South Africa P.I.G.: SADC

Showing posts with label SADC. Show all posts

SADC Makes Fools Out Of The MDC-T

<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRIdLiYYxxyV7Fy76SzZk4snYyqu0iRtCp8rGfcds1w2arqLec3O5DsnVlb-fMcpagh_swZite8LphxgrDHJPiA1kS8oGMasSj6ry6jpe-OnIUs62GjU8pt7aeNHccbjBpnHV5Pn0yPo/s1600-h/Mugabe_and_Zuma.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350669989793460674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVRIdLiYYxxyV7Fy76SzZk4snYyqu0iRtCp8rGfcds1w2arqLec3O5DsnVlb-fMcpagh_swZite8LphxgrDHJPiA1kS8oGMasSj6ry6jpe-OnIUs62GjU8pt7aeNHccbjBpnHV5Pn0yPo/s400/Mugabe_and_Zuma.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 302px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a> This was the last straw desperate MDC-T and Tsvangirai apologists were clinging to, that Jacob Zuma would read Mugabe the riot act, unlike the hated Mbeki. On Saturday, Mugabe was pallying around with Zuma at the SADc Heads of State meeting in Johannesburg as can be seen here. Then King Mswati emerged to tell reporters that no one had written to them to complain about Zimbabwe and they will, therefore, not be discussing it. The MDC-T leadership meets today in Harare in a panic response to this development. They will only issue more meaningless deadlines and resolutions that are not very resolute at all.</div><div align="justify"> It is now official. King Mswati, who was living it up with Mugabe and Gideon Gono at Gono's Farm a couple of weeks back, has said that "no official" complaint has been lodged with SADC about Zimbabwe's new government and that he was in Zimbabwe, where he saw for himself that everything is just fine. Tsvangirai, through his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party, wrote last week to President Jacob Zuma , who is the Sadc chairman, urging him to intervene in the stalemate, and to get Sadc to intervene in the deadlock over the appointment of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and attorney-general Johannes Tomana, who are Mugabe loyalists. Now SADC say they never received such a letter. No "official" communication. There is nothing to investigate, SADC says. King Mswati, the despot of Swaziland, is the Chairman of the SADC Organ on Defence and Politics. This is the Organ that deals officially with the Zimbabwe issue. The MDC-T has been rattled enough by the jeering in London and this latest rebuff from SADC to call for a special meeting of its Executive today. </div><div align="justify">They will meet today, yes. But nothing will come of it. SADC was meeting at the weekend to discuss Mauritius, whose exiled leader is cooling his heels in South Africa and there had been talk that Zimbabwe would be discussed, especially since the MDC-T claimed they had sent a letter to the regional body. Tsvangirai sabotaged his own party on this one. He bought Mugabe's argument (flawed) that only if there is agreement amongst ALL the Principals in the Unity Government that there was an impasse could the matter be referred to SADC. Unfortunately for the MDC-T, their principal agrees with Mugabe that not swearing in Roy Bennett, not swearing in ambassadors, Governors etc can not be considered an impasse. As Tsvangirai drags them towards the cliff, there to fall off into oblivion and irrelevance, all the MDC-T can do at the moment is consult and discuss. </div>

SADC Makes Fools Out Of The MDC-T

This was the last straw desperate MDC-T and Tsvangirai apologists were clinging to, that Jacob Zuma would read Mugabe the riot act, unlike t...

