from SWRadioAfrica
...Mutambara announced that through a strategy he has dubbed ‘humanitarian plus’, the government would receive money under the banner of humanitarian assistance, to “pay for grants to students who are going to college, to pay for the salaries of teachers in higher education, to pay for salaries of teachers in the primary schools and secondary schools.”...
since the switchover to foreign currancy, the government has lacked the foreign currancy to pay civil servant and teachers. The real worry is that the money will be diverted into certain people's bank accounts, something that happened with previous aid that the government was given...
alas, such diversion is common in many countries...
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Mugabe aides said to use violence to get amnesty
from the NYTimes
HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe’s top lieutenants are trying to force the political opposition into granting them amnesty for their past crimes by abducting, detaining and torturing opposition officials and activists, according to senior members of Mr. Mugabe’s party.... now that the opposition has a place in the nation’s new government, these strongmen worry that they are suddenly vulnerable to prosecution, especially for crimes committed during last year’s election campaign as the world watched.
....To protect themselves, some of Mr. Mugabe’s lieutenants are trying to implicate opposition officials in a supposed plot to overthrow the president, hoping to use it as leverage in any amnesty talks or to press the opposition into quitting the government altogether, ruling party officials said.,,,
The crimes committed to entrench Mr. Mugabe’s rule date back to the 1980s, when thousands of civilians from Zimbabwe’s Ndebele minority in Matabeleland were killed by the notorious North Korean-trained Fifth Army brigade, according to historians....
Other political crimes include widespread attacks on the opposition in 2000, 2002 and 2005, and most gruesomely last year. Beyond that, a vast 2005 slum clearance effort known as Operation Murambatsvina, or Get Rid of the Filth, drove 700,000 people in opposition bastions from their homes.
Last year, close to 200 people were killed, mostly before the June presidential runoff...Last year, as it did in the 1980s, Mr. Mugabe’s loyalists cut off food aid to hungry areas, blocked access to foreign journalists, sent party youth brigades to terrorize the countryside, charged their rivals with treason and used abduction, torture, arson and killings to silence critics...
HARARE, Zimbabwe — President Robert Mugabe’s top lieutenants are trying to force the political opposition into granting them amnesty for their past crimes by abducting, detaining and torturing opposition officials and activists, according to senior members of Mr. Mugabe’s party.... now that the opposition has a place in the nation’s new government, these strongmen worry that they are suddenly vulnerable to prosecution, especially for crimes committed during last year’s election campaign as the world watched.
....To protect themselves, some of Mr. Mugabe’s lieutenants are trying to implicate opposition officials in a supposed plot to overthrow the president, hoping to use it as leverage in any amnesty talks or to press the opposition into quitting the government altogether, ruling party officials said.,,,
The crimes committed to entrench Mr. Mugabe’s rule date back to the 1980s, when thousands of civilians from Zimbabwe’s Ndebele minority in Matabeleland were killed by the notorious North Korean-trained Fifth Army brigade, according to historians....
Other political crimes include widespread attacks on the opposition in 2000, 2002 and 2005, and most gruesomely last year. Beyond that, a vast 2005 slum clearance effort known as Operation Murambatsvina, or Get Rid of the Filth, drove 700,000 people in opposition bastions from their homes.
Last year, close to 200 people were killed, mostly before the June presidential runoff...Last year, as it did in the 1980s, Mr. Mugabe’s loyalists cut off food aid to hungry areas, blocked access to foreign journalists, sent party youth brigades to terrorize the countryside, charged their rivals with treason and used abduction, torture, arson and killings to silence critics...
Violent clashes break up youth summit
from SWRadioAfrica
But according to delegates problems erupted during the feedback stage of the conference, over the sensitive issue of national healing and reconciliation.
...the ZANU PF youth, guilty of most of the violence, not surprisingly think people should just move on and forgive each other....
The debate became violent, leading to clashes and the destruction of hotel property in the presence of Minister Kasukuwere, his Deputy and Patrick Zhuwawo, the ZANU PF National Director of Youth.
