China denies stopping aid to Zimbabwe

Xinhua (China), 5 september 2007

The Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe on Tuesday dismissed as false media reports claiming that China has withdrawn all assistance except humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy said contrary to the reports, Zimbabwe and China share a long history of friendship and have cooperation agreements in various fields which include agriculture, education, health, and science and technology. "Recently, some media published reports claiming that China was dropping all assistance except humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe. The Embassy of China in Zimbabwe wishes to clarify that this is simply not the fact," said the spokesperson. Britain's Daily Telegraph carried the claims in its edition of August 31, 2007, in which it quoted Foreign Office Minister Malloch Brown as saying he had been told by China last Thursday during his visit to the country that it had stopped all aid except humanitarian to Zimbabwe.

The newspaper said the move followed a decision by China, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to work more closely with the international community in bringing pressure to bear on states perceived bad by the West. "It represents a major shift in its previous policy of refusing to attack the internal polices of long standing allies," Brown was quoted as saying. "I was told that China's assistance to Zimbabwe is now limited to humanitarian assistance which is enormously important. That puts it in the same position as Britain, which is the second biggest provider of humanitarian assistance to Zimbabwe," Brown said on his first visit since becoming minister for Asia-Africa and the UN. The Chinese Embassy spokesperson said China has been providing assistance in many forms including humanitarian aid, grants and loans of credit to Zimbabwe and its people.

The spokesperson added that apart from assistance promised to Zimbabwe during the visit by Chinese Communist Party senior official, Jia Qinglin, in April, the two governments had also concluded negotiations for China to supply Zimbabwe with 4,000 tons of soybeans. "During the visit by Jia Qinglin, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, to Zimbabwe this April, China promised to help build two primary schools, one hospital and an Agriculture Technology Demonstration Center in Zimbabwe. In addition, China granted fund to renovate the National Sports Stadium of Zimbabwe," the spokesperson said. China has in recent years also emerged as the biggest buyer of Zimbabwe's tobacco as trade and bilateral relations between the two countries continue to grow.

Zimbabwe inflation approaches 8,000%, local currency plummets

Depreciated to Z$1 million to the US dollar compared with Z$700,000 a few days earlier

Source: VOA News, 17 october 2007 - By Blessing Zulu and Ndimyake Mwakalyelye

Inflation in Zimbabwe soared to nearly 8,000% in September after briefly falling under 7,000% in August, according to the country's Central Statistical Office. The official 12-month inflation rate was 7,982% in September, the statistical office said, following 6,592% in August, when it declined from over 7,000%. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe dollar has plummeted in value in recent days, depreciating to Z$1 million to the US dollar compared with Z$700,000 a few days earlier. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's official exchange rate is Z$30,000 per US dollar. The statistical office did not offer a breakdown as to which items were driving inflation, saying only that food inflation was marginally lower than non-food inflation.

Economic experts and business leaders expressed concern at the latest collapse of the currency, warning this would drive the inflation rate even higher. Most businesses have to turn to the parallel market to obtain hard currency, which obliges them to charge ever more for their products or lose money under state price caps. Secretary General Tendai Biti of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change faction headed by Morgan Tsvangirai said the economy could not be saved unless a solution was found to the country's longstanding political crisis. Economist John Robertson of Harare told VOA that the government's grip on the economy was exacerbating the crisis and that it needed to let market forces function properly for the economy to function.

Meanwhile, poverty indexes from organizations such as the World Bank have shown Zimbabwe continuing to plunge deeper into poverty. A recent World Bank report noted that poor governance had compromised economic growth prospects and increased poverty. Elsewhere, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index also gave Zimbabwe a poor rating. With World Poverty Day being observed on Wednesday, Programs Manager Pedzisayi Ruhanya of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition told VOA that there is little hope of an economic turnaround given the political standoff which regionally sponsored crisis talks have barely budged.

