Another moronic move by Zimbabwe

[Ice]

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabwe's government introduced a bill Thursday to give Zimbabweans majority ownership of foreign companies, a move critics say will deepen the economic crisis.

Critics of the Zimbabwe government fear a bill against foreign companies will worsen the economic crisis.

If passed it would give the government sweeping powers over how foreign companies, including mines, operate in Zimbabwe.

Critics accuse veteran leader President Robert Mugabe of trying to push through the empowerment bill to extend his patronage and focus attention from Zimbabwe's economic turmoil. Mugabe is seeking another five-year term in presidential elections next year.

Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Paul Mangwana told parliament the bill would create an environment that would increase the "participation of indigenous people in Zimbabwe".

The draft was passed to a parliamentary legal committee shortly after it was introduced. It is likely to pass because Mugabe's ZANU-PF party dominates parliament, analysts say.

Critics say it is reminiscent of Mugabe's controversial policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks, which many say triggered the economic crisis.

Empowerment of Zimbabwean companies could drain what little confidence there is left in the country and step up pressure on Mugabe to show he is in control, analysts say.

"There was no doubt they would push it through before the elections because it's designed to garner votes," said economic commentator Eric Bloch.

"What remains to be seen is how vigorously they are going to implement it, but it's certainly going to discourage investors."

Analysts say Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is too weak and divided to pose a political challenge to Mugabe, who has been in power for 27 years.

But critics hope sanctions imposed by Western powers, along with economic turmoil, will eventually bring down Mugabe's government.

"The timing is terrible because the image out there is already one of mistrust, and after the way the government handled the land issue, this bill raises that question again about the security of investment and respect for property rights," said John Robertson, a private economic consultant.

Zimbabwe's inflation rate, already the highest in the world, jumped to a new record high of 7,634.8 percent in July according to official data.

Economists said the figure underestimated inflation due to price controls imposed at the end of June which sparked frenzied buying and emptied shop shelves.

The International Monetary Fund said last month inflation may reach 100,000 percent by year-end.

In recent years Zimbabwe has suffered from shortages of fuel, food and foreign currency as well as security crackdowns, forcing many to flee the country to neighboring states.

Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980, accuses Western powers of sabotaging the economy in retaliation for the land seizures. He denies widespread accusations of human rights abuses, including torture.

An MDC official Wednesday accused the government of taking measures to prevent its supporters from registering to vote in next year's election.

But South Africa, which is mediating between the two parties, said Thursday it was confident that talks will "lay the foundation for free and fair elections", although Western diplomats doubt that the negotiations will succeed.

Mugabe, a former liberation hero, is also pushing for a bill that will give him room to choose a successor if he were to retire.

Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Paul Mangwana told parliament the bill would create an environment that would increase the "participation of indigenous people in Zimbabwe".

[Marshal Murat]

Maybe it might work.
Going against the man has worked in the past.

Like not compensating the white farmers.
Giving the new plots to family members and dependants
Re-settling farmers into the wilderness
Forcing stores to sell materials at under-inflation prices.

[JR-]

hmmm, how much will they have to suffer before the people of zimbabwe do something about their plight.

[rory_20_uk]

Good thing they got rid of the Big Bad Colonial masters, isn't it?

I think we are missing the bigger picture: no one has yet blamed Britain for all the troubles.

[InsaneApache]

Mugabe does.

[naut]

Maybe it might work.

Are you serious? Please explain how removing people with skills and experience and replacing them with uneducated and unskilled people will possibly work.

[Conradus]

Are you serious? Please explain how removing people with skills and experience and replacing them with uneducated and unskilled people will possibly work.

Because they don't know what can't be done?

Seriously though, I wonder how long Mugabe can keep his control over Zimbabwe, they're must be some people who realize what he's doing to the country by now.

[HoreTore]

Well, I can't really see how things can become any worse... It might look worse on paper, but I can't really see how things can get any worse for the average(poor) citizen...

[InsaneApache]

I dunno, I suspect it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

[Spetulhu]

As if anyone cares. It's darkest Africa,

[Papewaio]

I think we are missing the bigger picture: no one has yet blamed Britain for all the troubles.

That would be superfluous.

[Odin]

Its Britians fault.

[HoreTore]

I'd say Lichtenstein is the real culprit here. They're behind it all.

[Ronin]

You´ve all ben tricked!!

it is obvious that Buthan is behind this!!!

[Odin]

Seriously, this is hardly surprising given mugabee's track record. He's nationalizing the mining and resource industries to sure up his grip on power for the pending election.

