Zimbabwe nears economic collapse
Newsbot @ Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:10 am
<strong>Title: </strong> <a href="/link.php?id=25261" target="_blank">Zimbabwe nears economic collapse</a> (click to view)
<strong>Category:</strong> <a href="/news/topic/1-political" target="_blank">Political</a>
<strong>Posted By: </strong> <a href="/modules.php?name=Your_Account&op=userinfo&username=Scape" target="_blank">Scape</a>
<strong>Date: </strong> 2007-09-17 21:03:16
ridenrain @ Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:10 am
But what about the UN? From the UN's own website:
Vision
To be a credible and leading development partner of choice in Zimbabwe for promoting sustainable human development
Mission Statement
To strategically support Zimbabwe's development agenda towards the achievement of the MDGs and economic recovery
http://www.undp.org.zw/
Blow it out you're ass UN!
martin14 @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:24 am
Mugabe, the Afican hero.. yeah sure.. he seems to be doing so well while his people die.And no one will take him out, which is so desparately needed..
Rhodesia, anyone ??
Mr_Canada old @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:33 am
osh shti!
ShepherdsDog @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:44 am
Any black or white with half a brain and common sense got out of that shit hole long ago. South Africa benefitted.
sasquatch2 @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:26 am
Zimbabwe is doomed.
The UN is only making speaches.....because most of it's membership is not that much different than Mugabbe.
The Western leftists are hands off because Zimbabwe is a blatant example of their foolish anti-colonial policies. Mugabbe being nominally leftist, enhances this. In reality, he is just another Idi Amin.
Most of the third world development has been impared, not improved, by the ending of colonialism.
BartSimpson @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:24 am
I agree. All the way around.
The best thing that could happen to Zimbabwe right now is the return of British rule to get their house back in order.
xerxes @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 10:30 am
Agree as well. Zimbabwe is most likely going to self-destruct either by way of Mugabe's philistine incompetence or through hyper-inflation which it has already been experiencing.
ridenrain @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:19 pm
What's most frustrating over this whole mess is that African leaders will support even a tyrant like Mugabe over what they feel is outsiders meddling in their affairs. Our money is always welcome, even expected, but we can't call them bad when they genocide off their enemies.
Time to stop the aid money and quarantine the whole lot.
BartSimpson @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:25 pm
ridenrain ridenrain:
What's most frustrating over this whole mess is that African leaders will support even a tyrant like Mugabe over what they feel is outsiders meddling in their affairs. Our money is always welcome, even expected, but we can't call them bad when they genocide off their enemies.
Time to stop the aid money and quarantine the whole lot.
Time to stop the aid money and quarantine the whole lot.
At the risk of accusations of RACISM!!!! I've often wanted the West to stay out of African affairs and to let them stew in their own messes no matter how bad they might be and no matter what that cost might be to us.
AIDS? Their problem, not ours. Were it not for their irrational beliefs about virgins being able to cure AIDS (a belief that creates more victims) AIDS would be of little or no concern to them.
Civil war in Nigeria? No problem. We get the oil companies out of there and once the money dries up so will the civil war.
Muslims killing people? Then we stay out of it when the victims fight back instead of letting the UN illogically disarm the victims as they almost always do anymore.
Zimbabwe? Let them starve. Only then will these morons learn that thugocracies are not the way to go if you want decent government.
ridenrain @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:33 pm
While I think that we should try to help out, it could definately be argued that the aid and good intentions of the west are what allowed the problem to happen in the first place.
Off the topic but..
The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
BartSimpson @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:52 pm
ridenrain ridenrain:
While I think that we should try to help out, it could definately be argued that the aid and good intentions of the west are what allowed the problem to happen in the first place.
Off the topic but..
The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
Off the topic but..
The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
I read recently that there's more of many African species in private hands and in zoos and reserves than there are in the wild anymore.
Robair @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 12:53 pm
ridenrain ridenrain:
Off the topic but..
The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
Sure, what the hell. There's already a pack of wild boars roaming the banks of the south Saskatchewan. Somebodies attempt at diversifying their livestock escaped and they've been keeping local residents on edge ever since.
The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
Not used to having those critters running around!
2Cdo @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:23 pm
Robair Robair:
ridenrain ridenrain:
Off the topic but..
The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
Sure, what the hell. There's already a pack of wild boars roaming the banks of the south Saskatchewan. Somebodies attempt at diversifying their livestock escaped and they've been keeping local residents on edge ever since. The best idea that I heard was to grab out a handfull of the native endangered African animals and move them to Sask. where poachers can't get them.
