Zm needs $2B to fix economy

from the aP

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa's finance minister says Zimbabwe has asked countries in the region for $2 billion dollars to salvage its collapsed economy and infrastructure.

Trevor Manuel told South African radio that Zimbabwe wanted half to be used for emergencies in education, health and municipal services. The other half would help kick start retail and other sectors...

But most southern African nations are themselves reeling from the global economic downturn, and there is skepticism about how the money would be used...

WOZA activists remain in custody

from SWradioAfrica

Five activists from the pressure group, Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) are still being kept behind bars after they were arrested during a peaceful and legal demonstration in Harare on Wednesday.

The four women and one man were part a 400 strong group that marched to the government buildings in the capital for an official meeting with the new Education Minister, David Coltart. However, the group was violently set upon by riot police, who, true to form, used brutal force to disperse the peaceful group. The five activists that were arrested were all assaulted, while another nine were treated for injuries inflicted at the hands of the riot police....

Meanwhile, WOZA leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu both appeared in the Bulawayo Magistrate’s Court on Thursday on charges of ‘disturbing the peace’. The pair was arrested last October during another peaceful demonstration urging that the crippling food shortages in the country be declared a national emergency. Their case has once again been postponed to next week and it’s expected the High Court will fast track the case, resulting in the trial being forced through the system. WOZA already has a case from 2004 still waiting for a ruling in the High Court.

Uganda prayer campaign

from the Daily Monitor (Uganda).

Our beloved country Uganda is weeping, grieving for the innocent lives of countless people - including children - who have needlessly lost their lives at the hands of wicked people in pursuit of selfish ambition and money. There is greed, corruption, and an inhuman thirst to spill innocent blood.

This cry is so loud, that we the church – regardless of denomination – are together declaring a nationwide campaign against this evil of witchcraft and human sacrifice. We are unequivocal in our strong condemnation of this depraved practice, which not only defiles the sanctity of human life, but also reveals the extent to which the core of our society is degenerating owing to greed, godlessness, and moral corruption.

Brothers and sisters, this must stop. We the church, have a burden to repent and renounce the greed, corruption, and selfish ambition that plague our nation, and which have precipitated the evil of human sacrifice by those who practice witchcraft and mistakenly regard it as a means to quick wealth.

For non Africans, the letter is referring to what Africans call "witchcraft" (not the same as African religion or treatment by traditional healers who often are called "witchdoctors" by clueless Europeans).

It is similar to Santara and other AfroCaribbean/Afro Brazilian cults that sacrifice animals to get something, usually power, money, success, or love.

But in this case, they are sacrificing humans to get something. When I worked in Liberia, about once a month a mutilated body would be found, and it was assumed that some rich man was building a store and was burying the genitals or heart in the foundation so it would succeed.

Another aspect is the use of body parts to cure HIV: even the NYTimes has had articles about albino killings to get this medicine.

In Uganda, the "Lord's army" group routinely kidnaps children and uses witchcraft ceremonies to make the children killers.

And it was rumored that Idi Amin protected himself against coups and assasinations by witchcraft: but that he was overthrown when Tanzania's president sent in troops that had a ceremony to protect them from Amin's witchcraft.

The only reason I bring this up is that I wonder how much Mugabe is "western" and just a greedy dictator and how much his power is due to his use of witchcraft. The HIV crisis has caused a revival of use of illicit means to cure HIV...

As for westerners saying, oh those superstitious Africans, could I remind you that Hitler used witchcraft, including occult ceremonies for his SS...

and that in the US alone a million mothers kill their unborn children for financial or social reasons?

Apology for no blogposts

For the last week it has been very hot here (the hot season is starting). This means brownouts which mess up the internet connection. To make things worse, the telephone lines were down for five days.

I'll try to catch up.

Mugabe ambassador: We expect THEM to support an African solution

from the Liberian Observer:

It is so full of lies I hesitate to post it...

Public Health system has collapsed says MSF

From CBC (Canada)

The Nobel Prize-winning agency Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, called on both international donors and the Zimbabwean government to do more.

"You've all heard about the disastrous cholera epidemic," said Dr. Christophe Fournier, MSF's international president, who spent four days touring Zimbabwe.

"However catastrophic this epidemic is, it is only the most visible manifestation of a much broader crisis in the whole country. Actually the whole public health system in Zimbabwe is down, it has collapsed."