Hardly surprising, but in all candeor its there country unless he is moving toward genocidal policies, let them reap what they sow.

[rory_20_uk]

Don't worry - when its poor black on black deaths we can call it an "incident" until well over 500,000 are dead. Then we can send in a fact finding mission...

ANd since Pax Britannia ended just under a century ago, someone else can send people do go and die sorting this one out.We've sent our "army" to get shot up by the Yanks in 2 countries already.

[Odin]

Don't worry - when its poor black on black deaths we can call it an "incident" until well over 500,000 are dead. Then we can send in a fact finding mission...

ANd since Pax Britannia ended just under a century ago, someone else can send people do go and die sorting this one out.We've sent our "army" to get shot up by the Yanks in 2 countries already.

Great post rory, have i ever told you you are my favorite poster from the UK with a 2 and a 0 in your nick?

Anyway, i agree with the later statement and even further as a U.S. Citizen budding libertarian I'd rather the russians, chinese, india or the UN tackle africa and any pending genocides.

I dont want to be involved in anymore folly abroad, unless the twins in Poland decide to revolt against the EU, then I might consider a change in position.

Otherwise, lets let one of the new emerging "super powers" deal with this one. China specifically, they seem to be the ones with the most intrest in the resources there, and what a wonderful road map to follow via the U.S. wars of resources in the middle east !

Not that we didnt take our lead from the ancient empires of the UK and France, but you know how learning is with children, they always think they can do it better, faster, cheaper then thier elders.

[Lemur]

I still think, when all is said and done, that Mugabe is responsible for the biggest mass death (some people get tetchy about using the word "genocide") of our time.

Ripping the heart out of the heartlands

Aug 23rd 2007 | MASHONALAND
From The Economist print edition
Food becomes scarcer, even in Robert Mugabe's rural strongholds

THE meeting of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Zambia last week provided scant hope for the people of Zimbabwe. Few details emerged from behind the closed doors, but Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa, who currently chairs the regional body and had previously compared Zimbabwe to a sinking Titanic, declared that problems in the neighbouring country were “exaggerated”. With 80% unemployment, inflation that could now be over 10,000%, and severe shortages of the most basic goods, many Zimbabweans may disagree. Over 3m of them are thought to have left the country, and the UN refugee agency is working on contingency plans in case the exodus worsens.

Another UN agency, the World Food Programme, reckons that 4m Zimbabweans—about one-third of the population—will need food aid by the beginning of next year. The harvest of maize, the local staple food, was meagre this year. Rains have been poor, and the government's disastrous land-reform programme has turned once flourishing commercial farming into subsistence agriculture.

This is plain to see in rural Mashonaland, the area around the capital, Harare, and the traditional heartland of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF. Most of the land where tobacco and maize used to grow lies fallow, taken over by wild vegetation. A few hours' drive south of Harare, a commercial farm that used to grow maize and rear cattle has now been divided into 35 plots where subsistence farmers try to scrape a living. The irrigation system and the water pump that once turned the harsh terrain into fertile soil and provided drinking water broke down long ago. Only one of the 100 or so farm workers who used to work there remains. His small plot is dry, and he has to walk several kilometres to get water from a neighbouring farm. He reckons he has enough maize to feed his family until November. When his stock runs out, he'll be lucky to get one meal a day until the next harvest, in March or April.

A school was set up on the farm, and one of the teachers now lives in the main house, which was looted when the white owner was evicted. Even light switches have been ripped from the walls, not that they would be of much use now. There is electricity a few hours a day only, usually at night. The taps ran dry a long time ago.

The school is in a small building that used to house farm workers. Teachers and parents have joined forces to try to make it work. Benches are made up of old planks balanced on brick stacks, and makeshift tables have been built from scrap wood. None of the three tiny classrooms has any windows or doors left. School fees are 20,000 Zimbabwean dollars a term—or 11 American cents at the black-market exchange rate—but some parents cannot afford even that. The teacher says that a third of children in the area do not go to school at all.

Nearby, two of his pupils are staring up a tree, slingshots in hand. They are hunting a monkey, their only chance of eating meat. The youngest, wearing shorts that reveal his bony legs, says they manage two meals a day: tea and bread, when available, for breakfast, and maize porridge later in the day. His battered shoes are far too big and the laces are tied around his ankles to keep them from flying off. He lives 4km (2.5 miles) away and walks to school.

