"SPEAK, THE BELOVED COUNTRY!!!"

"POLITICAL POVERTY... IS IT IN THE MDC OR IN THE NGOs?"

2009-02-20T15:54:00.001+02:00

By Tambanavo Chamanyawi (chamanyawi@gmail.com)

Only Satan can account for the money which was raised by NGOs under the ticket of suffering Zimbabweans. Billions of US dollars have for sure disappeared into fat wallets of NGO's god-fathers and their queens. I might not be able to provide empirical evidence in exact figures that are tabulated in graphs or pie charts since the huge transactions were executed under the cover of darkness with only Satan as the witness.

These Ngos all claim to be representing the interest of Zimbabweans. They all preach transparency and democracy, yet they are visibly eluded by the noble issues which they mouth at every turn and event.

At a time when we all expected these pretenders to at least pretend to celebrate the inclusive government which is striving to bring a ray of hope to Zimbabwean, they are now crying foul with the apex of the hoarse voices.

They claimed the decision was not representing the best interest of Zimbabwe. They even fell short of accusing Morgan Tsvangirai of betraying the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe. Their vituperative chorus came to an abrupt silence when the national council of Zimbabwe's largest political party, MDC, unanimously endorsed Tsvangirai's decision to be part of the solution to the problems of Zimbabwe.

This was after the learned Dr. Lovemore Madhuku, of NCA declared 'political poverty' in MDC. When some of us heard such a catchy phrase to describe the state of affairs in MDC we were taken aback. I personally understood Madhuku'statements as an accusation that MDC of practicing too much democracy.

There are however questions begging for answers from Dr. Madhuku. This is not to question Dr. Madhuku's intelligence. He is indisputably one of the best brains ever to emerge from Zimbabwe. But he is not flawless. Some of the mistakes which he committed in his life are so startling for a man of his 'unlimited' astuteness. So he can't pretend to be the panacea or magic potion of Zimbabwe. A few years ago Dr. Madhuku dazed everyone to the hub when he arm-twisted the NCA constitution to allow himself to be the perpetual chairman of an organization which is skirmishing for an ideal constitution of Zimbabwe. Is it not the NCA which is suffering from 'democratic and constitutional poverty?' Be the judge, facts are available in abundance. We need not to mention what happed to his legal practice, because it is on public diary.

All of a sudden the NGOs are now representatives of MDC activists who are rotting in jails. This has become their current meal ticket.

They are not even shy to publicly order Tsvangirai to walk out of the unity government if Roy Bennett, Jestina Mukoko, Gadhi Mudzingwa and others are not released. There is one more thing I want to understand from these characters. Why do they always come up with piece-meal issues? So will they close shop if the activists are freed or they are going to resurrect or recycle another issue to justify their access to the donor green buck?

They seem to be limping from one imaginary disaster to another.

X-rated alarmists of the first grade and unrepentant doomsters of this nature enjoy the current stagnancy.

With some donors reportedly dealing directly with the inclusive government and some closing their purses for good, sending cold shivers down the spines of Ngo sharks.

Some Ngo god-fathers and queens in South Africa are irritatingly trying heterogeneous tunes to seduce stray benefactors.

The latest draw card to fall prey to the prowling and greedy Save Zimbabwe Campaign Now architects is Roy Bennett's arrest. If Bennett is to be released today, they would be thrown back to their drawing-board to strategise and identify any slight prospect on their fleecing radar system to exploit again.

Shame! Sis!

This week they were at it again at University of Wits's Great hall, exhibiting their exaggerated and overstated 'concern' over Bennett's incarceration.

The ever tearful, Pastor Willian Mugabe, who is part of the squad, ran out of tears, but he tried to howl (wail) without success. I suppose he did not rehearse as much as he had done before prior to the launch of the Save Zimbabwe Campaign Now.

Again no any other credible Zimbabwean spoke. It was Khumi Naidoo, Nondumiso Gasa and Elino Sisulu.

Naidoo, a muslim, used the platform to flaunt his 21 days of fasting 'for the suffering people of Zimbabwe'.

O-oh excellent Naidoo, you have a well placed heart thank you for loving Zimbabweans this much.

But let me take you down your memory lane. Some of us are failing to believe what is surfacing now. Civicus left people at the vortex of Zanu PF's firing line. Yes! Trust me, this is it! It is not clear if this was deliberate or genuine carelessness or both. Civicus nicodimusly video taped people in the streets of Zimbabwe in November before secretly flying back to the safety of South Africa. People aired their anger about the way Robert Mugabe is mismanaging the country in Naidoo's TIME2ACT video. Guess what Civicus did with the video? Civicus organized a huge launch, publicly released and distributed it exposing people interviewed to retribution by Zanu PF thugs. No effort was done to conceal the faces or identities of the people interviewed.

O-oh my God! Some of them have abandoned their homes and are now in hiding. The whereabouts of Florence who was interviewed in Gweru are not known. We hope that she fled to South Africa and is suffering and toiling at Methodist Central Church in Johannesburg Central, yet the TIME2ACT video that brought her headaches opened doors to donor cremation. She neither tasted a cent nor a rand from the proceeds. A-ah vakomana, ndizvovo here izvi?

MDC cannot afford to surrender their space in government simply because Zanu PF hardliners are screwing them up. History would judge the MDC leadership harshly if they take heed to Ngo pressure to abandon the people of Zimbabwe to Zanu PF's mercy. The electorate gave MDC the mandate to run the country and it would be naïve for the leadership of MDC to accept any excuse of what ever form to dessert their sacrosanct mandate. MDC is not in government by invitation. Zanu PF and Welshman Ncube's grouping are the only renegades in government by default. This is not only a fact, but a public song.

If ever there is any party which should be called to leave the government, it is Zanu PF and the Ncube click. This is obvious logic. Zanu PF can arrest as much MDC members and leaders as they can, but that excuse is not good enough to justify a reverse jive on the part of the mandated party.

In shona there is an idiom which says Ukaramwira makudo munda, anopedza zviyo zvose kuti tsvayi, loosely translated as; if you surrender your maize-farm to baboons they would consume all the crops.

PLEASE KINDLY CHECK OTHER POSTINGS BY CHAMANYAWI JUST BELOW!!!

Authur Mutambara, Zim's deputy premier, the world's luckiest politician!!!

2009-02-08T15:51:00.005+02:00

(Mutambara is the one in full black!)

by Tambanavo Chamanyawi (chamanyawi@gmail.com)

Some people are lucky. For real, Authur Oliver Mutambara is fortunate. The Mechatronics professor will be the deputy prime minister of Zimbabwe from February 13. Isn't shocking? He virtually did nothing that deserves him the post. Mutambara will absolutely make it in the genuine book of records as the world's most auspicious politician.

History is littered with tales of how politicians toil, rot in jails or had escaped the hangmen's noozes for laying claim to higher offices. Nelson Mandela of South Africa sat in solitary conferment for 27 years, Zanu PF's Robert Mugabe lost 11 years of his life. Morgan Tsvangirai glared death in its ugly face after Mugabe raised sedition incriminations against him. Jacob Zuma, the ANC president is still limping from one court room to another for daring to declare interest in the presidential post.
Olesagum Obasanjo of Nigeria spent time behind bars after the late military dictator, Sani Abacha detained him.

Fredrick Chiluba of Zambia did not have the best of times when he took on Kenneth Kaunda. Jonas Savimbi of Angola even died before laying his hand on the throne. But Samanyika, aka Wasu was accessed the job through a phone call by the controversial constitutional professor, Ncube. What a through pass? Just Imagine!

He never even contested the presidency, but chickened out, opting for a safer battle zone in Zengeza East where he polled 1,322 votes, trailing way behind Morgan Tsvangirai and Zanu PF candidates. But the former visiting fellow of Massachutes Institute of Technology will be sworn in as Tsvangirai's deputy this month. Many would agree that politics is a game of luck and power, but Authur's rise (if ever he has risen) to higher office left neither any trace nor formula. In his bid for political relevance, the man lost his moral compass, a sad development which will prove to be a recipe for future disaster in his political career.

I love Arthur's 'Catholic God'. He plentifully rewards him for doing utterly nothing, zero, and zilch. His prayers are really being well acknowledged and answered. The dearly departed ancestors of the indubitably luminous Robotics professor must be working over-time in their graves.

All the Rhodian Scholar had to do was to accept a well-calculated offer from Welsman Ncube to come and be a credible Shona face of a rebellion against Tsvangirai. He also had to do Ncube another small favour. To elbow-out the ambitious but ungifted Gift Chimanikire, who turned out to be a liability to the Ncube formation. Ncube went out shopping for Chimanikire's replacement and 'bought' Authur.

Shame!

In a hire purchase agreement, Mutambara was promised a parliamentary seat in exchange for his tribal services and obviously not for his robotics expertise. Instead, Authur got more than what he bargained for. A deputy prime minister post!

Imagine!

Of course, Tsvangirai's deputy, Thokozani Khupe is also another opportunist who never dreamt of being a deputy prime minister, until the split dawned, but at least she was persecuted by the Mugabe regime. Not even a single slap was administered on Arthur's face by Zanu PF thugs since his startling appearance in Zimbabwe's political furnace.
When Tsvangirai, Lovemore Madhuku, Grace Kwinjeh, Sekai Holland and others were arrested in March 2007 in Highfields and savagely flogged, Arthur, who was also in detention never, sustained even a single bruise. Whilst others were dripping with blood and tears, Authur did not even loose a sweat. Yes! This is a fact. Check with Mrs Holland or Dr. Madhuku. It is common knowledge that Authur even asked the police to beat him up as well so as to beef up his residual and ailing credibility.

And this is the man who would be your Deputy Prime Minister in the next few days. Wait for a moment; don't feel bad about this development. It's not your fault. You never elected him. Whose Deputy Prime Minister is he anywhere? Of course not mine, maybe yours.

Others are real born with silver spoons in their mouths. The 43 year old Oliver surely must be having gold-coated blood flowing in his veins.

Very soon his work place would be Munhumutapa building. It is now certain. Can we all imagine, Zanu PF characters, like Emmerson Mnangangwa, Ignatius Chombo and Didymus Mutasa saluting Mutambara as Shefu? O-oh his gods are shining dazzlingly at him. Who doubts that the Zengeza East senatorial aspirant can easily make millions if he tries his hand in lotto?

Mutambara came to prominence in the late 1980s as a student leader at the University of Zimbabwe. His celebrity status was not a result of anything spectacular. All UZ student leaders have always staged length demonstrations. All he had to do was to jump from his third floor room in Complex three's hall of residence. Arthur was apparently frightfully fleeing from a late night knock on his door. The bald headed Arthur later made everyone to believe that his 'nicodimus visitors' were members of the Mugabe's dreaded CIO.
And for that, the man would re-write Zimbabwe's history by being the second black deputy Prime Minister of former Rhodesia. The first black deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe is the late Simon Vengai Muzenda.

After scooping a Rhodes scholarship alongside with Simukai Utete, daughter of Mugabe's Permanent Secretary, Charles Utete, Arthur disappeared from the political rudder of Zimbabwe for almost 20 years.

His first port of call was Merton College where he obtained a PhD in Robotics and Mechatronics. Thereafter he prostituted his services in various institutions before being parachuted back to Zimbabwe to lead the Ncube break away.

What he is now is a clear shadow of his former self. But the man is destined for Mzee's boots.

End..

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO CHAMANYAWI's "THE NGO SHARKS THAT FEED ON THE ZIM CRISIS!"

"SMILE MDC SMILE..... BUT WILL MORGAN DELIVER IMMEDIATELY???" by CHAMANYAWI!

"NGO sharks feeding on Zimbabwe crisis!"

2009-02-08T15:29:00.003+02:00

by Tambanavo Chamanyawi(chamanyawi@gmail.com)

The solution to Zimbabwe problems is so near but slippery.

A lot of interlocking spurs are derailing a quick solution to the calamities that have been ravaging Zimbabwe.

All the problems are man made. None of them are natural disasters. The media is however awash with how Robert Mugabe's government architected the catastrophe. Acres of newspaper space fed us with information of how Mugabe ran-down the economy of the once prosperous Zimbabwe and how political freedom and other liberties dried up under Mugabe's 29 year old administration. This exhausted version, though true, is incomplete without the insertion of the role of the erudite NGO Sharks.

A huge bazaar for calamities churned out by Zanu PF emerged in the last few years.

A vague, frictional and profiteering correlation between Zanu PF regime and Civic Societies sprung to life. Scores of NGOs plying the Zimbabwe business boomed into existence from nowhere like vultures circling their prey.

Some of the best minds of Zimbabwe opted not to join political front of the struggle against Mugabe, but opted for the lucrative Non Governmental Organization (NGOs) sector. They argue that the political space in MDC is too small to contain everyone. Some profess that they could best exploit their capacities in a non-partisan industry than joining a political organization. A noble decision (you would agreed), if their intentions were genuine anywhere.

NGOs trading in Zimbabwe problems have positioned themselves as enthusiastic "salesmen of the stock"…The plight of the innocent and begging Zimbabweans being the stock, and the manufacturer being gluttonous Zanu PF Zealots. And there has been a steady supply of "the products" in the past few years as Zanu PF's manufacturing machines went into high momentum leaving behind a trail of fatalities – subjecting everyone to maddening poverty. And this is being turned into a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder.

