Zimbabwe: Mugabe 'an outstanding leader'
Posted: Saturday, April 21, 2007
HARARE, 04/21 - Zimbabwe's embattled President Robert Mugabe won a show of support from neighbouring Zambia with its vice-president calling him one of the world's great leaders, state media in Harare reported Friday. In comments carried by the Herald newspaper, Rupiah Banda said Mugabe had shown courage by embarking on his controversial land reform programme in the face of Western criticism and any problems in Zimbabwe should be resolved among Africans.
"We are proud to stand in front of the world and say this is our brother and that any problems here or in Zambia can be solved by ourselves within the context of our continent and our organisation," Banda said after meeting with Mugabe on Thursday.
"Zimbabwe is a sovereign state which should be respected by all and that within its sovereignty, its people decide who is their leader and as far as we are concerned, right here (pointing at Mugabe), we have one of the most outstanding leaders in the world and in Africa."
Banda's words of praise are in contrast to recent comments from Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa who has compared the situation in Zimbabwe to the sinking of the Titanic.
Banda is seen as close to Zambia's founding president Kenneth Kaunda who recently warned against the "demonisation" of his old ally Mugabe.
South African President Thabo Mbeki was recently tasked by regional heads of state to help resolve the divisions between Mugabe government and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change after recent attacks on MDC leaders.
Zimbabwe is currently in the throes of an economic meltdown which has seen inflation surge towards the 2,000 percent mark.
Western critics have traced the decline of the economy to the launch of the land reform programme in 2000 which saw thousands of white-owned farms seized by the state.
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=526167
Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com
Visit: Zimbabwe Watch
Zimbabwe: Mugabe 'an outstanding leader', says Zambian vice-president
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Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, ZIMBABWE
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Man,101, nabbed over cannabis
By LILLIAN MUSENGE
THE Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested a man of Mazabuka aged 101 for allegedly cultivating and trafficking in two sacks of cannabis. DEC public relations officer, Rosten Chulu, confirmed the arrest of Timothy Chilekwa, a peasant farmer of Namembo village, who was born in 1906.
Mr Chulu said Mr Chilekwa was arrested for alleged unlawful cultivation of cannabis weighing 1.2 tonnes. He said Mr Chilekwa was also arrested for trafficking in two sacks of cannabis weighing 6.950 kilograms. He said Mr Chilekwa would appear in court soon.
Mr Chulu said the commission has also arrested two 32-year-old peasant farmers of North-Western Province for unlawful cultivation and trafficking in cannabis. Paul Lubwala, of Lungano village in Katandano area and Kelvin Chinyama of Mushona area, were arrested for alleged unlawful cultivation of 78 kilograms of cannabis and trafficking in 41 kilograms of the compressed weed, respectively.
In Luapula Province, Mr Chulu said the DEC arrested John Chansa, 34, and John Chishimba, 53, for trafficking in 250 grams and 0.5grams of cannabis respectively.
DEC also arrested Peter Kapasa, 37, for allegedly trafficking in 57 balls of cannabis while a housewife, Eliya Mulenga, 30, was arrested for allegedly trafficking 50 grams of cannabis.
In Chipata, the commission arrested Sophia Banda, 52, a peasant farmer in Chamwala compound in Chadiza for trafficking in 12.61 kilograms of cannabis.
Meanwhile, Mr Chulu said DEC in Lusaka arrested Fredrick Nyambe of Northmead for allegedly trafficking in two sachets of crack cocaine weighing 0.2056 grams.
Labels: CANNABIS, DEC
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International community urged to Invest in COMESA
By ANGELA CHISHIMBA
VICE-PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda has challenged the international community to invest in infrastructure in the COMESA because it is a secure investment destination. He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Minister of Defence, George Mpombo, who is acting as Vice-President.
He was speaking during the opening of a meeting of ministers responsible for infrastructure in COMESA. "I would like to invite the international community to invest in infrastructure in our region as I believe it has good returns and is now a secure investment destination,” he said.
“Investors will take advantage of the larger integrated market with better infrastructure being provided."
He said the success of COMESA's integration programme would depend significantly on the availability of adequate transport, communications networks and energy resources. "Today, we have big challenges in the transport, communications and energy sectors which we need to address collectively," he said.
Mr Banda said the cost of transport in COMESA, especially in landlocked countries, was comparatively high, thereby increasing the cost of production and distribution of goods and services.
He said there was need to develop transport infrastructure systems and address the non-physical constraints, which caused delays in the movement of cargo and people.
Mr Banda also said the region was facing great challenges in energy supply. Demand for power in many countries outstripped the supply by large margins.
He said while demand for power had been rising due to industrial and population growth, the generation capacity had not increased much in the last decade due to lack of investment in the sector.
Mr Banda said power distribution losses had continued to rise leading to reduced power delivery from existing installed capacity.
"I am aware of the many power generation and transmission projects now proposed to provide additional power to meet the needs of the region.
I would urge you, as ministers responsible, to put great efforts to fast track the development of these projects by building consensus on priorities which will enable the full realisation of the regional needs at minimum costs," he said.
Mr Banda also said due to lack of effective interconnectivity, costs of communication regionally remained the highest in the world.
This denied the region the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the information age.
"We should also encourage private/public partnerships where the private sector invests and operates facilities on concession basis but subject to agreed performance targets," he said.
And COMESA secretary-general, Erastus Mwencha said about US$120 million was spent per annum on transiting through Europe and North America in order to communicate regionally.
Mr Mwencha also said a feasibility study for the Shire-Zambezi Waterways would be carried out through COMESA using funds from the European Union.
And Malawian Minister of Transport and Public Works, Henry Mussa, said in an interview that ministers of transport from Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique would sign an agreement on April 25,2007, to commence the Shire Waterways project.
Mr Mussa said the project would integrate Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbambwe and Tanzania.
Labels: COMESA, RUPIAH BANDA
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Wife battery cannot be justified
By Editor
Saturday April 21, 2007 [04:00] Print
Wife battery, though making headlines in the last few days, is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been there since time immemorial. However, now that our women are getting more and more enlightened, they have started to bring out these barbaric acts by men who claim to be doing it in the name of love.
Previously, it was considered taboo for a woman to disclose to anyone, not even her mother or sisters, that she was being beaten by her husband. A woman who did that was considered unworthy because a worthy woman was expected to endure such beatings or physical harassment. It was said, as it is said today, that a man would occasionally - out of love - beat his wife when she did something wrong.
However, whatever the reasons, wife battery cannot be justified. In discussing this issue, we will rely heavily on the wise counsel found in the Holy Book, the Bible, because we realise that marriage is God's arrangement. God is the originator of marriage.
As it is stated in the Bible, when a man and woman marry, they cease to be two. They become one flesh. But this is not to say that there will be no problems or challenges in a marriage simply because the two have become one.
First Corinthians 7:28 warns that those who marry should never be surprised by trials; they will experience tribulation in the flesh just like Jesus did.
However, whenever challenges arise, the Bible advises husbands to imitate Jesus Christ's example of patience, love and firmness in upholding righteous principles. Husbands are encouraged to face marital challenges in a knowledgeable manner.
Rather than harshly dominate his wife, the Bible expects a husband to treat her as a prized possession, never using his greater physical strength to hurt her. He is expected to treat his wife with respect and dignity, assigning her the honour she deserves as a woman. This is what 1 Peter 3:7 states, that women are weaker vessels and are supposed to be handled as such.
But what about husbands who beat their wives in the name of love, as a way of demonstrating how much they feel for them? Well, men who do that simply show that they do not love their wives. They hate them.
The apostle Paul in Ephesians 5: 28,29, 33 states: "In this way, husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no man ever hated his own flesh; but he feeds and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the congregation. Let each one of you individually so love his wife as he does himself."
These are thought-provoking words from the apostle Paul. Indeed, does a sane man ever intentionally injure his own body? Does a man beat his toe because it caused him to stumble? Does a husband humiliate himself before his friends?
If a sane and loving man cannot intentionally injure himself, why should he intentionally inflict excruciating pain on a woman he claims to love? Why should he cause such grievous bodily harm like Luckson Bemba of Lusaka did to his wife Musonda Manda?
Husbands are encouraged to be kind and loving to their wives but at the same time to be firm when it comes to discipline. They are encouraged to speak out appropriately whenever the need for correction arises.
If a wife is proving to be unfaithful, there is a way to resolve this problem without resorting to beatings. Instead of causing such injuries to his wife as Bemba did, a man can choose to divorce his unfaithful wife without causing acrimony or resorting to such
animal behaviour. After all, adultery is the only ground for divorce allowed in the Bible.
How can Bemba or indeed any other man justifiably claim to love his wife but at the same time inflict injury on her body? Can a sane man intentionally injure himself? How can a man enjoy living with a woman whose face he has disfigured?
Clearly, no man can justify wife battery, no matter how compelling his reasons for such action are. Wife battery is not only barbaric but it is also a sheer display of disrespect for God, the originator of marriage. And all those having no respect or regard for God, the Bible tells us, will not receive His favour.
Today, many marriages are more threatened than ever before. They are facing unprecedented challenges. But these challenges are not insurmountable. And if they are to be overcome, marriage partners need to reflect deeply on the origin of marriage, remembering that marriage is of divine origin, conceived and constituted by God. When differences arise, husbands and wives should always remember to settle them in accordance with the wishes of the One that instituted marriage. This can only be possible if marriage partners acquaint themselves with what the Bible says on this matter.
Labels: EDITORIAL
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wife batterer justifies his actions
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Saturday April 21, 2007 [04:00]
The Lusaka man who battered his wife for refusing to disclose her cellphone pin number has disclosed that he was forced to do so because she was cheating on him. Luckson Musonda Bemba, in a walk-in interview on Thursday said he decided to speak out on the matter because he wanted to clear the story about the differences with his wife Manda. He even exposed the text messages that his wife Musonda Manda was exchanging with her 'lover'.
