War Vets get Hefty Allowances

Analysts have always questioned the motive behind paying war veterans huge allowances when the civil service is constantly on strike for sustainable salaries.The war veterans have been Mugabe’s key allies and many of them benefited from the land reform in 2000.The National Secretary for State Security in the MDC, Giles Mutsekwa, said the war veterans should not allow themselves to be bought by the Government. He said an MDC government would respect the war veterans for what they fought for.What Mugabe is doing is to try to buy loyalty, but they should not be used by a political party because they fought for all Zimbabwean, he said. I also would like to say the Government should not be selective when giving money; currently the entire civil service is on strike so they should award everyone the hikes, he added.

Judge Takes Swipe at Prisons Chief

BY OWN REPORTER
BULAWAYO

A High Court judge has taken a swipe at the Zimbabwe Prison Services chief, retired Brigadier Paradzai Zimondi, for directing his subordinates to vote for President Mugabe.Officially opening the Hwanger High Court Circuit, Justice Francis Bere called for peace and tranquility during the forthcoming elections and urged the people of Zimbabwe to conduct themselves in a manner that would make the country the envy of other nations.There is no individual in this country who has the power to order or direct a section of the electorate who they should vote for. Doing so is a direct violation of one of the tenets of democracy and such conduct must be condemned in the strongest terms. We have an obligation to respect an individual’s right as enshrined in the Constitution, he said.Every one of us, including our political leaders, big or small, must feel obliged to continue preaching the gospel of peace. Without it, we remain potentially vulnerable. Let us conduct ourselves in a manner that makes us the envy of other nations, said Justice
Bere.He said this called for the use of guarded language by those who are directly involved in the campaigning for the recognition of either their respective political parties or individual leaders.He added that campaigning for high office was not edified or enhanced by one’s ability to ridicule a rival political party or individual candidate, adding that it all had to do with one’s ability to sell the programme proposed by their political party or one’s political leader in tackling the economic challenges or other social challenges facing the country. Every Zimbabwean is aware of the economic challenges that we are facing in this country. The proposed solutions must be sold to the electorate from different shades of opinion to enable the electorate to make an informed decision on the date of the election, he said. This can be achieved without using hate language or language of ridicule.

Ditch The Dollar For The Rand?
Imara says read the book

BY NTANDO NCUBE
HARARE

One solution to Zimbabwe’s currency crisis could be to ditch the dollar in favour of the South African rand, or even the US dollar or euro, according to a book launched on Friday.Botswana-registered financial services Imara sponsored the book, which as written by international guru on currency reform Professor Steve Hanke.Hanke is Professor of Applied Economics at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute in Washington DC. He is also a Forbes columnist and an advisor to numerous countries. He helped design or implement currency reforms in Argentina, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Ecuador.Gray said: Imara hopes the publication of Steve Hanke’s excellent work will at least add to the constructive debate on Zimbabwe’s economic future, although mindful of the old adage the only thing you learn from history is that people don’t learn from history’.Hanke’s core argument is that the most reliable way to stop hyperinflation in Zimbabwe is to replace central banking with a new monetary regime.He proposes financial liberalisation supported by three possible mechanisms for currency reform: dollarisation, or using another currency in tandem with or as a replacement for the Zim dollar; a currency board that issues notes and coins, while all the board’s monetary liabilities are fully backed by a foreign reserve currency), or free banking in which private commercial banks issue notes and other liabilities with minimal regulation.
 
Civic Bodies Get Behind MDC

BY OWN REPORTER
HARARE

In a political development reminiscent of the 2000 referendum on a new constitution, it seems most civic organisations are closing ranks to campaign for MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the party’s candidates in parliamentary and council elections.The Zimbabwean has heard that the umbrella labour movement, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), both of which provided the basis for the formation of the MDC in 1999, have succeeded in getting other groups such as Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), the Progressive Teachers Union, Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) and the Youth Forum to endorse Tsvangirai’s candidature.The civic groups also resolved to campaign against late entrant into the presidential race Simba Makoni.Some civic groups are already preparing their own campaign material in the form of pamphlets, fliers and other information urging their members and constituencies to vote for Tsvangirai and MDC candidates.NCA Chairman Lovemore Madhuku said: There is no way we can support Makoni because his agenda is merely replacing Mugabe but to perpetuate the current system, which has failed.Wellington Chibebe of ZCTU added: We support Tsvangirai and the MDC candidates because they represent the interests of the workers. Mugabe and Makoni merely symbolise what has become to be known as a system of failure and abuse of human rights in this country.Rueben Chisi of ZINASU said the students’ union was mobilising all its members across the whole country to vote for change that we can trust.

Photos by Simon Green
 
Beatings in Bulawayo, speeches in London

Not a riot police officer in sight. Addressing the crowds in Trafalgar Square on International Women’s Day

BULAWAYO and UK

Fifty members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) needed medical attention after riot police broke up their protest last weekend.More than a thousand WOZA members were marching through the streets of Bulawayo to celebrate International Women’s Day. The peaceful protesters, who were carrying balloons, were met by riot police.In stark contrast, demonstrations in London’s Trafalgar Square were without incident.Hundreds of people gathered in Trafalgar Square, London to support Action for Southern Africa’s (ACTSA) Rally for Dignity and Democracy for Zimbabwe. The rally focused on the struggles of women in Zimbabwe, who continue to bear the brunt of the hardships currently afflicting the country. 
Takavafira Zhou, President of the Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, gave a first-hand account of the state brutality after his arrest and beating in Zanu (PF) headquarters last month. Zhou appealed to all the Zimbabweans present to urge all friends, families and colleagues to have their voices heard by voting on 29th March.Zhou went on to say: Zimbabweans must note that they can’t afford to stand on the touchline to watch a game they should be playing. Dictators do not willingly give up power, they need to be pushed.”
 

Youth Forum adds voice to Women’s Day

Government is putting defence spending before the basic rights of women, says the Zimbabwe Youth Forum.Speaking on International Women’s Day, the organisation highlighted the fact that many rural women were unable to afford even sanitary towels, yet the Government was spending on defence as if the nation were at war.Youth Forum also pointed out that men still dominated in property ownership and positions of authority. Yet, they said, research carried out by Silveira House revealed 80 per cent of child-headed households were led by female children.We call on the Government to prioritise empowerment and emancipation of women, particularly the rural-based young women, said a Youth Forum statement.We also call upon other stakeholders such as NGOs, civil society, business and other interested parties to invest by any means possible in promoting the participation of women and girls in civic, political, economic and social well-being of the state.