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Visit to Zimbabwe 19th - 25th July 2003
Kate Hoey, MP (UK)
September 26, 2003

I first visited Zimbabwe in 1989 and again in 1992 with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Having become closely involved with protests against the Zimbabwe cricket team’s England tour earlier this year and as a member of the newly-formed All-Party Zimbabwe group in Parliament I decided I needed to see conditions inside the country for myself.

In co-operation with the Zimbabwe Democracy Trust I was able to arrange a week’s undercover tour going from the south to the north of the country. I visited both rural and urban areas and had meetings with people from a very wide variety of backgrounds.

Since there was very little chance of being granted a visa had I applied through the Zimbabwe High Commission in London I decided to enter the country as a tourist (A group of German MPs who applied recently were refused permission to visit and a Norwegian MP was told to leave the country). I flew via Johannesburg to Bulawayo, provincial capital of Matabeleland.

Matabeleland
Matabeleland has borne the brunt of Mugabe’s repression since the early 1980s when he used North Korean trained troops to carry out the Gukurahundi massacres of 20,000 ‘dissidents’. This operation was aimed at neutralising the power base of Joshua Nkomo whom Mugabe perceived as a threatening his personal cult as well as at exploiting tribal hostility between the majority Shona and the Matabele, portrayed as forerunners of the white colonial settlers.

My first call was on Pius Ncube, RC Archbishop of Bulawayo, who has long been an outspoken critic of Zanu PF. He plays an important part in mobilising opposition to the Mugabe regime amongst church leaders in Zimbabwe told me of the Army tanks on the street to intimidate people during the recent stayaway when 800 people were picked up. He says that Mugabe wants to see his successor lined up before he steps down and thinks it highly unlikely that Mugabe will go before 2005.

While many church leaders have been complicit apologists for the regime there is now an encouraging groundswell of outspoken opposition. Bishops and pastors realise that their silence has prolonged the suffering of the people. Some see their role as facilitating a negotiated settlement and are working closely with South African churchmen to bring pressure to bear on both Zanu PF leaders and the MDC to work together in resolving the crisis. Others prefer to see their role as prophetic, speaking out against the excesses of violence, corruption and bad governance; they are also frank in their criticism of the MDC hierarchy when they feel it fails to provide adequate leadership or opposition to the regime.

Jenni Williams of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA – which means Come! In Ndebele) and who accompanied me throughout my time in Matabeleland plays a very important role in empowering resistance at grassroots level. It is a continuing battle to mobilise mass protests on the streets – partly because the people are cowed by violence and the exhausting grind of daily existence, partly because there is a lack of charismatic figures to rally and lead demonstrations. Jenni has the guts and determination to fulfil that role, a legacy no doubt from mixed Matabele and Irish forebears. Meeting a group of widows all infected with HIV and struggling to find the means to feed and clothe their children, let along pay for medication, I was immediately struck by their extreme reticence to voice any overt criticism of the regime. They clearly felt that they might compromise their safety even amongst a group of friends – any one of whom might be an informer for the Central intelligence Organisation (CIO). However they were enthusiastic at the prospect of joining a protest against the shortage of food. In that context it was interesting to see that a major consideration in mobilising for such an event would be sourcing funds to pay for bus travel from the townships to a central location. Even the bus fares into town to meet me at the Methodist Church are a luxury item for these people with no formal income in a country beset by runaway inflation.

POSA
Meeting at a church provided some protection against the Public Order and Security Act, the catchall legislation used to detain and harass those who oppose the regime. Archbishop Ncube told me that CIO officers visit him before services and question him as to ‘political’ comments he will be making and whether opposition activists will be present. He answers that he will preach a gospel of justice and peace and that the service is open to all – including the CIO officers who invariably attend and then arrest activists as they leave. Two days after I left Bulawayo Jenni Williams was arrested for leading a street protest against POSA. Having been held in custody, together with more than 30 of her supporters, in degrading and inhumane conditions, she was released after three days, her house and office having been searched. Members of the Zimbabwe National Pastors’ Conference tell me that before preaching they are required to submit their sermons for vetting by the CIO.

Food aid
As well as playing an increasingly important part in the process of finding a way out of the political impasse the churches play an impressive role in organising feeding programmes. I met Baptists, Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Pentecostals involved in providing food for the increasing numbers for whom even the staple mealie meal is impossibly expensive or simply unobtainable. Repeatedly I was told that Zanu PF officials have succeeded in stitching up access to food. Food aid is distributed in programmes devised in co-operation with the officials of the regime with whom aid agencies are compelled to work.

Commercial distribution is firmly in the grip of the Zanu PF controlled Grain Marketing Board and there are countless scams in urban and rural areas involving the seizure and remarketing of food. This means that officials of the ruling party get rich and drain the country of resources while individuals and whole districts perceived as loyal to the opposition are denied access to food. I passed many roadblocks where buses and cars were being searched for mealie meal; it is now an offence to transport it – a manifestation of the regime’s policy of keeping firm control of who should have access.

