Recently I attended meetings that left me wondering if Canada is really serious about doing business in Africa.
In all the meetings I detected a dearth of information on Africa as an investment destination and trade partner. I wonder what Canadian diplomats and companies already doing business in Africa are reporting back because it appears the government regards Africa in the mode of a hapless continent that can only be dealt with in terms of aid.
But if one cares to ask them, Africans will tell you that their priority is investment and trade.
A week ago I wrote about how CIDA could be abolished because it is considered to have failed to make a change in Africa and yet that determination is made without input from African beneficiaries.
Last Friday I attended a business roundtable discussion organized by the Canadian Council for Africa (CCA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFIAT).
It turned out that at a time when Europeans, Americans, Chinese and Indians are making a beeline to make business partnerships with Africa, Canada has reduced its incentives to businesses and is pulling out its commercial attaches.
This is because DFIAT lacks real time information on the business potential of Africa. For example, DFIAT has divided Sub-Sahara Africa into four investment and trade zones (south, east, west and north) with the main determinant being the availability of oil and minerals.
The zones show that DFIAT does not consider Africa a continent to do business with but a provider of resources.
It also shows that the department ignores information on the existence of investment and trade zones that Africa itself has set up under the African Union (AU). These are Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), East Africa Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
These groupings are used by the EU, China, the US and other investment and trade blocs to great rewards. Trying to circumvent these blocs will not help Canada and may actually be the reason Canadian businesses find it difficult to penetrate the African market because when they think they have satisfied requirements in one DFIAT zone, when they go from country to country they find different requirements they need to meet.
Another issue that came out in the meting was that DFIAT regards business related to education and health provision in Africa can only be provided under the humanitarian banner, hence its CIDA’s job.
Nothing could be far from the truth. Africa has long moved past the free education and health mode and investors from other countries are taking advantage, making a killing by opening up private institutions in Africa.
But DFIAT bureaucrats take orders from their political bosses. This is where the problem lies and it was articulated clearly at another meeting, on Saturday, which was called by Liberal MP, Keith Martin who is seeking support from Zimbabweans to re-launch his effort to have Mugabe indicted in Canadian courts as a war criminal.
Martin admitted that fellow politicians regard Zimbabwe and Africa in general as “a lost cause”, “a dead end”. I wonder whether the wars in Somalia and Sudan or civil unrest in Zimbabwe and other spots are enough for Canada to dismiss Africa totally like that or there is something else.
No matter, my point is that Africa is emerging as a business destination and Canada would best be advised to get involved or it will be left to rue the missed opportunity in a not so distant future.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Saturday, March 31, 2007
A NEW WOMEN'S ORGANISATION
I was about to sign off on my column for this week when new information landed in my inbox. Someone told me that a new Zimbabwean pressure group has been formed in Toronto and it is called the Empowered Women of Zimbabwe (EWOZ).
It is late at night here in Canada and its my deadline, so you will forgive me because I do not have enough details about this spanking new organisation except that it is chaired by a fellow journalist, Irene Mazvita Mlambo. I am not sure yet what the organisation stands for but I promise to let you know next week when I get a chance to talk to the chairlady or someone in the group.
For years Zimbabwe has been losing thousands of its professionals to other countries who have readily accepted them as value added to their economies. One such country is Canada where Zimbabweans, although they are relatively fewer than other nationals, are already making their mark in various professional sectors.
This did not escape the eye of the Ontario provincial ministry of labour which is repealing its labour laws to enhance the integration of foreign trained professionals into the economy.
The ministry has especially sought the input of Zimbabweans “because of their high level of education and professionalism” to draw up a new law that will be used in future. This naturally makes us Zim-Canucks proud but our pride is tempered by knowledge that this kind of recognition would have been more meaningful were we at home and being accepted by our own government. Anyway, as this process progresses, I will be updating you.
There is nothing that is more fulfilling than to have someone take your criticism as constructive and try to do the right thing. In the past I have been “trashing” the Toronto branch of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). I have said, factually, that they are ineffective, disorganised and directionless.
Well, I see some change already. On Saturday I attended a meeting they called with Liberal Member of Parliament, Keith Martin, who has been fighting a lone battle to have Mugabe indicted as a war criminal by the Canadian government. Martin has lost that battle so he is seeking Zimbabweans to give him the numbers he needs to relaunch the effort.
So, in Saturday’s meeting, the MDC supporters pledged to back him by marching on the Zimbabwean embassy in Ottawa on April 16th as a way to draw Canadian attention to Zimbabwe’s plight.
The last time they demonstrated here in Toronto, they sang Ishe Komborera Africa and told bystanders that it was the national anthem of Zimbabwe. When I and other people told them that Zimbabwe’s national anthem had long changed to Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe/Pakhamisa iFlag yeZimbabwe, they argued that it was a Zanu PF song. So, I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when it was announced that MDC members were learning the actual Zimbabwean anthem which they had now accepted to be theirs as Zimbabweans.
One member asked MP Martin to lobby the international community to allow Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to vote. Martin rightly answered that this issue is a constitutional matter that only Zimbabweans could determine.
However, that point was, to me, a sign of foresight on the part of the member. Some of us have long argued that if Mugabe could be forced to allow exiled Zimbabweans to vote and then make sure the elections were monitored more tightly than before, then this time next year, we could be talking of a new regime in the country. Food for thought.
Watch this space.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
It is late at night here in Canada and its my deadline, so you will forgive me because I do not have enough details about this spanking new organisation except that it is chaired by a fellow journalist, Irene Mazvita Mlambo. I am not sure yet what the organisation stands for but I promise to let you know next week when I get a chance to talk to the chairlady or someone in the group.
For years Zimbabwe has been losing thousands of its professionals to other countries who have readily accepted them as value added to their economies. One such country is Canada where Zimbabweans, although they are relatively fewer than other nationals, are already making their mark in various professional sectors.
This did not escape the eye of the Ontario provincial ministry of labour which is repealing its labour laws to enhance the integration of foreign trained professionals into the economy.
The ministry has especially sought the input of Zimbabweans “because of their high level of education and professionalism” to draw up a new law that will be used in future. This naturally makes us Zim-Canucks proud but our pride is tempered by knowledge that this kind of recognition would have been more meaningful were we at home and being accepted by our own government. Anyway, as this process progresses, I will be updating you.
There is nothing that is more fulfilling than to have someone take your criticism as constructive and try to do the right thing. In the past I have been “trashing” the Toronto branch of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). I have said, factually, that they are ineffective, disorganised and directionless.
Well, I see some change already. On Saturday I attended a meeting they called with Liberal Member of Parliament, Keith Martin, who has been fighting a lone battle to have Mugabe indicted as a war criminal by the Canadian government. Martin has lost that battle so he is seeking Zimbabweans to give him the numbers he needs to relaunch the effort.
So, in Saturday’s meeting, the MDC supporters pledged to back him by marching on the Zimbabwean embassy in Ottawa on April 16th as a way to draw Canadian attention to Zimbabwe’s plight.
The last time they demonstrated here in Toronto, they sang Ishe Komborera Africa and told bystanders that it was the national anthem of Zimbabwe. When I and other people told them that Zimbabwe’s national anthem had long changed to Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe/Pakhamisa iFlag yeZimbabwe, they argued that it was a Zanu PF song. So, I was pleasantly surprised on Saturday when it was announced that MDC members were learning the actual Zimbabwean anthem which they had now accepted to be theirs as Zimbabweans.
One member asked MP Martin to lobby the international community to allow Zimbabweans in the Diaspora to vote. Martin rightly answered that this issue is a constitutional matter that only Zimbabweans could determine.