World Health Organization figures released Monday indicate 77,650 people in Zimbabwe have been infected with cholera, a water-borne disease, since August.

So far, 3,688 people have died from the disease, which causes severe diarrhea.

The country also faces food shortages, malnutrition, collapsed infrastructure, political violence, displacement within Zimbabwe and to neighbouring countries, as well as an HIV epidemic, MSF said in the report released in Johannesburg, South Africa.

There was no immediate comment from the Zimbabwean government.
Urgent measures needed

Malaria could be the next epidemic, the group said, because malaria season is approaching and people cannot afford to take preventive steps such as using insecticide-treated nets.

"The situation in Zimbabwe is causing inexcusable suffering," Fournier said.

"Urgent measures must be taken to ensure Zimbabweans have unimpeded access to the humanitarian assistance they so desperately need. The Zimbabwean government must guarantee that aid agencies can work wherever needs are identified and ease bureaucratic restrictions so projects can be properly staffed and drugs quickly procured."

NOTE
the government requires aid organizations to funnel all aid through them...they say it is so that the aid money doesn't go to dissadent groups and is more efficiently spread around, but most people suspsect it is so the government can blackmail opponents: YOu oppose us, and you starve/die of disease.

As for the public health system: It has been in a state of collapse for almost a year...

Tsvangirai's aide arrested

from the NYTimes

...The arrest of Roy Bennett, a white farmer who is treasurer of Mr. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change and his nominee for deputy agriculture minister, soured what was to have been a day of pageantry and good will as ministers in the new coalition government were sworn in.

You mean it isn't normal to arrest opposition members in democracies...alas, Zim is not a democracy...

Instead, Mr. Bennett’s incarceration at a jail in eastern Zimbabwe again suggests how difficult it will be for Mr. Mugabe’s party, ZANU-PF, which has ruled Zimbabwe for almost three decades, to work constructively with a political opposition that it has long derided as a pawn of the West and subjected to violent intimidation.

Huh? It's difficult for a bunch of thugs to work with those committed to democracy?

What does the NYTimes want us to do, feel sorry for them?

As for "pawn of the west": That's typical marxist propaganda, as you well know it...but what it is doing in the same sentence as "subject to violent intimidation" I don't know. It's a poorly written sentence, indeed a poorly written paragraph, almost as if someone censored the original report poorly...

Hours before Mr. Bennett’s arrest, Mr. Tsvangirai, who was himself acquitted of treason charges in 2004,

Yes. Mugabe used that charge against anyone crass enough to criticize him...

told journalists that the world needed to stop thinking of Mr. Mugabe

Just ignore that elephant in the room, fellahs

as the problem and to see instead that confidence was building in the power-sharing deal, under which he and Mr. Mugabe are to govern Zimbabwe together.

In an interview on Saturday, Mr. Tsvangirai did not sound so cheerful. While careful not to criticize Mr. Mugabe, he suggested that some in ZANU-PF would like the deal to fail.

Heh. D'ya think so?

His view echoed that of civic activists who worry that hard-liners in Mr. Mugabe’s repressive security services, perhaps fearful of prosecution for their human rights crimes, are trying to scuttle the deal....

(Tsvangirai defended his agreement to make a joint government)..
“People have no food, no schools,” he said. “The country is on its knees. We had to act. We could not be seen to be authors of chaos.”

In other words, the venal press that would "report" Mugabe's lies as truth were pressuring Tsvangirai to do something, never mind that anyone who knows Mugabe knows the agreement is a trick.

The article then goes on to say that Tsvangirai is trying to win over civil servants and police by promising to pay them n foreign currancy, but since the US and UK won't stop sanctions until Mugabe shows the agreement isn't a sham, it's sort of like a catch 22 or PM Tsvangirai.

Mugabe's Stash

From the UKTimes

Jon Swain, Bangkok and Michael Sheridan, Hong Kong

ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace have secretly bought a £4m bolt-hole in the Far East while his country struggles with hyper-inflation, mass unemployment and a cholera epidemic.

The Mugabes’ house, in an exclusive residential complex in Hong Kong, was purchased on their behalf by a middleman through a shadowy company whose registered office is in a run-down tenement block. When a reporter and a photographer called at the house last week, they were attacked by the Zimbabwean occupants. The assailants were questioned by the police.

