We need to address inequity and inequalities
By Editor
Mon 22 July 2013, 14:00 CAT
KANNI Wignaraja, the United Nations resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative in Zambia, says that "we have to address inequity and inequality before it breaks the very backbone of our countries and turns into a sense of injustices".
This is true because if this country is not good for all of us, it won't be good for any of us. This country will not be a good place for any of us to live unless it's a good place for all of us to live in.
We shouldn't allow all the work that has gone on here to benefit just a few. And unless we start to address the inequities and inequalities that we today have in our country, none of the things we seek to do will ever take us where we need to go. Unless we do something about inequity and inequalities, we will not be able to repair this country.
We have to abandon greed and selfishness. We have to stop ignoring each other and caring only about ourselves. A nation that calls itself a Christian nation cannot allow the inequities and inequalities that exist among us to continue. As people who call themselves Christians, we have to quickly and resolutely deal with these inequalities. We have to struggle against these inequalities without respite and realise that if we are to live in the world and are to be regarded as a decent nation, a decent people, we have to act up to different and higher standards than we have been following in the last two decades or so. We should resent most bitterly these inequalities and this unconcern for the lives of the poor.
These inequalities remind us that we have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any of us till we remove these inequities and inequalities, till we make all the people of this country what destiny intended them to be.
We have to govern and manage the affairs of our country in a way that will help us to quickly end poverty, ignorance, disease and inequality.
And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard to make the dream of ending inequity and inequality a reality. We have to bring opportunity to the common man; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.
Inequities and inequalities are terrible things. Look at the effect that equality has on human beings and their happiness! People need more than nshima; they need honour, dignity, respect and to be treated like human beings. Inequality causes terrible suffering.
We have to share what we have as a nation. We cannot continue to have gross inequalities, with some having much more than they need and dying of heart attacks and cholesterol, while others starve to death. We should share everything - our country belongs to all of us, and so do its riches.
All our people must be made to feel they count; they are a part of society; they have a national dignity and a homeland. Here, we are talking about things that, in our opinion, constitute true humanitarianism, the policy of promoting the dignity of human beings and their wellbeing. Inequality causes terrible suffering.
A comprehensive approach is required to fight this situation and to struggle for diminishing or eradicating such inequalities in our country.
Some people say inequities and inequalities are inevitable. But a more just, fair and humane society is built upon the belief that inequities and inequalities are not an inevitable and necessary part of human life. They are ultimately a product of human decisions and can be eradicated by human decisions. This is so because when we speak of "the economy", we are speaking of policies and plans which control the wealth and resources of the country, about how resources are distributed between people, and about how the means of production - such as land, factories and technology - are owned and controlled. It is sometimes suggested that economic laws, like the basic laws of nature, are beyond human control; that we can no more influence them than we can defy gravity or stop the motion of planets. Therefore, it is argued, the existence of poverty and unemployment, and the inequitable distribution of wealth, are the result of inescapable economic laws, and must be accepted as such. When suffering and even death flow from these "inevitable facts of economic life," that is simply unfortunate, it is said, just as it is unfortunate when suffering and death result from a natural disaster. Although we sympathise with the victims of an earthquake or a flow, we do not consider such natural occurrences unjust or immoral. In the same way, the argument continues, we should not regard an economic system as unjust or immoral, though we regret the suffering, inequities and inequalities that may be part of such a system. Some people will be poor, some rich, inevitably and unavoidably, just as some will be victims of earthquakes and floods, and some will not.
This argument must be rejected. It fails to take into account the fact that economic consequences - poverty, inequities and inequalities - come about as a result of human agency. At the heart of every economic system lies human needs, human abilities and human decisions, and it is the choices which we make in addressing those needs, sharing those abilities, and making those decisions, that determine the justice or injustice of an economic system. The more powerful our economic position, the greater our freedom of choice, with the poor and marginalised having very little effective choice in their economic decision-making. There is thus a moral quality about an economy, a quality which has its roots in the morally correct or incorrect choices by people; and it is the moral quality of the economy that enables us to make judgments about whether or not it is a just economy.
Therefore, poverty, inequities and inequalities are some of the indicators of an unjust economy. The fact that untold thousands die every year from lack of food, lack of basic healthcare and lack of shelter is an indicator of economic injustice. As a nation, we need to develop a social conscience which recognises the injustice of poverty, unemployment, inequities and inequalities and which leads us to take action against it. Undoubtedly, the development of an effective social conscience will not happen quickly. It will have to be striven for, and the striving will have to be widespread, involving all sectors of society.
Labels: KANNI WIGNARAJA, UN, UNDP
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(HERALD ZW) UNDP funds regime change
Monday, 22 April 2013 00:00
[Minister Tendai Biti] Caesar Zvayi Deputy Editor
THE United Nations Development Programme has been implicated in funding regime change NGOs in Zimbabwe to the tune of over US$5 million over the past three years.
The UN agency was in the eye of a storm recently after trying to impose terms of reference on the Government in the wake of the US$132 million poll funding request extended to it but differences soon emerged over the terms of reference of the UN agency’s Needs Assessment Mission.
The agency wanted its Needs Assesment Mission to overstep its mandate by including entities and civil society groups with nothing to do with elections and when Government put its foot down, UNDP resident co-ordinator Mr Alain Noudehou claimed the mandate of a non-existent General Assembly Resolution forgeting it was Government which had extended the funding request.
Government rejected the agency’s conditionalities, that dovetailed with the MDC-T’s plans to make the harmonised elections an issue for the UN agenda and withdrew the funding request opting to mobilise domestic resources to finance the harmonised elections.
Our investigations have since unearthed incontrovertible evidence that the UN agency has; along with some Western nations, think-tanks and donors, been secretly funding regime change activities with the latest tranche being disbursed as late as Tuesday last week.
In terms of the UN charter, the UNDP should channel all funds through the Government.
Information we exclusively obtained from unassailable sources, among them bank statements, shows that the UNDP is among a group of organisations, foreign ministries and purported foreign aid groups that have been secretly funding hostile regime-change NGOs such as the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and the MDC-T election directorate disguised as the Election Resource Centre.
Our investigations revealed that between March 2009 and April 15 this year, ZESN received a total US$5 043 044,69 from the UNDP, Canadian Embassy, Norwegian Embassy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands, the Royal Danish Embassy, The Electoral Reform International, Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa, Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy among a litany of donors who have nefarious electoral interests in Zimbabwe.