However, that point was, to me, a sign of foresight on the part of the member. Some of us have long argued that if Mugabe could be forced to allow exiled Zimbabweans to vote and then make sure the elections were monitored more tightly than before, then this time next year, we could be talking of a new regime in the country. Food for thought.
Watch this space.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
ALL IS NOT WELL IN MDC-TORONTO
I told you from the beginning that in this column there will be no sacred cows. In that regard, this week I would like to talk a little bit of politics.
Like all other Zimbabweans elsewhere in the Diaspora, we, Zim-Canucks have two forms of political representation.
One is, obviously, the government, via the Zimbabwe embassy in Ottawa. Well, I have nothing much to say about Mrs. Chideya and her team except, of course, that they represent President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF and we all know what they stand for.
My focus today is on the executive of the Toronto branch of our main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. These guys’ style of leadership leaves a lot to be desired. They will not tolerate criticism whatsoever, and I should know because I have been vilified many times for calling a spade exactly what it is.
Some members of the leadership asked me to expose some of the things that are done by the executive of the branch and before I tell you some of these “vices” I need to say that I asked the chairman, Mr. Andrew Manyevere, not once, but twice. On both occasions I also told him I was asking in my capacity as a journalist and that I intended to write about it.
His response: “Some of the things you are saying are known only to my executive and the fact that you know them makes me believe you when you say members of my executive told you.
“We have problems, but like in any organization, we have channels to deal with those problems and that is what we are doing.”
Now, here are the problems that members complain about:
The first thing is that MDC-Toronto draws most of its membership from Zimbabweans seeking political asylum. Now, when any of them complain about one thing or another, they are quickly reminded that they can always leave the party but bearing in mind that if they do, they might not have a chance at the refugee board. I know that is very far from the truth.
Then there is the issue of officials who “misplace” or “borrow” party funds for personal use with the complicity of the executive. One wonders whether the MDC code of conduct allows this and if paying members are aware that their contributions are used as “soft” loans for executive members.
There are also squabbles about who should give out statements, when and how. In fact, one executive member said meetings called to discuss strategy to lobby for support in the fight against Zanu PF always end up discussing “mundane administration” issues.
In fact, the current executive was appointed in an interim capacity to prepare for the election of a substantive executive but my sources said some officials are strongly against relinquishing power. Curiously, the ones refusing to leave their posts are those who have either gone for refugee hearings and were denied or are still to appear before the refugee board.
Then there are some who are said to have earmarked themselves (or might have been promised by somebody in Harare) for ministerial posts when MDC takes power “soon” but they know that if new elections are held for the branch, they will be voted out and so they are refusing to let the elections be held.
Now, having said all that, I believe it is a very good thing to have MDC represented in the Diaspora, but the party may want to be certain of the people who lead this representation.
Nuff said. Right now I will just chill and wait for what I know is coming - more vilification from MDC-Toronto.
I wonder what they are going to call me this time around. Want to know too?
Watch this space.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Like all other Zimbabweans elsewhere in the Diaspora, we, Zim-Canucks have two forms of political representation.
One is, obviously, the government, via the Zimbabwe embassy in Ottawa. Well, I have nothing much to say about Mrs. Chideya and her team except, of course, that they represent President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu PF and we all know what they stand for.
My focus today is on the executive of the Toronto branch of our main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. These guys’ style of leadership leaves a lot to be desired. They will not tolerate criticism whatsoever, and I should know because I have been vilified many times for calling a spade exactly what it is.
Some members of the leadership asked me to expose some of the things that are done by the executive of the branch and before I tell you some of these “vices” I need to say that I asked the chairman, Mr. Andrew Manyevere, not once, but twice. On both occasions I also told him I was asking in my capacity as a journalist and that I intended to write about it.
His response: “Some of the things you are saying are known only to my executive and the fact that you know them makes me believe you when you say members of my executive told you.
“We have problems, but like in any organization, we have channels to deal with those problems and that is what we are doing.”
Now, here are the problems that members complain about:
The first thing is that MDC-Toronto draws most of its membership from Zimbabweans seeking political asylum. Now, when any of them complain about one thing or another, they are quickly reminded that they can always leave the party but bearing in mind that if they do, they might not have a chance at the refugee board. I know that is very far from the truth.
Then there is the issue of officials who “misplace” or “borrow” party funds for personal use with the complicity of the executive. One wonders whether the MDC code of conduct allows this and if paying members are aware that their contributions are used as “soft” loans for executive members.
There are also squabbles about who should give out statements, when and how. In fact, one executive member said meetings called to discuss strategy to lobby for support in the fight against Zanu PF always end up discussing “mundane administration” issues.
In fact, the current executive was appointed in an interim capacity to prepare for the election of a substantive executive but my sources said some officials are strongly against relinquishing power. Curiously, the ones refusing to leave their posts are those who have either gone for refugee hearings and were denied or are still to appear before the refugee board.
Then there are some who are said to have earmarked themselves (or might have been promised by somebody in Harare) for ministerial posts when MDC takes power “soon” but they know that if new elections are held for the branch, they will be voted out and so they are refusing to let the elections be held.
Now, having said all that, I believe it is a very good thing to have MDC represented in the Diaspora, but the party may want to be certain of the people who lead this representation.
Nuff said. Right now I will just chill and wait for what I know is coming - more vilification from MDC-Toronto.
I wonder what they are going to call me this time around. Want to know too?
Watch this space.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
GREETINGS FROM ZIM-CANUCKS
Fellow Zimbabweans, tino kumhoresai, siyalibingelela, wherever you are on God’s earth.
Did anybody hear what I heard? Some wise guy is said to have recommended to President Robert Mugabe to declare Australia, South Africa, Canada, the UK and US; virtual provinces of Zimbabwe and upgrade (or is it downgrade) our ambassadors and high commissioners in those countries to provincial governors.
I do not know if that is true, but in terms of Zimbabwean populations in those countries, such a suggestion would not be so crazy really. We all know, of course, that Zimbabwe is a nation asunder, its citizens driven abroad by professional deprivation, political persecution and in search of economic emancipation.
Life goes on among Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. People fall in and out of love, babies are born and given names like Sibonelo, students go to school without fear of being sent to Green Bomber camps, professionals try to make their dreams come true, people fall sick and die and we all contribute to our local communities.
We have opinions about what is happening back home and we also contribute towards the betterment of our own people and country through various means; sending money to family in Gokwe, joining political and social forums that debate issues back home and raising awareness about our national plight.
Today we introduce to you this column which will be a weekly feature in this newspaper. In this column you will read about your family, friends and just fellow Zimbabweans in the Great White North.
Canada is generally a quiet country with people who are very careful of what they say to the next person. It is often regarded as no one’s country because we all came from somewhere.
In Canada you see all colours of people, you hear all languages on earth and in the midst of this multicultural mosaic, Zimbabweans are thriving and contributing. We like to call ourselves Zim-Canucks just like Zimbabweans in Australia might want to call themselves Zim-Aussies.
Canuck is an endearing term Canadians are known with. According to Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia, Canuck was first recorded in 1835 to mean (ironically) Americanism.
However, we will always be Zimbabweans and this column will seek to advance our Zimbabweaness through our aspirations, desires and wishes as any people far away from home.
Each week we will give you substance on what is happening in our small world in a big and very cold country - it gets so cold here even cars freeze stiff in temperatures that can reach lows of -30 Degrees Celsius. We will tell you what we think and what we say about ourselves and our country. We will also tell you about what others think and say about us as a nation.
