From a Kubatana subscriber:

Raphael’s weekend off

I took Raphael; our gardener of two decades, to his home situated some 30kms north of our scruffy city.  I started by asking him if he wished to retire. “No I am only 52 and I have twins of four years”. I followed up by asking for his views on the talk of elections next year.  “We do not want elections as “they” will just come back and beat us. There is no one to stop them!”  This on the outskirts of the MDC stronghold.

We turned off the Domboshawa tar road at a “business centre” called Crossroads.  I soon picked up a large, imposing man with a shaven head. On our right was a cemetery with freshly borders to each grave.  I issued a compliment. He said, “This is our Heroes Acre where liberation fighters are buried. I am Petro the area co-ordinator.” Or, in other words, the local Zanu heavy. ” My area has 1,400 households each with a few families as the people in this place are polygamous.”

Raphael and Petro struck up a conversation.  Soon I dropped this man Petro off – he had transformed immediately into a thug in my mind.  Raphael seemed relieved that we were back to the two of us. “That is the man who, with his youths, will beat us when the elections start.”  Such synchronicity.

We drove into Raphael’s home down a goat track to find his wife pounding maize, three goats (one very thin) in a pen awaiting their daily reprieve to forage the close shaven couple of hectares. His four kids ranging from 19 to 4 years of age, greeted their father smiling. He had returned with six bags of fertiliser.

Hello everybody in yo great organisation! Please send me the much needed news! We r tired of this tyranny. MDC is not doing enough 2stop zanu’s rot. Am afraid pple may b butchered again next yr if it remains like this. Please do something now!
- Text message to Kubatana

Psychology Maziwisa believes that its the beginning of the end for the MDC. I’d agree with him. A recent news article suggested that Tsvangirai is going to have a hard time getting battle weary Zimbabweans to go to the polls again to vote for his party. To get people out to vote, and more importantly to defend their vote when Zanu PF steals it, the MDC is going to have to engage their brains, rather than their mouths over the next while.

“To survive, they need visionaries able to see beyond the comfort of the GPA” . . . here’s some more very good food for thought from Psychology:

If there is one line of engagement that requires originality, momentum and avoidance of stupidity it is politics. The authenticity of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) project has always been an open question and so a handicap in its own right. However, events of the last three weeks alone might yet herald the beginning of the end of that project.

Doubtless, apart from providing Zimbabweans with a breather, the primary function of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) was to give ZANU PF a new lease of life- and it has. It has also given them time to rediscover, re-group and re-energise. Nor can the effect of the Chiadzwa diamonds be under-estimated. For the rest of the country, however, the GPA has flattered to deceive and been a grievous mistake. But the GPA alone will not destroy the MDC- there are other elements at play.

First, the question of sanctions has revealed a rather treacherous and malevolent side to the MDC not least because they have dismally failed to provide a satisfactory rebuttal to accusations that the sanctions were imposed at their instigation. Indeed David Miliband’s proverbial declaration that the British government would be guided by the MDC on the subject of subjects might well have given it all away.

When history is written, when the moment of truth-telling dawns upon us, this will be counted among the most inexcusable and most unforgivable of the MDC’s actions. Indeed it will count in no small measure among the reasons for the downfall of the MDC.

Second, Tsvangirai’s position on the sanctions as a party to the GPA has been anything but clear. He has called them different things at different times. Nor has he been clear about their effect let alone removal.

For instance, a highly respected figure in Zimbabwean political circles wrote to me in confidence on the subject of sanctions and lamented: ‘Maziwisa, It’s unfortunate that Tsvangirai continues to vacillate on the sanctions issue. I have serious doubts about his capacity to run this country effectively given his flip flopping on important issues’.

And it is not just among Zimbabweans that the MDC has lost important support through the question of sanctions. Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa, whose assessment of things many in the West have no choice but to consider as plausible, has constantly and unmistakably called for the removal of sanctions on Zimbabwe. This has been a huge blow to the MDC who have had no option but to join the gallery and also call for their removal although, by the look of things, they would have preferred it if Zuma said otherwise.