The property came to light during a Sunday Times investigation into the Mugabes’ financial interests in Asia, where a web of associates has helped them to spend lavishly on luxuries and stash away millions in bank accounts. In Zimbabwe, meanwhile, inflation has reached 231m%, unemployment stands at 94% and 3,467 people have died in recent months from cholera.

According to sources in Zimbabwe and Asia, Grace Mugabe has splashed out £55,500 on marble statues in Vietnam and £8,700 on a handbag in Singapore. She and her husband have enjoyed some of the region’s finest hotels....

Zim government must tackle human rights abuses

from UNNews:

12 February 2009 – The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today called on Zimbabwe’s new Government of National Unity to immediately restore the rule of law and address abuses committed over the course of the recent political crisis.

“The long drawn-out process to reach a political settlement was marked by the perpetration of serious human rights violations and caused untold damage to the rule of law in Zimbabwe,” Navi Pillay said in a news release. “All eyes will be on this new Government to see if it can undo that damage.”....

Ms. Pillay voiced concern over the disappearance of opposition officials, the reported use of torture to extract false confessions and infringements of the independence of the judiciary.

“The pattern of enforced disappearances and unlawful arrests in recent months – for which the Government has acknowledged some responsibility – spread fear among opposition officials and their supporters as well as human rights activists and the independent media,” she said...

Indian investments overseas

December 2008 from Indian Brand Equity Foundation
via GeostrategyBlog

Most of the news about overseas investments is about China, but India also has a growing economy...the article is long, and only one African investment noted, but remember, unlike China (who hate foreigners, and look down on whites and blacks as inferior) India has had merchants in Africa for over a century...many have left, but many still work there, including new immigrants...


...According to the latest UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2007 (WIR '07), India’s outward foreign direct investment (FDI) was the second highest at US$ 20.4 billion after Brazil at US$ 28 billion. Significantly, while China's outward FDI rose by 32 per cent, to US$ 16 billion in 2006, India's outward FDI went up by almost four times....


* Pharma major, Lupin, has bought a majority stake in Pharma Dynamics (PD), which is the sixth largest generic drug company in South Africa. Though the amount of the deal was not revealed, sources said deal amounted to about US$ 24 million. Earlier, Lupin Limited had acquired over 30 per cent stake in Generic Health Pty Ltd of Australia, after acquiring Hormosan Pharma, a Germany-based company and Kyowa Pharmaceuticals, a Japanese firm, in 2007...

Zim investments will be respected if they are fair says MDC

from MINING WEEKLY via GeostrategyBlog:

Zimbabwe has the second-largest platinum resource in the world, and a host of other metals and minerals, which makes South Africa’s troubled neighbour an attractive mining destination.

Some, like the world’s second-largest platinum company, Impala Platinum, of Johannesburg, and junior Aquarius Platinum, which is listed in Johannesburg and Australia, grasped the Zimbabwe nettle years ago and had been reaping rich rewards until recently, when the platinum price collapsed.

Others, like platinum and chrome explorer Kameni, are very recent entrants, and then there are still others, like South Africa’s black-owned African Rainbow Minerals, that make no bones about being attracted by Zimbabwe’s prospectivity, have still not made any investment announcements and are presumably awaiting a globally acceptable political settlement, which several politicians, analysts and corporations believe may be only a stone’s throw away.

Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai, which is the frontrunning political entity that holds a key to a possible acceptable political outcome, has been vocal about mining companies investing in Zimbabwe.

The Johannesburg-based MDC treasurer-general, Roy Bennett, suggests that any new Zimbabwe government would need to scrutinise the mining investments that have been made to ensure that they are all able to withstand the full glare of the most rigorous of modern-day corporate-governance scrutiny....


Impala Platinum CEO David Brown is invariably open to media questioning at results presentations and has engaged in transparent transactions and ‘indigenisation’, the Zimbabwe equivalent of South Africa’s black economic-empowerment policy.

Brown has expressed parti- cular concern about the obli- gation that Impala Platinum has in Zimbabwe to continue to provide the employment that its activities at its 87%-owned Zimplats and Mimosa offer to the suffering people of Zimbabwe.

Brown is on record as praising the diligence and can-do approach of the employees of Zimplats and Mimosa, a view often also expressed by Aquarius Platinum CEO Stuart Murray.

