Christopher Booker said:12:01am BST 20/07/2008
It may not be surprising that, as befits any mad dictator, President Mugabe is now the proud owner of a palatial £4.5 million mansion in Harare and a similarly lavish country hideaway, each fitted with the latest electronic security systems, including anti-aircraft missiles.
But why should all this have been provided for him by the People's Republic of China?The explanation lies in a deal struck in 2005 whereby Mr Mugabe handed over to China his country's mineral rights, including the world's second largest reserves of platinum, worth £250 billion..........................................................................................
Saturday, 19 July 2008 17:57
NEARLY 20 suspected Zanu PF youths and war veterans allegedly raped a
Buhera woman in the four days she was detained at their base in Nhamo
village, Buhera Central, in Manicaland after the youths failed to find her
husband, the MDC has said.
The woman, who is 32 and cannot be identified, is being treated at a
private clinic in the eastern border town of Mutare. Pishai Muchauraya, the MDC Manicaland provincial spokesperson, said the woman was taken to Baravara base in Nhamo village after they failed to locate her husband, who was an MDC election agent during the March 29 elections.
Her husband is in hiding.
"They raided the homestead on the 19th of June looking for the husband
and when they were told that he was not there, they force-marched the wife
to the base," Muchauraya said. "She told me she was raped by over 18 men in the four days she was kept at the base."
Saturday, 19 July 2008 22:54 UK
Zimbabwe is to introduce a bank-note worth Z$100bn in response to
rampant inflation - but the note will barely cover the cost of two loaves of
bread.
Some Zimbabweans are already calling for higher denominations in a
country where the official annual inflation rate has exceeded 2,200,000%. ...........................................
Andrew Harding said:How do you make sense of money in a country with an unofficial inflation rate soaring past 15m%? Many Zimbabweans seem to have given up trying. "I just come here to keep my job," said the cashier at a TM supermarket in Harare, where a tin of baked beans cost - at least for the next few hours - a mere 256bn Zimbabwe dollars (worth about US$1 at the current exchange rate).
"It's just ridiculous. We put the prices up several times a day. The salary I was paid at the start of this month cannot even pay for my bus fare here this morning. I am struggling." The cashier shrugged and then - like many other people I have spoken to while working undercover here over the last two weeks - he smiled awkwardly at the absurdity of it all.
Harare is fast becoming a city of unemployed, impoverished zillionaires - struggling to spend thick wads of banknotes in empty supermarkets before the cash becomes worthless, and increasingly dependent on funds sent home by the millions of Zimbabweans who have already fled abroad.
One meal a day
In the subdued, seemingly half-empty capital, people wait in long queues outside banks to withdraw a maximum of a 100bn dollars a day.
Residents have been queuing at banks
to withdraw their daily limit
In bars, the price of beer goes up between rounds. Many people are reduced to eating one meal a day. Adults leave hungry children at home and walk for hours to work because they cannot afford the bus fare, while the newspapers advertise lotto prizes of a quadrillion dollars. As the country sinks deeper into a surreal economic twilight zone, many analysts believe it is hyperinflation that is now driving those in power towards the negotiating table. "Something has to give before very much longer," said Tony Hawkins, a Harare-based economist. "Which is why some people, myself included, think that the economy will bring down the government sooner than sanctions or anything like that... I would have thought months at the most." Others believe the ruling elite - backed by hard currency revenues from a few surviving export industries - could hold out for another year or more.
Angry soldiers
But worryingly for President Robert Mugabe, the police and armed forces are not immune to the economic chaos.
Zimbabwe's central bank introduced a Z$100bn note earlier this month I watched soldiers push angrily to the front of a queue when a rare delivery of sugar arrived at a Harare shopping arcade last week. "It's becoming harder and harder to keep the army, police and civil service happy by paying them in Zimbabwe dollars, because the money becomes worthless very quickly," said Mr Hawkins. Many observers remain optimistic about the country's long-term economic prospects. "This situation can be healed," said a Western diplomatic source in Zimbabwe. "But not by this regime. Zanu-PF couldn't run a sweet-shop." A prominent local businessman with links to Zanu-PF agreed with that assessment. "This thing has just spiralled totally out of control," he said.
But he also noted that "the ruling elite talk about the need for change more than we do".
"Mugabe is not stupid," he added. "However they acquired their wealth, these people now have a stake in the economy and they see what's happening and know it can't go on... If change comes, it won't take long before this [economy] is fixed - five years at most." But in the meantime, malnutrition rates continue to rise alarmingly. Hyperinflation, combined with another disastrous harvest, are driving thousands more Zimbabweans to flee the country.
