by Ian Smith
Of course, many of our own Zimbabweans are still living without roofs over their heads, while Mugabe and his friends continue to wallow in the lap of luxury.
A recent report from the United Nations Human Rights Committee slams the Zimbabwean Government for its record of human rights abuses. The report states that ‘Zimbabwe is a country with a serious democratic deficit, which continues to perpetrate one-party dictatorship, excessive use of force, and gender discrimination.’ It provides many examples to substantiate its case.
The latest debacle is the collapse of one of the big Merchant Banks in Harare. This was under the control of a flamboyant and ruthless black businessman who used his power and influence to build a sizeable industrial empire. He failed to comply with the requirements of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and failed to recognise the necessary legal conditions as laid down by the City of Harare. He simply walked on to municipal land and erected massive buildings in contravention of repeated objections from the Municipal Authorities. The obvious question is: how did he get away with all this? The answer: because of his personal friendship with Mugabe, reinforced by numerous financial contributions. Billions of dollars are at stake, and it would appear that not only could certain other financial institutions be destroyed, but private individuals could lose their investments.
Sadly, in the final analysis, the nation of Zimbabwe, and hence all Zimbabweans, are forced to pay the price, through the depreciation of their currency.
The Rhodesian dollar used to be worth £1 sterling, but from 1980 the Zimbabwe dollar continued its decline, at first gradually, but increasing in tempo as the Government’s performance deteriorated. The last six months has witnessed a disastrous 50% collapse, and today ZD3O are required to purchase £1 sterling.
I believe I have given sufficient evidence to confirm the impending disaster confronting our country. Sadly, the problem is compounded by Mugabe’s unwillingness to accept that his philosophy of Communism is a proven failure. The fact that the masses of Zimbabweans are compelled to carry the burden and endure increasing hardship and suffering is of no concern to him, so long as he is able to continue using his total power to amass ever greater ill-gotten gain for himself and his henchmen. He will go down in history as an African leader who bequeathed to his people a dreadful legacy which will haunt him for the rest of his days.
AFTERWORD
Just over two years have passed since I wrote a postscript to the second printing of The Greaterayal in June 1998. I pointed out that over the years since ZANU(PF) came to power in 1980 there had been a deterioration in the country’s affairs, at first gradual, but increasing in tempo until there was a dramatic deterioration in 1996, and a year later a situation which was generally described as being chaotic. While the Rhodesian dollar had been on a par with the pound sterling, we were now in a situation where we required thirty of our dollars to purchase one pound. This had been occasioned, not only by our government’s obsession with pursuing the bankrupt philosophy of Marxism, but above all by their inability to resist indulging in corruption, nepotism, lining their pockets with tax payers’ money, while the giant mass of the people were living below the poverty datum line with their children suffering from malnutrition. As at the end of September, the exchange rate is seventy Zimbabwe dollars to one pound sterling.
Clearly, there was an impending disaster. But most important of all, we had reached a stage where our people had decided that they were not prepared to accept this lying down. Fortunately, there were no signs of panic and associated irresponsible action. The opposition was widespread throughout the whole country, and there was a mounting wave which was growing by the day, with a general determination that this would not cease until the disreputable government was swept out of office.
The last two years have seen the same trend continuing, indeed escalating, with the chaos degenerating into anarchy. Mugabe is likened to a wounded animal which has been cornered, presenting a situation which is unpredictable and dangerous. A recent development is that some of his own people have turned against him, issuing an ultimatum that he should vacate his office immediately. There is also clear evidence that the Cabinet is divided, with the majority urging him to retire, but in keeping with local custom they are reluctant to force the issue, hoping that he will get the message. How long they are prepared to wait is a matter of conjecture. However, as it is becoming more and more obvious that their survival hinges on this fact, one would think that they have sufficient intelligence to make a plan.
The net certainly seems to be closing, with both the United States and Britain insisting on a restoration of law and order and a just and equitable solution to the land problem before financial assistance can be restored. South Africa, the most important power in this part of Africa, has also made it clear that our problems must be solved in keeping with accepted standards. In the latest development, which occurred a week before I wrote these words, a statement from Kofi Annan’s office states that the United Nations has abandoned plans to raise money from the international donor community for Zimbabwe’s land reform, because their controversial programme is unacceptable.
