The Standard
Sundayview
By Odrix Sithole Moyo
Saturday, 27 June 2009

ALLEGATIONS by teachers against the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and its secretary general, Raymond Majongwe in particular have prompted me to respond. Studio7 aired a PTUZ meeting in Gweru where Majongwe was allegedly heckled. We were told that Majongwe and PTUZ had sold out on the teachers’ cause.

For us to analyse objectively the allegations against these people, we need to interrogate these two perspectives. We can only do that by also looking at past and current national contexts. We need the whole picture.

We are emerging from a period of extreme polarization. The polarization had human skeletons, real casualties. But the polarization only began after the 2000 Referendum on the Constitutional Commission Draft.

Given this background, where then do we place the PTUZ and Majongwe debacle? What are their credentials? Majongwe and the PTUZ are by-products of President Robert Mugabe’s rulership.
They surfaced as a reaction to Mugabe’s style of management. Majongwe earned his kudos as a staunch Mugabe critic from his early days at the University of Zimbabwe and he has been consistent. It was a mere expression of exasperation over perceived state heavy-handedness against voices of dissent.

At the helm of the state machinery was Mugabe. It was not by design that activists such as Majongwe found themselves at the mercy of security agents. It was an innate human reaction to perceived injustices.

Such voices of dissent were very few because of the obvious resultant violent response from the ruling elite. Majongwe bears permanent scars inflicted on him by state security agents. His crime has been to stand up for the cause of teachers.

When he and his colleagues were brutalized, it was not because they were leading an insurgency or a terrorist organisation. Their sin was to state the glaring facts. Not more than five among those now calling Majongwe and the PTUZ sell-outs were ever terrorized by state security agents. If you were never part of the real heart of the struggle, how then do you label the real legends of that struggle traitors?

Simply, the struggle has assumed another dimension. Just like the MDC/Zanu PF struggle has reached another epoch, so is the struggle by the likes of the PTUZ, Women of Zimbabwe Arise and the other progressive forces.

If the allegation is that they received material inducements, the question that should be addressed is: from who in this government and in what form were the alleged inducements? Are the alleged benefits tangible or assumed?

We know who is in control of the government institutions. Our teachers must look at the whole picture as the MDC and Zanu PF try to outwit each other ahead of the next elections.

It’s not in their interests for them to be fighting each other. At least in Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture teachers have an honest man.

My observation is that over three quarters of the teachers would rather they were paid handsomely, like their regional counterparts. If the criticism of Majongwe was coming from people with impeccable activism credentials I could accept them, but not from armchair critics. They are charlatans. We know the legends of past Uhuru struggles.