Bemba, a 33-year-old architect said: "My wife went to the extent of telling her lover to help us have a baby girl. I am not mad, I’m straightforward, she forced me to do that but I have forgiven her and she is still the mother of my children and we have to get together and bury our differences. The world is calling me names and I am being tormented."
Bemba, of Lusaka’s Kabwata township, said the messages he found in her phone would enrage anybody.
"I am not barbaric, I’m not an animal. I uphold Christian values. I have stayed with my wife for more than seven years and we had three children, one passed away. I want to clear myself for hitting the wife I love so much," he said.
Some of the messages from the alleged 'lover' to Manda read:
"I will come over but I won't hold you in case he find us. I will call you, I can’t just leave to talk to you, we are having a family meeting, it’s mum’s memorial and tombstone, I have missed you and thanks for the sweet kiss."
And Manda would write back in several SMSs: "Baby I don't want to be a bother to you but you sounded cold gee! Am scared. I felt the body language when we walked together yesterday, I felt the heat, didn't you my darling? Baby I know you are busy but please sms me back. My love am now on my way home, will I see you when you come on
Monday? When was the last time you were kissed passionately? I have really missed you my darling, thoughts of you run through my head, sleep well my love, I didn’t finish the sms, sorry shame my baby, wish I was there to hold your hand. I need you to father a baby girl for us my darling, just kidding. Goodnight and sms back.”
Bemba said it all started when ‘a good Samaritan’ asked him if he had ever passed through his wife’s work place.
“Someone from our area told me to investigate the movements of my wife because there was someone who used to drop her and pick her from her work place,” Bemba said. “This man confronted me and told me a man had been moving about with my wife and they see her. They hold each other and they drive away.”
Bemba said he became suspicious because sometimes when he would go to pick his wife from work, she would sulk.
“She couldn’t talk to me so I became suspicious and said let me also start my investigations. So my investigations started with the phone. On Sunday, I picked up her phone. She had put it on my drawing board when I was doing the drawings, so I picked it up because I wanted to check the messages and that’s when I found there was a security code for the messages. I asked her for the security code but she refused and because she was scared, she ran away from home. I didn’t chase her,” Bemba said. “On Tuesday she called me, she wanted a card for the child and I went to pick her so we could go home.
I asked her politely I told her ‘you are my wife I love you so much and just tell me whatever is inside the phone and I won’t hurt you then we will bury everything’. She refused and this is how it went to that extent of dragging each other into the car and I beat her until she told me and we managed to open the message box. I took her to an unfinished house where I also beat her.”
Bemba said when they read the messages together, she told him the name of the boyfriend.
“She agreed to everything and that’s how I got upset and beat her but I forgave her because she told me finally after everything happened. I then took her to my mother and I left her there. I went to look for a charger to charge my phone so that I could show my mother the messages but when I came back, I found her relatives had picked her and took her to the police and hospital. I am getting surprised that this thing is not ending. I see it in the paper every day,” Bemba complained.
He said he decided to speak out so he could clear his conscience because it was affecting his work as people were getting suspicious.
“They think I am an animal. I respect Christian values,” said Bemba.
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Glaring financial irregularities
By Jeff Kalembe Lusaka
Saturday April 21, 2007 [04:00]
I have resisted commenting on what most of our politicians and leaders say and get away with all the time. This is responsible for the double standards that are obtaining and contributes to the breakdown in the moral and social order. What we end up with is a country in squalor such as ours. I would however hasten to say that in the midst of all this hopelessness, we have beacons of hope such as is propagated by The Post and other persons.
Corruption and theft: The sittings of the PAC have established glaring financial irregularities and workers across all government departments are the major culprits. And what has the Church, civil society and union leaders said about this? How much pressure has been exerted on the authorities to ensure that all culprits are brought to book? Compare this with the hullabaloo that surrounded the Ministry of Lands saga that culminated in the dismissal of the minister.
For instance, how many people have been affected by the alleged misapplication of funds by the controlling officers at RDA? All we end up with is pressure piled on the leadership for issues that have political overtones, forgetting the real issues that affect our daily living. These are double standards.
Consistency from our leaders: Political and leadership breed that obtains in this country never ceases to amaze me.
And I wonder why they are able to get away with all the blantant shifting of positions. And this is the blame that all the populace should take. No wonder Levy said "Zambians forget easily". But this weakness is entirely the blame of civil society groups whose responsibility should be to steer the moral and social issues.
Alas! Most of them have been consumed by the political rhetoric and as such a neutral finds it hard to differentiate a civic leader from a politician.
Here are some examples: PF leader Michael Sata in the run-up to elections was against the awarding of a consortium of Finance Bank and the leasing company from developing the land around the Baobab area and called Mahtani a mercenary in The Post .
He is quoted as saying "three indigenous banks" should have been offered to buy Rabobank. Even from the Competition Commission's point of view, what are the implications of such a move and when you compare the positions, don't we smell inconsistency? And no one questions the shift in position. And just look at the news item concerning Moses Katumbi, what are his views compared with the views of the general population?
Look at the government position regarding the markets and mines. Now they are re-negotiating. Isn't it laughable that so many people at the time saw this coming and were ignored?
We do remember how two Honourable MPs escaped, by the skin of their teeth, the issue of money that was carried to some convention in Kabwe and the chief architect of that is also well known. What moral right do they have to go in public and start being champions of the same vices so many years later and are allowed to go scot-free?
And who is supposed to make these people accountable for their deeds, principles and position? And what message are we sending to the controlling officers about what they are supposed to do? And at the end of the day who do we blame for all the troubles?
That is a challenge which must be thrown to all of us. Yes, we need the constitution, but beyond that lay the real answer, the will to do. Day in day out, we cannotabide by simple traffic rules, how will we abide by the constitution?
We have street vendors going about daily with their business against health rules and are even supported in their illegality by leaders, how are we going to keep the constitution? The attitude of some Zambians is wrong and most people will be offended by this stark reality.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25523
Curbing corruption
By Billy Sichone
Saturday April 21, 2007 [04:00]
As I read your pithy editorial (19/04/2007), I could not help agreeing with you. I found it very accurate, deep, analytical and to the point concerning the circus we have been going through for the past six years or so since the new dealers corruptly ascended to the saddle.
Politicians are the same, never learning, opportunists and suffering from the same infectious disease - corruption. I could not help imagining just how complex, deep rooted, systemic and invisible corruption has become in Zambia today, beyond conventional audit detection! There is practically no audit trail for these slippery fellows!
Reading deeper into the editorial, I found it extremely difficult to exonerate Levy Mwanawasa from the whole scam. He is in charge!
Much more remains to be unearthed I am sure. I fear, as TIZ have highlighted, there is far much more systematic pilferage and theft in government than ever before, but thanks to the powerful world class window dressing which seemingly blinds even the donor community.
The whole government fibre appears rotten to the core and needs a complete overhaul from sweeper upwards, with the exception of the honest few. Sadly, the jackals are the ones firmly in the reigns of power and naturally will continue to flash out the honest (impediments) lest they spill the beans.
The Sichone Versus Nyirongo issue attests to this thought. With all her faults, I think Nyirongo may be far cleaner than the other fellow who seems to be shielded by State House just now.
General Miyanda was probably right when he questioned the cordoning off of the Mulungushi House. Was it to destroy all incriminating evidence? I think so.
Like the concerned Zambian (letter, 19th April 2007), I daily lament for mother Zambia, artificially made poor at the grisly hands of corrupt men and women in power. When shall we ever learn and cast off sloth, poverty and docility? Enough is enough!
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25522
Public health systems
By Mufalo Ilitongo Ndola
Saturday April 21, 2007 [04:00]
With repeated reports of cholera outbreaks (even out of transmission season) and the rapid decline in public health systems; the quality of life is constantly being threatened with circles of ill-health and disease.
A few decades ago, in the late 70s and early 80s, there were celebrated clarion calls of “Health for All by 2000”, but were abruptly silenced long before by waves of disease epidemics (some to date have no cure, and some have become resistant to the armoury of the available drugs).
Ironically, no sooner than an equally highly profiled slogan has been upstaged; importing similar ambitions: “Millennium Development Goals by 2015”, but achievements expected against odds of trying to deliver services without adequate resources (human, funds).
However, the blame-game is not going to improve the current and worsening situation. What is needed is to identify the very fundamental factors that continue to impede progress towards social well-being and quality of life of the people.
It is now evident that the poor state of “environmental hygiene” is determinant of the current poor health and disease; such as unsatisfactory ways of water supplies, chaotic scenarios of refuse or waste management and sanitation, rampant and indiscriminate open air circus of food handling and trading with impunity.
Unless the government makes concerted efforts of finding new ways of financing schemes and invest in the “wide environmental hygiene”, the idea to stop “circle of ill-health and disease” will remain elusive for decades to come.
Labels: CORRUPTION, LETTERS, PAC
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Apr 10, 2007
Press Advisory - For Immediate Release - April 10, 2007
On Friday, April 13 at 12pm, actor, producer and activist Danny Glover will be joining civil society organizations to demand that the World Bank be put on trial for the devastation that its economic policies have wreaked on poor communities and for their contribution to global warming.
"The peoples of Africa and the world are demanding an end to economic policies that put profit over and above the needs of people and the environment," said Danny Glover. "We will come together on April 13 to give a clear message to the Bank and the IMF: get out of the business of reshaping economies in a manner that increases inequalities and stop funding projects that destroy people's lives and threaten our ecosystem."