Not used to having those critters running around!
Heard the same thing about Manitoba when I lived there but never did see any of them, and if I did I would hope I had a bloody machine gun on me at the time.
Scape @ Tue Sep 18, 2007 1:53 pm
The International Crisis Group EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
$1:
To South Africa and Other SADC Member States:
1. Pursue mediation to obtain ZANU-PF and MDC agreement on constitutional revisions and related legislative and regulatory measures that permit free and fair elections in 2008 consistent with the August 2004 SADC principles and guidelines, including:
(a) repeal of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and other repressive legislation such as the Private Voluntary Organisations Act (PVO), so as to create a level playing field for all parties;
(b) an independent Electoral Commission and a new electoral law that provides in particular for:
i. return to the 2000 constituency boundaries for parliamentary elections, with repeal of subsequent gerrymandering and rejection of ZANU-PF’s proposal to create an additional 90 seats;
ii. merger into one body, with clear responsibilities, of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Election Supervisory Commission, the registrar-general’s office and the Electoral Delimitation Commission;
iii. inter-party consultations and clear procedures for consensual appointment of electoral commission members with secure tenure as well as civilian returns and polling officers; repeal of Electoral Commission Act provisions for secondment of military, police and prisons service personnel for election tasks; and
iv. extensive voter education;
(c) review of the voters roll by the new independent Electoral Commission, to include removal of ghost voters and enfranchisement of citizens in the diaspora;
(d) independent adjudication of electoral disputes by judges who are vetted in advance by an agreed procedure and have secure tenure; and
(e) unrestricted access to the media for all political players during the election period.
2. Inform President Mugabe, the ZANU-PF delegation at the mediated talks and the Joint Operational Command (JOC) that unless constitutional and related legal reforms as listed above are adopted and implemented, SADC will at the very least not endorse the elections as free and fair and will refuse to extend economic assistance.
3. Establish a team of retired African heads of state and senior military officers to discuss with the ZANU-PF leadership and President Mugabe the terms and conditions for his retirement in 2008 and the guarantees necessary for him and the military establishment to accept democratic institutional reforms.
4. Extend economic assistance to Zimbabwe and call for the lifting of targeted Western sanctions on establishment figures only if ZANU-PF and President Mugabe cooperate fully with the mediation process and implement the agreed reforms so as to allow free and fair elections in 2008.
5. Facilitate agreement by the parties to postpone the March 2008 elections to a date later in the year if necessary to put in place and implement the constitutional reforms and other changes required to ensure a free and fair process.
To President Mugabe, the Government of Zimbabwe and ZANU-PF:
6. Declare officially the end of the “Third Chimurenga” (struggle period) and dissolve the JOC.
7. Engage without reservation in the South African-led SADC initiative and support the above reforms in order to provide Zimbabweans with free and fair elections in 2008 and to end the political and economic crisis.
To the MDC Factions Led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara:
8. Maintain a united front in the South African-led talks, form a coalition for the 2008 elections, agree on a mechanism to choose common presidential and parliamentary candidates and rebuild consensus with civil society organisations on a joint strategy to promote democratic change.
To the U.S., the European Union (EU), EU Member States and the Wider International Community:
9. Support the SADC initiative by publicly clarifying commitments to assist Zimbabwe’s economic recovery once democratic reforms are implemented and a democratically-elected government is in place and by refraining from statements undermining that initiative.
10. Consider taking the following steps in the event that the SADC initiative fails:
(a) expand existing limited sanctions from measures targeted solely at senior members of Zimbabwe’s government, ruling party and supporting business establishment to bars on their own nationals and national banking and commercial establishments’ engaging in specified business and financial activities beneficial to the regime;
(b) refer Zimbabwe for discussion at the United Nations Security Council as a first step towards finding a UN-backed solution to the crisis;
(c) insist on renegotiating procedures that require all humanitarian aid monies to be exchanged at the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank for local currency at wholly unrealistic rates that allow the regime to siphon off large profits for its own ends;
(d) if the government is unwilling to renegotiate, explore the readiness of national and international humanitarian organisations operating in the country to cooperate in acquiring humanitarian funding directly without complying with the exploitive Zimbabwe foreign exchange law; and
(e) if this proves impractical, consider reducing humanitarian aid programs by the percentage which is expropriated by the regime through its manipulation of the difference between the official exchange rate and the free market rate.