12:33 PM

Mugabe using the MDC to con the West

Mugabe's real game: Using the MDC to steal money from the West. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yd3Sydu69qPIyHilsh_AIl-BdK2av00u-zCuIjvv-VTdBq-Jr3R2jnAHhQpAiffBubAhDzCGiGmzReE2KvSsP67M7e0NeOiG64g3F7Zg_juqD2gxBGzyU1U7abk2qBMlZoTPDv1F7Oo/s1600-h/Mugabecon%5B1%5D.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309476988512801458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yd3Sydu69qPIyHilsh_AIl-BdK2av00u-zCuIjvv-VTdBq-Jr3R2jnAHhQpAiffBubAhDzCGiGmzReE2KvSsP67M7e0NeOiG64g3F7Zg_juqD2gxBGzyU1U7abk2qBMlZoTPDv1F7Oo/s400/Mugabecon%5B1%5D.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 274px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>Mugabe remains defiant. People must realize that Mugabe is playing classic psychological games designed to frustrate and destabilize the opposition and provoke them into retaliating in a desired way. Each move is carefully calculated with measured or predetermined consequences they are hoping to achieve. Mugabe has repeatedly demonstrated that neither public nor world opinion concerns him - just so long as he is in control of the Army, Police, Intelligence, Judiciary and Finance he will continue to call the all shots without listening to anyone or anything. So even if the MDC have 95% of the popular support, Morgan Tsvangirai will remain powerless and be incapable of achieving anything tangible. Tsvangirai's presence in Government will be entertained by the Mugabe regime but only for a specific purpose: to provide Mugabe and his party with some legitimacy but also as a front to solicit money from potential aid donors. It is likely that we will continue to witnesses further arrests of innocent people who will be used as hostages to bargain concessions...it is all part of their plan, with SADC very much involved behind the scenes. Mugabe, SA and SADC plan to use Tsvangirai as puppet to con the West into pouring millions of dollars into Zimbabwe backfires, Mugabe now planning to stab Tsvangirai in the back, hinting of holding elections to throw the MDC out once and for all.<a class="headline" href="http://allafrica.com/stories/200903020065.html">Too Soon to Lift Sanctions Against Zanu PF, Despite SADC Call </a>: (Business Day) SA’s Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has been quick to praise the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for its role in finding a solution to the Zimbabwe problem. At the meeting of SADC finance ministers in Cape Town last week, she said: “As SADC we can today proudly state that we have played a major role in facilitating the political solution to the situation in Zimbabwe.” This is the same person who, just a few years ago, was seen being wined and dined by Zanu (PF) ministers in smart Harare restaurants, being fed dollops of Zanu (PF) propaganda, as were other politicians in the region. For years, SA and the SADC watched Zimbabwe’s downward spiral, doing little more than finding politically expedient excuses to counter international criticism of the appalling behaviour of President Robert Mugabe and his government. SADC’s eagerness now to take the credit for a turnaround in Zimbabwe ignores two key contributing factors. One is the resilience of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which found no favour with SADC leaders. The other is that Zanu (PF)’s compromise in agreeing to a unity government was driven more by reduced looting opportunities in a broken economy than by regional persuasion. Now we, the regional taxpayers, are being asked to contribute to a $2bn recovery package for Zimbabwe. SADC leaders’ complicity with the Zanu (PF) regime has made this an expensive exercise; even a year ago, fixing Zimbabwe would have cost a lot less than it does now. Of course, SADC must contribute meaningfully. But its attendant call for the lifting of international sanctions may be premature. The biggest beneficiaries of any such action will be the very people who pushed Zimbabwe to the brink — Zanu (PF) officials, their friends, families and business associates. Official sanctions against Zimbabwe are targeted against individuals, government agencies and companies with which Zanu (PF) government did business. The sanctions have had an effect on finance coming to the country. But money has mostly stayed away from Zimbabwe because of poor governance, official theft of state resources, investor insecurity, rigged elections and human rights abuses. While a limited revision of sanctions could be considered where it affects credit lines and relationships with multilateral organisations, it is too soon to bolster the former ruling party’s legitimacy by lifting the targeted sanctions. Even at this early stage of the unity government process, Mugabe has shown limited appetite for sticking to either the letter or spirit of the agreement with MDC factions. He tried to sneak in more ministers than the agreement allowed, feigning embarrassment when this failed. He was so “embarrassed” that he tried the same trick a few days later with the swearing in of deputy ministers. This time he got away with it. Zimbabwe now has a bloated 71-strong cabinet it can ill afford. Mugabe has unilaterally appointed all permanent secretaries, filled his cabinet with the tainted old guard and left political activists in jail. The budget and monetary policy statement were issued even as discussions were still under way on the unity government, resulting in uncertainty about economic policy at a time when there needs to be clarity, particularly given requests for hefty aid packages. Many Zimbabweans believe the MDC has been set up to fail by being given the most difficult cabinet portfolios, notably finance. With Mugabe and a slew of corrupt and inefficient ministers playing key roles in the new government, it would seem to be a poisoned chalice for the MDC. The international community has been asked to step up to the plate on the back of SADC’s efforts. It is right that they should back the new government’s call for healing through assistance and development. Current sanctions in place will not preclude this. Recovery is not dependent on the lifting of all sanctions. Zanu (PF) needs to earn the lifting of sanctions against its members by showing a real commitment to the reconstruction process, rather than continuing with its current grudging participation and showing a real tendency to fall back on its old ways.

