Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai rally on Jul. 29, 2013, two days before Zimbabwe’s election. Many Zimbabweans are disillusioned by the country’s political leadership. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Mar 24 2014 (IPS)

Leroy Muzamani from Zimbabwe’s low income suburb, Highfield, sits with his chin resting on his hands.

Dressed in a worn shirt, shoes that have been repaired multiple times and a pair of oversized trousers, he waits by the public works department in the country’s capital Harare, hoping that he will be hired by them to work as a casual labourer for the day.

“We always hunt for casual jobs that are not even there. Since [the] 2002 elections, many of us have placed our hopes on our political leaders, thinking they would solve our unemployment problems, but alas…” Muzamani tells IPS. "If main political actors are really failing, it means there is ground for other political forces to emerge.” -- Socio-political commentator Brian Mateyo

Muzamani is a professional marketer who has never been employed in his qualified profession. And he blames the government for not prioritising the plight of Zimbabwe’s jobless.

According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s unemployment rate was 10.70 percent in 2011. However, the United Nations World Food Programme estimates that Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is as high as 60 percent.

Consequently, like many other Zimbabweans, Muzamani has lost hope in the political course this southern African nation is taking.

“We have many unanswered questions right now as we [endure] hardships, wondering about who shall really change the dynamics of our politics for the better. [The] major political parties have proved to be failures as they are seized with internal power struggles,” he says.

The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) is ridden with internal fissures as factional groups are said to be positioning themselves to succeed their 90-year-old leader, President Robert Mugabe.

One Zanu-PF faction is reportedly led by the country’s, and party’s, vice-president Joyce Mujuru. The Zanu-PF secretary of legal affairs, Emerson Mnangagwa, allegedly leads another.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) is equally ridden with divisions amid calls for its leader Morgan Tsvangirai to step down due to his repeated failure at the polls since 2002.

In February, the deputy secretary general of the MDC-T, Elton Mangoma, wrote a letter to Tsvangirai, urging him to step down and pave the way for a new leader with fresh ideas.

However, this did not go down well with Tsvangirai’s supporters in the party, who pushed for Mangoma’s suspension. It consequently caused anxiety for many Zimbabweans like Muzamani who feel political leaders here offer them no hope for a better future.

“There is growing confusion amongst ordinary Zimbabweans as to which political leaders to entrust their hopes; they now doubt Mugabe, and they also equally now doubt Tsvangirai,” political observer Whatmore Makokoba tells IPS.

Civil society leaders here are also sceptical about the future of Zimbabwe’s main political parties.

“With fissures widening in Zimbabwe’s major political parties, Zanu-PF and MDC-T, for them really the future looks uncertain. Both may be headed for their Waterloo,” Claris Madhuku, director of the Platform for Youth Development, a democracy lobby group here, tells IPS.

Independent political analyst Malvern Tigere tells IPS that it raises the question of “who shall Zimbabweans follow now between a failure and failure?”

“First it was Mugabe who raised Zimbabwe’s hopes at independence from Britain in 1980 when he came to power. But his government only helped to diminish the gains made during the colonial era and now many Zimbabweans look back to the colonial era with nostalgia,” Tigere explains.

“Secondly, we have Tsvangirai who kindled the hope of a departure from Mugabe’s [grip] on power, but is now personally mired in leadership wrangles in his own party, rendering millions of his supporters disillusioned.”

But the country’s major political parties don’t see it that way.

“Zanu-PF has a history of an unquestionable degree of unity since its formation over half a century ago and it remains a trusted political party by Zimbabweans to this day,” Zanu-PF national spokesperson Rugare Gumbo tells IPS.

MDC-T national spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora is equally confident of his party’s leadership.

“MDC-T remains the only alternative for real change in Zimbabwe. It’s an organised party unshaken by fallacious rumours of fissures spread by our detractors,” he tells IPS.

But socio-political commentator Brian Mateyo tells IPS, “if main political actors are really failing, it means there is ground for other political forces to emerge.”

David Chidende, programmes officer for Youth Information and Education for Behaviour Change, a democracy lobby group, does not rule out civil unrest.

“Civilian-led uprisings can happen, but it’s not too obvious. Young people have to re-strategise and form a mass movement that will champion the democratic course for this country. As the youth of this country, we are the most affected, and if we relax, we risk suffering in perpetuity,” Chidende tells IPS.

Muzamani says it may be the only way to enforce political change.

“As betrayed ordinary people, we shall be one day forced by circumstances to take matters into our own hands and lead the struggle for political change on our own,” Muzamani says.