Generally Zimbabweans are regarded with respect here. We are better educated, we are largely humane and professional in our conduct and we often excel in what we do. However, we also get entangled in issues that affect everybody else; immigration matters and contentious matters of human relations.
Like in any big family, we also have our own rotten apples or black sheep who put our name in shame once in a while.
Well, as long as we know about it and we have the facts to back up any issue about Zim-Canucks, you will read it in this column because, in true journalism ethos, there will be no sacred cows.
We also invite you, to alert us to any issues that concern Zim-Canucks and we will be sure to discuss them on this column.
Watch this space.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Did anybody hear what I heard? Some wise guy is said to have recommended to President Robert Mugabe to declare Australia, South Africa, Canada, the UK and US; virtual provinces of Zimbabwe and upgrade (or is it downgrade) our ambassadors and high commissioners in those countries to provincial governors.
I do not know if that is true, but in terms of Zimbabwean populations in those countries, such a suggestion would not be so crazy really. We all know, of course, that Zimbabwe is a nation asunder, its citizens driven abroad by professional deprivation, political persecution and in search of economic emancipation.
Life goes on among Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. People fall in and out of love, babies are born and given names like Sibonelo, students go to school without fear of being sent to Green Bomber camps, professionals try to make their dreams come true, people fall sick and die and we all contribute to our local communities.
We have opinions about what is happening back home and we also contribute towards the betterment of our own people and country through various means; sending money to family in Gokwe, joining political and social forums that debate issues back home and raising awareness about our national plight.
Today we introduce to you this column which will be a weekly feature in this newspaper. In this column you will read about your family, friends and just fellow Zimbabweans in the Great White North.
Canada is generally a quiet country with people who are very careful of what they say to the next person. It is often regarded as no one’s country because we all came from somewhere.
In Canada you see all colours of people, you hear all languages on earth and in the midst of this multicultural mosaic, Zimbabweans are thriving and contributing. We like to call ourselves Zim-Canucks just like Zimbabweans in Australia might want to call themselves Zim-Aussies.
Canuck is an endearing term Canadians are known with. According to Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia, Canuck was first recorded in 1835 to mean (ironically) Americanism.
However, we will always be Zimbabweans and this column will seek to advance our Zimbabweaness through our aspirations, desires and wishes as any people far away from home.
Each week we will give you substance on what is happening in our small world in a big and very cold country - it gets so cold here even cars freeze stiff in temperatures that can reach lows of -30 Degrees Celsius. We will tell you what we think and what we say about ourselves and our country. We will also tell you about what others think and say about us as a nation.
Generally Zimbabweans are regarded with respect here. We are better educated, we are largely humane and professional in our conduct and we often excel in what we do. However, we also get entangled in issues that affect everybody else; immigration matters and contentious matters of human relations.
Like in any big family, we also have our own rotten apples or black sheep who put our name in shame once in a while.
Well, as long as we know about it and we have the facts to back up any issue about Zim-Canucks, you will read it in this column because, in true journalism ethos, there will be no sacred cows.
We also invite you, to alert us to any issues that concern Zim-Canucks and we will be sure to discuss them on this column.
Watch this space.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Sunday, December 17, 2006
MUGABE REFUSES TO GO
Guess who is back? You are right, me.
I am sorry to you, faithful readers of this blog. I know I have been awol for far too long. It is all for a good reason, I assure you. I am in the middle of something so exciting that you will all love me for it. Well, I hope.
Keep watching this space for the big announcement coming in a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, I may be lousy at predicting World Cup matches, but when it comes to Zimbabwean politics, I think I can crown myself a World Champion Predictor. Earlier this year I said Mugabe would not quit in 2008 and he would not call for elections.
Well, those of you who follow Zimbabwean news will know that Zanu PF completed its annual conference in Goromonzi with a resolution to postpone the presidential election, scheduled for 2008, to 2010.
They don't call him "Handiende" (I will not go) for nothing.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
I am sorry to you, faithful readers of this blog. I know I have been awol for far too long. It is all for a good reason, I assure you. I am in the middle of something so exciting that you will all love me for it. Well, I hope.
Keep watching this space for the big announcement coming in a couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, I may be lousy at predicting World Cup matches, but when it comes to Zimbabwean politics, I think I can crown myself a World Champion Predictor. Earlier this year I said Mugabe would not quit in 2008 and he would not call for elections.
Well, those of you who follow Zimbabwean news will know that Zanu PF completed its annual conference in Goromonzi with a resolution to postpone the presidential election, scheduled for 2008, to 2010.
They don't call him "Handiende" (I will not go) for nothing.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Saturday, December 02, 2006
SOUL INFLUENCIE GOING HOME
Soul Influence, my favorite musical group in North America is going him. Yes, the boys and girls of that melodious septet are going to Africa on a tour to both entertain and serve.
The group, which is inspired by the members’ Christianity, will visit Kenya and Zambia where they are sponsoring humanitarian projects. They have also adopted a son in Kenya; his name is Haron Meboi, from Kilgoris. Haron should be elated at the prospecting of seeing his seven parents.
From December 5th to December 22nd 2006, Soul Influence will be visiting and working in four projects that they support both directly and indirectly, in Zambia. They will visit and take medical and general hospital supplies to the Arthur Davidson Children's Hospital. In Kenya they will visit the Mully Children's Family, a rehabilitation institution for street children, the Mathare Street Children Rescue Centre.
The African tour concludes a series of 10 concerts under the theme: A Child at a Time. The tour kicked off in Red Deer and Calgary AB, on November 17th to November 19th. Today the group performs at Forest Grove United Church on 43 Forest Grove Drive, Toronto, M2K 1Z4 at 7:30pm.
They leave for Africa on Monday.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
The group, which is inspired by the members’ Christianity, will visit Kenya and Zambia where they are sponsoring humanitarian projects. They have also adopted a son in Kenya; his name is Haron Meboi, from Kilgoris. Haron should be elated at the prospecting of seeing his seven parents.
From December 5th to December 22nd 2006, Soul Influence will be visiting and working in four projects that they support both directly and indirectly, in Zambia. They will visit and take medical and general hospital supplies to the Arthur Davidson Children's Hospital. In Kenya they will visit the Mully Children's Family, a rehabilitation institution for street children, the Mathare Street Children Rescue Centre.
The African tour concludes a series of 10 concerts under the theme: A Child at a Time. The tour kicked off in Red Deer and Calgary AB, on November 17th to November 19th. Today the group performs at Forest Grove United Church on 43 Forest Grove Drive, Toronto, M2K 1Z4 at 7:30pm.
They leave for Africa on Monday.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Monday, November 27, 2006
STUPID FAT POLITICIANS
You know, there is something so abominable about fat politicians in a five star hotel at a prime tourist resort in a country whose economy they have plunder, meeting to discuss how to squeeze more out of its poor people.
I am talking about this past weekend's meeting between South African and Zimbabwean security ministers in Victoria Falls where they agreed to charge the thousands of Zimbabweans crossing the Limpopo legally to seek employment and/or visit relatives and friends.
Zimbabwean travellers now have to pay a security deposit of between $108 000 and $148 000 depending on the destination, have traveller’s cheques amounting to 1 000 rand and produce a letter of invitation, among other requirements.
Now, politicians have always been known to be dumb, but I did not know they would be this dumb.
Hey, those people you are charging more have already been paying you. I would have thought the meeting would seek solutions to the decades-old problem of border jumping - you know, those guys who swim across the river or bribe the border guards.