The ZINASU legal affairs secretary alleges the clashes were started by the ZANU PF youths who started throwing water glasses at their President Clever Bere. This angered his colleagues and fists fights began. Ngwarai said a sizeable amount of hotel property was damaged during the fracas. Ngwarai alleges that Minister Kasukuwere never left his seat and just watched during the time the youths were exchanging blows.
But according to delegates problems erupted during the feedback stage of the conference, over the sensitive issue of national healing and reconciliation.
...the ZANU PF youth, guilty of most of the violence, not surprisingly think people should just move on and forgive each other....
The debate became violent, leading to clashes and the destruction of hotel property in the presence of Minister Kasukuwere, his Deputy and Patrick Zhuwawo, the ZANU PF National Director of Youth.
The ZINASU legal affairs secretary alleges the clashes were started by the ZANU PF youths who started throwing water glasses at their President Clever Bere. This angered his colleagues and fists fights began. Ngwarai said a sizeable amount of hotel property was damaged during the fracas. Ngwarai alleges that Minister Kasukuwere never left his seat and just watched during the time the youths were exchanging blows.
Journalists, acivists o stay in jail
from Zim on line
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s High Court on Thursday granted bail to a freelance journalist and two MDC activists but they will remain in custody after the state said it was appealing against the order.
Freelance journalist Andrison Manyere, MDC head of security Chris Dhlamini, and Gandhi Mudzingwa, who is a former personal aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, successfully petitioned the High Court for bail after three failed attempts including an appeal in the Supreme Court.
They are accused of planning acts of banditry, insurgency and terrorism to topple President Robert Mugabe’s government....
“The offence they are charged with has strong political connotations, therefore, if political party allegiance was a factor in their case then their party (MDC)’s involvement in the inclusive government must be a factor in their favour. It’s highly unlikely that they will commit similar offences during the tenure of this new government.”...
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s High Court on Thursday granted bail to a freelance journalist and two MDC activists but they will remain in custody after the state said it was appealing against the order.
Freelance journalist Andrison Manyere, MDC head of security Chris Dhlamini, and Gandhi Mudzingwa, who is a former personal aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, successfully petitioned the High Court for bail after three failed attempts including an appeal in the Supreme Court.
They are accused of planning acts of banditry, insurgency and terrorism to topple President Robert Mugabe’s government....
“The offence they are charged with has strong political connotations, therefore, if political party allegiance was a factor in their case then their party (MDC)’s involvement in the inclusive government must be a factor in their favour. It’s highly unlikely that they will commit similar offences during the tenure of this new government.”...
Friday, April 10, 2009
Mutambara addresses youths
from the government of Zimbabwe via AllAfrica:
....Speaking at a youth conference that was attended by youths from the three main political parties and smaller parties Dep PM Mutambara said youths should not be threatened by diversity but should embrace it as it could salvage the country.
"There comes a time in the history of a nation when it embarks on a new journey, such time has come to our country we are working together, thinking together and we will prosper together.....
....Speaking at a youth conference that was attended by youths from the three main political parties and smaller parties Dep PM Mutambara said youths should not be threatened by diversity but should embrace it as it could salvage the country.
"There comes a time in the history of a nation when it embarks on a new journey, such time has come to our country we are working together, thinking together and we will prosper together.....
Hardline ZANUPF ministers form opposition group
from the VOA
Zimbabwean cabinet ministers belonging to President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and former members of the Joint Operations Command of security agency chiefs are said to have joined forces in a shadowy group calling itself the Social Revolutionary Council designed to frustrate the aims of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, political sources say.
Members of the group are said to include Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and the commanders of the army and air force, government and party sources said....
The Joint Operations Command, commonly referred to as the JOC, was said to have exerted significant influence over President Mugabe following his defeat by Mr. Tsvangirai in the first round of presidential voting on March 29, 2008, and to have coordinated the deadly wave of political violence that preceded the presidential runoff ballot on June 27.
Zimbabwean cabinet ministers belonging to President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party and former members of the Joint Operations Command of security agency chiefs are said to have joined forces in a shadowy group calling itself the Social Revolutionary Council designed to frustrate the aims of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, political sources say.
