Full Text of Nineteenth State of the Nation Address by President Mugabe

Let us espouse values of honesty, diligence

Once again it gives me great pleasure to present the State of the Nation address to this August House. This address is set against a background of varied developments that have shaped events in the country this year. These include the challenges that confront us and manifest themselves in our present socio-economic environment.

The under-performance of the economy we are now turning around is largely a product of the illegal overt and covert sanctions imposed on us, by Britain and her allies, as punishment for daring to reclaim our land. We nevertheless derive comfort from knowing that the transient challenges we face have propelled us to the apogee of resilience and self-reliance, and awakened us in much ingenuity and pragmatism that have contributed to the home-grown programmes aimed at rejuvenating our economy.

The National Economic Development Priority Programme is one such example. On the basis of these developments and the policy gains deriving from our Look East Policy, the economy is on the recovery path. Once more, I wish to pay tribute to our people for their resilience, and to all our Look East development partners for their sterling display of solidarity at the time of our greatest need.

Madame President, Mr Speaker Sir,

I am gratified that this address comes just after the recent inauguration of the long-awaited 99-year leases. This development constitutes an important milestone in the evolution of our agrarian reform as it gives security of tenure, which we hope, in turn, will leverage more resources into the development of the agriculture sector. It is time we stressed that real emancipation lies not just in the possession of resources but in their effective utilisation. In this regard, I would like to call on all beneficiaries of the Land Reform Programme, as well as other critical stakeholders in the production chain, to work assiduously for the realisation of our quest for maximum productivity in our all-important agricultural sector.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The 2005/6 agricultural season was a much better one than the previous season, thanks to the good rains. As a result, the majority of our people this year were generally self-sufficient in relation to their staple food although imports were still needed to ensure greater food security up to the middle of next year. For this current season, we are better prepared in regard to our input requirements, tillage services and related logistical support. The conclusion of a US$180 million loan agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and CMEC of China for the supply of agriculture inputs, such as fertilizer, agrochemical and machinery further boosted our preparations.

A target of 55 000 hectares has been earmarked for tobacco production in the 2006/7 season, representing a 38 percent increase on last season’s figure of 40 000 hectares.
A total of 300 000 hectares have been set aside for the production of the strategic maize grain reserves during the 2006/7 summer season. This programme, which is being implemented under Operation Maguta/Inala and an Agribank facility, in collaboration with the District Development Fund, will target A1, communal and the old resettlement farmers.
A2 farmers will continue to access funding from the Reserve Bank’s Agricultural Sector Enhancement Productivity Facility, commercial banks and other contract schemes. Allied to this work is a programme, which is projected to localise the commercial manufacture of vaccines against animal diseases. The project is being developed at the University of Zimbabwe and will certainly assist in the recovery of the national herd.
The country and, indeed, the whole region, have become increasingly susceptible to the phenomenon of drought. To minimise the impact of unfavourable weather conditions, Government continues to invest in irrigation projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Development Programme. The Department of Irrigation received $438 505 000 under the Public Sector Investment Programme and a further $185 million under the supplementary budget during the period under review. A total of 3 500 hectares of irritable land was rehabilitated, while an additional 3 786 hectares were cleared for the construction of irrigation projects.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

As already stated above, it was in response to current economic challenges that the National Economic Development Priority Programme was evolved. It is a short-term economic turnaround initiative built on close collaboration between Government and the private sector. The programme, which prioritises implementation of quick response and high sectoral impact projects, is the major launch pad for the various current turnaround programmes.
In order to enhance exporter viability and consequently boost foreign currency inflows, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has raised the levels of foreign currency retained by exporters to 75 percent of their proceeds, to afford them a long-term planning horizon, while creating a vibrant inter-bank foreign exchange trading market. To improve gold production, the producer price was raised from $4 900 to $16 000 per gramme. In addition, gold producers now retain 70 percent of their output in foreign currency, while a 15 percent Foreign Currency Account Retention Facility for the tobacco industry will be introduced in April 2007. The current efforts to curb leakages of gold and precious minerals will continue.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Government recently launched the National Export Strategy as the fulcrum of the country’s industrialisation drive. A critical component of this strategy is the enhancement of foreign currency generation and retention by emphasising value addition and import substitution. A Value Addition Fund has thus been created under the auspices of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe to finance related projects. At least twenty manufacturing companies with a potential to realise significant quick-wins in terms of foreign currency generation, savings and employment creation have been identified under the Import Substitution Programme.

A total of $3,15 million was disbursed under the Distressed Companies Fund to 22 entities in the engineering, fertilizer, pharmaceutical, textile, mining and construction sectors. This intervention was projected to increase capacity utilisation by an average of 30 percent, create a total of 4 216 jobs as well as generate up to US$38,2 million in foreign currency. In addition, the Toll Manufacturing Programme is being pursued with a view to increasing capacity utilisation in the sector.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

It is pleasing to note that the tourism sector continues its upward trend, with the latest statistics showing a 33 percent increase on last year’s tourist arrivals during the same period. This development bears testimony to our country’s well-known status as an attractive and safe tourism destination, in spite of the sounds of gloom and doom, nay, the sounds of impotent fury, peddled by hostile sections of the media.
To further consolidate our status, a programme to upgrade and decongest our premier border posts at Beitbridge and Chirundu is underway. In a related development, the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe is in the process of upgrading the Harare, Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo and Victoria Falls airports.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The process of consolidating the management of regional transfrontier conservancy areas continues to gather pace. Following the establishment of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a Memorandum of Understanding of the establishment of the Shashi Limpopo Transfrontier Area involving Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana was signed.
The establishment of the Kavango/Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area involving Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia is also in the offing. To facilitate tourism in the transfrontier national parks, the Department of Immigration is currently constructing the Mapungubwe and Chikwalakwala border posts, while the Zimbabwe Defence Force is clearing the Sango to Crook’s Corner minefield.