In another part of Mashonaland, a white commercial farmer tries to hang on, having lost the bulk of his farm to a senior government official and a few war veterans. He is one of the 350 or so commercial farmers thought to be left, from 4,500 before the government started redistributing land in 2000. A portrait of Mr Mugabe hangs on the office wall and he maintains good relations with local officials. The farmer points out that he is not fighting land redistribution itself. But some buildings (including his own house), valuable equipment and crops already planted have been taken over as well, so he is fighting that in court.

He has scaled back cash crops such as wheat and maize massively, and focuses on exports of citrus and tobacco, which bring much-needed foreign exchange. The next crops will need to be planted soon. Uncertain about the farm's future, he ponders over whether to make the investment. From 1,200 workers, he now employs only about 500. “We are going one way,” he says. “Down.”

The farm no longer makes money, but cheap government loans and heavily subsidised diesel help to keep him going. He also plants and harvests on neighbouring farms, which have been reallocated to black owners, and gets half the crop. Many new landowners find that reselling their subsidised diesel on the black market is far more lucrative than farming.

Presidential and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe are scheduled for next March. The ruling party has been accused of leaning on traditional chiefs to control rural voters. Road-blocks in Mashonaland are frequent. In Chegutu, close to Mr Mugabe's home, shops are depressingly bare, and the struggling local factories and farms have laid off workers. But after years of intimidation, the opposition has almost disappeared. There is little visible security presence. Not so in Marondera, 45 minutes south-east of Harare, where the much-feared youth militia roam the streets and the atmosphere is tense.

Voter registration has just finished. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a local NGO, reports serious irregularities, with rural voters loyal to ZANU-PF registering in cities, presumably to dilute support for the opposition, strongest in urban areas. But Zimbabweans will no doubt be cheered to know that the SADC's leaders, at the end of their Lusaka summit, wished elections next year to be free and fair.

[Odin]

I still think, when all is said and done, that Mugabe is responsible for the biggest mass death (some people get tetchy about using the word "genocide") of our time.

Ripping the heart out of the heartlands

Aug 23rd 2007 | MASHONALAND
From The Economist print edition
Food becomes scarcer, even in Robert Mugabe's rural strongholds

THE meeting of the 14-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Zambia last week provided scant hope for the people of Zimbabwe. Few details emerged from behind the closed doors, but Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa, who currently chairs the regional body and had previously compared Zimbabwe to a sinking Titanic, declared that problems in the neighbouring country were “exaggerated”. With 80% unemployment, inflation that could now be over 10,000%, and severe shortages of the most basic goods, many Zimbabweans may disagree. Over 3m of them are thought to have left the country, and the UN refugee agency is working on contingency plans in case the exodus worsens.

Another UN agency, the World Food Programme, reckons that 4m Zimbabweans—about one-third of the population—will need food aid by the beginning of next year. The harvest of maize, the local staple food, was meagre this year. Rains have been poor, and the government's disastrous land-reform programme has turned once flourishing commercial farming into subsistence agriculture.

This is plain to see in rural Mashonaland, the area around the capital, Harare, and the traditional heartland of President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF. Most of the land where tobacco and maize used to grow lies fallow, taken over by wild vegetation. A few hours' drive south of Harare, a commercial farm that used to grow maize and rear cattle has now been divided into 35 plots where subsistence farmers try to scrape a living. The irrigation system and the water pump that once turned the harsh terrain into fertile soil and provided drinking water broke down long ago. Only one of the 100 or so farm workers who used to work there remains. His small plot is dry, and he has to walk several kilometres to get water from a neighbouring farm. He reckons he has enough maize to feed his family until November. When his stock runs out, he'll be lucky to get one meal a day until the next harvest, in March or April.

A school was set up on the farm, and one of the teachers now lives in the main house, which was looted when the white owner was evicted. Even light switches have been ripped from the walls, not that they would be of much use now. There is electricity a few hours a day only, usually at night. The taps ran dry a long time ago.

The school is in a small building that used to house farm workers. Teachers and parents have joined forces to try to make it work. Benches are made up of old planks balanced on brick stacks, and makeshift tables have been built from scrap wood. None of the three tiny classrooms has any windows or doors left. School fees are 20,000 Zimbabwean dollars a term—or 11 American cents at the black-market exchange rate—but some parents cannot afford even that. The teacher says that a third of children in the area do not go to school at all.

Nearby, two of his pupils are staring up a tree, slingshots in hand. They are hunting a monkey, their only chance of eating meat. The youngest, wearing shorts that reveal his bony legs, says they manage two meals a day: tea and bread, when available, for breakfast, and maize porridge later in the day. His battered shoes are far too big and the laces are tied around his ankles to keep them from flying off. He lives 4km (2.5 miles) away and walks to school.