What exposes the UN as having a hidden and unacceptable agenda to compromise and subvert the forthcoming elections is that while the UNDP is required to fund programmes in the country transparently and through the Government as stipulated by the UN Charter, the local UNDP office has in fact been secretly making direct payments to ZESN and UNDP funds for regime change.
Our investigations show that the MDC-T’s Election Resource Centre received US$151 456 from the UNDP in two separate transactions on January 26 2012 and June 26 2012, while ZESN received US$42 000 in three separate transactions on December 2 2011, September 6 2012 and November 16 2012.
The Royal Danish Embassy has also made significant payments into ZESN accounts between March 2009 and November 14 2012 amounting to US$1 733 353,17.
Among other embassies secretly funding ZESN is the Norwegian Embassy which availed US$245 398,77 on October 30 2009 while the ministry of foreign affairs of the Netherlands availed US$171 097 to the same organisation on December 3 2010 and November 15 2011.
Between June 25 2012 and April 14 2013, the International Republican Institute availed US$$114 949 to the MDC T’s Election Resource Centre in seven different transactions on June 25 and 26 2012, August 16 and 21 2012, December 28 2012, February 5 2013 and April 15 2013.
On April 16 this year, ZESN received US$368 251 from the EU in two separate transactions of US$168 258 and US$199 993 respectively for purposes of subverting the forthcoming elections.
ZESN is also getting significant financial donations from PACT, a United States donor agency that manages funds from US funding organisations. Investigations have revealed that PACT is managing the ZESN grant from USAID. Between December 1 2010 and December 08 2011, PACT disbursed US$164 550 into two separate ZESN accounts.
Electoral Reform International, a British based NGO specialising in capacitating electoral management bodies and observer groups is also heavily involved in funding ZESN. Between October 27 2009 and October 13 2010, the organisation made payments amounting to US$154 312 into one ZESN account.
The money was used in preparing the draft paper on electoral reforms that the organisation did for the MDC-T during electoral reform negotiations that pre-occupied GPA parties for the greater part of 2010.
The George Soros-funded Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, a traditional financier of regime change programmes, and its partner in crime, Freedom House, also fund various activities within ZESN and the MDC-T’s Election Resource Centre.
OSISA deposited US$40 000 (on December 24 2010) and US$31 970 (in September 2011) into two separate ZESN account numbers while Freedom House also deposited US$9 993, US$1 993 and US$4 463 on November 2, and 23 and December 20 2010 into the same accounts.
The National Endowment for Democracy, a purported “private, non-profit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world” which is directly funded by the US government wired a total US$49 979 into ZESN in separate transactions made on October 09 2009, 23 April 2010 and October 14 2010.
The funding is being used to subvert the electoral process by among other things printing fake voter registration materials, mobilising the youth to register to vote and paying them US$50 to commit to voting for the MDC-T using fake residential addresses, giving teachers cellphones to use to file false election results to feed an illegal parallel voter tabulation centre which the MDC-T has set-up through its Election Resource Centre.
Zimrights boss Okay Machisa and four others are in court facing charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit fraud after they were accused of manufacturing counterfeit copies of certificates of registration similar to the ones issued by the Registrar General’s Office when one registers as a voter. The four are accused of trying to discredit the voter’s roll.
MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti has since announced plans to violate the Electoral Act by using false information from his party’s ERC which works closely with ZESN to announce from the Stewart Room at the Meikles Hotel that his boss, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, would have won the presidential poll by “75 percent of the vote if ZEC does not announce the election results within 12 hours of the vote”.
Though bank statements say otherwise, the UNDP country office last night denied involvement saying: "UNDP would like to clarify that it is not involved in a US$5,1 million donor-funded programme in support of the two NGOs mentioned in your question, namely the Election Resource Centre and the Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network.
All of UNDP activities in Zimbabwe are implemented in accordance with established procedures and guidelines. UNDP's current programme is guided by the 2012-2015 Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF), signed between the Government of Zimbabwe and the United Nations Country Team in Zimbabwe. All support is rendered in accordance with the Country Programme Action Plan signed between the Government of Zimbabwe and UNDP."
The phones at ZESN were not being picked up.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, FREEDOM HOUSE, UNDP
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UNDP refuses to back down on poll funds
Sunday, 21 April 2013 00:00
Kuda Bwititi
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is insisting on funding the forthcoming harmonised elections in a move that has raised eyebrows over its interest in the polls. This comes as the three-member Cabinet committee tasked with mobilising the funds is preparing to convene a crucial meeting this week to review strategy.
Last week, Government cancelled an earlier request for the UNDP to bankroll the polls after the UN agency refused to follow the stipulated terms of reference. Authorities said the country would work to meet the US$132 million poll budget using local resources.
However, the UNDP maintains it wants to be “invited to the party”. In a statement last Friday, the United Nations agency said it was still open to funding the plebiscite.
Part of the statement reads:
“The UN remains open to engage with the Government of Zimbabwe to determine if an agreement can be reached on the modalities that will allow the NAM (Needs Assessment Mission) to be conducted in accordance with the UN General Assembly resolutions.”
Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara, who chairs the Cabinet committee, told The Sunday Mail yesterday that UNDP funding was no longer necessary since Zimbabwe has the capacity to hold the polls using local resources.
He said his committee will meet in Harare this week to deliberate on its fund-raising mission. Other committee members are Ministers Patrick Chinamasa (Justice and Legal Affairs) and Tendai Biti (Finance).
“We do not need the UNDP anymore. We can afford to fund the elections on our own, and that is exactly what we are going to do. It is not proper for us to have foreigners funding our own internal processes and setting conditions for us,” he said.
“We are going to have a crucial meeting this week. After this meeting, I am sure everything will be in place for the committee to announce that money will be ready for the polls and how we intend to raise the money.”
Prof Mutambara would not be drawn into divulging the amount of money his committee has raised so far.
He, however, revealed that key mining and telecommunications stakeholders have already made firm commitments to fund the elections.
“What I can only say at the moment is that we have received firm commitments from the mining sector and the mobile phone sector.
“From the look of things, it is clear that there is going to be enough money for the elections.”
Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold harmonised presidential, parliamentary and council elections this year.
Initially, the Government approached the UNDP for funding, but the UN agency appeared to have been in no position to grant the request after receiving the application late.