Even those church groups who are able to raise funds to bring in food from South Africa are thwarted at every step by the need to obtain import licenses, transport licenses and distribution licenses – not often forthcoming from government officials who would rather seize the consignments or see them rot in warehouses.

There is considerable concern amongst those who are working for change that the provision of food aid – for which the Zanu PF regime of course claims credit – acts as a panacea. It helps stave off the mass anger in the population that would lead to an uprising and unseat the regime. Consideration needs to be given to whether it is ethical to continue provide humanitarian relief if that simply masks the greater crisis and delays the demise of a violent, corrupt and inept regime.

Bulawayo City Council
WOZA arranged for me to sit in on a round-table discussion at Bulawayo City Council between Council officers (from Housing & Community Services and Education) and World Vision who are WFP’s main food aid distribution agents. World Vision had requested the meeting to discuss ways of distributing food aid in urban areas now that major intervention is required. 300,000 of the city’s 700,000 population are now destitute. Various initiatives have already helped the sick, elderly or children including a one-off donation of high nutrition biscuits that enabled each schoolchild to be given 4 biscuits a day over a period of 1.5 months, this provided one third of the daily calorie requirement. While the highly professional council staff had a clear sense of what was required and the urgency of the operation World Vision staff were less than impressive. The council offered detailed figures of where and when aid is required – down to individual names gathered at welfare centres where waiting lists are complied, they have the infrastructure for distribution and staff with a detailed knowledge of their patch. The senior aid workers seemed to have no sense of urgency and talked of being at the ‘conceptual phase’. They had employed consultants, who had come up with a plan that is clearly hopelessly flawed, to provide for sorghum as a ‘self selecting’ item to be sold at subsidised prices through tuck shop and supermarkets. They seemed surprised to be told that sorghum porridge was regarded as a luxury food item and so far from being ‘self-selecting’ and only bought as a last resort it would be snapped up – not least by gangs running scams to export it out of the country for hard currency.

Farming crisis
The irony of the food crisis in Zimbabwe, once the breadbasket of Africa, was only fully revealed when I toured through the Mazowe Valley, Bindura, Concession and Banket agricultural districts. Formerly the most productive wheat and maize growing area of the country and more than able to supply domestic needs as well as earn foreign currency through exports, for mile after mile we drove past uncultivated acres. Clearly it is not the fault of the climate, the irrigation dams are full. Farms seized under the regime’s fast-track land reform programme, ostensibly for distribution to the landless, have largely been doled out to Mugabe’s cronies for whom the main attraction seems to have been the house for use as a country retreat. The agricultural land and farm workers are simply an irritation. Even where farms have been divided up into subsistence farming parcels these are handed out to local Zanu PF loyalists most of whom are already in employment as teachers, policemen or miners. Farm workers who have agricultural skills can no longer earn a living on the uncultivated commercial farms and are prevented by force even from growing a few crops for their families, many are displaced and living in squatter camps. In many cases they only survive through food provided by their former employers.

The mutual support networks operating between farm workers and their erstwhile employers were a clear expression of the fact that the racist rhetoric used by Mugabe is an attempt to revive the anti-colonialist sentiment current during the heyday of the liberation struggle 30 years ago. Amongst Zimbabweans today such concepts seem outdated, just as many black Zimbabweans feel affection for Britain through having been at college there or having family members working there as do white Zimbabweans whose connection may be several generations back.

Justice for Agriculture, which works for an orderly reconstruction of the agricultural industry, is anxious to encourage British companies not to buy flowers, fruit, tobacco & sugar produced on illegally occupied farms. As well as undermining the rule of law proceeds from such sales flow back into the coffers of Zanu PF and its supporters. A well-organised boycott of such suppliers would be another means of applying targeted pressure at the heart of the regime.

The fact that those who have been granted or seized occupancy of land under the land reform process have no title deeds to the land means that there is no security of tenure. Field lie fallow because there is no incentive to invest in seed, fertilisers or machinery when land can be reassigned at whim. Banks are unwilling to make loans where there is no security of tenure – a problem that affects both large & small-scale farmers.

Civil society
I met a good number of representatives of civil society. Brian Raftopuolos, chair of Crisis Coalition pointed out that control of information had always been central to the Zanu PF project. He is anxious that there will be a further crackdown on NGOs – who are regarded as agents of the West - and academics such as himself following the measures announced by Mugabe in his speech at the Opening of Parliament. Brian recognises that civil society itself cannot topple the state but it can open up political spaces and agitate for small reforms that will lead to larger ones. He said activists feel boxed in by the heavy presence of police and militia on the streets. Since Mugabe is not isolated on the African continent Crisis Coalition is planning to send a team to visit West African and Caribbean countries to help win support away from the solid bloc that regularly supports the Zanu PF at meetings of the African Union, Commonwealth, ACP etc. This is particularly important ahead of CHOGM, Zimbabwe’s relationship with the Commonwealth needs to be resolved one way or another before the Abuja meeting.

