Living Zimbabwe

Category: Politics

  • Independence and the An Yue Jiang

    It has been 24 days since the presidential elections and the official results are still to be released by ZEC. A lot has been going been going on in Zimbabwe since the 29th of March with one of them being the April 18th Independence Day celebrations. Just how independent Zimbabwe is, is something much left to be desired. I took a look at the dictionary definition of independence:

    Independence – the quality or state of being independent, freedom from control or influence of another or others
    freedom – the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints: autonomy, liberty – immunity from arbitrary exercise of authority: political independence

    Freedom of speech is something that is basically unheard of in Zimbabwe and the government tries to keep a tight lid on what sort of information is distributed via the various media channels and the journalists who come into the country to report on the situation. Some people live in fear that they may be subjected to beatings, torture, jail sentences or even death for speaking up for what they believe in which in most cases is basic human rights. What kind of independence is that?

    Zimbabweans are in a state of limbo as they await the very overdue results of the presidential elections. In the mean time, the streets of the nation’s cities and towns have been filling up with personnel from the armed forces and the odd Chinese military official has also been spotted. MDC activists and supporters have been subjected to violent beatings and this violence is something that may continue or even escalate especially with the large arms consignment destined for Zimbabwe from China.

    A Chinese ship the An Yue Jiang which is carrying a large amount of weapons and ammunition destined from Zimbabwe was turned away from South Africa and Mozambique and is now destined for Angola from where its cargo can make its way to landlocked Zimbabwe. The United States is trying to intervene to convince governments of African nations to prevent the ship from unloading its cargo. There have been reports that a second shipment destined for Zimbabwe will be flown into the country, a step that may have been taken to circumvent the problems and controversy surrounding the first consignment. What all of this weaponry will be used for at a time like this is a question that a lot of people are asking?

    Whatever the case may be, the people of Zimbabwe continue to suffer at the hands of a few people who could very easily put an end to it and allowing new leaders with the right mind set to take over. Are Zimbabweans going to have to go through the struggle of gaining independence all over again?

  • Are the 2008 Zimbabwe Presidential Elections Rigged?

    Zimbabwe Presidential Elections Rigged!Cartoon by Tom Scott of The Dominion Post featured in the April 2nd edition. (Click on image to enlarge.)

    It has been five days since Zimbabweans took to polling stations and there has been no word as to who won the presidential elections. MDC has been claiming that they have won the elections stating that they have 50.3% and Mugabe 43.8% but there has been no official word from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. However, official results show that Mugabe has lost the majority in parliament which may mean the same thing for the presidential elections but people should not hold their breath because in the past, Mugabe has often done what he wants to do. The ZEC has said that they will release the results on Friday the 4th but that is not a given. Mr. Tsvangirai and a number of key figures from both MDC and Zanu PF have been seen in public talking about the elections but the man of the moment President Robert Mugabe had not been seen in public since the elections but he has resurfaced vowing to fight the good fight to hold on to presidency.

    Here are some interesting things that some people have said through out the election period:

    Teresa Makoni (MDC) – “It’s straight plain rigging.”

    George Charamba (spokesperson for President Robert Mugabe) – “The present delay owes more to thoroughness than to all those sinister motives you are imputing on our impeccable electoral system.”

    Tendai Biti (MDC Secretary General) – “President Morgan Richard Tsvangirai has won this election. He has won this election without a run-off.”

    Bright Matonga (Zanu-PF Spokesman) – “We are not going to see a Kenyan situation. Zimbabweans are very mature, there is no need to fight, as Zimbabweans we don’t have a problem. The problem is coming from the MDC handlers, the United Kingdom and the United States, they are so eager, they want to see the back of President Mugabe, they want Mugabe to go. I think this is an opportunity for Mr. Tsvangirai to give back land to the white man and that’s wish full thinking and that’s a dream that will never come true.”

    Heidi Holland (Author of Dinner with Mugabe) – “Mugabe is a strategist of note. He has outwitted all his opponents to date. That doesn’t mean his day won’t come.”

    Boniface Chidyausiku (Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the UN) – don’t write him off…..if one member fails to get 50% + 1 there is need for a run-off so I think if that comes up he will take the challenge.

  • Zimbabweans in New Zealand Poll Results

    Zimbabweans in New Zealand Ballot PaperBelow are the results of the mock elections organized by the Save Zimbabwe Campaign New Zealand where Tsvangirai won with an overwhelming majority of the votes. Given that there are about 7,000 Zimbabweans in New Zealand, turn out was poor with just under 200 votes made.