If one is lucky to have escaped the current Zim quagmire earlier (like this writer), and have had the opportunity to have driven pass the Methodist Church in central Johannesburg, you certainly would have witnessed droves of squalid-looking and struggling Zimbabweans being video recorded everyday and paraded as the "needy people." Well crafted project proposals are employed as keys into the tills of the ever-floating donor rites. The NGOs sharks have perfected the art of deceitfully siphoning the world's hardest currency into the 'Zimbabwe struggle' while bleeding, cholera infected, homeless and hungry Zimbabweans are used as mere statistics to garner financial compassion from benefactors. The actual authentic recipients of the donors' funds are rapidly and expediently forgotten as soon as the project proposals pay off. They only regain statistical prominence when another project proposal snare is needed. The avaricious sharks vanish into their air-conditioned offices, opulent neighbourhoods and ritzy German made sedans after reaping...the cycle continues.

Some NGOs are masquerading as cohorts of the all time powerful MDC to gain credibility so as to milk the "green buck" from credulous donors.

Some NGOs have gone to the extent of hiring "larger than life" and high-flying individuals to make appearances on their launches. The Zimbabwe 'crisis commodity' is so appealing and easy to sell. Even South African NGOs are overtly baiting for the "green buck" using the Zimbabwe crisis as the clasp or hook.

Recently another South African NGO, code named 'Save Zimbabwe Now' mushroomed into life in an emotionally charged and stage-managed launch at the Johannesburg Central Methodist Church. Prominent individuals like Graca Machel, Elino Sisulu, Venetia Govender, Khumi Naidoo and Nondumiso Gasa took centre stage as struggling Zimbabweans get reduced to flaccid spectators hearing their tribulations being articulated by the NGO protagonists. In an occasion that lasted almost three hours, not a single suffering Zimbabwean spoke, except for Pastor William Mugabe, (strangely sharing the same name with nemesis of the struggling Zimbabwean people) who broke down for the cameras.

Hundreds of Zimbabweans squatting in the church became instant statistics for use and abuse during the launch.

One can not deny that some of these activists genuinely toil for the people however the opulence and gullibility of some of them is not difficult to detect. Others have vested interests extending to mining consortia in Zimbabwe working hand in hand with Zanu PF. Yes! I said that. Is it difficult to believe…?

Some have become so affluent over the years beyond the imagination of the struggling Zimbabweans they parade.

All is bound to come to a sudden crushing end with the coming to life of the imminent inclusive government in Zimbabwe. The "stock" is going to disappear and business will take a nosedive. Human rights project proposals will cease to be keys to any till and thousands of Zimbabwe's best brains will find themselves passengers of a stationary gravy train.

The Zanu PF manufacturing machinery is boisterously grinding to a halt and virtually cutting off 'crisis supplies.' Donors would be left with no alternative except to seal their wallets as supplies dry up

This is exactly the reason why dominant, eloquent and flamboyant characters in the NGO sector are speedy to cry foul over Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to be part of a solution to the problems of Zimbabwe. Some are already mouthing out serious assertions of deception on Tsvangirai's part. They claim the inclusive government is against the wishes of the electorate and agitate for Tsvangirai's absolute take over. Another noble argument, but how long will this take?

End…

ALSO POSTED AT "ZIMONLINE"!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO CHAMANYAWI's "MUTAMBARA... THE WORLD'S LUCKIEST POLITICIAN!"

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO GO TO "POLITICAL POVERTY.... IS IT IN THE MDC OR IN THE NGOs?"

STATEMENT BY MDC PRESIDENT TSVANGIRAI ON THE DECISION TO JOIN GOVERNMENT!

2009-02-04T12:51:00.003+02:00

TODAY, the MDC's National Council met as we once again find ourselves at an historic crossroads in our decade-long struggle for democracy.

Throughout this struggle, the MDC has been guided by the principles of democracy and by the will of the people. This campaign is neither easy nor straightforward and often we have had to change the fronts on which we wage the struggle in response to changing circumstances and conditions.

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

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

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

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

Nonetheless, we have consistently tabled our outstanding issues to SADC and we have remained committed to finding a negotiated settlement to the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

This process culminated in the SADC summit on Monday 26th January, where the Southern African leaders made the following resolutions:

I. The parties shall endeavour to cause Parliament to pass the Constitutional Amendment 19 by 5 February 2009.

II. The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Ministers shall be sworn in by 11 February 2009:

III. The Ministers and Deputy Ministers shall be sworn in on 13 February 2009, which will conclude the process of the formation of the inclusive government.

IV. The Joint-Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC), provided for in the Global Political Agreement, shall be activated immediately. The first meeting of JOMIC shall be convened by the facilitator on 30 January 2009 and shall, among other things, elect the chairpersons;

V. The allocation of ministerial portfolios endorsed by the SADC Extraordinary Summit held on 9 November 2008 shall be reviewed six (6) months after the inauguration of the inclusive government.

VI. The appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General will be dealt with by the inclusive government after its formation.

VII. The negotiators of the parties shall meet immediately to consider the National Security Bill submitted by the MDC-T as well as the formula for the distribution of governors:

While we felt that these resolutions do not represent an acknowledgement of all our issues, they do represent significant concessions on the part of Zanu PF and a recognition by SADC that our demands are justified as a first step towards a sustainable solution to the Zimbabwe crisis.

Our National Council's meeting today was therefore convened to evaluate the party's position in relation to the inclusive government.

The concessions made by Zanu PF incorporate four out of the five outstanding issues. These four issues are the allocation of Provincial Governors, the National Security Legislation, Constitutional Amendment 19 and the breaches to the Global Political Agreement.

Thus, the parties have agreed on the sharing of Provincial Governors portfolios and have already met to begin negotiations on the allocation formula.

Similarly, with regard to the National Security legislation, the negotiators have met to discuss the draft bill submitted by the MDC.

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

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

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

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

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

In light of these resolutions, todays's debate centred around two issues:
Firstly, what will allow us the best opportunity to continue to pursue our goal of achieving a free, democratic Zimbabwe in line with the roadmap from our Congress of March 2006?

and;

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

Let us make no mistake, by joining an inclusive government, we are not saying that this is a solution to the Zimbabwe crisis, instead our participation signifies that we have chosen to continue the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe in a new arena.

This agreement is a significant milestone on our journey to democracy but it does not signify that we have arrived at our destination – we are committed to establishing a democratic Zimbabwe regardless of how long that struggle takes us.
We have the majority in parliament, we control all the main urban councils and many rural councils, we will have control of 13 ministries and a presence in the key decision-making bodies of the executive.

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

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

• To move towards a new, democratic Zimbabwe by ensuring that a people-driven constitution is crafted and adopted.

• That this inclusive government will serve as a transitional authority leading to free and fair elections.

• The restoration of the people's freedoms through creating democratic space, restoring the rule of law and basic human rights.

• The stabilisation and rebuilding of the economy and the provision of all essential services, in particular health care and education.

• To maintain the principles of the working people's convention established in 1999.

• To ensure that we begin a process of national healing and integration.

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

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

Now is the time for us to put aside our political differences , to prioritise the welfare of the people in both our policies and our actions and to focus on stabilisation, development, progress and democratization.

In this, I know that we have the support of the vast majority of Zimbabweans, both in Zanu PF and the MDC, in the civil service,the workers and the business community and we look forward to working with you to rebuild our great nation.

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

We would like to acknowledge the support and solidarity that we have had from trade unions, civil society and democratic peoples' and governments all over the world. We appreciate this support and know that we could not have come this far without them.
Most importantly of all, we have had the support of the people. A people who have stood by their right to live in freedom, with access to jobs, health care, education and prosperity in such a principled and peaceful manner.

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

We will deliver a New Zimbabwe to the people.

The struggle continues.

I thank you

>>>SOURCE OF STATEMENT<<<

IS IT "ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL?"

2009-02-02T13:09:00.003+02:00

Please kindly watch this space!

Rev Mufaro Stig Hove.

Cell: 0791463039 RSA.

REV MUFARO HOVE'S PERSONAL APPEAL!

2009-02-02T12:35:00.004+02:00

Please note that it did not come easily to me that I should make a personal appeal!

I tried for the past few months to avoid making one.

I'm practically a destitute now and am not able to pay my rent to my landlord for February, 2009 and today is the 2nd of February. I haven't even a cent to buy food for myself let alone to send to my family in Zimbabwe.

Please kindly assist me in any way you can. I'm preparing a submission entitled "The cost of this struggle" and will post it on one of my sites.

If you are kind-hearted and would like to assist and communicate further with me, please send me a message to mufarostighove@gmail.com and you will receive an automatic response on how you can assist me.

I have further concerns eg the safety of those who "talked too much" (like myself) when we return to Zimbabwe, inevitably.

God bless you as you think over this, my humble appeal.

Mufaro Stig Hove...Rev.

mufarostighove@gmail.com

Cell: 0791463039 RSA. (ie 0027791463039.)

PICTURES OF REV MUFARO HOVE'S RUBBER BULLET WOUNDS FROM BEING SHOT AT SADC PRETORIA DEMO!

2009-01-29T12:28:00.013+02:00

Attached are four photos taken today, Thursday 29th Jan, 2009 of the nearly-healed wounds from the rubber-bullets.

For my Interview with VOA Studio you can the check the following link:

VOA REPORT ON THE SADC PRETORIA DEMO!!!

I've not much to say!

M S Hove...Rev.

Cell: 0791463039 RSA.

www.zimfinalpush.blogspot.com

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING WHICH WAS PUBLISHED IN "THE HERALD" IN ZIMBABWE!!!

MDC-T rioters shot
Posted: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

CAJ News-Herald Reporter
January 27, 2009
The Herald
SOUTH African police yesterday opened fire on a group of rowdy MDC-T supporters who attempted to break into Union Buildings, venue of the Sadc Extraordinary Summit, wounding dozens and arresting 30 others.

South African police had to open fire with rubber bullets on about 1 000 MDC-T supporters, who comprised South African-based activists and their counterparts bussed from Zimbabwe, who claimed they wanted to confront President Mugabe, accusing him of running down Zimbabwe and stalling the process towards the envisaged inclusive Government.

Those wounded were hospitalised at Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria while those arrested were later discharged after questioning.

CAJ News quoted one Reverend Mufaro Hove, who identified himself as Patron of the Youth Movement of Zimbabwe, as saying the group wanted to break into the summit venue.

"We wanted to break into the Union Buildings to confront President Mugabe. The police reacted swiftly and started firing rubber bullets at us. Women and children were injured," Hove, who was among those shot, was quoted as saying.

Among those arrested were 12 MDC-T regional and national leaders including deputy national spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo, MDC-T spokesperson for South Africa Sibanengi Dube, organising secretary Philemon Moyo and his deputy Rodgers Mudarikwa.

Observers condemned the actions of the hooligans saying they had shown utter disrespect for the regional leaders gathered in attempting to break into a meeting of heads of state and government.

Mandla Mlalazi, who called The Herald from Tshwane, said he hoped the opposition supporters had learnt a lesson.

"There is a difference between picketing and thuggery. Attempting to break into a meeting of heads of state was not only the height of folly as security officers can shoot anyone who threatens such a high-profile meeting, even with live ammunition. The rowdy behaviour also exposed the violence that has become the stock-in-trade of the opposition elements in Zimbabwe."

The group that comprised members of the Revolutionary Youth Movement of Zimbabwe, MDC-T, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (South Africa Chapter), Zimbabwe Exiles Forum and other civic society organisations danced and sang at the venue of the talks demanding the removal of the facilitator, Cde Thabo Mbeki, whom they accused of siding with President Mugabe. The group exposed the MDC-T game plan, in an interview with CAJ News, where they said they wanted the matter to be taken to the African Union and then the UN.

"The talks being mediated by (Cde) Mbeki will not yield anything. This is the reason we are calling for both the United Nations and the African Union to intervene," Hove was quoted as saying. Observers say MDC-T has been frustrating the process in the hope that it will be referred to the AU en route to the UN, where the British having been itching for an excuse to have Zimbabwe on the agenda of the Security Council as a prelude to invasion. – CAJ News-Herald Reporter.

EX http://raceandhistory.com/selfnews/viewnews.cgi?newsid1233069843,11905,.shtml

ARSONISTS ATTEMPT TO KILL MY FAMILY IN ZIM!!!

2008-12-27T11:02:00.005+02:00

On Xmas morning (two days ago), I phoned my wife in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe just to say Merry Xmas. I was phoning from a Public Telephone somewhere in Gauteng, RSA.

She then told me unknown persons had broken down the front door and threw a petrol bomb at about 1 am the previous night.

Everybody who was in the house managed to escape through the kitchen door but the furniture ie sofas, the TV, DVd player etc were all burnt to ahes.

They called the Police and all the Police asked was, "Is there anyone who does Opposition Politics here?" When told "Yes" they said "That could be why" and left!

I ask whoever reads this message to phone my wife or send her an sms of encouragement on her cell: 00263913290109 ( ie 0913290109 Zim) or 00263912598773 (ie 0912598773) or landline 002636729842 (067-29842 in Zim)

That was their welcome to Xmas. I sincerely thank the leadership of the MDC and all friends who arrived to give her comfort etc. during that difficult, traumatic time.

I'm hastily aranging for their relocation to be here in RSA with me!

