Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Africa Subsaharan

Mugabe prepares to form unity government

2009-01-04

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is preparing to form a unity government after firing a number of ministers from his ZANU-PF party who lost in the March 2008 elections, state media said on Saturday. "What I can tell you is that President Mugabe has already started preparing an administration," George Charamba, state secretary for Information told The Herald newspaper. Charamba would not reveal further details about the makeup of the power-sharing government and the exact date of its possible formation. The US last month announced that an inclusive government in Zimbabwe was not possible with Mugabe at the helm. According to the paper, Mugabe earlier this week fired 12 ministers and deputy ministers from his ZANU-PF party. Among the ministers fired were Sikhanyiso Ndlovu who is in charge of Information, Samuel Mumbengegwi for Finance and Oppah Muchinguri for Women's Affairs. Deputy ministers for health, and agriculture were among those who lost their posts. Last week Zimbabwean authorities issued prime-minister designate and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai a new passport to enable him to return home from Botswana.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zimbabwe to block western efforts at UNSC

2008-12-16

President Robert Mugabe's government on Monday vowed to thwart western efforts to put Zimbabwe on the UN Security Council agenda, saying it was not a threat to international security. The United States and Britain were expected to lobby the council to turn up the heat on Mugabe, amid mounting international pressure for him to step aside as his country caves in under an economic meltdown and cholera crisis. Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told the state-owned Herald newspaper it was "improper" for western countries to try and put Zimbabwe on the agenda. "You do not convene a UN Security Council meeting for a sovereign state without consulting that country," he was quoted as saying. "We are not a threat. If they insist, we will work hard to block it with the assistance of our friends." The 15-member Security Council was due Monday to hold a closed-door meeting, and Washington said last week it would pressure members to act against the veteran leader, whom it blames directly for Zimbabwe's woes. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington was talking to Zimbabwe's neighbour South Africa and other security council members about how to "start a process that will bring an end to the tragedy that is unfolding in Zimbabwe." Several world leaders have called on Mugabe to leave office, including US President George W Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The security body has failed to act against Mugabe in the past amid splits between the western nations and Russia and China.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zimbabwe: Botswana plotting coup

2008-12-15

Bob finds another boogie man. Which, lucky for him, appears to be a pushover. Zimbabwe has accused Botswana of being involved in a plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told state media they have "compelling evidence" Botswana was hosting military training camps for opposition rebels. He said Botswana was helping recruit youths to destabilise and bring about illegal regime change in Zimbabwe. Excellent! Kudos to Botswana and hurry the hell up, wouldya? The MDC branded the claim "ridiculous", but Southern Africa's regional body said it was investigating. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretary General Tomaz Salamao says his organisation is now analysing documents and videos that have been given to them by the Zimbabwean authorities, reports the BBC's Jonah Fisher. Observers say it is the first time that such openly hostile relations have emerged among any of the 15 SADC members. Botswana's President Ian Khama is one of the few African leaders to have publicly criticised Mr Mugabe. He has called for new elections after Mr Mugabe and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai reached deadlock in power-sharing negotiations. Mr Chinamasa told the state-owned Herald newspaper: "Botswana has availed its territory, material and logistical support to [the MDC] for the recruitment and military training of youths for the eventual destabilisation of the country with a view of effecting illegal regime change. We now have evidence that while [the MDC] were talking peace they have been preparing for war and insurgency, as well as soliciting the West to invade our country on the pretext of things like cholera." He claimed the opposition was "bent on foisting war on the country and the region" and warned Botswana of dire consequences. Opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa dismissed the minister's claims saying: "When a leopard starts devouring its young ones, it starts by accusing that young one of smelling like a goat." The justice minister's allegation comes a day after the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, accused Mr Mugabe of "criminal negligence" and warned Zimbabwe was becoming a failed state. Writing in South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper, Mr McGee said: "What is the Mugabe regime doing? It is buying hundreds of cars so that every minister and governor can have multiple vehicles. It is buying plasma televisions for judges. Instead of spending scarce resources on water purification chemicals that might stop the cholera epidemic, they are manipulating currency to make a personal profit." Mr Mugabe last week sparked uproar by claiming the cholera outbreak was over in Zimbabwe, while Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said the outbreak was the result of biological warfare launched by former colonial power Britain against Zimbabwe.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zim: Cholera introduced by West

