Note: All NewsBites' excerpts from external news media end with the word: "Refer".

The plight of a Zimbabwean constable
The First Post (March 25, 2007)

Albert Dube is a 34-year-old Zimbabwean police constable stationed
in the country's second city of Bulawayo, and he is a man who is ashamed of his past and fearful for his future.

When he joined the force 12 years ago, his duties covered routine
street patrols and crime prevention. Today he only leaves barracks to
take part in police actions, beating and arresting peaceful demonstrators. And many of those he assaults and threatens are his neighbours, friends,relatives, even close members of his own family.

"I am in a Catch 22 situation," he tells me, when we met in a small
drinking club in the suburb of Makokoba. "People are very angry with us.
They accuse us of being Mugabe's dogs. But we have to carry out our
. orders."

CLICK HERE to read the full report
Refer.

From Prosperity To Abject Misery: How A Nation Is Dying On Its Feet
Timesonline, U.K. (March 24, 2007)

The graveyards of Zimbabwe are the only places blossoming under
Robert Mugabe’s evil gaze.

Teksure and Silibaziso Gumbo weep as they tell their story from the safety of a walled church compound in the township of Mbare in southern Harare. Their house was torn down when President Mugabe launched Operation Murambatsvina (Drive Out Trash) in 2005 to raze slum areas that were opposition strongholds.

Mr Mugabe then banned street vendors, destroying Teksure’s livelihood.
He no longer dares to sell groundnuts because, like his six-year-old
daughter Sarudzai, he has Aids and cannot run from the police. The
family lives in a tiny shelter fashioned from plastic and corrugated iron,
and lacking any sanitation, on a patch of wasteland.

Sarudzai desperately needs sustenance but her parents can give her
little more than a daily bowl of sadza — the maize-meal porridge on
which millions of people in this desperate nation now survive.
They have tried traditional African medicines without success. They
have taken her to the hospital five times, but are turned away for lack
of money. They went to the social welfare office, but it had no paper to
type up a hospital referral. “Obviously she will die. It’s heartbeaking.
It’s so painful,” says Teksure.

Despite her suffering, this tragic little girl turns and waves goodbye
to us as she leaves.

CLICK HERE to read the full report.

CIO Replace Immigration Officers
The Zimbabwe Independent (March 24, 2007)

GOVERNMENT is removing civilians from the Department of
Immigration at border posts and airports and replacing them with
security and intelligence officers in a bid to beef up security.

The move exposes the growing insecurity of a government faced
with social discontent and political unrest.

Government this week started staffing the Immigration Department
with security officers after appointing three senior assistant
commissioners from the police to run the operations of the
department. The move means chief immigration officer, Ellasto
Mugwadi, could be reassigned in government to make way for the
three senior police officers.
Refer.

US Talk Tough On Zimbabwe
SABC NEWS (March 24, 2007)

The United States government says it will continue to support
opposition parties in Zimbabwe, with or without Robert Mugabe,
Zimbabwe president's approval.

A senior state department official said during Congressional hearings
on the political situation in Zimbabwe, that what he called the
repressive regime of President Mugabe is now intimidating diplomats
and journalists.

The government recently threatened to expel diplomats who support
opposition and foreign journalists. Doctors who treated Morgan
Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, and other opposition activists, say the
government is now using thugs to torture its opponents. They brought
evidence before the United States' congress. The doctors, like Douglas
Gwatidzo, now also fear for their own lives.

…Next week they will draft a resolution to condemn the actions of the
government of Mugabe.
Refer.

South Africa Shrugs Off Criticism Over Handling Of Zimbabwe
ABC newsonline (March 24, 2007)

South Africa has rejected criticism levelled at it by Australia and
other Western nations over its handling of the Zimbabwe crisis.
South Africa has accused Australia and other Western nations, as
well as the media, of sensationalism in their commentary on Zimbabwe.
Prime Minister John Howard has called on Zimbabwe's neighbours
to stop pussy-foot diplomacy and to get Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe out.

However, South African Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad has
rejected that criticism and said it was not his government's intention
to make militant statements.

South Africa has appeared reluctant to get involved in the growing
crisis over its border, despite admissions from other African leaders
that Zimbabwe's neighbours should be intervening.
Refer.

Howard Launches Attack On Zimbabwe's Mugabe
Stuff.co.nz (March 24, 2007)
Picture: Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard

CANBERRA: Australia's Prime Minister John Howard has launched an extraordinary attack on Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, calling him a disaster presiding over a "heap of misery".

Mr Howard said he did not care if Mr Mugabe was upset that Australian
diplomats helped a bashed opposition activist flee the country.