Road Network Access Fees were introduced this year at the border posts, in order to complement Government funding of the country’s road network. The fees are collected by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority on behalf of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. This project is generating a lot of revenue both in local and foreign currency and is being expanded to allow for the collection of toll fees at the peripheries of major cities and towns. In this regard, toll gates are currently being constructed at the Beitbridge and Chirundu border posts, and along the Harare-Gweru highway and the Harare-Masvingo highway.

Government has gazetted the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicle drivers) Regulations of 2006, in response to the increase in the number of fatal road accidents. All public service vehicle drivers and goods vehicles will be required to undergo a re-testing exercise after a period of five years from the date of issue of a public service driver’s licence.

Furthermore, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe has developed a new training programme for heavy goods vehicle drivers and public service vehicle drivers in order to reduce the appalling levels of accidents involving these vehicles.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Significant headway has been made in terms of trade and investment promotion within the context of the look East Policy. Numerous institutional, business, trade and investment linkages have been forged with friendly countries in the spirit of South-South Co-operation. These developments received a further boost from my recent trips to the China-Africa Summit and to Iran, where a number of bilateral co-operation agreements were concluded.
Joint venture mining projects have been agreed with several Chinese companies, while there are advanced plans to open a minerals marketing office in the city of Shanghai, China. In light of these developments, Trade Promotion Officers have already been posted to China, India and Indonesia, while a similar posting will be made to Malaysia in the near future.
In the energy and power sector, Government has already approved several Power Sector Investment Projects aimed at improving poor supply. These projects include investments in new power stations, expansion of existing generation capacity as well as refurbishment of plants and equipment. To this end, the process of approving identified investors is at an advanced stage.
Progress has also been made in regard to the National Bio-diesel Feedstock production Programme, with over 300 farmers contracted by Noczim for the production of Bio-diesel, which should contribute up to 10 percent of national fuel requirements by the year 2010.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The role of telecommunications as both driver and catalyst of modern economic competitiveness is universally acclaimed. In consonance with this, measures to boost the country’s telecommunications infrastructure are being implemented. Net-One has now extended its network coverage to rural, farming and mining areas, and growth points and tourist resorts, while Tel-One is installing phase one of the Code Division Multiple Access \Wireless Local Loop equipment in Harare. Phases two and three to cover both rural and other urban areas shall commence next year.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

Indigenisation and the economic empowerment of our people remain the cornerstone of our socio-economic development. To this end, Government is in the process of finalising the National Indigenisation and Empowerment Bill to underpin this thrust, while amendment of the Mines and Minerals Act to facilitate participation by locals in the mining sector is at an advanced stage.
Government has also relocated 34 860 Small and Medium Enterprises to permanent and temporary business premises, while the first phase of the construction of artisans factory hives in Harare and vendor marts throughout the country has been completed under Operation Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle.

With respect to housing development, a total of $1,2 billion was this year provided to local authorities under the Public Sector Investment Programme towards construction of water and sewerage infrastructure for phase one of Operation Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle. To date, 45 000 stands have been allocated under Phase II of the programme, where private developers, employers, housing co-operatives and individual beneficiaries are expected to participate in housing development. The Rural Housing and Social Amenities Policy is now in place, while a Rural Housing Fund has also been established to facilitate housing development in the rural areas on a cost recovery basis.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

Sustainable utilisation and management of the environment is critical for the long-term development of any economy. To this end, Government has launched the National Fire Protection Strategy in the country’s provinces to promote integrated veld fire management, while the Forestry Commission has embarked on a nation-wide awareness campaign to curb the rampant illegal harvesting of hardwood timber in commercial and resettlement areas.
It is noteworthy that the country is witnessing rampant destruction of forests and land through uncontrolled veld fires and illegal panning. I would like to urge the police, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and local authorities to move swiftly in stemming this wanton destruction of the environment. I wish to note here the police operation code named "Chikorokoza Chapera/No illegal panning" and to commend the police for their noble initiative.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The health sector continues to face several challenges, which include the shortage of essential drugs and critical equipment as well as the unending brain drain. To curb the exodus of medical staff, plans are underway to re-introduce the cadetship programme, while graduates will be bonded to the service of the State for a period equal to the period of their education and training.
Some 300 primary care nurses have been deployed to rural health centres throughout the country. The ongoing refurbishment of central hospitals is expected to be complete by the end of this year and will facilitate provision of a full range of services by the hospitals, thus bringing relief to patients.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

