| Hard
Days in Zimbabwe
By Chris Msipa
HARARE: ZIMBABWE IS winding up another bitter year, and Samson
Tawona, a teacher in the capital – Harare – is
a depressed man.
“Prices of essential goods – food, soap, fuel,
you name it – are going up almost every hour. Buy a
bar of soap for one amount in the morning (and) when you go
to the same supermarket at lunch, the price will be higher,”
he says.
Hundreds, if not thousands of Zimbabwe’s young, educated
nationals have gone abroad, and most of those who remain at
home are an angry lot. Their country is enduring its worst
economic and political crisis since independence in 1980.
Dozens of human rights activists and trade unionists were
arrested in various parts of Zimbabwe last week to prevent
them from staging protests against human rights abuses –
and the deteriorating economic situation.
This follows two mass arrests on Oct. 22, when members of
the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) gathered in support
of calls for a new constitution.
Last month, Zimbabwe’s sole privately-owned daily –
the Daily News – was shut down again after it made a
brief reappearance on the streets of the capital.
Prior to this, the paper had been closed for about two months
under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy
Act, which requires all journalists and news organisations
to register with a state commission. Freedom of speech groups
have denounced the act as a bid to muzzle the press.
Zimbabwe is also experiencing severe food shortages attributed
to drought and mismanagement of the land redistribution process.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs, 5.5 million people will require food
aid in the course of 2004. The UN Human Development Report
for this year puts Zimbabwe’s population at around 13
million.
To date, efforts to provide emergency assistance have been
marred by allegations that the ruling ZANU-PF party is manipulating
food aid for political ends.
At the beginning of August, authorities in Harare said they
would restrict non-governmental organisations (NGO’s)
from distributing supplies. The government later softened
its approach, telling donor countries that it would not intervene
in distribution.
Nonetheless, the international sanctions imposed on President
Robert Mugabe’s government to bring about a change in
policy are receiving little support from some in the country.
Samson Tawona vehemently criticises these so-called “smart
sanctions”, which are meant to target Mugabe, as well
as some members of his government and ZANU-PF.
His colleague, Zebron Madunge, agrees. “Those sanctions
are hurting us, the general public,” he says, “They
are not upsetting the government as planned. It is now clear
they (Western powers) wanted to drive us into (a) frenzy (to)
remove Mugabe, to make way for Morgan (Tsvangirai of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, MDC).”
“That (is) a silly and dangerous dream. This government
adopted, mastered and perfected one of the most ruthless laws
in the world,” says Madunge. “The Law and Order
Maintenance Act, LOMA, of the 1970s – now the Public
Order and Security Act – is a very effective weapon
to silence opposition and protests. ‘Order’ is
the word.” But there are increasing signs of anger against
‘orders’. [end]
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