M S Hove...Rev.

Cell: 0791463039 RSA.

PLEASE ALSO KINDLY VISIT "MY WIFE YOU HURT ME!"

"I WISH NO MERRY XMAS TO NOBODY!" by Rev M S Hove!

2008-12-23T14:49:00.003+02:00

If you go back into the past year, what do you see? What have you done? What was your contribution for the Zim situation?

If this week was your last in this world and you left us...what legacy are you leaving behind?

What legacy is Robert Mugabe leaving behind? Morgan Tsvangirai? Arthur Mutambara?

Lets come closer to members in these mailing lists.........

Baba Molokele what legacy are you leaving behind?

Baba Zunga? What's your legacy? 100% per cent commitment to the Zim cause?

Rev Hove..... what's your legacy? Yes...... what would I leave behind for you remember me with?

While thinking about how to answer that question..... lets go now to the next one........

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO NEXT YEAR WHICH YOU DIDN'T DO THIS YEAR?

I've my resolutions and many are related to the Zim Crisis!

What are Robert Mugabe's plans for 2009? To kill more MDC members? To add more to the list of disappearances... Rashiwe Guzha....... Ghandi Mudzingwa...... Jestina Mukoko etc etc.

What are Morgan Tsvangirai's plans? We are sure we know them.... but how do we individually and collectively assist him? Assisting Tsvangirai may mean starting a new radical Organization to complete the process!

I do not wish you a Merry Xmas....... NO!

I wish to hear what plans you have to add value to the struggle for a New Democratic Zimbabwe!

AGAIN NO MERRY XMAS TO NOBODY! (Ghetto English!)

Rev Mufaro Stig Hove.

Cell: 0791463039 RSA!

"BATTLE OF THE TWO ELLIOTS THAT NEVER WAS" Elliot Pfebve!

2008-12-08T11:44:00.007+02:00

SOURCE ONE OF ARTICLE!!!

SOURCE TWO OF ARTICLE

NB: PLEASE KINDLY VISIT LINKS AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE!!!

The death of Elliot Manyika, MP Bindura, Political Commissar (ZANU PF), brings mixed feelings in the political landscape of Zimbabwe. Killed by a road accident seven years after the death of Border Gezi, MP Bindura, Political Commissar (ZANU PF), also by road accident on the same Masvingo Road, cannot be coincidence.

What is of coincidence is that I am the only person who contested against both these evil men who died trying to revive an evil political party, ZANU (PF), led by an evil president Robert Mugabe. Is this the end of ZANU (PF)? Is there more infighting internally than what meets the eye? Has God finally answered our prayers? Who is going to be the next ZANU (PF) Political Commissar?

Killings and murders are not new in ZANU (PF), a party founded on revolutionary struggle concepts but which failed to embrace change after independence in a fast changing global political sphere. Today we can safely conclude that ZANU (PF), the monster, is on a monstrous irreversible road to doom, as it enters a new phase in a “struggle within struggles”.

Elliot Manyika should have known that if you live by evil you should be prepared to die by evil, while he was playing both satan and god’s role and failing to understand that above all there is GOD. He died doing the job he liked most; murdering people, and God saw it fit to reclaim His glory be recalling him to answer for his misdeeds.

Imagine what would have become of Zimbabwe if Elliot Manyika successfully rejuvenated ZANU (PF) after the December Bindura Congress? Zimbabweans have suffered enough at the hands of ZANU (PF). Unfortunately Robert Mugabe, the despot continues to live, even beyond human expectation. At 84 he seems to defy death. No doubt our prayers will continue to be answered.

While I was contesting against these brutal citizens of Zimbabwe, Border Gezi and Elliot Manyika, for political office both men condemned me to death merely for exercising my democratic right to a better Zimbabwe. I still believe that the same dream is closer now than when both men were still alive.

This is a rare occasion were human beings can be more useful dead than alive. Border Gezi was the architect of the Youth Militia and the setting up of torture camps; Elliot Manyika rolled out the programme to others provinces where people were tortured and killed and women were raped.

Today those tactics remain the pillar of ZANU (PF)’s political strategy, and Zimbabwe stands shamed internationally by the abduction of Jestina Mukono, who every Zimbabwean who had access to a television knew as the face of news. Her organisation was documenting the violence and the perpetrators of what has been described as an orgy of violence by Zanu (PF).

From the cold blooded murder of my brother Matthew at the hands of both Border Gezi and Elliot Manyika, to the murder of Trymore Midzi, one of my campaign managers by Elliot Manyika, between the political commissars Mashonaland Central was traumatised by the highest number of unexplained disappearances, murders and maimings of innocent civilians.

In July 2001 Elliot Manyika, personally plotted to assassinate me and Morgan Tsvangirai at Chiveso village in Bindura during a by-election. The military style ambush was meant to exert maximum casualty to MDC leadership since Manyika new that almost all the top leadership of MDC was in the convoy.

Had Manyika succeeded, he could have successfully disseminated MDC and we could be talking of different party at the moment. Many people were injured, and, although there were no confirmed death on the spot, many died from their injuries in hospital as a result of that incident.

I have included here a few citations from previous articles to show how Manyika played both the judge and the executioner:

Trymore Midzi, an MDC youth leader in Bindura, about 60km (38 miles) north of the capital, Harare, died after being beaten and slashed through the head with a machete.

Elliot Pfebve, the MDC spokesman, said Mr Midzi's assailants were 20 supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF. Mr Pfebve said the victim was taken to hospital after the assault on Friday, then transferred to Harare and given 70 stitches to the head, before dying there on Monday” (The Independent December 27, 2001)

“… the remains of Moffat Soka Chiwaura, an MDC supporter abducted in Bindura in December, were found in January. (ZHR NGO Forum February 2002).

“Elliot Manyika, an old-guard former diplomat, is contesting the seat for Zanu-PF against the opposition's Elliot Pfebve, a young computer engineer, in what is dubbed "The Battle of the Elliots".

Mr Manyika's supporters were out in force last weekend when they ambushed Mr Tsvangirai as he travelled in a 15-car cavalcade to a rally on the outskirts of Bindura.

Although Mr Tsvangirai emerged unhurt, five of his supporters were injured and 10 vehicles were damaged, including one reduced to ashes after Zanu-PF supporters set it ablaze”(Telegraph July 29, 2001).

“Zanu PF youths operating from seven bases in the Bindura constituency are allegedly raping young girls and women, while assaulting suspected supporters of the MDC as the campaign for the parliamentary by-election hots up.

Zanu PF's Elliot Manyika is pitted against MDC's Elliot Pfebve. The seat fell vacant following the death of Border Gezi in a car accident in April. The by-election is set for 28 and 29 July” (Zimnews July 10, 2001)

While my response to the death of Elliot Manyika (the other Elliot) might dismay others who were benefiting from his brutality and hold to power, let me remind them that Zimbabweans in particular will not mourn a brutal leader who has been the composer and singer of our deep routed poverty. Manyika, you failed to respect human life, when you were still alive, you tried to kill me, you murdered my brother and now you are dead, it’s a price worth paying is it not it?

After all it was the battle of the two Elliot that never was!

Elliot Pfebve, the survivor

PLEASE ALSO CHECK 1.Crisis In Zimbabwe Video Complied By Zimbabwe's Solidarity Peace Trust AND 2.The Unleashing of Violence:
A report on violence in Zimbabwe
as at May 15, 2000

"Property Rights An Avenue To Agricultural Development" by Hillary Kundishora!

2008-09-02T19:07:00.003+03:00

Entrepreneurship, much of it attached to agriculture, will be critical to ensure economic growth, poverty reduction, and sustainable natural resource management in the world's least developed countries, especially in Africa. Access to improved agricultural technology, infrastructure, and output as well as factor markets will increase the returns and therefore encourage such investment. Assuring investors that they will be able to reap the returns from investing through secure property rights will be fundamental to increase land-related investment.

According to Di-Masi (2008) in his paper Defining Entrepreneurship, The earliest definition of entrepreneurship, dating from the eighteenth century, used it as an economic term describing the process of bearing the risk of buying at certain prices and selling at uncertain prices. Other, later commentators broadened the definition to include the concept of bringing together the factors of production. This definition led others to question whether there was any unique entrepreneurial function or whether it was simply a form of management. Later, writers including Schumpeter (1934) and later Drucker (1985) added the concept of 'creative destruction' or innovation to the definition of entrepreneurship. This innovation could be process innovation, market innovation, product innovation, factor innovation, and even organisational innovation. Vosloo (1994) later described entrepreneurship as involving the creation of new enterprises, exploring the environment, identifying opportunities for improvement, mobilising resources, implementing action and that the entrepreneur is the founder.

Entrepreneurship best flourishes in an environment that provides a favourable free enterprise atmosphere. One important characteristic of successful economies in Europe, America and South-East Asia is a free enterprise society underpinned by private property rights (Lau. J and Klan. L, 1990). Libercap (2008) states that Property rights include a variety of rights, including the right to exclude none-owners from access, the right to appropriate and use, and the right to sell or otherwise transfer the resources to others. Libercap further posits that property rights affect economic behaviour and performance in two ways, firstly by assigning ownership to valuable assets and designating who bears the rewards and costs of resources-use decision. Secondly, property rights structure incentives economic behaviour in society by allocating decision making authority. Libercap's proposition suggests that entrepreneurship is related to property rights.

In 1999 Zimbabwe experienced farm invasions by land hungry citizens, whose historical causes date back from the pre- independence era. This was later followed by the fast track land reform programme, which sought to fast track and formalise the settlement of the land hungry citizens. Prior the commercial agricultural sector was dominated by white commercial farmers whose majority had claim to the land through title deeds registered with the registrar of deeds. The dominant property rights system in commercial agriculture then included a variety of rights, including the right to use, rights to benefit rent, the right to exclude non-owners and the right to sell or transfer the property to a third party.

The land reform programme on the other hand guaranteed the beneficiaries the rights to use, a right to exclude none-owners and no right to sell or transfer the land to third parties and no right to benefit rent from the property. The rights were claimed through an offer letter or 99 year lease signed by the Minister responsible for Lands and land reform. The paradigm shift was that the Minister responsible for lands and land reform had the final right to benefit rent, transfer or sell the land. This shift meant the new farmers enjoyed lesser rights than their predecessors.

In a modern market economy, the monetary value of land emanates from its ability to sell or transfer it to a third party. The absence of the right to sell undermines the value of the land because the market is unable to allocate a monetary value to it. This explains why the offer letter is not acceptable as collateral security to providers of investment capital such as commercial banks and developmental institutions. Commercial agriculture is in no ways unique from other productive economic sectors the presents and absence of private property rights influences the farmer's entrepreneurship.

Property rights influences the economic behaviour of entrepreneurs because of its direct link to risk associated with the Minister withdrawing the offer letter or 1999 year lease for other reason as he or she might deem appropriate in the face of national interest. The risk is further worsened by a recent constitutional provision empowering the Minister to proceed without the owner of the designated land challenging the take over of the land in the courts of law;

…..3) The provisions of any law referred to in section 16(1) regulating the compulsory acquisition of land that is in force on the appointed day, and the provisions of section 18(1) and (9), shall not apply in relation to land referred to in subsection (2)(a) except for the purpose of determining any question related to the payment of compensation referred to in subsection (2)(b), that is to say, a person having any right or interest in the land—
(a) Shall not apply to a court to challenge the acquisition of the land by the State, and no court shall entertain any such challenge…

Constitutional of Zimbabwe Amendment (No 17) Act (2007)

…..3) The provisions of any law referred to in section 16(1) regulating the compulsory acquisition of land that is in force on the appointed day, and the provisions of section 18(1) and (9), shall not apply in relation to land referred to in subsection (2)(a) except for the purpose of determining any question related to the payment of compensation referred to in subsection (2)(b), that is to say, a person having any right or interest in the land—
(b) Shall not apply to a court to challenge the acquisition of the land by the State, and no court shall entertain any such challenge…

The enormous power wielded by government bureaucrats through the land allocations committees and the Minister increases uncertainty and risk in commercial agriculture. In particular any change of guard or a major shift in land ownership policy changes from the present government which masterminded the land reform. The matter at stake if Africa is to realise its 'dream' is to cultivate a land based economic model of moving away from excessive state based interventions to democratise the economic space. Zimbabwe is a compelling case on the fundamental importance of property rights.

Hillary Kundishora. He is a scholar in Strategic management.

PRES MBEKI MISLEADING THE G8 ON ZIMBABWE!!!

