Posted by Botswana’s foreign minister has suggested on Wednesday that his country would be prepared to allow MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to operate there as leader in exile.
Foreign Minister Phandu Skelemani also told BBC World News that regional powers must admit they had failed to resolve the deadlock between Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe and should now bring economic pressure to bear.
Asked whether Botswana would offer Tsvangirai a safe haven if power-sharing talks collapse, Skelemani said: “Anybody who comes to Botswana saying that they fear for their life, from their own country, we will not chase them away.”
Pressed about what Botswana would allow Tsvangirai to do from its soil, the minister said he would not be permitted to launch a military attack on Zimbabwe from there, but could possibly lead a democratic resistance movement.
“That would be the lesser of the two evils, which is probably, taking up arms and getting innocent people killed,” Skelemani said.
Botswana’s President Ian Khama is one of the few African leaders to openly criticise Mugabe, saying his re-election in June was not legitimate.
The foreign minister also said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc must admit that its mediation efforts have failed.
“The international community, SADC first of all, must now own up that they have failed – which we have said, that we as SADC have failed. The rest of us should now own up and say yes, we have failed,” Skelemani told the BBC.
After that, it should “call upon the international community and tell Mugabe to his face, look, now you are on your own, we are switching off, we are closing your borders, and I don’t think he would last”, he said.
“If no petrol went in for a week, he can’t last.”
Negotiators for Mugabe and Tsvangirai met in a new round of talks in South Africa on Tuesday over a stalled power-sharing deal, that calls for Mugabe to remain as president and Tsvangirai to take the new post of prime minister.
Meanwhile, AP reported that Tsvangirai said talks aimed at resolving his country’s political crisis were making no progress.
Tsvangirai also urged the world to help stop what he called “the impending famine and plague” in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai said he once thought that Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s party was willing to compromise but that “their intransigence to date is making that appear increasingly unlikely”.
The two sides agreed to form a unity government, but ongoing talks have stalled over how to divide Cabinet posts.
Tsvangirai says Mbeki’s “partisan support” for Mugabe’s party has made it impossible for his party to continue negotiating under his mediation.
birds of the same feather they puppet together
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Botswana is right and mugabe must remember that we had made the best to to work him but now it shows kuti ane umbimbindoga.If Tsvangirai decides kuti ave kuda kuintroducer militia he must not leave us ko kusiri kufa ndekupi?
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Shut up Amalume. What the hell is Mugabe that he should casue the whole of Zimbabwe to suffering because of his ego. Amalume if you are a beneficial to this regime just be silent and enjoy the blood money for a season.Imagine 3000 people dying from cholera and you say Botswana is a puppet to who?if the Tswanas government are puppets to its own people then praise God.
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Guard wekuChinhoyi ayishanda paZb bank akafa mazuva matatu apfuura mushre mekuudzwa nevamwe mai kuti ainge avatadzisa kutora mari kwemazuva matatu nokudaro aka kaizova kekutanga nekugumisira.Overnight illness and he passed away.WHO is to blame? G.Gono,R.Mugabe and the bank manager.