Mugabe using the MDC to con the West

Mugabe's real game: Using the MDC to steal money from the West. Mugabe remains defiant. People must realize that Mugabe is playing class...

8:55 AM

South Africa's bailout of Robert Mugabe : Zim to ask SA for R6bn

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ50481sMgGDA5kX5SLVjRlGoV6Y5qW_JaP5v3WyyMKpP8D4No6rh1MHA7Sbjninap7YryViN-BbtnpbL8JhltOasNAO7InczdhZY3vihsYgjrJ9HIgeQ69lr27K7irdfMpEF6uJehykg/s1600-h/zim-flag.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306132776159934050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ50481sMgGDA5kX5SLVjRlGoV6Y5qW_JaP5v3WyyMKpP8D4No6rh1MHA7Sbjninap7YryViN-BbtnpbL8JhltOasNAO7InczdhZY3vihsYgjrJ9HIgeQ69lr27K7irdfMpEF6uJehykg/s400/zim-flag.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsXB5fQCyF7hJ5vMeCYagdboIhnkjZvkUKdrrYL6ubW1JmuytBXyRA4l8WjHQgsUrfNBa24DTL3H1or8jx1WLMkZ7jw1tvEXgQoKk6D77NBek47Kh2glrrv7KortjjCGqat3MgGbLtIdg/s1600-h/Tsvangirai-morgan.jpg"></a>Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected on Friday to ask President Kgalema Motlanthe for at least $600-million (R6-billion) in the form of a rescue package to fund salaries for Zimbabwe's civil servants and to meet other essential services expenditure in the next six months. Tsvangirai, together with his new finance minister, Tendai Biti, and economic planning minister Elton Mangoma, is scheduled to meet Motlanthe, finance minister Trevor Manuel and foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Cape Town on Friday. On Thursday, SA foreign affairs director-general Ayanda Ntsaluba said the two teams would be discussing the reconstruction of Zimbabwe, but he had no more information because the meeting had been requested by Tsvangirai. Authoritative sources said Tsvangirai, in his first visit to South Africa as prime minister, would plead with Motlanthe for the rescue package, which he wants as a loan to be repaid when "the new government gets Zimbabwe's revenue system re-established". If South Africa cannot afford the package on its own, Tsvangirai will ask Motlanthe to help get other Southern African Development Community countries to contribute. In addition to the rescue package, Tsvangirai will also ask South Africa to open new lines of credit to Zimbabwe's beleaguered private sector. The sources, who did not want to be quoted before Tsvangirai actually met Motlanthe, said the new government would face an uphill struggle in meeting its promises unless South Africa helped. At his inauguration last week, Tsvangirai promised to start paying professionals in foreign currency immediately. They are now paid in worthless Zimbabwean dollars. The United States and several European countries have already said they will not help fund the new government until a number of benchmarks about restoring the rule of law and democracy are met. See <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/02/wary-world-leaders-greet-new-look.html">Will power sharing in Zimbabwe work, and is it time to lift sanctions?</a> The EU and the US are also worried about the continued influence of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, who has facilitated the salting away of millions of dollars from the bankrupt treasury for Mugabe and his family. Any help that has come into the country, including the R300-million in farming aid from South Africa, has seemingly been abused by the ruling elite at the expense of the poor. SADC executive secretary Tomaz Salamao has announced a fact-finding mission to determine how the inputs were distributed. Biti has reportedly already asked Gono to resign, but observers consider it unlikely that Mugabe will agree to let him go. The disagreement could provoke a major showdown in the new government. Mugabe reappointed Gono for another five-year term before the unity government was installed. The move incensed the MDC because the unity agreement that both parties signed barred Mugabe from making senior appointments unilaterally until the new government had been formed. The figure of R6-billion is based on a mini-budget of R1-billion monthly to pay civil servants' salaries and to meet other essential humanitarian costs.<a __eventidglow991033457="105" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7885343.stm">Beyond repair? </a><a __eventidglow991033457="104" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7885343.stm">Can Tsvangirai fix Zimbabwe's basket-case economy? </a><a __eventidglow533561333="108" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7901909.stm">Zimbabwe recovery costs 'massive' </a> No assistance Unlike many other African nations which receive aid from wealthy nations, Zimbabwe saw the International Monetary Fund turn off the taps a decade ago. Donors, led by the US and the European Union (EU), have said they will neither ease economic sanctions nor provide development assistance until it is clear that Mr Tsvangirai has truly managed to