The Telegraph said:
A soldier in Zimbabwe's army now earns £11 a month and new recruits lack the most basic training, a serving NCO has told the Daily Telegraph.
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare
Last Updated: 3:12PM BST 27 Jul 2008
Corporal Peter Choto, who joined the army 10 years ago, painted a vivid
picture of a military machine in headlong collapse.
President Robert Mugabe relies on the army to keep him in power and its
generals are now believed to be the most powerful men in Zimbabwe. While
they have grown rich, hyperinflation now exceeding two million per cent has
impoverished their troops. Cpl Choto - not his real name - earns more than a private soldier. He takes home £13 per month. The World Bank's definition of absolute poverty is a monthly wage of £15.
"At least three quarters of us would not take up arms for Zimbabwe," he said. "We will not go to war for Zimbabwe, I am not going to take a risk with a rifle for Zimbabwe. That time is gone." Cpl Choto said the only boots the army could afford were made of "Chinese plastic". He added: "Chinese boots only last a few days on patrol before they are in ribbons. I have only one uniform and wear it for the week."
Soldiers survive on minimal food and Cpl Choto said he had been hungry for
"at least a year". "Three years ago we got porridge, sausage, bacon sometimes eggs. We always got meat at least once a day," he said. Today, by contrast, soldiers get two plates of maize meal, known as "sadza", a day.
Cpl Choto said: "There are 500 recruits at the cantonment. If the world saw
pictures of them, the world would be shocked as they are so thin. At least
100 report sick every day. "They are passing out next week and they haven't been to the rifle range even once, because that ammo is being reserved for emergencies." Cpl Choto admitted that he took part in the terror campaign waged against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change before the presidential elections.
"I was deployed to intelligence, in plain clothes, so I didn't have to do the beating myself, but I saw it. You have to do the beating or you are labelled MDC. Then you will just be discharged and sent to prison." One of Cpl Choto's soldiers personally beat to death an elderly woman in her 60s or 70s. "My friend came back and confessed and was shaking. We spoke and we said this is not the way it should be. We are supposed to be protecting, not making people suffer." If the army rose against Mr Mugabe, his regime would not survive. But Cpl Choto said that ordinary soldiers were more likely to leave or desert. "I will leave the army next year," he said. "Most are leaving, or going AWOL, or dying."
The Sunday Times said:
July 27, 2008
The president and his cronies face a humiliating end
R W Johnson in Johannesburg
THE president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has been warned by Thabo Mbeki, the South African president, that he faces prosecution for the crimes he has committed during his 28 years in office unless he signs a deal to give up all effective power. Mbeki, who has done all he can to shield and support Mugabe for the past eight years, has come under overwhelming western pressure and has had to tell Mugabe that he could no longer protect him and his key cronies from being charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The power-sharing talks between Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are shrouded in secrecy. But The Sunday Times has learnt that Mugabe, who has vowed that Tsvangirai will never be in government and that "only God can remove me from power", faces humiliation over the terms of the deal that he will be forced to sign next month.
He will remain as president in name only and all real power will be held by a 20-member cabinet under Tsvangirai as prime minister. The opposition MDC will have 11 cabinet posts to nine for Mugabe's Zanu-PF.
The Telegraph said:
A demand by China that the Zimbabwean government "behave" in the run-up to the Olympics lies behind Robert Mugabe's surprise decision to open negotiations with the opposition.
By Ian Evans in Capetown and Special Correspondent
Last Updated: 4:02PM BST 26 Jul 2008
Beijing put pressure on Mr Mugabe to begin talks because of fears that the
continuing crisis in Zimbabwe risked overshadowing the Olympics, according
to government and diplomatic sources. China's leaders, who have have long enjoyed a close relationship with Zimbabwe's beleagured president, feared growing protests in the run-up to the Games and so leaned on Mr Mugabe to agree to the historic talks which began on Thursday.
Their move came after Russia and China together infuriated the West by
blocking a United Nations Security Council attempt to impose sanctions on
members of the Zimbabwean regime. Mr Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, met for the first time in 10 years last week after signing a memorandum of understanding mediated by South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, to form a government of national unity.
But while Mr Mbeki basked in the glow of the diplomatic coup, winning high
praise from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy - currently in charge of the EU presidency - Zimbabwean government sources said he had little to do with it. One government insider said: "The signing of the memorandum of understanding between Mugabe and Tsvangirai may appear to be a triumph for South African diplomacy under Mr Mbeki, but the power behind the curtain is China.
