Lifting sanctions won’t solve Zimbabwe’s woes – The Zimbabwean

A resolution at the recent SADC Summit chose October 25 as the day for regional governments to articulate and mobilise support for the sanctions imposed two decades ago on Zimbabwe to be lifted.

SADC has claimed that sanctions against Zimbabwe have ultimately been damaging to the region’s economy. The direct link between sanctions and Zimbabwe’s economic crisis has not, however, been made.

October 20 was declared a national holiday in Zimbabwe to encourage citizens to protest against the continued imposition of sanctions, although only 3000 turned out at the national march and the stadium was not even half full.

While the lifting of sanctions would certainly provide economic relief to targeted individuals and entities, they certainly will not serve as a panacea to Zimbabwe’s economic crisis.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s claim that “sanctions are slowing down our progress, inhibiting our economic recovery and punishing the most vulnerable”, is not borne out by expert research.

Neither is the assertion of the government of Zimbabwe that sanctions have caused untold misery to ordinary Zimbabweans.

Sanctions seem to be used by politicians as a scapegoat for Zimbabwe’s economic decline that is largely the result of years of economic mismanagement, pilfering of state resources, endemic corruption, entrenched state capture, and poor governance.

The fact that basic services are not available to many Zimbabweans, and the cost of essential goods and staple food items are beyond the reach of millions, cannot be blamed primarily on targeted sanctions.

Political instability has also been a factor in Zimbabwe’s poor economic performance.

As Minister for International Relations Naledi Pandor said in her opening remarks at a symposium on Zimbabwe in Pretoria this week: “The political dynamics are inextricably linked to the economic and thus should be confronted simultaneously.”

Pandor also acknowledged an inescapable truth about discussions on the situation in Zimbabwe: “We have all become very competent at addressing and adopting resolutions, yet far too inadequate in informed reflection on what solutions or approaches may be practicable.”

A good starting point is to understand exactly what sanctions have been imposed on Zimbabwe, what economic effect they have had, and whether they remain relevant after two decades.

The newly arrived US Ambassador to South Africa, Lanna Marks, told the press on her first official day in the job last week that the only sanctions being maintained by the US on Zimbabwe were against Grace Mugabe, as well as an arms embargo.

But the US is still maintaining targeted sanctions on 83 individuals who face financial and travel restrictions.

There is some confusion around the exact figures as some individuals are listed a number of times under different aliases, such as Chinese businessman Sam Pa.

The US list of specially designated individuals on the Zimbabwe sanctions list is particularly problematic as it has little relevance 20 years on, and has not been updated. Some of those listed are now deceased, and others no longer have political relevance.

New names have been added, however. For example, after the October 20 march against sanctions, the US slapped sanctions on Zimbabwe’s State Security Minister Owen Ncube for alleged gross human rights violations, such as the torture of civil society activists, and the recent spate of abductions.

The US is maintaining sanctions against 53 large companies and organisations, which can specifically be broken down into 21 farm enterprises and 32 other business entities.

Of the 32 entities listed, 17 are linked to businessman John Bredenkamp as a result of his alleged involvement in mining deals in the DRC and arms dealing. Some of those are also on the list for having been implicated in the exploitation of the Marange diamonds.

Two Zanu-PF party companies are on the list.

In addition to the US targeted sanctions, the US has imposed a ban on arms exports to Zimbabwe.

As for the EU, it imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 due to the escalation of violence and intimidation of political opponents and the harassment of the independent press.

The sanctions comprised an arms embargo as well as an asset freeze and travel ban on targeted individuals and entities.

In 2008 there were 200 individuals and 40 entities on the list, but by 2016 only then-president Robert Mugabe and his wife remained on the list, as well as Zimbabwe Defence Industries.

The list of targeted individuals has since been updated and currently only former first lady Grace Mugabe remains on the list. While the Commanders of the Defence Force are on the updated list, they have been suspended. There remains a ban on the export of military equipment to Zimbabwe as well as technical military assistance.