The Financial Gazette
By Njabulo Ncube, Political Editor
27 June 2009

PARTIES to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that gave birth to the inclusive government are heading for collision over plans to have the Kariba Draft used as the working document in crafting a new constitution for Zimbabwe, The Financial Gazette can reveal.
The contentious document was crafted in September 2007 by representatives of the three main political parties in Kariba at the height of the negotiations among the protagonists to the Zimbabwe crisis.
South Africa brokered the negotiations.
ZANU-PF has in recent weeks been trying to worm its way out of a constitutional making template being advocated by the larger faction of the Movement for Demo-cratic Change (MDC) citing all sorts of reasons.
Two weeks ago a ZANU-PF Parliamentary caucus recommended that the process be deferred because of an alleged lack of funds.
ZANU-PF has since galvanised its propaganda machinery to campaign for the use of the Kariba Draft in the constitution making process, courting the ire of the MDC-T.
A stalemate, however, appears inevitable at this very early stage as the MDC-T raised the red flag this week after ZANU-PF and the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC-M endorsed the use of the Kariba Draft as the starting point to the process.
The MDC-T this week said the draft should not be used as the focal point, alleging that using the document could render the process flawed.
Tapiwa Mashakada, the MDC-T acting secretary general, said his party rejected attempts to have the Kariba Draft adopted as the “Alpha and Omega of the constitution making process”.
“We believe in a truly people-driven constitution making process where the unfettered will of the people must be reflected,” said Mashakada.
Observers said President Robert Mugabe could have influenced ZANU-PF’s position when he intimated in February that the Kariba Draft would be a departure point in the constitution making process.
In a televised birthday interview at Zimbabwe House on February 25, the President said:
“There is already a draft that the three parties agreed on; they call it the Kariba Draft because that is where they came up with the document. We shall all look at it and when we are satisfied, it shall be put to the people in a referendum. If the people say yes, then the draft will be allowed to pass through Parliament. The schedule, the time frame that was agreed on by the parties, was within 18 to 24 months, we should have a referendum. We will then have elections thereafter.”
John Nkomo, the ZANU-PF national chairman, said the MDC-T was part of the initiative that led to the drafting of the Kariba Draft and therefore cannot all of a sudden abandon the document.
He said: “They (MDC-T) participated in the negotiations at the time of the GPA and all parties agreed that it was a joint effort. We are proceeding on that basis as stipulated by the GPA. The Kariba Draft is a document born out of negotiations among the three political parties.”
But Mashakada said the Kariba Draft should not be imposed on the people but used as a reference document along with other drafts such as the one prepared by the Constitutional Commission in 2000 and another one done by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).
“The Kariba draft must be one of the many resource documents to lead to a people-driven constitution,” said Mashakada.
“This includes the NCA draft, the Constitutional Commission draft, among others. Why should the process be confined to one document, the Kariba Draft?” he asked.
Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the MDC-M, said there was no way the parties could afford to ignore the Kariba Draft.
“The position is what we agreed in the GPA that we will use the Kariba Draft as the starting point to consult the people,” he said. “Remember we spent a year negotiating the Kariba Draft so that at least we have a starting point before consulting the people. It has to be used to see what is accepted or rejected. We are bound to present it to the people to either reject or accept all or certain portions of the draft,” said Ncube who also sits on the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Commit-tee.
The constitution making process began in earnest yesterday with the briefing of diplomats accredited to Harare by the Speaker of the House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo and the start of provincial consultative meetings by the Parliamentary Select Committee.
The proposed constitution is intended to replace the compromise Lancaster House Constitution that has been amended 19 times since Independence in 1980.
The crafting of the new constitution is a key component of the power-sharing deal brokered by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, the Southern African Develop-ment Community appointed facilitator in the country’s crisis.
Under the GPA, signed by President Mugabe and the two leaders of the MDC formations in September last year, the rival parties are required to ensure that a new constitution is in place before fresh elections are conducted.
Article 6 of the agreement mandates Parliament to appoint a Select Committee on a new constitution. The Standing Rules and Orders Committee recently appointed 25 lawmakers from the House of Assembly and the Senate to spearhead the process.
The Select Committee is co-chaired by Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (ZANU-PF), Doug-las Mwonzora (MDC-T) and David Coltart (MDC-M).
Moyo told diplomats and the consultative meeting at a local hotel yesterday that the Kariba Draft would not be shoved down the throat of the nation.
He said: “Let me assure you that the process will be people-based, people-centred, people led and therefore people driven. It is public knowledge that there are those who wish to prescribe what views Zimbabweans should have but it must be restated that the GPA speaks to the fact that it is the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a constitution by themselves and for themselves”.
Moyo said Parliament was guided by the provisions outlined in the GPA.
“However, it must be noted that any individual or organisation are free to submit their preferred document to the sub-committee during the national outreach after July 13,” the Speaker said.
. . . as SADC pencils meeting on Zim
THE Southern African Develop-ment Community (SADC) has agreed to call for a meeting next month to solve Zimbabwe’s outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), threatening to collapse the inclusive government.
South African President, Jacob Zuma, the current SADC chair, is understood to have informed the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) secretary-general, Tendai Biti, of the meeting in informal discussions the two held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Cape Town a fortnight ago.
Tapuwa Mashakada, the acting-secretary general of the MDC-T, confirmed the proposed meeting to discuss the outstanding issues, but was not certain about the actual dates.
“What I know is that there will be another SADC meeting specifically to discuss the outstanding issues possibly in early July,” he said.
“The secretary-general has been in touch with the SADC chair and he (Biti) indicated to me that the meeting has been set for early July, 2009,” added Mashakada.
Biti was this week out of the country, drumming up financial and material support for the bankrupt coalition government that desperately needs about US$8,2 billion to turn around the economy.
The two MDC formations last month wrote to Zuma complaining bitterly about what it alleged was President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF’s intransigence in implementing provisions of the GPA.
The MDC-T national executive also resolved at its extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to further refer to SADC and the African Union – the guarantors of the GPA – the alleged hate language in the state media and the arbitrary arrests of its party officials.
SADC this week held a summit to discuss the political fall-out in Madagascar, but left Zimbabwe out of the agenda. — Staff Reporter.