They are the ones who are flooding South Africa by the millions and they do not do it because they are daredevil who just want to see if they can cross the limpopo without being killed by crocodiles and hippos or being shot by border guards.
These are people who are fleeing human rights violations and are seeking employment in South Africa. These are people who need a solution so they don't risk their lives jumping the border. These are the people for whom meetings are supposed to be called and decisions made.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
I am talking about this past weekend's meeting between South African and Zimbabwean security ministers in Victoria Falls where they agreed to charge the thousands of Zimbabweans crossing the Limpopo legally to seek employment and/or visit relatives and friends.
Zimbabwean travellers now have to pay a security deposit of between $108 000 and $148 000 depending on the destination, have traveller’s cheques amounting to 1 000 rand and produce a letter of invitation, among other requirements.
Now, politicians have always been known to be dumb, but I did not know they would be this dumb.
Hey, those people you are charging more have already been paying you. I would have thought the meeting would seek solutions to the decades-old problem of border jumping - you know, those guys who swim across the river or bribe the border guards.
They are the ones who are flooding South Africa by the millions and they do not do it because they are daredevil who just want to see if they can cross the limpopo without being killed by crocodiles and hippos or being shot by border guards.
These are people who are fleeing human rights violations and are seeking employment in South Africa. These are people who need a solution so they don't risk their lives jumping the border. These are the people for whom meetings are supposed to be called and decisions made.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
WHAT DO WE DO??
It is now common knowledge that Canada will not indict President Robert Mugabe if he happens to come this side of ther world.
Federal Justice Minister, Vic Toews saw no compelling reason for parliament to pass a Bill to indict Mugabe under the crimes against humanity law. The reason? Whatever Mugabe's government is doing against the people of Zimbabwe is too remote for Canadians to lose sleep over.
This is despite that thousands of Zimbabweans have sought refuge here fleeing human rights atrocities back home. Early this month Zimbabwean human rights lawyer and torture victim, Gabriel Shumba was here to tell his story and lobby for the indictment. Another human rights lawyer, Arnold Tsunga was actually honoured here this month, for lobbying against the same human rights violations.
All those speeches, all those pleas, all those radio, televisions and newspaper interviews and graphic pictures, they produced nothing.
No, actually the decision by Canada saved the skin of Zimbabwean Ambassador to Canada, Florence Chideya, who welcomed the "obvious and expected outcome". She will be rewarded handsomely, I can assure you.
For the rest of us, I have a question that we should all answer: WHAT DO WE DO??
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Federal Justice Minister, Vic Toews saw no compelling reason for parliament to pass a Bill to indict Mugabe under the crimes against humanity law. The reason? Whatever Mugabe's government is doing against the people of Zimbabwe is too remote for Canadians to lose sleep over.
This is despite that thousands of Zimbabweans have sought refuge here fleeing human rights atrocities back home. Early this month Zimbabwean human rights lawyer and torture victim, Gabriel Shumba was here to tell his story and lobby for the indictment. Another human rights lawyer, Arnold Tsunga was actually honoured here this month, for lobbying against the same human rights violations.
All those speeches, all those pleas, all those radio, televisions and newspaper interviews and graphic pictures, they produced nothing.
No, actually the decision by Canada saved the skin of Zimbabwean Ambassador to Canada, Florence Chideya, who welcomed the "obvious and expected outcome". She will be rewarded handsomely, I can assure you.
For the rest of us, I have a question that we should all answer: WHAT DO WE DO??
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Monday, November 13, 2006
GREEN BOMBERS TO BECOME JOURNALISTS
News from Zimbabwe continues getting bad for journalists.
According to Zimbabwe News Online, last week a government appointed media regulating body, the Media and Information Commission (MIC) issued a directive to officials at Harare Polytechnic, which houses the School of Journalism, to accept only students who passed through the controversial national youth service training programme.
Many countries have some form of national service for their youths and that in itself is not a problem. The youths are taught the virtues of nationhood; they learn to help the needy and to appreciate their country, its history and sovereignty.
However, the youth national service in Zimbabwe is basically a politicization and military boot camp. It is managed by President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF party, administered by sworn Zanu PF members of the army, the war veterans and bona fide zealots. The message taught to the youths is simply “Zanu PF – Excellent, Anything else – Very Bad”. There is no reasoning, not justification.
At completion of the training, the youths would have been transformed into a well-drilled brutal propaganda-enforcing machine called the “Green Bombers”. The name “Green Bombers” is derived from the huge green housefly common in tropical regions. It is such a menace.
The Green Bomber flies with a buzz that resembles a First World War bomber, stings like a bee and spreads disease at a fast and deadly rate. The Zanu PF youths wear green uniforms, attack opposition members with deadly ferocity and have contributed to more killing and maiming of innocent Zimbabweans than the army, police, war veterans and secret police combined. Imagine a bunch of journalists with such qualities.
What boggles the mind is that Professor Tafataona Mahoso, a former head of the journalism school, leads the MIC. He is the one who issued the directive for journalists to undergo the youth service training.
This follows immediately after a directive from the president for security details to invade Internet cafes in an effort to ferret out journalists who keep supplying foreign media with stories like this one which Mugabe and his government consider “falsehoods”.
Hundreds of Zimbabwean journalists have been killed, jailed, maimed or exiled for reporting truths about the Zanu PF government’s undemocratic rule, its atrocious human rights record and its plunder of what used to be one of Africa’s best managed economies.
When will it end?
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
According to Zimbabwe News Online, last week a government appointed media regulating body, the Media and Information Commission (MIC) issued a directive to officials at Harare Polytechnic, which houses the School of Journalism, to accept only students who passed through the controversial national youth service training programme.
Many countries have some form of national service for their youths and that in itself is not a problem. The youths are taught the virtues of nationhood; they learn to help the needy and to appreciate their country, its history and sovereignty.
However, the youth national service in Zimbabwe is basically a politicization and military boot camp. It is managed by President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu PF party, administered by sworn Zanu PF members of the army, the war veterans and bona fide zealots. The message taught to the youths is simply “Zanu PF – Excellent, Anything else – Very Bad”. There is no reasoning, not justification.
At completion of the training, the youths would have been transformed into a well-drilled brutal propaganda-enforcing machine called the “Green Bombers”. The name “Green Bombers” is derived from the huge green housefly common in tropical regions. It is such a menace.
The Green Bomber flies with a buzz that resembles a First World War bomber, stings like a bee and spreads disease at a fast and deadly rate. The Zanu PF youths wear green uniforms, attack opposition members with deadly ferocity and have contributed to more killing and maiming of innocent Zimbabweans than the army, police, war veterans and secret police combined. Imagine a bunch of journalists with such qualities.
What boggles the mind is that Professor Tafataona Mahoso, a former head of the journalism school, leads the MIC. He is the one who issued the directive for journalists to undergo the youth service training.
This follows immediately after a directive from the president for security details to invade Internet cafes in an effort to ferret out journalists who keep supplying foreign media with stories like this one which Mugabe and his government consider “falsehoods”.
Hundreds of Zimbabwean journalists have been killed, jailed, maimed or exiled for reporting truths about the Zanu PF government’s undemocratic rule, its atrocious human rights record and its plunder of what used to be one of Africa’s best managed economies.
When will it end?
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Sunday, November 05, 2006
WATCH OUT FOR CODED LETTERS FROM ZIMBABWE
Last week reports from Harare said President Robert Mugabe had angrily instructed his security people to raid Internet cafes in the whole country to smoke out all the “traitors” allegedly using the Internet to spread “falsehoods” about Zimbabwe.