Tichaona Mhundu from Zimbabwe's Mashonaland East province. Millions of Zimbabweans say they are unsure about what 2014 holds for them. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Jan 14 2014 (IPS)

Evelyn Mhasi, a qualified nurse, has not worked in her profession for the last seven years. Hiring in several Zimbabwean government sectors, including nursing, remains frozen despite colleges churning out skilled professionals each year. 

For many in this southern African nation, the passing of another year only brings with it a deepening dread of the future as many struggle without jobs. According to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s unemployment rate increased to 10.70 percent in 2011 from 4.20 percent in 2004.

However, the United Nations World Food Programme estimates that Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is about 60 percent. While solid statistics are hard to come by, the vast majority of the country’s workforce is involved in the informal sector.

According to the National Statistics Office, Zimbabwe produces about 36,000 higher education graduates annually.

Mhasi, 29, closely followed the 2014 national budget announcement by Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa in December.“Zimbabwe faces both a crisis in the economy and in leadership after the rigged 2013 polls." -- Zimbabwe’s former finance minister, Tendai Biti

“I followed the proceedings optimistically, thinking that the government was going to unfreeze some posts for skilled people like me, but to no avail,” Mhasi told IPS.

“Another election may come in 2018 to find me still unemployed,” said Mhasi. “For me, 2014 already looks bleak and my hopes of finding employment are fast fading.”

Former finance minister and member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, told IPS: “Zimbabwe faces both a crisis in the economy and in leadership after the rigged 2013 polls. It’s easy to rig elections, but the economy is a totally different game. Sadly, we are on auto cruise back to the 2008 scenario.”

During 2008, when the country’s disputed election results resulted in a power-sharing government, Zimbabwe experienced an economic meltdown, with hyperinflation reaching 231 million percent.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, an organisation that develops and promotes business activities, says that a number of industries have already failed to re-open this year because of financial difficulties. However, it was unable to provide any figures.

Independent economist Kingston Nyakurukwa said ordinary people were surviving on shoestring budgets with many unsure about what 2014 held for them.

“Remember that last year’s bonuses for civil servants came in batches, which obviously rendered the entire civil service doubtful about what the future held for them in 2014, and even now people fear how they shall fare in the new year,” Nyakurukwa told IPS.

“With a 2014 national budget of over four billion dollars, but devoid of adequate revenue collections to meet the target, Zimbabwe heads towards an economic plunge this year,” Nyakurukwa added.

For Nyson Chimukwere, a fruit and vegetable vendor from Marondera, a town 80 kilometres east of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare, the year ahead looks gloomy.

“People no longer have enough money to spend,” Chimukwere, 44, told IPS. “These days I’m returning home with my pushcart laden with fruits and vegetables, which now rot at home.”

Chimukwere, a father of four, said his earnings have reduced by almost 75 percent.

“I’m afraid this year I may end up making nothing from my business. I used to take home about 50 dollars daily from my sales, but now things have taken a nasty turn – I take home 15 dollars or even far less,” said Chimukwere.

Rik Davison, who runs the Rik-Davy Glass Company, which employs over 800 people in Zimbabwe’s oldest town Masvingo, also dreads the year ahead.

“Lately [business] declined sharply, leaving us going for several days without making any sales, evident of the uncertainties shrouding 2014,” Davison told IPS, adding that because of this he has failed to pay his employees wages on time.

Davison said that his fears were worsened by the government’s insistence on implementing the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act of 2007, which forces foreign-owned companies to cede 51 percent of their shares to local black entrepreneurs. Davison, who is white, has yet to cede his shares.

But Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, a politiburo member of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, believes that 2014 is set to be a prosperous year.

“We have nothing to fear here with the indigenisation policy in place, we are sure to give wealth to the black people of Zimbabwe,” Bhasikiti, who is the parliamentarian for Zimbabwe’s Mwenezi East constituency, told IPS.

Some economists predict that public employees may suffer the brunt of a government payroll shortage.

“With revenue collections massively dwindling, this year the Zimbabwean government may fail to sustainably remunerate the already poorly-paid civil servants, after it turned mum on increasing their wages in the budget announcement,” economic expert Agrippa Nhumwe told IPS.

A local banker told IPS on the condition of anonymity that hard times were imminent for Zimbabwe’s local banks.

“With cash shortages rocking indigenous banks here, hard times are set to roll this year, fuelling civilians’ fear in the face of an unpredictable government, which amid such circumstances may at any time re-introduce the dreaded Zimbabwean dollar dumped in 2008,” the banker told IPS.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, which at the height of the country’s economic meltdown was forced to issue a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note, was forced to stop printing money and adopt a multi-currency regime.

