Wellington Chibebe, the secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has just issued a statement on Gono’s recent monetary policy announcement. Chibebe rightly calls Gono’s efforts a damp squib. He also calls on workers in Zimbabwe to exercise their “right to be heard”. I’d be quite interested to know the ways in which Chibebe expects them to do this seeing as workers legs are so busy being exercised walking to work that there’s not much energy left over for anything else.

Chris McGreal writing for The Guardian describes how Zimbabweans have become involuntary members of “walking clubs”.

“We are lucky to have jobs but the bus fare in one day is more than I earn in a week. So we walk,” Grace Sibanda says. “We walk together because it’s not safe. They wait in the bushes by the road and attack you if you are alone. They don’t want money. We don’t have any. They want my food.”

We all know that the new daily cash allowance of Z$2 trillion won’t keep up with Zimbabwe’s run-away inflation. Sure we might have a few days relief but pretty soon it will be back to square one especially when Gono continues to blame the complete decimation of our economy on “illegal sanctions”.

You can read the full text of the monetary policy statement on Kubatana. Flip an old coin and bet whether Gono’s zeroes come knocking on his window again . . . heads they do, tails they do.

Put a stressful week behind you by having an omelet and a beer in a gorgeous garden cafe. That’s my approach at least. Speaking of beer, I’ve just read this little bit from a Financial Mail article (Negotiating from a kneeling position) which can’t really bear thinking about really, but I guess we should make the effort:

But these talks have already made things much worse. For their actual meaning is not about reconciliation or negotiation; it is about legitimising the stealing of an election. And that election was followed by state-sponsored violence that forced the winners of the election to negotiate – from a position of extreme weakness – with the losers. Something of the kind has already happened in Kenya. With these continental precedents, there may in the future be a temptation to allow something of the kind to happen here in SA. After all, if the supporters of Jacob Zuma can say without repudiation that they are prepared to kill – sorry, eliminate – those who stand in his way, the refusal to accept the outcome of an election should be small beer indeed.

Itai Zimunya, one of Zimbabwe’s civic freedom fighters, seems to agree with Natasha Msonza on the issue of a Government of National Unity (GNU). Indeed, it would seem that the majority of Zimbabweans might support talks between the MDC and Zanu PF, but they reject any suggestion of a GNU.

A text message sent to the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper sums it up . . . the next time we have elections in Zimbabwe, there should be a box with GNU next to it on the ballot paper, if that’s what the outcome of an election ends up being.

Here is some of Itai’s thinking:

Even though dialogue was widely seen as the best way forward to resolve the crisis in Zimbabwe, its form and nature are equally important as to influence the outcome. There is a growing error by some of our fellows that are celebrating the MoU of July 21 2008 for promising, peace, food etc. That may be right but very much a contested point. Peace and food and security are the business of governments, and that’s what Zanu PF had to do anyway. The danger of setting such a precedent will surely weaken the position of citizens in their relations with the state. It would mean that next time, someone can lose or see the iminent threat of losing an election. And they become violent and deny people food such that, these will only come or be guaranteed when they begin talks of a GNU. This model and line of thinking spells doom for Africa. It was Kibaki and now Mugabe – and the AU, in all cases, is supporting this.

Here are some good observations from Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) taken from their recent press statement on the current negotiations between Zanu PF and the MDC.

We are an organisation owned by its 60,000 members who hold qualifications in daily survival and degrees in nonviolence despite the deeply polarised political environment in Zimbabwe since 2000. WOZA was born in the community and seeks to draw the attention of preoccupied politicians to people’s needs, namely bread and butter issues; or as WOZA likes to put it, bread and roses issues – bread representing food and roses representing the need for lasting dignity.

At the moment, the highway that is Zimbabwe has two ‘vehicles’ going in opposite directions, Zanu PF, the so-called ‘liberation war’ party and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). These parties speed along preoccupied with their own importance, hardly ever taking the off-ramp to consult with the suffering masses.

Zimbabweans have lost faith in politicians’ ability to return life to the living. We do not think power sharing or a government of national unity (GNU) can work in Zimbabwe. We need an independent and impartial transitional authority under African leadership. African leaders should not dictate that a GNU be the only solution to our crisis.

Read the full statement here

Andrew Higgins writing for the Wall Street Journal comments on Zimbabwe’s mismanaged economy saying

Custodian of a currency in free fall in a country ravaged by hyperinflation, Gideon Gono, Zimbabwe’s central-bank governor, scoffs at “traditional economics” and seeks guidance elsewhere. He says he reads the Bible. This, says the guardian of Zimbabwe’s monetary policy, has taught him the importance of obeying Robert Mugabe, the country’s 84-year-old leader and architect of policies widely blamed for the destruction of a once-flourishing African economy. “Anyone who says the bank governor should violate the head of state is violating a principle that Jesus Christ demanded of his disciples,” says Mr. Gono.

Meanwhile, Wall Street Journal reader, Georgia Allen, in swift response suggests that Zimbabwe’s mess in self-inflicted, and that the Bible certainly can’t be blamed. She says

Your article “Zimbabwe Central Banker Answers to Mugabe, Bible” is a revealing glimpse into the trade-offs and mechanics of presiding over the world’s worst case of hyperinflation. Contrary to the governor’s assertion, traditional economics do apply in Zimbabwe. The country’s devastated economy is largely a result of ruinous policy making. Gideon Gono is at risk of failing a hard test of public service: the choice between loyalty to a leader and betrayal of the public’s trust along with values of equity and transparency. The claim that Christianity supports the former is convenient, misinformed and false.

Then again ask just about any Zimbabwean what they see as the answer to all our troubles, and they’ll say prayer.

A leaflet fell out of a magazine I was reading the other day. The picture on the front showed a woman standing in a sandy patch of nothing with a container of water on her head. The setting? Darfur. The stark message that accompanied the pictured said: when this woman goes to collect water she will be raped; if she doesn’t go, her children will die.

Rape is a constant threat in many women’s lives, even more so in situations of conflict. Zimbabwe is no exception. Poet John Eppel recently shared this poem with Kubatana:

SONG OF THE MILITIA
“Let sell-outs expire”

You are a traitor
burn, burn, burn
sovereignty hater
burn, burn, burn.

We strip you naked
we beat you with sticks
melt plastic on you
and feed you our pricks…

CHENESA!

You are a puppet
burn, burn, burn
a piece of dog shit
burn, burn, burn.

We use our gun butts
to make your brains spill
we use our barrels
to give you a thrill…

CHENESA!

You MDC witch
burn, burn, burn
you Tsvangirai’s bitch
burn, burn, burn.

We drag you crying
to your cooking fire
gocha your body
let sell-outs expire…

CHENESA!

Let sell-outs expire
sell-outs expire

expire…

CHENESA!