This is by no means news, it is just that what the Central Intelligency Organisation (CIO) was doing clandestinely now has the weight of presidential powers and is being done jojntly with the police, the army and other security agents.
Now, the real target of Mugabe's order are Zimbabwean journalists based in the country, who bravely defy all odds to tell the world of the atrocities being perpetrated by the Zanu PF government.
The government banned most foreign media organizations from operating in Zimbabwe; however, because of the nature of Internet technology, it cannot effectively ban journalists and other concerned citizens from sending out information by e-mail.
But this crackdown will not only affect journalists. Its real victims are ordinary Zimbabweans who find it cheaper to use e-mails to exchange information and pictures with their relatives in the Diaspora.
Now they will experience the indignity of having their mail opened and read by faceless people who will then use the information in the mail to keep tabs on them and, inevitably, harm them.
However, one thing Mugabe and his party did well despite everything, was to ensure a very high rate of education among Zimbabweans. Education necessitates innovation and soon Zimbabweans will come up with a way to beat the system, if they haven’t invented it already.
Just watch out for coded mail from Zimbabwe. It should be fun to read. Get this: Mother in rural Gokwe writing to son in Toronto;
"Oh, by the way, son, Gushungo's rogue oxen broke into our cattle pen the other night and gored all of my cows. I just hope you and your siblings will be able to do something to make sure Gushungo makes sure his oxen do not keep goring my cows."
Translation: "Oh, by the way, son, those good for nothing Zanu PF youths came to our village and beat up everyone. I hope you and your others out there can do something to rid us of Mugabe and his overzealous party."
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
This is by no means news, it is just that what the Central Intelligency Organisation (CIO) was doing clandestinely now has the weight of presidential powers and is being done jojntly with the police, the army and other security agents.
Now, the real target of Mugabe's order are Zimbabwean journalists based in the country, who bravely defy all odds to tell the world of the atrocities being perpetrated by the Zanu PF government.
The government banned most foreign media organizations from operating in Zimbabwe; however, because of the nature of Internet technology, it cannot effectively ban journalists and other concerned citizens from sending out information by e-mail.
But this crackdown will not only affect journalists. Its real victims are ordinary Zimbabweans who find it cheaper to use e-mails to exchange information and pictures with their relatives in the Diaspora.
Now they will experience the indignity of having their mail opened and read by faceless people who will then use the information in the mail to keep tabs on them and, inevitably, harm them.
However, one thing Mugabe and his party did well despite everything, was to ensure a very high rate of education among Zimbabweans. Education necessitates innovation and soon Zimbabweans will come up with a way to beat the system, if they haven’t invented it already.
Just watch out for coded mail from Zimbabwe. It should be fun to read. Get this: Mother in rural Gokwe writing to son in Toronto;
"Oh, by the way, son, Gushungo's rogue oxen broke into our cattle pen the other night and gored all of my cows. I just hope you and your siblings will be able to do something to make sure Gushungo makes sure his oxen do not keep goring my cows."
Translation: "Oh, by the way, son, those good for nothing Zanu PF youths came to our village and beat up everyone. I hope you and your others out there can do something to rid us of Mugabe and his overzealous party."
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
THE DEMISE OF "DIE GROOT KROKODIL"
I respect the adage "do not speak ill of the dead" but in the case of Pieter Willem Botha, the former apartheid president of South Africa, facts would seem like I do not wish his soul to rest in peace.
Those who know the history of Botha's rule in the 1980s will agree with me that the man simply known as "PW" by both his supporters and victims personified the evil of a racist regime.
During the peak of his rule, I was in high school in Zimbabwe. Due to colonial links between the two countries, what happened south of the Limpopo River affected us.
Zimbabwe had just won its independence from another white racist regime, that of of Ian Smith; however, because the new majority government of Robert Mugabe refused to kick the then jailed Nelson Mandela's African National Congress out of the country, Botha targeted
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, with a ferocity that could only be equated to that of a crocodile.
Fittingly, Botha was already known in Afrikaans as "Die Groot Krokodil" (The Great Crocodile). He is said to have liked the nickname, which was uttered in endearing ways by his supporters and in utter fear by the persecuted.
I was school in 1986 when Botha's ferocity was unleashed with staggering effects around the world. Sweden's anti-apartheid prime minister, Olof Palme, was assassinated and the plane carrying Mozambique's president, Samora Moises Machel, was shot down. Fingers were pointed at PW.
In Zimbabwe, ANC offices and safe houses in Harare and Bulawayo were bombed, killing the comrades of president Thabo Mbeki (who is now South Africa's president).
Fed up with seeing his backyard in Zimbabwe bombed at will by Botha's "birds of fire," Mugabe -- considered the toughest among all southern African leaders -- dared to challenge PW to a military duel along the Limpopo. It never happened.
Gossip making the rounds in Zimbabwe at the time was that Botha considered the invitation but was told by his generals that the Zimbabwe National Army was a small but mean machine, fired up by former guerrilla strategists who could beat the best conventional armies. I know the ZNA is mean, but that's all I know.
I also know "PW" was hated with a passion in Zimbabwe. Mugabe, ever the master of name-calling, got us all fired up with a daily dose of derogatory Shona names he gave Botha: "Chimbwasungata" (Mad Dog), "Chisveta Simba" (Blood Sucker) and "Mudzvanyiriri" (The Persecutor).
Musicians, too, took their best shot at the man with a permanent sneer. Zimbabwe's best known singer, Thomas Mapfumo (Canadians might remember him. He performed recently in Calgary and Toronto) produced one of his all-time hits whose main refrain was "Botha, Gandanga guru, ngaaurayiwe" (Botha, the biggest terrorist, must be killed).
Calypso king Eddie Grant mocked Botha with Johanna Gimme Hope, a worldwide hit that likened Botha to a mean woman who runs a country with such cruelty that her victims were forced to look up to her for salvation. Michael Jackson sang The Man in the Mirror.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Those who know the history of Botha's rule in the 1980s will agree with me that the man simply known as "PW" by both his supporters and victims personified the evil of a racist regime.
During the peak of his rule, I was in high school in Zimbabwe. Due to colonial links between the two countries, what happened south of the Limpopo River affected us.
Zimbabwe had just won its independence from another white racist regime, that of of Ian Smith; however, because the new majority government of Robert Mugabe refused to kick the then jailed Nelson Mandela's African National Congress out of the country, Botha targeted
Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, with a ferocity that could only be equated to that of a crocodile.
Fittingly, Botha was already known in Afrikaans as "Die Groot Krokodil" (The Great Crocodile). He is said to have liked the nickname, which was uttered in endearing ways by his supporters and in utter fear by the persecuted.
I was school in 1986 when Botha's ferocity was unleashed with staggering effects around the world. Sweden's anti-apartheid prime minister, Olof Palme, was assassinated and the plane carrying Mozambique's president, Samora Moises Machel, was shot down. Fingers were pointed at PW.
In Zimbabwe, ANC offices and safe houses in Harare and Bulawayo were bombed, killing the comrades of president Thabo Mbeki (who is now South Africa's president).
Fed up with seeing his backyard in Zimbabwe bombed at will by Botha's "birds of fire," Mugabe -- considered the toughest among all southern African leaders -- dared to challenge PW to a military duel along the Limpopo. It never happened.
Gossip making the rounds in Zimbabwe at the time was that Botha considered the invitation but was told by his generals that the Zimbabwe National Army was a small but mean machine, fired up by former guerrilla strategists who could beat the best conventional armies. I know the ZNA is mean, but that's all I know.