wrestle power from President Robert Mugabe. First, the EU would want to see "tangible signs of respect for human rights, the rule of law, and macro-economic stabilisation", it said in a statement. "We'll just have to wait and see," agreed US State Department spokesman Robert Wood, calling for evidence of "good governance and particularly real, true power-sharing on the part of Robert Mugabe". Direct investment into Zimbabwe from abroad has also all but collapsed, which leaves the government with just one way to get hold of foreign currency, namely exporting. In the recent past, more than half its export earnings have been generated by its platinum, gold, ferrochrome and nickel mines. In recent months, these earnings have plummeted as global prices for precious metals have slumped, with some mining companies mothballing operations till demand picks up again. "The impact on Zimbabwe has been particularly severe, " according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. "All four sectors are in serious trouble, partly because of the global downturn but also the collapse of basic infrastructure, especially electricity and water supplies." Zimbabwe's other foreign currency earner, agriculture, is a shadow of its former self after the wholesale looting of farms by Mr Mugabe's cronies during the early 2000s, when productive and profitable farms were either actively wrecked or left to rot. These days they do not even produce enough to feed the country's starving population. "Seven million people are in need of food aid"," says Mr Tsvangirai, so it is clear that significant export earnings from agriculture are out of the question. The country no longer has a tourism industry to speak of, and it could take years before visitor numbers pick up. Indeed, to make Zimbabwe attractive to tourists, the country's deadly HIV/Aids and cholera epidemics will need to be tackled and the rule of law must be re-established. With little scope for raising sufficient foreign currency from exports, another solution has been put forward. Zimbabwe should adopt the South African rand as its currency, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe has suggested. But there are plenty of sceptics. "It would mean that Zimbabwe would have to follow very different policies than what they've followed up to now," says Rudolph Gouws, chief economist at Rand Merchant Bank. "This would require Zimbabwe to give up its monetary and exchange rate policy sovereignty," observes Alide Dasnois, economist with the Governance of Africa's Resources Programme of the South African Institute of International Affairs. Such a move would also leave Zimbabwe with "a very tight fiscal space in which to manoeuvre and pull itself out of its misery", he reasons in an article in the Cape Times. And as the rand would be overvalued relative to Zimbabwe's situation it would "destroy the competitiveness of its exports" and hence remove any chance of an export-led recovery, he continues. As such, adopting the rand would "paint Zimbabwe into a corner in its bid to revive its economy", though this is not the main reason why it is an unlikely scenario. "It would not work unless Zimbabwe accepted that South Africa would control its economy, which would make it virtually a province of South Africa," adds Azar Jammine, senior economist at Econometrix. Mr Mugabe in particular would resist any dilution of Zimbabwe's sovereignty, while Mr Tsvangirai would see it as "an attempt by South Africa to be party to the agreement via the back door", Mr Lwanda reasons, insisting that adopting the rand would be "unhelpful and politically unacceptable" to Zimbabwe. An economic solution to Zimbabwe's woes is clearly not forthcoming at this stage, so expect Mr Tsvangirai to focus on his political battles. He will have to fight on two fronts. At home he will need to make the power sharing agreement with Mr Mugabe work. While on the international arena he will need to convince both government leaders and investors that he has truly established himself as the nation's genuine leader. Only then will sanctions be lifted and both aid money and inward investment begin to flow. Without such input from the international community, there is little hope that Zimbabwe's economy can begin to recover and the country's humanitarian crisis be brought to an end. See also <a class="readlink" href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25059868-12335,00.html">Full News Article</a> : Australia pledges $5m cholera aid to Zimbabwe<a href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25057842-32682,00.html">Despot's wife shops for investments</a> <a href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/">THE AUSTRALIAN</a>

South Africa's bailout of Robert Mugabe : Zim to ask SA for R6bn

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is expected on Friday to ask President Kgalema Motlanthe for at least $600-million (R6-billion) ...

