherings?
Why did Prime Minister Gordon Brown stay away from the EU-Africa Summit in Portugal?
The reality is that President Mugabe and Zanu-PF have so much leverage at this point in the struggle to defend Zimbabwe's sovereignty on the international arena through the support of the country's brothers and sisters in the Sadc region.
And the shining example of this support is none other than South Africa's leader President Thabo Mbeki.
It was no accident that President Mugabe went out of his way during his remarks at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding to not only thank President Mbeki for his tireless efforts but to also highlight his contributions to positive political developments in Zimbabwe.
President Mugabe pointed to Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment) Act Number 18, the various amendments to the Public Order and Security Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
While the common perception throughout the African world is that the reason why President Mbeki was collectively chosen by Sadc to facilitate the talks between Zanu-PF and both formations of the MDC was because during the time he headed both Nepad and the African Union, he dealt with conflicts in Burundi, Rwanda and Cote d'Ivoire.
In a nutshell, he has experienced far greater internal stand-offs than what obtained in Zimbabwe.
When assessing President Mbeki's suitability for the task assigned to him, we must also look at his family background.
It should not be overlooked that President Mbeki is the biological son of the freedom fighter and national hero Cde Govan Mbeki and his brother Jama was an ardent supporter of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.
His involvement in national politics started at the tender age of 14 and at that time Cde Thabo Mbeki was already exposed to the myriad opinions that exist within the national body politic.
The other crucial point in understanding President Mbeki for people across the globe is that he personally knows what serious internal conflict is, its manifestations and how it can be best dealt with.
He has steadfastly said the military route is not an option at all and this is attributable to the fact that he lived through such a history and has read a similar history from other countries.
One only has to look at what happened to Maurice Bishop in Grenada and Salvador Allende in Chile who were murdered in cold blood because of their refusal to listen to American dictates.
Our collective historical memory also tells us that comrades Patrice Lumumba and Amilcar Cabral were overthrown because of their defence of their countries' respective sovereignty.
We should thus never overlook the historical context when assessing President Mbeki and his facilitation of dialogue in Zimbabwe.
The US and British governments have openly expressed their anger over how the South African leader has engaged Zimbabwe, but as President Mugabe has eloquently stated, President Mbeki must be commended for his persistence and positive sensitivity to criticism.
One of the best examples of President Mbeki remaining unfazed in the face of criticism was when the leader of MDC-T Morgan Tsvangirai earlier this year said, "It is time to recognise Mbeki's efforts have proved fruitless", or something to that effect.
Tsvangirai has admitted that he was reluctant to go ahead with the talks under President Mbeki's facilitation and it says a lot that the South African leader has managed to overcome those fears.
These remarks came after George W. Bush was quoted by the BBC as saying he was "extremely frustrated" with the Zimbabwe but even more disappointed with President Mbeki's handling of the situation.
As early as 2002, Bush had declared President Mbeki as his "point man" on Zimbabwe, and with hindsight perhaps this was done to create doubt in the minds of Zimbabwe's governing leadership about the South African leader's trustworthiness.
After all, there are very few people in the world who would trust a mediator endorsed by Washington!
When participating in the 2003 UN General Assembly, President Mugabe told a private gathering of solidarity groups that because many of his contemporaries in the Sadc region were no longer in office (Nujoma in Namibia, Chissano in Mozambique, Kaunda in Zambia), the West would try to manipulate the new guard into isolating Zimbabwe.
The President went on to say Zimbabwe was Southern Africa's biggest challenge this century, but the West would be extremely disappointed with the results of their isolationist campaign.
We subsequently saw the European Union threaten to pull out of a road project in Malawi because President Bingu wa Mutharika said he was going to name it after the Zimbabwean leader.
Former Botswana president Festus Mogae and Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa then came to the Harare Agricultural Show and reaffirmed their support for Zimbabwe and President Mugabe soon afterwards.
The most telling development of 2006 was former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan saying that in Zimbabwe what we were witnessing was an unresolved dispute between a sovereign nation and its former racist colonial master.
Mr Annan then agreed to the recommendation that former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa mediate between Blair and President Mugabe.
It is against such a background that President Mbeki has held firm from the time of Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth to the recent failed UN Security Council sanctions bid.
President Mbeki has ignored the anti-Zimbabwe propaganda not only on BBC, C-SPAN, CNN and, of course, the Voice of America, but also reactionary outlets in his own backyard.
The strategy of the Washington Post is to encourage its man in Johannesburg Craig Timberg to launch an all-out attack on President Mugabe and Zanu-PF from the other side of the Limpopo River regardless of truth or accuracy.
Earlier this month Timberg published a front page article claiming to have caught the Zanu-PF leadership on tape planning a campaign of intimidation and violence and that some of President Mugabe's aides spoke to him on condition of anonymity.
The South African branch of Amnesty International, which has unfortunately decided to be a mouthpiece of British intelligence, has done nothing but demonise President Mugabe and Zanu-PF since the land reclamation program began in 2000.
President Mbeki's resilience in dealing with this can be traced back to his days as the ANC's head of information.
This is why the decision to keep the talks between Zanu-PF and the opposition private was a visionary idea.
London and Washington are now more desperate than ever and that is why they coerced an unwilling Nelson Mandela into attacking Zimbabwe.
But the most outlandish displays of ventriloquism have come from Liberia, Raila Odinga in Kenya, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
When Blaise Compare sees President Mugabe he thinks of Thomas Sankara.
