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2005 review: Is Zimbabwe ready for face to face confrontation with the regime?
Violet Gonda
December 30, 2005

http://www.swradioafrica.com/news291205/roundup2005.htm

2005 was undoubtedly an agonising year for most Zimbabweans. This was the year that saw the Mugabe regime flexing its muscle and tightening its grip on power. From the imposition of draconian laws, rigging elections, acts of violence, arresting journalists and activists to continued illegal farm evictions. Zimbabweans had to deal with the never-ending price increases and worsening standards of living. These are some of the issues that made headlines this past year.

On September 16 the constitution of Zimbabwe amendment no. 17 was passed, signalling the end to people's civil liberties. Among other things, this saw the legalisation of farm invasions and the introduction of the controversial senate. The amendment has been described by some as "the mother" of all draconian legislation.

The amendment of the constitution also allows the government to restrict the right to freedom of movement to perceived saboteurs, by denying a passport to a Zimbabwean wishing to travel outside the country. The first victims publisher Trevor Ncube, politician Paul Temba Nyathi and activist Raymond Majongwe had their passports seized in December.

Soon after the March parliamentary elections the government embarked on a brutal exercise, code named Operation Murambatsvina that severely affected hundreds of thousands of people by pushing them out of their homes. Many say it was punishment for the way they voted in the elections, and an insidious strategy to rig or predetermine future elections.

Paradoxically, this cruel exercise started around the time Africa was celebrating May 25 th, a day designated as Africa Day. A day to celebrate Pan -Africanism. On this day Africans are expected to reflect back on what the continent has achieved since its independence. For Zimbabweans however, it was a time in which many people lost their livelihood to police raids. The Government of Zimbabwe became an anathema to the noble African cause as Zimbabweans battled with food and fuel shortages, as well as police and military brutality.

The United Nations described Robert Mugabe's clean up exercise as a disastrous venture that made more than 700 000 homeless. Several people died, mainly women and children, with thousands still living in makeshift plastic shacks in informal settlements, while others have gone back to live in the rubble of their former homes, destroyed by the regime.

The police used brutal force and burnt to the ground property belonging to the residents in places such as Hatcliffe Extension. At times residents were forced to burn their own belongings and later loaded onto trucks and dumped at Caledonian Farm without food, water or clothes.

The MP for this area Trudy Stevenson said at the time, that most of the affected were children. Hatcliffe extension had a population of between

15 000 and 20 000. 20% of the houses were child headed due to the HIV/AID pandemic. 45% of the people in this area were estimated to be HIV positive which meant the displacement resulted in many people not being able to be traced to receive ARV treatment.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights reported that army officials are in charge of these transit camps where the government is keeping victims of Operation Murambatsvina. The story is no different for you to get food aid you have to carry a Zanu PF card. Badly needed food continues to be distributed in a partisan manner and the situation has been made worse by the fact that human rights groups and churches are denied access, to impoverished communities. They were told in some places like Hopley Farm outside Harare that they had to go through a process involving army officials and the Ministry of Social Welfare, which has since assumed the active and sinister role in distributing food.

The economic crisis also added to the nightmare. Inflation is currently running at 502% although it's accepted that the real inflation rate is much higher. The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe says p rices of bread, milk and cooking oil increased 10 fold in the last 12 months. Bread cost ZW$ 3,500 in January and now if you are lucky you may get a loaf for "as little" as ZW$44,000.

The West has imposed targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime urging African leaders to take steps to pressure Mugabe to change his policies. The New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) is largely aimed at boosting investment and aid in Africa, with good governance and peer review mechanisms at the core.

In his official "Letter from the President" column on the ANC website in August, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki wrote that Mugabe's policies were a stumbling block to regional growth, and that his actions had an impact on the rest of the region. He wrote that a stable and prosperous Zimbabwe was critical and urged the country to play a central role in the struggle to achieve the goals spelt out in the SADC Treaty. This was one of the few times that Mbeki came close to openly criticising his neighbour and time ally Robert Mugabe. But he still avoided direct criticism of issues such as oppressive legislation, the chaotic and illegal seizures of land, and the absence of independent media in the country.

Mbeki has been accused of shifting goal posts where Zimbabwe is concerned, as demonstrated in March when he prematurely declared that "the general elections in Zimbabwe are going to be free and fair." Director of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Arnold Tsunga dismissed the statement as an act of betrayal by Mbeki, saying he compromised his efforts to lead the search for a solution to the political crisis and openly sided with a dictatorial regime.

