Mugabe assures war vets he is going nowhere

Mugabe told them he had not lost his appetite for power and would not be forced into exile because he was born in Zimbabwe and it is in Zimbabwe that he will die. The message seems to imply that Mugabe is not willing to accept or consider any deals that would require him to step down from office or leave the country. It also makes a mockery of the talks being mediated by South Africa's president Thabo Mbeki under a mandate from regional leaders.

After empire

Dalrymple has a long essay on Colonial Zimbabwe, the problems of colonialism, and how the clan/extended family obligations quickly lead to bribery and other means to get the family rich.

A lot of his criticisms would apply to the rural Philippines.

Mbeki parrots Mugabe's line on sanctions

".....There are no sanctions currently imposed on Zimbabwe by Western nations or anyone else. There are targeted sanctions that affect only the ruling elite assets and their ability to travel. Yet Robert Mugabe, who is acknowledged by many as a master of propaganda, has managed to create a media frenzy around this issue, constantly blaming sanctions for destroying Zimbabwe’s economy. Now South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki is reported to have adopted this spin....

The South African president is also quoted as saying: "Sanctions also damage the image of Zimbabwe, causing a severe blow to her tourist sector.” Mbeki made other policy recommendations, but it is the “sanctions” issue that has aroused concern.

Piers Pigou, a researcher on Southern Africa at The National Archives in South Africa, said there is a media war taking place between those who support Mugabe and those who want to see him go. He described the whole sanctions issue as “nonsense which is being peddled by ZANU-PF and its apologists.” He said sanctions are a smokescreen that is not really there but it has given SADC and Africa in general a “headache.” Pigou said issues are sometimes over-exaggerated or twisted by both sides to achieve a certain purpose.

Pigou also blamed the lack of direct information from Mbeki and SADC leaders for some of confusion that is making the rounds in reports on Zimbabwe. He said Mbeki’s “quiet diplomacy” has led to a broader problem of misrepresentation by the media, and his ability to explain things clearly has been problematic.”

Mugabe's military might be fading

"....Once among the best trained and most battle hardened in Africa, the military is now suffering a rash of defections among servicemen who are no longer prepared to put up with subsistence wages....

The former airman said: "We didn't have enough food to eat when we did fly, and our pay was Z$150,000 (about £4 in April). We complained but they said everyone was suffering from British sanctions.

"At home I saw friends who didn't have a secondary school education coming from South Africa with many things, and we had absolutely nothing, I couldn't even buy food for my mother.

"Last year I spent four months without flying and that was when I started thinking of leaving."

It's your own fault

Cape Town - Zimbabweans have the government they chose to elect and it is up to them to sort out their problems, says Finance Minister Trevor Manuel....

Responding to criticism from Democratic Alliance MP Eddie Trent, who said such a view was heartless and irresponsible, Manuel said he stood by the right of Zimbabweans to elect their democratic government.

"And what you have in Zimbabwe is an elected government, elected... on universal franchise by all of the people of Zimbabwe. That is a fact," he said, to loud calls and jeers from opposition benches.

Think tanking on Zimbabwe

"...

There was a connection between intellectual entrepreneurs and Mugabe’s sane political behaviour (if you really want to classify Marxist-Leninist ideology under this category!) Mugabe himself being a self-taught intellectual, it is not surprising that independent Zimbabwe went on to have leading institutes in Southern Africa that were torch bearers in the discourse not just on economic reconstruction, poverty alleviation, social arts and health practices but also the eradication of Apartheid. Moeletsi Mbeki and his brother Thabo will remember such institutes during their days in Harare.

Between 1980 and 1990, such institutions (or ‘thinkers’) rose rapidly, top of the intellectual pile being Zimbabwe Institute of Development Studies (ZIDS) and Southern Africa Policy and Economic Studies (SAPES). Many intellectuals who fired up ZANU pf’s socialist rhetoric were found in these ‘Think tanks’. They argued that for almost a century, black Zimbabweans had been systematically excluded from the national cake. The fires of social investment and rapid re-distribution of wealth were consequently fanned. This gave rise to development economics; social and political scientists; securing of lucrative jobs and consultancies in public, private and civic society sectors where their egos continued to blossom....