2008-12-14

Zimbabwe on Saturday accused the West of waging biological warfare to deliberately start a cholera epidemic that has killed hundreds of people and sickened thousands. The spread of the disease has focused the world's attention on the spectacular collapse of the southern African nation, which often blames its troubles on the West. The claims in state media came the same day the government issued an official announcement detailing the constitutional amendment creating the post of prime minister. The announcement also set out other changes necessary to go forward with a power-sharing agreement that has been stalled since September. Saturday's unilateral step by President Robert Mugabe's government could raise political tensions in the battered southern African country. The state-run Herald newspaper said comments by the U.S. ambassador that the U.S. had been preparing for the cholera outbreak raised suspicions that it was responsible. The state-run Herald newspaper said comments by the U.S. ambassador that the U.S. had been preparing for the cholera outbreak raised suspicions that it was responsible. The Zimbabwean government's stranglehold on most sources of news makes such rhetoric an important tool for a regime struggling to hold onto power. After the first cholera cases, U.S. and other aid workers braced for the waterborne disease to spread quickly in an economically ravaged country where the sewage system and medical care have fallen apart. Zimbabwe also faces a hunger crisis, the world's highest inflation and shortages of both the most basic necessities and the cash to buy them. The Herald quoted the information minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, as blaming cholera on "serious biological chemical war ... a genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British." "Cholera is a calculated racist terrorist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they invade the country," Ndlovu was quoted as saying. Experts blame the epidemic on Zimbabwe's economic collapse. The World Health Organization said Friday the death toll was 792 and that the number of cholera cases that have been reported since the outbreak began in August was 16,700. The epidemic has reached a fatality rate of 4.7 percent. To be under control it would have to be less than 1 percent, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said Friday. Aid agencies have warned that the outbreak could worsen with the onset of the rainy season and that the disease has already spread to Zimbabwe's neighbors. Mugabe claimed Thursday that his government, with the help of international agencies, had contained the epidemic. That sparked accusations he was out of touch with his people's suffering.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Britain accused of cholera 'genocide'

2008-12-13

Zimbabwe's government is strongly accusing Britain of causing a "genocidal" cholera epidemic labeling it as genocide "of our people". "Cholera is a calculated, racist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power, Britain," which has received full support from its American and Western allies so that they can have a pretext to invade the country, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told a press conference. Then his lips fell off. The epidemic which has engulfed Zimbabwe "is a serious biological, chemical war force, genocidal onslaught, on the people of Zimbabwe by the British," AFP quoted him as saying. "Careful where you're walking! Those are my lips!" The accusations came as the World Health Organization (WHO) said the death toll had risen to 792. And the worst part of it, hospitals have no drugs, no equipment and no staff left to treat the cholera epidemic, which is spreading as sewage and water lines have broken down, contaminating the drinking supply. Damn those Brits! A day earlier, President Robert Mugabe said in a nationally broadcast speech that "there is no cholera" - comments his spokesman George Charamba said Friday were meant as "sarcasm." Mugabe's remarks stoked anger internationally as well as by aid agencies. The aid groups warn the epidemic could last for months. Britain, France and the United States cried out loudly for Mugabe to step down. The South African Anglican Bishop Joe Seoka told The Times newspaper that Mugabe must be viewed as the 21st century Hitler as he should be held responsible for the deaths and sufferings of Zimbabweans under his rule, and calling for him to face war crimes charges at The Hague.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zim hails sanctions failure