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf should remember that Amai Joice Mujuru's rise to Zimbabwe's presidium set the tone for continent-wide campaign for women such as herself to get into leadership positions. Among the most surprising attackers of Zimbabwe and President Mbeki is American civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson.
If he wants to help Zimbabwe, he should start by giving his Congressman son — who voted for sanctions against Zimbabwe — the correct and true lecture on history and why he was never able to occupy the White House himself.
When Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah said, "We prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquillity," he probably had no idea that a young man whom he greatly influenced would go on to be President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and carry this torch for Africa.
And President Mugabe can continue to show Africa and Africans the path to true independence and empowerment because of brave and principled men like President Mbeki.
Long live President Mbeki, long live President Mugabe!
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Zimbabwe sanctions: The truth
Posted: Tuesday, July 29, 2008
By Stephen T. Maimbodei
July 29, 2008
The Herald
I have said it before and I will say it again without any apologies. Even then, there are still some who are awestruck at the continued attempts by the West (read Britain and America) to make Zimbabwe Africa's protracted battleground for their imperialistic and hegemonic interests.
Last Monday was an unlikely possibility, which has left them exposed and embarrassed, and, at the very least, angry too. To the Americans, British and their European Union allies, last Monday was not supposed to be. It was an aberration, something that has to be erased not only from memory, but also from history.
As an insider to the historic signing of the Memorandum of Understanding revealed that there was then no option for them except to go back to the original template and salvage the little they could.
And that little is a very punitive but equally unimaginative strategy of more sanctions, more travel bans, more frozen assets, and expanded or extended sanctions against President Mugabe and what they insist are his cronies.
Thus sanctions and their physical and psychological effects have now become the Rock of Gibraltar that they are now standing on in their fight to reclaim Zimbabwe as their pet.
The reason is there for all to see. These sanctions that are imposed time and again, are meant to achieve one thing, and one thing only for the British, and that is to illegally remove President Mugabe from power at whatever cost and replace him with anyone who will deliver the country to them.
This goes beyond the opposition. It is simply about having in State House anyone but President Mugabe. French President Nicolas Sarkozy in his "accolades" towards President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa summed it up very well last week when he said that while they applauded the South African leader's role as mediator, as EU chairman he was not prepared to talk to President Mugabe . . . ever.
This could intrinsically be concluded to mean that whatever result comes out of the talks, the West do not expect President Mugabe to be a major player in the future Zimbabwe.
This was a reiteration of statements they had earlier made when they emphatically stated that the EU would not recognise any other election result except the inconclusive March 29 results.
Zimbabwe has also shown them that the carrot-and-stick policy that they use, and their policy of permanent interests and not permanent friends or enemies, will not work, for it was easy for Zimbabwe to adopt a "Look East" policy whereby new players in Zimbabwe's economy were brought on board.
Therefore, the current wave of sanctions imposed by both the United States and the EU are nothing but "expressions of anger and frustration" from imperialist forces that realise that the rug has been pulled off from under their feet.
Sanctions are also being used against the people of Zimbabwe as a means for them to regain lost and wounded pride.
One writer, Timothy Kalyegira, has said: "How come, for all this obvious evidence, nobody has asked the simple question: is this Zimbabwe story real or an orchestrated series of events by the British and American governments and media to punish Mugabe for humiliating the white settlers in Zimbabwe?"
How come also that the international community is not questioning why, for example, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown – who has been experiencing a string of increasingly embarrassing losses at the polls – has made Zimbabwe his main target?
While Zimbabweans have resolved that they are prepared to solve their own problems without outside interference, why then are Brown, Bush and the whole EU muscle being force-fed on Zimbabwe?
Why is the "international community" also not questioning the fact that by extending sanctions to Zimbabwean companies, they are also directly imposing sanctions against all the international markets that those companies deal with in China, Russia, India, South Africa, etc?
What of the hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans who depend on their livelihoods from production at these companies? Have they not also been put on the sanctions list?
According to Cde Christopher Mutsvangwa, while the British want to maintain their hegemony on Zimbabwe, they have also realised that they are losing the fight and now they are feeling the pinch: losing control, losing access to resources and also losing markets to emerging powers such as Brazil, Russia, China and India.
He also argued that Britain especially is finding it difficult to extricate itself from Zimbabwe, because doing so would mean major losses for British businesses. As a former coloniser, Britain, with the help of the US, is also finding it very difficult to face up to these new challenges that are a result of its refusal to meet its obligations regarding the land reform programme.
Cde Mutsvangwa also argues that Britain and its Western allies have, however, unwittingly applied the law of unintended consequences.
By vilifying and demonising President Mugabe, they thought that it would be a done deal in their quest to recolonise Zimbabwe without realising that they were actually preparing the ground for Zimbabwe's own thrust to deal with its detractors and fully establish itself as a sovereign state. For it has become the best marketing tool in selling Zimbabwe, at no cost at all, though the downside is the immense suffering that the people are going through.
With the positive vibes coming from the South African-mediated talks, it is quite apparent that all the nations that have been bombarded with news about Zimbabwe will, at the end of it all, want to be part of this Zimbabwe in terms of foreign direct investment and tourism.