The Financial Gazette
Financial Gazette Reporter
27 June 2009

WALTER Mzembi, then deputy water resources minister, told the nation last year that the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) was to sink boreholes at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) to end a crippling water situation that has delayed the resumption of learning at the institution.
Nearly a year has passed with no sign that the university would reopen. The water situation has remained critical.
With hindsight, the nation should have been pragmatic. Mzembi’s word should not have been taken seriously.
ZINWA, which Mzembi had pinned his hopes on to untangle the UZ from the water crisis had proved to be a monumental failure right from the day it was assigned by the government to provide water to municipalities against expert advice from engineers who had long pointed out that the authority lacked the capacity to efficiently pipe clean water to households.
And when Zimbabwe was hit by a cholera outbreak in October 2008, long after acute water shortages had surfaced in all the major towns and cities, it then dawned on even the staunchest of ZINWA’s backers that the parastatal had neither the means nor the knowhow to discharge its mandate. By then the water borne disease had claimed more than 4 000 lives.
ZINWA’s dangerous experiment with Harare’s water supplies ended before it could even identify suitable sites for the UZ borehole project.
And last month, Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education was on hand to keep the nation’s fading hopes alive. After being taken to task by lawmakers over the university’s failure to reopen, Mudenge revealed that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had come to the university’s rescue by drilling boreholes at the campus to end the water crisis, adding that the institution would be reopened in two weeks’ time.
As of yesterday, the university was still closed.
Mudenge’s word should therefore be treated with guarded optimism more so given that UNICEF has not said a word about the project.
But as government officials continue to pay lip service to this important issue the future of present and future UZ students is in jeopardy.
While David Coltart, the Education Minister, has tried his best to ensure that teachers are back in classes and that schools are reopened, Mudenge and his team have failed the nation as far as the reopening of the university is concerned.
It would appear that all that matters for ZANU-PF, which is in charge of the Higher Education portfolio at the moment, is to have targeted sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union lifted so that its apparatchiks could shop around in New York, London or Oslo.
Tied to that is the party’s obsession with the next elections. Given the warped thinking in some sections of the party, ZANU-PF mandarins would rather go to the next elections with the university’s doors under lock and key since they view the institution as a political hotbed whose offspring are seen as agents of the “regime change agenda”.
Mudenge cannot be bothered about the university’s plight despite the fact that the institution is part of his brief. We doubt if any of his children are studying at the university to warrant his losing sleep over its failure to reopen.
The institution is moribund. Infrastructure at the UZ is in a state of neglect with no sufficient learning material including basics such as chalks and writing paper.
All cafeterias on campus have been closed and the once productive UZ farm which used to provide food for the university is now a pale shadow of its former self.
Vehicles that were procured for field research are grounded. Lecture rooms and halls of residents were long deserted with chairs and beds breaking.
Students have lost an entire academic year. Bored by sitting at home, some of the students might not resist the urge of going into crime, including prostitution to survive the harsh economic conditions.
That some of the students might end up joining the flight of skills to greener pastures or take up full time employment – abandoning their education altogether – cannot be ruled out.
The crisis at the university is not just costing students. Parents are also anxious – worried about the future of their children.
The whole country is also paying a huge price for it. The university will not be able to enroll the next intake until it creates space by removing the stops stalling the upward mobility within its system.
What this means is that the UZ can not play its pivotal role of feeding industry and commerce with graduates until the challenges have been overcome; all this at precisely the moment when it must play an active role in replacing skills lost through the brain drain.
Government’s failure to address the challenges at the university demonstrates its lack of seriousness about the revival of the education sector in Zimbabwe. That the MDC has remained quiet about it does not reflect well on its leadership as well.
The UZ is not just another institution of higher learning. It is the oldest and biggest university in Zimbabwe, which has been a source of pride for the country for many years.
A slump in standards at the institution is therefore reflective of more pressing problems across the education sector.
While there is nothing new about how the government is approaching the whole thing, there is every reason for the nation to feel let down by the private sector and the civic society. Where is the private sector in all this? Why can’t private companies emulate the example set by Lobel’s Bread, which recently launched a three million rand scholastic promotion to help rebuild confidence in the country’s education sector?
A holistic approach, this time spearheaded by the private sector and the civic society, is required to deal with the crisis at the UZ. Providing water is one piece of the jigsaw puzzle.
The solution to the conundrum should be able to cut across the whole spectrum of the university’s operations i.e. salaries for lecturers and support staff, their working conditions, the provision of learning material and equipment to students, their upkeep and implementing a viable fee structure that will achieve the twin objective of making the university self sustaining while being affordable.
A piecemeal approach to the situation at the UZ will mean that students will always be up in arm with government while teachers will spend more time in the streets than in lecture rooms, pressing for better pay.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
26 June 2009