Aquarius is also a shareholding in the Mimosa mine and there have been occasions where quarterly results have shown the high productivity levels that the Zimbabwe workforce is able to achieve.

Carroll says that Anglo American is still developing the infrastructure, roads and water supply at Unki, and, if the poli- tical environment improves, expects to break ground and start producing platinum in 2010.

“It’s a very big orebody. We have to keep investing to hold onto it. ...

more details at link

Tsvangirai set to become Zim's new Prime Minister

from AFP:

HARARE (AFP) — Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is set to become prime minister Wednesday, joining President Robert Mugabe in a unity government after a decade of struggling to push him from power....

"The sceptics must understand why we have done this and what is the best course of action to address the questions and challenges of transition in this political environment," Tsvangirai said on the eve of his swearing-in.

"We have made this decision and we made it without being forced. We want our colleagues in the country and outside the country to approach it from that perspective. It is our decision. Let history be the judge of this decision," he said.

His swearing-in will cap nearly a year of turmoil that began last March, when Tsvangirai won a first-round presidential vote that was greeted with nationwide political violence, mostly against his supporters.

Hoping to end the unrest that left at least 180 dead, Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off and left Mugabe to claim a one-sided victory denounced as a sham overseas.

South Africa brokered the unity deal, which was signed on September 15 but stalled amid protracted talks on how to divide cabinet posts and share control of the security forces.

Those concerns were finally addressed when the parties agreed to name co-ministers to home affairs, which oversees the police, and to create a new National Security Council that will allow all parties control of the security forces.

But analysts question how such an arrangement can work with the 84-year-old Mugabe, who has ruled since independence in 1980 and who just recently declared that "Zimbabwe is mine."

"Tsvangirai's swearing in symbolises a new era for the people of Zimbabwe," said Daniel Makina, a political analyst at the University of South Africa.

"Whether the inclusive government will be a success or not is another matter," he added.

Tsvangirai names his cabinet

from SWRadioAfrica:



The MDC leader who is due to be sworn in on Wednesday as Prime Minister made the announcement at a press conference in Harare. His deputy, Thokozani Khupe and Arthur Mutambara, leader of the MDC formation, will also be sworn in Wednesday.

Tendai Biti, the party’s secretary general and chief negotiator, was named Finance Minister.

The contentious Home Affairs portfolio that will be co-shared by ZANU PF has been given to Dangamvura and Chikanga MP in Mutare, Giles Mutsekwa. ...

Pro-democracy lawyer Advocate Eric Matingenga was named the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister...

Nelson Chamisa will head the Information and Communications Technology Ministry.

Professor Elphas Mukonoweshuro will head the Public Service Ministry,...

University of Zimbabwe counterpart, Professor Henry Dzinotyiwei, is the new Minister for Science and Technology Development.

Former Harare Mayor Engineer Elias Mudzuri will lead the Energy and Power Development Ministry
while Bulawayo businessman and MP Eddie Cross will take charge of the State Enterprise and Parastatals Ministry.

Kwekwe medical practitioner Dr Henry Madzorera has been tasked with reviving the Health Ministry.
The MDC women’s assembly chairperson Theresa Makone will head the Public Works Ministry ...
Paurine Mpariwa, will lead the Social Welfare Ministry.

Abednigo Bhebhe from the MDC-M was surprisingly nominated by Tsvangirai to take charge of Water Resources Development.
Elton Mangoma, another party negotiator to the talks, will be the Economic Planning and Investment Minister.

The popular treasurer general of the party, Roy Bennett, who recently returned to Zimbabwe after three years in exile in South Africa, was named Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

Dr Tichaona Mudzingwa, a former Zimbabwe National Army surgeon, will be the Deputy Minister of Defence, ...
Jessie Majome will be the Deputy Minister of Justice.
The other three Deputy Ministers to fill the Foreign Affairs, Local government and Women’s Affairs portfolios will be announced after further consultations between Tsvangirai and Mugabe.

Lawyers and WOZA Activists arrested Tuesday

from SWRadioAfrica

...Eight members of the group Women of Zimbabwe Arise were arrested on Tuesday during a demonstration to commemorate Valentines Day, which is held on the 14th. Two lawyers, Rose Hanzi and Tawanda Zhuwarara from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, were also arrested.