A critical mass of appropriate human resource skills is necessary if sustained economic growth is to occur. However, the outward flight of professionals to other countries in the region and abroad has become a major drawback to the country’s otherwise internationally renowned human resource development programme. To arrest this trend, Government, in liaison with other stakeholders, is formulating strategies to develop, attract and retain critical skills for both the public and private sectors. A retention package for critical health professionals is now in place, while a recommendation to hire retirees is already being implemented.
A professionals-cum-intellectual "Homelink" desk that will, among other things, identify and recruit Zimbabwean experts in the Diaspora to come and contribute to national development, is being set up under the auspices of the National Economic Development Priority Programme.
Tremendous headway has also been made in exploiting training opportunities in such countries as Japan, India, Malaysia and China. Of particular interest is the recent offer by China to train Zimbabweans in critical shortage areas such as agriculture, mining, energy and power development, environment and tourism as well as transport and communications.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

In the education sector, Government has continued to expand and strengthen the provision of basic education, with special focus on early childhood development. The programme to foster and promote computer literacy through provision of computers to schools continued in earnest.
In pursuance of the goal for inclusive education, the development of Volume II of the Sign Language Dictionary is now in the final stages. This year also witnessed the successful amendment of the Education Act, which seeks to keep education accessible to the majority of the people.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

Government remains acutely concerned over high unemployment rates among the youth. For this reason, a Youth Development Fund has been established under the auspices of the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe to enable the youths to access financial resources for income generating projects.
Other funding arrangements have been made through the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe with such financial institutions as Sedco, Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe, Agribank, Genesis Investment Bank and First Bank. I wish also to commend the Zimbabwe Youth Council for successfully hosting the first ever Southern Africa Youth Festival and to applaud the selection of Zimbabwe as the first Chairperson of the Bureau of the African Union Ministers of the Youth, with a special mandate to drive implementation of the African Union Charter on the youth for the next 2 years.
The provision of social protection to people with disabilities has been an unabating challenge for quite some time. However, Government has since established the Disability Loan Revolving Fund through which people with disabilities are being assisted to start self-help projects. To alleviate the plight of older persons, Government, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, has come up with a draft Older Persons Bill that aims to address social protection and care for older persons in a more comprehensive manner.
Government, through NSSA, continues to avail high and medium density stands and houses to alleviate the plight of workers throughout the country. To afford the workers some respite, Government reviewed the non-taxable income bracket upward from the erstwhile $20 000 to the current $100 000.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

My Government has made huge strides in addressing gender imbalances in the context of both national laws and multilateral conventions. Following the adoption of the National Gender Policy, an implementation strategy and action plan for the policy has now been formulated for the co-ordination of gender mainstreaming in all sectors as well as to provide a framework for monitoring and evaluating progress.
Following concern over the high incidence of cases of domestic violence, the Domestic Violence Bill, to help contain this contemptible occurrence, was tabled before Parliament. However, while the legal instrument is a necessary remedial measure, we should as a society also emphasise adherence to good family and social values as the ultimate antidote to domestic violence.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Government is aware that civil servants are some of the workers worst affected by inflation owing to their relatively low levels of remuneration. Accordingly, their salaries and allowances were reviewed in January and May 2006 to cushion them against inflation. Further, in May, teachers and lecturers in the education sector were also elevated by one grade while the rural allowance was increased from 10 to 15 percent. In addition, government has put in place non-pecuniary benefits for civil servants in the form of the Civil Service Housing Fund and Vehicle Purchase Scheme.

Government also expects its employees to reciprocate this overture through committed performance. To this end, the Results-Based Management Programme is being introduced throughout the Public Service. The objective of the system is to maximise delivery on Government policies and programmes through enhanced implementation, monitoring, evaluation and instilling greater accountability.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir.

Our justice delivery system needs to evolve in tandem with socio-economic trends for it to efficiently and effectively discharge its mandate. In pursuance of this objective, steps have been taken to enhance the system by, inter alia, decentralising and increasing the Labour Court establishment, and setting up Small Claims and Commercial Crimes Courts.

Madame President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The scourge of corruption continues to rear its ugly head, manifested through the abuse of poor and unfair business practices, and the amassing of ill-gotten wealth by those entrusted with offices in public, private and civic sectors. Government will not relent in its efforts to weed out such bad apples in our midst no matter how highly placed or well connected they may happen to be.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The security agencies continue to do the Nation proud by discharging their constitutional role of safeguarding the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests of our country with honour and distinction in keeping with their tradition of participating in SADC, African Union and United Nations peace-support initiatives.
Locally, they continue to play a critical role in the context of Military Assistance to Civil Authority as exemplified by their participation in Operations Garikayi/Hlalani Kuhle, and Maguta/Inala, to mention just a few. The Nation is indeed proud of them.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

The country continues to enjoy peace and tranquillity despite attempts by some misguided elements to fuel anarchy under the guise of freedom of expression and association. While the country respects and affords everyone the right of assembly and association, the use of such platforms as tools to advance the British-inspired regime change agenda cannot be tolerated. Our law enforcement agents will continue thwart such ill-conceived manoeuvres.