Members of the group are said to include Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono and the commanders of the army and air force, government and party sources said....
The Joint Operations Command, commonly referred to as the JOC, was said to have exerted significant influence over President Mugabe following his defeat by Mr. Tsvangirai in the first round of presidential voting on March 29, 2008, and to have coordinated the deadly wave of political violence that preceded the presidential runoff ballot on June 27.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
The Effects of Colonialism haunt Africa
from the African Executive
he argues many of the psychological problems of dependency/colonialism stand in the way of true development
he argues many of the psychological problems of dependency/colonialism stand in the way of true development
In many African nations, there is the notion that "foreign or white is better." Many Africans will bend over backwards to help a foreigner, but find it hard to even grant audience to a fellow African who might have a new idea. At first glance this phenomenon might seem innocent and harmless. But in societies where communal values formed the foundations of their existence, the current contempt and disregard for contributions from fellow Africans holds grave significance. As the Pulitzer Award winner, writer and historian Will Durant noted, "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." The "divide and conquer" tactics used by the colonists during the "Scramble for Africa" in the 1800s is one that literally played with the minds of its victim countries and has left them confused ever since.
The level of contempt that many Africans hold for their own people has increased to the point where it is even labeled the 'pull him down' syndrome. Countries like Ghana are known for being very hospitable and welcoming to foreigners. But does this hospitality translate onto the local scene? Does it make Ghana's tourism industry one of the most dynamic? Does it in any way improve the development prospects of the nation? The answer to all these questions is no. Although development opportunities in African nations have increased over the course of time, the struggles continue because of this inferiority complex. African governments would rather grant contracts and make risky concessions to foreigners than give a citizen the opportunity to prove him or herself. The main argument given for this reluctance is the relative lack of experience on the part of the citizen. Even if this might be the case, how are individuals expected to garner any experience in their respective fields without being given a first chance?
There are many other scenarios in which this inferiority complex has played out. In 1998 the then-U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Ghana for seven hours. He was scheduled to spend his visit in the capital city, Accra. I vividly remember the hurried efforts on the part of the government to ensure that Accra was clean and renovated enough to receive its distinguished visitor. This brought to question not only the priorities of the government, but also the view of Ghanaians as undeserving or unimportant enough to live in a clean environment. Instead, they had to wait for a foreigner to visit in order to enjoy a couple of hours of cleanliness....
As the famous Bob Marley says in his Uprising album track "Redemption Song," the emancipation of a people and nation starts with breaking the chains of mental slavery.
By Jemila Abdulai
This article was also published in the Mount Holyoke News
The Great MirAge of Western Aid
from New Zimbabwe (blog)
... the rich nations as a group can afford the US$8,5 billion which it is estimated Zimbabwe urgently needs. Only I have a few questions: Why would the UK borrow money from the IMF to give it to Zimbabwe? ...
... the rich nations as a group can afford the US$8,5 billion which it is estimated Zimbabwe urgently needs. Only I have a few questions: Why would the UK borrow money from the IMF to give it to Zimbabwe? ...
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai made the point in a letter to the G20 leaders this week that Zimbabwe should not be denied aid simply “because the new government does not meet or match the ‘clean slate’ or ‘total victory’ standards expected by the West”.
He went on: “As a proud nation, we look forward to the day when we can develop our relationship with the West beyond merely being a beneficiary of emergency aid. We want to become a true economic partner and an investment opportunity for those who respect the true value of our natural resources and our sovereignty over them.”...
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Anti corruption drive
from IWPR:
...
Under the Global Political Agreement, GPA, signed between President Robert Mugabe and leaders of the two Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, factions in September 2008, the three parties are mandated to create an ACC...
in the past, corruption was investigated by political types...
...
Under the Global Political Agreement, GPA, signed between President Robert Mugabe and leaders of the two Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, factions in September 2008, the three parties are mandated to create an ACC...
in the past, corruption was investigated by political types...