I also know "PW" was hated with a passion in Zimbabwe. Mugabe, ever the master of name-calling, got us all fired up with a daily dose of derogatory Shona names he gave Botha: "Chimbwasungata" (Mad Dog), "Chisveta Simba" (Blood Sucker) and "Mudzvanyiriri" (The Persecutor).
Musicians, too, took their best shot at the man with a permanent sneer. Zimbabwe's best known singer, Thomas Mapfumo (Canadians might remember him. He performed recently in Calgary and Toronto) produced one of his all-time hits whose main refrain was "Botha, Gandanga guru, ngaaurayiwe" (Botha, the biggest terrorist, must be killed).
Calypso king Eddie Grant mocked Botha with Johanna Gimme Hope, a worldwide hit that likened Botha to a mean woman who runs a country with such cruelty that her victims were forced to look up to her for salvation. Michael Jackson sang The Man in the Mirror.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Sunday, October 22, 2006
SOYINKA CAN WRITE, BUT CAN HE READ?
Friday night I went to hear one of my favourite writers, Nobel Winner Prof Wole Soyinka, arguably the best author to come out of Africa. He read from his latest book “You Must Set Forth at Dawn”.
Now, I have something to say about that. Not many people are multi-talented and much as Soyinka is an excellent writer, I did not enjoy his reading. His voice was flat; he missed certain words or phrases and had to go back several times.
It could have been his eyesight or lighting because he said so at some point anyway. Also, being the main attraction can become a disadvantage if you follow such immaculate under cards as the lovely Iranian Azar Nafisi (she of the internationally acclaimed bestseller, “Reading Lolita in Tehran”.
Be that as it may, I was really elated to be in the same room with my literary hero, Soyinka. I remember reading some of his earlier books when I was in school and wondering what he really looked like in person.
Then I saw his image on television a lot when he was being persecuted by the then dictator of Nigeria, Sani Abacha. So, it was fulfilling when I finally laid my eyes on that wispy white afro.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Now, I have something to say about that. Not many people are multi-talented and much as Soyinka is an excellent writer, I did not enjoy his reading. His voice was flat; he missed certain words or phrases and had to go back several times.
It could have been his eyesight or lighting because he said so at some point anyway. Also, being the main attraction can become a disadvantage if you follow such immaculate under cards as the lovely Iranian Azar Nafisi (she of the internationally acclaimed bestseller, “Reading Lolita in Tehran”.
Be that as it may, I was really elated to be in the same room with my literary hero, Soyinka. I remember reading some of his earlier books when I was in school and wondering what he really looked like in person.
Then I saw his image on television a lot when he was being persecuted by the then dictator of Nigeria, Sani Abacha. So, it was fulfilling when I finally laid my eyes on that wispy white afro.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
THE RETURN OF THE OLD GENERALS
Zimbabwean journalism saw the return of two old generals this past week. My former boss and mentor at the real, but now defunct Zimbabwe Inter-Africa News Agency (Ziana), Henry Muradzikwa was called back by the government to head the perennially unstable Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (now known as the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings).
His old colleague at Zimbabwe Newspapers Group, former Daily News Editor-In-Chief, Geoffrey Nyarota started his own Internet newspaper also this past week.
I do not know how long Muradzikwa will last at ZBC, given that none of his predecessors have lasted long enough to mean anything at an organization that is really run from Munhumutapa House.
However, one thing I know is that Muradzikwa is not a pushover. He gives as much as he gets and I believed him when he said: “It will not be business as usual” at Pockets Hill.
Nyarota is known for kicking political backsides and now that his new venture, http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/, is web-based (thus no bombs on his press and no Mahoso and his gang lurking around), I personally expect some serious kicking.
Good luck to you gentlemen. You led the way for us before; let’s see if you still have it. We will be watching.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
His old colleague at Zimbabwe Newspapers Group, former Daily News Editor-In-Chief, Geoffrey Nyarota started his own Internet newspaper also this past week.
I do not know how long Muradzikwa will last at ZBC, given that none of his predecessors have lasted long enough to mean anything at an organization that is really run from Munhumutapa House.
However, one thing I know is that Muradzikwa is not a pushover. He gives as much as he gets and I believed him when he said: “It will not be business as usual” at Pockets Hill.
Nyarota is known for kicking political backsides and now that his new venture, http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/, is web-based (thus no bombs on his press and no Mahoso and his gang lurking around), I personally expect some serious kicking.
Good luck to you gentlemen. You led the way for us before; let’s see if you still have it. We will be watching.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Sunday, October 15, 2006
JOIN ME ON AFRICAFILES.ORG
Last week I joined AfricaFiles, a network of people committed to Africa through its promotion of human rights, economic justice, African perspectives and alternative analyses.
AfricaFiles was launched in 2002. My volunteer job with the group is to post current reports on Zimbabwe, particularly those highlighting human rights concerns.
So, why don’t you visit http://www.africafiles.org/ to read all about Africa? It is such a very informative ride, let’s enjoy it together.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
AfricaFiles was launched in 2002. My volunteer job with the group is to post current reports on Zimbabwe, particularly those highlighting human rights concerns.
So, why don’t you visit http://www.africafiles.org/ to read all about Africa? It is such a very informative ride, let’s enjoy it together.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
MUGABE MUST HAVE ORDERED GAG ON SABC
Recent events in the South African media may surprise many, not me. I knew a high profile gag on members of the press in a country considered a bastion of democracy in a continent fraught with dictatorships and tyranny was just but a matter of time. www.zwnews.com
For those slow to catch up with news from south of the Sahara, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has blacklisted a number of South African and Zimbabwean media personalities who had developed a habit of criticizing President Mbeki and his Zimbabwean mentor, President Robert Mugabe.
Among the blacklisted are independent political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi; the author of a book on Mbeki, William Gumede; and Business Day staff members Vukani Mde and Karima Brown. Others are Zimbabwe’s own media magnate Trevor Ncube and Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube.
These commentators have been criticizing the Mugabe regime and of late, they have been snipping at Mbeki’s conciliatory policies towards Harare.
This is a very serious matter. South Africa is a respected country in the whole world and so is Mbeki’s administration. It is, therefore, such a let down to hear that the government-controlled SABC is being muzzled like that. What a shame.
Thank God, the judiciary in South Africa still works. This morning Johannesburg High Court Judge Zukiswa Tshiqi dismissed with costs the SABC's application to have the Mail & Guardian Online remove a report on the blacklisting of the analysts and commentators by the broadcaster.
"I don't believe that it is okay to suppress information or to hide information written in the report," the judge told the court.
When I got this latest development, I almost jumped up with joy, but then, I checked myself quickly. In Zimbabwe it started like that. The government muzzling the press and the judiciary intervening until the muzzle was placed on the men with the Victorian wigs. I have a feeling SA is going down the same road.
But, like I said, it is not surprising. This is Africa after all and here is how it works in African politics. “Respect Thy Elders” is a term taken so seriously and then perverted to give a picture of holiness to those elders. There is also, Ziva kwawakabva “remember where you came from”.
So, following this norm, Mugabe must have called Mbeki and say: “Hey Thabo, what is this I hear that you allow some loud mouths to trash me in your backyard?”
Mbeki: “Well Mdala, I am sorry but there is not much I can do. There is what is called democracy and freedom of speech here. I am kinda helpless.”
Mugabe: “Is that the renaissance nonsense you have been preaching? I can tolerate trashing from Madiba because he is my elder. Where is your ubuntu? I am your elder and need I remind you of your time in exile here. How many fires did I extinguish when they were about to consume your corrupt ANC backside?”