Madam President, Mr Speaker Sir,

As a country we remain resolute in our commitment to the achievement of a fair, just and secure international environment, where all countries, both great and small, are accorded respect and equality. In that regard, we remain steadfast in our call for the reform of the United Nations, especially the Security Council, to render it more democratic and transparent.
Of essence is the need to check the impulsive tendencies of a unipolar world where those who wield power and wealth are inclined to ride roughshod over established international practices under the fallacy that might is right. We note, however, that the voice of reason is becoming louder and clearer in its chastisement of such gross abuses.
In conclusion, I wish to appeal to Zimbabweans from all walks of life to retain in ourselves the sense of enterprise, ingenuity and self-belief as we pursue the goals of our economic turnaround programme.

Let us espouse the values of honesty and diligence, knowing that our destiny is in our hands. Let us desist from ivory tower theorising, and better still, from being long on critique, but short on prescription. Let us pool together our diverse talents, expertise and resource endowments for the realisation of our cherished destiny.
I wish to applaud the approach taken by our churches to foster nation building through constructive dialogue. May we borrow a leaf from such wisdom and avoid the tendency of self-destruction. Indeed, let us build on the spirit of multi-stakeholder co-operation that underpins the implementation of the National Economic Development Priority Programme as we work towards a more prosperous Zimbabwe under-pinned by national unity.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year!
Ngilifisela Ikhisimusi enhle!
Ivai neKisimisi yakanaka!
I thank you.

Not all that glitters is gold

By Obi Egbuna

ZIMBABWEAN youths, born after Independence in 1980 — the so-called born-free generation — must realise how the three Chimurengas positively impacted on their educational system, and how fortunate they are to have grown up in a country with Africa’s highest literacy rate.
Africa’s liberation movements rooted in the decolonisation era have one thing in common, the support of the majority of the people owing to the charisma and progressiveness of their leadership, a leadership Washington wants to depose at all costs.
This is why Zimbabweans must not relax when they hear the US Embassy openly saying it recognises the immense value of educational exchange programmes towards increasing mutual understanding between Zimbabweans and Americans.
On November 3 2006, on the occasion of the International Education Week, the US Embassy in Harare announced that it was offering 2 000 scholarships to Zimbabwean students to study in the US.
The Bush administration’s illegal regime change agenda thrives on such scholarships.
We Africans in the US have a saying that it is easier to kill flies with honey than vinegar, so what is being presented as a gesture of good faith by the US Embassy in collaboration with the US State Department should not fool anyone.
Because of the role that both colonialism and slavery played in the collective African experience, daughters and sons of Africa truly understand and appreciate the benefit of first rate education.
In his autobiography, “The Life and Narrative of a Slave”, the great freedom fighter Frederick Douglas openly discussed how he hid while learning how to read and write because he could have been tortured or potentially killed for daring to learn.
While addressing his party’s Ninth Annual National People’s Conference in Goromonzi, President Mugabe reminded party members that Goromonzi High School, built in 1946, was the first secondary school for black Africans even though the country had been under colonial rule since 1890.
Public schools in the US were not integrated until 1954 and only then after the Brown vs Board of Education of Topeka case argued by civil/human rights pioneer Thurgood Marshall.
Two other examples worthy of mention are the case of nine high school students in Little Rock, Arkansas who attempted to enrol at Little Rock Central High School in 1957, only to have the Governor Orval Faubus call the National Guard to prevent the students from enrolling.
There is also the case of James Meredith, who applied for admission to the University of Mississippi in January of 1961 only to be denied admission and be saved by a US Supreme Court ruling in September of 1962.
The White House had to get involved in both cases. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne Division to protect students in Arkansas because of the support organised by the NAACP chapter under the fearless leadership of Daisy Bates.
While in Mississippi, president Kennedy sent the US marshal’s because of racist violence that left two people dead, 41 soldiers injured and 30 US Marshalls shot.
The US Embassy Public Affairs section houses an Education USA certified educational advising centre, which they claim was set up to provide comprehensive services to serious Zimbabwean students seeking to further their education in the US, which includes a pre-departure orientation programme and individual advising with trained educational advisors. There are several questions that have to be answered in relation to the interaction that will take place between Zimbabwean students and the officers at the US Embassy:
Will their political opinions and affiliation become a point of discussion?
Are the scholarships only for students who belong to the Zimbabwe National Students Union?
Do students who happen to be members of the ruling party youth league qualify as well?
Could this initiative be an attempt by the US Government to start an extension of Zinasu in the US?
The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education along with the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture must keep this initiative under scrutiny as it has implications for national security.
The split in the MDC that left the party extremely vulnerable, and the ZCTU’s loss of integrity, have left only one option open to Blair and Bush, that is having anti-Mugabe/Zanu-PF groups directly under their watchful eyes.
The US scholarships are being offered at a time Zimbabwe has the fourth largest student population in the US; only Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya have more students in US institutions, that in itself should raise eyebrows, the CIA’s regional office in West Africa is in Ghana.
Nigeria, at government level, has been the model military neo-colony, and Kenya lies in Africa’s most politically unstable region.
The other obvious social factor all four countries were colonised by the British, which means English is one of their official languages, which makes the students suitable for political indoctrination to serve US and British imperialist interests in Africa.
This is a typical US government strategy.
The Bush administration will try everything possible to present these students as Zimbabwe’s future leaders. All Mugabe and Zanu-PF detractors like the National Endowment Democracy and Amnesty International will roll out the red carpet for them.
The Voice of America’s Studio 7 and the nationally syndicated talk show Democracy Now would give them unlimited radio access, they may even have the opportunity to address the US Congress where they would be compared to the Chinese Students in Tiannanmen Square.
They would be asked to work with Reginald Machaba-Hove the chair of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, making them eligible to succeed Matchaba-Hove as recipients of the National Endowment for Democracy award and become Bush’s pet Zimbabweans.
The students’ academic programmes would be tailored to ensure they can rub shoulders with as many US intelligence agents as possible.
They would be taken to the Ralph Bunche International Affairs Centre at Howard University where the previous director Horace Dawson signed the initial statement by Trans Africa Forum entitled — Why We Spoke out on Zimbabwe.
They would be introduced to the United Negro College Fund special programmes division, where they would interact with the Institute for Public Policy, that was set up to enhance US national security, global competitiveness and leadership by promoting excellence, international service and cultural competence.
It would only be a matter of time before Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government’s Public Policy and Leadership Conference seeks them out and introduces them to people who help the International Crisis Group of the European Union write disparaging articles about President Mugabe and Zanu-PF.
These scholarships come at a time, first lady Laura Bush has just launched the Global Cultural initiative, an effort by the US State Department to support a wide-ranging international cultural diplomacy effort characterised by partnerships with the US government and private sector cultural agencies and institutions.
This will be where students with artistic talent would be encouraged to be like Thomas Mapfumo who sings for his supper, instead of Oliver Mtukudzi or Cde Chinx who sing from the heart.
The born-free comrades must make a distinction between the anti-imperialist student tradition that produced the likes of Witness Mangwende, Steve Biko, Kwame Ture, Yasir Arafat, and Fidel Castro; and students who are converted into agents of imperialism.
l Obi Egbuna is an African-American, and member of the Pan African Liberation Organisation, and Zimbabwe Cuba Friendship Association.