2008-07-12T11:29:00.002+03:00

By Garikai Chimuka

If recent media reports carried out by leading international press to the effect that South African president, Thabo Mbeki was arguing that a government of national unity to be born under his mediation is the panacea to the Zimbabwean crisis are true, then Mr. Mbeki is clearly misleading the world. What makes the whole issue laughable is his argument that tough global targeted sanctions on the regime that is murdering its on people will lead to civil war in Zimbabwe. Moreover, his assurance that Mugabe is on his way to retirement soon is at best a serious expression of his failure to appreciate the dynamics of the Zimbabwean crisis or at worst a frivolous attempt to defend his friend Mugabe against the people of Zimbabwe. It is in this context that Mr Mbeki must now publicly tell the whole world that his mediation efforts has failed and thus let the African Union and SADC appoint other serious and impartial mediators who can extricate Zimbabwe from the Mugabe –Mbeki made crisis

Mbeki is widely reported to have warned the G8 leaders that any global targeted sanctions against the regime will lead to a civil war in Zimbabwe. This is clearly misplaced.Mr Mbeki must understand that civil war can only break out if there are two or more protagonists who are armed. The truth of the Zimbabwean issue today is that we have a ruling party that has armed and unleashed the army, state security agencies, the militia and so called war veterans against the unarmed people of Zimbabwe whose only crime was to vote for the opposition MDC.It is instructive that even Mbeki clearly knows that the MDC does not have any arms and neither has it any army. Thus what surprises everyone is how Mbeki can predict civil war. He should clearly explain that the illegitimate junta will intensify the genocide that is currently underway in Zimbabwe out of frustration because they stole the people‘s vote but have no capacity to solve the economic problems which are a result of policy kwashiorkor of the Mugabe regime. Such a scenario can never be called civil war. The MDC is clearly committed to a peaceful democratic transition which Mugabe and Mbeki are denying. Mbeki is actually complicit in the genocide that is taking place in Zimbabwe through shielding the regime and even arming them when he knows that biologically and politically, Mugabe and ZANU PF ‘s time is up

As the leader of the biggest economy in SADC and indeed in Africa, Mbeki is showing his clear poor grasp of regional, continental and global geopolitics. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to understand that the current configuration of politics in SADC, AU and the world makes it impossible for the people of Zimbabwe to militarily confront Mugabe and his junta even if they wished because no one will supply them with the bases and weapons. Therefore talking of civil war by Mr Mbeki is clearly reckless and exposes the extraordinary paralysis of analysis on the part of Mr Mbeki who throughout his 10 years at the helm of South Africa had been trying to project himself as a leading African statesman

His other assertion meant to assuage the G8 was that Mugabe will be retiring in the coming few years. Mbeki does not know Mugabe and his insatiable appetite for power. For indeed Mugabe has delusions that the title deeds to Zimbabwe are in his pocket. Was Mr Mbeki not listening when Mugabe declared that he was anointed by God and only God will remove him? Even someone who at 84 years does not feel any remorse or shame sponsoring goons to main , kill , torture and rape long suffering and unarmed villagers. Mbeki, your friend Robert Mugabe will not retire in his lifetime in the same way you wanted to remain the de-facto South African president had you not been defeated by the courageous ANC comrades led by Zuma at Polokwane..

When history or infact, God eventually deals with the dictator and his junta north of the Limpopo, Mr Mbeki you are sure to go down in history as an accomplice in the horrific suffering the innocent people of Zimbabwe are going through at your watch. It is therefore not too late for you to make a deep self introspection and quit immediately as the mediator to the Zimbabwean crisis and declare publicly your support for the Zimbabwean junta rather than blocking those with well meaning efforts to liberate the suffering masses from the illegitimate dictatorship under your nourishment. For history and indeed the unborn Zimbabwean and African generations will never forgive you for commission and omission at the people’s greatest hour of need

Garikai Agenda Chimuka writes from the Netherlands

What are the African Interests in Zimbabwe???

2008-06-25T13:52:00.004+03:00

By Hillary Kundishora (hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk) Also at www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

The opposition MDC supporter was assaulted on the buttocks by Zanu PF youths and a herbicide-paraquat/gramoxone poured on the wound to inflict more pain. Paraquat is a fast action corrosive herbicide.

Africa's search for the betterment of its citizen has been elusive and a journey marred by disastrous setbacks. A few African countries show little prospects of a consistent path of advancing African interests with the greater number experiencing unending wars, diseases, hunger, poverty and marauding dictators.

This calls upon all citizens of Africa to engage in a serious conversation of their future. If at all Africa is to achieve an excellent quality of life for its citizen comparable to the magnitude of the quality of life currently being experienced in developed nations.

At the core of any nation is a socio-economic and political unity from which all citizens derive a shared meaning and value. The unity is derived from the amalgamation of individual and private interests to form national interests and consequently this adds up to continental interests-African interests.

In normal and mature democracies individuals advance their individual cause without having adverse effects on the interests of others. These private interests are self-directing and self-motivating they need not to wait for governments or any superior authority. The concepts of interests are the simpler underpinnings of nation states and the birth of sovereignty.

The opposition MDC has announced its decision to boycott the pending presidential runoff election. These and other events in Zimbabwe present a serious litmus test to what really constitute African interests? The MDC reveals that the election atmosphere that followed the disputed first ballot is not consistent and conducive for a free and fair election.

The atmosphere is characterized by abductions, arrests of opposition supporters and leaders, rape, torture, arson, denial of food aid, election rigging, double standards by the SADC appointed mediator- President Mbeki and the recent threats to President Morgan Tsvangirai's life.

There is need for us to question the values that inform the African Union and the prospects of the United States of Africa that Libya 's Gaddafi advocates for? What then is the role of the African Union in Zimbabwe?

Only a few African leaders have at least managed to issue statements condemning the situation obtaining in Zimbabwe. The rest of the African leaders have remained silent and the worst coming from the self-proclaimed founding father of the united states of Africa, colonel Gadaffi who uttered 'leaders like Mugabe should be left to die in Office'. A defiant Mugabe resonated those views last week by arguing that only God can remove him from office.

What values and interests do Gadaffi and other silent leaders of Africa represent? This is clear tacit approval of the events in Zimbabwe. A closer look will unearth that Gaddaffi, Mugabe and many other African leaders have a lot in common that they share. They all do not value the will of their people and democratic fundamentals often oscillating and hiding behind the former Organization of African Union's (OAU) plea of sovereignty and non-interference.

A unique familiar quality is to blame the West for all the bad past of Africa. What about the future? Yet the independence of Africa brought to us self-determination representing a restoration of our birth right to self direct our nations towards African interests.

The MDC has vigorously campaigned to bring Zimbabwe on the spotlight only to get concern from non-African countries. African countries like South Africa through the SADC appointed mediator Mbeki have sought to sweep the violence under the carpet often opting to plot the de-skilling of the MDC through persuading and pressuring for a government of national unity (GNU).

What government of national unity when the ruling Zanu PF is plotting violence against the MDC leaders and its supporters? Why a government of national unity when the MDC agenda is opposite to that of Zanu PF?

The proponents of the GNU are informed by the need to recycle Zanu PF, which has been rejected by the people because of its disastrous policies of farm seizures and impending company seizures in the name of blind and self-serving indigenization and empowerment.

It is clear that the people of Zimbabwe by voting against Zanu PF in the first round have rejected that brand of racist and selfish indigenization and empowerment. And no one has the moral authority and is qualified to subvert the will of people by smuggling Zanu PF back in a GNU setup with the MDC.

The MDC, one of Africa's modern and strongest opposition parties has been labeled a western stooge. African leaders have all along been rejecting audience to the MDC based on this false assumption that together with Britain it is intent on re-colonizing Zimbabwe. Then why form a GNU with a stooge?

African Union has a crucial role to play in curbing the excesses of Mugabe. It is clear that Zimbabweans have made their choice and it is up to African leaders to author an international precedent against the defunct principle of sovereignty and non-interference.

If Africa does not act on Mugabe immediately then it has itself to blame for abetting the delvish violence in Zimbabwe. African leaders need to rise from mere rhetoric against Mugabe's deeds to more covert action. As the battle for control of Zimbabwe by Zimbabweans intensifies only those who stand up in solidarity to their African brothers in Zimbabwe will be able to broadly define and construct what really are African interests.

It is un-avoidable that Morgan Richard Tsvangirai represents a post-colonial icon and hero of African hopes. His principles are typical of African interests that can salvage Africa.

We urgently require a return to the values embedded in our traditional values by categorically making a stand that 'an injury to Zimbabwe is an injury to Africa' only then can we start to realize the African dream of a peaceful and prosperous United States of Africa.

By Hillary Kundishora

Gender And Agricultural Development In Africa

2008-06-12T12:55:00.001+03:00

Gender refers to the different relationships between men and women in society. According to the Ministry of agriculture in Zimbabwe 80% of communal farmers in Zimbabwe are women and 10% of the extension staff are women. On a global scale women constitute the majority and are most engaged in agriculture.

If interventions in agriculture are to engineer a green revolution in Africa and turn Africa from a brand marred by hunger, disease and malnutrition to a continent of plenty and a breadbasket of the world. It is urgent that we revisit gender issues in the agricultural development of Africa with the view of stimulating sustainable agricultural development.

Agricultural development implies an increased productivity on a sustainable and equitable basis. At the core of agricultural development is strategic change through adoption of new knowledge and skills, and the intensification of science and technology in agriculture. Gender provides a missing link to sustainable agricultural development considering the triple role of women.

Women since the biblical times of Jesus Christ's mother Mary have acquired a strategic role in society. The history of women is as long as the history of mankind and civilisation. Powell G.N in Women and Men in management argues that women have a triple role derived from socialization-a productive role, a community management role and a reproductive role.

It is inescapable to point that the roles of women are derived from socialisation and a part of culture. Implying that the roles of women are dynamic and extension needs to match this dynamism.

The productive role of women is of paramount importance. The reasons why most state interventions in agriculture fail are that gender is not given prominence it deserves. This point on all institutions engaged in agricultural development starting from the family level to mainstream gender in productive activities. Agricultural extension is a socializing agent that works towards fostering harmonious roles and behaviour in agricultural production.

An X-ray view of gender issues in agriculture will reveal constraints ranging from-lack of relevant client based and customized agricultural extension aimed at serving the needs of women in agriculture, a skewed resource ownership tilted against women, patriarchal views discouraging women from leadership roles in society, limited land rights to women in Africa, low productivity, lack of technical know-how and reduced democracy at family level which undermines and suppresses women.

The constraints said above point that Governments, Private sector and NGO's to stimulate African development and counter the ever increasing security threat from food riots induced by low food outputs need a rethinking of agricultural extension, if agricultural extension it is to act as a social re-engineering tool.

The tripartite development alliance (Government, Private sector and NGO's) to be an engine of African hopes in agriculture and gender urgently needs to;

1. Encourage a cultural shift in the way we view women in agriculture in order to elevate and train women for decision making.

2. Encourage partnering and collaboration between women in the value chain with a view of advancing a womanly cause.

3. Carry out a massive leadership and capacity building programmes aimed at mainstreaming gender in society.

4. Encourage a multi-sectoral response to gender issues and create standardized measures of compliance to gender issues. The standard will act as a qualification for doing business with stakeholders and accessing incentives.

5. Create legislations aimed at elevating and assisting the historically disdvantaged women and girl child of Africa. Including ratifying international conventions and protocols on gender.

6. Introduce a vibrant youth programme which encourages 'the girl child' to acquire skills; both practical and academic with a view of nurturing better mothers of tomorrow.

7. Encourage new innovations, and intensification of science and technologies that reduce burden to women during production.

8. Encourage and nurture entrepreneurship among women and re-engineer agriculture as a business than a subsistence activity.

9. Revitalize extension services to be customized to serve the client based needs of women with emphasis on issues affecting agriculture such as HIV and AIDS.

10. Resource provision to women and increasing land ownership without bias to sex.

Aid and charity have failed to develop Africa. Africa has hopes to salvage itself but the onus is upon this generation to be able to formulate strategies aimed at growing the economies of Africa.

Gender and agriculture represents an entry point to break the vicious cycle of poverty; these are serious interventions that will have a lasting developmental role to African hopes. Ahead of Africa lie both danger and an opportunity in the current global food crisis. Gender mainstreaming in agriculture will advance opportunities for exporting food to capitalize on the unmet needs arising out of the global food crisis.

By Hillary Kundishora

He can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk. And Join more debate at www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com

Sent from Yahoo! Mail.
A Smarter Email.

The Zimbabwean Economy A Mere Laboratory Of Economic Experiments-Exchange Rate Reforms And Inflation.

2008-06-04T12:18:00.000+03:00

Robert Mugabe the liberator turned benevolent dictator no longer has any moral license and cause to continue to steer the Zimbabwean ship in the stormy and mucky waters of globalisation.

It is clear that the national challenges we are facing require that we assemble an 'A-Team'. A team whose construct views the world from a perspective different from that required in prosecuting liberation wars because the challenges facing the nation and the environments are now diametrically the opposite to those that were obtaining during the liberation struggle. Zimbabwe urgently requires a leadership blend of seasoned politicians, diplomats and technocrats.

At 84 years old Robert Mugabe no longer has anything new to offer after leading the government for the past 28 years. From the Malaysian economic survival plan whose underpinnings was based on a fixed exchange rate to the current orthodox and free-floating exchange rate reforms, Zimbabwe has become a mere laboratory for economic policy experiments.

The latest free-floating exchange rate policy was necodemously stolen through 'cutting and pasting' from solutions proffered by both business and the opposition MDC. The policy was conceived and implemented in a vacuum yet its capability of steering and revitalising Zimbabwe lay in it operating within a package of supporting measures.

The free-floating exchange rate and inflation is another typical failure of the Junta; it has worsened massive suffering, with prices skyrocketing daily as business chase the prevailing exchange rate. The crisis has destroyed the social fabric, with hospitals operating without key drugs let alone the critical staff needed, and teachers have engaged on a permanent go slow in protest that their salaries be linked to the exchange rate.