In another part of Mashonaland, a white commercial farmer tries to hang on, having lost the bulk of his farm to a senior government official and a few war veterans. He is one of the 350 or so commercial farmers thought to be left, from 4,500 before the government started redistributing land in 2000. A portrait of Mr Mugabe hangs on the office wall and he maintains good relations with local officials. The farmer points out that he is not fighting land redistribution itself. But some buildings (including his own house), valuable equipment and crops already planted have been taken over as well, so he is fighting that in court.

He has scaled back cash crops such as wheat and maize massively, and focuses on exports of citrus and tobacco, which bring much-needed foreign exchange. The next crops will need to be planted soon. Uncertain about the farm's future, he ponders over whether to make the investment. From 1,200 workers, he now employs only about 500. “We are going one way,” he says. “Down.”

The farm no longer makes money, but cheap government loans and heavily subsidised diesel help to keep him going. He also plants and harvests on neighbouring farms, which have been reallocated to black owners, and gets half the crop. Many new landowners find that reselling their subsidised diesel on the black market is far more lucrative than farming.

Presidential and parliamentary elections in Zimbabwe are scheduled for next March. The ruling party has been accused of leaning on traditional chiefs to control rural voters. Road-blocks in Mashonaland are frequent. In Chegutu, close to Mr Mugabe's home, shops are depressingly bare, and the struggling local factories and farms have laid off workers. But after years of intimidation, the opposition has almost disappeared. There is little visible security presence. Not so in Marondera, 45 minutes south-east of Harare, where the much-feared youth militia roam the streets and the atmosphere is tense.

Voter registration has just finished. The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a local NGO, reports serious irregularities, with rural voters loyal to ZANU-PF registering in cities, presumably to dilute support for the opposition, strongest in urban areas. But Zimbabweans will no doubt be cheered to know that the SADC's leaders, at the end of their Lusaka summit, wished elections next year to be free and fair.

i am curious lemur, given your stated position that you believe he is responsible

for the biggest mass death (some people get tetchy about using the word "genocide") of our time.

Do you have an opinion as to how he and his government should be handeled?

I agree that by world standards he is one of the bad guys, no doubt, however does he merit a solution outside of the human processes inside his country?

[HoreTore]

Well, giving Mugabe the entire blame must mean that there was an easy way some years back to prevent all of this. Was there? I think Mugabe had little control over the overall state of things. However, I think we can blame him for making it worse, but the economical crisis as a whole is more than a little too much IMO.

[InsaneApache]

I think Mugabe had little control over the overall state of things.

This is true. He had nothing to do with it. It's all Britains and Americas fault.

[HoreTore]

This is true. He had nothing to do with it. It's all Britains and Americas fault.

Well.... I never said that he didn't have anything to do with it, he was/is no doubt a great contributor. But there are countless factors involved when economies crumble, you can't point at one thing and say "that's the problem!". If your "average Joe President" ran things instead of Mugabe, would this still have happened? My guess is that it would.

[Lemur]

Do you have an opinion as to how he and his government should be handeled?

First of all, it's Britain's fault, obviously.

If the United States were to get involved, I think we would invade Angola. That would teach Zimbabwe that we mean business. Teach the whole neighborhood, really.

Robert Mugabe is a autogenocidal villain in the same vein as Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot. I'll throw the question right back at you, Odin -- what should have been done in Rwanda? In Cambodia? In the Congo? Is there something meaningful the int'l community can do when a country's ruling class goes insane?

[Odin]

First of all, it's Britain's fault, obviously.

If the United States were to get involved, I think we would invade Angola. That would teach Zimbabwe that we mean business. Teach the whole neighborhood, really.

Robert Mugabe is a autogenocidal villain in the same vein as Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot. I'll throw the question right back at you, Odin -- what should have been done in Rwanda? In Cambodia? In the Congo? Is there something meaningful the int'l community can do when a country's ruling class goes insane?

If I took your answer as genuine, which is becoming harder and harder to do lemur... (whats your real answer Lemur, what do you think?) your suggestion is rather silly. If its not a direct answer, and a bit of rhetorical banter, thats a shame, I was hoping you would take a position as to a resolution on your claim the he is responsible

for the biggest mass death (some people get tetchy about using the word "genocide") of our time.

.