One Unified African People: An Interview with Obi Egbuna

by Gregory Elich

As a founding member of the Pan-African Liberation Organization, Obi Egbuna has devoted his life to the struggle to unify the African continent and the African Diaspora. His activities have led him to split his time between the U.S. and Zimbabwe. I was interested in finding out more about the Pan-African Liberation Organization and its role in the movement, and contacted Mr. Egbuna. This interview took place shortly before his return to Zimbabwe.

Q: You are a founding member of the Pan-African Liberation Organization (PALO). Tell us something about PALO: its history, its philosophy, and its goals for the future.

Egbuna: The organization was founded on April 1, 1991, 31 years after the founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which is why we strategically picked that particular date. The original name was the Pan African Student Youth United Front. The year before, we had created a student umbrella organization called the United Pan African Front with students from the University of Maryland/College Park, George Washington University, Howard University, Catholic University, American University, and the University of the District of Columbia. We felt at that point that the student/youth movement in the African community needed to put immense pressure on our traditional organizations like the National Council of Negro Women, Nation of Islam, NAACP, All African People's Revolutionary Party, etc. to form an African United Front.

We felt it was mainly because of the tendency to embrace capitalist models of leadership that was the root cause for the delay in the establishment of a functional and productive United Front representing the broadest spectrum of our organized formations. Our main philosophical influences are Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and Ahmed Seku Ture. Our main objective is One Unified African People at home and abroad and One Unified Socialist African Continent. Our goals for the future are to identify the issues with the most potential to unite us worldwide, and right now our work around the issues of Zimbabwe and Cuba in particular represent our practical expression of what we believe in theory.

Q: We live in a unipolar world in which the West did much to promote the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia into a number of smaller, weaker, and therefore more easily controlled nations. A united socialist Africa would have immense significance not only for the people of Africa but the world as well. But rallying support for the cause in the face of Western hostility presents special problems. You allude in your last answer to the first practical steps toward achieving that goal. Please tell us more about your work in support of pan-African liberation. I understand, for instance, that some time ago you moved to Zimbabwe in order to more effectively put your ideals into action.

Egbuna: This is an important question to address. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the overthrow of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah and the Convention Peoples Party in Ghana (February 24th 1966), the 30th anniversary of the Soweto uprising (June 16th 1976), and the 40th anniversary of SNCC's resurrection of Frederick Douglass' slogan "Black Power." As African people we approach Zimbabwe in the context of honoring our historical responsibility to defend liberated and sovereign territory on our beloved mother continent. For progressive and revolutionary forces in African communities worldwide, Zimbabwe means what Cuba and Venezuela mean to Latin American anti-imperialist resistance, or what Palestine means to Arab and Muslim forces opposed to imperialist domination.

We've worked with our comrades in Zimbabwe for four years at a very intense level through the diplomatic corps in the U.S. (the embassy in Washington and the UN Mission in New York City). In 2003 we had the honor and privilege of chatting with President Mugabe at the UN while he was participating in the UN general assembly. He thanked us for the work we had done up to that point and urged us to intensify everything we were doing. The previous Zimbabwean ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Simbi Mubako, recommended that we go to Zimbabwe and spend extended time on the ground.

