Maravi

(THOUGHTLEADER SA) The perfect way to celebrate Mugabe’s birthday

COMMENT - My comments didn't quite make it through the moderation process at M&G, so I have posted them here in full, below this article. Anything to puncture the lovely little DA bubble at Mail & Guardian and Thoughtleader. So read more below.

Thought Leader
The perfect way to celebrate Mugabe’s birthday
Posted by: Sarah Britten
Posted on: February 22, 2012

This week, there was a significant birthday. Possibly the most significant birthday in the world judging by the amount of coverage it got. The English might have a public holiday for the birthday of the Queen, but no octogenarian’s longevity continues to fascinate the world quite like that of Robert Mugabe.

The spectre of Zimbabwe continues to hover in the background, just out of focus. Here’s the one big difference between us and our troubled neighbour: our Constitution. Under our Constitution, the rule of law is paramount. A Mugabe isn’t possible.

Which makes our Constitution quite important. All those rights in there make a very real difference to you every single day. Even if there’s a lot to complain about, even if you’re angry and frustrated by this country, life without our Constitution wouldn’t be very pleasant for anyone except those at the top.

This means that it’s in our interests to support the Constitution, even if we don’t like everything in it.

Why does this matter? If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you might have noticed a trend developing. The POIB, invasions of privacy, talk of how the Constitutional Court has too much power. All those talk show callers who say the Constitution is too gay, or too liberal, too this or that. The Constitutional Court interferes with the running of the country, according to an SMS to Redi Tlhabi this morning.

This is dangerous, because it all adds up to the slow and steady erosion of the document that is the cornerstone of our democracy. Remember what it was like to live under a regime with no regard for dignity and equality?

Our Constitution shares a birthday month with Robert Mugabe, and because we want to celebrate 15 years since it came into effect, we’d like you to make a public statement about why you love our Constitution here, on Facebook or on Twitter.

We’re asking you to make a public statement because it’s only when we do things for others to see – and we see others doing the same – that they are meaningful. It’s important that people are seen to support something. Without public support across the board – not just the desktop activists – the Constitution is vulnerable. If people don’t understand something, they won’t care about it, and if they don’t care about it, they won’t fight for it if it ever comes under threat.

That’s why it matters that you tell the world why you love our Constitution. Caring about it isn’t enough. You need to show that you care.

Two minutes to write a short message isn’t asking a lot (we’ve even made it easy for you by giving reasons to love our Constitution here). If we can vote for Idols, if we can rustle up no less than 3.6 million votes for Table Mountain, surely we can express our support for something that makes a massive difference in our lives every day.

Ignorance and apathy are our enemies.
It’s time that we, the people did something about it.

PS From the Daily Sun to Gareth Cliff, we’d like to thank everyone who has supported this campaign to date. To those that haven’t, even though they routinely talk about threats to the supremacy of the Constitution, what can we say? We’re surprised. This campaign will not work unless there is hype around it, and we can’t do it on our own.

********

MY COMMENTS

Zimbabwe, the country that owns 20% of the world’s known diamond reserves, has a lot to celebrate, and a lot to have put right.


” The spectre of Zimbabwe continues to hover in the background, just out of focus. Here’s the one big difference between us and our troubled neighbour: our Constitution. Under our Constitution, the rule of law is paramount. A Mugabe isn’t possible. ”

The problem is that South Africa has maintained it’s apartheid economy, where Zimbabwe has not. South Africa’s land reform is yet to come. As is the nationalisation of the gold and diamond mines.

” Ignorance and apathy are our enemies. It’s time that we, the people did something about it. ”

Agreed, but we’ll have to disagree on what that is.

President Mugabe is an African hero. He has a spine of steel, and an IQ that is probably in the high hundreds. He didn’t receive a knighthood (Knight Commander in the Order of Bath) for nothing.

Compare that with the modern politicians, who live in fear of the markets, and as a result do not respond to the wishes of their own people. There is more to democracy than regular elections, although Zimbabwe has not missed an election since independence, 32 years ago.

Whether it is a dimwitted stooge like Morgan Tsvangirai, or a highly intelligent but sociopathic snake like Tony Blair, they don’t measure up.

The real measure of leadership is: how many children are in school; does the money generated by industry remain in the country or is it shipped straight out to pad the accounts of trillionairs in Zurich or some other tax shelter; what is the level of economic equality among citizens.