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Zim's 100 day plan
from the CSmonitor:
..."Reengagement of the broader international community, including the US and multilateral institutions, will be a priority of the government in the next 100 days," said Gorden Moyo, minister of state in the office of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, told Reuters at the conference....
..."Reengagement of the broader international community, including the US and multilateral institutions, will be a priority of the government in the next 100 days," said Gorden Moyo, minister of state in the office of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, told Reuters at the conference....
Part of the initiative, also designed to revive the economy, would introduce greater freedom and ownership rules for the news media, improved prison conditions, and a possible new constitution.
Prison officials arrested for helping film expose
from SWradioafrica:
Three prison officers have been arrested on allegations of helping to film a South African television documentary exposing the horrendous conditions inside Zimbabwe’s prisons.
A senior police officer in Beitbridge was quoted Sunday in the Standard newspaper as saying that warders Thabiso Nyathi, Siyai Muchechedzi and Thembinkosi Nkomo were arrested last Friday. They face charges under the Official Secrets Act, which prescribes lengthy jail terms for government employees who leak ‘state secrets’...
Tsvangirai's Grandson buried
from SWRadioAfrica:
...
...
Tragedy has struck again for Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai just 30 days after losing his wife in a car accident. His young grandson Sean Tsvangirai drowned in the swimming pool at the Prime Minister’s Strathaven home in Harare on Saturday....Sean was the child of Tsvangirai’s second son Garikai, who lives in Canada but was in Zimbabwe to mourn the death of his mother...
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Chiazdwa Diamonds banned
from 360 news (SA):
But the arrival of the army last year resulted in violence and murder, after the area was sealed off with military roadblocks and troops. Accounts from survivors of the military onslaught detailed the killings, speaking of machine-gun attacks by helicopter and armed attacks by troops on the ground. Civilians in the region also reported that anyone attempting to enter Chiadzwa was arrested and often tortured and killed.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have said that about 5,000 people were arrested during the army operation, with three quarters of them showing signs of having been tortured severely. The MDC has also claimed that hundreds of people were buried in mass graves “to hide the regime’s murderous activities,” and that the soldiers sent to ‘guard’ the fields had become illegal diamond dealers themselves.
The world's diamond certification body on Friday ordered a ban on the trade of diamonds from eastern Zimbabwe, over concerns of human rights violations at the Chiadzwa diamond fields in Marange....
-----------
It's about the murders
from the Zimbabwean:
An international team from the United Nation’s world diamond regulatory body, has arrived in Zimbabwe to investigate reports of mass murder at the hands of soldiers, in the Chiadzwa mining fields.
The team from the Kimberley Process, which was founded by the UN to monitor the trade in ‘blood diamonds’, arrived earlier this week and are set to report back on the widespread accounts of killings in the Chiadzwa area, which has been the centre of controversy since last October when the army was called in to disperse thousands of illegal diamond hunters. The government had originally illegally seized the Chiadzwa diamond claim from British-based Africa Consolidated Resources in 2007, and set off a diamond rush when it encouraged locals to help themselves.But the arrival of the army last year resulted in violence and murder, after the area was sealed off with military roadblocks and troops. Accounts from survivors of the military onslaught detailed the killings, speaking of machine-gun attacks by helicopter and armed attacks by troops on the ground. Civilians in the region also reported that anyone attempting to enter Chiadzwa was arrested and often tortured and killed.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights have said that about 5,000 people were arrested during the army operation, with three quarters of them showing signs of having been tortured severely. The MDC has also claimed that hundreds of people were buried in mass graves “to hide the regime’s murderous activities,” and that the soldiers sent to ‘guard’ the fields had become illegal diamond dealers themselves.
29,000 youth militia being paid by the state
from SWRadioAfrica:
on the other hand, if they just stop paying them and tell them to go home, many will turn to crime (which is what happened when the Iraqi Army dispersed without formal surrender, and the US refused to continue their wages, leading to anarchy).
