How can MDC mobilise?
Yolande Taylor (Letters, June 8) gleefully follows the official South African line on Zimbabwe — that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is in disarray; its leadership is weak; that it seeks help from the West instead of building a constituency among Africans.
And then the inevitable mantra: it should make the effort to engage in dialogue with Zanu-PF (when even Thabo Mbeki cannot pin it down!).
With the average Zimbabwean preoccupied with sheer survival, intimidated and disempowered, and with more than four million refugees abroad, what popular base can a beleaguered opposition muster?
- The implicit comparison is between Zimbabwe and South Africa’s celebrated democratic transition.
- The South African struggle was against apartheid and white “colonial” rule. The struggle in Zim is against a liberation government gone rotten, which could escalate into a civil war.
- The South African transition was enabled by worldwide condemnation of apartheid and the unwavering support of the frontline states. The MDC faces a world distracted by a plethora of crises and an effective cordon sanitaire of SADC governments that tacitly support Zanu-PF.
- At Codesa, no one insisted that the apartheid government be recognised as legitimate. The MDC is required to recognise as democratically elected a corrupt government in power for 27 years, and which survived a potent electoral challenge in 2000 through violence, intimidation and fraud.
- For decades, the external ANC drummed up support worldwide, launching an armed struggle and finally a violent ungovernability campaign. The MDC is forced to wage the struggle democratically, captive to the violence of a ruthless regime, and then is condemned for seeking support outside the country.
The reality of Zimbabwe is a decline — of genocidal proportions — in life expectancy from over 60 years to 30 years, and the destruction of an economy and a country’s future. This cries out for political will and courage by those with the power to apply stern pressure.
The soul of Zimbabwe — and of Southern Africa — is at stake. An opposition can function effectively only within a meaningful democracy. — Balt Verhage, Bramley
Taylor’s ill-advised views suggest someone who has experienced Zimbabwe only through the eyes and ears of the media.
The Mugabe regime has created a military state that has no tolerance for any opposing force. That is evident from the number of oppositionists who have suffered at Zanu- PF’s hands.
The ruling party has become the law — either you are with it or you are eliminated. Intimidation has become the norm, and the blind loyalty by the security forces has rendered ordinary Zimbabweans helpless.
There can be no doubt that the MDC has the support of the masses, but because elections are not free and fair, they have been denied the right to vote for the government they want. How can Mugabe declare that an opposition leader will never be president? It is not his choice — it is the choice of the people!
Mugabe has imposed himself on Zimbabweans, and the MDC is quite right not to recognise him as Zimbabwe’s legitimate leader.
The MDC has to be commended for even being where it is now. It has survived all attempts to destroy it, and has intelligent, courageous people in its ranks who are willing to pay the price for a free Zimbabwe. — Max Kunta
Reading your online edition, I was appalled by Jorum Nyathi’s article “MDC — a failure to oppose”.
I am no Morgan Tsvangirai praise-singer, but I acknowledge the enormity of his task in facing a regime of medieval cruelty.
Mugabe is a power-hungry, bloodthirsty geriatric who wishes to sink the nation. Tsvangirai has provided the necessary flagship for opposition, but like a ship, the MDC needs a large and committed crew prepared to do anything to dislodge Mugabe’s demonic regime. — Jirihanga Mugadzaweta
India article a disservice
‘The whites were bad, the Indians were worse, but the Chinese are worst of all,” said Zambian politician Guy Scott in the Mail & Guardian article about India’s role in Africa (“India’s passage to Africa”, June 15).
Isn’t this the same Scott who served as a Cabinet minister while Frederick Chiluba robbed Zambia blind? The story goes that $500 000 went on white men’s suits and shoes. (Indian shoes and Chinese suits come cheap.)
But the real trick in the article was using Alex Vines, from the Royal Institute of International Relations in London, who provided formulaic poison, presented as analysis. One expects that from a British institute, but the M&G needs to serve its African audience better.
The interest India and China are showing in Africa raises myriad issues; and yes, Africa does need to be alert to the new game being played.
But if you were a punter, who would you put your money on? Remember — current form is no guarantee … — Rajan Soni
Broken telephones at Unisa
I appreciate the Mail & Guardian taking up the issue of the downgrading of posts indicated in the placement letters received by Unisa’s academic staff (June 15).
The letters amounted to a complete communication breakdown between Unisa’s “top management” and academic staff.
Unisa academics still do not know the consequences of signing the letters asking for acceptance or rejection of the downgrading. Agreeing could mean jeopardising any future wage increases; disagreeing may mean having to reapply for the same job, according to vice-principal Barney Erasmus’s unclear statement to the M&G.