Tell you what, I'll answer your question to me:

what should have been done in Rwanda? In Cambodia? In the Congo?

My personal opinion is targeted sanctions of military sales, and allow the UN to take the lead in the resolution (Korea 1950 comes to mind, granted its a different era).

Is there something meaningful the int'l community can do when a country's ruling class goes insane?

Meaningful is subjective to an individuals ethics. However there are sanctions IE NK, Lybia, and to a degree Iraq (before we screwed it up) Other then that the only meaningful move an international community can do is engage in warfare on behalf of one or the other parties.

Now back to you. Your answer was invade angola, cute, and expected, however now that I have set the ground work for you based on my answers for a limited amount of responses, surely you must have your own opinion outside of the comic.

Of course, you dont have to answer to me. I am just curious lemur, in your opinion what would you prefer to be done about this mass murderer?

If possible, I prefer a direct answer and not follow up questions, I dont desire a back and forth this time I just would like to see what you truly think on the matter.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Zim, Zim...what a tragedy. I won't even attempt to write what I think about Mugabe. He could well hold the world record for the most effective and utter ruination of a promising country.

It is not feasible, maybe even immoral, but the most humane thing to do for the average Zimbabwean would be for Britain to re-colonise the place.

Ah well, I guess his foreign African buddies can pride themselves for their unwavering support for their great warrior hero, who showed the Settlers who's in charge in Africa. And his own cronies can pride themselves on having cleared Zimbabwe of such western decadencies as gays and aids. [edit: /bitter sarcasm]

[Lemur]

Okay, if you really must have an honest answer:

I don't know.

Sanctions tend to make life unbearable for the joe-sixpack, while rarely resulting in regime change. (The ruler is able to say, "See? It isn't my corruption or mismanagement, it's those evil international people who are making you suffer." And shockingly, it works.)

Embargoes on military goods are a natural and effective tool, but often broken by the neighbors.

Direct military action is problematic due to the Powell Rule ("You break it, you own it.")

As far as Zimbabwe goes, the best thing would be to apply pressure on South Africa, which is doing more than any other nation to prop up Mugabe's regime. Look into the fun and games they're playing with Zimbabwe's electricity for an example. If Mugabe's neighbors got serious about isolating him, things might change. But I don't see that there's a direct role for Europe or America beyond sanctions and int'l arrest warrants. The most good we can do will come from putting the squeeze on his neighbors.

Is someone seriously arguing that the mess in Zimbabwe is not Mugabe's fault?

[Odin]

Okay, if you really must have an honest answer:

I don't know.

Sanctions tend to make life unbearable for the joe-sixpack, while rarely resulting in regime change. (The ruler is able to say, "See? It isn't my corruption or mismanagement, it's those evil international people who are making you suffer." And shockingly, it works.)

Embargoes on military goods are a natural and effective tool, but often broken by the neighbors.

Direct military action is problematic due to the Powell Rule ("You break it, you own it.")

As far as Zimbabwe goes, the best thing would be to apply pressure on South Africa, which is doing more than any other nation to prop up Mugabe's regime. Look into the fun and games they're playing with Zimbabwe's electricity for an example. If Mugabe's neighbors got serious about isolating him, things might change. But I don't see that there's a direct role for Europe or America beyond sanctions and int'l arrest warrants. The most good we can do will come from putting the squeeze on his neighbors.

Is someone seriously arguing that the mess in Zimbabwe is not Mugabe's fault?

Thanks Lemur.

Part of the reason I pressed was to see if we had common ground, apparantly we do. In all honesty I didnt think that was likely, but your answer is educated (the south african example) and fairly concise.

The most good we can do will come from putting the squeeze on his neighbors.

well said, we agree. The snowball fight in hell starts promptly at 2:30 est.

[JR-]

Well, giving Mugabe the entire blame must mean that there was an easy way some years back to prevent all of this. Was there? I think Mugabe had little control over the overall state of things. However, I think we can blame him for making it worse, but the economical crisis as a whole is more than a little too much IMO.

so a country that was previously known as the bread-basket of africa exporting millions of tonnes of grain, now the net recipient of millions of tonnes of grain with 2600% inflation, is anything other than Mugabes fault?

[JR-]

Okay, if you really must have an honest answer:

I don't know.

Embargoes on military goods are a natural and effective tool, but often broken by the neighbors.

unfortunately, africa's general poverty combined with its love affair with the panga (machete) means that weapons embargo's will have little effect on the level of blood shed.

[Marshal Murat]

I need to use the sarcasm button more often....