Nestlé are in trouble again. Some months ago it was revealed to the world at large that Nestlé Zimbabwe was buying milk from ‘you-know-who’s wife, Grace. Nestlé’s head office is in Switzerland and Switzerland is a member of the EU so Nestlé was accused of breaking sanctions against the ZANU-PF regime. It wasn’t going to go away and Nestlé was required (legally required in terms of EU policies) to stop purchasing milk from Grace, a specified person on the EU sanctions list.
This should not really create a problem for Grace because Zimbabwe has their own Daribord which purchases milk from wherever it can. There is a shortage of milk countrywide due to the destruction of dairy farming – just like all other farming produce. So Grace can easily sell her milk to Daribord.
But you have to remember that this Zimbabwe.
Next event was for workers from Grace’s farm to dump their milk on Nestlé factory doorstep and demand payment. It didn’t happen so the police, last week, arrested the MD and FD. The FD is Farai Munetsi – I know him well as we used to do business together. They were released without charge but Nestlé believed that their operations and their staff had been threatened by the regime and their African head office in Kenya decided to ‘temporarily’ close the factory doors.
Now the ZANU PF politicians get involved and shout their usual abuse from the rooftops of Harare that Nestlé can ‘go to hell’ and the government will take over their factory.
What will happen next? Watch this space but expect it to be the African political will that will win. At the expense of course of some 200 Zimbabwean workers who work at Nestlé in Harare, and at the expense of the economy and at the expense of the Zimbabwean consumer.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Lull Before the Storm?
I see that it is three weeks since I last appended to this blog. Apart from when I was away on holiday this must constitute a record. The main reason is that life – politically and economically has become almost as boring here as it is in the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia. But for the record: -
Roy Bennet’s trial has been adjourned to the New Year – this after Peter Hitschmann was called to give evidence and surprisingly to the prosecutor, was not available. Not a surprise to anyone else of course. Conveniently, Bennet will not be a ‘free man’ until after the ZANU PF Congress and after the continuing negotiations with the MDC and now, the South African negotiating team.
Lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu who had the ‘nerve’ to write a letter to the AG telling him that Hitschmann had no evidence to give at Bennet’s trial is still, presumably, on remand. Hopefully out of custody.
The MDC driver accused of engineering the theft of rifles from the Army barracks is also still on remand, but he is definitely IN custody, the State having appealed against the High Court decision to grant him bail.
And the negotiations continue. Although this time the South Africans are said to be taking a harder line against Mugabe following their complete surprise that Mugabe has failed to implement several of the matters agreed to in January. Why oh why are they surprised? Nobody else is.
Is this the lull before the coming storm?
Roy Bennet’s trial has been adjourned to the New Year – this after Peter Hitschmann was called to give evidence and surprisingly to the prosecutor, was not available. Not a surprise to anyone else of course. Conveniently, Bennet will not be a ‘free man’ until after the ZANU PF Congress and after the continuing negotiations with the MDC and now, the South African negotiating team.
Lawyer Mordecai Mahlangu who had the ‘nerve’ to write a letter to the AG telling him that Hitschmann had no evidence to give at Bennet’s trial is still, presumably, on remand. Hopefully out of custody.
The MDC driver accused of engineering the theft of rifles from the Army barracks is also still on remand, but he is definitely IN custody, the State having appealed against the High Court decision to grant him bail.
And the negotiations continue. Although this time the South Africans are said to be taking a harder line against Mugabe following their complete surprise that Mugabe has failed to implement several of the matters agreed to in January. Why oh why are they surprised? Nobody else is.
Is this the lull before the coming storm?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Where did this man go to Law School?
Events in the High Court yesterday read like something from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Except that it is real and deadly serious.
Roy Bennet is on trial for his life – that’s the serious part of this. Bennet is charged with “possessing dangerous weapons for terrorism as well as inciting acts of insurgency”. The prosecutor is no less than the Attorney General, Johannes Tomana. Tomana is himself a target for change inasmuch as his appointment prior to the inception of the Government of National Unity is being challenged by the MDC as an act in breach of the agreement signed by Mugabe and Tsvangirayi. Tomana is alleged to be a ‘political appointee’ and this may well be the case for it seems he does not know some of the basic tenets of the law in Zimbabwe.
The entire case against Bennet, we have learned today, is hinged on the ‘confession’ of Peter Michael Hitschmann who was charged with terrorism some three years ago and ended up being gaoled for ‘illegal possession of firearms’ after the main charges would not stick when it was found by the court that his ‘confessions’ were made under duress. Hitschmann is now a free man and he has made it public that he was tortured in order for the police to extract a confession.