"China exerted diplomatic pressure on Harare for the protection of their own
interests in this country, given the threat and risks of their economic
investments under a new government. This explains the sudden change of heart by Mugabe. This is all choreographed." The Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe is understood to have told Zimbabwean foreign affairs officials in Harare that his government expects Mr Mugabe's administration to "behave" and help dampen international outrage over the recent elections.
One diplomatic source said: "Mugabe was told in clear terms by his Chinese
friends that he has to behave and act in a way that will silence the international community. China does not want a situation in which the Olympics will be snubbed. "They also warned him (Mugabe) that if British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and the US managed to force the tabling of UN Security Council sanctions against Zimbabwe again, they will be in no position to support Harare. China has demanded that loyalty back in equal terms."
China has invested billions of dollars not just in Zimbabwe, but across Africa in its attempts to secure mineral rights to fuel its burgeoning economy. Its trade with the continent is expected to rise to $100bn by 2010, a signficant amount of which involves |Zimbabwe's platinum mines. Beijing has many different sources of leverage on Harare - a fact which has led to criticism from the West that it could have forced change on the Mugabe regime long ago.
Chinese soldiers have helped to train the Zimbabwean military for more than
two decades, and many senior members of the ZanuPF ruling party have forged personal business relationships. Among them, the vice president Joyce Mujuru, whose husband Simon is a former head of the armed forces, runs a company thought to export chickens to China. Under the deal agreed last week ZanuPF and the opposition MDC have a two week deadline to agree on forming a government of national unity during talks in Pretoria.
The sticking point will be the positions of Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai:
hardliners inside ZanuPF want Mr Mugabe, who has been president for 28
years, to continue in that poisiton with Mr Tsvangirai consigned to a more
junior role as prime minister. A Zimbabwean government source at the talks said: "Information is going about that the MDC will be offered the post of prime minister or vice president as a stop-gap measure to ease Zimbabwe's collapsing economy. "However this must not be misconstrued as a weakness on the part of Zanu PF but as a strategy to keep the opposition out of full power. They will certainly find themselves on the drawing board again after a future election, because Zanu PF is not willing to relinquish power."
Zimbabwean officials know that aid from the US, Britain and the EU depends
on the outcome of the talks. On Friday President George W.Bush stepped up US pressure on Mr Mugabe by introducing new sanctions against the
"illegitimate" president. The US Treasury Department was ordered to freeze the assets of 17 business enterprises controlled by the Zimbabwean government, banned Americans from doing business with them.
Mr Mugabe won a landslide victory last month in a vote condemned by western nations and boycotted by Mr Tsvangirai, who cited government-sponsored violence and intimidation. The MDC says 120 of its supporters have been killed by pro-Mugabe thugs and thousands injured since the first presidential vote, which it won but without a majority of all votes, on March 29.
SABC said:
July 26, 2008, 16:15
The Botswana government has openly refused to recognise President Robert
Mugabe as the true leader of Zimbabwe.
The country has been vociferous in its criticism of Mugabe's one-man
election on June 27, which was boycotted by the opposition Movement of
Democratic Change. Botswana's Minister of Foreign affairs, Phandu Skelemani,
says there is currently no legal government in Zimbabwe but only leaders of
different political parties seeking a political solution.
He says, however, that Botswana supports meditation efforts by the South
African government. Responding to bilateral agreements between Botswana and Zimbabwe, Skelemani said the deals will stand. Meanwhile, talks to resolve Zimbabwe's problems are continuing in South Africa. Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga says the MDC and the ruling Zanu-PF are meeting behind closed doors at an undisclosed venue.
Ratshitanga says he is optimistic that the parties will have reached an
agreement after two weeks. Mugabe and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai signed an agreement earlier this week, committing themselves to finding a viable solution to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.
Classical ZANU-PF torture wounds on this MDC activist receiving treatment in Harare, July 29, 2008. Contrary to public perception, violence continues across the country. Contrary to public perception, violence continues across the country, spearheaded by the state sponsored ZANU-PF militia.
Zimbabwe, HARARE - Zanu (PF) post-election violence continues unabated in many parts of Zimbabwe. Just a few days ago this man, identified only as J.M. from Mudzi North , was severely beaten. His home and granary were burned on 7.6.08. He returned to his home area on 20.7.08. Before proceeding to the burned remains of his home he spoke with Zanu PF MP Newton Kachepa and ZPF district co-ordinator Nyakuba who said it was safe to return home now that the election run-off was over! However, when he arrived home he was attacked by ZPF militia, his hands tied with wire, and taken to the Chimkoko militia base by Tugamira and Chipangwa.