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Tsvangirai idofo chairo whatever zvaanonyeperana neamwe ake madofo kuti they will close borders nothing will go in or out Heheheheheeeeee hameno zvavo.Hakuna Genocide inopfuura yakonzerwa na Tsvangi kuti atonge,anhu arikufa kumusha nenzara,iye oda kuti fuel isauya muZim anoda kuzotonga makuva here?kubva he is the lord of the graveyard,he is happy with the death of people of Zimbabwe.Tsvangi idofo chairo neako kanonzi ka Khama Ian
Zimbabwean lets stand for our country Tsvangi anoda shamu amuke
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Botswana has always played a major role in the liberation of Zimbabwe. Crossing into Zambia during the liberation struggle was difficult because of the Zambezi river. I crossed into Botswana in 1974 where I was then taken to Zambia for military training. The Botswana route was the most favoured by those who wanted to join ZIPRA. Even the the ZIPRA/Umkhonto we Sizwe battallion that battled the Rhodesians in Wankie in 1967, mo0ved into Botswana after they ran out of ammunition. The same country also housed Zimbabwean refugees until 1987, it helped those running away from Smith and Mugabe’s gukurahundi. Those who criticise Botswana for their stance must be using Mugabe’s tepered with history. Mugabe and ZANU have always tried to down play the role of ZAPU, ZIPRA, Botswana, Zambia in the liberation of Zimbabwe. They promoted Mozambique and Zanla. The green bombers like scarface and abel are cleraly learning their history from the biased zanu. Have you ever asked yourself why the battle of wankie has never found itself into Zimbabwean history books. It is because Zanu wanted to sell the idea that ZAPU was against war. The battle of Wankie was a military success but the battle of Chinhoyi was a disaster. they sent poorly trained cadres as cannon fodder for the well marshalled Rhodesian force. Military successes against the Rhodesians was achieved mainly by Zipra. When the Rhodesians realised Zipra had acquired SAMs (Surface to Air Missiles) when they downed the viscounts. General Walls, Ken Flower and the like urged Smith to start negotiations. Botswana has always played an important role in the liberation of Zimbabwe, whether you like it not. Nkomo even went via Botswana when running away from the murderous Mugabe and Gukurahundi. Need I say more.
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Zimbabweans are just too patient for nothing lets just make use of the final and last option we have and thats going to battle because Bob has exausted all the other option which were available.Personally im stuck in a foreign country at the moment my parents can no longer manage to raise my fees they cant even raise the amount for the ticket for me to go back home im really stuck and the unfortunate part is that foreiners are not allowed to work here so hope is what keeps me going if it was`nt for hope i will be dead right now.God bless Zimbabwe
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those who think Mugabe has the interest of the nation at heart need to have their heads examined. Mugabe’s peers are Pol Pot,Khmer Rouge, Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin.But I urge the people of Zimbabwe to stop focusing too much negative energy on Mugabe. He strives on negative energy because he is a Satanist. Only positive energy will shake him. The universe knows how to punish its people. It is not up to us to pass judgement on the man and his supporters. This is happening for a purpose. It was meant to expose Mugabe for what he really is. If he had died in the 1980s many people will have thought of him as a messiah. But the man’s brutality had already caused the death of many in Mozambique. After the bombing of Chimoio, it was noticed that the ZANU camps did not have adequate air defences. Funds to buy these were provided by our donors but the funds were used to pay for the luxury lifestyles of the leaders. That is why these bombings killed more people. The man caused the uprising by Mukudzei Mudzi and other dissidents in Zambia, so that he would weaken Chitepo. After the Mudzi’s execution, Chitepo died in a car bomb and Tongogara was arrest by Zambian police. Tongogara then helped to elevate Mugabe.
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If only you lived in southern Rhodesia and then Rhodesia and then Zimbabwe Rhodesia and now Zimbabwe some times you would ask allot of questions on who is this so called Robert Mugabe and why he thinks he is the sole liberator of Zimbabwe i tell you this man and his club will pay very dearly now and will go out like dogs eating **** this time this world and i warn you has no time for jokers and liars like Mugabe and mbeki your game is now over guys you will now pay dearly this time around if the world does not take action on you then i think they still love you people are dieing daily and you never saw this at the time of Ian Smith you ask so many questions why did our brothers sisters and fathers mothers die for in the struggle for this so called junk Zimbabwe why7 why why did these people die for for just a few people and not the majority of Zimbabwe did Lookout Mafela Masuku and Herbert Chetepo Nikita Mangena Joshia Magama Tongogara die for this rubbish who is this useless Mugabe think he can mess people around for how long must we be told who and how we suffered during the time we where in the bush even in those days there where hospitals schools and food i remember before we left for the war to Zambia in 1975 March 16 1975 i just had finished my form 4 levels in wankie dete Marist Brothers and i was told