WOZA said about 600 activists marched peacefully to the parliament building while apparently the riot police just looked on. But after the activists dispersed it emerged that 10 people had been arrested.

It’s understood they are being held at Harare Central police station...

Archbishop Tutu skeptical of agreement

from the AP

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said Saturday he doubts that Zimbabwe's unity government deal can work and insisted the solution to the country's crisis is the departure of its longtime leader, Robert Mugabe.

Tutu has called on the international community to use the threat of force if necessary to get Mugabe to step down....

Zim accord is "litmus test" for African solutions

from the LATimes:

....The accord, brokered by regional leaders in the Southern African Development Community, has become a litmus test for "African solutions for African problems," the idea that indigenous solutions work better in Africa than those imposed by the West.

Critics argue that African-brokered power-sharing deals such as those signed after Kenya's violent 2007 elections and Zimbabwe's disputed vote last year have set a precedent that leaders in Africa can cling to power when voted out, just by refusing to leave office.

They say bodies such as SADC and the African Union have done little to protect democracy or stop violence and human rights abuses, tending to side with incumbent leaders such as the long-ruling Mugabe, whose regime has been accused of unleashing violence to stay in power and denying food to opposition villagers.

Tony Reeler, analyst with the independent Research and Advocacy Unit in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, called last month's agreement "another SADC railroading job."

"With SADC, it's unity at all costs," he said. "I think that what's tending to emerge is that African solutions tend to be partisan, one way or another, and that's what we're seeing here.

"I think Zimbabwe is testing African solutions for African problems very harshly."...

Anglican primates call for Mugabe Resignation

From the Zimbabwe Mail:

CAIRO - Leaders of the worldwide Anglican Church have called for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to resign and for the church to send an envoy to the embattled southern African country to show solidarity with its people.

Citing Mugabe's "total disregard for life ... through systematic kidnap, torture and the killing of Zimbabwean people" the 38 primates -- the heads of each of the church's provinces -- meeting in the Egyptian city of Alexandria said the long-time ruler should resign....

What the Anglican bishops said

From VirtueOnLine:



Four archbishops of the Anglican Communion disagree on how to deal with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe who has brought his nation to the brink of total collapse economically and politically.

At a press conference today, South African Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said he has tried to impress on Anglican Primates here the urgency of the situation and the humanitarian needs of the people.

"The people of Zimbabwe have spoken loud and clear in 2008. Mugabe is holding on to power illegitimately and needs to step down. A Cholera epidemic is ravaging the people of Zimbabwe. I am in pain that military intervention will cause our people to be affected."

A statement released here noted "with horror the appalling difficulties" in Zimbabwe under the current regime. Anglicans in Zimbabwe's Diocese of Harare continue to face ongoing harassment and violence from Mugabe's police force attempting to stop them from worshipping. Renegade Bishop Nolbert Kunonga, an avid Mugabe supporter, still claims ownership of the Anglican churches despite being officially excommunicated in May 2008.

In their statement, the primates say that they do not recognize Kunonga as a bishop within the Anglican Communion, and call for "the full restoration of Anglican property within Zimbabwe to the Church of the Province of Central Africa." Kunonga was replaced in December 2007 by Bishop Sebastian Bakare, who is supported by the majority of the country's Anglicans.

Both Archbishop Thabo and Albert Chama, Bishop of Zambia and Dean of the Province of Central Africa, a leading contender to succeed Archbishop Bernard Malango, say they are opposed to using force to get rid of Mugabe and called for massive prayer and divine intervention for the situation to change. "Sanctions might work. We respect the sanctity of life. We want to take the position of wait and see and see military intervention as a very last resort."

However, two other archbishops, Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu and York Archbishop John Sentamu, both believe that military intervention is the way to go. They have called for the military ouster of President Mugabe. In an article published by "The Guardian" newspaper, the Archbishop of York called for military intervention by the "international community" to topple President Mugabe.

Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu labeled Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as a "Frankenstein" and called for other countries to intervene before the country descends into bloodshed. The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, urged international intervention to curb the violence and harassment leading up to a runoff vote in Zimbabwe.

Archbishop Rowan Williams has called for the primates to appoint a representative to go to Zimbabwe "to exercise a ministry of presence and to show solidarity with the Zimbabwean people."