The inclusive Government principals later set up the Cabinet committee to mobilise funds locally with the UNDP initiative being complementary. Government objected to the UNDP’s involvement after the agency set conditions that included dispatching a mission to “assess” the political situation in the country.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), ARTHUR MUTAMBARA, UNDP
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UNDP in Zimbabwe poll funding pledge
12/02/2013 00:00:00
by Violet Gonda I SW Radio Africa
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has approved a request by the cash strapped Zimbabwe government to fund elections this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Tuesday. Biti and Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa had written to the UNDP asking for an estimated US$250 million for the purposes of administering the constitutional referendum and general election, scheduled for this year.
The Finance Minister said they had received "a very favorable response and we are now acting on the things that they have requested". Biti said he could not publicly divulge what has been requested or how much money Zimbabwe will receive. But he revealed that the Zimbabwe Election Commission had put forward budgets that were unrealistic, with the original budget in excess of US$500 million and the second one over $300 million.
He said experts from the two ministries were now in the process of reconciling the figures with ZEC, “to come up with a credible and legitimate budget that is sellable to everyone, to the Ministry of Finance, to parliament and to the international community.” Biti said various people who will work in the election process were asking huge per diem rates. Some were asking to be paid as much as $70 per day.
“Another request of concern was the request from the Zimbabwe Republic Police. In the original budget, it was so clear that the police were now intending to capitalise on this, which is not proper,” Biti added.
“So what Minister Chinamasa and I have chosen to do is to micro-analyse and micro-audit the budgets that are coming from the Zimbabwe Election Commission with a view of coming up with a reasonable and legitimate figure.”
The police alone were asking for $180 million. Some media reports say that ZEC requests included $1 million for indelible ink and at least $11 million for voter education, adding to suspicions that the figures were highly inflated.
Sources say the UNDP does not actually have the money but will coordinate the donor community to pledge money to sponsor the Zimbabwe polls. The donors, who include the United States and the European Union, have made certain conditions for funding the elections, such as allowing EU observers.
The sources said if the donors put money, it will be for the referendum first and then they will consider funding the general elections if Zimbabwe implements the election roadmap and there is an end to human rights abuses.
Ordinarily Zanu PF would not agree to any conditions, but it is believed that President Robert Mugabe and his party will probably agree to some demands as some observers say they are ‘desperate’ to have the elections before the United Nations World Tourism Organisation conference in August.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), TENDAI BITI, UNDP, VIOLET GONDA, VOA
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UNDP in Zimbabwe poll funding pledge
12/02/2013 00:00:00
by Violet Gonda I SW Radio Africa
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has approved a request by the cash strapped Zimbabwe government to fund elections this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Tuesday. Biti and Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa had written to the UNDP asking for an estimated US$250 million for the purposes of administering the constitutional referendum and general election, scheduled for this year.
The Finance Minister said they had received "a very favorable response and we are now acting on the things that they have requested". Biti said he could not publicly divulge what has been requested or how much money Zimbabwe will receive. But he revealed that the Zimbabwe Election Commission had put forward budgets that were unrealistic, with the original budget in excess of US$500 million and the second one over $300 million.
He said experts from the two ministries were now in the process of reconciling the figures with ZEC, “to come up with a credible and legitimate budget that is sellable to everyone, to the Ministry of Finance, to parliament and to the international community.” Biti said various people who will work in the election process were asking huge per diem rates. Some were asking to be paid as much as $70 per day.
“Another request of concern was the request from the Zimbabwe Republic Police. In the original budget, it was so clear that the police were now intending to capitalise on this, which is not proper,” Biti added.
“So what Minister Chinamasa and I have chosen to do is to micro-analyse and micro-audit the budgets that are coming from the Zimbabwe Election Commission with a view of coming up with a reasonable and legitimate figure.”
The police alone were asking for $180 million. Some media reports say that ZEC requests included $1 million for indelible ink and at least $11 million for voter education, adding to suspicions that the figures were highly inflated.
Sources say the UNDP does not actually have the money but will coordinate the donor community to pledge money to sponsor the Zimbabwe polls. The donors, who include the United States and the European Union, have made certain conditions for funding the elections, such as allowing EU observers.
The sources said if the donors put money, it will be for the referendum first and then they will consider funding the general elections if Zimbabwe implements the election roadmap and there is an end to human rights abuses.
Ordinarily Zanu PF would not agree to any conditions, but it is believed that President Robert Mugabe and his party will probably agree to some demands as some observers say they are ‘desperate’ to have the elections before the United Nations World Tourism Organisation conference in August.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), TENDAI BITI, UNDP, VIOLET GONDA, VOA
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UNDP in Zimbabwe poll funding pledge
12/02/2013 00:00:00
by Violet Gonda I SW Radio Africa
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has approved a request by the cash strapped Zimbabwe government to fund elections this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said Tuesday. Biti and Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa had written to the UNDP asking for an estimated US$250 million for the purposes of administering the constitutional referendum and general election, scheduled for this year.
The Finance Minister said they had received "a very favorable response and we are now acting on the things that they have requested". Biti said he could not publicly divulge what has been requested or how much money Zimbabwe will receive. But he revealed that the Zimbabwe Election Commission had put forward budgets that were unrealistic, with the original budget in excess of US$500 million and the second one over $300 million.
He said experts from the two ministries were now in the process of reconciling the figures with ZEC, “to come up with a credible and legitimate budget that is sellable to everyone, to the Ministry of Finance, to parliament and to the international community.” Biti said various people who will work in the election process were asking huge per diem rates. Some were asking to be paid as much as $70 per day.
“Another request of concern was the request from the Zimbabwe Republic Police. In the original budget, it was so clear that the police were now intending to capitalise on this, which is not proper,” Biti added.
“So what Minister Chinamasa and I have chosen to do is to micro-analyse and micro-audit the budgets that are coming from the Zimbabwe Election Commission with a view of coming up with a reasonable and legitimate figure.”
The police alone were asking for $180 million. Some media reports say that ZEC requests included $1 million for indelible ink and at least $11 million for voter education, adding to suspicions that the figures were highly inflated.
Sources say the UNDP does not actually have the money but will coordinate the donor community to pledge money to sponsor the Zimbabwe polls. The donors, who include the United States and the European Union, have made certain conditions for funding the elections, such as allowing EU observers.
The sources said if the donors put money, it will be for the referendum first and then they will consider funding the general elections if Zimbabwe implements the election roadmap and there is an end to human rights abuses.