While the World Bank rhetorically acknowledges the harmful impacts that climate change will have on developing countries, activists contend that its investment portfolio has not reflected a shift away from projects that have sizable greenhouse gas emissions. The World Bank and its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have released a series of reports in the last few years, which activists see as an admission that the World Bank's policy prescriptions have not led to growth or poverty reduction in Africa.
Danny Glover will be joined by civil society organizations in Europe and the U.S. including: Christian Aid (UK), Eurodad (Belgium), World Development Movement (UK), WEED (Germany), Oil Change International (USA), the 50 Years Is Enough Network (USA), and Bank Information Center (USA).
Contact: Karen Showalter (202) 624 0632
Venue: Hotel Lombardy. 2019 'Eye' St NW (Lunch will be provided for
journalists)
Time: Friday, April 13, 12-1:30
Labels: DANNY GLOVER, World Bank
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by 50 Years Is Enough
Apr 16, 2007
African civil society leaders reacted with outrage to assertions by African finance ministers that World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has been "good for Africa."
"Don't try to make Africa his saving grace," said Njoki Njoroge Njehu, Executive Director of Nairobi-based Daughters of Mumbi Global Resource Center, from Nairobi, Kenya. "The impact of the World Bank's policy impositions of the last 20 years still devastates us every day. There are still kids out of school, hospitals without medicines, thousands of children dying before the age of five, and millions without safe water because of the Bank's policies. Paul Wolfowitz has done nothing to change that; he is no true friend of Africa. African politicians do African peoples no favors by making excuses for corruption and for the corrupt; Wolfowitz must resign."
At a news conference on Saturday, the finance ministers of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Mauritius spoke favorably of Wolfowitz's impact in Africa, in an apparent coordinated attempt by the Bank president's backers to foster an image of an official making a difference in the world's poorest continent, even as he faces many obstacles. Those obstacles now include charges that he improperly gave his girlfriend, a Bank staffer, exorbitant pay raises.
Emira Woods, a Liberian based in Washington, DC with the Institute for Policy Studies, said, "The Africa Finance Ministers called Paul Wolfowitz a 'visionary.'" Let's remember that this man's vision included the invasion of Iraq, and the prediction that US soldiers would be welcomed as liberators. Africans are not neutral on the question of the U.S. war in Iraq, just as they do not condone corruption at high levels.”
Finally, Nita Evele, a Washington-based activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said, "Corruption and the World Bank, corruption and Paul Wolfowitz: these are not new, and are not limited to his girlfriend. Congolese in the U.S. protested outside the Bank on Saturday – a protest that called for Wolfowitz's resignation. But our initial and overriding purpose was to call attention to the way the World Bank, under Wolfowitz's direction, has facilitated the turning over of our country's vast mineral resources to multinational corporations for a song. If depriving the Congolese people, some of the most impoverished and abused by decades of violent history, of control over the resources isn't corruption, what is?"
Contact: Njoki Njehu (Kenya): +254-723-229-426
Emily Shwartz Greco: (202) 297-5412
Nita Evele: (202) 558-0220
Labels: PAUL WOLFOWITZ, World Bank
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Farming is what sustains economy — Mujuru
Herald Reporter
FARMING plays a critical role in the country’s economic turnaround programme and should be adequately supported, Vice President Joice Mujuru has said. Cde Mujuru said farming would greatly improve if all the stakeholders worked together for a common good. The Vice President was speaking during a tour of Farmers’ World in Msasa yesterday where she viewed tractors and equipment that were recently imported by the company.
Farmers’ World managing director and Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union vice president Mr Edward Raradza showed Cde Mujuru around the company’s premises where she was shown the warehouse with tractors and other equipment that included disc harrows and planters. "Farming is what sustains the economy. Inflation haidzikire nemuromo, haidzikire nekukwidza maprices. Inodzikira nekurima," she said.
Cde Mujuru said if the country manages to produce more crops, that would go a long way in helping the country because some of the crops would be exported and the country would not waste foreign currency importing things like food. She said using machinery in agriculture would also increase production.
"To use machinery like tractors will increase yields. Uyu muroyi mumunda. Ukakwanisa kuwana tractor nezvekurimisa zvakakwana unotoziva kuti kana divisi ndatenga," she said.
Cde Mujuru said if more agricultural companies like Farmers’ World get assistance from agriculture financiers like Agribank, the economy would turn around. "Next season if we have two or three companies like this, being assisted by banks, ndozvinogona kuti tigone kutaura kuti upfumi hwenyika hwatanga kusanduka and people’s lives have also changed," she said.
She said the consistence showed by Farmers’ World should be appreciated because the company had strived to succeed despite the challenges.
Said Cde Mujuru; "I know that many others could have surrendered. You were never tired of coming to the President’s Office, VP Msika’s office and even in my office when I was still Minister of Water Resources."
She said at first, she thought the company was betting for a dead horse but now its ideas and plans have come to fruition.
Companies in other industries as manufacturing, she said, should also approach authorities if they want assistance.
"I know there are a lot who want to do mining. If they want the same support, they should come and we will give them the support," she said.
Cde Mujuru said it was sometimes problematic when companies came up with programmes that were not straightforward, wish-wash and that the leadership would not be comfortable in supporting clandestinely formed companies.
She said the economy was a victim of circumstances because different sectors were in some instances not pulling together but that was being addressed. Cde Mujuru said it did not help to point fingers at the private sector, banks and Government but it was important for all stakeholders to work together and Government was ready to support those that wanted to work hard.
"Idleness is a problem and we should stop thinking about small things," said the Vice President.
President Mugabe last week commissioned 424 tractors and other agricultural equipment worth US$25 million imported from China by Farmers’ World.
The tractors were procured under a loan facility guaranteed by the Government and are intended for lease to farmers, mainly contract tobacco farmers.
Zimbabwe has been faced with tillage power challenges that threatened to derail efforts to revive the country’s agricultural production.
Government, through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has moved in to avert a tillage crisis by directing immediate disbursement of tractors that were recently imported by the central bank to eight provinces where farmers were facing serious shortages of drought power.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, MECHANISATION, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
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Media lies about Zim: British clergyman
Midlands Bureau
A BRITISH clergyman has criticised his country’s media for peddling lies about the situation in Zimbabwe and said London has no right to dictate how Harare should run its affairs. Speaking at a welcome reception organised for 20 visiting members of the Anglican Church who are in Zimbabwe to strengthen ties with their Zimbabwean colleagues and "assess the situation" for themselves, the leader of the group, the Bishop of Croydon, Nicholas Baines, said what they saw was the opposite of what they have been made to believe in their country.
He said people in Britain were worried about their safety when they indicated their plans to visit Zimbabwe. The delegation, which arrived in Zimbabwe on April 11, has visited tourist resorts such as the Victoria Falls.
"We wanted to see things for ourselves instead of listening to what people say. We are actually overwhelmed by the welcome we got, it shows that Zimbabwe is a hospitable country. There was a lot of anxiety when we left UK. Our children, friends and relatives wanted to find out why we wanted to come to Zimbabwe," he said.
Bishop Baines said colonialism was gone forever and Britain had no right to dictate what Zimbabwe should do.
"It’s not possible for people like us to question the price you paid for the liberation of your country. We see a lot of propaganda on our television stations but we cannot see the evidence. We are trying to understand as we go around. We want to see what we can learn from you and vice-versa.
"We have one interest as British Christians — to see Zimbabwe thrive, its economy growing. We want to see the people of this country happy. We want to see the church help build your country," he said.
Bishop Baines, who was accompanied by his Zimbabwean counterpart, Bishop Ishmael Mukuwanda of the Central Region Diocese, said his church was helping in the construction of a hospital at St Patrick’s Mission in Chiwundura.
"We discovered that Zimbabwe was facing a number of economic challenges and decided to help develop it. We have been allocating £8 000 per year in the hospital project for the past five years. We also added an additional £4 000 per year over the same period due to inflation," he said.
Speaking at the same occasion, Midlands Governor Cde Cephas Msipa appealed to the touring clergy team to go and tell the Zimbabwean story as it was. He said Zimbabwe was facing a number of economic challenges, most of them borne out of misrepresenting the country as an unsafe and dangerous tourist destination and the illegal sanctions imposed by the British and the European Union. Responding to a question raised by Bishop Baines on why Zimbabwe was not doing so well and why it was placed under sanctions, Cde Msipa said the problems arose from the land reform programme.
"The land issue is the main reason why we fought in the liberation struggle. We were squeezed in native reserves that had poor soils and infested with tsetse flies yet we are the owners of the country. We had to reverse that naturally. The British took offence when we embarked on the land reform.
"Even the Lancaster House Conference almost collapsed because of the land issue. Eventually, the British and Americans agreed on a willing buyer, willing seller arrangement.
"However, for many years nothing happened. The British later said they were not prepared to pay because they were not responsible for the land situation in Zimbabwe thus forcing us to move into the farms," he said.
Cde Msipa said the British government was bent on sustaining its lies that there was no rule of law in Zimbabwe to the extent that they had to impose illegal sanctions together with the EU, crippling the economy.
He said Britain has made the world believe that Zimbabwe was an evil country with no morals or family values. "Who can come and invest in a country that is projected that way? Even your own British companies are suffering as well. Our economy has been on a decline since 2000 because we have lost friends. There is no Government minister who can go and promote any business in UK or anywhere in the European Union because of the sanctions," he said.
Cde Msipa said it was never Zimbabwe’s intention to make enemies with Britain or America adding that it was up to the two powers to normalise relations with Harare. "The sanctions you imposed on us make dialogue difficult yet we do not want to pass on our animosity to future generations. It’s not our policy to be enemies with the rest of the world. We could discuss and find a way to solve our difference if you remove sanctions that make it difficult to travel and meet each other. It should be clear, however, that the land reform is not reversible," he said.