    Tsvangirai

    %

    Makoni

    %

    Taugana

    %

    Mugabe

    %

    TOTAL

    CITY

    Auckland

    68

    71.58%

    27

    28.42%

    0

    0.00%

    0

    0.00%

    95

    Christchurch

    20

    71.43%

    7

    25.00%

    1

    3.57%

    0

    0.00%

    28

    Wellington

    25

    83.33%

    5

    16.67%

    0

    0.00%

    0

    0.00%

    30

    TOTAL

    113

    73.86%

    39

    25.49%

    1

    0.65%

    0

    0.00%

    153

    In Zimbabwe, MDC is claiming victory in a number of constituencies based on early unofficial results with their Secretary General Tendai Biti stating that they have taken 66% of the votes in Harare and 88% in Mashonaland West with more results to be released that they hope are in their favour. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission said it would start announcing official results late Sunday but the final results are not expected for a few days. It is still a bit too early for MDC to be celebrating a victory because anything can happen.

  • Zimbabwe Has Voted

    DEMOCRACY UNDER MUGABE’S RULEYesterday Zimbabweans took to polling stations to take part in presidential elections with the main candidates being President Robert Mugabe, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai and independent runner Simba Makoni. Just how free and fair the elections were is something that had been put into question well before voting began. There are a number of issues that have been brought up to question the elections such as, the use of cardboard ballot boxes vs. translucent ones, the inclusion of deceased people on electoral rolls. allegations of vote rigging by Zanu PF with the help of an Israeli firm, people resettled by Mugabe being forced to vote for him or risk losing the land they were gifted, the fact that there are considerably more ballot papers than there are voters and the list goes on.

    The online version of the government owned daily paper The Zimbabwe Herald paints a slightly different pro Zanu picture of the situation in Zimbabwe. The government took steps to make sure that they did not get the wrong (or should I say right) kinds of journalists covering the elections. Most western journalists who wished to cover the elections as well as local freelance journalists such as Hopewell Chin’ono were denied accreditation by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission from covering the elections. I for one was looking forward to Hopewell’s coverage after watching his documentary on HIV/AIDS, Pain In My Heart.

    This weekend all eyes will be on Zimbabwe and it will be very interesting to see how things turn out when the preliminary results are released on Monday. Whatever the case may be, my hopes are that Mugabe’s reign comes to an end. He has played a big part in the deterioration of the country’s economic, social and political standing and hasn’t taken notable steps to rectify the situation. As for the other candidates, I am not so sure about Tsvangirai as a president due to all of the disagreement and confusion shown within MDC. As for Simba Makoni, even though he was once a member of Mugabe’s regime he may just be the person to get Zimbabwe back on its feet and on to its long road to recovery.

    On a further note to election related events, individuals here in New Zealand some of whom have close ties to MDC organised mock elections in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch which also to place on the 29th (click here for ONE News coverage). Zimbabwean citizens were invited to vote and do their bit to try and get rid of Mugabe. What this will aid in I do not know because it will not have an impact on events taking place where it really counts, Zimbabwe.

  • Simba Makoni to Challenge Mugabe

    Dr. Simba MakoniLast week there were a number of reports flying around that former finance minister Simba Makoni was starting a political party to run against Mugabe in the elections. According to a number of reports, he has the backing of a number of senior government officials, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), the armed forces and prominent business leaders. If these are all true it may deal a big blow to Mugabe’s campaign because he needs the backing of his ministers and security forces to cling-on to power.

    BBC’s World Affairs editor John Simpson managed to make his way into Zimbabwe and on Monday the 14th he was interviewed live on the BBC’s News at 10 from an undisclosed location in Zimbabwe. He reported that Simba Makoni was breaking ties with ZANU PF and forming a party that will challenge Mugabe.

    Dr Simba Makoni, a chemistry graduate, started of as a ZANU representative in Europe which impressed the powers that be. After independence he served as deputy minister of agriculture and minister of energy and of youth. He left the government and went on to become Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). After returning to Zimbabwe Mugabe appointed him as minister of finance. Dr Makoni is very popular within ZANU and the general population and may very well be the person to depose Mugabe. There are however a number of critics who say he is no match against Mugabe.

    Mugabe has been in power for almost 28 years and Zimbabwe is long overdue for a change in leadership that has the interests of all of Zimbabwe’s citizens at heart. Can a successor who is/was a member of ZAUN-PF step-up and revive the country and not continue Mugabe’s legacy?

  • Is MDC Fighting A Losing Battle?