Ordinarily Zanu PF would not agree to any conditions, but it is believed that President Robert Mugabe and his party will probably agree to some demands as some observers say they are ‘desperate’ to have the elections before the United Nations World Tourism Organisation conference in August.
Labels: 2013 ELECTIONS (ZW), TENDAI BITI, UNDP, VIOLET GONDA, VOA
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COMMENT - Zambia can and should be collecting more revenues from the mines than they receive in 'donor aid'. Donor Aid is both a scam and misleadingly titled to be confused with charitable giving. Every year, Africa exports $1,000 billion (1 trillion) in raw materials, receives $250 billion in 'donor aid' and $6 billion in 'charitable giving'. Instead of collecting $250 billion in taxes from it's own natural resources or owning them outright, they received virtually nothing in taxes from mining. Instead, they receive taxes paid by ordinary citizens in the West, called 'Donor Aid'. The only people this scam benefits, are the shareholders of the mining and oil companies.
Zambia tired of begging - Sata
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fri 22 June 2012, 13:25 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says God will not forgive Zambia for tolerating unemployment in a small population of only 13 million people against the vast natural resources the country is endowed with. And President Sata says Zambia is tired of begging.Meanwhile, the United Nations conference on sustainable development dubbed Rio +20 on Wednesday officially opened in Rio de Janeiro, with global leaders less enthusiastic about the compromised agreement negotiators reached earlier in the week which falls short of aspirations of protecting the environment in the expanding global economy.
President Sata said Zambia was tired of moving with a "begging bowl" from one developed country to another as the country had the capacity to become self-reliant and lift its millions of unemployed youths out of poverty if its vast natural resources were exploited to the benefit of Zambians.
"Zambia is an extremely large country with relatively smaller population," President Sata told a United Nations Development Programme-organised discussion on exploring economic development beyond GDP measurements.
"Some of you, 13 million population of Zambia is what you have in your cities and towns. It is most unfortunate and God will not forgive us that out of a small population of 13 million, you can still find unemployed people. The reason is that we are not utilising our natural resources which we have more than other countries."
President Sata said he admired and was grateful to Brazil which was leading in utilising its natural resources to improve lives of its ordinary people.
"I don't want the syndrome of 'take this'; the reason Africa has not developed is that we have always relied on begging from the super bowl," he said.
"Time has come for us to develop ourselves and let others come to beg from ourselves because we have more resources than the people we are begging from."
President Sata said only technological advancement to ensure sustainable development would lift Africa out of its current economic and developmental doldrums.
"You donors keep your money but we need your technology. All we need from you is good technology," said President Sata amid applause from the audience.
And the Rio +20 summit opened with global leaders endorsing a 50-page document negotiators agreed in haste with contentious issues like technology transfers from rich to poor nations and new financing for developing countries set aside.
According to sources, diplomats agreed on what everyone called a "mere beginning", a step towards a roadmap on how to embrace sustainable development at the conference which was coming two decades after the landmark 1992 conference - also held in Rio de Janeiro - which put sustainable development on the globe's agenda.
Opening the summit, Brazil President Dilma Rousseff urged "all countries of the world to commit" to reaching an accord that address serious environmental and social woes.
President Rousseff also said measuring the countries' economic growth progress based on Gross Domestic Product was not sufficient and that the world needed a better way of measuring economic growth which prioritised sustainable development and environmental protection.
She regretted that economic woes facing major economic powerhouses had hampered aspirations of developing countries from increasing their access to funding from key donors to help them enhance the use of renewable energy, on protecting forests, on eradicating poverty and hunger.
"Uncertainty in the future of the global economy, it becomes very difficult for key donors to make long-term commitments to mainstream efforts to lift the millions of people out of poverty," said President Rousseff.
"We are producing more wealth which is decreasing the resources for the future. The future we want shall not be built by itself if left to its own apparatus. The future generation's account depends on our decisions today."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged the world had made little progress on environmental issues since the first Rio meeting in 1992, but said leaders were working to reverse that at the Rio+20 summit.
Ban, who said the old model for economic growth had broken down and failed to achieve an inclusive model for holistic development, said there was need to build a global movement of change.
"Twenty years ago, the Earth Summit put sustainable development on the global agenda. Yet, let me be frank: our efforts have not lived up to the measure of the challenge," Ban told delegates. "For too long, we have behaved as though we could indefinitely burn and consume our way to prosperity. Today, we recognise that we can no longer do so."
The conference which drew over 50,000 delegates which included 100 heads of government and states is discussing sustainability programmes aim at ensuring that countries grow their economies and lift the marginalised out of poverty without harming the environment.
The UN conference, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit that declared the environment a priority, is the largest ever organised, with 50,000 delegates, the United Nations said.
According to UN figures, global food demand will double by 2030 and energy consumption soar by as much as 45 per cent, putting mounting pressure on finite resources amid growing social inequality, water shortages and global warming.
Labels: GDP, MICHAEL SATA, MINING, TAXATION, UNDP, WINDFALL TAX
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COMMENT - Does she have the government's back when they raise taxes on the mines? We need a broad coalition with lots of cover.
There's need for more health funding - Wignaraja
By Angela Kabamba in Mongu
Fri 22 June 2012, 13:23 CAT
UNITED Nations Development Programme resident coordinator Kanni Wignaraja says
there is need for the government to increase funding to the health sector in the 2013 budget to revamp the sector.
And Mongu district acting Medical Officer Namata Masialeti says the district has a challenge of transport and poor infrastructure. Wignaraja noted that most health centres in the country could not be easily accessed by the local communities due to poor road network.
She said this when she toured Namushekendi Rural Health Centre in Mongu on Wednesday.
"As much as government is making efforts to construct many rural health centres countrywide, there is need to concentrate much on transport and roads because without a good road network, the local community won't have access to the health centres," she said.
Masialeti lamented that the district also had a few motor bikes making it difficult for the medical staff to deliver health services to far flung places.
He said Namushakendi rural health centre also had no institutional houses for staff.
And Western Province Permanent Secretary Bert Mushala said the government had targeted most used rural roads to be worked on so as to improve the health, education and agriculture sectors in the province.
Wignaraja is in Western Province to familiarise herself to the challenges faced in the health, education and agriculture sectors.