Harare — GOVERNMENT has engaged publishers, printers and booksellers in a bid to map out strategies for the provision of adequate textbooks and other educational materials to the country’s primary and secondary schools.
In a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy Lazarus Dokora at the Teaching and Learning Materials Indaba, Education Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart highlighted the importance of textbooks to schools.
He said textbooks were not only important for educational expansion, but because new subjects that were introduced into the curriculum also required new resource materials.
“Further, in situations where there is shortage of teachers, textbooks are crucial in maintaining standards of quality and direction to the curriculum.
“From research evidence, the availability of textbooks appears to be the single most consistently positive school factor in predicting academic achievements.
“It is therefore crucial that teachers are provided with relevant and up to date teaching and learning materials,” he said.
He said the production and distribution of textbooks was a complex process, which required the participation of many stakeholders hence the convening of the Indaba. Minister Coltart said while publishing and textbook business were not major financial expenditures in the broader context of educational and economic development compared to expenditure for infrastructure, they involved many elements of modern society.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
26 June 2009

A group of over 70 teachers marched in Harare on Wednesday and presented a petition to Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart, demanding an urgent address of their working conditions and salary as agreed at a June 10 meeting.

The petition was served on Minister Coltart outside his offices by the teachers who were under police escort.

In the document with a letterhead of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, the teachers said the march was a follow-up to the June 10 meeting between the Government and the teachers’ representatives.

They demanded that the ministry officially state and send a circular exempting teachers’ children from paying fees in public schools as well as announcing a percentage of the levy payable to teachers as incentives.

“We demand, in the earliest possible time, that the circular as agreed at our most recent meeting with you (June 10 2009) restating our original positions regarding ‘amnesty’ conditions, exemption of teachers’ children from paying fees in public schools, levy percentage payable to teachers as incentives be availed to us and ministry structures forthwith to avoid confusion.

“You should address the issue of teachers’ salaries first before the education sector sinks into doldrums,” read part of the petition.

After receiving the petition, Minister Coltart said the concerns of the teachers were genuine before he undertook to ensure they would be urgently addressed.

In an interview, Minister Coltart said he had understood the teachers’ concerns and that he was working towards addressing them.

“The teachers have brought a petition to me regarding issues raised by trade unionists in our last meeting. I told them that I took their concerns to heart and I will do what ever I could to address them at an earliest possible time.

“We are working hard to improve the teachers’ conditions of service,” said Minister Coltart.

Speaking on the sidelines of the minister’s address, PTUZ secretary-general Mr Raymond Majongwe said there was nothing political about the march, adding that it was just a follow-up to earlier agreements.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
26 June 2009

China is delighted with the establishment of an inclusive Government in Zimbabwe and described its operation to date as successful.