The primates also urged action to deal with the humanitarian crisis and for the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury to facilitate ways in which "food and other material aid for Zimbabwe can be distributed through the dioceses of the Church of the Province of Central Africa."

Asked by reporters if they could get an inkling about talks on the Windsor Continuation Group, Australia Archbishop Philip Aspinall said that Archbishop Rowan Williams had expressly asked that primates refrain from talking (read leaking) the report until he addresses it on Thursday.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said there have been a variety of responses to the report, and that she wishes to honor Williams' request not to discuss the contents publicly...

most headlines on this sounded like the bishops were united against Mugabe...as you can see, they aren't, and the American bishopess won't even take a stand,which is bad news...
As for their emphasis on prayer> we Pinoys know that prayer works best when the bishop is in front of the people en mass defying the dictator...

Obama "tones down" criticism of Mugabe

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Obama administration has toned down U.S. rhetoric against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, dropping for now a public demand the veteran African leader step down, said U.S. officials on Monday.

In its closing months, the Bush administration intensified calls for Mugabe to quit, saying Washington could no longer support a government that included him.

Quit, why should he quit just because he stole/lost the election and then terrorized people when the did a revote, and then signed an agreeement but lied that they would share power with the MDC...after all, despite the agreement, they are keeping all the guns and power, and only giving Tsvangirai the dregs...while arresting and terrorizing opposition leaders.
But U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as Zimbabwe policy is under review, said the language against Mugabe was less forceful under President Barack Obama, who took over two weeks ago.


The goal, they said, was to give southern African nations breathing space in dealing with Mugabe who has agreed on a power-sharing arrangement with Zimbabwe's opposition....


"It's well past time for Robert Mugabe to leave," Rice said in December, adding that African nations must take the lead on pressuring him to quit. Most African states, including South Africa, have stopped short of calling on Mugabe to leave..

Bull. South Africa has been an enabler of Mugabe, looking the other way at the atrocities and pretending they aren't happening. And they don't need "breathing space" to deal with Mugabe: they need a backbone...


On Friday, when pressed whether the U.S. view was still that Mugabe must quit, State Department spokesman Robert Wood avoided calling for the veteran leader's ouster but said there was skepticism whether his power-sharing deal would work.

Skepticism? Can't imagine why (sarcasm)...

Annan urges support for Zim agreement

from the ZimbabweMail

"This is an important step towards ending the political impasse in Zimbabwe," Annan, a member of a group of prominent figures known as the Elders, said in a statement.

"But it is not a guarantee that Zimbabwe's distress is over. Rebuilding the economy and ending the people's terrible suffering will take much more work on the part of all Zimbabweans, regional leaders and the international community."

Annan should know about money since his son got money from Saddam Hussein's "Oil for food" AKA Oil for palaces scandal..

the so called council of elders is so pro peace that they give a pass to the thugs while forcing the real leaders who truly want peace into agreements that essentially give all the power to the thugs...

African Union and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete hailed Tsvangirai's decision to join the government.

"The situation looks promising ... That is a step forward," he told Reuters as he arrived in Ethiopia for an AU summit that begins on Sunday. "That is progress in the right direction."....

Under pressure from regional leaders, Tsvangirai agreed at a summit this week to share control of the Home Affairs ministry, responsible for the police, with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party for six months. The new government is set to be formed by February 11.

So when MUGABE destroys the MDC, things blow up, and Mugabe's thugs divert aid money into Singapore banks, just remember who backed the agreement..

Tsvangirai on agreementt

from Sokwenele

Sokwanele Article: January 30th, 2009

“Therefore, in accordance with the party’s constitution, the political agreement we signed on September 15th 2008, and in the best interests of the welfare of all Zimbabweans, the MDC has resolved to form an inclusive government with Zanu PF and MDC-M” - Morgan Tsvangirai

Statement by the Leader of The Movement for Democratic Change, President Morgan Tsvangirai, on the Resolutions of the Party's National Council Meeting at Harvest House, Harare

Today, the MDC's National Council met as we once again find ourselves at an historic crossroads in our decade-long struggle for democracy. Throughout this struggle, the MDC has been guided by the principles of democracy and by the will of the people. This campaign is neither easy nor straightforward and often we have had to change the fronts on which we wage the struggle in response to changing circumstances and conditions.