Labels: HEALTHCARE, KANNI WIGNARAJA, UNDP
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UNDP Copac scandal deepens
Saturday, 19 May 2012 20:12
Sunday Mail Reporter
The United Nations Development Programme in Zimbabwe has recruited a media specialist for the Copac project and has
taken the lead in laying the ground for Copac’s scheduled Second Stakeholders’ Conference, raising eyebrows that
the UN agency is not only supporting the constitution-making process but calling the shots at Copac.Ordinarily, Copac, as the driver of the constitution-making process, is supposed to recruit a media specialist or should have a public relations arm to handle media issues.
It is not known when Copac’s Second Stakeholder Conference will be held as last Thursday, a deadlock was declared in the constitution-making process.
The latest revelation comes soon after this newspaper exposed clandestine moves by the UN agency, through a leaked e-mail, to recruit writers to pen commissioned articles in support of Copac. The writers were promised US$200 for pro-Copac articles ranging from 600 to 800 words.
It is understood that Chiramwiwa Gavi, who has been working closely with Copac, was recruited as the media specialist and has roped in freelance writer Rejoice Ngwenya to recruit the pro-Copac writers.
Early this year, the UNDP posted a job advert entitled “Consultancy for Media Specialist for Copac Project,” where it said it wanted to recruit a consultant well versed with popularising draft constitutions. The consultant was given an initial contract of five months.
“In order to enhance its capacity to continue providing substantive support to the constitution-making process in particular for the remaining key activities such as the drafting process and the Second Stakeholder Conference, the UNDP CO is looking to recruit a consultant with demonstrated experience in publicity and media campaign around informing and educating the public on participatory constitution-making processes as well as popularising draft constitutions.
“The consultant is expected to provide technical support and expertise, including sharing experiences and best practice with the UNDP CO and Copac for the remaining activities of the constitution-making process such as drafting, preparations for the Second Stakeholder Conference and publicity leading to the referendum.
“Critically, the consultant is expected to provide technical expertise in developing and implementing a media tracking/monitoring tool to gauge effectiveness of the publicity campaign and where there are gaps, to improve on this,” read the advert.
Some of the duties of the consultant included “development of advertorial materials for television, radio and print media, development of billboards, newsletters and supplements, and development of radio and television educational programmes to promote the drafting process, hosting of the Second Stakeholder Conference and preparatory processes for the referendum.”
VIEW OR DOWNLOAD THE DRAFT CONSTITUTION HERE
The consultant was also supposed to provide practical advice in developing and posting adverts and relevant information onto the Copac website while providing technical assistance on the effective use of social media such as facebook and twitter.
Commenting on the latest revelations, a constitutional expert, who requested anonymity for professional reasons, said the UNDP in its recent Press adverts seeks to give the false impression that all it has been doing is support Copac as part of its general work and funding of Government projects.
“As you would expect, many constitutional experts are following the constitution-making process and I have been struck by the so-called technical assistance being given to Copac by the UNDP.
“The job advert by the UNDP clearly shows that the agency has in fact taken the lead in Copac issues and its description of the Copac work and activities shows that it is not just supporting Copac through funding but is actually calling the shots.
“The job description of the media specialist is as telling as are the references describing Copac and its work,” said the expert, adding that the UNDP had taken over all the media responsibilities from Copac, a move “which stinks of dirty underhand politics.”
Said the expert: “One gets the impression that the UNDP is leading Copac yet it’s supposed to be the other way round. The UNDP should leave Copac to lead the process and they provide just the technical assistance.”
Recently, this paper exposed the UNDP after it published an email dated April 16 2012, written by Ngwenya and addressed to several writers and MDC-T politicians asking for writers to write articles in support of Copac despite the fact that the process had largely ignored the people’s views.
Copac dumped the people’s views in favour of the “explanatory principles approach” that was put forward by Mr Hassen Abrahim, a South African, who confessed that he was working closely with the UNDP.
Labels: COPAC, NEOCOLONIALISM, UN, UNDP
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UNDP sees hope in new govt's policies
By Ndinawe Simpelwe
Tue 18 Oct. 2011, 15:50 CAT
THE GOVERNMENT'S economic policies are in the right direction, says UNDP country governance advisor Michael Soko. In an interview, Soko said the government had made positive statements that gave hope to the country and investors.
He said the policy statements that the government was making were good enough to address the challenges the country was facing. He said the current government should not be judged based on other governments' performances but people should wait to see how it would implement its programmes.
Soko, however, said having good economic policies on paper was not enough to develop the country but the implementation of the policies would benefit the people.
He said there was no need for the government to start looking for new priorities when what was needed was to create wealth for the people of Zambia.
Soko said the government should come up with a budget that would be in line with the policy statements it had made so far.
"It may not be in the best interest to begin introducing new priorities. Perhaps one should look at the priorities as they have been presented and see whether in fact those priorities point towards decreasing poverty. Let's wait and see what programmes will be put in place because a policy direction has already been given," he said.
President Michael Sata last week during the opening of Parliament gave a policy direction anchored on reducing poverty and fighting corruption which has been welcomed by different stakeholders.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, UNDP
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52 Karoi farmers take up cassava production, processing
Friday, 07 October 2011 00:00
Agriculture Reporter
FIFTY-two Karoi farmers have ventured into cassava growing and processing under the guidance of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme.
The farmers are under the GreenLion Old Age and Orphanage organisation. The project is meant to improve household food security and promotion of consumption of traditional nutritional foods.
The beneficiaries of the project are aged between 60 and 107 years.
The Ministry's director for community development, Mr Christopher Chingosho, said to eradicate extreme poverty, Government mandated his ministry to empower women and promote gender equity and equality.
"The ministry ventured into cassava production since the crop is drought tolerant and resistant to pests and diseases thereby reducing production costs," he said.
"Cassava produces high yields per unit area of between 30 to 40 tonnes per hectare which surpasses those of maize, rice, sorghum and wheat and can do well in poor soils, but still produce better yields."
Mr Chingosho said he was confident local farmers were now equipped with knowledge in production, although they required more training on value addition.
He appealed to UNDP and other interested organisations to support the initiatives through the creation of processing units to enable beneficiaries to create a complete industry where they will produce, process and market locally.
Mr Chingosho urged the farmers to increase production and take advantage of foreigners from Zambia and Nigeria in the country who rely on cassava as their staple food.