At that point, however we felt we hadn't done enough on behalf of the government, party and people. In PALO we believe in working first and traveling later. This way our beloved comrades will be familiar with the track record of labor done on their behalf. We also decided that as Africans the concept of splash delegations has gotten us nowhere. What I mean by splash delegations is when national spokespeople in our community travel abroad mainly to countries on U.S. imperialism's radar screen (in Africa, Asia, and Latin America). Then after receiving red carpet treatment and promising the heads of state everything under the sun, they return to the U.S. only to hold a press conference highlighting their visit and two or three months later we forget why they went in the first place. This approach undermines crucial relationships that Africans in the U.S. must build and maintain with our comrades in every corner of the world.

We felt that we needed to work in Zimbabwe like Kwame Ture and Shirley Graham DuBois did in Guinea, Frantz Fanon did in Algeria, Julian Mayfield and W.E.B. DuBois did in Ghana, and lastly how Che Guevara did in Cuba and how Eugene Godfried and Assata Shakur are presently doing in Cuba. I was in Zimbabwe from April to September working with ZANU-PF on the party side and also on the Government side, mainly through the Ministry of Information and Publicity. But I'm also working with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Ministry of Education Sports and Culture, and the National HIV Aids Council. I went to Zimbabwe also for the purpose of bridging the gap between the Cuban solidarity work being done by Africans in the U.S. and those in Southern Africa, which is the hub of Cuban solidarity on the Continent. I'm a member of the Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association and working to rebuild the Zimbabwe Palestinian Friendship organization. I'll be returning to Zimbabwe in November and remaining there until February to continue the work on the ground that will result in an increase of genuine uncompromising support for President Mugabe and ZANU-PF.

Q: I've heard from a number of people who have informed me that Zimbabwe's land reform has won wide popular support throughout Africa. Do you think that land reform has the potential to act as a catalyst for positive change throughout the continent of Africa? Could this also be a rallying point for building a movement for the political and economic unification of Africa?

Egbuna: With the death of Yasser Arafat, President Mugabe has emerged as the international spokesperson for land reclamation worldwide. It begins with Africa. If you remember, the youth league of the ANC was the first entity on the other side of the Limpopo River to endorse the land reclamation program in Zimbabwe. This was crucial because even after international support for the Palestinian question and reparations for slavery at the United Nations Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia and Other Related Intolerances, held in Durban, South Africa, this still didn't translate into an intensification of the struggle for land reclamation in South Africa, where 83% of the land remains in the hands of whites.

The President of Cote D'Ivoire sent an envoy to Zimbabwe three years back, seeking consultation and advice from President Mugabe about how they could reclaim their land. We also see how the courageous vision of Zimbabwe helped spark this issue next door in Namibia, where 44% of the land was still in the hands of whites there. We can also look at the Harare agricultural festival, which was opened by Botswana's President Festus Mogae, who reaffirmed his support for the land program in Zimbabwe and denounced the illegal sanctions. Zambia's President, who was also in attendance, stressed the same points. President Mugabe received recognition in April from Malawi's President Mutharika, who named a road in his honor despite a threat by the European Union to pull out of a project to rebuild roads in the country unless Mugabe wasn't uninvited. This, however, didn't budge President Mutharika one bit. We then have to look outside of Africa. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela said at the UN Food and Poverty Organization meeting last year in Rome that Zimbabwe was the model for his agrarian reform program.

It was comical to see Chirac in France praise Comrade Evo Morales in Bolivia for the program he decided to embark on against the ruling elite in Bolivia, knowing that the reason the European Union is trying to force an illegal imperialist-driven regime change in Zimbabwe is because of the uncompromising stand of President Mugabe and ZANU-PF on the issue of land.

I just had a great dialogue with WaBun-Inini (aka Vernon Bellecourt), a principal spokesperson for the American Indian Movement/International Indian Treaty Council. He's in the process of drafting a statement of support for President Mugabe and ZANU-PF. I feel great about this because WaBun-Inini defends Libya with more courage and passion than most Africans in the U.S. He went to jail for defying Ronald Reagan's travel ban on Libya in 1987. Many forget or overlook that the U.S. is a settler colony. So their arrogance towards a people who have endured slavery and colonialism and who are reclaiming what is rightfully theirs is expected and resisted, like in the case of Zimbabwe.

I also have to mention that I was pleased that International A.N.S.W.E.R. arranged for me to read the Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association's (ZIMCUFA) statement on the Cuban Five at the rally they sponsored in support of the five patriots, in front of the FBI building and the Department of Justice. I had been out of the states for six months and they needed a new updated photograph of me on U.S. soil anyway. I'm sure the US embassy in Zimbabwe has plenty of me in Harare. I think this was a special act on A.N.S.W.E.R.'s part, because many entities external to the African community don't appear to respect the role Zimbabwe plays in the anti-imperialist movement. Many of them are quicker to talk about forces in Latin America and the Caribbean only because of their geographical proximity to Latin America and more recently the Middle East, which is really North Africa.