...A new dimension to the issue erupted with revelations that up to 14 000 youths are still being listed under the Public Service Ministry, while another 15 000 fall under the Women’s Affairs Ministry. This brings the total number on the payroll to an astonishing 29 000. Kasukuwere’s answer in parliament was dismissed as unconvincing, after he claimed they were Youth Officers employed to work in different wards around the country.
With monthly allowances for civil servants pegged at US$100 it means nearly three million US dollars is being spent on paying youths whose only mandate was to terrorize opposition activists....on the other hand, if they just stop paying them and tell them to go home, many will turn to crime (which is what happened when the Iraqi Army dispersed without formal surrender, and the US refused to continue their wages, leading to anarchy).
US dollar eases inflation
from AlJezeerah:
Zimbabweans have seen a slight fall in the price of everyday items since the government allowed shops to abandon the local currency in favour of the US dollar, government figures indicated.
The data showed consumer prices fell in the first two months of the year, media reports on Friday said, raising hopes that there could be an end to the country's rampant hyper-inflation.
Data from the Central Statistical Office showed inflation at -3.1 per cent on a monthly basis in February and -2.3 per cent in January....
Public rage over perks
from the UKGuardian:
• Tsvangirai allies are allocated Mercedes cars
• Pro-Mugabe newspaper criticises high living
on the other hand, there'd be a bigger outrage if they gave them Range Rovers, which would be a lot more useful for visiting the villages.
Friday, April 03, 2009
priortizing housing
from UN HABITAT
Nairobi - The government of Zimbabwe will prioritise housing provision in its reconstruction efforts, a cabinet minister disclosed here today.
...
presumably replacing the thousands of houses destroyed in operation cleanup
Nairobi - The government of Zimbabwe will prioritise housing provision in its reconstruction efforts, a cabinet minister disclosed here today.
...
presumably replacing the thousands of houses destroyed in operation cleanup
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Zimbabwe, Sudan, and North Korea
from StrategyPage (in an article about North Korea)
...For years, Kim Jong Il was rated (by using various rankings of national problems and achievement) the worst ruler on the planet. But this year, Kim Jong Il came in third place, behind Zimbabwe (Robert Mugabe) and Sudan (Omar al Bashir). Things haven't gotten any better in North Korea, they've just gotten much worse in Zimbabwe and Sudan....
...For years, Kim Jong Il was rated (by using various rankings of national problems and achievement) the worst ruler on the planet. But this year, Kim Jong Il came in third place, behind Zimbabwe (Robert Mugabe) and Sudan (Omar al Bashir). Things haven't gotten any better in North Korea, they've just gotten much worse in Zimbabwe and Sudan....
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Gold for bread
from March 2009...
------------------------------------
And guess who's birthday party? From AlJezeerah.28 Feb 2009
Zim prisons: Hell on Earth
from the UKTimes
A horrifying investigative film, shot undercover in Zimbabwe, has exposed how prisons under President Mugabe have become death camps for thousands of inmates who are deprived of food and medical care.
The documentary, shown last night on South Africa's state broadcaster SABC, documented the “living hell” for prisoners across 55 state institutions. The result, Hell Hole, was a grim account of a crisis in which dozens of inmates die each day.
Describing the conditions in two of the main prisons in the capital, Harare, in late 2008, a prison officer said: “We have gone the whole year in which - for prisoners and prison officers - the food is hand-to-mouth. They'll be lucky to get one meal. Sometimes they will sleep without. We have moving skeletons, moving graves. They're dying.”
A horrifying investigative film, shot undercover in Zimbabwe, has exposed how prisons under President Mugabe have become death camps for thousands of inmates who are deprived of food and medical care.
The documentary, shown last night on South Africa's state broadcaster SABC, documented the “living hell” for prisoners across 55 state institutions. The result, Hell Hole, was a grim account of a crisis in which dozens of inmates die each day.
Describing the conditions in two of the main prisons in the capital, Harare, in late 2008, a prison officer said: “We have gone the whole year in which - for prisoners and prison officers - the food is hand-to-mouth. They'll be lucky to get one meal. Sometimes they will sleep without. We have moving skeletons, moving graves. They're dying.”
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