When I analyse the events which have taken place over the past year, there is a formidable list covering corruption and Abuse of Power. No shorter is the list dealing with Violation of Freedom and Justice. Destruction of the Economy is equally formidable. Mob Rule and Police Harassment are constantly hovering in the background awaiting a call to action. Every day we are reminded of the need to support the Democratic Republic of Congo and the drain which this is causing to our economy. And when our people (middle and lower income groups) complain about the dramatic fall in standards of health, education, local government and housing, load maintenance and numerous other public services, the government propaganda machine brainwashes the population into believing that all of this is brought about because the major Western countries are deliberately penalising Zimbabwe, denying them financial assistance, because they are unwilling to accept Free World Standards, which they claim are in conflict with African beliefs and custom. In truth, African custom has always been opposed to corruption, theft of other people’s money or property and denial of equitable distribution to all of the community.
It is worth repeating that when one lives under a one-party dictatorship where the government controls the principal arms of the mass communication media, the opposition is working under an almost insurmountable handicap.
Let me now turn to my analysis of the continuing abuses and violations which occur on a daily basis. I am concentrating on the period commencing with the last quarter of 1999, leading on to the dramatic developments of the referendum and general election in 2000.
I am reminded of a recent newspaper article:
CIO TORTURORS DEFY DISMISSAL. An independent disciplinary committee’s recommendation that four Central Intelligence officers be dismissed for kidnapping and torturing a member of their organisation has been ignored. They continue to serve in their previous capacity.
It was earlier in the year, January 1999, that two journalists were abducted and tortured by members of the army, working in collusion with the police. The journalists’ crime was that they had referred to rumours of a proposed coup by certain junior army officers. Medical evidence substantiated the allegations of torture. World opinion was aroused by this disgraceful case of the government subverting their own law and violating the constitutionally enshrined rights of their own Zimbabwean citizens. A number of government ministers attempted, in vain, to condone the action; even Mugabe felt compelled to join them and make a contribution to the sterile attempts. He succeeded in further antagonizing world opinion by attempting to justify his government’s actions regarding independent newspapers’ continuing attempts to expose the wrong-doings of government.
At the beginning of November 1999, inflation and interest rates are 70%, and it is predicted that they will increase. The situation has been allowed to deteriorate because of government incompetence. There are a host of co
ntributory factors, but it is generally agreed by those with an understanding of economics and finance that two vital factors require urgent attention. The first is a reduction in interest rates, which would stimulate investment and provide jobs for our mass of unemployed. Our unemployment level is rated as one of the highest in the world. Secondly, the national debt must be reduced. It is far in excess of the nation’s requirements, with prohibitive servicing costs. The civil service and national security services are four times the size of the necessary requirements, with government participation in commercial and industrial enterprises subsidising nepotism and blatant incompetence, a massive drain on the national economy. The standard of living of members of the government executive and their comrades is at an excessive level by comparison with other countries. The list is endless.
As the year comes to an end there are more revelations of corruption and incompetence thrown up by investigations covering 1997 and 1998. The headline states: CUSTOM AND EXCISE LOSE 3 BILLION DOLLARS THROUGH SHORTFALLS IN DUTY COLLECTED. The permanent secretary to the Minister of Finance was unavailable for comment – and has remained so ever since. At the same time the Guardian newspaper of Tanzania reports that Zimbabwean army troops are training armed militias for fighting against the Congo. An organisation known as Transparency International identified, in a report dated 1 December 1999, corruption and fraud by public institutions involving senior government officials. It pointed out that the corruption was rampant in government, and identified 4.7 million dollars that had been embezzled from external funds which had been donated to provide water resources for people in rural areas. Another chapter of the report indicated that five senior managers of the National Oil Company (government appointed) engaged in fraudulent activities in collusion with the Ministry of Transport to sell oil to friends at 4 billion dollars below the normally accepted prices, A response from Government is still awaited.