Meanwhile, despite this current aggression and onslaught, the people of Zimbabwe will continue to demand that there should be no outside interference in their internal affairs, and that they are masters of their destiny, and that they do not need the strings attached "assistance" from the West, especially Britain and America.
http://www.herald.co.zw/
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WaBun-Inini: A true American hero
Posted: Tuesday, July 29, 2008
By Obi Egbuna
July 29, 2008
Harare
ONE of the most tragic lessons that continues to be overlooked in the history of the United States is that the country is nothing, but a settler colony.
This means the so-called founding fathers, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of their gang, should be referred to as the first thieves.
When we as Africans at home or abroad begin looking at US history with the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights or the Articles of Confederation, we must realise we are slapping the indigenous inhabitants of this land in the face, which is not culturally or politically acceptable.
On October 13, 2007, the international fraternity of freedom fighters who believe in solidarity and world peace lost a brave and devoted comrade.
His colonial name was Vernon Bellecourt but his "warrior" name was WaBun-Inini, which means "Man of Dawn".
The Native American community compared this loss to when the Palestinians lost Yasser Arafat, when the African-American community lost Dr Martin Luther King Jnr and Malcolm X and when the Asian world lost Mao Tse Tung, Kim Il Sung and Ho Chi Minh.
What made WaBun-Inini special was his commitment to internationalism.
While he was very culturally grounded and was proud of his indigenous roots, he never hesitated using whatever platform to lend support to other oppressed people's struggles in every corner of the world.
Because WaBun-Inini was one of the founding members of the American Indian Movement/International Indian Treaty Council and served as the spokesperson of that branch that dealt with world affairs, he took that responsibility very seriously and it made him a brilliant and passionate ambassador of the rights of indigenous people throughout the Western hemisphere.
At the time of his death, he had just returned from Venezuela where he was discussing developing a long-term relationship with President Hugo Chavez.
WaBun-Inini, while in Venezuela, was informed that President Mugabe was one of the more recent recipients of the Simon Bolivar Award – Venezuela's highest political honour.
WaBun-Inini had already planned a trip to Zimbabwe to meet President Mugabe face-to-face.
One of his reasons for wanting to come was to let Cde Mugabe know that George W. Bush's sanctions policy did not have the support of indigenous Americans.
He also wanted to establish official ties with Zanu-PF.
WaBun-Inini was personally impressed with the courage President Mugabe and Zanu-PF demonstrated by pursuing the land reclamation programme in 2000.
More so, he felt Nelson Mandela should have been using his stature as an internationally acclaimed freedom fighter to both defend Zimbabwe and insist South Africa do the same thing for its people.
He also felt Cecil John Rhodes was the one man who he felt came closest to matching Christopher Columbus in terms of criminality and genocidal behaviour.
Cde WaBun-Inini felt that President Mugabe was one of the world's key voices on land reclamation and he not only spoke for Zimbabweans and Africans, but for all people ruined by colonialism.
He was greatly delighted when he heard President Mugabe tell former British prime minister Tony Blair in South Africa: "Blair, you keep your England and let me keep my Zimbabwe."
WaBun-Inini was very disturbed when he found out that David Livingstone had named Mosi-oa-Tunya after Queen Victoria and compared this to when Christopher Columbus claimed to have discovered America.
WaBun-Inini also was not pleased that the majority of the Congressional Black Caucus in the US were in support of the Bush-sponsored sanctions against Zimbabwe and felt this continued the disastrous legacy of the mercenary Buffalo Soldiers that killed his people.
In the 1980s, WaBun-Inini coined the phrase: "We are the Palestinians and the Palestinians are us."
He said on meeting President Mugabe he would also start saying: "We are the Zimbabweans and the Zimbabweans are us," as an expression of his solidarity and goodwill.
WaBun-Inini had also begun looking at the National Economic Development Priority Programme and wanted to begin a dialogue with President Mugabe on how trade agreements between Native Americans and Zimbabweans could get off the ground.
He felt solidarity in the political arena should translate into economic ties so Africans and Native Americans could weather the storm in a world still dominated by European imperialism.
WaBun-Inini wanted to tell President Mugabe that while he thought the Look East Policy was brilliant and revolutionary, also trading with the very same indigenous peoples that America exploited would be a real blow.
WaBun-Inini had held talks with the former Zimbabwe ambassador to the United States, Dr Simbi Mubako, and with the current Zimbabwean representative to the US, Dr Machivenyika Mapuranga, during which expressions of solidarity were exchanged.
WaBun-Inini wanted to invest time and energy in defending Zimbabwe in the same way he defended Libya and President Muammar Gaddafi in the mid-1980s following Reagan's bombing of that country in 1986.
WaBun-Inini and the late pan-African leader Kwame Toure of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party helped mobilise over 150 organisations to defy Reagan's travel ban on Libya.
WaBun-Inini called the failure by the British and US governments to honour commitments made to Zimbabwe at Lancaster House a continuation of the colonialist and imperialist tradition of lies and deceit.
When protesting atrocities in Guatemala against indigenous people by the CIA-backed government, he threw his own blood on their embassy in Washington and said he would do the same to the British Embassy because of their continued interference in Zimbabwe.
WaBun-Inini felt President Mugabe's pardoning of Ian Smith and his Rhodesian cohorts in 1980 was one of the greatest acts of compassion ever displayed by a freedom fighter towards the enemies and oppressors of his people the world had ever seen.
WaBun-Inini was also impressed with how Zimbabwe always paid tribute and homage to its iconic warriors like Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi and felt is was similar to the way his people acknowledged their great warriors like Sitting Bull and Geronimo.