As far as the effect of EU sanctions goes, it can hardly be argued that an asset freeze and travel ban directed at Grace Mugabe, and a ban on exporting military equipment to Zimbabwe have caused “untold misery to ordinary Zimbabweans”.

US sanctions against Zimbabwe, which are more comprehensive and also outdated, have had greater indirect economic ramifications for the country. The reason being that as a result of US sanctions, companies find it difficult to move US dollars into Zimbabwe as banks can be fined for dealing with sanctioned countries.

Just as companies have shied away from investing in other countries under US sanctions (Iran, for example), it is also true that companies have shied away from investing in Zimbabwe.

The state of the Zimbabwean economy with runaway inflation at 97.9% in June, and other factors such as entrenched corruption, political instability, poor governance and weak export competitiveness are real impediments to Zimbabwe becoming an attractive investment destination.

It is also important to note that it is not as a result of sanctions that Zimbabwe has failed to access lines of credit from international financial institutions.

This is because the international financial institutions (IFI) require Zimbabwe to repay prior loans before accessing further funding. Zimbabwe is indebted to all IFIs except for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is why it has not been eligible for loans in the past two decades.

In 2016 Zimbabwe cleared its debt to the IMF, although it still has an outstanding debt of US$2.3billion (R33.8bn) to the World Bank, US$680m to the African Development Bank, and US$308m to the European Investment Bank.

While it is true that the lifting of US sanctions may assist Zimbabwe in attracting some forms of investment, and may make it easier for companies to transfer US dollars to Zimbabwe, it will not serve as the solution to Zimbabwe’s massive economic challenges or lead to the recovery of the agriculture, health and education sectors.

What Zimbabwe most needs at this juncture to improve its economic outlook is political stability and transparency, an end to the impunity of the security forces for human rights abuses, measures to stamp out corruption at all levels, consistent economic policies, a cash injection of hard currency into the economy, restructured debt with the IFIs, and ultimately debt relief.

It is a catch-22 situation, however, as the US is likely to vote against any new lines of credit or debt relief from the IFI’s for Zimbabwe unless reforms are undertaken.

* Shannon Ebrahim is Independent Media’s foreign editor.

Zimbabwe’s Chiwenga returns after 4 months in China receiving medical treatment – The Zimbabwean

FILE: Zimbabwe vice-president Constantino Chiwenga. Picture: AFP

HARARE – Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga returned home on Saturday after spending four months in China receiving medical treatment for an unknown illness, state-owned media reported.

Chiwenga, the 63-year-old former general who led a coup against the late Robert Mugabe two years ago, has spent a large part of the year away from work, also receiving treatment in South Africa and India.

His health is of great interest to Zimbabweans as he is widely seen as the driving force behind the country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the front-runner to succeed him. His absence from public duties had stoked speculation about the gravity of his illness, which authorities have sought to play down.

The Herald, a government-owned newspaper, showed images of Chiwenga arriving at Harare’s airport in the early hours of Saturday, looking healthier than when he was last seen in public in June. He was welcomed by relatives and China’s deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhao Baogang, the newspaper said.

Local private media have reported that Chiwenga’s health deteriorated in July and that he underwent two operations following a suspected poisoning.

Chiwenga and government officials were not available to comment on Saturday.

Government officials in Zimbabwe routinely seek medical treatment abroad while the country’s public health system has collapsed and hospitals struggle to provide medicines to patients.

Many Zimbabweans are angry that top government officials continue to travel abroad for treatment while state hospitals are turning away patients because doctors have been on a pay strike since September.

The government has so far fired 435 doctors for participating in the strike

Lifting sanctions won’t solve Zimbabwe’s woes
Mnangagwa visits general Chiwenga at home

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Mnangagwa visits general Chiwenga at home – The Zimbabwean

24.11.2019 16:51

 …..as Mrs Mnangagwa kneels before the general. Zimbabwe says determined to successfully de-dollarize

…..as Mrs Mnangagwa kneels before the general.