i was meant to go for call up and i went together with 6 of my friends to Zambia to day there are no schools and we are being told that this is because of a white man i left zimbabwe in 1985 running away for my life after being told i was a dissident and allot of my friends ran away for they life’s to South Africa and many other countries and now we can see the cat is in the bag and you want to tell me that the whites who where less than you in zimbabwe we Africans i tell you its a big joke a very big joke we miss managed our country because of greed and want and forgot what we fought for the real reason for the struggle of our once lovely Zimbabwe when i got home in 1979 from the war i came to a land that was full of love and beauty now when i was home for a short visit i wanted to cry and to make things worse we fool our selves with lies from zanu pf that its the whites who are doing this what trash you are feeding our children and people you will one day pay with all you lives for what you did in the hour of gukurahudi and the blood you have being spilling all this time you will vana Rex nongo life will soon change if you think you can milk all the diamonds you are staving the people that helped you during the struggle you have fooled your self’s big time you will never win not with the blood you have taken and think you will walk away free look at the talks you thought you where going to get the way back and you where going to be in power again never you will all perish like dogs and we will remember you no more only your little spoil t children will but the rest of Zimbabwe will earth you if they can and zanu pf will only be a story just like the Rhodesian s where nothing but a cheap story you are finished this time around if i where you i was going to go on live radio or TV and talk to the nation and beg for forgiveness from the people of Zimbabwe that you have pushed around like dogs and staved like dogs repent befor that hand of the Lord pours on you repent and you Thabo Mbeki so full of you know what have you done for the suffering people of Zimbabwe but put more fire again in they suffering you too will get your share look how you put out of office look you should have taken your young brothers advise from the start about zimbabwe but you will pay more and this let this be a warning to the rest of SADC help the people now when you can and make sure you start to take action on Robert Mugabe dont let him be coz during the war of Zimbabwe South Africa took action against Ian Smith and for two weeks he made up his mind and came to the table what about you SADC what are you afraid of Mugabe is he a god to you SADC what is it that you cant do i think the people of Zimbabwe said it in the March elections loud and clear for you to hear please seek a way forward for the children of Zimbabwe suffering think of this imagine it was South Africa in this situation what would have happened to you you would have been in the driving seat and gave a hand in the way forward dont try please people for you cant but you can please the Lord God almighty by helping the people of Zimbabwe and giving them they rights back i fought a long battle with one of the finest men and women and in that war poor people of Zimbabwe helped us from day to day other wise the white man would have taken us if it where not for the people so just remember its the people not Mugabe please thank you and may Go bless you in your judgment for the people of Zimbabwe be in your hands.
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Mbeki is one of the zanu supporters he has issued a letter accusing Tswangirai of siding with the West, what a shame and I don’t blame ANC firing him because he had dictactor tendencies. The sooner he is not involved in Zim matters the better. The only way that I think can help us is a fair election and we will defeat zanu fair and square. Mbeki should join the Great leader Madiba in retirement. He is one guy that I respect as an economist and nothing more, he should leave politics to those who know. Its a shame that he is publicly saying mugabe’s words, at least the new RSA government is not taking the soft stance that Mbeki is taking on the idiot mugabe. Taneta Elections please we want to get rid of these thieves of zanu.
When MDC is in power we will make sure, Chihuri, Charamba, and Chinamasa get ARVs.
We will make sure that Cholera does not affect the citizens of Zimbabwe by ensuring clean water for all.
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The client state, Botswana, that NEVER supported zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, now wants to give the western sponsored stooge Tsvangison a base…Botswana has been harbouring mdc-t militias so that they could enter zimbabwe and terrorise our nation for a regime change..All those people who support the western puppet party Mdc-t, have you ever asked yourselves why you’re supported strongly by people who never supported Zimbabwe’s long struggle against white supremacy…All these evil schemes being plotted by the U.S and Britain are doomed to fail becoz the liberation movement Zanu pf is always a step ahead ,steadfast, resolute and always ready to counter these subversive activities…The uneducated stooge Tsvangison has been a total disgrace over the past several weeks..After making a complete idiot of himself in france, the stooge has been making irresponsible utterances on a daily basis that are doing more and more damage to his already battered image at home and abroad….Nyaya yekusadzidza iyi….The big mouthed puppet,tsvangison is a living example of an empty vessel with no mind of its own…….
