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Whither civil society?
Moyiga Nduru, Inter Press Service (IPS)
August 13, 2005

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29893

JOHANNESBURG- As Zimbabwe has slipped deeper into political and economic turmoil over the past five years, the role of civil society in helping the country to address its problems has come under increasing scrutiny.

Tapera Kapuya, a former Zimbabwean student leader who now lives in South Africa, believes that civic organisations in Southern Africa as a whole are slowly coming to grips with the various challenges facing Zimbabwe.

"There's now a growing awareness, (more) than two or three years ago," he told IPS. Kapuya studies law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the port city of Durban, and is also Africa secretary at the International Union of Students. He was expelled from the University of Zimbabwe, detained and tortured, in 2001.

"There's now a growing awareness that it's not Blair who razed down people's houses. It's not Bush who tortured people in Zimbabwe," added Kapuya. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has accused Western governments, including those of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George Bush, of plotting to undermine his country.

Another Zimbabwean activist, Simon Spooner, says that the urban demolition campaign which got underway in his country recently may have served as a turning point for non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The campaign, dubbed 'Operation Murambatsvina' (a Shona term meaning "drive out the filth") has claimed the homes of 700,000 people since May. Authorities say the initiative was aimed at reducing crime, and ridding towns of illegally constructed buildings.

"The demolition brought civil societies and the international community to their senses," Spooner told IPS. However, he believes that NGOs should have adopted a more decisive approach towards Zimbabwe some time ago.

"If they had acted earlier they would have prevented a lot of suffering," noted Spooner, who says he has been "detained a number of times" by officials in his country. "It has taken this degree of suffering to convince civil societies to realise the extent of the tragedy in Zimbabwe."

On Jun. 23, a coalition of more than 200 African and international NGOs issued an unprecedented joint appeal to the United Nations and the African Union for intervention to help Zimbabweans whose houses were demolished. The U.N. Special Envoy on Human Settlement Issues in Zimbabwe, Anna Tibaijuka, has issued a damning report on Operation Murambatsvina.

"Now the churches are coming on board and the pressure is gaining momentum. I don't think they can ignore the problem of Zimbabwe which they are now committed to addressing," added Spooner.

Two weeks ago the South African Council of Churches sent a batch of relief aid to Zimbabwe to help victims of the urban campaign. The consignment included 4,500 blankets and 37 tonnes of maize, beans and oil.

The council is now trying to send another three trucks loaded with food and other essentials. However, the aid has been prevented from entering Zimbabwe, apparently because officials from that country want proof that food supplies are not genetically modified (GM). South Africa's Department of Agriculture confirmed Thursday that the food was free of any GM products.

Since 2000, Zimbabwe has witnessed controversial farm seizures, and three elections marred by allegations of irregularities and rights abuses - most of which were directed against the opposition. The farm occupations were initially portrayed as an attempt by liberation war veterans and other militants to rectify racial imbalances in land ownership - a legacy of British colonial rule. However, government critics claim the seizures were orchestrated by officials in a bid to gain votes in the 2000 parliamentary poll.

An estimated 4.5 million Zimbabweans have left their country for greener pastures. According to Daniel Molokela, a Zimbabwean lawyer who works for the Peace and Democracy Project, an NGO based in Johannesburg, South Africa alone hosts more than two million Zimbabweans. Molokela is involved in organising members of Zimbabwe's diaspora to push for change in their home country.

Along with drought, the farm occupations have contributed to widespread food shortages in Zimbabwe. The United Nations World Food Programme believes 4.2 million Zimbabweans will need food aid during the coming months.

Events of the past five years have also brought about severe economic decline in the country. Inflation is currently running at about 140 percent and foreign currency reserves are low, leading to acute shortages of fuel and other basic commodities. Unemployment stands at 75 percent , while over 70 percent of the population is living below the poverty line, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Not all civil society activists share the view that NGOs have smelt the coffee as far as Zimbabwe is concerned.

"When it comes to donor-Africa relations, African civil societies are very critical. But when domestic issues with international implications such as Zimbabwe's come into play, we don't hear similar outbursts," Sam Dube of Zimbabwe Action, a South Africa-based pressure group, told IPS.

"This is a double standard. We hope civil societies in Southern Africa will come out clean and denounce human rights abuses whether they happen in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo or anywhere on the continent."

Spooner urges civil society groups to close ranks in support of Zimbabweans.

"The struggle in Zimbabwe is between its people and their government. This makes it difficult for the people who don't have resources, access to the media and transport to push for change," he said. "We can't print stories because we don't have the medium. This is why we need support from our African brothers and sisters."

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