The MDC was established to bring about change through the ballot box. This we achieved despite overwhelming odds, culminating in our historic victories in the March 29th Parliamentary, Presidential and local government elections.

Then, the brutal campaign of violence unleashed against our supporters by Zanu PF, forced us to withdraw from the June 27th event. Thus it became obvious that we could no longer wage our struggle via the polling booth.

We looked to the region to support our position and the will of the people by acknowledging the results of March 29th as the basis on which a new government should be formed. Subsequently, we succeeded in forcing Zanu PF to the negotiating table which became the new frontline in our quest for a democratic Zimbabwe. It was for this reason that we signed the Global Political Agreement on September 15th, 2008.

I know that you are very familiar with the events from that date. We in the MDC have abided by the letter and spirit of both the Memorandum of Understanding and the GPA. Sadly, Zanu PF was not the type of constructive and positive partner that we envisaged when we signed the GPA and therefore, the consummation of the agreement has been subject to unnecessary delays.

Nonetheless, we have consistently tabled our outstanding issues to SADC and we have remained committed to finding a negotiated settlement to the political crisis in Zimbabwe. This process culminated in the SADC summit on Monday 26th January, where the Southern African leaders made the following resolutions:

1. The parties shall endeavour to cause Parliament to pass the Constitutional Amendment 19 by 5 February 2009.
2. The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers shall be sworn in by 11 February 2009:
3. The Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall be sworn in on 13 February 2009, which will conclude the process of the formation of the inclusive government.
4. The Joint-Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), provided for in the Global Political Agreement, shall be activated immediately. The first meeting of JOMIC shall be convened by the facilitator on 30 January 2009 and shall, among other things, elect the chairpersons;
5. The allocation of ministerial portfolios endorsed by the SADC Extraordinary Summit held on 9 November 2008 shall be reviewed six (6) months after the inauguration of the inclusive government.
6. The appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General will be dealt with by the inclusive government after its formation
7. The negotiators of the parties shall meet immediately to consider the National Security Bill submitted by the MDC-T as well as the formula for the distribution of governors: While we felt that these resolutions do not represent an acknowledgement of all our issues, they do represent significant concessions on the part of Zanu PF and a recognition by SADC that our demands are justified as a first step towards a sustainable solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.

Our National Council's meeting today was therefore convened to evaluate the party's position in relation to the inclusive government. The concessions made by Zanu PF incorporate four out of the five outstanding issues. These four issues are the allocation of Provincial Governors, the National Security Legislation, Constitutional Amendment 19 and the breaches to the Global Political Agreement.

Thus, the parties have agreed on the sharing of Provincial Governors portfolios and have already met to begin negotiations on the allocation formula. Similarly, with regard to the National Security Legislation, the negotiators have met to discuss the draft bill submitted by the MDC.

It is clear therefore that these two issues are subject to negotiation and therefore constitute work in progress. It is hoped that the work in progress will be concluded to the satisfaction of all the parties as soon as possible.

The third issue relates to Constitutional Amendment 19. The MDC has insisted that Constitutional Amendment 19 is enacted by parliament and signed into law prior to the swearing in of the Prime Minister and this has been agreed to by the parties as reflected in the SADC communiqué.

On the issue of the equitable allocation of ministerial portfolios, SADC reiterated its position from November 9th, 2008 and expanded its commitment to review the allocation of all ministries, not only Home Affairs, within six months of an inclusive government being formed.

On the breaches to the GPA and the MOU, SADC resolved that the Joint-Monitoring Implementation Committee (JOMIC), is established to review and reverse these breaches. This committee comprises four members from MDC-T, four members from MDC-M and four members from Zanu PF.

However, the MDC is concerned that the issue of the unwarranted and illegal abductions and detentions of MDC members and other democratic activists needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency and to this effect, the MDC will ensure an end to the persecution of all Zimbabweans.

In light of these resolutions, todays's debate centred around two issues:

Firstly, what will allow us the best opportunity to continue to pursue our goal of achieving a free, democratic Zimbabwe in line with the roadmap from our Congress of March 2006? and;

Secondly, what is the best way of alleviating the suffering of the Zimbabwean people, stabilising the economy and restoring and retaining some semblance of a normal society?