2008-07-13

Zimbabwe has hailed the failure of a UN Security Council resolution to impose new sanctions on the country's leaders. Russia and China vetoed the resolution, saying the situation in Zimbabwe posed no threat to international security. The UK said it was incomprehensible, while the US said the veto brought into question Russia's reliability as a G8 partner. But South Africa said sanctions would interfere with attempts to form a national unity government. The measures proposed in the draft UN resolution had included an arms embargo and a travel ban for President Robert Mugabe and 13 of his key allies. There has been growing international criticism of Zimbabwe since the re-election of President Robert Mugabe in a run-off boycotted by the opposition. The opposition's Morgan Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change party say they had faced a campaign of violence by Mugabe supporters, which left dozens dead and thousands injured and forced from their homes. Zimbabwe's Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described the resolution as an attempt to make the people of Zimbabwe suffer so they would turn against their government. Britain, he said, "wanted to divert attention by bringing unfounded allegations against Zimbabwe, against the people of Zimbabwe, trying to make the people of Zimbabwe suffer more with the economic sanctions... so that they can turn against their own government". Mr Ndlovu thanked Russia and China for upholding, as he put it, the United Nations principle of non-interference with member states. "We... would like to thank those who helped defeat international racism disguised as multilateral action at the UN." The resolution had the support of nine council members, the minimum required to pass in the 15-member council. But the veto of any of the five permanent members - which include Russia and China - is enough to defeat a resolution.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zimbabwe's Mugabe ready to talk to opposition

2008-07-03

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe welcomes African Union’s call for a unity government and is ready to talk to the opposition to end the country’s political crisis, said one of his ministers on Wednesday. African leaders at a summit in Egypt on Tuesday urged Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to begin negotiations to end the crisis over Mugabe’s re-election in a widely criticised one-candidate poll from which Tsvangirai withdrew. “The AU resolution is in conformity to what President Mugabe said at his inauguration, when he said we are prepared to talk in order to resolve our problems,” Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told reporters, adding, “We are committed to talk, not just with Tsvangirai but to other parties as well.” Conditions ‘not right for talks’: Meanwhile, Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday spurned the call from African leaders for talks with President Robert Mugabe on forming a unity government, saying conditions were not yet right. Tsvangirai, who boycotted a widely criticised June 27 election run-off, said Mugabe must first stop attacks on opposition supporters and demanded that negotiations take place on the basis of a March 29 first round vote, which he won. “Significantly, the conditions prevailing in Zimbabwe are not conducive to negotiations. If dialogue is to be initiated, it is essential that the ZANU-PF stops the violence, halts the persecution of MDC leaders and supporters,” he told a news conference in Harare. Tsvangirai said his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which defeated Mugabe’s ZANU-PF in parliamentary election, should be recognised as Zimbabwe’s legitimate government. Mugabe, 84, was sworn in for a new five-year term on Sunday after election authorities announced he had won around 85 percent of the vote in a run-off, which was condemned by monitors and much of world opinion as violent and unfair. Mugabe has branded the MDC a puppet of former colonial power Britain and the United States and vowed to never let it rule Zimbabwe. Western countries are discussing whether to toughen sanctions on Zimbabwe’s leaders.

Link

Africa Horn

Emergency summit to discuss Zimbabwe

2008-04-11

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and the main opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, are due at this weekend's emergency summit of southern African leaders, summoned by the president of neighboring Zambia, to discuss the electoral and political crisis, spokesmen for the two men said. Preparations for the summit came as Zimbabwe's main opposition party claimed victory Thursday for Tsvangirai in last month's disputed presidential election and ruled out taking part in a runoff vote against Mugabe. The secretary-general of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti, warned that the opposition would not accept a second round of voting. "Morgan Tsvangirai won this election without the need for a runoff, and we will not accept any other result except one that confirms that we won this election," The Associated Press quoted him as saying. Zimbabwe has not released the official results from the March 29 presidential election. The Movement for Democratic Change has petitioned Zimbabwe's High Court to force the electoral commission to release the results, but the effort has stalled at nearly every turn. Zimbabwe is under international pressure to release the results amid concerns of heightened political tensions. The state-run newspaper, The Herald, has indicated that neither Mugabe nor Tsvangirai received enough votes in the election to avoid a runoff. A candidate must receive 50 percent plus one vote to win the election without a runoff. Diplomatic sources inside and outside the country say they believe that Mugabe's government has dispatched more than 200 militia members throughout the country to carefully control any new round of voting. Some of the militias, loyal to Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party, have been seen in small huddles of four or five, wearing civilian clothing. The sources say they are not hopeful for a quick resolution to Zimbabwe's political crisis and are looking to other southern African nations to exert influence on the government in Harare. The election is the most formidable challenge to Mugabe's 28-year rule, and Tsvangirai has said Mugabe may use the delay in announcing the results -- as well as the possible runoff -- to find ways to cling to power. Zimbabwean Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu confirmed Thursday that Mugabe would attend a one-day summit in Zambia sponsored by the 15-member Southern African Development Community. Zambian President and SADC Chairman Levy Mwanawasa called for the "extraordinary summit" on Wednesday "to discuss ways and means of assisting the people of Zimbabwe with the current impasse, as well as adopt a coordinated approach to the situation in that country." Why not do like the UN would do? Wait for the country to implode and famine and drought to grip the land. Wait another year for good year. Then mount an unfocused, confused, lackadaisical attempt to provide relief until the suffering masses die off or el nino passes and they start growing their own food or something. Then declare that they have solved the problem.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Berlin Summons Zimbabwe Envoy Over Harare's Anti-Merkel Language