Mugabe names successors

Power struggles are intensifying ahead of the extraordinary congress, a stage-managed elective assembly

Dumisani Muleya, 20 october 2007 - ZWNews

President Robert Mugabe has reportedly named four top Zanu PF officials as his possible successors in a recent conversation with South African President Thabo Mbeki. Reports this week indicate that Mugabe two weeks ago spoke to Mbeki about the ongoing talks between the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to resolve the country’s worsening situation and in the process delved into his leadership succession. The reports say Mugabe noted that there were four serious candidates to succeed him, senior Zanu PF politburo members Emmerson Mnangagwa, John Nkomo, Sydney Sekeramayi and Simba Makoni. The notable omissions from Mugabe’s list are Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono, both widely touted as potential successors. Mujuru, whom Mugabe during the Zanu PF congress in 2004 publicly anointed as the next president, has fallen out with her boss over internal squabbles.

The president’s spokesman George Charamba exploded yesterday when asked to clarify reports that his boss had indicated to Mbeki potential successors. "Don’t waste my time on such speculation and rumour-mongering," he said angrily. "I want serious journalistic enquiries, don’t waste my time on such issues. You can go and write what you want." Earlier, Charamba had refused to discuss with another Independent reporter his recent controversial briefing to state editors which has irked senior government officials, including his superior, Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu. The briefing - which touched on intensifying infighting and deepening divisions in government and the ruling Zanu PF - sent shockwaves through the party and angered officials who are now loudly complaining behind the scenes.

The reports said Mbeki asked if it was possible for Mugabe to indicate who his successor would be so that South Africa and other countries could help to facilitate a smooth transition and support that person to prepare for future responsibilities. The reports say Mbeki wanted to know if there were no credible successors to Mugabe in Zanu PF and he was told that there were. Gono’s name continues to crop up during debates on who will take over from Mugabe. Mnangagwa and Nkomo were in 2004 named by Zanu PF spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira as possible successors to Mugabe in an interview with a South African journalist. The Independent published the recorded details of the interview, although Shamuyarira tried in vain to deny it. The reports say Mugabe said Mnangagwa could be his successor but was unpopular with the voters and so was Nkomo. The two are not elected officials. Mnangagwa was defeated in the past two general elections by the MDC, while Nkomo has avoided elections apparently in fear of defeat.

It is further claimed Mugabe said although there were people who want Makoni to take over from him, the problem was that he had failed in previous government assignments. The succession story doing the rounds in the corridors of power further says Mugabe said Sekeramayi was his preferred choice because he was cool, calm and collected, but if he advanced his name in the party there would be outrage because he has no grip on the shifting dynamics of leadership in the party. In the end, it is understood, Mugabe indicated that was why he has to stand as the Zanu PF presidential candidate in next year’s polls to hold the party together. Mugabe has publicly said that he needs to remain as the Zanu PF leader to prevent his divided party from disintegration due to factionalism and infighting. The power struggles in Zanu PF are intensifying ahead of the party’s extraordinary congress in December, a stage-managed elective assembly.

South Africa : Mbeki Showing a Rough Side

Newsweek International reports that South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki is becoming “ever more authoritarian” as his term nears a close.

By Scott Johnson | NEWSWEEK

These are good days for South Africa's newspaper vendors. Open up any broadsheet and lurid details of government squabbles spill out—usually fueled by highly placed leaks. If one element unites the crises, it's the invariable presence of Thabo Mbeki, the country's president, at their center. TELL US THE TRUTH, MR. PRESIDENT! screamed one headline last week. Increasingly, however, that's something Mbeki seems reluctant to do.

The African National Congress, which Mbeki leads, has always put more emphasis on loyalty and obedience than on open debate in its ranks. But Mbeki long seemed a powerful advocate for democracy and good governance within the party. As Nelson Mandela's deputy, he built a reputation for honesty, helping build up the National Prosecuting Office and establishing an elite team of lawyers and investigators, called the Scorpions, to root out corruption and graft.