WaBun-Inini was inspired by how President Mugabe and Zanu-PF helped Mozambique fight against Renamo and also by Operation Sovereign Legitimacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He would often cite an old Native American saying that goes: "You fight for your brothers with the same courage you defend yourselves."
WaBun-Inini felt because of Zimbabwe's commitment to education, which he said was only matched by what he saw in Cuba, he would have wanted the two ministries that deal directly with education to incorporate the history of indigenous Americans in the national syllabi.
In 2001 when the US protested slavery reparations and to recognise the need for a Palestinian homeland, WaBun-Inini stated that all who were surprised by this position must have either forgotten or overlooked the barbaric manner in which Native Americans were colonised.
He said that the Zimbabwean and the Native American questions deserved equal emphasis.
WaBun-Inini also signed a resolution highlighting Zimbabwe's fight against HIV and Aids and the manner in which the Global Fund was treating the country was akin to Lord Jeffrey Amhurst injecting smallpox in the blankets of Native Americans.
WaBun-Inini compared the courage of the Zanla and Zipra fighters during the Second Chimurenga to what he saw when he visited the Zapatistas in Mexico with whom he subsequently established strong relations.
Were he alive today, he would have celebrated President Mugabe's position that the US and Britain should not be involved in the current talks between Zanu-PF and the opposition MDC.
After all, treaties between the US government and the indigenous American peoples were always violated.
It would be good to see the American Indian Movement/Internatio nal Indian Treaty Council continue the work WaBun-Inini started and realise the establishment of official ties with Zanu-PF.
Long live Cde WaBun-Inini! Long live AIM-IITC and the Native American Revolution!
Long live Cde Mugabe and long live Zanu-PF!
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MoU: Dining Tsvangirai, Deigning the British
Posted: Saturday, July 26, 2008
Opinion & Analysis
July 26, 2008
The Herald
LISTENING to the MDC officials talk, you cannot miss that party's wish to be viewed and accepted as a party of major thresholds.
It views itself as the herald to great good things about to visit our country.
It speaks of the suffering, the impoverished, the traumatised, speaks of "exit points" to the current "crisis", but seemingly without any hint at the taunting irony underpinning these convoluted self-claims.
Apart from being the cause of the present crisis facing Zimbabwe, the party does not seem to recognise its all-British company, its all-sanctions agenda. One can hardly visualise any sadder pretension to millenarian personality than this. Even more worrisome is the mental state of the voter MDC is angling to catch with such fulsome claims. The politics of the MDC imply a credulous voter, one readily willing to suspend painfully begging questions, indeed one ready to ignore outward fact.
On its part, I hope the MDC does not believe self-flattery is the way out of its existential dilemma, a dilemma whose consequences it may now find harder to defer, let alone escape, after what happened on Monday. Henceforth, it has no choice but to answer foundational questions from an insistent and extraordinarily wary interlocutor.
While everyone was focusing on the larger and often humour-packed drama of the Monday MoU signing ceremony, very few noticed very significant auguries in and around the venue. How many, for instance, noticed that Tsvangirai received swapped briefcases with one of his minions, just before the signing? The briefcase he got for the ceremony held a speech he attempted to own and read with such striking unfamiliarity. Whose speech was it; whose ideas did it contain? After all, he had shown real reluctance to address the audience.
Out, out brief Scott and Rabitsch
More frighteningly, did anyone see two white men who fought so hard to access the venue, and the MDC leader, until they were emphatically frustrated and stopped by security? One was Keith Scott, the British Embassy's intelligence officer whose official cover nomenclature is "first secretary". The other was Armin Rabitsch, again whose cover title is "Elections and Democracy Expert" of the European Union. He "works" from the EU House.
What was the mission of the two men and why was it so important as to summon their combined belligerence? Are they part of the MDC-T human paraphernalia, part of the MDC cosmopolitan colour mix? I leave Scott for a while, noting though that he is also in charge of the Embassy's communications, possibly in recognition of the highly mediased British assault on Zimbabwe.
They have signed the wrong document!
I focus on the so-called elections and democracy expert of the EU. A rather simple and depthless man attempting a game on a complex pitch of politics, Rabitsch (Rubbish for short and simple!) was duly baited by a copy of the signed MoU, whereupon receiving and scanning through it, he gave the game away by exclaiming: "They signed the wrong document! Representatives of negotiating parties should have been five, not two."
You could not miss the consternation on the face of this white child of the emperor. Haggard, hair tousled, he withdrew to a corner meant for Rainbow guests, all under the watchful gaze of you-know-who. He whipped out a shrivelled and heavily finger-printed (from repeated references) piece of paper from his jacket which he furiously began comparing with the copy of the just signed MoU, paragraph by paragraph, point by point, word by word, oblivious to the watching Zimbabwean world.
Clearly there were variances, glaring variances that seemed to spell doom for him and the complex web of interests he minds in this country. All had been lost, or so it seemed. He cut a very lonely and resigned figure, simply overwhelmed by his own impotence, against another whirlwind turn in Zimbabwe's shifty politics.
So many questions, no answers
You are assailed by many questions. Which draft should the principals of the negotiating parties have signed? From where; from whom? Why did this outsider boy seem to know what was correct and possibly right for us, we the bereaved? Why were the emerging variations between the two documents such a horror for Mr Rubbish and Mr Kitty Scotchy?