Speaking during his farewell luncheon, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Yuan Nansheng said Zimbabwe was now poised for greater economic growth which might surpass other African countries that were suffering from the effects of global economic recession.

“I deeply feel that the momentum of the reconciliation and co-operation between three main political parties of Zimbabwe was further strengthened and the Zimbabwean situation is developing towards a good direction,” said Ambassador Yuan who has been on a tour of duty in Zimbabwe for two and half years.

“It’s an encouraging phenomenon to me that, at the time I arrived here, most African countries kept a rapid growth rate except Zimbabwe. Now at the time I am leaving, almost all African countries are affected deeply in the context of global financial crisis while Zimbabwe owns a rising trend in economy.”

He expressed hope that Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations would continue working together, until Zimbabweans overcome the current difficulties and bring economic stability.

The Chinese embassy last August initiated an HIV and Aids launch by the Chinese community in Zimbabwe called “Care Action for the HIV/Aids infected, Orphans and the Physically Challenged,” to assist poor people in the country.

“Today, thousands of Chinese people and companies have joined their hands in supporting the Care Action at different levels,” said Ambassador Yuan who is heading to South America for another diplomatic stint.

“The total amount of cash donation itself has exceeded US$270 000 so far.”

Speaking at the same occasion, Acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr Godfrey Magwenzi hailed the relationship between Zimbabwe and China dating back to the liberation struggle.

He said China together with Russia demonstrated its unwavering support for Harare when it vetoed attempts by the United States and Britain to get the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Yesterday’s meeting was attended by Media, Information and Publicity, Minister Webster Shamu, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, David Coltart, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paurina Mpariwa, Harare mayor, Mr Muchadeyi Masunda and senior Government officials.

Also in attendance were Zanu-PF secretary for external affairs, Mr Kumbirai Kangai and other senior party officials and members of the diplomatic community.

The Southern Times
By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
26 June 2009

Organisers of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair have set July 27 as the date for the opening of this year’s showcase.

Last year the fair failed to take place owing to financial constraints, but it is now back with more local authors in store.

Some of the local authors expected to grace this year’s editions are Shimmer Chinodya, Ignatius Mabasa, Charles Mungoshi, Chirikure Chirikure and Virginia Phiri among others.

Several topics have also been lined up for the traditional Indaba session, which is the only event that audiences have to pay for to attend.

Among the topics to be discussed is media reading and writing which will probe issues centred on the presentation of media stories.

Journalist Caesar Zvayi and broadcaster Supa Mandiwanzira, to mention just a few, are expected to facilitate the session.

Children’s reading and writing is another topic that will focus on writing children’s books that capture the imagination of the young at heart.

ZIBF acting director Greenfield Chilongo said the theme for the fair is “Reading and Writing, Zimbabwe”, centred on encouraging authors in writing literary works focusing on national issues rather than having local readers relying on international books.

“The motive behind the theme is to highlight issues on writing about Zimbabwe, focusing on national issues and improving writing for its curriculum,” he said.

Chilongo commended the financial assistance they received from the Culture Fund, a whooping US$10 000 grant, which he said would go a long way in assisting them in making the event a success.

The Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture, Senator David Coltart, is expected to officially open the book fair.