The Australian consul in Zimbabwe, Mark Lynch, on Thursday escorted
Sekai Holland and her Australian husband Jim to Harare airport amid
fears the couple might be forcibly detained from leaving or even killed.
Zimbabwe's foreign minister has threatened to expel ambassadors
who give support to the opposition Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).

"I don't care about that," Mr Howard said.
"Frankly, I've run out of patience. Most people have run out of patience
about what's happening in Zimbabwe.
"We pussyfoot around far too much using diplomatic language.”
"This man is a disaster, his country is just a total heap of misery."

CLICK HERE to read the full story.
Refer.

Zimbabwe: Country Falls Out Of World Top 5 Tobacco Exporters
The Zimbabwe Independent (March 24, 2007)

ZIMBABWE has lost its place among the world’s top five tobacco
exporters due to dwindling output largely caused by disturbances
on farms, lack of critical inputs and a fixed exchange rate.

According to January’s global production figures from the US
Department of Agriculture, the top five exporters are now listed as Brazil,
the United States, India, Malawi and China.

Zimbabwe used to occupy the second spot after Brazil as the world’s
top exporter of tobacco.

The country’s tobacco, once the most-sought after by the world’s
blenders, significantly experienced a major decline last year, hitting
an low output figure of 55 million kg last year, the lowest output
since 1972.

Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) president Julius
Ngorima said the decline in output was largely a result of late
disbursement of inputs and a fixed exchange rate which had forced
farmers to reduce the amount of hectarage planted.

Delays in the processing of loan applications with banks had also
weighed down production during the year, he said.
"If inputs are made available on time while attractive incentives are
offered, production would increase," Ngorima said.

The latest global production figures also revealed that the country
had been overtaken by Malawi as the continent’s largest exporter
of tobacco. Zimbabwe is expecting to harvest about 80 million kg of tobacco this year.

Tobacco production in Zimbabwe has been declining over the years
from a peak of just over 236 million kg in 2000 to current levels.
A new breed of black farmers, who displaced former white land
owners under an agrarian reform, is said by experts to lack the
technical expertise and collateral to secure loans and inputs.
In 2001, about 202 million kg went under the hammer while 165,84
million kg, 81,81million kg and 69 million kg were sold in 2002,
2003 and 2004 respectively.

A total of 73,3 million kg and 55,5 million kg were sold in 2005 and
2006 respectively.

CLICK HERE to read more on this story.
Refer.

Zimbabwe: President Hails China's Support for Zimbabwe
Allafrica.com (March 23, 2007)

Picture: Jiang Zemin, President of The Republic Of China

PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday paid tribute to the Chinese government for resolutely supporting Zimbabwe in overcoming economic difficulties, saying China was an "all weather friend".

"A good friend is one who stands by you when you are in trouble.

So a friend in need is a friend in deed," he said.
Cde Mugabe said this at State House in his welcome remarks to a
visiting Chinese delegation from the Ministry of Construction. The two
countries later signed a memorandum of understanding paving way for
greater cooperation in the development of rural infrastructure such as
construction of roads and clinics.

CLICK HERE to read the full report.
Refer.

Zimbabwe threatens to clamp down of foreign media
CNEWS, Canada (March 23, 2007)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - The government warned representatives
of foreign media organizations against "peddling false stories" on
security issues, the state media reported Friday.

The government also threatened to clamp down on unlicensed foreign
reporters making clandestine visits and said erring reporters should
beware of authorities and should "stay away from the security forces"
or face action.

State radio and television, Zimbabwe's sole broadcaster, and
the daily Herald newspaper, a government mouthpiece, singled out
the U.S. network CNN for what it called biased reports on political
unrest and the alleged assault and torture of opposition leaders,
including Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main Movement for
Democratic Change.

The government denied foreign news reports that it was forced
to call in 2,500 paramilitary reinforcements from Angola to help
control unrest because Zimbabwe's own forces were no longer
loyal to President Robert Mugabe.

In a separate statement, the Information Ministry in Harare said
CNN's editorial policy "echoed the United States government's policy
of regime change in Zimbabwe."

Both state television and radio have harshly criticized CNN's Africa
correspondent, Kenya-born Jeff Koinange, now mostly reporting on
Zimbabwe from outside the country.

CLICK HERE to read the full report.
Refer.

Famine Stalks Zimbabwe’s Rural Areas
Swradio Africa (March 23, 2007)

The MDC has urged the international community to commit
critically needed food aid to Zimbabwe to avert a large scale
humanitarian crisis amid reports that people are starving and
dying in rural areas.