This is the final nail to the Junta; it can no longer survive beyond the presidential June 27 runoff.

The correct prescription and measures would have been to implement a free-floating exchange rate and then support it through availing foreign currency to key institutions whose products/services are consumed by the most vulnerable in society.

The underlying idea is to stimulate the inflow of hard currency from foreign direct investments in particular from sovereignty wealth funds, aid and grants, remittances from abroad, and help to stabilize the value of the dollar against major currencies. This will tame inflation factors driven by foreign exchange shortages.

At the core of this policy reform is productivity and a production drive from industry, mining, tourism and the agricultural sector. This supply side approach will help the nation to trim its import bill (since imports will be more expensive) and deflate the black/parallel market, which is partly responsible for speculative activities running riot in the economy.

The current thrust of the policy only benefits fat businesses through enhancing international competitiveness. The overlooked fact was that there could be no policy success without a balanced trade off between the needs and wants of the broader society.

Workers in particular the lowly paid civil servants and other vulnerable members of society have emerged injured in the battle for economic recovery masterminded by the unpopular Junta. Yet basic facts are that social cohesion should be at the core of any successful national strategy or policy.

The rate of the dollar against major currencies has continued to slide further even if there are no inflows of funds into the interbank system. This point to the fact that our demand for funds is high against our supply for the funds further highlighting that rationalising the supply side of the economy is critical for any exchange rate reform success.

Inflation and the exchange rate have emerged as major drivers of inflation with Zimbabwean businesses resort to opening trading after 9am and closing trade at 3pm after factoring in the current exchange rate. This has left the economy experiencing high menu costs, with prices incrementally changing hourly and daily.

The lessons from these failed exchange rate reforms point to the fact that Zimbabwe needs a new government which is capable of negotiating a recovery package from any possible willing foreign sources. It has been proved beyond doubt that Zimbabwe lacks the strategic capacity to recover without international support.

The current governing Junta lacks the international goodwill; astitute politicians, seasoned diplomats and technocrats that can propel further our national cause.

Our rare circumstances both past and present, call on all responsible citizens to vote wisely in the coming presidential run-off. It is my considered view that no single individual can pull this country out of the mucky it is in. Only a collective leadership of our most brilliant and moral politicians, diplomats and technocrats can salvage this country.

One only needs to analyse the current events both in and outside of Zimbabwe to be able to see that Morgan Richard Tsvangirai indeed is a viable incumbent who has the capacity to assemble a leadership team that can salvage us. Come 27 June 2008, my vote goes to the young and brilliant Morgan Richard Tsvangirai who I'm confident has the capacity to assemble a team that advances our national cause.

By Hillary Kundishora. He can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk and join more discourse on other various articles about vision prosperity at www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com.

Transforming Fallow Lands into fields of plenty through Property rights- A case of Zimbabwe

2008-05-27T14:41:00.001+03:00

There have been food riots in Haiti, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Indonesia and several other African nations. This has caused a lot of pressure and panic to an already injured Africa burdened by wars, diseases and extreme poverty.

The current global food shortages should enable third world economic planners to revisit land ownership models currently at work with the view of informing economic strategy and planning rather than waste time and effort by focusing debate on Euro-centric notions that obbese Americans should diet themselves to reduce food consumption and save more for Africa. The present scenario represents both danger and an opportunity for Africa.

Africa cannot afford to endure food shortages given its geographic endowment underpinned by fertile lands and a climate suitable for crop production. Food security is critical because of its link to poverty, health and sustainable development.

The colonial system despite practicing a dual agrarian system informed by a racial apartheid successfully managed to create wealth and a capitalist system which benefited its subjects. The miracle of this dictatorship was based on a viable land tenure system which was based on the exclusive enjoyment of property rights by the minority minus the black majority. This helped to power the dictatorship by building a vibrant productive and financial structure as a pillar of the colonial system.

At the core of the property rights doctrine practiced by the colonial system was a serious and committed discrimination against the black majority, a system of direct ownership of land based on title deeds, a court process that recognized and resolved land based disputes and the ability for the land to be tradable as a market commodity. This allowed the colonial system population to look beyond subsistence agriculture and be more commercially oriented in production. This conferred upon the farming sector the ability to engage in more environmentally sound production whilst the farmers were to a larger extent able to source local and offshore funding.

Farmers were assured of a going concern a critical success factor for any successful venture. It allowed investors to operate and develop their farming enterprises without fear of the state intervening by reallocating or repossessing their land holdings.

Land reform provides Zimbabwe with an opportunity to counter the food shortages and benefit from the spin-offs of high global food prices given that we are currently a net importer of food. It is only in Zimbabwe were vast lands are allotted a net value of zero. We need a paradigm shift and look beyond the communal system of land ownerships and embrace a system of title deeds as a final nail to the constraining land tenure system.

This will allow more agri-business players worried about risk management to take part in agricultural development since it has been proved beyond doubt that government lacks the strategic capacity to carryout a successful land reform programme. This will create an agro-based industrialization drive by linking the food industry and the farmers into a competitive value chain.

Because of policy bankruptcy the Zimbabwean authorities have been reluctant and slow in recognizing that the colonial state was powered by strict observance of property rights, this consequently makes the constitutional amendment number 18 irrelevant -which prohibits courts from hearing challenges on land related matters. The current 99 years lease is not only historically misplaced but a mockery to historically disadvantaged Zimbabwean farmers.

The horizon of ownership is limited to just over three generations yet we have classic examples of powerful and successful multinational corporations like Barclays bank whose life spanned centuries. For us to realize the African dream of owning our destiny and creating wealth for our people we need to look beyond three generations and create value for our selves by returning land back to its prime status of a tradable and transferable market commodity.

By Hillary Kundishora

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Xenophobia And The Proudly South African Brand.

2008-05-26T12:23:00.004+03:00

by Hillary Kundishora

P. Drucker the father of modern management in the text Managing results coined the term 'Cost addition' in place of value addition because he thought in a business value is not added to a product but that cost is only added, while the beneficiary of the product creates value-the customer.

Consequently we can derive a theory about national brands from the words by Drucker. Concerted efforts by citizens, governments and the private sector to define, construct and position their national brand is not value addition but cost addition or effort addition. The ultimate value and positioning of the national brand occurs on the customer (In this case a foreigner) hence the definition of a national brand is asserted as 'how others see the country'.

Foreigners measuring the performance of a particular national brand and comparing it to a set of expectations derive brand value and/or brand Loyalty for a specified nation. This will then help foreigners to pass more generalised comments such as such a country is full of philanthropy, such a country is hospitable, such a country is inhabitable and so on.

Almost three and a half generations since the independence of the first African nation, Ghana. It is now certain that Africa belongs to Africans and no one will author our destiny. Africans after travelling the path from colonialism to the post colonial era should ask themselves what kind of African society do we need? What values should inform our society? What democratic order should define the African brand? Is our society sustainable in a competitive world?

Democracy is not alien to the African context. At the core of a democratic order is respect for choice and freedom. Klaus Nurnberger in the book-A democratic vision for South Africa argues that for democracy to thrive there is need for respect for equal human dignity and society need not to prescribe special privileges to some people that are not accessible to others.

Anyone who is constructive will argue that the recent spate of xenophobic horror and bloody violence endured in South Africa is a cause of concern to all those who love Africa and are concerned about transforming the African dream into reality. The independence and self determination of South Africa was only celebrated less than a decade ago as the birth of a rainbow nation led by the icon Madiba Nelson Mandela, not only did people not notice that mammoth challenges lie ahead of the rainbow nation.

We need interrogate ourselves whether it is still the same South Africa we all loved and celebrated for? And to carry out a serious post-mortem of these events given that it is in the next coming two years only will South Africa make history by hosting the first soccer world cup on African lands; an event which will attract more than a million international visitors of all origins. How will they treat the foreigners given such precedence on treating fellow African brothers coming just across their borders?

This xenophobic horror is a symptom of lack of a clear and well-communicated migration policy on the continent for African nations to be able to internally utilize and exploit African labour for the benefit of Africa. It is incumbent upon African leaders to carry out a post-mortem of theses events in order to get to the root cause of such horror and inform the strategic policy making process.

The migration of Africans on the continent has never occurred within any strategic policy framework from the country of origin of the migrants and/or the receiving countries. Hence the presents of a vast number of Zimbabweans doing menial jobs in South Africa yet they are trained Doctors, Teachers, and Engineers just to name a few, who could have contributed to the South African economy by plugging the skills gap. This shows the policy bankruptcy of African leaders in failing to locate issues of strategic concern on the continent.

As a Zimbabwean I was deeply saddened to learn that my countrymen were among the worst hit by the xenophobic violence. The movement of Zimbabweans into South Africa has occurred in a serious policy vacuum notwithstanding the reality that the large-scale movement of Zimbabweans into South Africa has been only a symptom of a socio-economic and political melt down. The movement has been characterised by denial from both the Zimbabwean authorities and South African authorities, with the later going as far as denying the emigrants voting rights.

The unfortunate Zimbabweans have been caught up in the no-mans land with nowhere to shelter the bullets. The South African authorities have resorted to en masse deportation of Zimbabwean nationals without a clear policy of detecting and handling issues case-by-case and/ or based on special circumstances. Hooligans and unruly South Africans who authored yesterday's bloody xenophobic horrors have extended this unfortunate state based doctrine of large-scale deportation of the skilled, professionals and unskilled Zimbabweans based in South Africa to proudly xenophobic.

In the name of African solidarity, the doctrine of sovereignty and the principle of non-interference the South African authorities have refused to offer a blanket refugee status to Zimbabweans fleeing the socio-economic and political melt down often opting to call it manageable crisis. This was done as a cover up to avoid Zimbabwe from facing the wrath of the international community under the flagship of the United Nations Security Council and/ or other hostile external forces waiting for an opportunity to strike the unpopular regime.

As a result of this blunt policy Zimbabweans have endured a harsh legacy never seen before and the historical coincidence of the xenophobic violence has been that it has coincided with the presidential run-off elections bloody violence campaign against Zimbabweans who voted for the opposition Movement for democratic change (MDC). This historical coincidence has left Zimbabweans severely injured without nothing-constructive coming from SADC and the international community.

The South African government need to re-look its foreign policy on Zimbabwe if the proudly South African brand is to get a decent position in the mind of global citizens. And indeed Drucker was right that only the customer creates value. South Africans only have themselves to blame if they let such a rainbow nation drown to the levels of failed nations such as Zimbabwe, Somalia or Sudan by shouting proudly xenophobic to the world. South Africa paradigm model of African hopes lets all save it.

By Hillary Kundishora. He can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk and join more discourse on other various articles about vision prosperity at www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com.

PARALLELS BETWEEN GUKURAHUNDI GENOCIDE AND THE CURRENT ZANU PF VIOLENCE

2008-05-12T15:11:00.002+03:00

By: Garikai Chimuka

The Zimbabwean people, against heavy odds, made a powerful and historic statement on the 29^th March 2008.A record 57% of Zimbabweans, if we are to use the massaged ZEC figures, rejected Robert Mugabe and his failed policies. However, Mugabe and some securocrats could not stomach the people's victory. They have now embarked on a reign of terror by simply retracing their footsteps to the 1980 s and relaunching a campaign of violence whose brutality now makes it a Gukurahundi 2.It is important to note that the same players , using the same methods with the same reason of returning Mugabe at all costs are at the helm of the Gukuraundi 2.The only notable additions being Gideon Gono, who is providing dirty blood money and Patrick Chinamasa, acting as the Comical Ali.A lot of interesting parallels with Gukurahundi 1 emerge from this reckless terror campaign

Just like Gukurahundi 1 in the 80s, an illegal personal militia, the 5^th brigade, which was out of the formal command structure, was created to wipe out the Ndebele people. The all Shona elements of this murderous, notorious and rampaging gang were brainwashed with the aid of the North Koreans to believe that the Ndebele people were lesser human beings who could be murdered with impunity. In the ongoing Gukurahundi 2, a 5^th brigade re-incarnation, under the auspices of the so-called JOC, has been activated. The marauding bands of arsonists, rapists and murderers are to a larger extend a combination of ZANU PF youth militia and the Central Intelligence Organisation.This is clearly a shadowy force which is answerable to JOC and Mugabe.Just like the 5^th brigade in the 1980s, the illegal shadowy militia has been brainwashed at Border Gezi camps into believing that all MDC supporters are British sellouts who should be raped, maimed, tortured and killed.

During the Gukurahundi 1 ethnic cleansing, Mugabe carefully used Enos Nkala, a fellow Ndebele, to be at the forefront of the propaganda blitz of justifying the murderous actions of the 5^th brigade. So overzealous was Nkala that at one time he was even quoted as saying that the 5^th brigade must use a big stick against his own people just to impress Mugabe.In the on going Gukurahundi 2, Mugabe has repeated the same tactic. The defeated Patrick Chinamasa, who has never won any election in his whole life, is the public face and voice of justifying Gukurahundi 2.So reckless has been Chinamasa that he has gone out of his way in sponsoring violence in his own home area of Makoni in Manicaland.Even the legendary Comical Ali will turn green with envy hearing Chinamasa trying to justify the cold murder of his own niece, Tabeth Marume by claiming that an unarmed woman would confront armed soldiers at a military training centre when our heroine had made the brave move of only demanding the release of MDC supporters who were being tortured by the bloodthirsty ZANU PF militia and the CIO elements. In Masvingo, Walter Mzembi, in Matebeleland, Obert Mpofu and not so Bright Matonga in Mash West are the most prominent planks of Gukurahundi 2 in their respective home areas.