What is more, is it sheer coincidence that among the issues MDC-T sought to reopen for negotiation just before the signing, was item 3 to do with representatives of each party to the talks, the same item which triggered a Rubbish yell? Why would the British, the EU and the MDC seek an enlarged team of negotiators to the talks? And why would all the representative negotiators to the talks – including those from MDC-T – unanimously reject the proposed enlargement, once put before them by the facilitator? Surely Biti and Mangoma would have been familiar with such a request from their party and backers, and would have exercised their obligation to push for its acceptance in the hastily convened pre-signing talks?
Would this suggest contradictions within the MDC and between these officials and those driving the British, European and American agenda? When one recalls that the two officials had to turn to Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi (the other neglected barrel this time!) when they sought to persuade Tsvangirai to sign the MoU, the plot simply thickens.
What is worse, MDC-T had a meeting of its executive last Thursday, ahead of the Monday signing. Are we sure the media have reported all that happened in that meeting, including tracing fractures within MDC-T, worsened by the Thursday meeting focused on whether or not to sign the MoU with Zanu-PF? More important, how do all these dynamics enable or disable the inter-party dialogue? What are the threats? What are the prospects?
Returning to old wine, old bottle-skins
I notice the media have been fixated on the timetable of the talks, unanimously concluding the time frame is unrealistic. Frankly, time is a non-issue, and, sadly, one reminding us yet again that the media are an industry of misleading recency, a profession where there is mutual agreement to annihilate memory and history, all to the combined detriment of the unwary reader. Nothing – not an iota – of what is in the MoU is new or undiscovered among the negotiating parties. Nothing – not an iota – of what is in the MoU was not debated on, with agreed positions adopted in the marathon discussions that took the whole of last year, right up to the March polls.
Including a draft constitution – made, adopted and ready – which the two MDCs decided to abuse in order to avoid signing the more binding comprehensive political declaration which the British did not want signed at all. And also hoping to dodge or defer the March poll. The declaration would have got both MDCs to affirm the correctness and irrevocability of land reforms, as well as British obligations to the resolution of that vexed question; would have affirmed the sanctity of Zimbabwe's sovereignty; would have rejected sanctions and other forms of Western intrusions, including pirate radio stations.
Needless to say, such a declaration would have ousted the tenuous moral string on which British neo-colonial designs here hang. More immediately, and especially for MDC-T, the declaration would have amounted to a vote against themselves, a conclusive resolution of an existential dilemma through suicide. Needless to say, that would not have made sense ahead of the harmonised elections which both MDCs were not quite ready for, even without realising that Zanu-PF, for all its unjustified confidence, was in a far worse position of readiness.
A moment to fornicate
I would daresay a number of issues, particularly those to do with communication, were, in fact, moved forward from the draft constitution, into current law, and this on the eve of the campaign period. There is a draft constitution already, agreed to also, which got mothballed ahead of the elections. So there is nothing new or un-agreed in what is in the MoU.
What may be new and a clear nuisance is the propensity to reopen negotiations on old matters and agreements. Even then, that would not suggest too short a timeframe; merely too long a foreplay by those forgetful they are stealing a moment to fornicate! Which is why I think real focus should be on which limbs balance, intertwine or penetrate in this dance of macabre dalliance.
Kicking out the British
Apart from its photogenic and gastronomic value, the real significance of the meeting between President Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai is that the two men tucked out the British from between them. The meddlesome British. The failure of Scott and Rabitsch to access the venue, influence the content and obtain on their terms the final documentation of the Monday ceremony, may have been very symbolic of how well sequestered from disruptive intrusion the beginning of the accommodation process (which is what it is now that substantive issues were long thrashed) was.
Judging by the appetite for more (the two men shared lunch) meetings which Tsvangirai has developed, it is clear something of a transfiguration happened in that small suite on Floor 17 of the Rainbow.
Phased declaration of war against Independence
But the risks of recidivism in Tsvangirai abound, which takes me to the real threats to the process. The largest threat comes from red-hot anger in London and Washington, less so some European capitals which had joined in the fight in the hope of delivering a good turn to the British. Chapter 7 of the UN Charter under which Britain, through the US and smaller states which sponsored the resolution against Zimbabwe in the Security Council, is a war segment of the UN Charter.
Britain was and is ready to go to war over Zimbabwe, against Zimbabwe. The resolution was meant to be a phased declaration of war, adorned with a patina of international legitimacy. Had the resolution succeeded, Britain would have fought a second colonisation war here, in the full joy of a UN mandate. It, thus, would have been a righteous war to unrighteous ends. That means the UN would have been complicit in inaugurating Berlin Conference 2, with itself in the chair that Bismarck occupied at the turn of the 19th Century.
It would have started a new phase and wave of recolonisation, of which Zimbabwe would have been the opening salvo. Through that one resolution, the UN would have edited all its anti-colonial resolutions that gave focus and impetus to liberation forces in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the name of a cardinal value of the UN Charter: self-determination. Ironically, Russia and China, which in Western propaganda terms are bastions of autocracy, stepped in to save the UN Charter from its marauding Security Council, and a strangely ululating Secretary General.
Telegraphing British hostility
But the message had gone home. Britain was and is ready for a dire decision against Zimbabwe. And this filtered through its media for the greater part of the week. Illustratively, the British Telegraph, itself a breath away from those who really govern England, dismissed the Monday event as "a disgraceful solution" for Zimbabwe (for Britain?)". Claiming the agreement "legitimised Mugabe's shameful flouting of the democratic process", the paper added the only person gladdened by the breakthrough would have been "South Africa's unimpressive president, Thabo Mbeki".