They said "you thought you were clever, you puppets of Morgan Tsvangirai, today you are going to tell us where he is". He was beaten on the buttocks and his left arm was fractured. He was beaten on two consecutive days then released from the base. He could only crawl out and eventually got to the tar road where a bus driver carried him to the rural Hospital.
HARARE - MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has been denied a new Zimbabwean passport again, with authorities preferring to give him an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) that confines his travel to Africa. Tsvangirai, whose Zimbabwean passport expired two months ago, accused the government of President Robert Mugabe of treating him like a non-citizen by refusing to renew his passport.
The ETD issued to Tsvangirai on Monday is valid for six months. Tsvangirai used the ETD to travel to Johannesburg South Africa on Monday for consultative deliberations with his party's delegation at the power-sharing talks being held in Pretoria . Tsvangirai was denied a new passport after exhausting all the pages in his old passport.
The Zimbabwe Times understands that the decision to deny Tsvangirai a new
passport was made at a strategy meeting held by the Joint Operations Command on June 16 at Mukwati Building where Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede was summoned and instructed to withhold the MDC leader's passport for "security reasons." The decision to deny the MDC leader a new passport was reached following a massive diplomatic offensive mounted by Tsvangirai in world capitals to galvanise support for his bid to unseat Mugabe. Tsvangirai left Zimbabwe just after the March 29 elections and returned after a two-month campaign that saw him traverse the world. Tsvangirai returned ahead of the runoff vote to launch his campaign for a second election, which he later boycotted citing violence and restrictions on his campaigns.
The Zimbabwe Times heard that the MDC leader has launched another legal bid to force the government to issue him with a new passport immediately. He had earlier lodged papers in the High Court challenging the authorities' June 12 refusal to give him a new travel document. He argued that the refusal was a breach of his constitutional right to freedom of movement. The ETD issued to Tsvangirai seriously curtails his movement as it cannot be used for travel outside Africa . The ETD gives the holder an option to visit only eight African countries.
Tsvangirai arrived in South Africa Monday as his negotiators adjourned from
inter-party talks reportedly over disagreements on power-sharing arrangements. Tsvangirai's spokesman, George Sibotshiwe said from Johannesburg Tuesday the talks had reached a deadlock but refused to give further details saying parties had been sworn to secrecy. South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, who is facilitating the talks, told reporters in a news broadcast beamed on SABC Africa Tuesday: "They are adjourning for a number of days so that they could go back to Harare to consult with their principals and then come back.
"It's going very well. In the Memorandum of Understanding they said they
will try to conclude negotiations within two weeks. They are very determined
to keep to that commitment." But senior MDC officials in Zimbabwe said the talks were on the verge of collapse over Zanu-PF negotiators' insistence that Tsvangirai could only be offered the post of third vice presidential in a Mugabe's government. Tsvangirai's MDC has rejected this outright and wants the MDC leader to be the head of any unity government because he beat Mugabe in the March 29 poll, although he failed to reach the 50 percent minimum that would have enabled him to form his own government.
Zanu-PF has, however, said the MDC must drop its claim to power and
recognize Mugabe's flawed re-election in a one-man presidential runoff vote
boycotted by the MDC leader on June 27. Zanu-PF negotiators Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche were reportedly eading back to Zimbabwe to consult Mugabe about the deadlock. No comment was immediately available from Zanu-PF.
Lance Guma said:
31 July 2008
South African brokered talks between Zanu PF and the MDC have reportedly hit a brick wall because the ruling party insists Mugabe should lead any unity government. Party insiders have dismissed the optimism expressed by South African President Thabo Mbeki that talks are progressing well, stating instead that Zanu PF negotiators are not willing to budge on Mugabe's position. It as also been made clear by Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Labour inister Nicholas Goche that their mandate at the talks has to fall in line with instructions from the Zanu PF politburo.
On Tuesday Tsvangirai flew to South Africa to meet Mbeki, in the first clear sign the talks had reached a deadlock. On Wednesday Mbeki travelled to Harare to meet Mugabe and tried his best to hide the collapsing initiative. 'There are naturally some matters which require the negotiators to come back to consult. That's why they are all here in Harare today,' he told
journalists. Mugabe's role in any new government remains a polarizing issue a diplomatic source told Newsreel. 'Any chance of these talks succeeding will be riding on the back of how much Tsvangirai is willing to compromise,' the source said.