It appears that resistance in sub-Saharan Africa is the dark side of the moon for them, so maybe by showing Zimbabwe's relationship to Cuba through the issue of the five or by having them see that Southern Africa is the driving force for Cuban solidarity on the continent of Africa, they can come to recognize the importance of this issue. This is evident when we highlight the 36,000 troops from Cuba who, for 14 years, fought in Angola, winning a decisive victory at Cuito Cuanavale; or the fact that Mugabe and Mandela are recipients of the Jose Marti Order, Cuba's highest honor (Mugabe in 1985 and Mandela in 1991). Since Hugo Chavez has emerged as the darling of these circles, they also have to see who his favorite African president is. Mugabe received a replica of Simon Bolivar's sword in 2003 and we are grateful to Comrade Chavez for that. This trip in Zimbabwe we will also highlight the history of the Zimbabwe Palestinian Friendship organization to show that link to those who are part of the anti-Zionist efforts within U.S. borders.

Q: How may interested individuals go about contacting and joining the Pan-African Liberation Organization? What type of work can sympathetic people residing in the U.S. do in support of PALO's goals?

Egbuna: People interested in joining our ranks can reach out to us by emailing panafricanlib@yahoo.com. We're in the process of developing a web page to be a catalyst in helping our recruitment efforts. Individuals from the African community can join us if they support our objectives and don't belong to an organization already. Organizations that are interested in collaborating on some of the projects we're working on, in particular the work around Zimbabwe or the Cuban Health Care Pilot Project, are more than welcome to link up with us. The more organized resistance we have in the never-ending struggle for our liberation, human dignity, and humanity as a whole, the better.Obi Egbuna writes for The Herald. He is a member of the Pan-African Liberation Organization and the Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association.

The Herald can be read at: www.herald.co.zw/index.aspx.

The Pan-African Liberation Organization can be contacted at: panafricanlib@yahoo.com.

Gregory Elich is the author of Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit.

Original Article Obtained from: http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/elich211206.html

Zim’s Determination Inspiring

By Obi Egbuna

ANYONE travelling from the United States in the second week of November went through the Democratic Party’s smokescreen, which was thicker than the fog of London.

The victories US imperialism’s liberal political arm enjoyed in elections for the US House and Senate had adults who voted Democrat excited like children opening presents on their birthdays or on Christmas morning.

This excitement and pandemonium was on full display in the African community within US borders where 95 percent of the voters are loyalists to the Democratic Party, where many of them will tell you in open conversation, the sweet tooth for liberals is only a tactic not a sacred principle.

One can usually respond to these feelings by reminding them Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X were murdered in cold blood under the watchful eye of a Democratic Party president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and no tears rolled down his cheeks.

Our comrades in Cuba never hesitate to tell true blue Democrats that the blockade imposed on them in 1962, which 180 countries voted against at the United Nations this year, was the brainchild of John F. Kennedy, a Democratic president.

In the year which marks the 40th anniversary of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah’s overthrow in Ghana (February 24 1966) at the hands of the CIA and British intelligence while on a quest to stop Johnson’s war of genocide in Vietnam, we say yank that sweet tooth for it is rotten to the core.

While returning to Zimbabwe to continue solidarity and support work on the ground with our comrades in the ruling party Zanu-PF and Government, it wasn’t difficult to remain true to these convictions. After all, it is a liberal British prime minister, Tony Blair, that many in the US consider a cheap imitation of Bill Clinton that is leading the charge to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, and made George W. Bush march to the beat of his drum.

The resolve and character shown by Zimbabweans makes it truly a joy and pleasure to join them in the fight to defend the nation’s sovereignty; anyone involved in this work can attest to that. We just hope at the end of the day we get the results the country needs.

During a two-month visit to the US to report on work being done in Zimbabwe and to identify more organisations willing to be part of the support and solidarity efforts, it became evident that the main supporters of the ZCTU/MDC inside our community, Jos Williams of the AFL-CIO and William Lucy of the Congress of Black Trade Unions, while willing to attack Zimbabwe on radio or in the print media, were not too keen on debating pro-Mugabe/Zanu-PF comrades.

The reason Williams gave was he was too busy working around the elections, he also gave a condition that a private meeting was necessary to discuss differences around the issue.

He said Lucy would be there also. This was an effort to avoid debate because no private conversation would change anything.

When one is aligned to the rightwing think-tank the National Endowment of Democracy and US State Department/US Congress initiative to empower trade unions they deem as democratic like ZCTU, this means it is them, not South African President Thabo Mbeki, who are Bush’s point people in Zimbabwe.

The work on the ground in Zimbabwe has unlimited potential because it has both a political and humanitarian dimension. A Brother and Sister Communication Campaign is at work, where a strategy has been developed to get different entities of the ruling party and Government to engage their counterparts in the US on the developments here in Zimbabwe.

This strategy is aimed at having the illegal sanctions imposed on the country and people lifted once and for all. We want to see Vice President Joice Mujuru dialogue with women like the godmother of the civil/human rights movement National Council of Negro Women president emeritus Dr Dorothy Height, Children’s Defence Fund director Dr Marian Wright Edelman and other women in national leadership positions in the US.

We feel that if African women in the US interact with Vice President Mujuru it automatically raises Zimbabwe’s profile the same way Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf played a role in giving her country much needed positive coverage and improved public relations.

The journalists in Zimbabwe who know that empowering anti-Government media through websites, opposition newspapers and international coverage is one of the focal points of the illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe can engage the leadership of the National Newspaper Publishers’ Association and the National Association of Black Journalists in order to ensure that the truth about the country is reported throughout the US.