Another section refers to the agreement made by the government-appointed electricity supply commission (ZESA) to dispose of the Hwange Power Station, the largest supplier of electric power in the country, to YTL of Malaysia on an instruction from Mugabe, for a price of 10.2 billion dollars, which was considerably below the estimated value. In addition the ZESA Board of Governors protested that the deal was not carried out in keeping with the laid-down legal tender procedure. There was no response from Government.
The Constitutional Commission appointed by Mugabe to draw up a draft constitution to be submitted to a referendum next year has completed its task and presented its report to the President on 7 December 1999. Evidence to the commission was submitted freely and fairly and the public were led to believe that there would be meaningful and dramatic changes ensuring true democracy and freedom. Sadly, the report bears little resemblance to the evidence presented, and the analyses from all the constitutional experts are claiming massive fraud. There was universal demand for an independent, impartial, professional electoral commission to supervise elections, as opposed to the existing system which is under the control of government, with its notorious record for rigging elections. This has conveniently been side-stepped.
It is common cause that the vast majority of those giving evidence believed that members of parliament should be elected on the proportional representation system as opposed to the first past the post system. This is particularly important in a country where opposition parties were intimidated out of existence until recently, and therefore we are faced with a plethora of emerging parties attempting to establish themselves. For example, under the present system, if the strongest party wins 40% of the votes, the two other parties each 30%, then the first party will have secured a member in parliament while the other two together after winning 60% of the votes will have no representation. Under proportional representation, with a parliament of 200 seats the party winning 40% of the votes would secure 80 members, while the other two winning 60% of the seats would secure 120 seats – 60 seats for each party. If the example given above were repeated in all constituencies, under the present system the first party which had won 40% of the votes would secure all the seats in parliament, while the other two with a combined 60% would have no representation. Accordingly, it is not surprising that in many third world countries proportional representation is favoured – indeed it is practiced in some first-world countries.
One other very important principle which was stressed was the necessity for a non-executive President – in other words, we do not want the perpetuation of a dictator. Even ZANU(PF), Mugabe’s party, agreed. Mugabe rejected it.
Headlines one week before Christmas: DIESEL RUNS DRY. BUSSES STRANDED. RIOT POLICE CALLED IN. Angry minibus drivers, who had been in a queue for up to eight hours at the only filling station in Harare with diesel, were eventually rationed to 20 litres per vehicle. For some of them this was insufficient to cover their journey to the fuel pump. The riot police remained on duty until all the busses had departed. As the filling station manager pointed out, it was not his responsibility to supply the diesel: the government were the guilty party. The fuel shortage has been caused because the government has not got the money to pay for it. But every day we observe fuel tankers loaded with diesel from our country making the long, hazardous trip to the Congo. Moreover, there is never a shortage of money to enable Zimbabwe to wage a full-scale war in the Congo, a foreign country which is under an illegal government which was never voted into power. Reliable estimates indicate that many billions of our scarce foreign currency have been frittered away on this war. Add to this the cost in our local currency of maintaining approximately 13,000 soldiers in the Congo and supplying them with all their requirements, hardware and provisions. This runs into millions of dollars every day. Meanwhile, many Zimbabwean families are finding it difficult to feed their children adequately, provide basic clothes, education, medicines, and a roof over their heads. However, Mugabe is having one of his bouts of paranoia, all too frequent these days, claiming that there is a conspiracy against his government which is being orchestrated by Britain and white Zimbabweans working in collusion with local banks, commerce, industry, insurance and other evil forces to deny the country its legitimate foreign currency. More headlines followed:
14.12.1999 HOSPITALS GO WITHOUT EMERGENCY LABORATORY SERVICES. The two largest hospitals in the country, Harare and Parirenyatwa, have been without emergency laboratory services for the past three weeks. CIMAS, which operates the largest private laboratories in the country, cancelled their services when the government’s outstanding account exceeded $500,000. This was in spite of the fact that CIMAS was charging concessionary tariffs in order to assist a crisis situation. The story doing the rounds is that if you require emergency medical treatment, make a trip to the Congo!
31.12.1999 FUEL PRICE INCREASES BY TEN PERCENT. A most unwelcome new year’s gift, especially when it comes three weeks after a similar increase.