You cannot miss the royal rage, made madder by a recognition that "the wider international community (read Britain and America) would have little option but to look impotently on". With Mugabe and Tsvangirai sharing lunch and thoughts, Britain and her overriding interests were temporarily impotent, which is why the Telegraph bemoans the fact that "any sanctions against Mugabe and his henchmen would have to be abandoned".
The question is whether the British are permanently shut out. The Telegraph had the temerity to offer advice to Tsvangirai: "Mr Tsvangirai should not accede to such a one-sided settlement. The starting point for any power-sharing agreement is that it should recognise the result of the first, contested, presidential, election. That would require Mugabe's removal from the presidency and his replacement by Mr Tsvangirai. Any deal that does not recognise the democratic wishes of the people of Zimbabwe will not be worth the paper it is written on."
Well, well, well! Exactly, which is why no serious person gave regard to the British deal here, so succinctly spelt out by the Telegraph. It is a deal which does not recognise the supreme law here, implying securing British interests must, in fact, be our law as a neo-colony of the British. March gave Tsvangirai an early lead. June gave President Mugabe the conclusive win which yielded the Presidency for him. This Tsvangirai appears to have finally understood and appreciated on Monday, with his suggestion (and it's a mere suggestion he put to the President) for a 19th Amendment to the Constitution indicating a shying away from his initial British-inspired obduracy and fixation with the penultimate March polls. This may mark the beginning of Tsvangirai's second liberation, brought about by the man who is his father's age mate, the man he delights in reviling on behalf of the West.
Temptations of government-in-exile
The British are all out to wreck the project towards settlement here, and much rests on how well they are kept out, both by the MDC and the facilitator. The demand for an expanded mediation team and an expanded negotiating team is a search for opportune fissures for massive disruptions. Now that Tsvangirai is about to get a new passport to enable him to participate in the forthcoming meeting of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security in Angola, he will have to resist the tempting idea of leaving the country to launch a government-in–exile, which for the British is a precursor to insurgency here, and more forays into the Security Council.
It will be a ruinous route to follow, one which would bring personal grief to Tsvangirai. After Monday, his best chances are with President Mugabe, ironically enough. The Russians have a brilliant idea. Sanctions should be applied on whoever stalls talks, including MDC-T and those hostile thoughts obstructing the course of a peaceful settlement.
Flutter in both dove-coats
The other threat – no doubt minor – comes from all the parties. Both the British and Americans are mulling reconfiguring the opposition here, once the two MDCs join Zanu-PF. Expectedly not everyone will have a place in the sun, in the new agreement. Those inside Zanu-PF who would not dare do what foolhardy Dabengwa did, but are known to have been sympathetic to Makoni, would sulk if it turns out – for reasons of sheer practicality – that they are not absorbed. The British expect this to be the nucleus of a new opposition movement, alongside embittered elements from both MDC-T and MDC-M.
And MDC-T seems set to suffer serious fractures, which I will not go into this week. Noteworthy, too, is evident angst in the old Zapu fold, one well founded in the concern that a new agreement with the two MDCs, would topple or relegate the 1987 Unity Accord. Fortunately, this is needless worry, given that the ruling party has made the 1987 Unity Accord a non-negotiable principle which will continue to shape and influence the composition of the Presidency.
Restoring the charity clause
What to do with the Mutambara group, that is the embarrassing but easy question. Embarrassing to both MDCs, but triggering massive gloating within Zanu-PF. Soon after the end of the 20 racial seats provided for under the Lancaster House Constitution as given us by the British, Zanu-PF – no doubt with remarkable nation-building foresight – turned those seats into special seats appointable by the President. The idea was to ensure inclusive structures of governance, which is how minority groups have always had a place in our structures.
However, these powers were severely pared down at last year's talks, all on the insistence of both MDCs. Mugabe can no longer abridge the people's will, they howled triumphantly, one eye pitying the supposedly eunuch-ed president. They relished the moment. Still in that din of ill-fated joy, Goche and Chinamasa were humane enough to remind Welshman Ncube that Matabeleland was, in fact, the biggest beneficiary of this provision in the electoral law. No, the learned professor and his colleagues would have none of it. The powers had to go, and go they did! Hardly six months down the victory, those powers are badly needed, badly needed by especially (excuse my broken syntax for emphasis) Welshman and his group in leadership, all of them killed and wiped out by the same democracy in whose name they pared down the charitable provision with such reckless ho-la-la-la! That is the difference between experience and knowledge, between mid-eighties and early fifties.
The Brown man at it again
Mandaza is at it again. With the money for Mavambo finished, the man wants new benefactors. To get these, he has to improve his appeal. And the benefactors are Western donors who will pour billions for any jibe at Zanu-PF. Those who were with Mandaza in the now defunct publishing project will tell you how throughout the ownership fight, the man would politically and legally catwalk to gain the notice of Western benefactors. He had to prove he was deeply anti-Zanu-PF to win Western donor approbation. His latest target is Joyce Kazembe, vice chairperson of the constitutional Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, herself a long-standing employee of Sapes Trust. She has to leave Sapes, we are told, because the Sapes Trust which Ibbotson Joseph dominates if not personify, accuses her of bringing it into disrepute! A Kazemba on national assignment brings disrepute to some nondescript, donor-driven NGO whose accounts books gooseflesh at the mention of the word "audit"? And Kazembe who serves a constitutional body under which Mavambo competed for power, soils the Trust the way Mandaza himself as a player in that terminal political thing, does not? And how did Professor Sam Moyo, or other regional scholars who left Sapes in such ignominy, soil it? This guy has been allowed to go too far in abusing people. Each time he wants to improve his credentials as a mendicant angling for donor notice, some scapegoat has to be found, some head has to roll! So Joyce is the coin that settles the electoral trouncing of Mavambo? And, sisi, you allow the man to defame you so openly? Why? The same week the EU crucifies you? Doesn't that make him a Brown man? Icho!