Mbeki: “I am on it Mdala.” And within no time, orders are flying all over SABC to ban so and so, from saying anything anti-Mugabe.
It is not the first time this has happened in southern Africa. In Mozambique they do not say anything bad about Mugabe, lest Chissano and his successors will be reminded who propped them when rebel leader Alfonso Dhlakama was on the verge of taking Maputo.
In Tanzania, respected fellow journalist and former president, Benjamin Mkapa has it on record that he will not be seen criticizing Mugabe and following the “Respect Thy Elder” rule, neither will his successor Kikwete and their media.
Other countries are just in awe of Mugabe they would not dare say anything other than sing his praises and we wonder why Mugabe is not leaving his throne?
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
For those slow to catch up with news from south of the Sahara, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has blacklisted a number of South African and Zimbabwean media personalities who had developed a habit of criticizing President Mbeki and his Zimbabwean mentor, President Robert Mugabe.
Among the blacklisted are independent political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi; the author of a book on Mbeki, William Gumede; and Business Day staff members Vukani Mde and Karima Brown. Others are Zimbabwe’s own media magnate Trevor Ncube and Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube.
These commentators have been criticizing the Mugabe regime and of late, they have been snipping at Mbeki’s conciliatory policies towards Harare.
This is a very serious matter. South Africa is a respected country in the whole world and so is Mbeki’s administration. It is, therefore, such a let down to hear that the government-controlled SABC is being muzzled like that. What a shame.
Thank God, the judiciary in South Africa still works. This morning Johannesburg High Court Judge Zukiswa Tshiqi dismissed with costs the SABC's application to have the Mail & Guardian Online remove a report on the blacklisting of the analysts and commentators by the broadcaster.
"I don't believe that it is okay to suppress information or to hide information written in the report," the judge told the court.
When I got this latest development, I almost jumped up with joy, but then, I checked myself quickly. In Zimbabwe it started like that. The government muzzling the press and the judiciary intervening until the muzzle was placed on the men with the Victorian wigs. I have a feeling SA is going down the same road.
But, like I said, it is not surprising. This is Africa after all and here is how it works in African politics. “Respect Thy Elders” is a term taken so seriously and then perverted to give a picture of holiness to those elders. There is also, Ziva kwawakabva “remember where you came from”.
So, following this norm, Mugabe must have called Mbeki and say: “Hey Thabo, what is this I hear that you allow some loud mouths to trash me in your backyard?”
Mbeki: “Well Mdala, I am sorry but there is not much I can do. There is what is called democracy and freedom of speech here. I am kinda helpless.”
Mugabe: “Is that the renaissance nonsense you have been preaching? I can tolerate trashing from Madiba because he is my elder. Where is your ubuntu? I am your elder and need I remind you of your time in exile here. How many fires did I extinguish when they were about to consume your corrupt ANC backside?”
Mbeki: “I am on it Mdala.” And within no time, orders are flying all over SABC to ban so and so, from saying anything anti-Mugabe.
It is not the first time this has happened in southern Africa. In Mozambique they do not say anything bad about Mugabe, lest Chissano and his successors will be reminded who propped them when rebel leader Alfonso Dhlakama was on the verge of taking Maputo.
In Tanzania, respected fellow journalist and former president, Benjamin Mkapa has it on record that he will not be seen criticizing Mugabe and following the “Respect Thy Elder” rule, neither will his successor Kikwete and their media.
Other countries are just in awe of Mugabe they would not dare say anything other than sing his praises and we wonder why Mugabe is not leaving his throne?
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http:/www.africafiles.org/zimbabwe.asp
http://www.jexcanada.com/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
SEE THE ZIMBABWE POLICE IN ACTION
If anybody ever doubted reports of police brutality in Zimbabwe, here is visual and audio proof, courtesy of my homeboy Lance Guma and his colleagues at SWRadioAfrica.
I do not want to take credit for the sterling work done by Guma and others, but I am sure they won't mind me spreading this further. I do not know how they got the footage and smuggled it out of Zimbabwe. Frankly, in the interest of protecting the innocent, I don't want to know.
Before you click on the http://www.swradioafrica.com/ link (scroll down to the article: ZCTU demo video of beatings and interviews) to watch President Robert Mugabe's boys inaction, here is some background.
Leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and its allied worker and civic organizations, organized a peaceful demonstration, on August 13, to highlight the suffering of people under the corrupt economic regime of the Zanu PF government.
Well, go ahead and take a 15-minute break from whatever you are doing and see what our police department does well.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
If the links fail to open please let me know. __._,_.___
I do not want to take credit for the sterling work done by Guma and others, but I am sure they won't mind me spreading this further. I do not know how they got the footage and smuggled it out of Zimbabwe. Frankly, in the interest of protecting the innocent, I don't want to know.
Before you click on the http://www.swradioafrica.com/ link (scroll down to the article: ZCTU demo video of beatings and interviews) to watch President Robert Mugabe's boys inaction, here is some background.
Leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and its allied worker and civic organizations, organized a peaceful demonstration, on August 13, to highlight the suffering of people under the corrupt economic regime of the Zanu PF government.
Well, go ahead and take a 15-minute break from whatever you are doing and see what our police department does well.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
If the links fail to open please let me know. __._,_.___
Monday, October 09, 2006
SHE WENT, SHE SAW AND SHE WEPT
Yes, one Evelyn Brown of the Global African Congress (GAC), some obscure Pan-African organization based in Canada, is said to have wept for her beloved Zimbabwe.
The story, as told by the Zanu PF government-controlled newspaper, The Herald, last week, is that, Ms Brown was part of a team that traveled to Zimbabwe to see for itself the reported human rights violations by the government of Zimbabwe.
Suspiciously though, the group was hosted by the same government whose persecution of the innocent it had come to investigate. The government officials took the group supposedly to see houses being built by the government under the so-called Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle.
The said operation is government’s feeble attempt to provide proper housing to more than 700 000 people it rendered homeless last year when it embarked on Operation Murambatsvina/Clear Filth, euphemism for ridding the urban centres of most of the opposition’s supporters.
So, we are told, Ms Brown openly wept after realizing that what she sees and reads in the western Press is totally different from what obtains on the ground."I am glad to be home. I am glad to be seeing all these good things," she said, according to The Herald.
Frankly, I want to believe that the reporter got it wrong. Ms Brown must have been crying that she had seen for herself how the western press actually down played the atrocious living conditions of the Zimbabweans, not the other way round.
I mean, the evidence was clearly there for her to see. She and her group were taken around by the enemy of the people who made efforts to show the group what it has done, which is nothing.
In Herald speak; Acting director of works for Harare City, James Chiyangwa said council organized people into cooperatives and sold them land on which to build. The cooperatives would build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer reticulation. But because of economic problems, the city had decided people could service land on their own. In ordinary language; The group was shown bare land, which was intended to be sold to the displaced people (who have no jobs and no money) and then the people were supposed to develop that land on their own. Talk about giving a dead body a shovel to dig its own grave.
At this moment, Ms Brown, having realized that the people would remain poor and homeless for a long time if not forever, she broke down and cried.
The antics of Ms Brown and her group remind me of another group from Harlem called the 12th of December Movement. Those of my generation might remember Cde Chimurenga and sister Violet, the only two members of the group as far as I was concerned. A rather shifty two-some if you ask me. They always came to attend Zanu PF conferences and give solidarity speeches, on whose behalf I never got to know.