Zimbabwe says determined to successfully de-dollarize

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Zimbabwe says determined to successfully de-dollarize – The Zimbabwean

Mthuli Ncube

Addressing a press conference, the minister acknowledged that de-dollarizing was not an easy task, but vowed that enforcement and compliance will be pursued to ensure no use of the U.S. dollar for unauthorized transactions.

The Zimbabwe government abandoned the hyperinflation-ravaged national currency in 2009 in favor of multiple currencies that included the U.S. dollar, British Pound, Euro, Australian dollar, Chinese Yuan and Japanese Yen.

However, of all the foreign currencies, the U.S. dollar became the dominant currency of trade and transacting in the country.

But in June this year, government suddenly re-introduced the Zimbabwe dollar as part of currency reforms.

The local currency is currently made up of electronic money known as Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), bond notes and coins and new dollar notes that were introduced last week.

But as the new notes remain in short supply and continue to depreciate against the U.S. dollar, most businesses are reportedly continuing to charge their goods and services in the U.S. dollar.

Ncube said Zimbabweans had become used to the green back such that it will not be easy for them to quickly forget it.

“It is not correct that the local currency has been rejected. People are desperately looking for the money. It’s not also easy to de-dollarize. There are too few cases around the world where they have de-dollarized successfully,” Ncube said.

Meanwhile, deputy minister of finance Clemence Chiduwa told the same press conference that the government was considering coming up with tight measures to deal with the thriving black market for foreign currency.

He said one such measure would be designating a few commercial banks that allow depositors to freely withdraw their money from Nostro foreign currency accounts to purchase goods abroad.

But upon return, the individuals would be requested to declare the source of foreign currency and if it’s not from official sources, such goods would be forfeited to the State.

He lamented the current scenario where businesses are now indexing the price of goods and services against movements of the exchange rate on the parallel market.

“Our inflation rate at the moment is now being driven by expected movements in the parallel market rate.

“What is just needed is to ensure that all the laws that are supposed to guide the operations of economic agents are in place. What is needed on our part is compliance and enforcement,” he added.

Zimbabwe’s vice president returns after four months in China receiving medical treatment

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Zimbabwe’s vice president returns after four months in China receiving medical treatment – The Zimbabwean

Retired army chief Constantino Chiwenga

Chiwenga, the 63-year-old former general who led a coup against the late Robert Mugabe two years ago, has spent a large part of the year away from work, also receiving treatment in South Africa and India.

His health is of great interest to Zimbabweans as he is widely seen as the driving force behind the country’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the front-runner to succeed him. His absence from public duties had stoked speculation about the gravity of his illness, which authorities have sought to play down.

The Herald, a government-owned newspaper, showed images of Chiwenga arriving at Harare’s airport in the early hours of Saturday, looking healthier than when he was last seen in public in June. He was welcomed by relatives and China’s deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhao Baogang, the newspaper said.

Local private media have reported that Chiwenga’s health deteriorated in July and that he underwent two operations following a suspected poisoning.

Chiwenga and government officials were not available to comment on Saturday.

Government officials in Zimbabwe routinely seek medical treatment abroad while the country’s public health system has collapsed and hospitals struggle to provide medicines to patients.

Many Zimbabweans are angry that top government officials continue to travel abroad for treatment while state hospitals are turning away patients because doctors have been on a pay strike since September.

The government has so far fired 435 doctors for participating in the strike.

EU Worried About Recent Political Developments in Zimbabwe: Memo

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EU Worried About Recent Political Developments in Zimbabwe: Memo – The Zimbabwean

HARARE — The European Union is concerned that the democratic space in Zimbabwe has deteriorated since it opened talks with Harare in June for the first time since 2001 in a bid to turn the page on years of hostile relations.

An EU memo prepared for its diplomats ahead of talks in Harare on Thursday said the arrests and abductions of several political activists had “reinforced the impression that the democratic space is being curtained again”.

The memo, seen by Reuters, also said the EU was worried by Harare’s slow pace of political reforms, including the alignment of laws to the constitution that was adopted in 2013.