Notwithstanding, Tomana thinks he can get a conviction against Bennet by introducing Hitschmann’s confession before the court at Bennet’s trial.
In efforts to bring these ‘confessions’ before the court, Tomana used a policeman yesterday in an attempt to give hearsay evidence of Hitschmann’s confessions. Not surprisingly the judge disallowed the evidence to be presented.
In response Tomana told the court he could not immediately proceed with trial as he had prepared his case anticipating that Makone’s evidence would be accepted.
And this is the Attorney General! Where did he go to law school?
In the meantime a lawyer representing Hitschmann, Mordecai Mahlangu was arrested after writing a letter to Tomana, saying his client Peter Hitschmann had no evidence to offer in the treason trial against MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett. This letter has been construed by Tomana as an attempt to defeat the course of justice! Mahlangu has since been in custody for over two weeks. How bizarre can things get?
Perhaps Tomana’s strategy was aimed at using the State Press who would dutifully report any hearsay evidence that he managed to get passed the judge and thus publicly ‘justify’ the arrest of Bennet. Once confessions are out in the public domain in Zimbabwe it matters not that the confession was obtained through torture. Like ‘Illegal Economic Sanctions’ the confessions would be reproduced ad infinitum – minus of course the ‘obtained under duress’ part – until the constant repetition would create a Zimbabwean ‘truth’.
Once again, ZANU PF is demonstrating it’s hold on power – and of course it’s total lack of sincerity.
Roy Bennet is on trial for his life – that’s the serious part of this. Bennet is charged with “possessing dangerous weapons for terrorism as well as inciting acts of insurgency”. The prosecutor is no less than the Attorney General, Johannes Tomana. Tomana is himself a target for change inasmuch as his appointment prior to the inception of the Government of National Unity is being challenged by the MDC as an act in breach of the agreement signed by Mugabe and Tsvangirayi. Tomana is alleged to be a ‘political appointee’ and this may well be the case for it seems he does not know some of the basic tenets of the law in Zimbabwe.
The entire case against Bennet, we have learned today, is hinged on the ‘confession’ of Peter Michael Hitschmann who was charged with terrorism some three years ago and ended up being gaoled for ‘illegal possession of firearms’ after the main charges would not stick when it was found by the court that his ‘confessions’ were made under duress. Hitschmann is now a free man and he has made it public that he was tortured in order for the police to extract a confession.
Notwithstanding, Tomana thinks he can get a conviction against Bennet by introducing Hitschmann’s confession before the court at Bennet’s trial.
In efforts to bring these ‘confessions’ before the court, Tomana used a policeman yesterday in an attempt to give hearsay evidence of Hitschmann’s confessions. Not surprisingly the judge disallowed the evidence to be presented.
In response Tomana told the court he could not immediately proceed with trial as he had prepared his case anticipating that Makone’s evidence would be accepted.
And this is the Attorney General! Where did he go to law school?
In the meantime a lawyer representing Hitschmann, Mordecai Mahlangu was arrested after writing a letter to Tomana, saying his client Peter Hitschmann had no evidence to offer in the treason trial against MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett. This letter has been construed by Tomana as an attempt to defeat the course of justice! Mahlangu has since been in custody for over two weeks. How bizarre can things get?
Perhaps Tomana’s strategy was aimed at using the State Press who would dutifully report any hearsay evidence that he managed to get passed the judge and thus publicly ‘justify’ the arrest of Bennet. Once confessions are out in the public domain in Zimbabwe it matters not that the confession was obtained through torture. Like ‘Illegal Economic Sanctions’ the confessions would be reproduced ad infinitum – minus of course the ‘obtained under duress’ part – until the constant repetition would create a Zimbabwean ‘truth’.
Once again, ZANU PF is demonstrating it’s hold on power – and of course it’s total lack of sincerity.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Could this be the Penultimate Nail in the ZANU PF Coffin?
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report tabled in Parliament earlier this month is the most damning evidence ever publicly produced of the ongoing kleptocracy that is Zimbabwe today. The staggering theft of public funds by ZANU PF ministers, military leaders and senior bureaucrats is shaking the ordinary people to the core. The theft of public funds is said to be ‘unbelievable’ in its enormity but in the realty of what Zimbabwe has become it is very believable. It simply goes hand in hand with the enormous theft of land, land improvements, growing crops and stock – including very recently some 8,000 crocodiles raised by a Chiredzi farmer – that has taken place in Zimbabwe in recent years. That it is being exposed to public scrutiny is what I find to be ‘unbelievable’ but perhaps the arrival of the MDC to Parliament has enabled this exposure to take place.