And it never rains for the MDC. A few weeks ago President Robert Mugabe’s long-time critic and Tsvangirai’s known ally, Ian Khama of Botswana, added insult to injury by joining the already growing number of African leaders in calling for the lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe. That the sanctions have yet to be lifted is neither here nor there. Suffice it to say that the European Union has since expressed a desire to ‘reconsider’ its position on sanctions.

Nor can the damage occasioned by the GPA be overlooked. Quite the contrary, it has been devastating to the MDC as a party. Two weeks ago, President Robert Mugabe acted in what many, including this writer, perceived as a disturbing pattern of unacceptable unilateralism.  No question about it, President Mugabe was wrong for reasons that are not the subject of this piece.

But while being so wrong, Tsvangirai’s rather ‘stupid’ reaction was even more so- the culmination of which has since seen ZANU PF’s approval ratings rise by a considerable margin while the MDC’s plummet substantially.  It was a moment of madness. It was a schoolboy mistake from an important politician.

Make no mistake the MDC’s impulsive but characteristic decision to seek the intervention of western and foreign governments in a matter purely domestic and purely Zimbabwean met with widespread domestic and regional condemnation- a sure plus for ZANU PF and a resounding negative for the MDC.

Empirically put, 99, 9% of those I have spoken to regarding the matter believe Tsvangirai’s move gave credence to accusations that his party is foreign founded, foreign funded and foreign interested. They believe it served to confirm allegations that theirs is an outpost of foreign interests. The fact of the matter is that Tsvangirai’s statements and actions make it horrendously difficult for anyone to imagine otherwise.

And the decision has backfired big time. For example, the United Nations has bluntly dishonoured Tsvangirai’s plea. It was always going to take a lot of persuading for Jacob Zuma to even read Tsvangirai’s letter. And, apart from classifying it is as ‘a matter of concern’, the European Union has yet to heed Tsvangirai’s request. Moreover, ZANU PF has made it clear that it would reciprocate any gesture of goodwill from the EU. Back home President Mugabe has since used Tsvangirai’s mistake to announce the imminent end of the GPA, pleading with his party for an ‘acceleration of pace’ in preparation for elections at the same time.

Meanwhile, Arthur Mutambara has endorsed President Mugabe’s appointments. Oppah Muchinguri is doing everything in her power to maintain the momentum. Roy Bennett has fled the country and, in the clearest sign of desperation ever, Morgan Tsvangirai has hinted that he will not leave the GPA. In politics, as in many things in life, one ought to play with one’s cards close to one’s chest. But, then, Tsvangirai has a known propensity to inadvertently disclose party secrets and strategies.

All things considered, the political battle in Zimbabwe has become disappointingly one-sided. It has exposed MDC weaknesses and confirmed ZANU PF strengths. All told, the MDC is in big political trouble and needs to fix its mistakes. They have not done much in the GPA. Sadly they have secured higher praise in certain quarters than their record in government justifies. To survive, they need visionaries able to see beyond the comfort of the GPA.

Kubatana recently received this interesting opinion from Arkmore Kori:

I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent. (Mohandas Gandhi).

Recent political developments such as the impasse concerning the Government of National Unity with only four months before it expires and the constitutional stalemate have made it fashionable to talk about elections as the only solution to the Zimbabwean crisis.

Many, including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, believe that with the help of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the United Nations, peaceful elections are possible. Some have even called for either regional or international stakeholders to be deployed in Zimbabwe to safeguard peace during election time.

But our experience shows that SADC and the AU are powerless to stop any political or election violence in Zimbabwe. When they came for the June 2008 run-off, they just ‘observed’ both elections and the accompanying violence with the mild conclusion: ‘elections were not free and fair!’ In fact, it’s a bit ambitious to expect SADC or AU to make Zimbabwe a better place. President Mugabe did not join SADC, but is the only surviving founder of then Frontline States, which changed into the Southern Africa Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) before becoming SADC. This means he has a lot of influence in regional decision-making. At the same time, it’s SADC that advises AU on regional issues, including the Zimbabwean question. This means any decision made on Zimbabwe at either regional or continental level, is indirectly made by Mugabe.