On landreform – to compare, this is the situation before land reform in Zimbabwe, South Africa and the EU – average size per commercial farm:

EU – 90 hectares
South Africa: 1350 hectares
Zimbabwe: 2500 hectares

The Fast Track land reform program redivided the land into 50 and 250 hectare plots (slightly more in low rainfall areas).

Was it extremely violent? No. In total, 6 white farmers were killed out of 4500, in a period of 10 years. How does that compare to South Africa, without land reform?

Farmers
SA 40,000
killed: 600 (1.5%)
ZW 4,500
killed: 6 (0.13%)

In other words, it is 11.25 x safer to be a white farmer in Zimbabwe, than in South Africa. Including during land reform.

Think about that, and compare it to the official impression created by the media.

Especially consider the fraudulent hitpiece called Mugabe And The White African (to see a review of both the book and the ‘documentary’ on my blog, google: mugabe white african maravi). According to Judy Woodruff on PBS, this hitpiece was financed by The Economist Magazine.

Well guess who is on the board of The Economist, the same individuals who are the largest shareholders in Anglo-American De Beers, the world’s largest diamond miner. Zimbabwe owns 20% of the world’s diamonds. I will take financial interests and greedy people being greedy over any official version of events any time.

Remember the myth of 3 million Zimbabweans living in South Africa – for which the Forced Migration Studies Programme at Witwatersrand University could not find an actual source, and then ask the question – if they and the reporters can’t produce a source, what is the claim based on? Answer: nothing.

(Source: Special Report: Fact or Fiction? Examining Zimbabwean Cross-Border Migration into South Africa, by the Forced Migration Studies Programme & Musina Legal Advice Office) (For the entire report, google: “Fact or Fiction Examining Zimbabwean”)

After a decade of well financed propaganda against Zimbabwe, President Mugabe, land reform, and African self rule, the people of Zimbabwe are taking over agriculture, and are producing, without the return of the white farmers to ‘show them what to do’.

MAIZE (metric tonnes)
2008 400,000
2011 1,500,000

TOBACCO (kg)
2008 34mn
2011 174mn

(Source: New farmers doing well: Biti; google: new farmers doing well biti maravi)

That turnaround is the result of the stabilisation of the currency and a relenting of drought, which gives a clue to the real issues at hand.

1) The destruction of the Zimbabwe Dollar by ZDERA
2) (Small scale) irrigation is the future of agriculture

The Zimbabwe Dollar was destroyed by a piece of legislation called the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001, sponsored by Bill Frist, co-sponsored by Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Russ Feingold and Jesse Helms. Which is a story in itself.

In the wording of Section 4C, Multilateral Financing Restriction, which put a credit freeze on the Zimbabwean government in the year 2002, which caused the collapse of trade *in the year 2002* (not in 2000, when there were ‘farm invasions’):

” … the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against–

(1) any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or

(2) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution. ”

(Google: s494 107th govtrack)

Clearly, these are not the ‘targeted sanctions’ (targeted at hundreds of indivduals and companies) that the media talks about and pretends are the only sanctions against Zimbabwe. They are aimed at the entire government of Zimbabwe, and have been for 10 years now.

Economic sanctions are aimed at the entire government of Zimbabwe, and have been for 10 years now. And we know from history what the effect of economic sanctions are – they are like a medieval siege, intended to wear down the general population until they turn against their leadership. Economic sanctions killed an estimated 500,000 women and children in Iraq. Why would they have a more positive effect on Zimbabwe?

The sudden absence of credit caused a shortage of foreign currency, which led to printing of the national currency (collusion by Gideon Gono – I don’t know), and of course billboard inflation (economic sabotage) and hoarding completed the financial attack.

The message was clear – this is what happens when you go up to the likes of the owners of Anglo-American, which also control the IMF, World Bank, etc. – the trillionaires.

What happened to Zimbabwe is the real face of globalisation, and like the Ethiopian emperor’s address to the League Of Nations in 1936, should serve as a warning to all.

Welcome to globalisation, trillionaire style.

Labels: APARTHEID, LAND REFORM, NEOCOLONIALISM, ROBERT MUGABE, SOUTH AFRICA

posted by MrK @ 5:55 PM