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fungai.You are a dying example of a vessel full of crap with a parrot mind.Show us your evidence of militias been trained in Botswana you fool.There is no need for MDC to terrorise the nation as your baboon is already doing a splendid job of that.
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Fungai you think with your bottoms than your brains, the very same western countries are feeding and providing medicines for the people who are dying in Zimbabwe right now. We live in a Global village and not in a mugabe village anymore wake up and think like you reached form 2 at least (ZJC).
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Zizi harina nyanga mhani. Hatityityidzirwe nezvimandionerepi isu.
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THE reappointment of Dr Gideon Gono as Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor for
a second five-year term starting next Monday is testimony to his
indefatigable efforts to the compelling task of stabilising the economy.
He is starting a new term faced with the monumental challenge of restoring
confidence in the country’s economy, particularly the financial system.
Indeed, the central bank governor’s job is one of the most challenging, as
he grapples sanctions, galloping inflation, banking indiscipline, foreign
currency and cash shortages among others.
Dr Gono faces the unenviable task of beating the illegal sanctions, which
have seen a German company abruptly stopping the supply of a special paper
used for printing the local currency.
This has created the cash crisis the country is currently facing. He also
needs to continue monitoring the banking sector, where some banks have
developed a propensity to stray out of their core business and indulge in
fraudulent transactions.
But Dr Gono is not new to challenges, having weathered several storms during
his first tenure in office.
He astutely handled the banking crisis, which exploded soon after he entered
into office in December 2003.
Many will remember how the crisis left a number of banks closed, while the
banking sector’s sound footing was restored.
The Governor is very much aware of the fact that we are in a major economic
crisis, one that is largely caused by the sanctions, and where there is
potential for the crisis to grow in scale and scope with each day.
But we believe he has proved his mettle.
He is a smart and effective professional who is now very familiar with the
central bank’s operations and knows how to handle crises of any magnitude.
Dr Gono is not afraid of taking responsibility.
In the past, he has acknowledged that his plans to inject billions of
dollars in stimulus spending would drive inflation higher, but stressed the
long-term benefits of investment in needy areas, such as agricultural
mechanisation.
However, his biggest challenge remains that of taming inflation, currently
running into several millions. He needs to put in place a framework or
systems that recognise early warning signs of financial crises and be able
to deal with them.
There will be more perils in Dr Gono’s course as he continues to be the
centre of attention with his interventions aimed at saving the economy.
He certainly needs the support of all stakeholders of the economy and
politicians in this endeavour. We are however, quick to warn him that the
risks of being sabotaged exist and he should not be distracted.
But the bottom line is the central bank governor’s job is at the moment no
place for theorists. The task at hand has no time for persons who make
reference to book economics and financial theories.
Since his appointment to the helm of the country’s financial nerve centre in
2003, Dr Gono has not wavered on his belief that old orthodoxies need
rethinking to confront today’s crises.
The fact is, the country’s economic perils are clear and immediate, they
need practical and circumstantial solutions.
In Dr Gono’s own words: “We are in extraordinary circumstances that require
extraordinary measures. And failure should not be an option.”
We believe the circumstances we find ourselves in need the calibre of the
person of Dr Gono, who has a reputation as a heavy-puncher and banking
discipline hawk.
Dr Gono fits the bill and deserves a second term. We give him our thumps-up
and wish him well.
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Hande tono dzidziswa kurowa hondo nevapfanha wari pa Mumbai apa.Boys dzakarowa vanhu zvedi muma hotel imomu.Its a shame kuti zvakaitika ku India but i can now understand why they do what they do.Look at zimbabwe and how much interference we are getting from regime change mother ****ers? Why are they so interested in our country—get the **** out kana kuti tichazorova mumbai manje.Tinotanga na mcgee aripadhuze uyu…tomurova yeku kenya iya manje.imbwa dzevanhu.morgan tsvangirai i****.