A report on BBC radio 4 on Friday said the situation in rural areas
is far worse than most people know, as children and the elderly
are succumbing to hunger. The deputy national chairman of the
MDC Lovemore Moyo, who is also the MP for Matobo in Matebeleland
South, said the situation in the country is grave.
The government last week declared 2007 a drought year but insisted
it would not ask for food assistance because it has the capacity to
feed its own people. Moyo said government is making things worse
by refusing outside help.

‘By not asking for assistance the government is simply afraid that
food distribution by any other organisation will neutralise its support
base in rural areas. So we are saying to the government, if they have
the capacity to feed the nation do so now. Where is the food, give it to
the people now,’ Moyo said.

He feared the regime might be holding on to the last stocks of maize
for use during campaigns for Presidential and Parliamentary elections
that might be held next year. In his Matobo constituency, Moyo said
many villagers have been surviving on nothing for days and he’s
received reports that many are forced to resort to eating leaves.
His party was therefore appealing to donor countries, private companies
and non-governmental organisations for urgent assistance as food has
run out in the country.

Reports say stocks of the staple food crop maize are ‘very low’
countrywide and market prices have risen beyond the reach of most
Zimbabweans. ‘People in the rural areas are on the brink of starvation.
The strongest may survive this the others won’t, as long as Zanu (PF)
uses food as an electioneering tool,’ Moyo said.
Refer.

All Eyes On South Africa Over Zimbabwe
Gulf Times; Doha, Qatar (March 23, 2007)

Picture: Robert Mugabe

JOHANNESBURG: A global outcry over Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s crackdown on opposition leaders has placed an uncomfortable spotlight on South Africa’s policy of “quiet diplomacy”
towards its troubled neighbour.
African leaders have started to join Britain and the US in calling for
some regional resolution to the economic and political turmoil in
Zimbabwe, where the 83-year-old Mugabe has ruled since
independence in 1980.

But South Africa, the regional powerhouse which itself relied on
foreign pressure to bring an end to the whites-only apartheid regime,
insists its neighbour has to chart its own destiny.

While expressing concern this week about the “deteriorating situation”,
the South African government insisted that only dialogue among the
“main political protagonists” in Zimbabwe could bring about a lasting
solution to the current crisis.

African leaders have in the past closed ranks around Mugabe, opting
to remain silent about Zimbabwe’s political and economic slide,
but the worsening situation has prompted some to speak out.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa likened Zimbabwe to a
“sinking Titanic” in need of help, and urged southern African nations
to get involved.

Former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda urged African leaders to
appoint a committee of eminent people to mediate in the crisis.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has directly urged South
Africa to “lend their voice to efforts to stop the political violence that
is ongoing in Zimbabwe”.

Chris Maroleng of the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies
said yesterday that Pretoria’s traditional softly-softly policy towards
Harare had clearly failed to yield positive results.
“South African quiet diplomacy is based on the idea, principally,
that change in Zimbabwe has to be homegrown, that the solution to
the crisis should come from the Zimbabwean people,” Maroleng said.
“The irony is that the space does not exist in Zimbabwe for this kind
of engagement between the various stakeholders,” he said, adding
that Mugabe had “cleverly” succeeded in creating the idea among his
peers that Zimbabwe had been punished by the West for its
programme of “social justice”.

“Countries like South Africa who seek to engage in Zimbabwe get
caught in this pan-African trap that Mugabe has set ... in which they
become puppets of the West,” he said.

Steven Friedman, a research associate at the Institute for Democracy
in South Africa, blames defensiveness for South Africa’s failure to
speak out.
Refer.

Zimbabwe Cleric To Lead Protest Against Mugabe
SABC news, South Africa (March 23, 2007)

Picture: Bishop Pius Ncube

Pius Ncube, the outspoken Zimbabwean Catholic archbishop, has urged his countrymen to fill the streets in protest of their
government. Ncube added that he will lead a campaign of peaceful resistance to force Robert Mugabe, that country’s president, to step
down. He was speaking at a gathering of clerics, pro-democracy activists and diplomats in Harare yesterday.

Meanwhile, South Africa has lashed out at Britain saying it is trying
to use the UN Security Council to settle its own political scores
with Zimbabwe. Government has also reacted to suggestions that,
together with the African heads of state, it is doing little or nothing to
assist the people of Zimbabwe.

SA wins council's favour
This comes as South Africa won yet another technical knock out in
its defence of Zimbabwe not to be brought in the UN Security Council.
Britain has asked the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs to brief the council on the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe.
However, the move was squashed on technicalities.
Refer.

Zimbabwe: Mines Face Collapse As RBZ Fails to Pay
Allafrica.com (March 23, 2007)

ZIMBABWE'S small and medium-scale miners say the controlled
price of gold is financially hurting their operations, a situation that
has forced many of them to stop production.