Of greater interest was the use of intellectual entrepreneurs by the Robert Mugabe-controlled public broadcaster to peddle one-party state propaganda in the name of a benevolent revolutionary government....

In 1998, the ‘Zimbabwe Programme for Economic and Social Transformation’ appeared and then the forgettable ‘Millennium Economic Recovery Program’ in 2000.

For a nation pampered for a long time by a benevolent socialist government, we black Zimbabweans were not used to the rigours of market competition. The poverty meter began to tick the wrong direction for the weak. Robert Mugabe’s ‘thinkers’ pushed him to disown the Lancaster House Constitution by transforming his position into executive presidency and tighten his grip on political power.

......Retired High Court Judge Enoch Dumbutshena gathered his peers around The Forum, a loose political coalition of intellectual entrepreneurs, to confront Robert Mugabe’s hegemony....

A series of ‘policy catastrophes’ followed – the Mozambique war, the Matebeleland massacres, the Democratic Republic of Congo war, Fast Track Land Reform and War Veteran Compensation. Zimbabwe sank further and further into the abyss. The fate of the first generation intellectual entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe had been sealed!

Mugabe and the churches

".....at least in his younger days, Mugabe’s “mentor had been the Catholic Church.” Yet in his twenty-seven years of dictatorial rule, Mugabe has shorn himself of anything his religious upbringing might have instilled. His genocide in the 1980s against members of the minority Ndebele tribe; his politically induced starvation of opponents; and the arrest, torture, and sometimes outright murder of those who speak out against his rule have all demonstrated a wanton disregard for what the Church—particularly the Church in Zimbabwe—has taught its flock....

To many African leaders, Mugabe is seen as a hero of the struggle against European dominance of the continent. But, in the end, the Zimbabwe of Robert Mugabe remains remarkably similar to its predecessor, the Rhodesia of Ian Smith. The white authoritarian tyranny of Smith relied on distinct forms of prejudice, and so does the black kleptocratic tyranny of Mugabe—both abjectly refusing to recognize the inviolable rights of man.

Against Smith’s Rhodesia, the Catholic bishops took a stand, declaring that law based on race prejudice was “utterly to be condemned . . . ...

And now, against Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, the Catholic Church has taken another stand, led by Mugabe’s most outspoken foe, Pius Ncube, the archbishop of Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo.

While Mugabe maims and starves, Ncube stands as the heroic voice of his countrymen. He has repeatedly called Mugabe evil and compared him to Pol Pot. His phones are tapped, he is monitored by state security around the clock, and government agents have twice raided the home of his elderly mother. ....

The problem of Zimbabwe—the ideology of liberation-hero worship, demanded by the Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)—is common in Africa. It is the woeful norm across the continent, where organizations that fought for independence from colonial rule view themselves as now having the right to rule in perpetuity....

the rest of the essay is found at link

time to push the politics of engagement

LINK2
.....

In fact the consensus or solidarity displayed at this summit gave birth to a new regional power bloc that seems geared to take on the West. The fact that the report on the negotiating process being spearheaded by Thabo Mbeki placed some of the blame of Zimbabwe's woes on the doorstep of the UK government confirms my assertion that a regional power bloc geared to take on the west has been birthed.

In the bigger scheme of things, where does this leave opposition politics in Zimbabwe? Well, I think it is time for the opposition to call a spade a spade and realise that there is two sides to every story. We are all familiar with events and agreements at Lancaster, the willing-seller-willing-buyer agreement and the gentlemen's agreement to have Whitehall finance the land redistribution exercise.

The fact that Whitehall proceeded to breach this contract by reneging from it meant that Zimbabwe was equally not bound by the contract. These are basic tenets of contract law.

Let's go back to the opposition parties and evaluate how they fit into this equation. The politics of the opposition in Zimbabwe, beginning as far back as Tekere's ZUM, Dumbutschena's FORUM and to Tsvangirai's MDC have all had one thing in common. The all pursued the politics of confrontation and the opposition today assisted by various civic organisations still pursues the politics of confrontation.