    Movement for Democratic Change (MDC Zimbabwe) Leaders – Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara

    The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was founded in 1999 in opposition to Mugabe’s ZANU PF. They have not had much luck in bringing an end to Mugabe’s rule. In 2005 MDC spilt into two factions following policy differences among senior leaders. The mainstream faction is led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the other by Arthur Mutambara. Both bring different skill sets to the table but have an overall goal of ending authoritarian rule. Tsvangirai is a former trade unionist whose positions have included being the Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. Mutambara was the leader of student movements in the late 1980s and has lead a more academic career.
    Since their split in 2005 talks have been held to try and reunite the two factions but were unsuccessful. Last year talks broke down and resulted in two figures who had defected with Mutambara, Shaky Matake and Silas Mangono returning to the main camp. There has also been disharmony within the women’s assembly which further weakens the party.
    Events occurring within the party show a lot of disagreement and confusion amongst themselves. MDC is also notorious for boycotting or threatening to boycott elections which only goes to making the party irrelevant. One of the main purposes of a political party is to win elections. All of this may result in their supporters losing confidence in the party. If they themselves cannot form a united front there is no way they will succeed in their campaign against Mugabe. As it stands, Mugabe and ZANU PF are a force to be reckoned with and if they don’t get their act together they will be fighting a losing battle. Presidential, parliamentary and council elections are due to be held in March which does not give MDC a lot of time to sort out their differences.

  • Mbeki – Zuma – Quiet Diplomacy

    Last week Jacob Zuma was elected as the new president of the African National Congress (ANC) ousting President Thabo Mbeki. This I find very interesting as he was recently acquitted of rape charges. I would not have thought that he would have that amount of support with his background. He could very well be the president of South Africa in 2009 when Mbeki has to step down.

    South Africa is a country that has been affected by events occurring in their neighbouring country Zimbabwe. On a monthly basis thousands of Zimbabweans illegally make the way to South Africa in search of a better life. In the process they are risking their lives as they cross the crocodile infested Limpopo River which makes up the border between the two countries.

    What goes on in Zimbabwe does not only affect the one country but its neighbouring countries. South Africa has had its fair share of people illegally cross their borders in search of ‘greener pastures’. Thousands of Zimbabweans cross into South Africa each month and their government has blamed a lot of their social problems on illegal immigrants. With them thinking that about immigrants one would think that they would do something to curb these problems. An effective way to do that is to get right to the source of the problem and see what can be done to solve it. Zimbabweans are leaving because they are not able to sustain themselves and their families. It cant be that hard to figure out what the root of the problem is in this respect.

    Mbeki has been called upon a number of times by the SADC to mediate in Zimbabwe but has adopted a policy of quiet diplomacy. But, what is quiet diplomacy and how does it help? With Zuma now leading the ANC and very much on the way to being the next likely president of South Africa it will be interesting to see what kind of a stance he will take on his neighbours to the north. At his inaugural speech he praised Mugabe’s party ZANU PF and said “I don’t think sanctions have produced anything.”

    Should Zimbabwe be left alone to solve its own problems or should the international community intervene? This is not to say that Mbeki has done nothing, he has been trying to mediate between ZANU PF and MDC.

    image courtesy of newzimbabwe.com

  • Sanctions Against Zimbabwe

    Over the years, a number of countries world wide have been placing sanctions on Zimbabwe. These sanctions have been mainly targeted towards members of the Mugabe regime. Countries imposing sanctions include the United States, Britain, the EU, Australia and New Zealand just to name a few. Sanctions include travel bans, financial sanctions and a ban on trading with companies that are linked to the Zimbabwe government.

    Now they are going a little further than just targeting people directly involved with the Zimbabwe government. Australia recently deported the children of top Zimbabwe Government officials who were studying there. The United States has just imposed new travel and financial sanctions and will also be deporting the children of Zanu-PF officials.

    These sanctions may have made things a little harder for those on the lists but their lives are still go on as they continue to do what they do. Even the travel bans aren’t 100% effective. They are still able to travel to countries that don’t want them. If there is a UN summit or similar conference there isn’t a lot that can be to prevent them from attending. For example, there has been a big debate going on over the last few weeks about whether or not to allow Mugabe to attend the EU-Africa Summit in Spain this weekend (8th-9th December). British Prime Minister Gordon Brown plans to boycott the summit in protest of Mugabe’s attendance.

    The effectiveness of these sanctions can be brought into question. Does imposing sanctions change anything in a nation? Have they been effective in Zimbabwe? Are they having an effect on the people they are meant for? What kind of an effect do they have on the people of Zimbabwe?

  • Mugabe’s Supporters – “The Million Man March”

    Mugabe’s supporters in what was term “The Million Man March”.