Many in Zimbabwe are clearly hopeful that Zanu PF will find itself unable to resist pressure for a transitional government leading to free and fair elections. Others are fearful that they will wake up one morning to discover that a deal has been cobbled together with leading members of Zanu PF and elements within the MDC dividing the spoils amongst themselves. There is a real mistrust of President Mbeki’s motives and manoeuvrings. Amongst the people I met, admittedly opposition activists, there was a strong perception that he is part of the problem and not part of the solution.

I was frequently told that EU targeted sanctions, the travel ban & assets freeze on senior Zanu PF officials, are a very useful weapon if stringently enforced. Many people urged that spouses and children should also be included in the ban since at present they are able both to escape the hardships the party has created in Zimbabwe and also act as a conduit for moving illegally acquired wealth out of the country.

MDC
Opposition MPs are frequently subject to violent attacks and their agents and supporters arrested, often without charge, and beaten or tortured while in custody. This is a reflection of the widespread use of violence to instil fear and intimidation throughout communities. Although the police, army and secret police are still frequently involved there appears to be increasing use of the youth militia and other vigilante groups. This indicates nervousness on the part of senior figures that they might be called to account if and when the regime is finally removed from power.

Two significant events during my week in Zimbabwe were nominations for local council elections and the opening of Parliament. I was in the Bindura district the day after the town had been virtually sealed off by the Zanu PF youth militia and MDC mayoral and councillor candidates were prevented by force from getting close to the nomination court. The same pattern was reported in a number of towns with Zanu PF candidates being proclaimed winners by default. In a surprising move the next day MDC MPs did not walk out of Parliament during the speech by Robert Mugabe. They have used this tactic for the past and had threatened to do so again. The decision to stay was apparently supposed to indicate to the international audience their readiness to engage in dialogue.

Inside Zimbabwe, while seized upon by Zanu PF as a breakthrough, much of the population seemed to feel let down by the capitulation. It will also be welcomed by those in the Commonwealth and EU who want to see measures against the regime relaxed as a signal that even the opposition within the country see signs of improvement; this could not be further from the truth. A number of MPs, who would have felt compelled to walk out had they been present, chose not to attend parliament and show a public split. When I met Morgan Tsvangirai at his home he said ’Imagine how I felt when they told me I had to go there’ he also told me ‘It was the worst 30 minutes of my life’.

He also commented that there are almost too many initiatives trying to broker deals and mediate in the crisis. He made it clear that what is needed are free and fair elections, and dismissed the mechanics of electoral rolls & time frames as mere details. I was encouraged when he told me that he was very hopeful of finding a way out of the impasse.

I also spent time with the MDC Mayor of Harare, Elias Mudzuri, and we toured the industrial suburbs of Ardbennie, Highfields and Budiriro together – making sure to move on every 10 minutes before the CIO could catch up with us. The Minister for Local Government, Ignatius Chombo, has suspended Mayor Mudzuri from office. This move, as with the treason trials of Morgan Tsvangirai, seems to be aimed at isolating the most popular and potent leaders of the opposition and diverting their energies from politics to self-preservation – the government is trying to deprive Mr Mudzuri of his house and income.

Economy
In the industrial areas I visited many people have set up informal craft industries hoping to make small amounts of money from making and selling products at the roadside. Behind them the factories where they used to work are idle and workers have given up even trying to find employment in the formal sector. Eric Bloch an economist who briefed me on the economic background explained that 20 years ago the average number in an extended family was 8, now it is 18. Zimbabwe has become a remittance economy with many villages or extended families clubbing together to send one of their number abroad to earn hard currency.

Directors of major companies briefed me on the business environment and while many businesses are booming with order books full there is a great deal of opportunistic profiteering from the chaos in the country. Galloping inflation means that keeping abreast of price changes is almost impossible. The shortage of cash has led to supermarket chains that take banknotes at the till selling them on at a premium of 25% to employers who need to pay their workers’ wages. City centre streets are lined with queues as people wait for hours to withdraw their ration of banknotes. It is clear that so much of trade and commerce occurs outside the formal structure that collection of taxes has become haphazard.

An abiding impression is the expectation Zimbabweans from all backgrounds have that the British Government should be able to do something to help them. They feel no animosity – although some feel forgotten or overlooked – and it was interesting to see that more black than white Zimbabweans now have close links with the UK. They either have family members living here or were educated here. The bonds between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom are more than an historical accident, they are a current reality and Zimbabweans feel that we owe them a responsibility in this time of crisis.

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