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Fungai, do not expose your ignorance. Botswana played a very important role in the liberation of Zimbabwe. ZAPU used Zambia and Botswana as its bases. In fact Botswana only closed it refugee camps in the late 1980s, as many of us could not get back to Zimbabwe in 1980 and there after. Many people fleeing gukurahundi were housed in Botswana. It has done more for us than we have done for it, unlike Mozambique which we had defend from Alfonso Dhlakama’s MNR. We have paid back Mozambique’s debt, but we have not paid back Botswana. Please refrain from learning history from Mugabe, as his history is full of distortions. The truth is that ZANU was badly organised from the start in 1963, their reasons for splitting from ZAPU are not clear. They say Zapu was not keen on armed struggle, but we know that is a lie. They say Nkomo was negotiating with Ian Smith, but eventually Zimbabwe was won by negotiation, where Mugabe signed a bad deal. When Botswana gained Independence, they had only one tarred road from Mafikeng to Gaborone, look at them now. When Zimbabwe gained independence it was the ernvy of africa, look at it now. I remember the wide streets of Bulawayo City Centre, the beautiful Selbourne Avenue, Rhodes Street, Jameson Street, Lobengula Street, Barough Street, Grey Street etc.
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When Robert Mugabe’s government made clear that three of the
Elders, the distinguished group of global statesmen, were not welcome in
Zimbabwe last week, South Africa’s leaders tried to intervene – and failed
utterly.
Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, Jimmy Carter, the former
president of the United States, and Graça Machel, the wife of Nelson
Mandela, wanted to mount a humanitarian fact-finding mission to the
benighted country, but were considered “partisan” by Harare.
“We did make attempts to speak to President Mugabe about the request of the
Elders to visit Zimbabwe,” said Kgalema Motlanthe, South Africa’s president.
“The response was he was out of town and as soon as he would come back they
would give him the message he should come back to us.
“He didn’t come back to us.”
Mr Motlanthe has a dry, formal manner, and he described events in a
straight, factual way. But the naked snub he revealed speaks volumes about
Mr Mugabe’s attitude towards his fellow leaders, and the impotence of the
international community when it comes to Zimbabwe.
Even when faced with as unthreatening a prospect as a visit by three
respected elders, Zimbabwe’s octogenarian leader chose simply to ignore the
attempted entreaties of his colleagues and within days the problem –
literally – went away, leaving him as untouched as ever.
Having been in power for 28 years, Mr Mugabe’s longevity – coupled with his
role in the struggle for independence on a continent where anti-colonialism
remains a key political consideration – gives him an unparalleled standing
among his peers. And as one of the last surviving “big men”, he considers
himself senior to the upstart heads of state of nearby countries who might
dare to criticise him – an outlook epitomised by his public patronising of
Ian Khama, the president of Botswana, at the signing ceremony for the
power-sharing deal in September, when he told him what a good man his father
had been.
Mr Annan himself criticised the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) for failing to take a tougher stance on Zimbabwe. “They could have at
various stages taken different decisions which could have had a different
impact,” he said.
Mr Mugabe has made a remarkable comeback over the months since the first
round of the elections in March, when his Zanu-PF party lost its
parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980 and he
was beaten into second place in the presidential poll by Morgan Tsvangirai,
of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.
At the time, some analysts were predicting he would be gone within 24 hours.
Instead, and despite widespread western condemnation and even some African
criticism, he remains president and appears to be in a position to dominate
the unity government, if and when it is formed. It is a tribute to the
effectiveness of brutality, intransigence and sheer determination to hold on
to power, whatever the consequences for others.
As a result, and especially given Zanu-PF’s nature as a power network that
extends across the machinery of the Zimbabwean state, rather than simply a
tool of one man at the top, realpolitik has to come into play.
“Anyone who is sensible enough to analyse the results of the elections will
have to admit that all parties involved need each other to work,” Ms Machel
said.