With thanks to my sister Eunice Mafundikwa.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
The story, as told by the Zanu PF government-controlled newspaper, The Herald, last week, is that, Ms Brown was part of a team that traveled to Zimbabwe to see for itself the reported human rights violations by the government of Zimbabwe.
Suspiciously though, the group was hosted by the same government whose persecution of the innocent it had come to investigate. The government officials took the group supposedly to see houses being built by the government under the so-called Operation Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle.
The said operation is government’s feeble attempt to provide proper housing to more than 700 000 people it rendered homeless last year when it embarked on Operation Murambatsvina/Clear Filth, euphemism for ridding the urban centres of most of the opposition’s supporters.
So, we are told, Ms Brown openly wept after realizing that what she sees and reads in the western Press is totally different from what obtains on the ground."I am glad to be home. I am glad to be seeing all these good things," she said, according to The Herald.
Frankly, I want to believe that the reporter got it wrong. Ms Brown must have been crying that she had seen for herself how the western press actually down played the atrocious living conditions of the Zimbabweans, not the other way round.
I mean, the evidence was clearly there for her to see. She and her group were taken around by the enemy of the people who made efforts to show the group what it has done, which is nothing.
In Herald speak; Acting director of works for Harare City, James Chiyangwa said council organized people into cooperatives and sold them land on which to build. The cooperatives would build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer reticulation. But because of economic problems, the city had decided people could service land on their own. In ordinary language; The group was shown bare land, which was intended to be sold to the displaced people (who have no jobs and no money) and then the people were supposed to develop that land on their own. Talk about giving a dead body a shovel to dig its own grave.
At this moment, Ms Brown, having realized that the people would remain poor and homeless for a long time if not forever, she broke down and cried.
The antics of Ms Brown and her group remind me of another group from Harlem called the 12th of December Movement. Those of my generation might remember Cde Chimurenga and sister Violet, the only two members of the group as far as I was concerned. A rather shifty two-some if you ask me. They always came to attend Zanu PF conferences and give solidarity speeches, on whose behalf I never got to know.
With thanks to my sister Eunice Mafundikwa.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
ARCHBISHOP PRAYS FOR PRESIDENT TO DIE
On my way to work this morning I was listening to CBC Radio One when none other than our Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube came on.
He was a special guest on the Current, a news magazine program and, of course, he was talking about the political and economic problems in Zimbabwe and, yes, he had strong words for President Robert Mugabe.
It has been more than six years since I last heard the Archbishop talk but I have always been up-to-date with his fiery attacks on Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies.
Now, here is a guy who has his facts right, is consistent with his message about the injustices being perpetrated on the people of Zimbabwe and does not make apologies for his “naked” hatred of Mugabe.
During the Current interview, which was taped recently in Ottawa, Archbishop Pius was asked if it was true that he once said he was praying for Mugabe to die.
“Yes.”
Does he still feel that way and still pray that the president dies?
“Definitely”
As a priest, is that the right thing to do, you know, pray for someone to die?
“In this case, yes.”
Okay, I was driving so I did not take down his answers and justifications word for word, but the answers above are a summary of what he said.
He likened Mugabe to the Biblical Egyptian Pharaoh who persecuted the Israelites or, closer to home, Hitler who killed millions of Jews. After all Mugabe’s nickname is Black Hitler.
Personally, I agree with the Archbishop that Mugabe has shamelessly presided over the killing, jailing, maiming, exiling and starving of Zimbabweans. Most likely a lot of us are praying for Mugabe’s death, but being so open about it may not be such a brave thing.
After all, in Zimbabwe, if you wish death on someone, whenever they do die (an 82-year-old man can demise any day) fingers will be pointed at you.
My solution? Just pray, pray and pray hard for God to guide our nation out of its quagmire. If that comes out of Mugabe’s death, well…
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
He was a special guest on the Current, a news magazine program and, of course, he was talking about the political and economic problems in Zimbabwe and, yes, he had strong words for President Robert Mugabe.
It has been more than six years since I last heard the Archbishop talk but I have always been up-to-date with his fiery attacks on Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies.
Now, here is a guy who has his facts right, is consistent with his message about the injustices being perpetrated on the people of Zimbabwe and does not make apologies for his “naked” hatred of Mugabe.
During the Current interview, which was taped recently in Ottawa, Archbishop Pius was asked if it was true that he once said he was praying for Mugabe to die.
“Yes.”
Does he still feel that way and still pray that the president dies?
“Definitely”
As a priest, is that the right thing to do, you know, pray for someone to die?
“In this case, yes.”
Okay, I was driving so I did not take down his answers and justifications word for word, but the answers above are a summary of what he said.
He likened Mugabe to the Biblical Egyptian Pharaoh who persecuted the Israelites or, closer to home, Hitler who killed millions of Jews. After all Mugabe’s nickname is Black Hitler.
Personally, I agree with the Archbishop that Mugabe has shamelessly presided over the killing, jailing, maiming, exiling and starving of Zimbabweans. Most likely a lot of us are praying for Mugabe’s death, but being so open about it may not be such a brave thing.
After all, in Zimbabwe, if you wish death on someone, whenever they do die (an 82-year-old man can demise any day) fingers will be pointed at you.
My solution? Just pray, pray and pray hard for God to guide our nation out of its quagmire. If that comes out of Mugabe’s death, well…
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
Monday, September 25, 2006
I SAID IT, DIDN'T I?
Regular readers of this blog will remember that I predicted that President Robert Mugabe will not relinguish power and that presidential elections due in 2008 would be pushed off to 2010.
Well, if anybody doubted me, news from Harare this week that infact that is what is going to happen vindicates me, as it were. Need I say more??
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
Well, if anybody doubted me, news from Harare this week that infact that is what is going to happen vindicates me, as it were. Need I say more??
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
ZIM FARMERS GO TO GHANA, RESULT OF STUPIDITY
Reports that Zimbabwean white farmers are finding new homes and land to till in Ghana and Nigeria are not surprising but outright sad.
Look, I am a black Zimbabwean and I know too well the arrogance and oppressive nature of some of the white farmers I grew up seeing and sometimes interacting with.
But if the truth be told, they were the driving force behind Zimbabwe's robust economy. All anybody needed to do was just teach them some virtues of respecting human rights. Chasing them out of the country was the worst mistake.
Now Zimbabwe, a country once known as the bread basket of Southern Africa, is now the begging bowl of the region, all because our leaders decided to play up their own stupid arrogance on the expense of 12 million people.
As a result, our people are starving when our farmers are now filling the stomachs of Ghanaians, Nigerians, Mozambicans, South Africans and so on. Stupid, stupid, stupid I say.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
Look, I am a black Zimbabwean and I know too well the arrogance and oppressive nature of some of the white farmers I grew up seeing and sometimes interacting with.
But if the truth be told, they were the driving force behind Zimbabwe's robust economy. All anybody needed to do was just teach them some virtues of respecting human rights. Chasing them out of the country was the worst mistake.
Now Zimbabwe, a country once known as the bread basket of Southern Africa, is now the begging bowl of the region, all because our leaders decided to play up their own stupid arrogance on the expense of 12 million people.
As a result, our people are starving when our farmers are now filling the stomachs of Ghanaians, Nigerians, Mozambicans, South Africans and so on. Stupid, stupid, stupid I say.
TO READ MORE OF MY WRITING, PLEASE VISIT; www.torontosun.ca/News/Columnists/Madawo_Innocent/
http://www.catholicregister.org/
http://www.durdesh.net/issue002/page24.pdf
http://www.canadiannewcomermagazine.org/
http://www.thecanadian.ca/
http://www.zimcanada.com/
http://www.jexcanada.com/
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