For millions of Zimbabweans, it remains to be seen whether or not President Robert Mugabe’s government will succeed in manoeuvring through 2014.

The Zimbabwean media fear that the return of Professor Jonathan Moyo as minister of media and information will lead to increased repression of media freedom here. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, Sep 13 2013 (IPS)

He is the architect of what critics call Zimbabwe’s most repressive media laws, and the press here anticipate that journalists arrests and media suppression may intensify now that he has been appointed minister of media and information. But Professor Jonathan Moyo has dismissed the concerns and told IPS “journalists had nothing to fear but fear itself.”

“All media under the new constitution is covered and journalists should be ethical in their profession to avoid being caught on the wrong side of the law,” Moyo said soon after he was sworn into office on Sep. 11. He was referring to sections of Zimbabwe’s constitution that allows journalists to seek legal redress.

Moyo previously served in President Robert Mugabe’s cabinet from 2000 to 2005, holding the same post of media and information minister. During that term, he presided over the enactment of  repressive media laws, including the Access to Information and the Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), which allows parliament to oversee media operations in the country. He also implemented the Public Order and Security Act, which gives untold power to the police. He was re-appointed to the post and cabinet on Sept. 10, along with a number of other Mugabe loyalists. 

But Moyo said that every journalist in this Southern African nation was bound to abide by government laws.

“The media is public; I’m not aware of any private media and if there is any, we don’t intend to involve ourselves with it. But any journalist who deals with public issues and reports on public matters will be part of our engagement as government,” Moyo said.

However, a top leader from the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) told IPS that he would not rest until journalists damaging his party’s reputation were brought to book.

“Now it’s the turn for unscrupulous and overzealous, but mostly independent, journalists to face the music after they thrived on peddling falsehoods about our party. The law has to take its course against them,” a senior Zanu-PF politburo member told IPS on the condition of anonymity.

Sources from within the Zimbabwean police recently told IPS that they had begun monitoring the independent media.

“Police from the Law and Order section have stepped up their monitoring of the media in the country, mostly the independent media, because of its customary hostility towards the government,” a top police source in Harare, told IPS.

“They are set to bring to book all mischievous reporters,” added the source.

Political analyst, Malvern Tigere, told IPS that in appointing Moyo, Mugabe wanted to repress the media.

“The return of Moyo to the information ministry is definitely disastrous and this is a pointer to the fact that Mugabe, knowing Moyo’s historical hostility towards the independent media, wants him to cause mayhem for independent journalists and silence the media,” Tigere said.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa – Zimbabwe director, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, told IPS that: “Moyo will maintain the status quo and repressive media laws will continue without meaningful changes and journalists will continue to be required to seek licenses to practice their profession.”

Dewa Mavhinga, Human Rights Watch senior Africa researcher, told IPS that Moyo’s return “dashes all expectation for positive media reforms.”

“Mugabe’s recycling of Moyo and other ministers from the Zanu-PF old guard shows that he has no appetite for reforms or for taking Zimbabwe in a new political direction. Rather, Mugabe appears determined to ensure that, despite the passage of time, all things stay the same,” added Mavhinga.

Freelance journalist, Simbarashe Mapedzamombe, is one of the reporters here who is fearful for the independent media.

“Police are said to be manning our operations; media freedom here is clearly under siege and we have become suspicious of strangers visiting our offices these days,” Mapedzamombe told IPS, adding that journalists were unsure of the motives of the police.

The current situation is compounded by the fact that earlier this month the Southern African Development Community (SADC) called for the closure of foreign radio stations in the region, particularly in Zimbabwe.

On Sep. 2, Bernard Membe, head of the SADC Election Observer Mission, in a final report of Zimbabwe’s Jul. 31 elections, said foreign radio stations broadcasting in the country and the region should cease operations, as they were biased along political party lines.

There are approximately four Zimbabwean radio stations based outside the country, including Short Wave Radio Africa and Radio Voice of the People, which are based in the United Kingdom, and Studio 7, which is in the United States.

Information minister Moyo said SADC shared similar views with the Zimbabwean government.

“We are delighted that we and SADC have a common position and that none of the [SADC] members would allow the abuse of our territories to broadcast propaganda against us,” he said.

But rights groups here have cautioned that the arrests of independent reporters and incidents of human rights abuses were set to escalate if foreign radio stations broadcasting in Zimbabwe were shut down, as they currently expose rights abuses.

“This will definitely result in the escalation of rights abuses and rampant arrests of mostly freelance journalists here in the absence of critical radio stations,” Owen Dliwayo, programmes officer for the Youth Dialogue Action Network, a local democracy lobby group, told IPS.