During Gukurahundi 1, Mugabe embarked on a propaganda campaign of gigantic proportions and succeeded in misleading the whole world into believing that the non-existent dissidents were causing violence in Matebeleland.He even had the temerity to stage manage the murder of 6 western tourists and blamed it on the dissidents so as to win the west to his side. In the on-going Gukurahundi 2, the same game has been employed. For example ZANU PF militia attacked Chihuri's farm and the regime is already gallivanting that it's the MDC.They even have the shameless audacity to deploy Grace Mugabe and Jocelyn Chiwenga on a laughable" humanitarian" venture of donating some few second hand clothes and sub standard food to victims of their terror. This is all part of a clearly thought out campaign of trying to shift blame to the MDC so as to justify the Gukurahundi 2.

During Gukurahundi 1, the whole world was hoodwinked by Mugabe's shenanigans and did not do anything when more than 40 000 innocent civilians were butchered. The British government went to the extent of knighting Mugabe whilst his hands were dripping with innocent civilians blood whose only crime was being Ndebele and supporting ZAPU of the late Nkomo.In the on-going Gukurahundi 2, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and some elements within the old SADC are again being manipulated such that Mbeki can even claim that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe and block the discussion of the unfolding genocide at the United Nations Security Council.

All in all, as the Gukurahundi 2 gain momentum, chilling points emerge. The same players who were at the forefront of the murder of unarmed innocent 40 000 civilians are at it again using the same ghastly methods for the same dubious end of keeping Mugabe in power at all costs. Will the world stand by and watch as they did during Gukurahundi 1?

Garikai Chimuka is based at Wageningen University in the Netherlands

(He can be contacted at garychimuka06@yahoo.com)

Excesses Of Indigenisation A Threat To The African Brand

2008-03-25T11:36:00.001+02:00

It is now crystal clear that the indigenisation and
Empowerment bill has now fully been assented to by the head
of state meaning that it now constitutes a law of the land.
The construct of the indigenisation law is a paradox to the
broader aspirations of the independence and it is now
certain that the excesses of Zimbabwe's economic rights
movement have conceived anarchism in place of a safe,
secure, free and liberated Zimbabwe.

It is imperative that I mention that company owners are
being victimised and are no longer psychologically secure
after government has vilified and labelled them saboteurs.
It is within this context that the price slash was conceived
to inflict injury on them and much still this law is
designed to totally alienate these people who worked hard,
some for centuries to create huge and valuable assets which
are about to be unconditionally taken up by a cabal of
people. After the masses have endured a harsh legacy of farm
seizures, the enactment of the indigenisation law should
form part of the broader debate about our economic destiny
as a nation.

Despite all these excesses independence was ironically about
advancing the cause of competition and an unhindered
progress without consideration for class, creed, race and
sex. The African brand of Independence was about creating a
fair, humanistic and egalitarian society-thus the law is
historically and racially misplaced to advance the cause of
independence in Zimbabwe. The law is an equivalent of a
legalised expropriation of assets owned by private interests
since it compels that all businesses and companies cede 51%
shareholding to indigenous black interests.

Cede 51% to whom? When we are fully aware that the economic
crisis has demobilised the capacity for the poor to mobilise
resources for participation in equity ownership. This raises
ethical considerations as to who will be the exact
beneficiaries of this legislation? The histrionic cabals of
the Zimbabwean leadership are at it again to amass company
equity adding on top to the seized land. It boggles my mind
why some individuals are comfortable to sit on assets that
are all derived from seizures and can all be properly termed
loot.

Zimbabwe is one of the rare countries where a cabal of
individuals discovers wealth over night without much hard
work and serious planning as happened in the case of the
seizure of farms and the associated farms assets. Are our
poor mothers in the rural areas going to sell off their
chickens and goats so as to pool resources in order to
acquire equity or is it the same histrionic cabal forces
that benefited from the farm seizures that are going to
benefit again? This seems likely considering the economic
dearth of the middle class and the alienation of the
Diaspora who in normal democratic value driven societies are
supposed to be the integral beneficiaries of any true
indigenisation and empowerment programme.

Most successful companies have a strategic fit; which is the
alignment of the mission, vision, goals, strategy,
programmes, policies and objectives in a business. It is
usually the duty of the founders of the company to project
their vision so that it consequently underpins the strategic
fit of the company. Companies are also formed to celebrate
power and self-esteem, which is projected through a personal
model of a strategic fit. How will foreign entrepreneurs in
Zimbabwe enjoy and celebrate the power and self-esteem
component in entrepreneurship when they have mandatory 49%
maximum equity?

It can be postulated that the unconditional takeover of the
51% equity will result in the company derailing from the
founding strategic fit because they will possibly be;
dilution and diversion of the strategic fit giving birth to
confusion because founders will now be controlled by
'Jonis come late' and people with other interests which
are not in alignment with those of founders especially
considering that it will be the same unfitting histrionic
cabals who are strategically positioned to take up most
stakes in private companies.

The law is silent about what will happen to listed entities?
Company's list in order to raise capital and enlist a
diversified ownership; which obviously takes into context
the indigenous black people. How will trade on the local
bourse be regulated and will it have a racial trading
aspect? Trading on the stock exchange is usually on a first
come first to buy or sell basis yet the indigenisation law
is silent about how this racial component will be instituted
in order to achieve the 51% indigenisation target at any
moment.

Mutumwa Mawere a seasoned and an accomplished Zimbabwean
born entrepreneur in his article Does indigenisation
threaten the law of succession argues that;
"In the case of Zimbabwe, where race has now been elevated
to the most significant national question, it is not
evident what will happen to black Zimbabweans married to
whites who may qualify as beneficiaries of indigenisation.
Would their successors who may well be white be eligible to
keep the rights and transfer them in line with succession
laws with no risk of the state seeking to negotiate such
rights on account of race?"

This highlights the deficiencies in the long-term
sustainability of the indigenisation law as a viable and
non-conflicting state intervention. Mawere further goes
in-depth to suggest that "The decisions that are made by
our generation have an enduring impact on the future of our
continent and yet little or no thought is applied to the
unintended consequences of policy instruments that may have
conflicting and multiple objectives"

If Zimbabwe continues to further this path concern is that
the so called indigenous black people will in fact inherit
factory and industrial shells after the founders of the
company will have moved their movable factors of
production-capital flight. The capacity of the companies to
mobilise local and offshore funding will be severely
constrained given the sudden changes in ownership and worse
still banks have already indicated reluctance to fund the
indigenisation programme; this will drive an already injured
economy to an economic hell.

The seizure of white owned farms provides testimony to the
fact that coercive redistribution of wealth is not a
solution for enriching historically disadvantaged indigenous
people. It is clear that entrepreneurship has a
psycho-social element and as such discovering or
re-allocating assets does not guarantee that the assets will
be put to good use or that beneficiaries will improve their
welfare, and consequently like in the case of the disastrous
land reform programme we will only succeeded in destroying
employment, livelihoods and run down an already injured
jewel of Africa. What people need is a stable economic
environment that allows them to work hard for their wealth
not to ululate after being handed over assets.

The presents of an election should inspire the masses who
have endured this current brand of localisation of ownership
of means of production to vote for an aspirant who values
hard work and competition-a contest for the rule of law and
a nationally inclusive independence. Voters should weigh the
obvious merits of hard work versus benefiting from coercive
redistribution of wealth.

I believe most people would agree that indigenisation forms
part of the necessary state interventions designed to
liberalise and democratise the economic world but most would
contend that an indigenisation of a magnitude as high as 51%
will produce unintended consequences and is self-defeating.
My thesis is that an indigenisation of such levels
undermines the African brand; it posits Africans as
practicing reverse racism, seizing and expropriating assets
since the indigenisation law has a racial tone. Investors
will be left to wonder if their assets are really secure in
Africa given that evidence has shown that most occurrences
in postcolonial African states do occur or reappear in other
postcolonial states.

And indeed if the government is serious at all about its
citizen participating in the economy it must privatise some
of the loss making parastatals with indigenous people in
mind but instead this new law seeks to allocate some of the
equity to government possibly to create a very rich and
moral blameworthy government. This is despite the massive
failure of government as an entrepreneur and manager.

After the failure of development aid as a remedy to poverty,
sovereign wealth funds (SWF) and foreign direct investments
(FDI) have emerged as better vehicles for poverty
eradication. Zimbabwe should instead be harnessing and
encouraging foreign investors who are critical in providing
the much needed foreign currency to import critical raw
materials, fuel and electricity for production purposes. In
short to turn-around Zimbabwe's economy we need to go back
to the basics-and indeed it needs not an internationally
acclaimed consultant but simple men in the street.

Hillary Kundishora is a scholar of strategic management. He
can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk and join more
discourse on vision prosperity at
www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com

Re-Branding Zimbabwe: A Vision For Global Competitiveness

2008-03-06T12:48:00.004+02:00

Globalisation has opened up the world and re-written the rules of the interactive game between nation-states. It is now certain that Nation-states are winding down or assuming a mini-state and submitting to become region-states, made up of several nation states with unique uniting objectives mostly aimed at amassing economic wealth and power. Consequently sovereignty and patriotism are now irrelevant and no longer fixed to a specific location and people respectively, and there are prospects of the extension of these two to be inclusive of the whole globe.

There is now more competition for investment and trade than before especially with the emergence of emerging markets and that the developed world is now entering a post-industrial era. It is now more imperative than before that Africa re-defines its agenda for development in the face of mounting competition and this raises an important crucial and compelling case of the re-branding of African states so that Africa can get its fair share of foreign direct investments, trade (exports and imports) and sovereign wealth funds for the betterment of the quality of life and prosperity of their own people.

Africa has lost significant investments opportunities because of negative perceptions on it given the rise of the emerging markets such as India, Singapore and China to name a few. Africa remains plagued by self induced wars and violence, leadership succession problems, corruption, bad and exaggerated publicity, diseases, poverty, economic fundamentals in disarray, and consequently the African brand has been negatively defined by these ills as a highly risk brand. The increasing decline in official development aid, charity and the significant loss of the relevance and confidence in the Washington consensus as a remedy to problems of third world nations has stirred an urgent need to revisit exports, Foreign direct investments (FDI) and of late sovereign wealth funds (SWF) as possible viable avenues to meet Africa's development agendas.

The Anholt National Brand Index Special Report-Q (2007) defines a national brand "as how others see the country". It goes in-depth to suggest that globalisation means competition and thus a strong brand provides a competing edge for positioning the country to get a fair share of the world's cake.

The report further posits that the level of exports, people, governance, tourism, culture and heritage, immigration and investments measures the brand. In the case of Zimbabwe all the other six indicators are a consequent of the state of governance, and thus governance is more defining for brand Zimbabwe than any other indicator. And it urgently compels that Zimbabwe re-position itself through embracing proper governance in order to build an attraction in the international marketplace, which is a heaven for safe, secure and liberated investments. This will allow other brand measures to achieve a positive status.

Though it is not debatable that no country can survive, address colonial injustice and prosper by allowing free rein of the market. In particular for developing countries where there is lack of institutional mechanisms and a mature private sector necessary for the smooth running of a market economy. It is critical that we build a competitive economy that espouses the values of at least a mixed economy philosophy if we are to secure a resilient and value delivering economy.

The regulations as such vary from country to country but as for Zimbabwe, the economy remains an over-regulated economy that does not value the rule of law and natural justice-especially security by all definitions and in its broadest sense. This points to governance systems, processes, structures and the underlying philosophy as damaging to the national brand.

The state of the rule of law and natural justice in Zimbabwe leaves a lot to be desired only if one could look back to cite several cases and speculate on more to come if the present trend is to continue. This inevitably raises three fairly recent critical issues on policy bankruptcy and policy inconsistency but directly connected to the rule of law; the seizure and threat on private peoples assets, the denial of people's cash by banks and the price slash operation carried out last year, which has left many businesses empty and struggling.

The policy bankruptcy and policy inconsistency continues mainly targeted at private interests notwithstanding the reality that private investment is the engine for economic growth and a development priority to governments the world over. Zimbabwe lacks fair and collaborative market polices to encourage investors and consequently this has led to the dearth of foreign investments and as such like a naughty 'child' we have always dogged the limelight for the wrong reasons.

The threat of seizure of mining assets is still pending especially if the results of the forthcoming general election sway in the favour of the ruling party given that we are highly informed by well placed government sources that the bill authorising the expropriation and the forceful take over of equities in mining firms will be resuscitated by the next government after its lapse. The rational of the bill raises other important parallels connected to the seizure of white owned farms and the expropriation of other black owned individual's balance sheets.

It authorises indigenous born individuals and government to take over mining assets worth over US $ 20 billion, which for a rapidly shrinking economy such as Zimbabwe seems impossible to accomplish because we are incapable of paying the market value for the equity. Approximately US $ 11 billion will be required to pay off the market equivalent of the mining assets by government and indigenous born entrepreneurs this points to the fact that proponents of the mining legislation are informed by the same philosophy which inspired the farm seizures and expropriation of other black peoples assets.