The report tells us that 10,277 youths were employed in the Ministry of Youth Development as so-called Ward Officers without nay authority. They were employed in the run up to and during the 2008 elections. It is crystal clear they were employed to ‘ensure victory’ for the ruling party in the usual way they do these things – holding night pungwes, beating up the local people, threatening death for voting ‘the wrong way’ and committing other like criminal acts. Mugabe and his coterie of thugs have never been more exposed for what they are.
But then the report tells of the brazen thefts of public property – generally motor vehicles ‘donated’ by the Reserve Bank Governor, the notorious Gideon Gono, to various ministries during the year under review. Some have simply not been accounted for by the ministries and departments concerned, others have been taken away by the drivers – mostly ministers in government, senior civil servants and military personnel. Add to that the theft of fuel where these same people entrusted with governing the country have been ‘allocated’ as much as 5,000 litres a month for fuel.
Now at last – well just perhaps – the people who continually like to defend Mugabe as a ‘hero of the liberation struggle’ will come to realise just what kind of heroes he and his cronies are – and have been all along.
South Africa should take note before they suffer the same fate. If you allow corruption to survive because it is ‘not really significant’, it just grows more heads like Medusa until it suffocates an entire nation of ordinary people.
The End is nigh? In a normal society one would think so. Zimbabwe is not a normal society.
The report tells us that 10,277 youths were employed in the Ministry of Youth Development as so-called Ward Officers without nay authority. They were employed in the run up to and during the 2008 elections. It is crystal clear they were employed to ‘ensure victory’ for the ruling party in the usual way they do these things – holding night pungwes, beating up the local people, threatening death for voting ‘the wrong way’ and committing other like criminal acts. Mugabe and his coterie of thugs have never been more exposed for what they are.
But then the report tells of the brazen thefts of public property – generally motor vehicles ‘donated’ by the Reserve Bank Governor, the notorious Gideon Gono, to various ministries during the year under review. Some have simply not been accounted for by the ministries and departments concerned, others have been taken away by the drivers – mostly ministers in government, senior civil servants and military personnel. Add to that the theft of fuel where these same people entrusted with governing the country have been ‘allocated’ as much as 5,000 litres a month for fuel.
Now at last – well just perhaps – the people who continually like to defend Mugabe as a ‘hero of the liberation struggle’ will come to realise just what kind of heroes he and his cronies are – and have been all along.
South Africa should take note before they suffer the same fate. If you allow corruption to survive because it is ‘not really significant’, it just grows more heads like Medusa until it suffocates an entire nation of ordinary people.
The End is nigh? In a normal society one would think so. Zimbabwe is not a normal society.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Why is Africa not successful?
I learned something new today about the Psychology of Happiness and Success. There is an entire psychological school of thought devoted to this theory. The theory says:
1. If you are happy you are more likely to be successful than if you are unhappy
2. Optimists are more likely to be happy with their circumstances than pessimists.
3. Man is a social animal who is generally empathetic and will respond to the behaviour – good or bad, happy or unhappy, of others who surround him. As a proven statistic 85% of people will be influenced by the behaviour of those around them while the other 15% will not. We tried this in a brief experiment and it worked inasmuch as 85% of us were able to make the other 85% smile!
So beware of the company you keep and surround yourself with happy optimists.
The drift moved on to why is Africa not successful. Of all the continents, Africa has the highest misery index and the least success. It has been suggested by the School of Happiness and Success, no less, that the possible reason for Africa’s continuing failure is that as a people, they do not believe they can change things through their own behaviour. As in Zimbabwe, Africans tend to say ‘But what can we do?’ when faced with a government that leads them into a trillion percent inflation, bullies them, even kills them off one or more at a time and leads them into lives of misery, uncertainty and insecurity. And African governments, faced with failure to perform, blame outside influences – a la ‘Western Illegal Economic Sanctions’, droughts, world recessions, global warming caused by the West, etc, etc, etc.
But I wonder about this. The ordinary people are generally happy in the midst of some of the most appalling circumstances. Then there are some of the people who make a lot of decisions to help themselves and become successful beyond their wildest dreams – that is if you measure success by the amount of money in their bank balances or the numbers and size of the cars in their garages, their homes, whatever. Look at Phillip Chiyangwa, the senior members of the Army and Police, civil servants, judges, and ZANU PF politicians who now have several farms – each(!), plenty of expensive and luxurious motor cars and homes that would challenge Balmoral Castle (if not quite Buckingham Palace!) So given the right circumstances (power) they can be happy (successful) optimists – at the expense of course – of the ordinary people who are ‘fatalists’ if not pessimists.