FOREX CRISIS HITS TROOPS. The Government is facing such a critical shortage of foreign currency that they are unable to pay allowances to their troops in the Congo fighting alongside Angolan and Namibian soldiers, both of which are receiving their allowances.
01.01.2000 ZIMBABWE CONFRONTED BY HARSH ECONOMIC FACTS. An IMF mission last October discovered that Government had failed to meet the agreed targets for economic reform. As a result the World Bank withheld 13 billion dollars aid. A new target was set for the end of the year, taking into account the government’s economic difficulties. Once again the government has failed to comply. Moreover, it is refusing to accept any commitment to financial discipline, as this would prejudice its ability to buy votes in the coming election.
07.01.2000 MASSIVE CIVIL SERVANTS’ SALARY HIKES SPELL DISASTER FOR ECONOMY. The year 2000 budget projected an increase in civil servants’ salaries by 20%, but the government has announced increases of between 70% and 90%. Government ministers have awarded themselves increments of 182%. They seem to be oblivious of the fact that the country is heading for a serious recession, but they are determined to
indulge in a spending spree in order to win votes ahead of the general election.
14.01.2000 SOUTH AFRICAN BANKS FREEZE CREDIT LINES. In another crippling blow to Zimbabwe’s struggling economy, South African bankers are refusing to confirm letters of credit from local banks. The decision is based on the local shortage of forex and the uncertainty about government’s ability to obtain support from the international community.
20.01.2000 MUGABE’S FOREIGN TRIPS GOBBLE $10 BILLION. Mugabe, billed as the most travelled president on the continent, has visited 151 countries, spending over 310 days out of the country over the past 10 years, at a cost of over $10 billion in fuel alone. He is notorious for taking with him large delegations of ministers and hangers-on, all receiving generous expense allowances, and occupying the most luxurious accommodation available – while the great mass of Zimbabweans are living in abject poverty!
LAY-OFFS LOOM AS FUEL CRISIS WORSENS. The troubled fuel-selling industry claim they are losing more than 50% of their normal revenue, and accordingly are being forced to consider closing some filling stations and retrenching workers.
04.02.2000 ZIMBABWE EXPORTING DIESEL TO CONGO. 1.5 million litres of fuel is leaving the country every week for the Congo. Reliable evidence indicates that while some of the fuel is used to support army operations, much of it is being sold on the black market by DRC military.
04.02.2000 SERIOUS DECLINE IN STANDARDS OF LITERACY BECAUSE OF GOVERNMENT WITHDRAWAL OF GRANTS TO SCHOOLS. The problem commenced in 1992 and the deterioration has continued every year and in certain sections has now reached a stage where there has been a 60% dropout rate. This means that many students are denied education because their parents can no longer afford to pay the extra fees required. Loss of jobs and increases in cost of living occasioned by the deteriorating state of the national economy is seriously prejudicing standards of living. REFERENDUM TO TAKE PLACE THIS WEEKEND, IN SPITE OF COMPLAINTS FROM CERTAIN COMMISSIONERS THAT THE DRAFT PROPOSAL HAD NOT BEEN CORRECTLY ADOPTED. The High Court Judge stated: ‘The people expected the referendum would be organised honestly and with an acceptable degree of efficiency. I, as one of the people, can only hope and pray that the people collectively, for the sake of a suffering Zimbabwe, make the correct choice.’ All the main opposition parties in the country have united to reject the proposed constitution – to vote ‘NO’. This has caused alarm and panic in government ranks. They have resorted to taking the law into their own hands, with ZANU(PF) youth gangs attacking their opponents and disrupting their meetings. The police are under instructions to remain neutral, or turn a blind eye. The united opposition have only been in existence or a few weeks, and so have no organisation to counter the government’s intimidatory gangs which have been in existence for the past twenty years. Added to this the government propaganda machine is in full swing, brainwashing the people and using intimidatory tactics in an attempt to subdue the opposition. At recent meetings Mugabe has been resorting to violent attacks against the opposition, accusing them of siding with the white community in order to frustrate the aspirations of black Zimbabweans. Sad that the leader of our country should resort to stirring up racial hatred in order to achieve his dreadful objective.