The EU withdrew budget support to Zimbabwe in 2002 when it imposed sanctions on the late Robert Mugabe’s government over charges of political violence, human rights abuses, vote rigging and violent seizures of white-owned farms.

The talks this week are seen as an important step towards the EU resuming direct financial aid for the economy, which is in the grip of its worst crisis in a decade and worsened by a severe drought.

Timo Olkkonen, the EU’s ambassador in Harare, told acting foreign affairs minister July Moyo and his team at the start of the talks that reforms and inclusive political dialogue would also help with Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.

“These reforms can pave the way for a further strengthened relationship between Zimbabwe and EU based on shared values, the respect of human rights and the sustainable development goals agenda,” Olkkonen said, flanked by several EU diplomats.

Moyo said the talks would deal with all “hard issues” and were supported by President Emmerson Mnangagwa – who last month described EU and U.S. sanctions on Zimbabwe as a “cancer” sapping the economy.

With the economy afflicted by dollar shortages, fuel queues, power-cuts, and soaring prices, Mnangagwa has said restoring ties with the West and multilateral lenders like International Monetary Fund is one of his major priorities.

But, like Mugabe, he blames sanctions for the country’s economic ills and says they are designed to remove the ruling ZANU-PF party from power. Critics also say that since Mnangagwa came to power, he has cracked down on opposition parties.

This week, Zimbabwean police used batons, tear gas and water cannon to beat up and disperse supporters of the main opposition party trying to listen to a speech by their leader.

In its memo, the EU noted Zimbabwe had made progress by deciding not to enforce its empowerment law, which would have required all foreign investors to cede at least 51% of their shares in local operations to Zimbabweans.

The memo also said the interim compensation of white farmers whose land was seized by the government was a positive gesture towards re-opening export markets in the European Union.

In a budget statement last week, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube set aside $24 million to compensate white farmers, 768 of whom had consented to the interim compensation scheme.

Zimbabwe’s vice president returns after four months in China receiving medical treatment
Jesus laughs

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Zimbabwean minister admits quoting wrong Chinese aid figure in his budget: China’s deputy ambassador – The Zimbabwean

China helped fund work at the Hwange power plant, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube says. Photo: Handout

The statement by Ncube, which was issued after the meeting with Chinese officials on Wednesday, said that “the two sides agreed to continue working on a common accounting mechanism”.

It did not, however, specify the accounting formula to be used or the exact amount that Beijing has advanced to Zimbabwe between January and September 2019.

This prompted Zhao Baogang, deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe, to say on Twitter that the Zimbabwean government had agreed to the figures detailed in the Chinese embassy’s statement.

“The Chinese embassy is correct … Our figure has been confirmed by the Zimbabwe side … US$136 million,” Zhao wrote.

China to keep up Africa infrastructure loans despite debt-trap claims

Some Zimbabwean politicians have criticised the government, calling the apparent use of the wrong figure embarrassing. Former finance minister Tendai Biti said the omission of Chinese development assistance in the 2020 budget statement was “amateurish”.

Biti wrote on Twitter: “The same budget also omits Chinese loans to Zimbabwe and understates figures of external sovereign debt. The regime has been cooking books.”

The ministry said China had provided loans and grants to Zimbabwe for other projects, without giving details.

Ncube said China had helped fund the upgrade of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, the new parliament building and rehabilitation of the Hwange 7 and 8 power plant project, and that other donations included food aid, borehole drilling and building of the Mahusekwa District Hospital.

Will China ever tire of Zimbabwe’s corruption and bad debt?

Some of these projects were shrouded in controversy when reports emerged in October that Chinese backers had suspended US$1.3 billion worth of loans after President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government diverted US$10 million from an escrow account for an airport expansion project to offset a foreign currency shortage.

The Chinese embassy said at the time that it supported the Zimbabwean government and that the three projects were being implemented in line with agreed plans. However, Zhao has said that the US$10 million taken from the airport project account had not been returned.