On Thursday Tsvangirai arrived in Senegal for a meeting with President Abdoullaye Wade, in what some are already seeing as attempts to pile up the
diplomatic pressure on Mugabe. A Senegal Foreign Ministry statement said Tsvangirai was in the capital Dakar to 'learn the position and get the advice' of Wade. A similar trip to Angola and other African countries is said to be on the cards, an ominous sign the MDC might be preparing a plan B, should the talks fail. On Wednesday Mbeki insisted the talks will resume on Sunday, but an air of uncertainty now hangs over any chances of a breakthrough.
During an interview with British TV Channel 4 Tsvangirai struck a conciliatory note, arguing Mugabe should be allowed an 'honourable exit.' The MDC President insisted the talks should result in a transitional government that will run the country for not more than 2 years. The behind the scenes deadlock has not appeared to faze Tsvangirai who told journalists in Senegal that the 2 week timetable for the talks was flexible and could be adjusted as the process moves forward.
--Harare Tribune NewsMugabe's patronage to judges, most of whom sit on the constitutional court handling poll challenges by MDC losing candidates, a threat Zimbabwe, Harare-- If you are Mugabe & ZANU-PF, and you know that a government of national unity is on the cards, what do you to put yourself in good books with the judges? The same judges that will be handling poll challenges by MDC losing candidates from the March 29 election? Of course, you lavish gifts on them, eh..."to improve their conditions of service." The ZANU-PF government, rulling the country with no mandate from the people, gave senior judges of the high court, electoral cort and labour court new 32-inch Sony, Panasonic, and LG plasma TV sets with the chief justice and judge president receiving 42-inch screens.
Just to make sure the judges can avoid watching nauseating TV programmes on ZBC TV, ZANU-PF threw in sophisticated free air satellite dishes.Then, they can watch CNN, Discovery, Natgeo and other awesome shows. To make sure the judges travel in comfort in Zimbabwe's rutted, potholled and moribund roads, ZANU-PF also handed out 16 new Mercedes-Benz E280 cars. A quick check on google reveals that these cars retail for US$50 000 each. Simple arithmetic shows that the government paid US$1 million for these top of the range vehicles, enough to feed thousands of hungry Zimbabweans for weeks. Knowing that the judges get very irritated when ZESA cuts the electricity supply to their homes, like it does to all Zimbabweans across the country, ZANU-PF gave the judges generators.
"Yes, the judges received Mercedes Benz E280," the Master of the High Court, Charles Nyatanga confirmed to the Tribune in a phone call. "It was long overdue and some of the judges had never been issued with Mercedes-Benz vehicles ever since their appointment to the bench." Yep, Mugabe appointed most of these judges to the bench, without consultation with anyone. But, wait a minute, what if the judges want go to Karoi on a weekend, to visit the seized farms they were given during the "Third Cimurenga?" You give the judges all-terrain vehicles. ZANU-PF handed over Toyota twin cabs and Isuzu trucks to the judges. Mr Nyatanga explained that it was "undesirable" for judges to have to drive their Mercedes over rough ground to get to their farms.
There you have it. This is Mugabe's Zimbabwe. What will a GNU, diluted with people from ZANU-PF used to Mugabe patronage, achieve for the people of Zimbabwe? The best bet is that the MDC, in agreeing to join hands with Mugabe, will be soiled by ZANU-PF's ways of doing things and nothing will change in the country. In showing his love on the judges, Mugabe hopes that the judges will dismiss the court challenges by the MDC, in so doing protect ZANU-PF's seats in the parliament.
Zimbabwe's ruling party and opposition have been unable to reach a power-sharing agreement at a regional summit of Southern African leaders. Asked if a deal had been reached in Johannesburg, a spokesman for the main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said: "No, not at all".
However, South African President Thabo Mbeki said after the official summit closed that talks would continue. Hours earlier, Mr Tsvangirai said the talks had been going "very well". Mr Mbeki is the regionally appointed mediator for Zimbabwe, and the latest talks took place at a summit of leaders of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc).
As the summit formally ended, Mr Tsvangirai's spokesman, George Sibotshiwe, told reporters: "There is no deal yet." Mr Tsvangirai is said to have agreed in principle for Mr Mugabe to retain the title of president, while he takes on a beefed-up prime ministerial role. The key sticking-points are reported to be over the exact balance of power. In other business at the summit, the Sadc agreed to launch a regional trade zone aimed at eliminating import tariffs, with plans for a common currency by 2018.
Zimbabwe is among 11 Sadc countries who will participate in the trade zone. Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi plan to join at a later date, AFP news agency reports.