After undergoing training Mr Musa Mostafu said he was now able to process cassava into flour, mealie meal, biscuits, chips, glue and cakes.
"Cassava production is a suitable project for the elderly as it does not require much labour as in tobacco; another suitable crop for the area," he said.
GreenLion Old Age and Orphanage chief executive, Mr Lovemore Chigumira, who is the founder of the Karoi organisation looking into the farewell of old people, encouraged society to respect the elderly and assist them.
His organisation promotes livelihood programmes for old people, especially those who look after orphans.
Labels: CASSAVA, UNDP
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Get out of my boat, Sinyinda tells UN VIPs at Kuomboka
By Moses Kuwema in Mongu
Mon 19 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT
EDUCATION deputy minister Clement Sinyinda on Saturday publicly embarrassed United Nations resident coordinator Mcleod Nyirongo, UNDP country director Viola Morgan and other UN staff by chasing them from the speedboat, which he claimed was his.
The incident happened during the build-up to the Kuomboka ceremony in the morning at Mongu harbour as Nyirongo and Morgan were heading to Lealui to see off the Litunga. The eight-seater boat was assigned to Nyirongo and Morgan by Western Province deputy permanent secretary Seth Muleya who assured the duo that everything was well.
But when the UN team led by Nyirongo got on the boat, Sinyinda suddenly appeared and demanded that the crew move out of the boat because it belonged to him.
At this point, Kuomboka ceremony Lusaka organising committee chairman Professor Oliver Saasa tried to explain to Sinyinda about Nyirongo and Morgan’s positions and the need for diplomacy on his part.
In response, Sinyinda said, “I know who they are but I’m just expressing myself. So let them get out of my boat.”
Nyirongo and Morgan, who were accompanied by their spouses, then got out of the boat and had to wait for another speedboat.
And on Friday, Western Province permanent secretary Ikanuke Noyoo appealed to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and the hostels board to address the issue of inflated accommodation rates during the period of Kuomboka.
Speaking when Nyirongo paid a courtesy call on him at his office, Noyoo said it was unacceptable for lodges and guesthouses to hike rates during the Kuomboka ceremony.
“The hiking of services is just the question of greedy and poor business skills, the other thing also could be that we don’t have industries,” Noyoo said.
Noyoo said over K1 billion was pumped into the province during the Kuomboka ceremony.
Accommodation rates in Mongu during the Kuomboka ceremony ranges between K800,000 and K3 million for rooms which are normally pegged at K100,000 and K500,000 respectively.
Noyoo also said there was low condom use in the province because people had a casual attitude.
And Nyirongo said his visit to the province was focused on HIV and AIDS because he wanted to check on areas where the government could do better.
Nyirongo said in the last four years, the UN had been supporting District AIDS Coordination Advisors (DACA) and the Provincial AIDS Coordination Advisors (PACA).
“We have been told that one of the drivers of HIV and AIDS is culture and as we go round we shall try and focus on these areas to help the government do better,” said Nyirongo.
Labels: CEREMONIES, CLEMENT SINYINDA, MCLEOD NYIRONGO, UN, UNDP
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Minister blamed for constitution delays
by
01/02/2010 00:00:00
THE Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Advocate Eric Matinenga has been accused of “unnecessarily” delaying the constitutional reform process by entering into agreements with donor organisations without the knowledge and consent of cabinet.
The accusation was made by one of the parliamentary constitutional committee (COPAC) co-chairpersons Paul Mangwana who represents President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.
Mangwana claimed that there were a lot of “offending” clauses in the agreement which Matinenga, a member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s party, had entered into with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The UNDP is the only major donor agency now funding the exercise after several others withdrew, apparently fed-up with the political bickering which continues to undermine the process.
However, Mangwana sought to underplay the political disagreements and instead blamed Matinenga’s dealings with the UNDP for the problems.
“There is no political bickering as far as the constitutional process is concerned. The issue is not about who should sign what and how. The issue revolves around the agreement that Minister Matinenga signed with the UNDP without the knowledge and approval of the constitutional management committee and the cabinet,” the Zanu Pf official said.
Mangwana added that the Constitutional affairs minister had over-reached his mandate when he endorsed the UNDP deal.
“The agreement was crafted in such a way that it sets the talking points for the committee, something that we felt was not going to be in the best interests of the people of Zimbabwe who should own the process.
“It was also felt that the minister had taken his duties too far since no minister should enter into any agreement with a foreign organization without the approval of the cabinet. There is need therefore for fresh negotiations and agreements with the UNDP,” he said.
Mangwana further highlighted that the constitutional reform process needed to be bankrolled to the tune of US$36 million adding that the UNDP had recently disbursed about US$18 million.
Labels: CONSTITUTION, COPAC, ERIC MATINENGA, UNDP
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‘Invest in rural communities’
Written by Moses Kuwema in Kapiri Mposhi
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 11:52:11 PM
UNITED Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director Viola Morgan has advised Zambia to invest in rural communities. During the wrap-up of her tour of Northern Province, Morgan said investing in rural communities would assist the country attain the middle-income status by 2030.
Morgan expressed concern over poverty challenges she observed during her tour and hoped that positive interventions would be put forward.
“I saw a lot of poverty challenges and I think there is need for positive interventions to be put, especially rural electrification for the community,” Morgan said.
She said the majority of women-headed households, adding that interventions should not be taken in a blanket approach to address the problems facing rural communities.
Morgan further said she was impressed with the agriculture produce in places where she had toured, adding that Zambia was able to feed itself.
“Zambia can feed itself and others, so there is need for diversification of the economy, processing some of the things you have. What is needed is just small low cost technology. This will help turn the production of these communities into industries,” she said.
Morgan further said the Zambia Bureau of Standards (ZABS) should work closely with rural communities in order to develop industries.
She said the UNDP-supported project in Mpika called the Realisation and Effective Management of the National Protected Areas Systems (REMNPAS) was a model public private partnerships (PPPs) which could not be found anywhere.
Morgan said the project which involved traditional leaders could also be repricated elsewhere as it enabled communities to have a say in their land.
Labels: UNDP, VIOLA MORGAN
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COMMENT - Tourism? How about agriculture and manufacturing?
Promote other sectors of the economy, urges Morgan
Written by Moses Kuwema in Kasama
Saturday, April 18, 2009 4:34:27 PM
UNITED Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country director Viola Morgan has said there is need for Zambia to scale up its efforts in promoting other sectors of the economy such as tourism in order to develop.