Labels: CLERGY, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
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Zambia rallies behind President
Herald Reporter
THE Zambian government has thrown its weight behind President Mugabe and his fight against neo-colonialism. Speaking to journalists after meeting the President at State House in Harare yesterday, visiting Zambian Vice President Mr Rupiah Banda said in Cde Mugabe, Zimbabweans had one of the most outstanding leaders in Africa and the world. He said Cde Mugabe had done a lot for Africa and had helped the continent to understand the struggle against neo-colonialism and to look after its people.
"And we are proud to stand in front of the world and say this is our brother and that any problems here or in Zambia can be solved by ourselves within the context of our continent and our organisation; and that Zimbabwe is a sovereign State which should be respected by all and that within its sovereignty, its people decide who is their leader and as far as we are concerned, right here (pointing at President Mugabe), we have one of the most outstanding leaders in the world and in Africa."
Mr Banda said it took a lot of courage by President Mugabe and his Government to embark on the land reform programme and acquire land that was in the hands of foreigners for redistribution to its rightful owners. He urged Zimbabweans to jealously guard the land so that it does not go back into the hands of foreigners. The Zambian Vice President, who was in the country to attend the 27th Independence Anniversary celebrations at Rufaro Stadium on Wednesday, said he was impressed by the event.
He came with a delegation comprising the Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning Mr Jonas Shakafuswa, Deputy Defence Minister Mr Maimbwa Akakandelwa, Deputy Minister in the Vice President’s Office Mrs Gladys Lundwe and ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy vice national secretary Major Richard Kachingwe.
President Mugabe expressed gratitude that Mr Banda and his delegation had attended the Independence celebrations, saying this further showed the closeness of the two countries which once shared the same colonial name — Rhodesia.
Under the failed Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the 1950s, Zambia was Northern Rhodesia while Zimbabwe was Southern Rhodesia.
The two countries were working together in various areas on the economic front under their Joint Commission, the President said, adding that they worked together in building Chirundu Bridge a few years ago.
Cde Mugabe said the visit by the Zambian Vice President was a friendly gesture and that they had reminisced about the past and the liberation struggle during their meeting, which was also attended by Vice President Joice Mujuru and Foreign Affairs Minister Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.
Mr Banda and his delegation later visited the National Heroes’ Acre where he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He said he personally knew some of the heroes interred at the national shrine such as Cdes Herbert Chitepo, Jason Moyo and Josiah Tongogara.
The solidarity shown by the Zambian government comes in the wake of statements by the northern neighbour’s founding president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda; former president Mr Fredrick Chiluba; and opposition leader Mr Michael Sata in support of the Zimbabwe Government and its policies.
The Zambian politicians roundly criticised Britain for reneging on its promise to fund land reforms and imposing sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, ZIMBABWE
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Who owes Katumbi US $7 million?
By Editor
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
When it was first reported that former information minister Vernon Mwaanga had told a press briefing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that the Zambian government owes Moses Katumbi US $7 million, Attorney General Mumba Malila was quick to clarify that the government owes Katumbi nothing.
But from the time DRC Katanga Province governor Katumbi stated that he is actually owed US $7 million by the Zambian government for the mealie-meal or maize he supplied in 2001, there has been deafening silence from Malila in particular and the government in general.
We feel there is every need for the government to make a clarification on this matter. US $7 million is a lot of money. At the current bank rate, US $7 million is equal to K28 billion.
Katumbi says he was contracted in 2001 by the government through the Ministry of Finance and National Planning to supply mealie-meal at subsidised prices to MMD parliamentary candidates and that he has got documents to this effect. This statement has not been challenged to date. So how should Zambians interpret this silence? Does it imply consent?
Evidently, Katumbi is owed money. But the question is, who owes him? Is it the MMD or the government? And how much is Katumbi owed? Is it US $7 million or much more than that?
These are the questions that beg answers from the MMD leader Levy Mwanawasa. It cannot be denied that the MMD has in the past used state money for party activities. In fact, we hear that part of Katumbi's debt was paid off using taxpayers' money even as late as 2002.
This is why our people deserve to know who owes Katumbi. But as things stand today, it cannot be disputed that this US $7 million is an MMD debt. If this is the case, why should the taxpayer be made to pay for MMD's activities that have nothing to do with state functions?
We know that this debt has put Levy in a very precarious situation because he cannot distance himself from it, despite the fact that it was contracted by his predecessor Frederick Chiluba who had great appetite for public resources.
Since Levy advocates transparency and good governance, we expect him to summon enough courage and come out in the open to admit that the MMD owes Katumbi money and clarify how much is outstanding. He should also explain to the public why the MMD chose to use the Ministry of Finance to purchase maize or mealie-meal for its parliamentary candidates.
Levy should further tell the public whether or not he endorses this criminal behaviour of using state funds for party activities. After that, Levy should state how the MMD hopes to pay back this money. K28 billion is a lot of money and we do not see how a party that is almost bankrupt can afford to settle it.
We heard during the presidential election petition that MMD's accounts were in red. We also heard Mwaanga narrating how the MMD used some money from Zesco and Office of the President to print campaign posters and T-shirts.
Traditionally, MMD has used very little of its own money legitimately raised from unquestionable sources in their campaigns. The bulk of the money that MMD has used over the years is from questionable sources, including the government coffers.
That is why corruption will not end in this country. We see many companies and individuals from the private sector busy outdoing each other in making hefty donations to the MMD, the ruling party. These donations are not for nothing. It is great investment on the part of the donors. The benefactors expect some rewards and favours in return; rewards such as government contracts and the like.
In the long run, it is situations like these that destroy democracy. Wrong people are voted into power or office not on account of merit but just because they have the fattest wallet, they have the mealie-meal to dispose off at give-away prices.
When democracy is compromised the result is what we are seeing today; mediocre leaders. People who have something to offer in Parliament but do not have the financial muscle are often rejected or not voted for.
But people who have nothing to offer, people who do not even know how to sing Zambia's national anthem are overwhelmingly voted for because they have manipulated our poor people with a few bags of mealie-meal and some pieces of silver. And instead of contributing to national issues discussed in Parliament, these ones just warm the seats. All they know is to shout 'hear! hear!'
However, if on the other hand the MMD does not owe Katumbi, the public would expect Levy to explain how the Ministry of Finance was used to contract this debt with Katumbi's Chani Fisheries. Who signed on behalf of the ministry? Can those officials involved explain that deal?
We know this is a catch-22 for Levy. And if he is not careful, he will be consumed by the same corruption that he is fighting. MMD cannot absolve itself from the corruption that has reigned supreme in the country for many years now.
Yes, Levy did not contract this debt but he is still expected to explain since he inherited everything from Chiluba as leader of the MMD. The only way out for Levy to isolate or divorce himself from this MMD scandal is to admit and condemn it publicly. In that way, he will show and demonstrate his honesty and sincerity in fighting corruption in Zambia.
It cannot be denied that Levy has tried to do things differently on this score compared to Chiluba. If the MMD are still using public funds for their campaigns and party activities, the magnitude cannot be as colossal as we witnessed in the Chiluba regime where they could even shamelessly divert K2 billion meant for road construction to fund a party convention.
However, this compliment to Levy is not to encourage the ruling MMD to continue using national resources for their party activities in a small way. Theft is theft. It doesn't matter whether one steals K2 billion or another K100, 000. If arrested, both of them will be convicted for theft regardless of the amounts involved.
Labels: CHILUBA, CORRUPTION, DRC, EDITORIAL, Moses Katumbi
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MMD must pay Katumbi - KK
By Brighton Phiri
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
THE MMD must pay Moses Katumbi for the maize he supplied them in 2001 for their election campaign, Dr Kenneth Kaunda has said. And Dr Kaunda has declared that he will join forces with the Oasis Forum over the people's demand for a new constitution.
Commenting on Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Katanga Province governor Moses Katumbi's statement that he was contracted by the Zambian government in 2001 to supply maize meal to MMD parliamentary candidates at reduced prices for the purpose of campaigns, Dr Kaunda said it was wrong for the MMD to transfer its indebtedness to the Zambian taxpayers.
Dr Kaunda wondered why government should be dragged into a deal, whose sole purpose was to drum up support for MMD candidates.
"I don't understand why anyone can get confused over this matter. It is a straightforward issue...MMD must pay Mr. Katumbi for the maize he supplied them to win the 2001 elections," Dr Kaunda said. "Let us do the right thing...those that engaged Mr. Katumbi to bring in cheap maize must pay him. And we all know that it MMD, so it should not be the tax-payers to carry the debt burden on behalf of the MMD."
Dr Kaunda asked the government to explain how it had been involved in the Katumbi maize saga when the business deal was between MMD and the suppliers of the maize. He said Katumbi should claim his money from MMD and other persons that engaged him because the purpose of the contract was for the benefit of the ruling party.
On the constitution-making process, Dr Kaunda disclosed that he had reached a stage where he could no longer travel extensively at regional level in connection with his Kenneth Kaunda Children of Africa Foundation activities and that he would now join the Church under the umbrella of the Oasis Forum to join the voices calling for a new constitution.
"I do not want to sound as if I am fighting against President Mwanawasa, but it is my intention to speak to him and hear from him some of the difficulties he was facing over the matter. I do not want President Mwanawasa to feel that I am siding with the Oasis Forum, but it is a matter of siding with the right thing," Dr Kaunda said.
"We have been working on this matter for some time together. Meetings have been held, even at State House and I believe that we must continue with the same spirit. If there are more points which other groups are making, let us say so and if government has any difficulties in meeting the questions that the other side is raising let them tell us."
Dr Kaunda said he was saddened with the deadlock between the two parties.