2:17 PM

'Major failure of leadership'

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQJPxa29KSiNBGvKxmwnSzatfqE_SxOhtmJUxfICNAVmK7oE-yMsZBanfRx67XZVSAsq7Wpl95kTttOfJJjLw40HK42DGY0YZUWofFT1bht-pjv0o-pAfuAVcb9VA1L1BtXacH8froXM/s1600-h/ZimWorldCuplarge.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270228757873313138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjQJPxa29KSiNBGvKxmwnSzatfqE_SxOhtmJUxfICNAVmK7oE-yMsZBanfRx67XZVSAsq7Wpl95kTttOfJJjLw40HK42DGY0YZUWofFT1bht-pjv0o-pAfuAVcb9VA1L1BtXacH8froXM/s400/ZimWorldCuplarge.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 346px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></a> By Eddie Cross As you all know the SADC summit took place last Sunday with five heads of state attending, and with officials and ministers representing those who could not attend. They deliberated for 12 hours and then issued a communique that basically endorsed the position adopted by Thabo Mbeki and then the SADC troika. The most significant part of the exercise was that all 14 states supported the decisions reached. There were no dissenting views. It was a minor political victory for Robert Mugabe, Mbeki and the troika. It was a major failure of leadership. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECF3XJN4HSlknKrhA-0S4XCtZj-aA4TSOq9PWHOwtUgMu0z93a2VBMANIfXHazO0hFxM2R-pdyOVkMf4IRxfODGllIeS35lxZ6s-rCuC7Ec3fE6yRP-ofDiSDLjA2OWpXlmDCnI0CPJM/s1600-h/zim-mugabe-must-go.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270211348756437250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECF3XJN4HSlknKrhA-0S4XCtZj-aA4TSOq9PWHOwtUgMu0z93a2VBMANIfXHazO0hFxM2R-pdyOVkMf4IRxfODGllIeS35lxZ6s-rCuC7Ec3fE6yRP-ofDiSDLjA2OWpXlmDCnI0CPJM/s400/zim-mugabe-must-go.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 287px" /></a>The final decision that the two main parties should share control of the ministry of home affairs, and that the rest of the power-sharing deal should stand as agreed by Mbeki, is neither rational nor workable. It ignores the political realities in Zimbabwe, reduces the chance of success for the new government and could lead to the total collapse of the deal if the Movement for Democratic Change decides to reject the package. In a rerun of the Kenyan situation - in which regional leaders striving for compromise imposed a solution on Kenya that is a hydra-headed monster, barely capable of walking, let alone running the country - the SADC states have taken the easy route. In doing so they have run the risk of creating a failed state in Zimbabwe and unleashing uncontrollable violence and destruction. But, take it or leave it, it's a done deal and an appeal to the African Union or the United Nations, both dysfunctional institutions, will change little. This is the end of the road for negotiations. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-N869enFRwP_InDINXclXku3J5gd1skUaxlrvOawdHsXQozRlMw4oHMx5rSUkmdFR5axLtahIRVGbP-qA3fRYHC2J0FHb1TH6_85_oqw8wH1WlcsXUSbPEHDD608kCaypsfArIYqhvc/s1600-h/mugabe_bmbata.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270207465745257682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-N869enFRwP_InDINXclXku3J5gd1skUaxlrvOawdHsXQozRlMw4oHMx5rSUkmdFR5axLtahIRVGbP-qA3fRYHC2J0FHb1TH6_85_oqw8wH1WlcsXUSbPEHDD608kCaypsfArIYqhvc/s400/mugabe_bmbata.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" /></a> At this stage Zimbabwe's future is totally in the MDC and Morgan Tsvangirai's hands. If we accept what has been decided and go into the new government on this basis, we will be committing ourselves to a near-impossible task. It will be up to us to turn the economy around, establish conditions for free and fair elections in two years' time, and to try and heal the country, now more deeply divided than ever. In this exercise neither Zanu-PF nor the Arthur Mutambara group have anything to offer, except to try and not be spoilers. They bring nothing to the table except failure and corruption, and unrepresentative participation in the state's institutions. Not one of the Mutambara representatives in the new government will be elected, while the great majority of the Zanu-PF representatives hold their seats through intimidation and rigging. The problems facing any new government are staggering.