I got a better understanding of this situation from the M&G article than from any of management’s communiqués. — Downgraded academic
Wild Coast pipe-dream
Xolco chair Nomangesi Malunga’s concerns about people along the Wild Coast having a right to decent jobs and a basic standard of living are commendable (Letters, June 8).
But he and his fellow directors should take a hard look at the supposed benefits Australian exploration mining company MRC will deliver to Wild Coast communities.
The mining operation itself will not create 575 direct jobs, but a maximum of 250 jobs over 25 years.
The other jobs will come from possible secondary industries, notably a proposed smelter. But the smelter will only be considered once mining is approved, under a separate feasibility study and environmental impact assessment.
Moreover, on the admission of John Barnes, general manager of Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources, MRC’s local subsidiary, consideration is also being given to siting the smelter at Coega or shipping ore to Durban for export.
Besides, where will the ore to keep the smelter going be mined once the Wild Coast operation is over?
Nor is there any guarantee that rehabilitation of the area is possible — that is currently being studied as part of the EIA process.
In addition, the MRC has given no guarantees about improving roads other than, one assumes, those needed for mining. Nor does it mention the possibility that homesteads may be relocated from the mining area.
The European Union has invested heavily in eco-tourism projects in the region, but the sum Malunga mentions was for projects along the entire Wild Coast.
Communities in the mining area have seen little benefit from these for many reasons, including mismanagement, misappropriation of funds and a rumoured conflict of interest and interference by previous Xolco directors in the community trust set up by the EU. Sitting on the trust’s board, they allegedly scuppered promising eco‒tourist initiatives to make mining seem more enticing.
Xolco should be careful. Its 26% shareholding is being financed through an MRC shareholder loan of $18-million, while MRC’s total consolidated book value is only $19-million. What returns will Xolco receive once the loan, plus interest, has been repaid? — Val Payn, Sustaining the Wild Coast, Harding
Backlash
The renaming of Durban’s Point Road after Mahatma Gandhi is a brilliant idea, and the backlash from the Indian community makes me despair. They seem to feel Gandhi’s association with the parts of our society that make us feel ashamed will take away from his legacy.
Point Road is indeed associated with prostitutes, drug dealers and criminals, but these are people whose souls are in need of healing.
After all, Gandhi tells us: “Man’s nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature.” — Sukhthi Naidoo, Cape Town
Gas is not a sustainable option
Kevin Davie succumbs to spin in “When motoring’s a gas” (June 15). It’s just not true that cars that run on natural gas are practically emissions free.
Emissions from vehicles that run on natural gas are lower than those that run on petroleum because of a higher energy content per unit mass and significantly lower energy consumption in extraction and processing.
But natural gas is undeniably a hydrocarbon. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide are lower, but its combustion produces carbon dioxide just like any other fossil fuel.
Given the need to curb greenhouse emissions, transport systems based on natural gas are not sustainable. To describe them as environmentally friendly is specious.
The only combustion system that could, in principle, be described as environmentally friendly would be one based on hydrogen, because water would be the only by-product. Unfortunately, feasible quantities of exploitable hydrogen are not naturally available. The production of hydrogen is energy-intensive, which still makes hydrogen-powered vehicles net carbon dioxide producers.
Hopefully though, as the source of bulk electricity becomes more carbon-neutral, this net production of carbon dioxide will be reduced, making vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel environmentally friendly. — Dr Chris Woolard, Cape Town
In brief
Lionel Mtshali’s complaint about the use of “comrade” by the KwaZulu-Natal legislature speaker, Willies Mchunu, is ridiculous. The word merely refers to people who are engaged in a common struggle. It is used throughout the country, including the National Assembly. Even members of Mtshali’s party, the IFP, refer to each other as comrades. — Cyril Xaba, ANC chief whip, KwaZulu-Natal legislature
If the ANC/SACP regime in South Africa has nothing else to contribute but one-sided venom against Israel, it should stay out of the Middle East. How dare they make aggressive demands on Israel when they have not even called on Hamas and other terrorist groups to end their attacks, to recognise Israel’s right to exist and to cease genocidal incitement? — Gary Selikow, Johannesburg
The Municipal Structures Act forbids political organisations from using ward committees as a resource, with the result that the ruling party has sole use of them, and active contributing members from other political persuasions are marginalised. Ward committees are not alleviating poor service delivery. This is because they are designed to maintain ruling party hegemony. — Titus Kgaphola, Azapo, Mamelodi
Congratulations to Tom Eaton for his portrayal of Noleen Maholwana-Sangqu, whose show is so bad that even Oprah couldn’t dish out a more banal and forgettable daily offering. — Michael Brett, Hartebeeshoek