Mbeki's Government was also faced with mounting criticism over discussions aimed at granting its cash strapped neighbour a substantial line of credit worth hundreds of millions of rand. Under normal circumstances an act of goodwill by South Africa to Zimbabwe would not be controversial but given the current notoriety of the Mugabe regime and the human rights abuses, any help Mbeki offered would taint South Africa's reputation.

There was an outcry from Zimbabwe and within South Africa with the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) declaring: "such a payment would scupper any shift towards a firmer stance against the Mugabe regime. And it comes at a time when most members of the international community, including the IMF and the World Bank, plan to cut ties with Zimbabwe as a result of the Mugabe regime's consistent human rights abuses."

Mbeki's brother, Moelisti told SWRA that half a billion US dollars will not stop the corrupt regime of RobertMugabe from ruining the country even more. The outspoken critique of the Mugabe regime believes his brother (Thabo) would help Zimbabwe out of national interest and not for humanitarian reasons.

Ultimately Zimbabwe is living on a time bomb. Observers predict an implosion in 2006 if the 81 year old dictator continues with his hard-line policies that have destroyed the economy. Agriculture once a mainstay of Zimbabwe's economy has dramatically declined as a result of chaotic farm invasions, drought, lack of inputs and skilled labour. This has also led to the critical shortages of foreign currency and low if non-existent investment.

Private schools once a preserve for the extremely rich cushioned from the day to day suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans have not been spared in this Government onslaught. The Education minister now has powers through the Zanu PF dominated parliament to prescribe school fees and levies for privateschools. The high court last year blocked Education minister Aeneas Chigwedere from prescribing school fees for private schools following numerous objections by the Association of Trust Schools in Zimbabwe. A spokesman for the trust, which represents 60 private schools in Zimbabwe, said the proposed amendment to the Education Act will impact heavily on the standards of education in the country. President of the Trust, Jonathan Timba, told us in May that by empowering the minister to do as he wishes will be taking the development of education in the country two steps backwards and undermining the independence of private schools.

With all this happening most people had pinned their hopes on the country's main opposition party, the MDC, but have been disappointed by the divisions that have rocked the 6 year old party. The internal conflict, which started off over a dispute on whether or not to participate in the senate elections, has now become agame of tug of war between the leadership in the troubled MDC. Both sides are now preparing to hold their own congress, a sign that neither side is recognising the other. The dispute has had a devastating effect on the MDC's support base.

The boycott camp led by Party President Morgan Tsvangirai said the senate issue was pointless and the MDC would not participate in this flawed process. He also accused his colleagues in the pro-participation camp of representing their own interests. But the other side led by Professor Welshman Ncube maintains they were trying to maintain ground won already and challenge ZANU PF at every forum. Both camps have suspended each other. A leading political commentator and one of the advisors for the MDC, Professor Brian Raftopoulos, said the internal divisions in the opposition party are now too deep to reconcile. He described the infighting in the MDC as a major tragedy for them as a party and for the people of Zimbabwe who have put so much faith in them.

Professor Raftopoulos is one of the people trying to bring the disputing camps together.

The infighting has left some asking if the MDC is capable of mobilising mass protest s. Raftopoulos said at the moment it looks very grim, and it looks like there is no real strategy around mobilisation. The infighting has drained the party and cost a lot in terms of capacity to mobilise. But journalist Chris Chinake has predicted that former Trade Unionist Morgan Tsvangirai will carry the day at the party's Congress scheduled for early this year. With many senior diplomats declaring that it is too soon to write off the charismatic MDC leader from the political scene.

Outspoken political commentator Dr John Makumbe said that the only way out of the crisis for the people of Zimbabwe was a face to face confrontation with Robert Mugabe. He! was speaking after failed mass stayaways organised by the Broad Alliance (a coalition of opposition, civic and church groups), in June.

The political analyst said the Mugabe regime is very smart. It has repressed, but not entirely destroyed. He believes that the only way to bring about change is if pain is intensified. Dr Makumbe says the regime has to cause so much pain that Zimbabweans say we have nothing else to lose but our pain.

If the price for freedom is a face to face confrontation with the regime, is Zimbabwe ready for this? We will find out in 2006.

*Violet Gonda is a Producer/Presenter on SW Radio Africa. She can be contacted at violet@swradioafrica.com

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