He said there was no justification for the two parties to reach a stage where they could not discuss the constitution-making process anymore. Dr Kaunda said Zambians should not allow themselves to reach a point where they could not talk to each other.
"I hope to hear from the Oasis Forum and government," he said.
In his letter to Oasis Forum, President Mwanawasa observed that the two parties were not getting anywhere in trying to resolve the stalemate.
"I regret having to advise that any possible meeting between us would serve no useful purpose," read President Mwanawasa's letter in part.
On Zimbabwe's 27th independence anniversary, Dr Kaunda reminded Zimbabweans of the SADC efforts in Tanzania a few weeks ago.
"April 18, is extremely important day for Zimbabweans and indeed all of us its neighbours. It is a day when Zimbabweans should remember the moments they will never forget in their lives...the struggle for their independence. I believe as a genuine neighbour who knows what terrible things they have gone through, we must not only pray for them, but remind them of the heavy duty they have to carry," Dr Kaunda said. "To remember what they must remember to do is one of the duties...the duty to unite the nation. That is why some of us can't forget the work of the SADC."
He asked Zimbabweans to use the SADC intervention to open up a new chapter for their country.
Dr Kaunda said the region's responsibility was to encourage Zimbabweans to follow the SADC guidance.
"We look forward to hearing from them that the new roadmap has been created," he said. "All this is not to ask Zimbabweans to forget the difficulties they have gone through under colonialism and racism. We are not asking them to forget about the wrongs, which the evil forces have done to their country. We ask them to look to the future," said Dr Kaunda.
Labels: KAUNDA, MMD, Moses Katumbi, OASIS FORUM
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PF to lead fight for new constitution - Sata
By Noel Sichalwe and George Chellah
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
Patriotic Front (PF) will now move to lead the fight for a new constitution, party president Michael Sata said yesterday. And police have permitted PF to hold rallies in Lusaka this weekend. During a press briefing at Lusaka's Taj Pamodzi Hotel, Sata said the issue of a new constitution was very critical. He said though he supported the Oasis Forum's stance on the constitution, there was need to have a clear way forward on the issue.
He said there was no need of going to court over the enactment of the new constitution as suggested by MMD spokesperson Benny Tetamashimba. Sata said the Oasis Forum could only go to court when there was an issue to challenge. He said the current Constitution had not changed since independence and that there was need to tighten loopholes with regard to the Constitutional offices and reduce the President's powers.
"PF is moving now to lead on the fight for a new, strong and effective constitution," he said.
Sata said police have allowed him to hold a series of rallies in Lusaka that would focus on the need to demand a new constitution and condemn the rampant thieving in government.
And Sata accused President Levy Mwanawasa of dubiously awarding land to Albidon Zambia in Mazabuka district to mine nickel. He said despite much opposition to the mining project, President Mwanawasa gave a deaf ear to the reservations raised and went ahead to officiate at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Sata said Zambians should benefit from the abundant natural resources. He said when PF assumes power, they would review such mining decisions or contracts.
Sata also said thieving in the current government was worse than what was in the Frederick Chiluba regime. He said President Mwanawasa's government was the worst in corruption due to the thieving that was being revealed.
Sata said Zambia was poorer than most countries it helped to fight for independence because workers spent more time stealing public funds. He said the new Constitution would restrict the thieving pattern and that money would be used for the intended projects.
Sata also said the three indigenous banks - Finance Bank, Cavmont Capital Bank and Investrust Bank should have syndicated to purchase the 49 per cent shares in Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) instead of selling to Rabobank of Netherlands.
Sata said further the problem in Zimbabwe was British Prime Minister Tony Blair and United States President George W. Bush’s.
He said Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe fought for his people's independence but that Britain and US were against him because of the 1,800 white farmers from whom he has grabbed the farms.
Sata also held a minute of silence for the students that were shot dead at a university in Virginia State of the US and the death of senior chief Puta of the Bwile people in Luapula Province.
Labels: ALBIDON, CONSTITUTION, CORRUPTION, LAND, MINING CONTRACTS, MUGABE, PF, SATA, ZIMBABWE
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Remove PSs with bad track records, Simenda urges Levy
By Chibaula Silwamba and George Chellah
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
Former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Francis Simenda has urged President Levy Mwanawasa to remove all permanent secretaries with a track record of not accounting for public funds. And Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president William Mweemba has called for the punishment of people involved in the K24 billion worth of expired drugs case at the Ministry of Health.
Commenting on the thefts and misappropriation of public funds in government ministries, departments and foreign missions as highlighted in the Auditor General's report through the PAC, Simenda said it was surprising that permanent secretaries such as Dr Simon Miti of the Ministry of Health had continued to appear before PAC since his Simenda's chairmanship.
Simenda, who served as PAC chairman for five years in the last Parliament, said this should not be allowed to continue.
"For me, I'm surprised that, when I read the Auditor General's report, the same controlling officers have continued appearing. The previous meeting we had they appeared and now they are still appearing. I think drastic measures should be taken,"
Simenda said. "Dr Miti appeared last year and the PAC requested that measures should be taken in his ministry to control the situation but nothing has happened. All controlling officers with a track record of not properly accounting for public funds in their ministries should be removed so that competent people come in to control."
Simenda said Zambia was losing a lot of money because the same controlling officers that have been failing to account for public funds in the previous years had continued serving.
"The only thing is to get rid of those controlling officers that fail to perform, and I have confidence that President Mwanawasa can do that," Simenda said.
He wondered why the controlling officers that had appeared for the last three years were still struggling to account for public funds to date.
"Last year, PAC recommended that action should be taken against them but nothing has been done to them," Simenda said.
He said although he could not say which permanent secretaries should be removed, the onus was on President Mwanawasa, as the appointing authority, to get rid of them to save billions of public funds.
"We are losing a lot of money that can go to national development. If you go through the report and add the amounts of money that is missing, you will see that a lot of billions have been lost. We desperately need this money to develop the country," Simenda said. "When I think about the billions that have been swindled, my heart breaks."
He said the Auditor General and her officers were doing a commendable job and should be supported by all. Simenda urged the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the police to attend the PAC sittings so that they start following up prosecutable cases.
"They should not wait until someone reports to them," he said. "In other countries, the police and ACC sit in as observers and when they are not satisfied with the response of the controlling officers they start investigating."
And Mweemba emphasized the need for accountability of public resources.
"If you are going to use the taxpayers' money, you should ensure that whatever you procure is in usable form and is distributed," Mweemba said. "People who are negligent should be taken to book. This K24 billion case... it should be thoroughly investigated, all those people who will be found wanting should be punished."
Mweemba said the rampant cases of abuse of public resources were disappointing.
"And one expects and hopes to see the measures that the government and the executive are going to take," Mweemba said. "This is one of the reasons why the civil society is insisting on a new constitution."
Mweemba said a new constitution would be a good basis for ensuring that accountability was enhanced.
"There are a lot of loopholes right now. This is just one of those things which shows why we need a new constitution because it would deal much more specific with all these issues," he said.
Labels: PAC, PERMANENT SECRETARIES, SIMON MITI
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Kalomo council losing K30m per month due to livestock movement ban - M
By Lawrence Lungu and Mutale Kapeke
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00] Print
KALOMO District Council is losing over K30 million per month as a result of the ban imposed on livestock movement in some parts of Southern Province. Council secretary Alfred Mungalu said in an interview that the council normally raised over K1 million a day in levies on cattle. “But since the ban was imposed in February, we have lost out on this source of revenue,” Mungalu said.
The movement of livestock in some parts of the Southern Province has been banned due to the outbreak of Contagious Bovine Pleural Pneumonia (CBPP).
Mungalu also said the revenue the council raised from grain levies had also gone down as most of the maize in the district was being bought by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
“Normally, we get K1,250 for every 50 kilogram bag of maize that is ferried out of the district. But when the FRA buys the maize as was the case last year, we only get K500 per 50 kg bag,” Mungalu explained.
Meanwhile, Kalomo District Council has warned house owners in the district that the council would soon swing into action to demolish illegal structures. Mungalu said a number of people that bought former council houses were making illegal extensions to the structures without council authority. “Next week we will call a meeting with these people so as to forewarn them. We don’t want to catch them by surprise,” said Mungalu.
And Mungalu said the council despite having only a limited source of income was up-to-date with paying its employees. He attributed this to control measures it had put in place.
And a traditional leader in Livingstone has said the cattle movement ban in Kazungula district was unfair to his people as the concerned authorities were selective in imposing the ban. Headman Frederick Mukubesa in an interview said his people were not allowed to import cattle from neghbouring Kasaya village, yet a lot of animals were being transported from Sesheke and Kazungula into Livingstone daily.
He said government authorities did nothing to big butchery owners in Livingstone, who transport cattle in hundreds every day from areas the dreaded CBPP was more pronounced but threatened his people for moving a few animals.
Headman Mukubesa said government should seriously consider lifting the ban as poverty levels were getting higher in the affected areas and that people had no alternative source of income other than the cattle trade.
He said his people survived on buying and selling cattle because his area was not conducive for farming due to severe drought and elephant invasions. He said telling cattle traders to transport only carcasses was unreasonable as no one in his area had access to refrigerated trucks or enough money to hire one.
Labels: CATTLE, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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Public Accounts Committee
By T. M. Mukelabai
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
This saga between Dr Miti of Ministry of Health and Chifungula, our eyes and ears in the corridors of government spending, is a sad one. How even Kanganja could support such arrogance from Dr. Miti baffles me and I'm sure many other people.
Compatriots, the office of the Auditor General needs all our support. It needs to be empowered even more by giving it real teeth to bite into this rotten government fabric. To push the point even further, I would say that if I appointed someone to oversee a business venture or entity and later on I am given evidence that the fellow is abusing his authority and misapplying the institution's funds, I would surely censure such a person and possibly fire him or her.