-End-
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MoU softens EU stance on Zimbabwe
Posted: Saturday, July 26, 2008
Herald Reporter-AFP.
July 26, 2008
The Herald
BORDEAUX. THE ongoing talks between Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations have softened the European Union's stance on Zimbabwe and has now thrown its weight behind President Thabo Mbeki's mediation.
The EU solidly backed Pretoria's mediating role in Zimbabwe as the only way of ending the country's economic and political problems at the end of the landmark EU-South Africa summit yesterday.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy – whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU – showered fulsome praise on President on his "bold and courageous" intervention.
"We wholeheartedly support the courageous mediation by President Mbeki and back the idea to give him more time," Sarkozy said at a joint news conference at the end of the first EU-South Africa summit, held in the picturesque French city of Bordeaux.
"Mbeki's mediation must be supported," he said, adding: "There is no other way possible now and everyone in Europe agrees on this."
The EU on Tuesday widened sanctions against Zimbabwe despite a deal brokered by Mbeki between President Mugabe and opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara on talks for a future government.
Brussels is hostile to President Mugabe while President Mbeki, on the other hand, is opposed to any attempt to arm-twist the Zimbabwean leader and to bow to any form of Western pressure.
Yesterday President Mbeki sought to emphasise that the positions on Zimbabwe were narrowing.
"All of us agreed that it is important that Zimbabwean political parties should move forward to reach agreement ... on the formation of an inclusive government and a common programme to take Zimbabwe forward.
"I think everybody in the world wants this to happen as a matter of urgency," he said. "I really sincerely appreciate the support expressed by President Sarkozy."
President Mbeki sidestepped a question on whether he was seeking a dignified exit for President Mugabe, whose status as an African liberation hero is still largely undimmed on the continent.
"They (the Zimbabweans) will have to take the decision about who retires when. It's not something that comes from the mediation," he said.
South Africa defended its approach on the Zimbabwean issue.
"Our view is that there has been a major step forward in the process of dialogue in Zimbabwe thanks to the tireless and behind-the-scenes efforts of President Mbeki," South African Foreign Ministry spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa told AFP.
"We want all those parties who have a genuine desire for a resolution of the crisis in Zimbabwe to give the current peace process a strong boost," Mamoepa added.
Mamoepa yesterday slammed Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga for speaking out on the Zimbabwean situation and insisting that President Mugabe release all political prisoners.
"We are not aware of the accreditation of Prime Minister Odinga as a mediator on the Zimbabwean question," Mamoepa said.
"Odinga is demanding that President Mugabe release all political prisoners and to host teleconferences, but in what capacity?" he added.
As the talks progress analysts and ordinary Zimbabweans have been predicting how the all- inclusive government would look like and how everybody considered key will be accommodated.
Some are suggesting that President Mugabe should appoint more than five non-constituency senators to accommodate those who were defeated in the March 29 elections.
In Zimbabwe, for one to be Government minister they have to be either an MP or senator.
Ironically, it was the opposition which proposed that the number of non-constituency MPs appointed by the President be reduced from 12 to five.
The opposition is now believed to be pushing for the President to appoint more than five senators.
This requires a constitutional amendment and Parliament will have to be called to sit and pass the necessary amendments before the extra senators can be appointed.
Analysts say this should not be a problem if the negotiating parties agree to this route since the two largest parties between them can easily muster the necessary majority.
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Zimbabwe: Makumbe fails to substantiate violence claims
Posted: Saturday, July 26, 2008
Crime Reporter
July 26, 2008
The Herald
TRANSPARENCY International chairman and University of Zimbabwe lecturer John Makumbe has failed to substantiate his claims of post-June 27 presidential run-off election violence in some parts of Zimbabwe admitting that he was relying on reports from a foreign pirate radio station and a foreign newspaper.
Makumbe’s claims that some people had taken refuge in mountains because of acts of violence made on a live ZBC-TV programme "Zimbabwe Today" were condemned by the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa that called on Zimbabweans to refrain from provocative statements when political parties are engaged in dialogue to solve the country’s problems.
Following the claims police summoned Makumbe to furnish them with more information to back his allegations but he could not provide a shred of evidence.
Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Mandipaka said they visited Makumbe at his University of Zimbabwe offices to verify the authenticity of his allegations.
"He only referred the officers who quizzed him to a hostile newspaper, The Zimbabwean, and said he had got some of his information from the pirate radio station run by Voice of America," he said.
Police have since dismissed Makumbe’s claims saying they were unfounded and meant to cause alarm and despondency.
Chief Supt Mandipaka said Makumbe had misled the nation into believing that violence was still prevalent yet there were no cases of violence since the elections ended.
"It is very unfortunate that a professor can go on national television to make such allegations without any shred of evidence. Such utterances are, in our view, calculated to cause despondency and are alarming to the country," Chief Supt Mandipaka said adding that every citizen must act responsibly by verifying the facts.