Speaking when she paid a courtesy call on Northern Province minister Charles Shawa on Thursday, Morgan said Zambia was blessed with a lot of natural resources which need to be exploited.
“As a country, I think there is need to move to other areas like tourism. I was in Mpulungu the other day where I saw the Lake Tanganyika and I think it remains to be a potential for development,” she said.
Morgan said there was need to improve infrastructure such as roads for tourists to easily find their way to tourist destinations.
Morgan also said the UNDP was concerned about the livelihood of Zambians, noting the need for the organisation to strengthen its ties with the government to foster social and economic development and an exchange of ideas.
And Shawa said there was need to look at sustainable management of resources.
Shawa said Northern Province had many waterfalls which needed to be exploited.
“We need to see how animals should be preserved. Most people here depend on farming not in a commercial line and we are looking at how they can diversify in keeping animals. And people from the new ministry of fisheries are here to see how it can be improved,” said Shawa.
Labels: ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION, UNDP, VIOLA MORGAN
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UN pledges to help with economic recovery
Business Reporters
UNITED Nations Development Programme has pledged to work with the Ministry of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion in attaining Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.
UNDP’s intentions in the country at the moment are to boost the crafting of macro-economic policies that reinforce with the recently launched Short Term Economic Programme.
Speaking at a recent ceremony where the organisation handed over computers to the Ministry of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, UNDP said they would do their best in assisting the country to attain economic independence.
"We are here to help the nation in capacity building and we will do whatever it takes to assist the country," said Dr Agostinho Zacarias, the United Nations country representative.
Currently UNDP is implementing international training courses that will assist the country in coming up with strategies that will help the economic recovery of the country.
"The responsibility of the ministry is to plan the economic recovery of the country whilst at the same time providing leadership within the economic clusters of the government hence the training courses will go a long way in making the job easier for the ministry," said Mr Zacarias.
Mr Zacarias also noted that the participation of stakeholders was vital in nation building and this was encouraged through the development of a website, which would facilitate communication between prospective investors in and out of the country.
The website would also enable the Ministry to interact and receive ideas from different sectors of the economy and it was open to everyone from both the civil and business society.
UNDP had recently noted that one strategic objective in a recovery scenario would be the return to sound macroeconomic management.
This was stated in a report entitled "Comprehensive Economic Recovery in Zimbabwe" which states that macroeconomic stability needs to be tackled in order to trigger a sustainable, broadbased, pro-poor recovery dynamic.
This document is in line with the recently implemented STERP, which also looks at boosting macro-economic policies for economic recovery.
Labels: UN, UNDP, ZIMBABWE
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Slump in copper prices worries Lumwana Mining
Written by Mwala Kalaluka in Kasempa
Saturday, November 22, 2008 11:52:55 PM
LUMWANA Mining Company (LMC) managing director Harry Michael
has expressed serious concern over the slump in copper prices on the global market slightly a week before the mine kicks off production.
Michael told United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country representative, Macleod Nyirongo, who toured the mine on Monday that everybody in the country’s mining sector was worried with the down turn in copper prices.
“Nobody should think that some countries are immune from the world financial crisis. It is going to require, by any government or any business, a cool head to navigate around this unfortunate situation. It is going to be difficult times going ahead for the mining industry,” he said.
Michael explained that whilst the prices of copper were going down, the operation costs were on the high side.
Asked to explain if the slump in copper prices will have a bearing on the number of people they would employ when the mine starts production, Michael said that was a difficult question to answer.
“We are a business. We have a debt which we have to repay…that has to be the first priority, that is servicing our debt,” he said. Michael said the mine was remaining with only about nine years for them to repay the US $690 million debt acquired from 14 lending institutions to inject into the mining investment.
“This is a 37-year mine, we do not want to do things for the short-term. A lot of planning has gone in place,” said Michael.
Labels: COPPER, LUMWANA MINING COMPANY, MACLEOD NYIRONGO, RECESSION, UNDP
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UNDP calls for equitable gain from N/Western Province mines
Written by Mwala Kalaluka in Solwezi
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 6:55:17 AM
UNITED Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident coordinator,
Macleod Nyirongo yesterday urged the government to
ensure that locals in North-Western Province derive meaningful benefits from the natural resources.And Nyirongo has expressed gladness at the low levels of HIV/AIDS transmission in the province despite the low levels of sensitisation and the dismal distribution of ARVs.
Paying a courtesy call on North Western Province permanent secretary Jeston Mulando at his office in Solwezi, Nyirongo said the test of the growing mining sector in the area was centred on the benefits that would accrue to the local population.
Nyirongo, who is on a six-day familiarisation tour of the province, said he was attracted to the area because of the fact that it had been described by many as the sleeping giant.
"It is interesting actually to see that the mining sector has injected some economic life in this province," Nyirongo said. "But the test is to the people from this province to get jobs so that they can in turn get meaningful income to send their children to school. The mining sector has to be meaningful and here we look at the government leadership to manage this natural resource so that it can be meaningful to the people."
Nyirongo said another area of economic potential that needs to be looked at to improve the people's living standards was the agricultural sector.
"I think the role of the agencies like ours is to bring in some external factors that can raise productivity," he said.
And Nyirongo said it was impressive to note that the province still had HIV/AIDS prevalence rates of as low as between 6 to 7 per cent despite the negative trends.
He said there was a lot that other provinces could learn in trimming down the pandemic prevalence rates.
"When you look at the number of people getting ARVs and those who need it, it is actually very low. I think there are other factors...with your knowledge in this province, we can learn a lot from what works," he said.
Nyirongo said there was need for the UN to continue working with the National AIDS Council (NAC) to support district teams so that the cultural aspects that have contributed to the low HIV/AIDS levels in the province were sustained.
Meanwhile, Mulando said the team coordinating the fight against the pandemic have targeted the mineworkers coming from outside the province in the sensitization undertakings.
He also attributed the low prevalence levels to the practice of male circumcision among the Lunda and Luvale tribes in the province.
Mulando urged Nyirongo to ensure that the good programmes that are being carried out by the United Nations, through its various agencies, especially in the health sector were improved.
But Mulando said his office was concerned about the refugee situation in Meheba Refugee Camp.
He further urged Nyirongo to collaborate with members of his team to make sure that some of the 15,072 refugees at the camp were assisted to return to their countries of origin.