If I do not do that what will the public think? The Public Accounts Committee is indeed a good democratic and governance tool and it need not succumb to individuals who perceive themselves untouchable, otherwise we will never know what goes on in the public service as everyone will demand that their sessions be held in camera. This would defeat the whole purpose of the PAC.
We want accountability, transparency, good governance and the rule of law to prevail. The officers involved in any malpractices will come and go, perhaps scot-free, but the majority Zambians will continue to wallow in poverty. So let's act on these local vultures.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25475
Public accounts
By Francis C Bwalya
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
Auditor General Anna Chifungula must be commended for her professional approach to matters assigned to her office even when faced with great opposition and resistance from many of the permanent secretaries from the affected ministries.
Auditors the world-over have been tasked with this mammoth duty of checking that proper procedure and standards in accordance to the laid down rules which must be adhered to without compromise. That’s exactly what she is doing! Very few AGs have been as thorough in executing their duties dilegently. She remainds me of Stubbs Nundwe (a former AG) who was a professional, like Anna.
Second, apart from his latest mess over the expose in the Ministry of Health, chairman for public accounts committee Charles Milupi and his team were complementing her efforts well. These accounts are audited so that the public may know if their money is being used for the intented purpose. Please Milupi don’t choke anyone (like The Post) who is informing the nation of what we 'by right' ought to know.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25476
Corruption fight
By Thomas
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
It looks to me that the Mwanawasa government is not listening to the people on many issues. This is troubling indeed especially because of the fact that they did not get a majority vote countrywide.
It hurts me to see where our country is going, back to colonialism or is it slavery now. Where is the new constitution we were promised? Why is our commercial bank being sold despite opposition from the people?
What is the Anti-Corruption Commission doing about following these irregular actions? Brave whistle-blowers are needed in Zambia to fight against corruption at the top people. I urge the Auditor General to look into this and establish a paper trail as to where these funds originated from.
From time to time we have heard how government officials are awarding favours to party cadres without following laid down laws. This is corruption.
The Mwaanga statement should not be swept under the carpet said we hear maize was given to MMD candidates. Before we heard land was given to party cadres by the Minister of Lands, Masebo in Parliament once said development would first go to areas that voted for MMD.
Mwanawasa has also said something like that. So with people who think like this, where can they take Zambia?
The zero tolerance on corruption has ended, why? Is this a signal that now it’s okay to be corrupt, or has our leader now also joined?
The sale of KCM is still cloudy; someone must have got something that did not belong to them. As if we don’t know that selling the mines was a bad idea, the government is actively engaged in selling more to foreign companies.
All the hypocrisy shall one day be revealed. It is sad that Zambians are being sidelined in the affairs of the country yet very little is seen as resistance; not a placard, not a protest nor prosecution.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25473
Selective prosecution
By Malcolm Chiyoba
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
I want discuss a subject that has been the hallmark of Mwanawasa's government. This fight against corruption has not been as successful as it should have and this state is attributable to several factors. Among them is the apparent selectivity of who should be prosecuted. This has been questioned by several citizens and the President should have taken their concerns seriously. A recent act would quantify the occurence of the state, that is, where in the twinkling of an eye, Gladys Nyirongo was fired and her co-accused suspended!
The exact thing happened to Mwaanga for being found guilty of lies. But now we are having the persisting arguments in the health ministry and Mwanawasa is silent. If this continues, this fight will only be some form of verbal cholera! All corruption is equal in its anti-development contributions so all must be fired and none suspended and all must be visted by the law. And no entering pseudo nolles.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=25478
We want a new constitution
By Mambwe Daka
Friday April 20, 2007 [04:00]
I find the war of words between the Oasis Forum and the government over the enactment of constitution rather unnecessary. We may as a nation be going round and round over this issue until we reach 2011. I believe what the majority of Zambians want is a new constitution before the next elections and not these unnecessary debates about the road map.
One of the problems the Forum seems to have with the government road map is the conducting of a census because it will delay the process and that it is costly.
Constitutional reforms are never cheap. The government will have no option but to find the money, not to look for the money. On the delay, I am meant to understand that the government's road map does not go beyond 2010.
I stand to be corrected by the Oasis Forum. As for the census itself, there is no need to resist it because if it were to be held the majority of Zambians would participate, with the sensitisation of both the government and the Oasis Forum. Even the referendum result would be an overwhelming vote for the people's will.
I know a lot of people do not trust the seriousness of the government over the constitution reforms. Moreover, President blundered when he said the constitution reforms would be derailed due to the damage caused by the floods we recently experienced. That was undermining the will of the people.
However, I believe Parliament has passed a budget for the commencement of the the constitution reforms. Without access to the approved budget, I stand to be corrected by the MPs whether or not this is true. This is commitment on the part of government.
If the Oasis Forum feels strongly about the holding of a census and indeed any issue on the government road map, let it seek judicial interpretation of Article 79 as a matter of urgency.
The road map debate in my view is a waste of time and is to the detriment of the Zambian people. The government will be buying time with the unnecessary debate going on. If the budget has been approved and the constitution reforms catered for; let the constitution reforms begin. Viva new constitution.
Labels: ANNA CHIFUNGULA, CONSTITUTION, LETTERS, PAC
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West’s hidden hand exposed
THIS is the last part of a series in which STEVEN GOWANS looks at the West’s attempts to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe by sponsoring rightwing political groups and terrorist activities. IT’S not President Mugabe per se that Washington and London and white commercial farmers in Zimbabwe want to overthrow. It’s his policies they want to be rid of, and they want to replace his policies with their own, very different, policies. There are at least five reasons why Washington and London want to oust President Mugabe, none of which have anything to do with human rights.
The first reason to "chase" President Mugabe from power is that in the late 1990’s his Government abandoned International Monetary Fund-mandated structural adjustment programmes — programmes of bleeding people dry to pay interest on international debt.
These are policies of currency devaluation, severe social programme cuts — anything to free up money to pay down debt, no matter what the human consequences are.
The second is that President Mugabe sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to bolster the Kabila government. This interfered with Western designs in the region.
The third is that many of President Mugabe’s economic policies are not congenial to the current neo-liberal orthodoxy.
For example, President Mugabe recently announced the nationalisation of a diamond mine, which seems to be, in the current climate, an anachronism.
If you nationalise anything these days, you are called radical and out of date. The MDC — which promotes the neo-liberal tyranny — wants to privatise everything. It is for this reason that President Mugabe talks about the opposition wanting to sell off Zimbabwe’s resources.
The State continues to operate State-owned enterprises. And the Government imposes performance requirements on foreign investors. For example, you may be required to invest part of your profits in Government bonds. Or you may be required to take on a local partner. Foreign investors or governments that represent them bristle at these conditions.
The fourth is that British companies dominate the Zimbabwean economy and the British government would like to protect the investments of British banks, investors and corporations.
If you read the British Press, you will find a fixation on Zimbabwe, one you won’t find elsewhere.
Why does Britain take such a keen interest in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe? The usual answer is that Britain has a special interest in Zimbabwe because it is the country’s former colonial master, but why should Britain’s former colonial domination of Zimbabwe heighten its interest in the country?
The answer is that colonisation paved the way for economic domination of the country by British corporations, investors and banks — and the domination carries on as a legacy of Britain’s former colonial rule.
If you are part of the British ruling class or one of its representatives, what you want in a country in which you have enormous investments is a trustworthy local ruler who will look after them.
Arthur Mutambara, who was educated in Britain and lived there, and has absorbed the imperialist point of view, is, from the perspective of the British ruling class, far more attractive than President Mugabe as a steward of its interests.
Finally, Western powers would like to see President Mugabe replaced by a trustworthy steward who will abandon the fast-track land reform programme, which, apart from violating sacrosanct principles of the capitalist church, if allowed to thrive, becomes a model to inspire the indigenous rural populations of neighbouring countries.
Governments in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand also look askance at President Mugabe’s land reform policy, and wish to see it overturned, for fear it will inspire their own aboriginal populations.
President Mugabe’s Government accelerated its land redistribution programme in the late 1990s, breaking with the completely unworkable, willing-buyer/willing-seller policy that only allowed the Government to redistribute the country’s arable land after the descendants of the former colonial settlers, absentee landlords and some members of the British House of Lords were done using it, and, therefore, willing to sell.
Britain, which had pledged financial assistance to its former colony to help buy the land, reneged, leaving Harare without the means to expropriate with compensation the vast farms dominated by the tiny minority of white descendants of British colonists.
Zimbabwe finally abandoned the willing-buyer/willing-seller formula in 1997. The formula was crippled from the start by parsimonious British funding, and it was clear that the programme’s modest goals were more than Great Britain was willing to countenance.
In a letter to the Zimbabwean Minister of Agriculture in November of that year, British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short wrote: "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." Referring to earlier British assistance funding, Short curtly stated: "I am told that there were discussions in 1989 and 1996 to explore the possibility of further assistance. However, that is all in the past."
Short complained of "unresolved" issues, such as "the way in which land would be acquired and compensation paid — clearly it would not help the poor of Zimbabwe if it was done in a way which undermined investor confidence".
Short was concerned about the interests of corporate investors, then. In closing, Short wrote that "a programme of rapid land acquisition as you now seem to envisage would be impossible for us to support", as it would damage the "prospects for attracting investment"
It was only after President Mugabe embarked on this accelerated land reform programme that Washington and London initiated their campaign of regime change, pressuring President Mugabe’s Government with sanctions, expulsion from the Commonwealth, assistance to the opposition, and the usual Manichean demonisation of the target government and angelisation of the Western-backed opposition.