They are reportedly angry with Reserve Bank governor Gideon
Gono's refusal to review upwards the price of gold as well as the
exchange rate in line with inflation, currently topping 1 700%.

The small-scale gold producers had relentlessly pushed Gono to
increase the gold price during his monetary policy presentation in
January, but were surprised that he did not change anything while
they struggled to stay in business.

The current gold producer price stands at $16 000 per gram.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president, George Kawonza,
confirmed that small and medium-scale miners had decided to
stop gold production until the RBZ gave them a reasonable price.
"It's true that we have decided to stop gold mining until Gono
reviews the producer price of gold. Surely, when the production
cost is higher than the selling price, is it possible to survive in
business?" asked Kawonza.

…Kawonza said small and medium-scale miners wanted the
price of gold to be pegged at $180 000 per gram.
"We had a meeting (this week) and according to our calculations,
with the inflation rate standing at 1 729, 9% we agreed that the gold
price should be pegged at around $180 000 per gram" he said.
Kawonza criticised Gono for not accommodating their views and
concerns.

"The problem with our RBZ governor is that he doesn't want to listen
to grievances while he knows that we are struggling to survive in
business," he said

ZMF represents 28 mining associations in the country.
Chamber of Mines president, Jack Murehwa, whose association
represents the big mining companies in the country, said the price
of gold was worrying.

CLICK HERE to read the full article.
Refer.

Angola Sends ‘Ninja’ Paramilitaries To Bolster Mugabe’s
Security Forces
Zwnews.com (March 22, 2007)

Picture focus: Angola and Zimbabwe unite in terror plots.
Flag combinations arranged by Freeafrica editor.

About 2,500 Angolan paramilitary police, feared in their own
country for their brutality, are to be deployed in Zimbabwe, raising
concerns of an escalation in violence against those opposed to
President Mugabe. Kembo Mohadi, Zimbabwe’s Home Affairs
Minister, confirmed their imminent arrival, with 1,000 Angolans
expected on April 1 and the rest in batches of 500. Angola is regarded
as the most powerful military nation in Africa, after South Africa.
The deployment comes amid reports of concern in President
Mugabe’s Government over the capability of the country’s own
police force to suppress outbreaks of unrest, which are mostly in
Harare’s volatile townships. The townships have been under curfew
for about three weeks; one man has been shot dead and hundreds
of civilians injured. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, and about 30 opposition activists
are still recovering from beatings they received when police
suppressed an attempted rally on March 11.

Mr Mohadi said that he had signed an agreement for the
deployment of the Angolan paramilitaries with General Roberto
Monteiro, the Interior Minister of Angola, last week. “We signed a
memorandum of cooperation last Thursday and it is meant to ensure
public order and security for both our peoples and the whole
southern African region,” he said. The police would be on “an
exchange programme”, he claimed. “We have done that in the past,
and it is not something new.” Police sources who asked not to be
named said previous training exchange programmes with southern
African countries had involved only small numbers of officers at a time.
“This is the first time that there has been such a large group,” said one.
“Our capacity for training is badly run down, and we could never deal
with so many. I doubt if any of them speak English. They can only be
here for riot control and to back up our own riot police.”

To read the full Story, please CLICK HERE.
Refer.

Freeafrica commentary:

It can only be either people that are in denial of Mugabe’s
Gukurahundi past or that are simply ignorant of Mugabe’s past
deeds since they affected only a selected section of the population.

Mugabe recruited North Korean troops to come and train his Fifth
Brigade Army back in the early 1980s. He is simply living his old
ways. No surprise that today he is bringing in a batch similarly
notorious batch from deployment.

Zambia hardens Zim stance
The Financial Gazette ( March 21, 2007)

ZAMBIA has adopted perhaps the strongest position by an African
state on the unfolding Zimbabwean crisis, calling the country a
"sinking Titanic", as more and more allies appeared to lose patience
with President Robert Mugabe's government.

The remarks by Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, which are
likely to be met with a sharp response from Harare, come as the
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc, a traditional ally of
Zimbabwe, plans to undertake a special mission to the country,
according to diplomatic sources.

Mwanawasa, who is the next chairman of the Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC), said the region — which has
all along maintained a soft line on Harare — now needed
"a new approach" in dealing with Zimbabwe.

Although Mwanawasa did not mention Zimbabwe specifically,
his remarks were only barely indirect. He was speaking in Namibia,
where he is on a state visit.

"If truly all SADC member states have a common destiny, they
must all surely rise and lend a helping hand when one of them
should run into serious difficulties. As I am speaking right now,
one SADC country has sunk into such economic difficulties that
it may be likened to a sinking Titanic, whose passengers are
jumping out in a bid to save their lives."

CLICK HERE to read the full report.
Refer.

Go to the topLast Page Next Page