Let us make no mistake, by joining an inclusive government, we are not saying that this is a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis, instead our participation signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena. This agreement is a significant milestone on our journey to democracy but it does not signify that we have arrived at our destination – we are committed to establishing a democratic Zimbabwe regardless of how long that struggle takes us.

We have the majority in parliament, we control all the main urban councils and many rural councils, we will have control of 13 ministries and a presence in the key decision-making bodies of the executive.

Throughout the course of our deliberations today we referred to, and were guided by, the road map that we established for ourselves in March 2006, namely - negotiations, a transitional authority, a people driven constitution and fresh, free and fair elections.

In this respect, the National Council resolved that through joining an inclusive government in line with the GPA and the SADC resolutions the party will be able to achieve the following:

• To move towards a new, democratic Zimbabwe by ensuring that a people-driven constitution is crafted and adopted.
• That this inclusive government will serve as a transitional authority leading to free and fair elections.
• The restoration of the people's freedoms through creating democratic space, restoring the rule of law and basic human rights.
• The stabilisation and rebuilding of the economy and the provision of all essential services, in particular health care and education.
• To maintain the principles of the working people's convention established in 1999.
• To ensure that we begin a process of national healing and integration.

Therefore, in accordance with the party's constitution, the political agreement we signed on September 15th 2008, and in the best interests of the welfare of all Zimbabweans the MDC has resolved to form an inclusive government with Zanu PF and MDC-M.

The success of this inclusive government is dependent on many factors including the goodwill of the parties involved, the support of the people of Zimbabwe and the continued engagement and vigilance of SADC, AU and the broader international community in ensurinhg that all parties are bound by the letter and spirit of the GPA and the commitments made at the last SADC summit. In this respect, the party shall continue to monitor the implementation of the agreement, in particular in shall assess and review its position in the inclusive government after 6 months in line with the SADC resolutions.

Now is the time for us to put aside our political differences , to prioritise the welfare of the people in both our policies and our actions and to focus on stabilisation, development, progress and democratization. In this I know that we have the support of the vast majority of Zimbabweans, both in Zanu PF and the MDC, in the civil service,the workers and the business community and we look forward to working with you to rebuild our great nation.

In conclusion, I would like to note that in this struggle we have not been alone. I wish to acknowledge the commitment and perseverance of SADC to finding a negotiated solution to the political crisis. In particular, we have had the unwavering support of our regional allies who have stood by us and our democratic ideals throughout this process and we are grateful for their solidarity.

We would like to acknowledge the support and solidarity that we have had from trade unions, civil society and democratic peoples' and governments all over the world. We appreciate this support and know that we could not have come this far without them.

Most importantly of all, we have had the support of the people. A people who have stood by their right to live in freedom, with access to jobs, health care, education and prosperity in such a principled and peaceful manner.

I would like to appeal to all these forces to continue to support us in whatever decision we take because the struggle is not over, our commitment is not lessened, our vision is not dulled and our resolve has not been weakened.

We will deliver a New Zimbabwe to the people.

The struggle continues.

I thank you

Mugabe lets locals take care of water supply

from SWRadio africa

Robert Mugabe’s regime decided Thursday to restore management of water supplies to local authorities from next month, after the disastrous period in which the government parastatal, Zinwa, failed to supply clean water to many cities and towns resulting in the worst cholera outbreak in Africa for 15 years.

In a speech to parliament during presentation of the Budget in Harare, acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the government had ‘noted Zinwa’s incapacity to deal with the water crisis.

It was in 2005 that the government decided to hand over water management to Zinwa.

...

The government U-turn to give water management back to city councils will come as a huge relief to millions of urban residents who have long been critical of Zinwa’s inefficiency to deal with the water crisis.

Tutu, Carter welcome power sharing agreement

From the IHT:

Former President Jimmy Carter, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other world leaders have welcomed Zimbabwe's unity government deal....

In a statement Saturday, the members of The Elders founded by former President Nelson Mandela said they hoped the deal would ease the country's humanitarian crisis.

Carter urged the international community to "give this agreement the best chances of success."

this is bad news, because Jimmy Carter hasn't met a murderous dictator that he hasn't liked and trusted...and of course a lot of people think Carter's backing of Mugabe over Muzarewa, who after all had won the election, spelled doom for any real democracy or democratic opposition in Zimbabwe..