Zimbabweans now needs more than ever to adapt the politics of engagement. Clarion calls are sounding far and wide to the effect that only 'Zimbabweans can solve their own problems". Failure by us Zimbabweans to embrace the politics of engagement will see us sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Why engagement one might ask? Firstly it is important for Zimbabweans to first and foremost realise that before we are Zanu PF or MDC members, we are Zimbabweans. As Zimbabweans, we need to start talking to one another with no hidden agendas. We need to embrace a new culture that despises double standards. We need to begin our engagement premised on the fact that we are the masters of our destiny and our destiny includes building a better Zimbabwe.....

Ex Rhodesian sees irony in west's love of Mugabe

"...Throughout the Rhodesian Civil War, Western Media supported Mugabe’s so called “Freedom Fighters”, as did the World Council of Churches and many other Christian Organisations… and most Western Governments; they provided both moral and financial support to Mugabe and his terrorists. Everyone wanted Democracy for Africa. Sound familiar? (Because it is oil rich, it is unlikely that Iraq will end up with millions starving, but will “democracy” ever bring peace to the place?)
In Zimbabwe, no opposition has ever been allowed to win an election – everyone knows that the elections are rigged. People who are known to support Mugabe’s opposition are killed, or beaten and starved – their homes destroyed – unless they learn to vote for Mugabe’s party...."

Mugabe starts them young

the first post has an article about politicizing the young...the very young...

A recent meeting of Zanu-PF's governing body agreed to militarise and politicise the 21st February Movement, starting with pre-school toddlers. The programme, which will be compulsory for all children, is titled, with surprising frankness, 'Operation Catch Them Young'....

Plans include dressing even the smallest children in green uniforms and teaching them to march and chant Zanu-PF slogans. The aim is to have fanatical kids as young as four screaming their loyalty to Mugabe in unison....

This planned brainwashing of all our young people clearly has many purposes, but one purpose in particular the Politburo was happy to set down and spell out in the official minutes. "The President," it recorded, "should be President for Life."

Election news

Sokwanele has articles about the upcoming elections...

JOC plans to starve the nation unveiled
Source Date: 16-08-2007

The Joint Operations Command - a think tank of top security officials - is enforcing a deliberate and systematic ploy of using food to ensure President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party retains power.

Millions of people are going hungry not ... because of poor rains but as a direct result of policies ... denying food to opposition supporters and enriching its loyalists.

An elaborate plan hatched by the JOC to ban food imports, which has been reversed after being shamelessly exposed, forms part of this broad plan....

Zim inflation hits all time high

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's inflation rate has leapt to a record high, official data showed on Wednesday, raising pressure on President Robert Mugabe to ease an economic crisis that foes hope will weaken the veteran leader.

Zimbabwe's inflation -- already the highest in the world -- hit 7,634.8 percent in July, reminding Zimbabweans there is no relief in sight from daily hardships including chronic food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

Although the government says the inflation figure is correct, many analysts and critics say it is likely much higher. The International Monetary Fund said last month inflation may reach 100,000 percent by year-end.

Mugabe tightens grip on Zim

"...Zimbabwe's lawmakers have started debating changes to the country's constitution which could see President Robert Mugabe tighten his grip on power.

Zimbabwe's Opposition claims that the Government's proposed changes to the constitution will enhance Mr Mugabe's chances at next year's election.

Those changes include the alteration of electoral boundaries and the empowerment of Parliament to choose a President if a vacancy arises between elections.

That may allow Mr Mugabe to anoint his own successor if he were to step down....

South Africa: Zim must solve it's own woes

"We must encourage Zimbabweans to solve their own problems. That is the most we can do because the decisions have to be carried by Zimbabweans into perpetuity," Manuel said in a heated exchange in parliament.

"For those who don't understand, I ask that President Bush recruit them and send them to Iraq," a visibly angry Manuel said amid heckling from opposition lawmakers. "Then they will understand what regime change is about."

Ah yes....just allow murderous dictators in place, so that their followers don't continue to kill innocent civilians after they are kicked out of power...

Give us a break please and go...

"....a

As the crisis deepens, the philosophy of Mugabe's bankrupt regime is increasingly becoming more frozen. Their thinking is polarised and paranoid, with dangerous emotional overtones and anxiety. Frankly speaking, Mugabe's tunnel vision won't take us anywhere.