How then can we succeed in placing Zimbabwe as an attraction for safe and secure investments on the international place when we are busy scheming to undermine property rights? Can we continue to entrust our destiny and those of generations to come to a leadership that does not value or manipulates the rule of law to favour its interests remotely connected to national interests?

This calls on Zimbabwe to implement more sustainable business friendly and nationally inclusive policies in order to position itself in the face of stiff global competition. Nations also behave like possible suitors in social life no one wants to engage a suitor who cannot be his/her romantic and emotional curator, and instead the suitor threatens him/her with decimations and as such Zimbabwe has remained isolated from the world of international business.

The presents of an election calls on all responsible citizens to vote for aspirants whose vision aspire for Zimbabwe to go back to the basics-embracing the rule of law by valuing and upholding the constitution not to make laws that contradict it i.e. Constitutional Amendment Number 17 that sets aside the re-instatement and contestations of expropriated land by courts of law.

Zimbabwe should re-position itself as a hospitable rainbow nation that values investors of all origins, and as a nation that harnesses foreign direct investment and sovereign wealth funds in the face of dwindling foreign aid. And our exports can only sell on the global place provided our producers are given a conducive atmosphere for production. Building a competitive business environment should remain a priority if we are to achieve prosperity and excellent quality of life for our people. And forever our competitive strength remains the K-economy; Zimbabwe's trainable and educated professionals.

Hillary Kundishora is a scholar of strategic management. He can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk and join more discourse on other various articles about vision prosperity at www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com.

"Media Freedom: A Vision For Prosperity" by Hillary Kundishora

2008-03-02T14:40:00.004+02:00

(Prof Jonathan Moyo was an enemy of Press Freedom)

The electronic and print in other value driven and politically mature societies, has acted as the free marketplace of ideas, and as such there is a direct and general causal link between economic prosperity and media freedom with the exception of China, but nevertheless the success story of China does not mean to undermine the causal link prevalent in much of the third and first word nations. The existence of this unique relationship consequently raises an important thesis about economic development and it elucidates a secret for development, which has been the magic for economic prosperity in first world economies.

The media has formed an important source of a knowledge structure, which has unfortunately in some instances in history been manipulated to favour the interests of a minority and selfish click. And as such the knowledge structure has formed an important power structure most widely sought through hook and crook and in the case of Zimbabwe all tricks including unorthodox means have been elicited in order to control the media for selfish reasons remotely connected to national interests.

Media freedom in much of colonial Africa was designed by architects of the colonial establishment with a sinister agenda which was however meant to advance the cause of racial apartheid and with the advent of independence, Africa sought to open all the secret cardboards stocked with skeletons for the world to see. Zimbabwe like other postcolonial states also opened up to scrutiny thus widely embracing values of accountability as opposed to privacy.

It is interesting to note that with the leaderships increasing variance from the values that underpinned the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe the postcolonial leadership ironically later made use of the same tools box which they despised and had fought hard against, to some extent there were now selling out the cause of the struggle for personal and selfish interests devoid of national interests. The ruling party has used its political muscle to manipulate, barn and restrict access to information it considers informing to the general public, in case the public will be able make other choices for the betterment of their destiny.

It is in this context that the birth of an over regulated and partisan media industry, and archaic legislations designed to emasculate the media should be viewed as the rise of the devouring demons. Like demons they consume all the good while leaving everything around in a bad state, and Zimbabwe's state media case is in most way similar to a demon afflicted individual. The end of freedom has given birth to a media which militates against the moral value systems on which independence was based upon, the media is now used as a tool to devour the very people it was supposed to develop and assist.

State resources have been poured to the advantage, favouring sectoral interests, partisan and ZANU PF interests in general to the extent that the level of misinformation in Zimbabwe leaves a lot to be desired. Worse still the propaganda continuum is reflective from the lowest ranking officials to the highest office in the land thus the media has been guilty of complicity and not probing issues while acting as a mental inflicting venom which subject people to massive cognitive bias.

It is important that intellectuals and scholars take stock of events in Zimbabwe so that they realise the role the state media has played in undermining the rule of law and natural justice. Instead of acting as a repository and curator of the rule of law and natural justice the press has been used to churn propaganda which if consumed is damaging to the recipients and the very national interests / sovereignty it purports to protect. The Rwandan genocide provides the testimony of how an equally irresponsible media can be so dangerous to the people it is meant to develop, like an weapon the media is a dangerous tool if in the hands of misguided and immoral people who value selfish interests and Rwanda's genocide offers much convincing testimony to this thesis.

If the state media could one day cease to be a tool furthering private interest and pursue a more inclusive approach which is national than sectoral, issues could be debated and scrutinised while it is acting as marketplace for ideas crucial in informing policy formulation and implementation. The state media could then act as a watchdog of national interests-not interests of cronies but interests favouring even vulnerable members of society. In normal democracies through this way the media acts as a more reliable source of information for scholars, researchers and investors thus exhibiting and playing a causal link to economic development.

As the March 29 elections approach the state media has been conspicuous in churning out hate speech which is more sectoral than uniting in the face of crucial elections which are important in locating the compass which will be used in directing the country to prosperity. It is in this context that the role of the media in misinforming voters must not be left unchallenged, instead of responsibly reporting and offering all aspirants of public office equal chance to attract voters as is happening in America where Obama and Clinton are contesting without vilifying one another, the state media is busy presenting only the ruling party as the only peoples viable choice notwithstanding the damage it has caused to the collective aspirations of a people.

Simba Makoni a new and promising baby in opposition politics has of late been linked to the West and like Tsvangirai his predecessor they both have been branded sell-outs and an agents of imperialism, worse still Makoni has publicly been likened to a bull frog and a prostitute, of which prostitutes in the African context are heavily despised as immoral as they fall outside the mainstream of society. And for the state media it is fascinating that they have never bothered to unpack why Makoni has been a darling of ZANU PF for the past years yet today they accuse him of political promiscuity, only because he has refused to enter the books history for the wrong reasons and as such he has parted ways with the party that nurtured him.

In any other democratic country the ruling party will have been grilled as to what new there are offering to the people after presiding over the death of a once vibrant economy but alas there are the worst but being presented as the best in the general election. This raises the role of the state media in my thesis of a causal link between media freedom and economic prosperity and it indicts the state media for misinforming and diverting people from the real issues that must form the foundation for debate and consequently the election of public office bearers into public office. The diminished media freedom is responsible creating an atmosphere conducive for the proliferation of a kleptocracy, which has run down an economy once prosperous.

Like the annihilation of property rights, the level of media freedom is directly related to the decadence and the thesis further calls upon all loving and spiritual connected citizens to work extra hard to create a media which is free and accessible which consequently act as a source of reliable information and a curator of the peoples rights. The presents of an election offer the masses of Zimbabwe a chance of renewal and to choose the path to prosperity or continue the present path of doom, and for those in dire need of economic revival it is also indispensable that there be a free media in order that we achieve a stable economy.

In fact it is crucial that we revert back to valuing the constitution, which is the supreme document that governs and lays out the rule law and freedom of expression as a corner stone for economic prosperity.

Hillary Kundishora is a scholar of strategic management. He can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk and join more discourse on vision prosperity at www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com.

The 29th Of March 2008 Elections: A Vision For Prosperity

2008-03-01T10:06:00.003+02:00

Economic prosperity has been a contentious and elusive issue for in particular black people in much of postcolonial Africa, the emerging nationalist leaders peddled a doctrine that poverty was an invention of the colonial establishment and as such the revolution needed to assert even outdated sovereignty while pleading to patriotic inspired sentiments at all costs.

The nationalist leaders continue to deny ownership of the economic status and economic destiny of their subjects up to this day, more than 50 years after the independence of the first African nation, Ghana. Zimbabwe's case is no exception to the idea that we are underdeveloped because of the colonial past, a past marred by a socio-economic and political apartheid skewed in favour of the white minority.

This nationalist thought allowed them; nationalist to rally the masses against the colonial state while paradoxically it also implied that the postcolonial state will be authored by the 'people' thereby transferring liability from the colonial architects to the postcolonial state leadership. The warped understanding of the leadership in authoring the destiny of their own people is an African disease whose symptoms are exhibited by pretending that we are just mere victims of the colonial state or victims of Britain, Australia, USA and New Zealand.

In Zimbabwe there is a diametrically opposite understanding between the two sides of the same coin; the colonial leadership and the post colonial leadership with the latter subscribing to the societal value that they needed to develop a racial apartheid exclusively enjoyed by their own people (kith and Kin) centred on acceding to economic freedom and the sanctity of property rights as much as they valued human quality of existence minus the black majority. This understanding has been a pillar of success for the white minority since the birth of the colonial state, even up to day it was liquidated.

Unfortunately for our dear leadership in the postcolonial state where there has been religious worshipping of themselves as mere victims than authors of our history, this religious view has given birth to an economic rights movement, which is just a euphemism for anarchism. This anarchist economic philosophy has been responsible for undermining the potential of the people in much of modern day postcolonial Zimbabwe. To prove my thesis it is important that we take the colonial state as a control experiment and Zimbabwe as an experiment, and then like scientists we observe the reaction after adding in a third rare investigated factor, property rights anarchism from the year 1999 up to date.

Since the year of the disastrous seizure of white owned farms, the motherland has continued to witness a deep emotive insistence on abrogation of the sanctity of property rights to which economic prosperity was underpinned on (extending even to blacks i.e. the case of the price slash operation, the case Mutumwa Mawere's empire etc). This raises the question as to who is responsible for authoring the current economic chaos, which is reflected through a causal link to diminished economic freedom and property rights anarchism?

A microscopic view of Zimbabwean specimen will reflect the causal link between the annihilation of property rights and the economic decadence. The leadership never ceases to further the path of anarchism buried deep in the economic rights movement, the announcement a months ago by the Ministry of industry and international trade that there have appointed a board for the Zimbabwe Development Corporation (ZDC) tasked with establishing 'peoples shops' and administering companies seized from purported saboteurs of the economy is in its own right a failed policy. It is irrational for government to take up management functions of the economy because it has never been a good entrepreneur since time immemorial, and worse still for a state to manage seized companies its just a euphemism equivalent to a criminal state.

Devious creatures such as ZDC, Constitutional amendment number 17 and other statutes are coercive redistributive mechanisms aimed a transferring wealth to cronies and kleptocrats at the expense of genuine private interests. This has left Zimbabwe an isolated island nation that undermines the rule of law and natural justice; this has been so despite the clear view that Zimbabwe lacks the strategic capacity to exist without the world or as an autarky. The rest of the third world is opening up economies to foreign direct investment (FDI) and harnessing globalisation for the prosperity of their own people and it thus leaves the ball in the court of the masses as to whether we should continue to entrust our destiny and those of generations to come to such a myopic leadership which chats a doomed economic philosophy.

The 29^th of March 2008 ushers in a defining moment to the people of Zimbabwe to clearly define a vision for their society, a vision to catch up economically with the rest of the world by creating a conducive atmosphere to the conduct of business. It is up to the people to weigh the visions shown by the presidential aspirants, after all the vision of one of the best two; Tsvangirai or Makoni, I say so because for Mugabe it is virtually impossible to win a ballot, and even if we are to take a random sample in the so called strong holds. Some might find my view difficult to subscribe to or consume, because they will ask does it mean that he will lose? My answer to this golden question is that Mugabe can win the announced results only and not the ballot.

Minus the results announced it is important that the people of Zimbabwe go to the polls in their millions to state their economic vision-a vision for prosperity valuing the rule of law and natural justice after enduring a decade of a harsh legacy of economic freedom and property rights annihilation. It is important that I depart from my property rights discourse to an equally important issue however connected to the rule of law and the March 2008 elections, the statement by Major-general Paradza Zimhondi a prison Chief. Major-general Zimhondi dropped a bomb shell unfortunately magnified and popularised by the anarchist citizen, the Herald of this day the 29^th of February, on a Friday that he will resign to pursue farming at possibly his under-utilised farm along Marondera-Harare road should Tsvangirai/Makoni win the 29^thof March 2008 ballot. Major Zimhondi as his name suggest is a murderer of the people's vision, instead of acting as a law abiding and professional senior security chief he has taken over the role of militias and other foot soldiers.

His statements reflects the shallowness of his mind not matching the level of responsibility assigned to him, if Zimbabwe was a value driven society Major Zimhondi would have resigned to pursue politics full time as he is showing that he is more political than professional, but the Zimbabwe we are living in is lawless society where one can wake up to undermine rule of law and all the pillars of modern society (i.e. elections), and continue to act on behalf of the people at such a strategic position of a security Chief. Zimhondi should be informed that his statements are not only treasonous but also morally bankrupt; it shows that people of Zimbabwe will never be afforded a chance to chat their own destiny. And as such African leaders are simply like what one South African professor in an allegory satirically equate to a father who purchases a cake for his family only to ambush the delivery van before it delivers the cake to his residence.

To what extent is independence fake in Zimbabwe? Most people I presume would argue that modern day Zimbabwe is in no way better than Rhodesia thus subscribing to the fact that life under Ian Smith was better than under Robert Mugabe. In public places people are talking about the 29^th of March being an independence day, it is also my view that minus the announced results skewed in a favour of the incumbent (Mugabe. R), the day will go down in history as the day during which the counted ballot papers were shared between Tsvangirai/Makoni. The value of this election like the SADC initiative is not on the announced results but on the shared vision that the people of Zimbabwe will fall over each other in voting for.