Labels: HIV/AIDS, MACLEOD NYIRONGO, MINING, NORTHWESTERN PROVINCE, UNDP
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More is needed from the UN over Zimbabwe
By Editor
Thursday May 08, 2008 [04:00]
WE have no doubt Zimbabwe will recover from the difficulties it is today experiencing. The economic problems that country is facing today are not natural, they are a creation of various forces that have colossal interests in Zimbabwe. Let's not forget that throughout the years of the liberation struggle, that country's economy was virtually left intact. It was supported by the same countries that have today strangled it. Recently, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said as soon as there was a change of government in Zimbabwe, his government would give a lot of financial assistance to that country.
Clearly, the assistance is on condition that there is a change of government, the Mugabe regime is kicked out and replaced by MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai. This is not the way countries are helped. This is help not to a country but to a regime that the British feel can advance their interests.
We agree with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) deputy regional director for Africa Moustapha Soumare's observations that Zimbabwe's recovery depends on agreement from all the parties in the country to move forward. What Zimbabwe needs are patriots who wish to see their country succeed regardless of who is in power. It needs political leaders who don't gloat over national reverses, nor talk down their successes.
We wish to see Zimbabwe behaving honourably, being an influence for good in SADC and Africa. We wish to see the economy of that country recover and regain its strength. We want to see politicians in Zimbabwe who don't look to defeat their opponents on the back of national failure.
There will always be sufficient grounds in a democracy without that to argue for their removal. It is this type of politics that has contributed to the destruction of Zimbabwe's economy.
The white Rhodesians who have been in the forefront of campaigning for sanctions against that country wherever they may be - Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa - never campaigned for sanctions against the racist white minority regime of Ian Smith. They never even campaigned for sanctions against apartheid South Africa.
Unfortunately, some opposition leaders in Zimbabwe joined hands with them in this venture in their desire to replace the Mugabe regime. They have every right to campaign and remove Mugabe from power, but it is treacherous for them to do so on the back of national failure.
The Mugabe regime will finally be brought down. It won't last forever. It is humanly impossible for Mugabe to continue in power beyond a certain age. But the damage that has been caused to the Zimbabwean people and their economy may take much longer to repair. This type of politics should be avoided. It is not prudent to join hands with imperialism - that was not very long ago our common enemy - to destroy our own countries simply because we want to be in power.
Those who genuinely support Zimbabwe should work to unite its people because there is very little a divided country can achieve. Unlike the UN, they should be there to support the country, and not factions or groups.
In the final analysis the true solutions to that country's problems will only come from the Zimbabwean people themselves and not from the divisive and arrogant rantings of Brown. Those who genuinely love Zimbabwe should help broker peace among its divided politicians instead of fuelling or deepening divisions and suspicions among them.
We share Soumare's optimism that Africa will one day be one of the most democratic regions in the world. But this will only happen when Africa starts to find its own strategies for good governance and development and build capacities for strong democracies.
The situations of the European and African countries are not comparable. The European countries are rich and developed; they have established certain political forms and achieved certain standards of living by exploiting and plundering the rest of the world.
They have amassed enormous wealth that they took from the colonies and neo-colonised countries, and they have achieved a passable standard of living. They have invented procedures for maintaining a sort of social peace based on redistribution of some of the wealth to alleviate the worst consequences of class society and the system of capitalist exploitation, and to calm the masses of the poorest and dispossessed. They have money to establish a system - we are not going to call it a single-party system - of single-class government.
They have established a ruling class that, using different methods which include some differences of opinion within the capitalist system, has created a political situation in which nothing threatens its system. Its members are rich and live in peace; nobody threatens or attacks them - save for the rare terrorist attacks.
They live in conditions that are completely different from those we live in - and especially those in a country like Zimbabwe, which is subjected to a blockade, and imperialism's ongoing hostility, which forces them to make a truly incredible effort to survive. These conditions aren't at all similar to those in Europe.
There may be a difference of opinion, but it's a difference of opinion within the system, whose continued existence is ensured by the monopoly on all means of communication, all money, all wealth and all the power of the state. This is the only way a system of that kind can continue to exist.
Truly, these elections we hold are very important steps in democracy but, as Soumare observes, democracy must be looked at in terms of opening up dialogue in a country. Elections per se should not be seen as the only reflections of democracy in a country.
It cannot be denied that there are serious problems in Zimbabwe that need to be resolved. But these can only be resolved by efforts that genuinely seek to unite Zimbabweans across the political spectrum and not by efforts that seek nothing but divisions among them. We don't know when imperialism will ever stop this tactic of divide and rule.
We therefore urge the United Nations, as the best placed organisation, to step in and help the Zimbabwean people overcome their political differences and unite to tackle the economic and social problems today facing their country.
Labels: UN, UNDP, ZIMBABWE
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Zimbabwe has potential to recover, says Soumare
By Mutuna Chanda
Thursday May 08, 2008 [04:00]
ZIMBABWE has the potential and capacity to recover from the difficulties it is experiencing, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) deputy regional director for Africa Moustapha Soumare has said. In an interview on the sidelines of the Great Lakes Region meeting on democracy and good governance in Lusaka, Soumare said Zimbabwe's recovery depends on agreement from all the parties in the country to move forward.
"The UN in Zimbabwe is working hard in coming up with a recovery strategy," Soumare said. "In this situation, we are there to support the country. The UN and other partners are following very well the situation there and it has to walk with the people on whatever solutions they come up with."
He said the UNDP was aware of the different trouble spots in Africa and that it was working with respective governments to try and find solutions.
"Our role is that of brokering to help governments find their ways in solving their particular problems," Soumare said. "We don't have any magic solutions to the problems that countries are facing."
However, he expressed confidence that Africa would be one of the most democratic regions in the world given the happenings on the continent.
"There's a rising consciousness that Africa needs to find its own strategy for development," Soumare said. "Today than ever before many countries have gone through democratic processes of elections.
It's not perfect but most of the instances that we are going through are what Europe went through. So the problems that Africa is going through are kind of hindrances that you find on the road. That is why we in the UNDP are interested in building capacities for strong democracies."
He said elections were not the only indicators of democracy but were part of the process.
"Elections per se are not the only reflections of democracy," said Soumare. "They are important steps in democracy but democracy must be looked at in terms of opening up dialogue with governments, the media and civil society among other actors."
Labels: UNDP, ZIMBABWE
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