Desperate Zimbabweans are now flocking into neighbouring countries to buy food -- including the staple mealie-meal, beef and salt -- in a bid to fend off hunger. Clear conditions of a man-made famine -- are now developing in Zimbabwe.

Famines are usually the product of drought, crop failure and pestilence, and man-made causes such as war or misguided economic policies.

In Zimbabwe the problem is clearly man-made. Leadership and policy failures have caused the food shortages and suffering....

While Zimbabwe is not facing famine, conditions for mass starvation are there. The country has no food in the shops, let alone grain reserves. The World Food Programme says a quarter of the population needs food aid. We are now relying on food handouts from poor countries such as Malawi and Zambia and buying goods from prospering neighbours such as South Africa. This is what is largely keeping us going...."

Chinese entrepeneurs in Africa

One example from the long article:

You Xianwen sold his pipe-laying business in Chengdu, in southwest China, this year to move to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, to join a startup company with a Chinese partner he had met only online. “Back where I come from we are pretty independent people,” Mr. You, 55, said. “My brothers and sisters all supported my decision to come here. In fact, they say that if things really work out for me, they would like to move to Africa, too.”

Mr. You said he had considered other African countries before settling on Ethiopia, including Zambia. “Luckily I didn’t decide to go there,” he said, explaining that he had been frightened by the recent anti-Chinese protests in that country.

His new business, ABC Bioenergy, builds devices that generate combustible gas from ordinary refuse, providing what Mr. You said would be an affordable alternative source of energy in a country where electricity supplies are erratic and prices high.

South African conference refuses to pressure Mugabe

Mugabe, left, was received warmly at the summit of his southern African peers [AFP]

"....

"The summit welcomed the progress and encouraged the parties to expedite the process of negotiations and conclude the work as soon as possible so that the next elections are held in an atmosphere of peace," it said in reference to presidential and parliamentary elections due to take place next year.



Mugabe wants to seek another term. Critics say state control of the media, widespread intimidation and the clampdown on the pro-democracy movement gives Mugabe's party an overwhelming advantage going into the poll.



Mugabe, who drew the biggest applause on the opening day of the summit on Thursday, was absent without explanation for the closing session.



A Zambian official familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the 83-year-old autocrat was in a defiant mood.



Levy Mwanawasa, the Zambian president, whose country took over the rotating chair of the 14-member organisation, earlier this year likened Zimbabwe to a "sinking Titanic."



But during the summit, he was more cautious and merely called on Zimbabweans to "maintain peace and stability" lest they move "further backwards."....."

Two die in sugar stampede

"... On Wednesday a huge crowd stampeded into a shopping complex where some sugar had been delivered and in the chaos a 15year old boy and a 35year old security guard died. The government’s Chronicle newspaper confirmed the tragic incident in a report Thursday, saying the stampede was “caused by hordes of people who were intending to buy sugar at Entumbane Shopping Complex in Bulawayo.”...

Zenzele spoke to several witnesses who said the security guard opened a gate to let the shoppers in, and they pushed forward and knocked over a brick wall. The boy is reported to have tried climbing over and wound up under the bricks as the wall fell over. The witnesses said the victims did not get help immediately.

According to The Chronicle, the schoolboy was a Form Two pupil at Sobukhazi High School in Mzilikazi. He died at Mpilo Central Hospital after fracturing both legs and an arm. The security guard did not stand a chance. The report said he tried running as the wall fell toward him but was not fast enough. Several people were injured, and some with minor injuries were carried home by relatives.

Govt to reveal More Smears about Ncube

Latest gov't smears will claim he is HIV positive and has two kids.

He revealed: “The CIO and their bosses were shocked by the public sympathy for Archbishop Ncube after the sex scandal broke.

“That is why the government later ordered the state media to stop using nude pictures depicting the bishop in bed with women. They hope Plan B and C will finish him off.”

Implacable sources said the state media was “already armed with the facts” and were “waiting for a signal” from the CIO to unleash the story. Just as in the first allegations, they will wait for Sibanda to file his lawsuit in court before running the story.

The students are protesting on YouTube

The students were evicted from Zim University dorms because of their political activism...
But they still managed to post a video on You tube...(headsup SWRA)