Makumbe confirmed yesterday that police visited him saying he had referred them to Studio 7 and The Zimbabwean.
The Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa yesterday called on political parties, trade unions, the media and civil society to refrain from provocative actions and statements at a time when the country’s political parties are engaged in dialogue aimed at finding lasting solutions to the current challenges.
In a statement yesterday, CPIA executive director Dr Leonard Kapungu applauded President Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara for signing a Memorandum of Understanding that paved the way for talks.
"We hope that the substantive talks now underway will be conducted in a mature and rational manner in the spirit of compromise, with the interests of Zimbabweans at the centre of the discussions," he said.
"We sincerely hope that the hard bargaining and ‘horse trading’ inherent in negotiations will be tempered with selfless pragmatism so as to bring about a lasting solution to the political impasse, economic meltdown and social dislocation besetting the country."
The CPIA said there is need for negotiators to be single-minded and focus on the big national
picture at the expense of self-interests and narrow partisan considerations.
It appealed to the negotiators to ensure that Zimbabweans would buy into the new dispensation to emerge from the talks.
"To this end the document being crafted by the negotiators should have the seal of approval and legitimacy of all Zimbabweans, through a referendum, before it becomes the supreme law of the land."
The CPIA believes that the negotiations should go beyond the short- and long-term solutions in purely constitutional terms.
It said the talks presented a glorious opportunity for the negotiators to bring on board other issues like reconciliation.
"We hope and pray that the negotiators will be able to deliver at the earliest opportunity. At the same time we call upon all political parties, trade unions, civil society, individuals and the media to refrain from provocative actions and making careless statements," the statement said.
http://www.herald.co.zw
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Lift sanctions, Angola tells EU
Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2008
Herald Reporters
July 24, 2008
Zanu-PF and MDC-T negotiators flew to South Africa yesterday evening to begin talks to resolve the country's political and economic problems as Angola called on the European Union to lift the illegal embargo against Harare.
The call came on the same day as the Zanu-PF Politburo held an extraordinary meeting in Harare where it endorsed dialogue.
Meanwhile, Russia said the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding vindicated its position at the United Nations Security Council to oppose more sanctions against Zimbabwe.
The ruling party negotiators, Cde Patrick Chinamasa and Cde Nicholas Goche, and their MDC-T counterparts Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma were on the same South African Airways flight to Johannesburg.
Airport officials confirmed the four negotiators were travelling on the same plane that was scheduled to take off at 1810 hours.
MDC negotiators Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga were believed to have already flown to South Africa.
On Tuesday, Cde Chinamasa said the talks would begin today at an undisclosed venue.
The negotiating teams have two weeks from Monday – the date of the signing of the MoU – to complete the talks and reach agreement.
South African President Thabo Mbeki is brokering the talks.
An extraordinary Zanu-PF Politburo meeting yesterday gave the party negotiating team the green light to continue with the dialogue in line with the negotiating parameters as spelt out in the MoU.
In an interview soon after the meeting yesterday evening, party deputy secretary for information and publicity Cde Ephraim Masawi said the party's supreme decision-making body met and was briefed on the MoU.
He said the meeting expressed satisfaction with the MoU and gave the nod to the party's negotiators to continue with their work.
"We met as the Politburo to be briefed of the signing of the MoU and chart the way forward. The issues that came up were whether we accept that our people should continue in these negotiations.
"We gave Cde Chinamasa and Cde Goche the green light for them to go ahead with the negotiations within the parameters signed by the principals," said Cde Masawi.
"We were briefed about the role of the facilitator, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and the party felt that he was fighting hard to find solutions to an African problem."
Cde Masawi said the extraordinary Politburo meeting hailed the good work being done by President Mbeki.
Russia, which recently vetoed a United States draft sanctions resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Security Council, on Tuesday said that its decision to block the economic embargo had been justified by the signing of the MoU by the country's three main political parties.
Speaking to the Press after a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, President Hugo Chavez, in Moscow, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev repeated that he had confidence that dialogue, and not sanctions, was the best way forward.
"Our position on this issue has been consistent from the outset, and these consultations (the ongoing dialogue) prove that this position is justified. I hope that during these consultations, all basic agreements will be reached to calm the situation," he said.
Russia's foreign ministry also issued a statement welcoming the start of talks in Zimbabwe.
"Russia welcomes this decision, which opens up the route to overcoming the internal political crisis in the country. We call on leading political forces in the country to continue to show a constructive approach in the name of national unity and accord," the ministry said in a statement on its website.
AFP reports that Angola yesterday called on the European Union to immediately lift sanctions against the
Zimbabwean leadership, warning they could derail the negotiations.
"The EU should lift all sanctions on the leaders of Zimbabwe as soon as possible," Foreign Minister Mr Joao Miranda told state-run RNA radio.
"There is no reason to justify the maintenance of these sanctions. All obstacles liable to endanger the progress of negotiations should be removed."
Mr Miranda's comments come a day after EU foreign ministers widened sanctions against Zimbabwe despite the signing of the MoU by President Mugabe, MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC's Arthur Mutambara to pave way for the talks.
Mr Miranda, whose government is one of Zimbabwe's staunchest allies in Sadc, said it made no sense to propose new sanctions at a time when Zimbabwe's ruling party and opposition were talking.
"This dialogue is for real," he added.
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