Yet Africa as a continent and Zimbabwe as a country is getting poorer by the day so there is an ingredient missing amongst the successful Africans – perhaps it is empathy? They could be the 15% who you can’t make smile around the boardroom table?
Is this the psychological answer to Africa’s failure, I wonder?
1. If you are happy you are more likely to be successful than if you are unhappy
2. Optimists are more likely to be happy with their circumstances than pessimists.
3. Man is a social animal who is generally empathetic and will respond to the behaviour – good or bad, happy or unhappy, of others who surround him. As a proven statistic 85% of people will be influenced by the behaviour of those around them while the other 15% will not. We tried this in a brief experiment and it worked inasmuch as 85% of us were able to make the other 85% smile!
So beware of the company you keep and surround yourself with happy optimists.
The drift moved on to why is Africa not successful. Of all the continents, Africa has the highest misery index and the least success. It has been suggested by the School of Happiness and Success, no less, that the possible reason for Africa’s continuing failure is that as a people, they do not believe they can change things through their own behaviour. As in Zimbabwe, Africans tend to say ‘But what can we do?’ when faced with a government that leads them into a trillion percent inflation, bullies them, even kills them off one or more at a time and leads them into lives of misery, uncertainty and insecurity. And African governments, faced with failure to perform, blame outside influences – a la ‘Western Illegal Economic Sanctions’, droughts, world recessions, global warming caused by the West, etc, etc, etc.
But I wonder about this. The ordinary people are generally happy in the midst of some of the most appalling circumstances. Then there are some of the people who make a lot of decisions to help themselves and become successful beyond their wildest dreams – that is if you measure success by the amount of money in their bank balances or the numbers and size of the cars in their garages, their homes, whatever. Look at Phillip Chiyangwa, the senior members of the Army and Police, civil servants, judges, and ZANU PF politicians who now have several farms – each(!), plenty of expensive and luxurious motor cars and homes that would challenge Balmoral Castle (if not quite Buckingham Palace!) So given the right circumstances (power) they can be happy (successful) optimists – at the expense of course – of the ordinary people who are ‘fatalists’ if not pessimists.
Yet Africa as a continent and Zimbabwe as a country is getting poorer by the day so there is an ingredient missing amongst the successful Africans – perhaps it is empathy? They could be the 15% who you can’t make smile around the boardroom table?
Is this the psychological answer to Africa’s failure, I wonder?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Violence and Deceit
There are a lot of disturbing events taking place since the ‘disengagement’ of the MDC from fraternising (or whatever it is they have been doing) with ZANU PF. Tsvangirayi and his MDC still seem to think that SADC and/or Jacob Zuma will come to their rescue. This seems to be misplaced trust in people and organisations who have consistently shown their colours to be nailed to the Mugabe mast.
So Tsvangirayi is back in town and nothing’s changed – ZANU PF continue to flout the terms of the GNU at will and are now apparently, getting bolder in the face of SADC inaction. Over the weekend an MDC property was raided – the police – as usual – in search of non-existent firearms supposedly buried on the property.
Today I read that the residents of Chiweshe Communal Lands are being attacked by ‘militia’ beating up ordinary people and specifically teachers. This is Chiweshe’s punishment for voting MDC in the last elections. In previous attacks shortly after the election buttocks were being flayed – so much so that the flesh was torn from the bodies and several people were killed, some apparently through being forced to drink paraquat – a deadly herbicide, and others killed through the crushing of genitals. The residents of Chiweshe, after that kind of experience, are surely running scared today in fear of their lives. Who will help them? Not SADC that’s for sure.
Then there has been the arrest and detention of two of the leadership of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations at Victoria Falls while they were boarding a plane to return to Harare after the completion of the NANGO Summer School. They are accused of holding a political meeting without authority, an offence under the draconian POSA Act which should have been repealed as part of the GNU agreement.
What’s it all about? My guess it is part of a ZANU PF strategy to ensure that the MDC do NOT re-engage ZANU PF. There is nothing they would like more than the total collapse of the GNU. Any ZANU PF strategy is of course either deceitful or violent or both.
When will the MDC, SADC and the players in this unfolding scenario learn this one single ZANU PF principle?
So Tsvangirayi is back in town and nothing’s changed – ZANU PF continue to flout the terms of the GNU at will and are now apparently, getting bolder in the face of SADC inaction. Over the weekend an MDC property was raided – the police – as usual – in search of non-existent firearms supposedly buried on the property.
