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Diaspora
Resistance - Moratorium on money transfers
Phil Matibe
October 25, 2007
"Whose bread I eat,
his song I sings, money talks, money is power"
Exiled Zimbabweans need
to understand that, "it is often safe and painless to be brave
from a distance". Let us grab the regime by the belt buckle
and force it recognise the Diaspora economic might. Our actions
will compel the regime to acquiesce to our demands for our right
to vote, an immediate end to state sanctioned violence, the return
of the rule of law and free and fair elections.
The Governor of the Reserve
Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Gideon Gono, in cohorts with the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) now employs covert black-market
foreign currency buyers. The sole function of the buyers is to mop
up all available currency from the public and authorized dealers,
utilizing the infinite amounts of freshly minted local cash provided
by the RBZ. The foreign exchange is bought clandestinely at the
day's prevailing black market rate (US$1: ZW$1 000 000 000.00) or
(£1: ZW$2 250 000 000.00) and subsequently transported and
secured in the RBZ vaults for use by the government.
ZANU (PF) and government
officials then acquire the same foreign currency from the RBZ at
the official rate (US$1: ZW$30 000.00). Simple arithmetic will show
that when a cabinet minister requires annual college fees (US$35
000.00) for his child to attend a university in the "imperialist
west", he pays the RBZ, one billion and fifty million dollars
(ZW$1 050 000 000 000.00). The RBZ in contrast would have acquired
the same amount of foreign currency from the parallel market for
35 billion dollars (ZW$35 000 000 000.00). Thus Diaspora funds sent
by hardworking Zimbabweans living in exile with the intention of
sustaining their families inadvertently become the subsidy and essential
lifeline to buttress and maintain the regime.
Case in point: a Zimbabwean
care worker in the United Kingdom sends £ 50.00 (pounds) home
to his mother through a money transfer agent. The RBZ through the
agent gives the mother ZW $112 500 000 000.00 and retains the £50.00
(pounds) for onward transmission to the government. Essentially
the government is buying currency back at only a fraction of its
local value. Rather than utilizing the funds for national essentials
like food, electricity, fuel and medicines, the government instead
spends the valuable foreign currency acquiring non productive assets
e.g. luxury cars, homes and expensive foreign shopping sprees.
Uku ndiko kunonzi kudzorera
marasha kuHwange!!
From November
1 to November 30, 2007, let us starve the regime of its source of
foreign currency. During this period, as a protest to the continuing
human rights violations, we must to use our collective Diaspora
monetary strength by withholding all money transfers for that phase.
It is estimated that 1 500 000 working Zimbabweans reside outside
the country. On average exiles remit twenty-five dollars (US $25.00),
per month to relatives back home. If we collectively protest and
withhold remittances, the government fails to collect a monthly
subsidy of 37 million dollars (US $37 500 000.00.), from its disenfranchised
citizenry.
All Zimbabweans
in exile should exercise their constitutional rights and grasp this
momentous occasion for a powerful, bipartisan demonstration against
the government's economic mismanagement, irrational policies, endemic
corruption and blatant breach of international humanitarian law.
The regime must repeal draconian laws and allow exiled Zimbabweans
to vote.
Let us clutch
this fortuitous moment and deprive the regime of its sustenance.
The power for our own emancipation is in our wallets.
Phil Matibe
can be reached on: pmatibe@gmail.com
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