The MDC, by comparison, favours a return to the unworkable willing-seller/willing-buyer regimen. The policy is unworkable because Harare hasn’t the money to buy the farms, Britain is no longer willing to finance the programme, and even if the money were available, the owners have to agree to sell their farms before the land can be redistributed.
Land reform under this programme will necessarily proceed at a snail’s pace.
One thing opponents and supporters of President Mugabe’s Government agree on is that the opposition is trying to oust the President (illegally and unconstitutionally if you acknowledge the plan is not limited to victory at the polls).
So which came first? Attempts to overthrow Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF Government, or the Government’s crackdown on the opposition?
According to the Western media spin, the answer is the Government’s "harsh crackdown" on the opposition.
President Mugabe’s Government is accused of being inherently authoritarian, greedy for power for power’s sake, and willing do anything — from stealing elections to cracking skulls — to hang on to its privileged position.
This is the typical slander levelled at the heads of governments the US and UK have trouble with, from Milosevic in his day, to Kim Jong Il, to Castro. Another view is that the Government’s authoritarianism is an inevitable reaction to circumstances that are unfavourable to the attainment of its political (not its leaders’ personal) goals.
President Mugabe’s Government came to power at the head of a movement that not only sought political independence, but aspired to reverse the historical theft of land by white settlers.
That the opposition would be fierce and merciless — has been so — was inevitable.
Reaction to the opposition, if the Government and its anti-colonial agenda were to survive, would need to be equally fierce and merciless.
At the core of the conflict is a clash of right against right: the right of white settlers to enjoy whatever benefits stolen land yields in profits and rent against the right of the original owners to reclaim their land.
Allied to this is a broader struggle for economic independence, which sets the rights of investors and corporations abroad to profit from untrammelled access to Zimbabwe’s labour, land and resources and the right of Zimbabweans to restrict access on their own terms to facilitate their own economic development.
The dichotomy of personal versus political motivation as the basis for the actions of maligned governments recurs in debates over whether this or that leader or movement ought to be supported or reviled.
The personal view says that all leaders are corrupt, chase after personal glory, power and wealth, and dishonestly manipulate the people they profess to champion.
The political view doesn’t deny the personal view as a possibility, but holds that the behaviour of leaders is constrained by political goals.
"Even George Bush who rigs elections and manipulates news in order to stay in office and who clearly enjoys being ‘the War President’, wants the presidency in order to carry out a particular programme with messianic fervour," points out Richard Levins.
"He would never protect the environment, provide healthcare, guarantee universal free education, or separate church and state, just to stay in office." .
l Steven Gowans is a writer and political activist based in Ottawa, Canada.
Labels: NEOCONSERVATISM, NEOLIBERALISM, ZIMBABWE
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Nation shames detractors
ZIMBABWEANS yesterday packed Rufaro Stadium in Mbare, Harare, and exuberantly marked Zimbabwe’s 27 years of independence from British colonial rule. The spirit that reverberated in the stadium was undoubtedly a reliving of what many witnessed at the same venue during the country’s first independence celebrations on April 18, 1980.
Yesterday was indeed time to look back on the day when the colonial Union Jack was lowered and replaced with our own Zimbabwean flag.
The 35 000-capacity Rufaro Stadium was full and several thousands others who had showed up were disappointed when security guards turned them away because they could not be accommodated.
And reports on the celebrations from various centres throughout the country also reflected high-spirited huge crowds.
The huge turnout at Rufaro Stadium and other centres, indeed reminiscent of what happened 27 years ago, must have shamed detractors who had earlier predicted poor turnout, claiming that Zimbabweans would find the celebrations meaningless because of economic hardships.
For anyone to simply suggest that people will not value the importance of Independence Day because of the prevailing economic challenges is far-fetched. Our detractors should realise that Zimbabweans are not a gullible lot and will not be taken for granted.
Zimbabweans value their independence, which did not come on a silver platter. It is a hard-won freedom, which we value and guard jealously.
Indeed, the majority of Zimbabweans realise that countless lives have been lost and a lot of sacrifices have been made for the final reward of our independence.
Many people still vividly remember the oppression of the settler Rhodesian regime and will, therefore, not exchange their independence for anything. President Mugabe, who delivered his keynote address at Rufaro Stadium, reminded Britain and its Western allies that Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.
The celebratory mood of a people marking Independence Day was quite visible throughout the packed stadium.
The celebrations were loud and clear with the crowds donned in T-shirts bearing the slogan "Zimbabwe at 27’’, waving placards and repeatedly chanting "Gushungo, Gushungo, Gushungo", which is President Mugabe’s totem.
Conspicuously absent at the independence celebrations were the opposition MDC, who, in their myopic understanding of independence, think that there is nothing to celebrate.
Independence is, among other things, about Zimbabweans enjoying their freedom, having land, access to education and health care.
It is not about regime change, advocating sanctions against your own country, fomenting political violence and calling for job stayaways.
These should not have a place in independent Zimbabwe.
As we celebrate 27 years of independence, we have scored many successes while we also have had a fair share of mistakes.
It is time to work on the failures and improve on achievements.
Labels: INDEPENDENCE, ZIMBABWE
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Local firm seeks share of Sadc market
Central African Mining Suppliers (CAMS) says it plans to export its products to Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Botswana as it intensifies efforts to capture a share of the Southern African Development Community market.
Speaking to New Ziana on Tuesday, the marketing director, Mr Johannes Matambo, said the company had already sent proposals to the mining industries of the targeted countries.
Currently CAMS, which has branches in Bulawayo, Mutare and Redcliff, has been servicing the local market through the mine estates such as Hippo Valley and Triangle.
The company supplies trolley wheels, mining and irrigation equipment.
Chairperson of the Commission running the affairs of Harare Ms Sekesai Makwavarara commended CAMS for revamping the pushcarts being used in the collection of refuse.
She was speaking at the launch of the city’s waste management initiative during which the refuse collection department received 20 pushcarts and 45 bins from the two companies. — New Ziana
Labels: BUSINESS, SADC, ZIMBABWE
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Zimbabwe Independence Day - An African Statement
Posted: Thursday, April 19, 2007
By Ayinde
rastafaritimes @ yahoo.com
April 19, 2007
Yesterday the people of Zimbabwe celebrated their nation's 27th year of independence and the US and other European powers are not pleased. They hoped that the White minority settlers in Zimbabwe could have continued controlling the vast amount of land that was taken during colonial rule. Despite the increasing pressure from the US and other European powers, the majority in Zimbabwe remain strongly aligned to the ruling ZANU-PF party and their president, Robert Mugabe. It was hoped that economic hardship fueled by sanctions and the ongoing campaign by Western countries to demonize President Robert Mugabe could have been enough to turn the majority of people in rural areas against Mugabe. So far that has failed.
The life expectancy of an average Zimbabwean, as reported by the White House Deputy Press Secretary, Dana Perino, is 36 years old and the White Western powers are doing all they can to increase the pressure on the ordinary people through sanctions and rhetoric that is designed to scare away investors and financers from Zimbabwe. In other words, if the common folks in Zimbabwe do not force their government from power, allow Whites to control the most and best agricultural land, and accept western neocolonial polices, then they deserve to suffer and die.
Many in the African-American community join Africans in the international community in supporting those in Zimbabwe who bravely speak out against sanctions, for Britain to honour the agreement to finance the land redistribution exercise and for Zimbabwe to move further way from neocolonial policies.
Zimbabwe should also be calling for compensation from colonial powers for the theft of land, the hardship that Africans endured, and the wealth that the West derived from the unjust and illegal acquisition of land in Zimbabwe.
Many Zimbabweans understood that maintaining political freedom and reducing poverty required a new direction. They understood that the government was right to move away from the IMF and World Bank policies. They also understood that the government was right to fast track the process of reclaiming lands from White settlers and returning them to the indigenous African population.
We in the African community support Zimbabwe's efforts to develop true independence, free from the dictates of western powers and poverty.
Email: zimbabwecrisis@yahoo.com
Visit: Zimbabwe Watch
Labels: INDEPENDENCE, ZIMBABWE
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Nation shames detractors
ZIMBABWEANS yesterday packed Rufaro Stadium in Mbare, Harare, and exuberantly marked Zimbabwe’s 27 years of independence from British colonial rule. The spirit that reverberated in the stadium was undoubtedly a reliving of what many witnessed at the same venue during the country’s first independence celebrations on April 18, 1980. Yesterday was indeed time to look back on the day when the colonial Union Jack was lowered and replaced with our own Zimbabwean flag.
The 35 000-capacity Rufaro Stadium was full and several thousands others who had showed up were disappointed when security guards turned them away because they could not be accommodated.
And reports on the celebrations from various centres throughout the country also reflected high-spirited huge crowds.
The huge turnout at Rufaro Stadium and other centres, indeed reminiscent of what happened 27 years ago, must have shamed detractors who had earlier predicted poor turnout, claiming that Zimbabweans would find the celebrations meaningless because of economic hardships.
For anyone to simply suggest that people will not value the importance of Independence Day because of the prevailing economic challenges is far-fetched. Our detractors should realise that Zimbabweans are not a gullible lot and will not be taken for granted.
Zimbabweans value their independence, which did not come on a silver platter. It is a hard-won freedom, which we value and guard jealously.
Indeed, the majority of Zimbabweans realise that countless lives have been lost and a lot of sacrifices have been made for the final reward of our independence.
Many people still vividly remember the oppression of the settler Rhodesian regime and will, therefore, not exchange their independence for anything. President Mugabe, who delivered his keynote address at Rufaro Stadium, reminded Britain and its Western allies that Zimbabwe will never be a colony again.
The celebratory mood of a people marking Independence Day was quite visible throughout the packed stadium.
The celebrations were loud and clear with the crowds donned in T-shirts bearing the slogan "Zimbabwe at 27’’, waving placards and repeatedly chanting "Gushungo, Gushungo, Gushungo", which is President Mugabe’s totem.