“We may not like many things which have happened with that government, but
it has to be brought on board. There’s no possibility of ignoring it.
“As we stand, the interests of power are in certain hands. We have to work
with those hands to open and release it. We may not like it, but pragmatism
says that’s the way to go.”
It is undoubtedly the most realistic position to take, but it is fraught
with dangers, given Mr Mugabe’s oft-demonstrated bad faith.
SADC went down the pragmatist route this month when it decreed that the home
affairs ministry, the subject of a deadlock between Zanu-PF and the MDC,
should be administered jointly.
The decision left no part of the state security apparatus in the exclusive
control of the opposition and Zanu-PF accepted it with alacrity, while the
MDC rejected it. Effectively, the region had given its imprimatur to Mr
Mugabe’s power grab.
Even if it had been willing to confront him, he had given it no plausible
alternative if it wanted to keep him in its faltering negotiation process.
Tony Reeler, a Zimbabwean activist writing for the Institute for Democracy
in South Africa, said: “There are now exceptionally serious questions about
whether SADC is an institution with the gravitas to resolve the crisis, or
is merely a club for all the old ‘Liberation boys’, who value each other
more than they value their respective peoples.
“For it is clear that this most recent decision of SADC has continued the
old game of placing leaders above people.”
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mugabe will not deal with these old puppets-**** them all.
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Zimbabwe calls for aid as cholera toll rises
Zimbabwe’s deputy health minister Edwin Muguti on Thursday appealed for aid to fight a cholera epidemic, saying the death toll had risen to 386 and could get worse.
Muguti, who just one day earlier had insisted that the outbreak was under control, said a total of 9,363 cases had been reported and warned the disease could spread even more as the rainy season gets underway.
“With the coming of the rainy season, the situation could get worse. Our problems are quite simple. We need to be assisted,” he said on state television.
“We are quite grateful to the South Africans who have assisted us to contain the outbreak,” he added.
“It’s very regrettable that people are dying of cholera,” Muguti said, and again blamed Western sanctions on President Robert Mugabe for creating the outbreak.
“Maybe the ones who created this situation have decided to kill us softly,” he said.
Cholera has exploded across the country, as the nation’s delapidated infrastructure has left sewage flowing openly in the streets while drinking water goes untreated.
The disease has spread to neighbouring South Africa, where five people died of cholera after returning from Zimbabwe over the last week. More than 200 others have been treated in a hospital in the South African border town of Musina.
BACK TO THE BEGGING BASKET.
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did you see they are begging for BODY Bags not medicines. Poor ZANU pf- you have no matches in the league of stupids, sadists, satanists, witches
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i have always been surprised if not peplexed by those who are pro-mugaba/zanu in this fora in general.they sincerely believe noone else has a right to lead zimbabwe.have other people noticed how their logic seems to be anyone who opposes its their fault if they are abused?when will the likes of amalume crisjj ghostface and fungai realise that zimbabwe is a nation and zimbabweans have a right to think,to elect leaders and to survive after having a political opinion.there are times when we support things like football teams yet have to concede to normal sense when our team scores from an offside possition and its denied.likewise there natural rules in life and we must respect ourselves by respecting such rules.why should anyone in their normal sense not see the failure of a party that still wants to hold on to power when it has no idea as to the way forward.wet mumapublic offices.madodi mustreet no mota dzema bin no water and worst of all cholera muharare here varume woye .we cant even manage harare where all is happening.those who support or sympathise with robert matibili tinzwireio.let order come before yourselves.if the whole nation was getting whatever you guys(mugabe’s wives like ghost face and all) maybe we would help you support him but all people get is missery.murimbwa dzevanhu mhani
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I think its high time we forget about mugabe, top priority will be service delivery and you will see what will happen to the wheels of Zanu pf. Inguva chete, ukaona vanhu vanoenda kun’anga kuti vatonge vachikanganwa kuti kuna mwari (Mudidi Mutasa ne mamwe mapenzi ake) hasha dzashe dzichadzika pamusoro penyu.
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