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZChDzIIm31ihmcuOyNlwSk5j4ytmF_ETBuRVjV_4tJ3TIjwcFmRc1eWGDqE40fBVleH7_QE-AH-97awYtRN7mf211jdMN6pYyPKu4jQq33ZzLEwcXMijM_-BkvCpbQ5v52wYQPKAdF2Q/s1600-h/zim-usa.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270228313285073874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZChDzIIm31ihmcuOyNlwSk5j4ytmF_ETBuRVjV_4tJ3TIjwcFmRc1eWGDqE40fBVleH7_QE-AH-97awYtRN7mf211jdMN6pYyPKu4jQq33ZzLEwcXMijM_-BkvCpbQ5v52wYQPKAdF2Q/s400/zim-usa.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDAalMR3OiORaBOEcETCIN5y3ps7xVsObuQjk8cTsnrNgKODLl8JNxLn3qU3iYFAfg7PPuog5KpgNatasxW93K8aOLlCkrK8s403HdVh29G7J_zSHPtyQ2u7z0J_6OZ4GYhveKT04S8aQ/s1600-h/zim-cholera.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTSRVFGJ_QCZB8etzH5VO9M8kk504_qxleAgv-4BxhrDhfe01R6BLus67NMb2vKGPpq8Y9pBSTNpFQkCplr5R2SXCwv-BwTiOtf3r8GRPjwisPhfA7kCewejw0vZct6605cghyphenhyphenzOFGZas/s1600-h/zim-starvation.jpg"></a>Gross Domestic Product has collapsed to less than half of what it was 10 years ago, the currency is worthless and cannot be used for ordinary transactions anymore, and thousands are dying weekly from starvation, malnutrition and disease. About 95 percent of all teachers in the public sector are not working, three million children are out of school and hospitals and clinics are either closed or non-functional. Food supplies have run out and everywhere people are desperately looking for whatever food is available. The latest news is the aid agencies feeding the majority of the people will run out of food in January, and are cutting allocations by half in December to try and reach four million of the most affected people. The MDC's dilemma is that if it walks away from the SADC deal it will leave ordinary Zimbabweans naked in a blizzard that will offer only death or flight. The tragedy of this situation is that Mugabe and Zanu-PF do not give a damn. They want the deal to fail and think they can do "very well" on what is left of the Zimbabwe economy. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9cAYzCT3JGtF7d3GKsNBpCbpaYgBKIRVsSekaaR2heWoDYL_Qu-SLOoRobdhyphenhyphena8vaIx_UPXSYOaqGWyZi7VnbJU9FWn6R4IzKNtZEL6OKg366oUFDXPjnyBHvEWs7DXeyG0C0gvU1VA/s1600-h/zim-poor.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjVW-FurhbMdZSZD5wfOSVuOvyaskxDfoK5k9hJolaFqsmiEWpWSFFi5JgDOCOVpSIJoyeXMcqnNhUpGSihaonWkHbVegGX6VfnjlQ57RK3pbA3wTnXsz50PlUvXVTx1mRR62uSiVjGQ/s1600-h/zim-WFP.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270228502328548626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXjVW-FurhbMdZSZD5wfOSVuOvyaskxDfoK5k9hJolaFqsmiEWpWSFFi5JgDOCOVpSIJoyeXMcqnNhUpGSihaonWkHbVegGX6VfnjlQ57RK3pbA3wTnXsz50PlUvXVTx1mRR62uSiVjGQ/s400/zim-WFP.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px" /></a> They do not worry in any sense about the impact of Zimbabwe's final collapse on our neighbours. They are only concerned about one thing - how to hold on to their total control of the state and thereby protect their standard of living and personal security. The tragedy of the SADC summit is that it is clear that after all these years - and numerous declarations of commitment to democratic principles and all the recognised human and political rights - when it comes to applying those lofty principles to a real-time political crisis in their midst, they mean nothing. But that is the reality of African politics at this stage in our history. Not pretty or easy, but the stark reality. So, what do we do? Our national council met last week after receiving a report from the leadership, together with recommendations on the way forward. Unlike our compatriots, we care, we care deeply for the plight of Zimbabweans - all of them affected by the collapse and crisis created by failed leadership, greed and corruption. This time the consequences of rejection of a flawed deal for our people will be immediate and terrible. Morgan Tsvangirai stated in Johannesburg that a million people face death from starvation if the SADC-brokered deal collapses. He was not exaggerating.