The Zimbabwe Telegraph
By Getrude Gumede
23 June 2009

ZIMBABWE-HARARE-The Parliamentary Select Committee on the new Zimbabwean constitution will today begin a tour of the country’s provinces as work towards crafting a new constitution for the country begins, The Zimbabwe Telegraph reports.
The co-chairperson of the select committee, Senator David Coltart said the provincial consultative meetings were preliminary meetings which would not discuss the substance of the constitution, but would be used to identify individuals and organisations interested in taking part in the process.
The individuals and interest groups would then be invited for a stakeholders conference which will be held by mid July in accordance with dictates from the Global Political Agreement, signed between the country’s three main political parties in September last year.
“The meetings are meant to advise institutions and individuals who are interested in the constitution making process to identify themselves so that they can be invited to a stakeholders conference in July,” said Coltart.
“It is meant to ensure that the process is as inclusive as possible, and we invite individuals and special interest groups such as human rights activists, children and women organisations, disabled people, churches and other groups to be involved.”
The select committee was appointed by the Standing Rules and Orders Committee to facilitate the writing of a new Constitution.
Article six of the GPA mandates the committee to ensure a democratic, inclusive and people-driven constitution making process.
According to a statement from the select committee, five provincial consultative meetings will be held today from 10am in Harare, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Manicaland provinces.
“Political party regalia and slogans will not be allowed in the meetings,” read the statement.

Sunday Mail
Political Editor Munyaradzi Huni
22 June 2009

BACK in the days, one would talk about the covert operations of the Westminster Foundation in Zimbabwe.

The Western governments could not pour their regime change funds directly into the MDC coffers because of the Political Parties (Finance) Act that prohibits local political parties and candidates from receiving foreign funding. And so organisations like the Westminster Foundation came in handy.

Alternatively, some shoddy non-governmental organisations were formed to receive the “dirty” funds under the guise that they were advocating the restoration of the rule of law, human rights and democracy.

Back in the days, it was diplomatically not possible for foreign governments to dictate and prescribe to the Government what policies to implement. This was done through international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).

That was then.

Today, the regime change agenda is still the same and those covert operations are being announced in front of cameras and in broad daylight — thanks to the inclusive Government — that has opened many opportunities for different political games.

Today, the prescriptions to the Government are coming straight from the White House and Number 10 Downing Street, thanks to our almost empty begging bowl that the Prime Minister is carrying as he tours Europe and America.

Before spears are shoved into my already bleeding heart, let me quickly declare that the inclusive Government, under the circumstances that the country found itself in, was the only better way to cool the political tempers.

The inclusive Government has brought a breath of fresh air into the country, but the only problem is that it is a creature that can be manipulated easily by those with sinister motives.

And before accusations start flying all over, let me quickly declare that the country really needs financial assistance and while aid is welcome, I don’t think aid is the solution to the country’s problems, especially if it comes with directives and is channelled through dubious NGOs.

About a week ago, the American President, Barack Obama, after meeting Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, announced that, “I have committed US$73 million in assistance to Zimba-bwe . . . (the aid) will not be going to the Government directly because we continue to be concerned about consolidating democracy, human rights and rule of law, but it will be going directly to the people in Zimbabwe”.

By “directly to the people in Zimbabwe”, Obama meant that his government would distribute the funds through NGOs of his country’s choice. Well, what a well-thought-out strategy!

Put simply, the funds will be channelled to the social ministries under the MDC-T and MDC-M (health, housing and education) through the various NGOs.

Just watch the space in the coming months because MDC-T and MDC-M ministers in the inclusive Government, especially the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Henry Madzorera MP, and the Minister of Housing and Social Amenities, Fidelis Mhashu MP, will be officiating at several functions where America’s chosen NGO will be dishing out the funds.

The deal is to increase MDC-T visibility across the country through the social ministries using American NGOs and American funds. Of course, the MDC-T has vehemently denied this allegation, but Graham Boynton and Philip Sherwell of The Telegraph in the UK sort of let the cat out of the bag on June 15 2009.

In their article the two wrote: “But The Telegraph has learned that Mr Tsvangirai will urge the US and European donors to increase their support to boost the MDC’s standing in Zimbabwe.

“He will tell them that the credibility of the MDC depends on life improving for Zimbabweans and request ‘targeted support’, according to allies of the Prime Minister.

“He will also try to assure them that continued stability before the next election will ensure a ‘landslide defeat’ for Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF and that international pressure will prevent the President’s allies in the military from intervening to overturn the result.”

What a revealing article!

Anyway, if Obama really cares about the people of Zimbabwe, as he wants the world to believe, he should know that by giving the funds to his NGOs, and not the Government, he is snubbing the very same people he wants people to think he cares so much for.