Red lines
Mr Mbeki said that some Sadc leaders would continue to discuss Zimbabwe after the close of the summit. Mr Tsvangirai finished ahead of Mr Mugabe in the first round of Zimbabwe's presidential election in March and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) also won a majority in parliamentary elections. But Mr Tsvangirai pulled out of the second round of the presidential election, citing a campaign of violence against his supporters. Mr Mugabe went on to win the vote unopposed. Mr Tsvangirai told the New York Times that the most basic issue of how he and Mr Mugabe would share power remained unsettled, and there were limits to the compromises he could make.
It's better not to have a deal than to have a bad deal, Mr Tsvangirai told the newspaper. Sticking-points in the power-sharing talks are reported to include the balance of power between Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai
the make-up of any coalition cabinet control of Zimbabwe's security forces
the possibility of an amnesty over post-election violence Mr Tsvangirai had a seat at the summit with other invited guests on the floor while President Mugabe joined other regional leaders at the head table.
Arthur Mutambara, head of a breakaway MDC faction, also attended.
Pressure on Mbeki
Some critics believe regional leaders' handling of the Zimbabwe crisis has reflected badly on them. Events in Zimbabwe were a "blot on the culture of democracy", Zambia said. The rare public criticism, attributed to Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, comes after Botswana's president decided to boycott the summit in protest. Zambia's Foreign Minister Kabinga Pande said the "regrettable events" in Zimbabwe had "no doubt left a serious blot on the culture of democracy in our sub region.
"These events... brought into question Sadc as an institution capable of promoting the rule of law and democratic governance," he said, speaking on behalf of President Mwanawasa, who is in hospital after suffering a stroke.
Basildon Peta and Daniel Howden said:Efforts by southern African leaders to end the Zimbabwe crisis by breaking the deadlock between Zanu-PF leader Robert Mugabe and his arch-rival, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai, failed last night.
The stalemate was a personal defeat for President Thabo Mbeki, who assumed the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Saturday vowing to get a deal during the summit. Mbeki, who faces criticism at home and abroad for his handling of the crisis, said that the talks would continue. Even after their gathering had officially ended, he summoned Mugabe and Tsvangirai back for a last-ditch attempt to get a deal, but to no avail.
Mugabe and the opposition leader are deadlocked about the balance of power between the roles of prime minister and president. Diplomatic sources said the SADC leaders had tabled their own proposals in an attempt to break the impasse. It would have amounted to Tsvangirai and Mugabe sharing power equally. Both parties rejected it. Tsvangirai has come under intense pressure to sign up to Mbeki's proposal, which would see Mugabe retain much of his current authority. The former trade union leader argues that the proposal would, in effect, make him a "ceremonial prime minister" in a government led by Mugabe, the man whom he defeated in the first-round presidential election in March.
Tsvangirai, 54, is said to have tabled a counter proposal last night that would have switched roles. "His logic is that since Mugabe is saying the deal currently on the table gives the prime minister a lot of powers, then he must assume that position and Tsvangirai becomes president," said a diplomatic source. "That suggestion made Mugabe furious and he rejected it."
The dramatic failure of the SADC leaders to broker a deal means that "we are back to square one", said an MDC official. Regional leaders said in their final communique that Zimbabwe's parliament could now be convened, apparently indicating their backing for Mugabe to appoint a new cabinet and a new prime minister. Previous agreements, including an African Union accord and a memorandum of understanding between the two rivals, required a negotiated settlement before a new government could be formed.
Zimbabwe's neighbours fear the consequences if the country's political stalemate and economic decline lead to a total meltdown. Botswana President Seretse Khama Ian Khama boycotted the summit.
The rate of inflation in Zimbabwe jumped to just over 11,250,000% in June, official figures show.
"It gained 9,035,045.5 percentage points from the May rate of 2,233,713.4%," said state media quoting the Central Statistical Office (CSO). However, experts believe the actual rate of inflation may be much higher. Zimbabwe is in the midst of a dire economic crisis with unemployment at almost 80%, most manufacturing at a halt and basic foods in short supply. High money supplies have also been fuelling hyperinflation. Critics have accused President Robert Mugabe's government of printing money to finance his election campaign and prop up the economy. Month-on-month inflation in the country accelerated to 839.3% from 433.4%.
Chaos
"Our inflation figures are way above that, but what it tells us is that the productive base of the economy has really shrunk," said one unnamed economist at a domestic bank. "We really need to change the way we do business," he added. Zimbabwe, once one of the richest countries in Africa, has descended into economic chaos largely blamed on the policies of President Mugabe. Mr Mugabe has denied he is ruining the economy, laying the blame instead on international sanctions he says have been imposed against Zimbabwe. Since his controversial re-election in June, Mr Mugabe has been in talks about a power-sharing deal with the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). However, the two side have shown no sign of coming to an agreement and the country's economic situation has been worsening.