2007-12-12

Germany's foreign minister registered a strong protest with a Zimbabwean official in Berlin over comments attributed to Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu in the state-controlled Herald newspaper published in response to her criticism of President Robert Mugabe during the just-ended European-African summit. The German Foreign Ministry summoned Zimbabwe’s chargé d’affaires there Monday to object to the comments published by the Herald and attributed to Ndlovu in which he called German Chancellor Angela Merkel a “Nazi remnant” and a “racist.” Ms. Merkel had criticized President Robert Mugabe at the European-African summit this past weekend, accusing his government of "trampling" on human rights. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier summoned the Zimbabwean envoy later on Monday and “made clear that the comments were in no way acceptable." A German spokesman said the chargé d’affaires had been summoned because the Zimbabwean ambassador was out of town.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zimbabwe blasts media 'bias' over Mugabe's UN speech

2007-09-29

Zimbabwe’s information minister has castigated western media for their coverage of President Robert Mugabe’s speech at the UN General Assembly, state media reported Friday. Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said CNN and the BBC gave US President George W Bush full coverage when he criticised Mugabe in his address to the Assembly this week, but denied Mugabe similar coverage for his speech. “The so-called champions of press freedom, CNN and BBC cut the live broadcast when the President was hitting hard, full throttle, with a volley of intellectual punches left, right and centre,” Ndlovu said. “Bush was given full coverage to demonise our President and our nation but our President was not given equal time to defend himself and his country. They always claim that they give balanced information through their media but they have proved themselves to be suffering from in-exactitudes and stretches of imagination. I know why my predecessor threw them out of Zimbabwe.” In his speech at the UN, Bush said the people of Zimbabwe needed help to free themselves from suffering under a “tyrannical regime.”

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zim shrugs off Catholics

2007-04-13

Zimbabwe's government on Monday shrugged off an appeal by the country's Roman Catholic bishops for democratic reform while an opposition activist lay in critical condition in hospital after being shot, reportedly by police. Reacting to a pastoral letter from the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference pasted on church doors on Easter Sunday, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said he "respected their opinion," South African public radio reported. Zimbabwe was a democracy, he insisted, adding that the bishops, who warned of a "mass uprising" in the absence of democratic reforms, were "free to say what they like." Worshippers crowded around church notice boards after mass on Easter Sunday to read the pastoral letter entitled God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed, which lamented state "arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture" and "vote-rigging." "Oppression is sin," the bishops warned President Robert Mugabe, himself a Catholic, adding: "In order to avoid bloodshed and a mass uprising, the nation needs a new people-driven constitution" under which to hold "free and fair elections."

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Zimbabwe calls for African support

2007-03-24

Addressing senior army officers at a military school in the capital Harare today, Zimbabwe's Information Minister, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said his country is relying on African countries for support and solidarity in a period when Zimbabwe has been subjected to strong international condemnations for continuously abusing the rights of its citizens. Police in Zimbabwe recently launched a violent crackdown on opposition activists, resulting to deaths and severe injuries. Among those manhandled included the leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai, who was hospitalised as a result. Threatened by the act, Zimbabwe's neighbours that have been defending it until now, also joined the international community to pile pressures on the government. Increasing violence an economic meltdown and a steady outflow of Zimbabwean refugees is increasingly threatening regional stability.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More