Conspicuously absent at the independence celebrations were the opposition MDC, who, in their myopic understanding of independence, think that there is nothing to celebrate.
Independence is, among other things, about Zimbabweans enjoying their freedom, having land, access to education and health care.
It is not about regime change, advocating sanctions against your own country, fomenting political violence and calling for job stayaways.
These should not have a place in independent Zimbabwe.
As we celebrate 27 years of independence, we have scored many successes while we also have had a fair share of mistakes.
It is time to work on the failures and improve on achievements.
Labels: INDEPENDENCE, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
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Seed producers committed to Zim’s agrarian reforms
By John Kachembere
SEED CO, the country’s largest seed producer, has reaffirmed its commitment to agricultural reform by ensuring adequate seed supplies to the nation. Speaking on the sidelines of the Maize Seed Grower of the Year awards ceremony in the capital this week, Seed Co managing director Mr Dennis Zaranyika assured the nation that modalities had been put in place to ensure that the country had enough seed stocks.
"We are more than prepared with adequate wheat seed stocks, thanks to our growers who managed to produce a bumper harvest. We need to reassure the nation that we will continue to work flat out to ensure the country has sufficient seed," he said.
Already, the company has over 6 000 tonnes of wheat seed in stock for the winter wheat season. This was about half of the country’s total seed requirement for the planned hectarage of 120 000 countrywide.
Despite the present difficult economic conditions, Seed Co has demonstrated unwavering support to the land reform programme, contributing over 50 percent of its production towards Government’s input scheme.
"It is our view that increased productivity at farmer level should translate into the growth of Seed Co and indeed the prosperity of the country in terms of seed self-sufficiency," he added.
However, the company has not been exporting due to shortages on the local market, but this was going to change as soon as local demand was satisfied.
To ensure seed sufficiency, Seed Co runs a contract farming scheme involving 350 farmers and a team of agronomists who offer professional guidance to the farmers.
"We have also been supplying under-resourced farmers with fertilizers and other chemicals to boost yields," said Mr Zaranyika.
The majority of Seed Co’s contract farmers produce maize seed, which constitutes 80 percent of its business. Seed Co has the capacity to produce up to 30 000 tonnes of hybrid seed a year.
The seed company, which runs seed production programmes in collaboration with farmers and the Department of Agricultural Research and Extension, has forged strategic partnerships with fertilizer and chemical companies to ensure stable input availability.
The company specialises in seed research and development with the aim of producing disease and drought-tolerant products suitable for different agro-ecological regions.
In recent years Seed Co has expanded its product line to include soyabeans, sorghum, beans, millet and cowpeas.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
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West’s hidden hand exposed
By Steven Gowans, in The Herald
THIS is the last part of a series in which STEVEN GOWANS looks at the West’s attempts to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe by sponsoring rightwing political groups and terrorist activities. IT’S not President Mugabe per se that Washington and London and white commercial farmers in Zimbabwe want to overthrow. It’s his policies they want to be rid of, and they want to replace his policies with their own, very different, policies.
There are at least five reasons why Washington and London want to oust President Mugabe, none of which have anything to do with human rights.
The first reason to "chase" President Mugabe from power is that in the late 1990’s his Government abandoned International Monetary Fund-mandated structural adjustment programmes — programmes of bleeding people dry to pay interest on international debt.
These are policies of currency devaluation, severe social programme cuts — anything to free up money to pay down debt, no matter what the human consequences are.
The second is that President Mugabe sent troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to bolster the Kabila government. This interfered with Western designs in the region.
The third is that many of President Mugabe’s economic policies are not congenial to the current neo-liberal orthodoxy.
For example, President Mugabe recently announced the nationalisation of a diamond mine, which seems to be, in the current climate, an anachronism.
If you nationalise anything these days, you are called radical and out of date. The MDC — which promotes the neo-liberal tyranny — wants to privatise everything. It is for this reason that President Mugabe talks about the opposition wanting to sell off Zimbabwe’s resources.
The State continues to operate State-owned enterprises. And the Government imposes performance requirements on foreign investors. For example, you may be required to invest part of your profits in Government bonds. Or you may be required to take on a local partner. Foreign investors or governments that represent them bristle at these conditions.
The fourth is that British companies dominate the Zimbabwean economy and the British government would like to protect the investments of British banks, investors and corporations.
If you read the British Press, you will find a fixation on Zimbabwe, one you won’t find elsewhere.
Why does Britain take such a keen interest in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe? The usual answer is that Britain has a special interest in Zimbabwe because it is the country’s former colonial master, but why should Britain’s former colonial domination of Zimbabwe heighten its interest in the country?
The answer is that colonisation paved the way for economic domination of the country by British corporations, investors and banks — and the domination carries on as a legacy of Britain’s former colonial rule.
If you are part of the British ruling class or one of its representatives, what you want in a country in which you have enormous investments is a trustworthy local ruler who will look after them.
Arthur Mutambara, who was educated in Britain and lived there, and has absorbed the imperialist point of view, is, from the perspective of the British ruling class, far more attractive than President Mugabe as a steward of its interests.
Finally, Western powers would like to see President Mugabe replaced by a trustworthy steward who will abandon the fast-track land reform programme, which, apart from violating sacrosanct principles of the capitalist church, if allowed to thrive, becomes a model to inspire the indigenous rural populations of neighbouring countries.
Governments in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand also look askance at President Mugabe’s land reform policy, and wish to see it overturned, for fear it will inspire their own aboriginal populations.
President Mugabe’s Government accelerated its land redistribution programme in the late 1990s, breaking with the completely unworkable, willing-buyer/willing-seller policy that only allowed the Government to redistribute the country’s arable land after the descendants of the former colonial settlers, absentee landlords and some members of the British House of Lords were done using it, and, therefore, willing to sell.
Britain, which had pledged financial assistance to its former colony to help buy the land, reneged, leaving Harare without the means to expropriate with compensation the vast farms dominated by the tiny minority of white descendants of British colonists.
Zimbabwe finally abandoned the willing-buyer/willing-seller formula in 1997. The formula was crippled from the start by parsimonious British funding, and it was clear that the programme’s modest goals were more than Great Britain was willing to countenance.
In a letter to the Zimbabwean Minister of Agriculture in November of that year, British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short wrote: "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." Referring to earlier British assistance funding, Short curtly stated: "I am told that there were discussions in 1989 and 1996 to explore the possibility of further assistance. However, that is all in the past."
Short complained of "unresolved" issues, such as "the way in which land would be acquired and compensation paid — clearly it would not help the poor of Zimbabwe if it was done in a way which undermined investor confidence".
Short was concerned about the interests of corporate investors, then. In closing, Short wrote that "a programme of rapid land acquisition as you now seem to envisage would be impossible for us to support", as it would damage the "prospects for attracting investment"
It was only after President Mugabe embarked on this accelerated land reform programme that Washington and London initiated their campaign of regime change, pressuring President Mugabe’s Government with sanctions, expulsion from the Commonwealth, assistance to the opposition, and the usual Manichean demonisation of the target government and angelisation of the Western-backed opposition.
The MDC, by comparison, favours a return to the unworkable willing-seller/willing-buyer regimen. The policy is unworkable because Harare hasn’t the money to buy the farms, Britain is no longer willing to finance the programme, and even if the money were available, the owners have to agree to sell their farms before the land can be redistributed.
Land reform under this programme will necessarily proceed at a snail’s pace.
One thing opponents and supporters of President Mugabe’s Government agree on is that the opposition is trying to oust the President (illegally and unconstitutionally if you acknowledge the plan is not limited to victory at the polls).
So which came first? Attempts to overthrow Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF Government, or the Government’s crackdown on the opposition?
According to the Western media spin, the answer is the Government’s "harsh crackdown" on the opposition.
President Mugabe’s Government is accused of being inherently authoritarian, greedy for power for power’s sake, and willing do anything — from stealing elections to cracking skulls — to hang on to its privileged position.
This is the typical slander levelled at the heads of governments the US and UK have trouble with, from Milosevic in his day, to Kim Jong Il, to Castro. Another view is that the Government’s authoritarianism is an inevitable reaction to circumstances that are unfavourable to the attainment of its political (not its leaders’ personal) goals.
President Mugabe’s Government came to power at the head of a movement that not only sought political independence, but aspired to reverse the historical theft of land by white settlers.
That the opposition would be fierce and merciless — has been so — was inevitable.
Reaction to the opposition, if the Government and its anti-colonial agenda were to survive, would need to be equally fierce and merciless.
At the core of the conflict is a clash of right against right: the right of white settlers to enjoy whatever benefits stolen land yields in profits and rent against the right of the original owners to reclaim their land.
Allied to this is a broader struggle for economic independence, which sets the rights of investors and corporations abroad to profit from untrammelled access to Zimbabwe’s labour, land and resources and the right of Zimbabweans to restrict access on their own terms to facilitate their own economic development.
The dichotomy of personal versus political motivation as the basis for the actions of maligned governments recurs in debates over whether this or that leader or movement ought to be supported or reviled.
The personal view says that all leaders are corrupt, chase after personal glory, power and wealth, and dishonestly manipulate the people they profess to champion.
The political view doesn’t deny the personal view as a possibility, but holds that the behaviour of leaders is constrained by political goals.
"Even George Bush who rigs elections and manipulates news in order to stay in office and who clearly enjoys being ‘the War President’, wants the presidency in order to carry out a particular programme with messianic fervour," points out Richard Levins.
"He would never protect the environment, provide healthcare, guarantee universal free education, or separate church and state, just to stay in office." .
l Steven Gowans is a writer and political activist based in Ottawa, Canada.
Labels: THE HERALD, ZIMBABWE
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