Indeed, except for Operation Gukurahundi of the 1980s, which had an external influence in the substance of North Korea, the political and electoral violence that has been occurring in Zimbabwe, particularly after the year 2000, has been home grown. It has been organised and perpetrated by four community based conglomerates – traditional leaders, war veterans, youth militias and the ‘women’s league’ – that work together.

Against their traditional role of safeguarding our culture, providing food to the needy (remember Zunde Ramambo?), mediating conflicts and preserving peace, traditional leaders have become an extension of the deteriorating ZANU PF structures. Their mandate in Zimbabwe’s internal conflict is ‘selling out’, pin-pointing and compiling lists of ZANU PF opponents for the salaries and numerous benefits, including houses, vehicles and electrification provided at the tax payers’ expense. The youth are responsible for administering the list of opponents and effecting ‘punishment’ according to instructions they receive from war veterans. The ‘women’s league’ provides moral support: ululating, singing and clapping during torture or murder sessions.

The way forward is to destroy this network. The removal of the youth from this violence equation would make elections safer. Real war veterans and traditional leaders are too old to torture or kill. Recently in Bikita the youth refused to be ‘used’ in violence by war veterans. Communities must discourage the youth from cooperating with violence mongers. Instead, the youth should become the defenders of their communities against the ‘intrusion’ and violence, especially caused by ‘imported youth’ from other villages or districts.

Surely, we don’t need SADC, AU, United Nations or international forces to stop us from beating or killing one another?

The International Freedom of Expression eXchange recently published this statement:

African newsrooms have long way to go to reach gender equality, media summit finds

A 16-year-old girl from Mozambique who had a failed abortion is identified down to her name, home and school in a local paper. A Ugandan tabloid scans Facebook for purported homosexuals to feature them in a front-page article on the country’s “100 top homos”. Delegates from 20 countries at the fourth Southern African Gender and Media (GEM) Summit meeting this week in Johannesburg, co-organised by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), used these cases to express their extreme disappointment at the slow rate of change within African newsrooms and their coverage of gender issues.

For instance, while women comprise 41 percent of media employees, less than a quarter of them are senior managers and only a handful are top decision-makers, according to findings released at the forum.

And although only 24 per cent of people heard, seen or interviewed in the news are women, according to the study, “Who Makes the News”, by the Global Media Monitoring Project, that number drops to 19 percent in Africa – and a mere 14 percent in Mozambique.

“We cannot talk about freedom of expression when half of the population is effectively silenced,” said Gender Links for Equality and Justice executive director Colleen Lowe Morna. “It is disturbing that progress is so slow in countries like South Africa, Mauritius and Namibia that have the largest, most diverse and supposedly most ‘free’ media in the region.”

The proportion of women sources in those three countries has remained stagnant for the past six years at about 20 percent, says Gender Links.

“These findings beg the question of what we really understand by freedom of expression, democracy and citizen participation,” delegates to the summit stated. “While more blatant forms of censorship may be subsiding, our media daily silences large segments of the population, notably women.”

The delegates pointed out that the media is nowhere near meeting the provisions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development, which sets 28 targets to be achieved by 2015. Media goals include: achieving parity in decision-making; giving equal voice to women and men; challenging gender stereotypes; and ensuring sensitive coverage of HIV and AIDS and gender violence.

Gender Links has identified more than 100 media houses that it will work with over the next year to adopt gender codes of practice in newsrooms. More recommendations coming out of the summit can be found on Gender Links’s website.

Convened by Gender Links, MISA and the Gender and Media Southern Africa Network, the three day event was held on 13-15 October under the theme “Gender, Media, Diversity and Change: Taking Stock.”