The opposition newspapers will continue to ignore the pleas of the late Minister of Information and Publicity Ambassador Tichaona Jokonya and Zanu-PF Secretary of Information Dr Nathan Shamuyarira who urged these journalists to be more patriotic, because they are empowered by Zimbabwe’s enemies to do their bidding.

The Church leaders who have vowed to work with the Government to confront the nation’s challenges must begin to reach out to the Progressive Baptist National Convention, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, United Church of Christ, Nation of Islam and other numerous religious institutions to let them know they must not let wolves in sheep’s clothing like Bush impose their will on Zimbabwe.

A Martin Luther King Centre similar to the one in Cuba, can be built in Zimbabwe and help with food and clothes, HIV-Aids work and strategies to push for the sanctions to be lifted.

While it is great to see high profile ministers like Bishop Eddie Long come to Zimbabwe and commit themselves to being goodwill ambassadors between Zimbabwe House and White House in Washington, which is a noble gesture indeed, building an institution to generate maximum support will serve Zimbabwe better down the line.

The centre in Cuba scared Washington so much that the US State Department began terminating licences for churches ready to travel there.

The American Medical Students’ Association, the largest medical student group through their global Aids division, has agreed to co-sponsor a resolution showing that Zimbabwe being deprived of humanitarian aid to fight HIV/Aids on political grounds is a violation of human rights.

We are targeting the key medical groups in our community in the US like the Black Nurses’ Association, National Medical Association, National Black Leadership Commission on Aids, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People — the pioneering civil rights movement in the US) and Nation of Islam’s medical directors.

The resolution will go to the United Nations and World Health Organisation on Martin Luther King’s birthday. There are some people in the US who are now saying that too much energy has been invested in the fight against HIV and Aids in Africa and not enough around our challenges within the States.

This is an indirect ploy to divert attention from Zimbabwe because if you talk about the African continent, you have to discuss Southern Africa, which means you have to talk about the country making the most progress and highlight its political will and courage and attack anyone trying to undermine it.

Some discussions have begun about a major HIV and Aids concert in Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Information and Publicity, Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and National Aids Council.

Dialogue must begin with the Minister of Justice, Cde Patrick Chinamasa, and the National Conference of Black Lawyers for the purpose of developing a legal strategy to demonstrate how the attempted political siege of Zimbabwe by the Blair government and Bush administration is a violation of human rights.

The business community in Zimbabwe must reach out to the business groups in the US and explain the impact the sanctions have had on the economy and what economic potential the country has. This will demonstrate patriotism to the nation and also give the African community in the US exposure to businesspeople here who are patriotic.

The US State Department and US Embassy in Zimbabwe have embarked on a project to recruit students from Zimbabwe to go to the United States under the guise of offering them an opportunity of a lifetime. They are hoping to pollute their minds so they can assist in the efforts to demonise and isolate their country of birth to advance the US imperialist agenda in Zimbabwe.

How can the same State Department that on its website openly discourages US citizens from visiting Zimbabwe citing excessive violence as the reason, now come to host its youth as their guests under the guise of academic diplomacy? They seek to exploit the influence of imperialist popular culture plain and simple. The international solidarity work with the Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association and reviving the Zimbabwe-Palestinian work is also a high priority.

These are crucial links that will resurrect anti-imperialist resistance where it is dead in Africa and intensify it where it is strong.

When future generations of Africans read the history of Zimbabwe, the political value of the travelling that President Mugabe has undertaken to ensure the country was never misinterpreted through the eyes of its most hateful enemies must never be overlooked.

In September, he went to Cuba for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit. From there, he connected to New York for the United Nations General Assembly Summit which was symbolic, especially since outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan endorsed the President’s recommendation to make former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa the mediator between Britain and Zimbabwe.

President Mugabe’s presentations at the UN made one think of the story about David and Goliath in the Bible, because based on the applause he receives year after year, the slingshot never misses the target, which is usually the Siamese twins of imperialism — Blair and Bush — because of their dogmatism and intolerance towards Zimbabwe.

The President’s visits to Djibouti for the Comesa meeting, where he gave the best proposal for economic development, and his trip to Iran to meet his counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to develop plans for co-operation and partnership between the two nations.

The trip to China for the China-Africa Summit helped showcase the Look East Policy, which appears to be inspiring the entire continent of Africa at the same rapid pace the land reclamation programme did a few years back.

The President was recently in Sudan where he attended the African Caribbean and Pacific Summit that discussed partnership and bilateral relations, among other critical issues.

Zimbabwe’s determination should inspire everyone fighting on its behalf outside the country to intensify their efforts. Inside the US the Congressional Black Caucus, members must be aggressively challenged to change their votes on the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001.

This can be done by targeting the four CBC members who are on the Committee of International Relations — Congressmen Donald Payne and Gregory Meeks and their female counterparts Congresswomen Diane Watson and Barbara Lee.

The history of support and solidarity work in the US has helped many comrades in the world come to power. History now imposes the challenge on Africans worldwide to defend President Mugabe and the people of Zimbabwe, which means history will remember how we responded.

l The writer, Obi Egbuna, is a member of the Pan-African Liberation Organisation and Zimbabwe-Cuba Friendship Association.