According to the Mass Public Opinion Institute, about 80 percent of Zimbabweans support the inclusive Government and surely Obama should not go against the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe.

The people of Zimbabwe have approved their Government and so anyone who wants to reach out to the people of Zimbabwe should do so through the Government.

It’s as simple as that, but then Obama seems to be inheriting George W. Bush’s legacy and expecting much from him would be over-stretching our imaginations.

The Member of Parliament for Tsholotsho North, Professor Jonathan Moyo, had no kind words for Obama in an article he wrote in the last issue of The Financial Gazette.

“By making a spurious and a creepy distinction between the people of Zimbabwe and their Government in order to create a cover for imposing a neo-colonial agenda with regime change benchmarks, disguised as reform targets, Obama in effect reminded us that an American president by any other name and of any colour is plainly a Yankee doing the same old dirty bidding for Uncle Sam done by his predecessors since the days of slavery,” Prof Moyo said.

Whereas in the past organisations like Amnesty International would send their juniors to come and spoil things in the country, this time because of the inclusive Government such organisations sent officials from the higher offices.

The stakes are high and so the game has to be played straight from the UK head offices.

And so last week, Amnesty International, for the first time ever, sent its secretary-general, Ms Irene Khan, to “assess the human rights situation in the country”.

All right-thinking Zimbabweans knew that she was on a “regime change” mission, but the Government gave her the benefit of doubt.

Last Thursday she was at a local hotel to announce her findings and one would have been forgiven to think that she was talking about human rights in some country in Mars.

“Persistent and serious human rights violations, combined with the failure to introduce reform of the police, army and security forces or address impunity and the lack of clear commitment on some parts of the Government are real obstacles that need to be confronted by the top leadership of Zimbabwe,” she said without shame.

There is no suggestion here that there are no human rights violations in the country, but for Ms Khan to give a picture of a country almost at war is just being reckless.

The inclusive Government is just four months in office, but, according to Ms Khan, the country should have completed all the reforms. Why should such delicate reforms be done in a hurry? Why is Amnesty International trying to push the Government to hurry such intricate matters?

The inclusive Government during its retreat in Victoria Falls set up objectives and targets that should be met in a given time-frame.

Yes, there is slow implementation of the agreed programmes, but Amnesty International gives the impression that nothing has happened since February when the Government came into office.

Just by listening to Ms Khan one could easily see that she was “singing for her supper” and was a “regime change messenger”.

She made it appear as if the MDC is not part of the Government by putting all the blame of human rights violations on Zanu-PF. Her statement sounded like a campaign message for the MDC.

The blame game is done without numbers and without names as if the organisation has no capacity to dig deep to bring out the undeniable truth. Of course, Amnesty International will claim that it is non-political, but only toddlers will believe such a blatant lie.

Regime change is being pushed from many fronts and last week Amnesty International played its part, although its recklessness blew its cover.

For those who thought the inclusive Government had brought an end to regime change politics, events last week should have come as a shock.

First it was Obama who blocked the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Cde Walter Mzembi, from attending his meeting with Prime Minister Tsvangirai because the minister belongs to Zanu-PF.

Then the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, and the Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, almost failed to travel to Europe for the start of talks between Zimbabwe and EU after being denied visas. Their only crime was that they belong to Zanu-PF.

Following the development, Government considered aborting the dialogue, only for President Mugabe to intervene by tasking the Acting Prime Minister, Professor Arthur Mutambara, to engage the European embassies in Harare over the matter.

The two ministers later travelled to Europe, but after such a false start, why should the country be optimistic about the talks?

Why did Obama block Cde Mzembi? Why were the two ministers being denied visas? What games are at play here? What’s there to hide, if there is an agreement to talk?

There is a push that the constitution-making process should be hurried up. There is a push that the so-called “democratic reforms” be hurried up. There is a push for early elections.

Surprisingly, Zimbabweans are not in a mood for elections. They are preoccupied with bread and butter issues.

So what’s the push? What’s the rush? Zanu-PF has every reason to be very, very worried about the latest developments. Regime change tactics are now being played in the open; thanks to the inclusive Government.