Khadija Sharife writing for the Harvard International Review:

Somewhere in my closet, taped across a small cardboard and sealed in a transparent casing, is a $50 billion Zimbabwean note. Purchased two years ago at a local bookstore for R21 ($3), this ‘made in zimbabwe’ wonder at the time had the purchasing power of two eggs, or a loaf of bread, in a country where inflation hit the 231 million % mark. An unemployed lawyer working a street hawker in SA expressed outrage that I would spend $3 to acquire it. ‘That money is life or death back home,’ he said. But there’s bigger money in the making – and for the taking. Mugabe Inc. has once again, in anticipation of forthcoming elections, vigorously begun to engage in exploitation through ‘primitive accumulation’ of resources via war vets, corrupt corporate execs and political cronies.

Prior to the discovery of diamonds, specifically Marange — estimated to be one of the world’s largest diamonds capable of yielding as much as $1.7 billion in revenues annually, the big kahuna was land. The bulk of large-scale commercial farms seized by Mugabe’s war vets, using the rhetoric of social justice, were not redistributed to those previously dispossessed by the colonial government. Instead, a new politics of dispossession took form through the politicisation of rural poverty, equating the ‘public interest’ with the nationalist vocabulary serving elite political interests. This time around, legal concessions to Marange have been voided, with two South African companies granted right of access via fraudulent licenses.

One company in particular, New Reclamation, has engaged with the Zimbabwean government through a joint venture called Mbada. The company’s operating arm, Grandwell Holdings Ltd, has been created a Global Business Category II (GBCII) entity, essentially a paper company, using Mauritius as the ‘tax haven’ of choice. As the Zimbabwe Mining and Development Corporation (ZMDC) admitted, due diligence into internal financing mechanisms, beneficiaries and other critical details, could not be conducted as it was ‘a paper company registered in Mauritius.’ Such shell corporations act as passthrough conduits allowing for economic activities, including profits and transactions, to be disguised and transferred through to ‘ultimate beneficiaries’. GBCII companies are tax free enabling entities allegedly accruing tax to escape taxation, while facilitating the flow of profits to ultimate beneficiaries.

But Mauritius should better be classified a secrecy jurisdiction thanks to legal and financial ring-fenced services such as the provision of nominee shareholders. Basically, all private companies must have at least one shareholder, and one share. Unless these are bearer shares (according ownership to those physically possessing shares), such shares can be ‘represented’ by intermediaries nominated by ultimate owners or beneficiaries profiting from economic activities. The same applies to nominee directors. Mauritius kindly provides these mechanisms to foreign clients and entities deliberately cloaking specific activities.

As OCRA, an international corporation peddling secrecy vehicles itself reveals on its website, “Beneficial ownership is not disclosed to the authorities.”

For $1000, the company can access banking secrecy preventing the Zimbabwean government from ever accessing the true value and volume of diamond exploitation. Many companies like OCRA provide bank account signatories, professinal directors and other false fronts assembled to create the illusion of an active business. Mauritius claims to be within the bounds of the law having complied with the voluntary ‘on request’ only Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIAE). While these are usually useless unless one already possesses the information required by external government authorities to investigate corporate and state corruption, in this instance, the South African government, if it decided to do so, could easily the corporate veil given that Grandwell’s details are already known. During an interview with Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai for the BBC, I learned that he ‘was hearing about it for the first time.’

The threat that corporate secrecy presents to Zimbabwe’s economy cannot be understated especially in anticipation of the desperate need for sustainable revenue for basic services and the impact of ‘primitive accumulation’ as a means of controlling the outcome of forthcoming elections. This time around, Zimbabwe stands a great chance for actual democracy and economic and political recovery: The power sharing agreement between ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) coupled with the appointment of Judge Simpson Mutambanengwe at the helm of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), cultivates a growing environment of accountability and justice. But Mutambanengwe has declared outright that the ZEC requires financial resources to ensure that the processes and outcome is not disputed. Siphoned diamond revenues – to a ‘secrecy’ corporation where any number of war vets may be the ultimate beneficiaries, provides the old guard with unlimited millions – even billions, in financial resources that should be invested in justice not war, nor even – and this is what the Mugabe Inc hopes for, a forced peace.