According to figures from the China Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, China extended more than US$2.2 billion worth of loans to Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2017.

Dubai’s Albwardy to buy Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel for $20 million – The Zimbabwean

24.11.2019 5:53

HARARE (Reuters) – Dubai-based Albwardy Investments said on Friday it would buy Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel for $20 million and would upgrade what is one of the southern African nation’s most well-known establishments.

The current owner, Meikles Limited (KMAL.ZI), has over the past few years struggled with low occupancy levels and has lacked foreign exchange to refurbish the property in Harare.

Albwardy said the investment had been approved by Zimbabwe’s stock exchange and competition commission, while the shareholders would vote on the transaction next month.

“The Meikles Hotel provides a unique opportunity to invest in Zimbabwe’s leisure and business markets as a first mover,” Albwardy director of hospitality Laurie Ward said in a statement.

Albwardy is expected to spend up to $30 million in upgrading the hotel, an official from Meikles Hotel told Reuters.

The hotel, which was established in 1915, has 312 rooms.

Zimbabwean minister admits quoting wrong Chinese aid figure in his budget: China’s deputy ambassador
Lets not delude ourselves – ordinary Zimbabweans played no role in Mugabe removal!

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Lets not delude ourselves – ordinary Zimbabweans played no role in Mugabe removal! – The Zimbabwean

Soldiers stand on and next to an armoured vehicle parked in the central district of Harare, Zimbabwe, 16 November 2017. EPA-EFE/AARON

As Zimbabwe remembers the second anniversary of the ‘resignation’ of long-time dictator Robert Gabriel Mugabe on 21 November 2017 – marking the end of his 37 year reign of terror – it is shocking how easily and quickly history has been distorted in order to fit a deceptive narrative that seeks to portray events that captured the entire world for those two weeks, as a result of a mass people’s revolution.

What a blatant lie!

The events of November 2017 in Zimbabwe were nothing in the mould of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ wave that swept through north Africa and parts of the Middle East in 2011 – since these were certainly people-driven revolutions, that led to the removal of iron-fisted despots, which is in stark contrast to the military coup d’etat that was witnessed the southern African country.

History is a critical and pivotal part of any person, family, society, tribe, race, religion, and nation – and as such, is a foundation that should never be tampered with, or altered, to serve a narrow and myopic self-serving agenda. Thus, any history’s authenticity should be guided jealously.

This should also apply to the events that shook the nation of Zimbabwe – and the world – in November 2017, as these were a far cry from the bastardized narrative being peddled by mostly regime agents and, unfortunately, some amongst the ordinary people.

History is usually based on irrefutable facts, and those who deliberately seek to misrepresent such facts are those with a dubious and sinister motive – mostly for self-serving and perverted causes.

Such perfectly applies to Zimbabwean authorities who have over the past two years sought to disguise an unquestionable military coup d’etat as a popular revolution – possibly in an effort to attain both local and international acceptance for something that is generally frowned upon.

For a more precise and logical understanding of what truly transpired in 2017, there is no better and clearer evidence that a timeline of events of those critical two weeks in November.

As is now common knowledge, there had been openly vicious, bruising and even brutal factional fighting within the ruling ZANU PF for several years (all vying to replace the ailing and nonagenarian leader) before the coup d’etat – that witnessed the unceremonious sacking of vice president Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru on 9 December 2014 (as well as her Gamatox faction allies),  just before the crucial December party congress, which led to the ascendency of Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa as her successor – at the instigation of the then first lady Grace.

Then Grace upped the ante, turning against her former ally, Mnangagwa, culminating in the concerted purging of the vice president’s Lacoste faction allies (who were generally of the Karanga tribe, as well as veterans of the liberation struggle) – the most brazenly crushing events occurring in August 2017, with clashes between the police (believed to be aligned to Grace and her G40 faction) and soldiers (aligned to Mnangagwa) in the capital Harare.

On the 12th of the same month, Mnangagwa was allegedly poisoned during a ZANU PF Presidential Youth Interface Rally in Gwanda, widely suspected to have been the result of the factional fighting – although the whole poisoning claim was later reportedly disproved by a senior intelligence official, who claimed that it had been faked.