More recently, however, analysts say the president has drifted toward a dangerous kind of authoritarianism. Why? In December, the ANC will choose his successor as party leader, and the power struggle is revealing deep splits within the ANC. It's also revealing a rarely seen rough side in Mbeki's character as he seeks to consolidate his legacy. Some South Africans now speak of a brewing constitutional crisis. "The president has said 'trust me,' but everything he's done has made us question whether we can," says Helen Zille, leader of the opposition party, Democratic Alliance.

Until recently, Mbeki did a deft job of balancing the country's many ethnic, religious and linguistic constituencies while governing and holding his party together. When his deputy president, Jacob Zuma, was accused of corruption in 2005, Mbeki lost no time in sacking him. Since then, however, his moves have become harder to justify. In August, he fired the wildly popular deputy Health minister, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge. The ostensible cause was her disobedience, but the real reason may have been Routledge's increasingly strident criticism of her boss, the controversial Health minister and close Mbeki crony Manto Tshabalala-Msimang—who earned international derision for promoting the use of beetroot and African potatoes to treat AIDS. The firing of Routledge, a respected public-health expert, sparked an immediate outcry. ANC allies accused Mbeki of abusing his powers to protect his followers.

In fact, his moves may be nothing more than the normal political jockeying that precedes a leadership change. Some claim that the mere fact Mbeki is being criticized so bitterly is proof of his democratic bona fides. "Where else in the world have you heard a party argue that the president is imperial and operates like a dictator?" asks Adam Habib, of the Human Research Council. Habib and others insist that Mbeki's gaffes—including his bizarre approach to HIV/AIDS (he has cast doubt on the link between the two), his lethargic response to Robert Mugabe's oppression of Zimbabwe and South Africa's spiraling crime statistics—may be serious errors but have created space for dissent within the ANC.

Still, his behavior is getting harder to defend. Though he's always been somewhat ruthless, in the past he was careful to avoid impropriety and was known as a careful strategist. Now analysts and intimates are bewildered by his refusal to explain his actions and political fauxes pas. Fresh suspicions surfaced recently when the country's chief prosecutor, Visu Pikoli, issued an arrest warrant for the national police chief, Jackie Selebi. Mbeki immediately suspended Pikoli, citing administrative problems supposedly unrelated to the case. But critics have pointed out that Selebi is a longtime Mbeki supporter and a powerhouse within the ANC. Moreover, there were plenty of reasons for his prosecution. Selebi has previously confessed to maintaining a friendship with an accused murderer and is suspected of racketeering and suborning justice. As criticism over Pikoli's suspension began to spread, Mbeki ordered an independent investigation—but made sure to appoint a friendly ANC supporter to head it up. "Democracies are designed to deal with leaders [who are] less than democratic," says Paul Graham, director of the Institute for a Democratic Alternative in South Africa. "This will be the first real test."A coalition of opposition parties has begun arguing that Mbeki has done irreparable damage to the independence of South Africa's judiciary and that he should publicly explain his actions. Even some Mbeki supporters, such as trade-union leaders, now admit that his behavior has provoked a "serious crisis" and undermined the democratic process. That may be a stretch: South Africa is still a beacon for democracy. But that's something Mbeki may sometimes need reminding of these days.

Namibie : Sam Nujoma quitte la direction de la SWAPO

Sam Nujoma, le père de la nation, vient d’annoncer qu’il quittait la présidence de la SWAPO, le mouvement de libération de la Namibie qu’il dirige depuis 1960.

L’organisation du peuple du sud-ouest africain a mené la lutte contre l’occupant sud-africain qui avait récupéré à son profit cette ancienne colonie allemande. Sam Nujoma a été le premier président de la Namibie après les élections de 1990, poste qu’il occupera jusqu’en 2004.

La SWAPO, devenu parti politique, doit tenir son quatrième congrès en novembre 2007 et l’annonce du retrait de Sam Nujoma, âgé de 78 ans, peut ouvrir la voie à un renouvellement de la politique jugée trop autoritaire menée par le vieux dirigeant.