It is thus an important election minus the results announced because it is going to be the first election for the regime which authored the demise of a jewel of Africa to see for itself without any controversy that indeed their offices are empty as their minds are and they truly lack the peoples mandate to govern, and as such the election will be very important in undermining the confidence of the regime further stretching it to the limit in terms of anxiety and as such change will come through 'strategy in action', a euphemism for independent and convergent actions of people constitutive of an entity. The opposition must stop spreading the gospel according to rigging, as this will undermine the morale of the people who are about to make a giant step to societal socio-economic and political rediscovery.

It is this power hungry mind in the opposition which makes them fold their hands only to claim rigging after the elections, vote rigging claims have the same philosophical underpinnings like the African disease of shifting blame to the colonisers. It is up to Tsvangirai/Makoni to choose to go down in memory as the catalyst for the vision of the people of Zimbabwe by launching an offensive campaign that will leave Mugabe with only the chance to rig the announcement of the results. The current moment is a golden opportunity for the opposition in Zimbabwe to make history whether its Tsvangirai/Makoni by rallying people-that no more abuse beyond March 2008 and indeed the actions of the people of Zimbabwe on this day will leave an indelible mark on Zimbabwe's history.

Hillary Kundishora is a scholar of strategic management. He can be contacted on hkundishora@yahoo.co.uk and www.zimchaiyo.blogspot.com.

"MAKONI FACES MAMMOTH TASK" by Garikai Chimuka

2008-02-14T09:51:00.003+02:00

The welcome entry of Dr Makoni into the political fray has generated intense mixed reactions. To some it has generated extraordinary excitement whereas to others it has meant skepticism. I personally believe that Dr Makoni faces a mammoth task if the Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn project is to succeed. Politics is a game of strategy, structures and timing and Dr Makoni can still win it if he can craft the formula right but at the same time he can be buried for good if he miscalculates his move. Like what Obama always say, a struggle against vested interests will not be easy .It will need a lot of ingenuity and several options and alternatives to build and sustain the momentum. It is in this context that I honestly believe that Makoni faces a tough task. Will he be equal to the task? What strategies can he employ to victory?

One of the greatest failures of the current opposition has been to come up with a single strategy to campaign in both the urban and rural areas.Dr Makoni can avoid it by coming with the following strategies

In the urban areas, the constituencies can be divided into the low and high density surburbs.It will be relatively easy for Dr Makoni to win the hearts of people in the low density suburbs since they are a propertied class who are more likely to favor an orderly transition as compared to an uncertain transition if Tsvangirai is to win given that Makoni seem to have some support within the security structure which Tsvangirai does not have. The majority of captains of industry who are likely to support Makoni also reside in these areas. What is necessary is for the Makoni team to field credible candidates who are electable. The major campaign strategy will be small group meetings, lobbying influential individuals through their clubs etc and even establishing a call centre where volunteers can use the phone to reach out to the electrorate.The message should be to encourage the voters to go in their thousands and vote

In the high density suburbs, a lot of work needs to be done. Firstly, building structures to each and every street in the ghettos. There is also need for party visibility by printing T/shirts and other paraphernalia showing the party symbol so that people may be aware of the symbol. After forming the core structure, there is need to mobilize a massive rally, say at Zimbabwe grounds so that Dr Makoni quash the rumors' that have been talked by his detractors who are saying he is an agent of ZANU PF.The first major rally must be a psychological game of numbers. Massive organization is needed. Its success or failure will set the tone for the whole campaign. A massive rally will create momentum and win all the skeptics to Dr Makoni's side. He can also take advantage of the rally to tell the urbanites to send the message of Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn to the rural areas which is very difficult to penetrate. He can cap it all by also making impromptu door to door campaigns or walkabouts in the high density areas. In short there is need for a blitz in the urban high density areas. There is need for a permanent presence by activists until election time that should encourage people to vote.

In the rural areas, it will be where the decisive battle will be fought. The first stage where this battle will be won or lost is the selection of candidates. Unlike in urban areas where the candidate do not matter per se since people vote for parties of the cult of their leaders, in the rural areas it's the reverse. This is one of the blunders that the opposition has been making before because the rural folk wants an MP they can relate to .Hence there is need to select well known people who already has goodwill in the community.Prof Moyo's victory in Tholotsho in 2005 shows the importance of this point. Moyo quickly realized that he needed a political base and started doing some developmental things that endeared him to the people. There are so many well meaning citizens in the rural areas that have been extending their generosity in these areas and they must be identified, persuaded and registered. If it is late to field them as candidates, then they can be part of the campaign team.

Once the candidates and credible teams to campaign in specific areas are identified, the campaign must roll into gear. From the beginning, they must use people in the area and underground methods to campaign like door to door one on one because early rallies will result in ZANU PF employing violence and intimidating the people. In areas where the notorious ZANU PF militias are strong, it may be important to infiltrate them and finally recruit them. A campaign blitz with open distribution of T/shirts, party regalia etc must only be implemented in the final weeks of the campaign where it will be late for the ZANU PF intimidation machinery to respond. Hence those who are still in ZANU PF who back Makoni must only come in the open in rural areas in the final week of the campaign.

Another urgent strategy in the rural areas is to clandestinely recruit village heads and headman who haven't benefited much from ZANU PF patronage. It's only the chiefs who have benefited and hence the village heads in particular are ready for harvesting. These will be decisive for the rural vote.

To conclude, the campaign strategies will never be cast in stone. What is needed is ambushing the regime and at the same time knowing their strategies in advance for when the hunted know how the hunter hunts, then the hunting is over.

Garikai Chimuka, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

PERSISTENT PERSECUTION OF THE CHURCH CONTINUES IN ZIMBABWE

2008-02-05T09:18:00.001+02:00

The ZANU PF government continue to persecute the Church of God. 'Eight Church leaders, including a blind pastor were arrested during a meeting in front of 400 worshippers and detained in police cells in Kadoma (120 km South West of Harare).'

The arrested Church leaders are Jonathan Gokovah, Pastor Raymond Motsi, Pius Wakatama, Pastor Ancelimo Magaya, Pastor Wilson Mugabe, Pastor Zvizai Chiponda, Lawrence Berejena and Gerald Mubaiwa.

Pastor Moyo states, "The meeting was for Christians who felt they cannot remain silent while the country burns with companies closing, inflation (26 000%) hitting everyone hard and the majority of people suffering."

The Pastors declared, "We are not aligned to any political party and we don't mind who rules this country as long as they are accountable and respect the rights of all citizens. We are just against the prevailing situation characterised by looting and misgovernance."

The ZANU PF government of President Robert Mugabe is dictatorship and has murdered tens of thousands of innocent Zimbabweans. Dictatorship is satanic. Refusing to resist dictatorship is resisting God. Christians have not only rights but obligation to remove tyranny.

When ZANU PF was murdering 40 000 Ndebele speaking people, the Zimbabwean Church was silent. When ZANU PF government was invading farms, and embezzling national wealth and abusing human rights the Church was saying that it has nothing to do with politics.

Poverty and massive starvation is God's judgement to the ZIMBABWEAN Church for ignoring social injustice, helping the poor and political immorality.

l remember six years ago praying that God raise up Church leaders and Christians in Zimbabwe who will challenge wickedness of our political leaders. The State determines whether people live with peace and have a good economy that provide opportunities for many people. Praise God! Now Christian leaders are rising up against political immorality even when the country is completely on ground, with millions starving to death.

The trial for the above mentioned Church leaders has been remanded to 5 March 2008. The Church has been ravaged by criminal or satanic civil rulers. Please continue to pray for change to take place in Zimbabwe.

If you are not subscribed to us please send us your contact so that we can keep you update about the struggles of the Zimbabwean Church.

Collen Makumbirofa
Foundation of Reason & Justice
Email: zimnews@mail.com
Fax: +27 86 6502 828
http://forjustice.atspace.org

http://zimjustice.blogspot.com

ELECTION BOYCOTT SELF DEFEATING!!

2008-02-01T16:50:00.001+02:00

By Garikai Chimuka

The recent announcement by Mugabe that elections will be held on 29 March has led to a clear dilemma within the opposition movement, civic society, churches and the academia in Zimbabwe. Some quarters have called for the opposition, in particular the MDC, to boycott the elections on the basis that the conditions on the ground are not conducive for a free and fair election. Some like Dr Madhuku are even quoted as having said that Mugabe has already won the elections. The bitterness in the opposition camp emanate mainly from the Thabo Mbeki led initiative in which the opposition wanted a new constitution before the elections. However, I strongly believe that its naïve for any politician in Zimbabwe to ever dream that Mugabe can legislate himself out of power en route to The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity. It is on this basis that the only way forward for the MDC is to quickly unite, campaign vigorously and defeat Mugabe come 29 March 08

The issue of whether or not to participate in the elections to me is a mere academic dilemma for I believe that the practical reality on the ground behoves the opposition to get into the ring and fight.Malcom X has always been clear that in a revolutionary struggle against oppression, people have to use all means necessary to bring about freedom and liberty. Given the configuration of global, continental and regional geopolitics, the only feasible option for the opposition to assume power in Zimbabwe is through elections.Withiout any other viable alternative like mass action or armed struggle, the opposition will have to participate in the elections with the kind of hope that gripped the nation in 2000.Boycotting elections without any other option to remove Mugabe will be merely surrendering the struggle and handing Mugabe victory on the silver plate

Those who are campaigning for a boycott choose not to tell people that if the MDC boycotts the elections, other smaller parties funded by the regime will mushroom and contest giving Mugabe some modicum of legitimacy.Moreso, within the MDC itself, there are some politicians who believe strongly in participating. Most legislators in the MDC who have tested power will never take heed of election boycott and will definitely participate. This can lead to the fragmentation of the opposition and that is exactly what Mugabe is looking for. Analysts must never forget that the unfortunate MDC split of 2005, though it may have been based on other core differences, was brought to the fore by the Senate boycott politics

Secondly, those who are calling for the boycott don't tell the people of any viable alternative. If the MDC boycotts the polls, what other strategy must it craft to gain power and launch a new beginning for Zimbabwe? The opposition has tried mass actions, demonstrations, diplomatic pressure and negotiation without any success in the past. So if they boycott, what will be the alternative strategy except colossal irrelevance?

Thirdly, there is a serious misconception in Zimbabwe today that Mugabe rigs the elections in a crude way of stuffing ballots or during the counting. The truth of the matter is that previously, the elections have been rigged before the voting through intimidation, vote buying through chiefs, violence and reducing polling stations in MDC strongholds so that few opposition supporters vote like they did in Harare and all major towns in 2002. These are the main methods how ZANU PF has rigged and continues to rig the elections. Otherwise if the elections were rigged after voting, I believe that the MDC would have never won 57 seats in 2000 and given Mugabe's arrogance, he would have never allowed the opposition to control Harare and all urban centers

Therefore the major lesson the opposition should have learnt from the previous election is that if opposition supporters overwhelmingly votes against Mugabe, it will be very difficult for him to rig the elections. This is the actual challenge confronting the MDC today: How to mobilize people to believe again and vote in their multitudes on 29 March 2008.

The first step is to make sure that the majority of urban voters are going to vote in their millions. The challenge is about mobilizing. Talking about boycotts will only alienate the economically battered urban opposition supporters who may then ignore to vote. If the MDC fails to fight apathy in the urban areas, then ZANUPF will bury them for ZANUPF supporters in urban areas are those who are benefiting in one way or the other from the current crisis and will definitely go and vote as a basis for personal survival. Therefore the challenge for the opposition is to make sure that people in the urban areas check that they are on the voter's roll, know which ward they are going to vote and finally vote in their millions on voting day. If there is overwhelming turnout in the urban areas, it does not need a rocket scientist to know that such a turnout will be indicative of an MDC victory in the cities.

On the other hand, the rural vote will be problematic because ZANU PF uses vote buying, for example farm implements, food, fertilizer etc.They also use chiefs to force all the people to vote meaning that when there is overwhelming turnout in the rural areas, and ZANU PF expects victory. The MDC thus needs to go to the rural areas and campaign. They need to find ways of breaking the chiefs' hold on the rural populace. Mugabe has rewarded the chiefs with cars, electrified homes, salaries and political power thus the chiefs know that they must defend him in order to continue benefiting .The MDC must however realize that sub-chiefs and village headmen who are on the ground are bitter because they are seeing chiefs getting rich every day whilst they are getting nothing or peanuts. The message to the MDC is that sub chiefs and village headmen are ready for harvesting .Jonathan Moyo used that strategy and won in Tsholotsho in 2005 and that strategy can be replicated throughout Zimbabwe. The conditions on the ground as of today are favorable for a shocking rejection of Mugabe in the rural areas in a way he has never expected.

Hence it is very clear that the opposition needs to immediately craft strategies, deploy their officials on the ground in each and every corner of Zimbabwe and send Mugabe packing come 29 MARCH 2008.The rural folk who Mugabe thinks he can continuously manipulate for his political survival are ready for change. The MDC leadership must remove their gloves and fight. With the right urban and rural campaign strategy, victory is certain!!

Garikai Chimuka (garychimuka06@yahoo.com) is an analyst based at Wageningen University, The Netherlands