Nonetheless, these events only served to intensify the acrimonious relationship between the two factions – characterised by frequent openly-traded insults, albeit, being mainly one-sided (Grace being the perpetrator) – the climax being the popular booing of the former First Lady at another rally in Bulawayo’s White City Stadium on 4 November – something that thoroughly enraged Mugabe leading to his sacking his deputy, and long-time protégé, two days later.

Henceforth, this is where the timeline of events has to be unequivocally comprehended and appreciated – as this is where those who have sought to distort history have trampled with the facts.

On 8 November, the sacked Mnangagwa fled the country into South Africa, after which a statement, allegedly penned by him, was issued to the effect that he would soon return to take over the reigns of power.

A few days later, on 13 November, the then commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Constatino Guveya Chiwenga – flanked by other military generals – appeared in international media (as the local state broadcaster, true to its nature, serving only those currently in power, had ignored the press briefing) – warning Mugabe to end purges in the ruling ZANU PF, saying that the military could intervene to stop all those bent on hijacking the revolution and causing instability in the party.

At this juncture, it is most important to note that this statement was very telling of the true intentions of the impeding coup d’etat – it had everything to do with ZANU PF internal politics, and absolutely nothing to do with the welfare and wellbeing of the ordinary people of Zimbabwe.

Only 24 hours after issuing that grave statement, on 14 November military tanks were reportedly spotted rolling into the capital Harare – a strangely unusual occurrence, that swiftly raised suspicions that, true to the generals’ warning, a military coup d’etat was underway.

Indeed, this suspicion was confirmed early the following morning, when Zimbabweans, and the world, woke up only to be greeted by images of the state broadcaster under the control of the military – repeatedly beaming a statement to the effect that the military had decided to intervene by “targeting criminals around the then president who were committing crimes that were causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice”.

The military broadcast also sought to assure viewers that the “head of state, and commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his family were safe”.

Of course, the tone of the military intervention had strangely suddenly changed from only 48 hours earlier, when the stated aim of a possible military intevention had been purely as a result of ‘purging, and instability’ within ZANU PF, by forces ‘bent on hijacking the revolution’ – as witnessed by previous months’ mass sacking of mostly veterans of the liberation struggle.

This also explains the operational name given to the military intervention – ‘Operation Restore Legacy – since the main objective was to resist the purging the veterans of the liberation struggle, and the ‘danger’ of their legacy being wiped away.

As such, in stark contrast to the statement issued on 15 November on the state broadcaster – which suddenly sought to broaden the intevention as a national cause – the real motivate for the coup d’etat was purely internal ZANU PF factional fighting.

On this same day, international media said that the then South African president Jacob Zuma had spoken to Mugabe, who confirmed that he was under house arrest.

Here, another key note needs to be highlighted – the ordinary people of Zimbabwe were not involved at all. They were merely spectators – watching, with uncertainty, mainly via international news, as there was a virtual blackout of these unfolding events in all local state media.

In other words, as the coup d’etat was effectively now well underway, Zimbabwean citizenry had played absolutely no role.

The subsequent events – most notably, the 18 November liberation war veterans’ call for mass marches in Harare to demand for Mugabe’s resignation, had no significant impact on events, as the then president was clearly already under siege, and his future squarely in the military’s hands – despite people heeding the call, and turning out in their thousands.

These mass marches were clearly formulated by those behind the coup d’etat to deceive the international community into believing that the military intervention was solely an answer to the people’s demands – however, the chronology had been thoroughly messed up, as events were now well ahead of the purported ‘voice of the people’.

It was most shameful and unfortunate that so many people – including the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) – agreed to be part of this charade, and manipulated for a ZANU PF factional fighting cause.

Similarly, in spite of a 19 November ZANU PF emergency meeting to discuss demands for Mugabe to resign or face impeachment, this was also merely windowdressing – again, portraying a facade of democratic processes at work – yet, his fate was already as good as sealed, considering that he was in the hands of the military.