'Economic emergency'
Earlier this month, Zimbabwe's central bank chief called for a six-month freeze on prices and wages in a bid to rein in spiralling inflation. "Zimbabweans must realise that the country is in a practically binding state of socio-economic emergency," Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono said. "As such, there is need for a universal moratorium on all incomes and prices for a minimum period of six months," he added. His comments came weeks after the bank revalued its currency in an effort to curb hyperinflation - lopping 10 zeros off the Zimbabwe dollar making 10bn dollars now equal to one dollar. But the move had little effect on strengthening the currency, which has since weakened from the Z$6 level against the US dollar to around the Z$18 mark.
Tendai Dumbutshena said:
BRAVO Botswana. The 13 leaders who gathered for the SADC summit in Johannesburg last weekend tried to put on a brave face but were visibly
uneasy and embarrassed. The absence of Botswana's President Ian Khama exposed them for what they are - spineless and morally bankrupt nonentities.
They could not argue against the reasons for Botswana's boycott. The government in Gaborone - ironically the headquarters of SADC- reminded the
regional body of its protocols on good governance. There is one on the conduct of elections in the region which clearly spells out what is expected. Khama's boycott was a reminder to his counterparts that they did not take this protocol seriously. That it could be brutally violated with impunity.
Observers from all SADC countries were sent to monitor both the March 29 elections and June 27 presidential run-off in Zimbabwe. Their verdict was unanimous and unambiguous. All conditions for a free and fair election in the run-off were not met. Furthermore, the state was responsible for savage violence against the opposition to the point that Robert Mugabe's only opponent Morgan Tsvangirai had to withdraw from the race to save lives. Based on the reports of SADC observers and its own citizens the Botswana government concluded that the outcome of the run-off did not reflect the true will of the people of Zimbabwe. It could therefore not accept Mugabe as a legitimately elected president of Zimbabwe. Gaborone made it clear that its president would boycott the SADC summit if Mugabe were invited as head of state.
There was hope that others would follow Botswana's bold and principled position. Fat chance. Other leaders maintained an embarrassed silence in the hope that the problem would simply go away. Lacking moral courage and principles they hid behind the African Union's call for a government of national unity. The region's official mediator, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki saw in the AU resolution an opportunity to legitimize and prolong Mugabe's rule. He frantically tried to bulldoze an agreement that would produce an essentially Zanu-PF government led by Mugabe with some MDC ministers. Mindful of the fact that it was impossible to confer legitimacy on Mugabe on the basis of the run-off he thought the best way was through a Mugabe led GNU endorsed by the MDC. He wanted the deal signed before the summit so that the awkward issue of Mugabe's legitimacy would fall away.
The SADC leaders should have convened an emergency summit soon after the run-off to tell Mugabe that they did not recognize its outcome. Mbeki would then have carried on with his mediation on a clear understanding that SADC did not recognize Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean leader would have been more amenable to compromise had SADC taken such a principled stand. But knowing his peers well Mugabe realised that they would cave in. They did not have the backbone to insist on a strict adherence to their own protocols. It was easier to just let Mugabe take his seat at the high table.
At least this time they did not like imbeciles applaud when he walked into the summit room. To salvage their consciences they tried to bully Tsvangirai into signing a document that would legitimize Mugabe's rule for five more years. One of the tactics used to pressure Tsvangirai was to accuse him of being controlled by Western powers. This is ironic coming from leaders whose countries and governments are sustained by Western donor money, as Mugabe himself pointed out no so long ago.
To his credit Tsvangirai stood firm and refused to append his signature to a
document crafted to serve Mugabe's interests. Outside the summit hundreds of demonstrators made their voices heard on the dictatorships in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. A petition for the leaders handed to the SADC secretariat said in part that ordinary people were taking to the streets because of an absence of political leadership in the region. In other words people have lost faith in a regional leadership that places a premium on friendship and solidarity among ruling elites above their welfare.
It has repeatedly been argued in this column that there are too many dictators in Africa for the continent and its regional bodies to take principled positions on issues of human rights and good governance. In SADC a troika of nations is tasked with responsibility for political, defence and security matters. It currently comprises Tanzania, Angola, and Swaziland with the latter being chair. How can Angola and Swaziland pronounce on issues pertaining to human rights and democracy? How can they stand in judgement of Mugabe?