Today I read that the residents of Chiweshe Communal Lands are being attacked by ‘militia’ beating up ordinary people and specifically teachers. This is Chiweshe’s punishment for voting MDC in the last elections. In previous attacks shortly after the election buttocks were being flayed – so much so that the flesh was torn from the bodies and several people were killed, some apparently through being forced to drink paraquat – a deadly herbicide, and others killed through the crushing of genitals. The residents of Chiweshe, after that kind of experience, are surely running scared today in fear of their lives. Who will help them? Not SADC that’s for sure.
Then there has been the arrest and detention of two of the leadership of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations at Victoria Falls while they were boarding a plane to return to Harare after the completion of the NANGO Summer School. They are accused of holding a political meeting without authority, an offence under the draconian POSA Act which should have been repealed as part of the GNU agreement.
What’s it all about? My guess it is part of a ZANU PF strategy to ensure that the MDC do NOT re-engage ZANU PF. There is nothing they would like more than the total collapse of the GNU. Any ZANU PF strategy is of course either deceitful or violent or both.
When will the MDC, SADC and the players in this unfolding scenario learn this one single ZANU PF principle?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Guinea
I have been reading about the latest activities in Guinea in West Africa. I am deeply thankful that I live in Zimbabwe and not Guinea where they have experienced nothing but horror since the French abandoned them to their independence in 1958. Today, fifty-one years later, their self styled leader, Captain Moussa Camara who assumed power in a military coup as recently as December 2008 is celebrating his status with the usual African impunity and lack of caring for his people.
Yesterday we read and hear of violent public disorder and ‘Red Berets’ loyal to Camara running berserk with firearms murdering at least a hundred plus fleeing civilians and raping innocent women in broad daylight and in public view. Admittedly Zimbabwe has been almost there, but not quite and it seems unlikely that we will get to those depths. Or am I just another optimist in Africa?
What will African leaders do about this state of Guinean affairs? No doubt they will talk about it for a while and talk a lot, blame the French for colonising Guinea and the West for abandoning the ‘struggling masses’. Then they will allow events to unfold as Captain Camara directs, which you can be sure, will not be in the interests of the ordinary people of Guinea. Self respecting African Americans with roots in Guinea can be thankful their ancestors were removed as slaves.
Colonialism invariably gets the blame for everything. But colonialism was as inevitable to Africa as it was to Britain in the dark and middle ages, as it was to the Americas and Australasia and parts of Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. While Britain, North America, Australasia and more recently India have grown into modern day economic giants and much of South America is not far behind, what went wrong in Africa? Perhaps it was that colonialism in Africa was never fully consummated? And when it came time for the ‘winds of change’ they blew like a hurricane across the continent. The colonials unashamedly and without hesitation washed their hands of any responsibility, fled the aftermath of their creations leaving a leadership gap of untold proportions and the inevitable agony and destruction to those they colonised.
How long will it take for Africa to rise from the ashes of their destruction? A long time for the destruction goes on without any sign of relief. Even South Africa is showing signs of following the recent Zimbabwean route to hell and Guinea, fifty-one years after independence, sinks lower into oblivion with each passing dictator.
Yesterday we read and hear of violent public disorder and ‘Red Berets’ loyal to Camara running berserk with firearms murdering at least a hundred plus fleeing civilians and raping innocent women in broad daylight and in public view. Admittedly Zimbabwe has been almost there, but not quite and it seems unlikely that we will get to those depths. Or am I just another optimist in Africa?
What will African leaders do about this state of Guinean affairs? No doubt they will talk about it for a while and talk a lot, blame the French for colonising Guinea and the West for abandoning the ‘struggling masses’. Then they will allow events to unfold as Captain Camara directs, which you can be sure, will not be in the interests of the ordinary people of Guinea. Self respecting African Americans with roots in Guinea can be thankful their ancestors were removed as slaves.
Colonialism invariably gets the blame for everything. But colonialism was as inevitable to Africa as it was to Britain in the dark and middle ages, as it was to the Americas and Australasia and parts of Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries. While Britain, North America, Australasia and more recently India have grown into modern day economic giants and much of South America is not far behind, what went wrong in Africa? Perhaps it was that colonialism in Africa was never fully consummated? And when it came time for the ‘winds of change’ they blew like a hurricane across the continent. The colonials unashamedly and without hesitation washed their hands of any responsibility, fled the aftermath of their creations leaving a leadership gap of untold proportions and the inevitable agony and destruction to those they colonised.
How long will it take for Africa to rise from the ashes of their destruction? A long time for the destruction goes on without any sign of relief. Even South Africa is showing signs of following the recent Zimbabwean route to hell and Guinea, fifty-one years after independence, sinks lower into oblivion with each passing dictator.
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