Additionally, Mugabe’s 17 November officiating at the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) graduation ceremony was designed for the same purpose of attempting at give an impression that he was a free man, and under no military duress, whatsoever, to step down.

Nonetheless, the coup de gràce came on 21 November, when Mugabe’s resignation was announced to conveniently coincide with a special sitting of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, at the Harare Conference Centre, to impeach him – again, as a portrayal of democratic processes in the works.

No matter what truly transpired behind closed doors between the military and Mugabe, leading to his resignation, the facts still remain that ordinary Zimbabweans’ mass marches on 18 November – five days after military generals issued their warning to him, four days after the military took over the nation and placed him under house arrest, and three days after the military announced their intervention on state media – one thing is unequivocally clear – ordinary Zimbabweans played no role whatsoever in the removal of Mugabe.

Whether people had gone onto the streets en masse, or not – that would have not changed anything, as Mugabe’s fate had already been sealed.

History is stubborn and can never be distorted, as any such malicious attempts will sooner or later be exposed.

This was not, by any stretch of the imagination, ‘the voice of the people’, nor was it a ‘people’s revolution’ – but, purely, unreservedly, and unquestionably a military coup d’etat – that had absolutely nothing to with ordinary Zimbabweans, but power politics within the ruling ZANU PF party.

No one, in both the local and international community should ever be deceived.

Is it then any wonder that the welfare and wellbeing of the people of Zimbabwe has never changed for the better, but has, in fact, drastically deteriorated?

Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, author, and speaker. Please feel free to WhatsApp/call: +263733399640, or + 263715667700, or calls only: +263782283975, or email: [email protected]

Zimbabwean doctors’ difficult call: Do they have to strike to serve?

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Zimbabwean doctors’ difficult call: Do they have to strike to serve? – The Zimbabwean

HARARE, ZIMBABWE

Clepantine Magara started working as a doctor to make other people’s lives easier. And he stopped working as a doctor when the work made his own nearly impossible.

For months Dr. Magara had watched as his salary halved in value, and then halved again, as inflation in Zimbabwe charged into the triple digits.

So in early September, he joined hundreds of other junior doctors working in public hospitals in Zimbabwe and went on strike.

“Yes, it’s a calling, but without [the salary] it takes to do what you have to do, [that calling] is nothing,” says Dr. Magara, standing at the main entrance to Parirenyatwa Hospital, the country’s largest.

The doctors’ predicament looks a lot like their country’s. Inflation in Zimbabwe recently topped 300%, higher than any country in the world except Venezuela. The country is facing shortages of hard currency, fuel, medicine, and basic foods like bread. Meanwhile hope for political change, which had been recharged by the resignation of Robert Mugabe in November 2017, has gone flat.

But in that climate, Zimbabwe’s young doctors are testing a risky proposition: that change might still be possible if you ask for it loudly enough.

Their strike began in early September, when runaway inflation pushed the value of junior doctors’ wages to about $100 per month. The doctors – who are second-year interns – say they didn’t have the savings to subsidize the cost of working. Many were also deeply frustrated by widespread shortages of medicines and other basic supplies like needles, rubber gloves, and running water.

“It’s not only about the low salaries,” says Tapiwa Chagonda, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Johannesburg who studies how Zimbabwean workers survive in times of economic crisis. It’s also a matter of dignity for both doctors and patients. “They’ve signed up to the Hippocratic oath” to do no harm. “But there’s no working equipment, there aren’t basic drugs. In those conditions, how do you even begin to assist your patients?” he says.

Heavy consequences

On a recent Saturday outside Parirenyatwa – which was named for the first black Zimbabwean to qualify as a medical doctor – the parking lots were empty and still. Without its junior doctors, the hospital was running on a skeleton staff. Nurses and a few doctors tended to emergency cases. But most arrivals had to be turned away, or find their own way to receive treatment in the hospital’s ghostly wards.

Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP Customers wait in line to withdraw cash from a bank in Harare, Zimbabwe, after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe issued new banknotes, Nov. 12, 2019. The bank began issuing new notes and coins, aimed at easing crippling cash shortages amid runaway inflation.

Last month, Tendai Liwombo was one of them. When she found herself suddenly doubled over in pain one morning, her husband Prince Masawi rushed her to Parirenyatwa.

A nurse suspected she had an ectopic pregnancy, a life-threatening condition. From there, Ms. Liwombo spent hours bouncing between public and private hospitals across the city as her husband searched frantically – first for a facility with a working ultrasound machine, and then for a private anesthesiologist for the surgery.

When he found one, Mr. Masawi says, the man demanded $450, many times his monthly salary as a security guard. Frantic that he would lose his wife, Mr. Maswai thrust his cellphone into the man’s hand, begging him to take it as payment. At last, the doctor agreed to a payment of $50.

“The government should do something [to end the strike],” Ms. Liwombo says. She says she sympathizes with the doctors, whom she knows are living in the same harsh situation as she is, and doesn’t believe it is their responsibility to go back to work in these conditions. A month after her surgery, she is still in intense pain, and fears what will happen if she needs further medical care. “People are dying. Any further delay to my situation and it could have been a different story today.”

Stories like these deeply trouble Dr. Magara, who says he dreamed of becoming a doctor since childhood “to save lives and to play a humanitarian role in society.” He knows his strike puts his patients’ lives on the line. But he reached a point, he says, where he could not afford to continue showing up to work.

The strike itself has also been dangerous. In September, Peter Magombeyi, one of the strike’s leaders, was abducted and tortured. Many suspect government involvement, though the government blames a “third force” wanting to destabilize Zimbabwe.

Promises of change

The strike, indeed, is a consequence of the country’s messy political transition.

When Emmerson Mnangagwa became president in November 2017 after ousting Mr. Mugabe, who had ruled the country since 1980, he vowed Zimbabwe was now “open for business.” On visits to foreign countries, and at the Davos World Economic Forum, he promised investors and donors a new dawn after decades of oppression and financial mismanagement under Mr. Mugabe.

Instead, his government violently put down protests, using the army to break up demonstrations and shooting live ammunition at protesters. This did little to win the confidence of the governments and companies Mr. Mnangagwa hoped to woo, and the country’s already-weak economy continued to backslide. Earlier this year, the country uncoupled its currency from the U.S. dollar, and inflation skyrocketed. The economy is now at its worst point since 2008, when annual inflation hit 89.7 sextillion percent.

As the value of their salaries dwindled, young doctors like Dr. Magara began hustling for other sources of revenue. Some became farmers. Others begged money off parents and relatives abroad to pay rent. Still others began seeing patients in private clinics, where they could charge enough to make up for their lost wages.

“I had 100% confidence in Mnangagwa’s government when he took over in 2017, but it dwindled over time,” says Dr. Magara, who is currently living on money from family members.

Although the strike has so far failed to achieve its aims, it has drawn renewed international attention to Zimbabwe’s economic collapse. In late September, a global health summit in Boston named Zimbabwean first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa an “honorary ambassador” who would collaborate on “reducing healthcare disparities.” But a swift outcry, including from several former U.S. diplomats, quickly led the organization to distance itself from Ms. Mnangagwa. The honor, the diplomats wrote, gave tacit support to “an increasingly corrupt and abusive administration in which tolerance for dissent is nonexistent and democratic rights are violently denied.” 

Dr. Magara continues to hope the government will eventually come around to the doctors’ demands, which include a 400% raise and salaries pegged to the dollar. Strikers have rejected the government’s offer to boost salaries by 60%, and there is little indication they would offer more. More than 400 doctors have been dismissed, and the deputy minister of information has tweeted that the “money mongering” strikers will be blacklisted.

“This is sad for me and my colleagues,” says Dr. Magara. “There is a possibility that I might choose to jump off the bus and do something else [professionally]. But I have my patients at heart.”