To the Commonwealth Secretariat:
11. Establish a working committee or an eminent persons group, with predominant African membership (from both SADC and non-SADC countries) and including former senior officials and technical experts, to explore land reform options that are acceptable to key stakeholders and would allow donors to reengage on the issue.
1. Pursue mediation to obtain ZANU-PF and MDC agreement on constitutional revisions and related legislative and regulatory measures that permit free and fair elections in 2008 consistent with the August 2004 SADC principles and guidelines, including:
(a) repeal of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and other repressive legislation such as the Private Voluntary Organisations Act (PVO), so as to create a level playing field for all parties;
(b) an independent Electoral Commission and a new electoral law that provides in particular for:
i. return to the 2000 constituency boundaries for parliamentary elections, with repeal of subsequent gerrymandering and rejection of ZANU-PF’s proposal to create an additional 90 seats;
ii. merger into one body, with clear responsibilities, of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Election Supervisory Commission, the registrar-general’s office and the Electoral Delimitation Commission;
iii. inter-party consultations and clear procedures for consensual appointment of electoral commission members with secure tenure as well as civilian returns and polling officers; repeal of Electoral Commission Act provisions for secondment of military, police and prisons service personnel for election tasks; and
iv. extensive voter education;
(c) review of the voters roll by the new independent Electoral Commission, to include removal of ghost voters and enfranchisement of citizens in the diaspora;
(d) independent adjudication of electoral disputes by judges who are vetted in advance by an agreed procedure and have secure tenure; and
(e) unrestricted access to the media for all political players during the election period.
2. Inform President Mugabe, the ZANU-PF delegation at the mediated talks and the Joint Operational Command (JOC) that unless constitutional and related legal reforms as listed above are adopted and implemented, SADC will at the very least not endorse the elections as free and fair and will refuse to extend economic assistance.
3. Establish a team of retired African heads of state and senior military officers to discuss with the ZANU-PF leadership and President Mugabe the terms and conditions for his retirement in 2008 and the guarantees necessary for him and the military establishment to accept democratic institutional reforms.
4. Extend economic assistance to Zimbabwe and call for the lifting of targeted Western sanctions on establishment figures only if ZANU-PF and President Mugabe cooperate fully with the mediation process and implement the agreed reforms so as to allow free and fair elections in 2008.
5. Facilitate agreement by the parties to postpone the March 2008 elections to a date later in the year if necessary to put in place and implement the constitutional reforms and other changes required to ensure a free and fair process.
To President Mugabe, the Government of Zimbabwe and ZANU-PF:
6. Declare officially the end of the “Third Chimurenga” (struggle period) and dissolve the JOC.
7. Engage without reservation in the South African-led SADC initiative and support the above reforms in order to provide Zimbabweans with free and fair elections in 2008 and to end the political and economic crisis.
To the MDC Factions Led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara:
8. Maintain a united front in the South African-led talks, form a coalition for the 2008 elections, agree on a mechanism to choose common presidential and parliamentary candidates and rebuild consensus with civil society organisations on a joint strategy to promote democratic change.
To the U.S., the European Union (EU), EU Member States and the Wider International Community:
9. Support the SADC initiative by publicly clarifying commitments to assist Zimbabwe’s economic recovery once democratic reforms are implemented and a democratically-elected government is in place and by refraining from statements undermining that initiative.
10. Consider taking the following steps in the event that the SADC initiative fails:
(a) expand existing limited sanctions from measures targeted solely at senior members of Zimbabwe’s government, ruling party and supporting business establishment to bars on their own nationals and national banking and commercial establishments’ engaging in specified business and financial activities beneficial to the regime;
(b) refer Zimbabwe for discussion at the United Nations Security Council as a first step towards finding a UN-backed solution to the crisis;
(c) insist on renegotiating procedures that require all humanitarian aid monies to be exchanged at the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank for local currency at wholly unrealistic rates that allow the regime to siphon off large profits for its own ends;
(d) if the government is unwilling to renegotiate, explore the readiness of national and international humanitarian organisations operating in the country to cooperate in acquiring humanitarian funding directly without complying with the exploitive Zimbabwe foreign exchange law; and
(e) if this proves impractical, consider reducing humanitarian aid programs by the percentage which is expropriated by the regime through its manipulation of the difference between the official exchange rate and the free market rate.
To the Commonwealth Secretariat:
11. Establish a working committee or an eminent persons group, with predominant African membership (from both SADC and non-SADC countries) and including former senior officials and technical experts, to explore land reform options that are acceptable to key stakeholders and would allow donors to reengage on the issue.
Zimbabwe: A Regional Solution?