'Major failure of leadership'

By Eddie Cross As you all know the SADC summit took place last Sunday with five heads of state attending, and with officials and ministers ...

10:17 AM

South Africa be warned 'You will be the next victims'

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSo0a720vTZ-GP88qFvyjJ4Yt6LrP9otiukNK-9T0b45a63AxHElCfg7-HX2BQu5g99q6mHwYdmegeugf49Q1GHmXN1d2Z4m-kpYENa9TLG0Fr9tx-eo31Qc0ou-5X4IPeB2h9K5IzwRI/s1600-h/Motlanthe-chairperson-SADC.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270196321492415746" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSo0a720vTZ-GP88qFvyjJ4Yt6LrP9otiukNK-9T0b45a63AxHElCfg7-HX2BQu5g99q6mHwYdmegeugf49Q1GHmXN1d2Z4m-kpYENa9TLG0Fr9tx-eo31Qc0ou-5X4IPeB2h9K5IzwRI/s400/Motlanthe-chairperson-SADC.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" /></a>ZIMBABWEAN war veterans have blasted President Kgalema Motlanthe and the South African Development Community over their inability to resolve the stand-off between Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change. “It is kindergarten stuff for SADC. If you call children to solve this, they will come up with a better solution than these leaders. It is simple. We want an answer from Motlanthe. We want him to condemn Mugabe. We would have liked him to be more forthright. If the chairperson [of SADC] is not willing to reign in someone, how can you call him a leader?” Wilfred Mhanda, secretary of the Zimbabwe Liberation Veterans Forum, told The Times. The forum, consisting of fighters who restarted the Zimbabwean independence war in 1975, met in Pretoria at the weekend at Idasa. Mhanda said South Africans will not be convinced of Motlanthe’s leadership abilities if he cannot hold a SADC member to account. Last week Motlanthe talked tough when he chaired an extraordinary SADC summit in Sandton, but despite slating Mugabe and the MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai for political immaturity, they were no closer to forming a unity government. Disagreement over the allocation of ministries, especially over control of the important ministry of home affairs, has scuppered progress towards forming a national unity government, as agreed in the September 15 power-sharing deal brokered by former president Thabo Mbeki. [Both want the Home Affairs ministry because it controls Zimbabwe’s police and intelligence services.] “We as liberation fighters and senior commanders feel the ideals we fought for have been betrayed by people like Robert Mugabe. We had hoped our colleagues, who fought for liberation in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique, would hold Mugabe to account. But he is trying to wriggle out of the [September 15 power sharing] agreement and the guarantors of that agreement, SADC and the African union, just stand by with their arms folded – cowed into submission by Mugabe. Why?” Mhanda wanted to know. “There was a free and fair election on March 29, which the MDC won. And now you find that spineless leaders are siding with the loser. What was the struggle for? To support someone who is killing his people? It is a shame on the whole of humanity.” Happyson Nenji, member of the forum, said that while the collapse of state services in Zimbabwe is now virtually complete, SADC was negating its own principals by not denouncing Mugabe’s intransigence. “SADC should enforce the principals as they did after the June 27 one-man election. All it takes is their voice. We are not asking for soldiers to be sent to Zimbabwe. It is simple. SADC must condemn Mugabe first, like with the election and then seek the solution. But why are they afraid of him? Where in the world have you seen people share a ministry? You are asking the winner to surrender to the loser,” Nenji said. Mhanda and Augustus Mudzwingwa warned South Africans that not holding heads of state and SADC to account would invariably lead to the Zimbabwean crisis repeating itself in neighbouring states in the future: “Zimbabwe does not exist in a vacuum. South Africa and the rest of the reason are not immune to the fall-out. You will be the next victims. In the end you will loose everything if you do not act out of self interest and for the greater good, in demanding respect for democratic principals. Once you abandon those principals you become vulnerable too. You sacrifice your freedom,” Mhanda said. Mudzwingwa said: Our freedom was usurped. The behaviour of the leaders of SADC surprises us. Do they not realise this may actually happen in South Africa or Mozambique? People have to open their eyes. Demand that your leaders learn from the Zimbabwean situation. You are being forewarned and fore armed.” <a href="http://multimedia.thetimes.co.za/videos/2008/11/zim-war-veterans-blast-motlanthe/">Video: Zim war veterans blast Mugabe</a>

South Africa be warned 'You will be the next victims'

ZIMBABWEAN war veterans have blasted President Kgalema Motlanthe and the South African Development Community over their inability to resolve...

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'Major failure of leadership'

South Africa be warned 'You will be the next victims'

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