Since independence in 1975 Angola had only one election in 1976, and a dubious one at that. President Eduardo dos Santos would not recognize a ballot paper if it hit him in the face. The Swazi monarch, King Mswati III presides over a feudal regime that treats its citizens like serfs. ? How can they stand in judgement of Mugabe? At the moment both dos Santos and Mswati are custodians of the region's putative commitment to democracy. Until Africa takes issues of human rights and democracy seriously it will not be able to deal effectively with rogue regimes like Mugabe's.
The SADC summit declared the region a free trade zone. Normally this would
have been a momentous occasion celebrated by all its peoples. Instead it was a damp squib. The inability of SADC to deal with Zimbabwe cast a shadow over all other issues. People in the region do not believe the free zone declaration will have any bearing on their lives. Spineless and unprincipled leadership breeds cynicism and pessimism. All they see are self-serving leaders obsessed with protecting one another like the endangered species that they are.
Mbeki is regarded as the architect of the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) which recognizes a direct causal link between
good governance and economic prosperity. African leaders undertook to promote good clean governance in exchange for economic partnership with
developed nations. Principles have a habit of being put to the test. When confronted with the Zimbabwe crisis at the heart of which are issues of governance and human rights SADC failed. Their commitment to these principles disintegrated. Old habits and instincts took over. Their comrade, Mugabe, had to be protected. In so doing they dimmed the hopes not only of Zimbabweans but all peoples in the region.
Only Khama offered a ray of hope.
The US government could revoke MDC faction leader Arthur Mutambara's United States Permanent Residence Permit which is valid up to 2017 amid growing concerns he is abetting Mugabe's hold on to power.
The United states government's Acting Deputy Spokesman Gonzalo R. allegos,
told the state department's state briefing earlier during the week, 'We're going to continue to watch. We're going to continue to see what happens there. Ultimately, as I've said before, from here, what we want to see is that the will of the Zimbabwean people is reflected in the results of this or any talks that may take place to come to a resolution to this situation,and if anyone aids the subvetting of the people's will even if they are not from ZANU PF will face the same measures we have taken against ZANU-PF.' said Gallegos.
Mutambara reportedly dismissed MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's claim to power when he addressed the SADC leaders and claimed the he and President Mugabe should hold power. Mutambara reportedly told the gathering that Mugabe who won the run-off should have executive power and his faction should hold key positions in the cabinet because they hold the balance of power in Parliament. "The March 29 elections produced a hung parliament. We hold the key to power.' "Whomever we decide to go with will have the majority in parliament. In these talks we are on our own. And anyone who thinks they have the majority in parliament is a joker. Nobody must take us for granted," said Mutambara.
Sources at the US embassy in Harare say the US is watching closely Mutambara's actions and say there is a general feeling he is aiding Mugabe's divide and rule strategy. Mutambara gloated and bragged last year to a group of Zimbabweans and journalists in the US among them The Zimbabwe Times's editor Geoff Nyarota that if his political career fails to work out he can always go back to work in the US because he has a green card and when he was asked why he was silent about developments in his home country during the more than ten years he spent in the united states he reportedly said, 'I don't believe in talking or criticizing I rather act,some of you are illegal here but make a lot of noise.'
Legal expects say Mutambara who lost his first bid for parliament could be
served with a Notice of Intent to Revoke, (NOIR) under the same law the US
is currently using to revoke residence permits of those who assisted the Nazi in Germany and went to live in the United States and acquired the much
sought after permanent residence card. The U.S. Has been revoking the citizenship of all those with past Nazi involvement and to date the United States has deported and revoked students permits of 37 individuals with close links to ZANU PF bigwigs and those perceived to be assisting Mugabe 's regime.
The U.S. already has financial and travel penalties in place against more than 170 citizens and entities with ties to Mugabe. If talks fail the Bush administration is considering punishing the government of Zimbabwe as well
as further restricting the travel and financial activities of Mugabe supporters.
US president George Bush has already promised aid for Zimbabwe if the talks
result in "a new government that reflects the will of the Zimbabwean people," he said, "the United States stands ready to provide a substantial assistance package, development aid and normalization with international financial institutions."
Kubwajinga,
..MDC wangechelewa hapo wangekosa kila kitu.
..Mugabe was acting suicidal kwa kweli. Mzee ana kichwa kigumu sana, and i think he was ready to go Siad Barre's way.
..halafu nadhani wameahidiwa a economic recovery package nzuri. Donald Kaberuka wa ADB alikuwa huko kuzungumza nao kabla hawajasaini huo mkataba.
NB:
..sasa wenye akili wamtafutie Mugabe an honorable exit from politics.
..ubabe, economic sanctions, na kum-demonise, tumeshaona havifanyi kazi.