January 4, 2009.

FLASHBACK 2008

The year 2008 has been the most difficult year in Zimbabwe's post-Independence history despite the year opening with hope for a permanent political solution to spur socio-economic revival. The country's decade-long crisis has deepened with the majority of people wallowing in abject poverty in a country with an economy which was previously one of the most developed in Africa.

January 2008.

The year started with the annual inflation figure for January 2008 at 100,580.2% but independent economic analysts and financial institutions - including the IMF - estimated the figure at over 150,000%.

The original Media and Information Commission (MIC) ceased to exist on January 11 when Robert Mugabe signed amendments to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Aippa) and the Public Order Security Act (POSA).

But on January 25, Robert Mugabe unilaterally proclaimed the harmonised elections' date amounting to a ZANU (PF) repudiation of the SADC dialogue. ZANU (PF) and the two MDCs had agreed on a transitional constitution, but it was never adopted after Mugabe unilaterally declared March 29 the day for the harmonised polls and insisted that a new supreme law should be crafted after the elections. The two MDC formations wanted the elections to be held in June.

February 2008.

On February 5, ZANU (PF) was shaken when former Finance Minister and Politburo member, Simba Makoni, broke ranks with the party and announced his presidential ambitions. Veteran nationalist Dumiso Dabengwa, a former ZAPU luminary and its intelligence supremo, quit ZANU (PF), saying he would support Simba Makoni. Former Speaker of Parliament, Cyril Ndebele, also came out in support of Makoni's ambition.

Makoni was an option emerging to challenge Mugabe from the same stable that has presided over the collapse of Zimbabwe's once vibrant economy, inadvertently rendering him culpable by association in the process. It became apparent that the agenda of Makoni and his cabal of handlers was not to change the status quo but to change the presiding officer of the blundering regime before it sinks.

Those in the Arthur Mutambara faction of the MDC who rushed to lend support to the Makoni façade did so without a clear appreciation of the undercurrents driving the factional project. It was therefore not surprising that when Mutambara made his infantile overture to Makoni he was snubbed. The game was "strictly ZANU (PF) members only", which is also why Makoni's project did not appeal to the masses.

There was a strike avalanche by civil servants sparked by the discovery that Robert Mugabe had secretly used a presidential decree to order huge salary increases - Z$1.2 billion for low end privates and up to Z$3 billion for their superiors in the police and military. Most civil servants were taking home between Z$300 million and Z$600 million per month.

The move was criticized as a form of bribery, intended to buy their royalty during the crucial elections on March 29. But it also backfired because it fuelled inflation. This resulted in printing notes for which there were very few products to buy.

The newly constituted Media and Information Commission (MIC) banned award-winning Zimbabwean journalist, Brian Hungwe, from practising journalism in the country. Hungwe was accused of violating a section of Aippa which requires that a representative office of a foreign mass media service must obtain permission from the media regulator before setting up in Zimbabwe. Hungwe's story dated back to 2006 when he was approached by the BBC to be their correspondent in Harare.

March 2008.

Annual inflation soared to 355,000%. The paralysing rise in money supply has been a major contributory factor to rising inflation. Food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the major drivers of inflation in March. The central bank has never denied that it has been printing money to fund some of the country's critical supplies.

The huge rise in inflation has also in part been attributed to the depreciation of the Zimbabwe dollar on the inter-bank foreign exchange markets. Since the floatation of exchange rates, the Zimbabwe dollar has been depreciating by an average of 20% daily due to sustained pressure on an unsupported market. The parallel market has been ferociously resurgent, with the interbank market playing a catch-up game.

For the first time in Zimbabwe's electoral history, the March 29 results were posted at every polling station throughout the country. At one polling station in Highfield in Harare, where Mugabe and his wife had cast their votes, it was reported that Mugabe received two (2) votes against Tsvangirai's 83. The electorate made a resolute decision to dump Mugabe on March 29 although he had abused state resources to the maximum to give himself and his party an unfair advantage.

This did not go without a prize - more than 80 MDC followers were murdered, more than 200 missing and more than 25,000 were beaten, tortured and displaced from their homes. In addition, nearly 8,000 homes were torched.

April 2008.

After five weeks of counting, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission finally released the elections results. The results clearly show that the biggest loser was Mugabe as he lost big not only to Tsvangirai but also to the MDC. For the first time since Independence, ZANU (PF) lost its parliamentary majority to the opposition. The mainstream MDC won 100 seats against ZANU (PF)'s 99 and the MDC-Mutambara's 10. The other seat went to independent legislator Jonathan Moyo.

The whole MDC-Mutambara leadership was trounced by the leading MDC. A good number of sitting ZANU (PF) MPs, including such ministers as Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Farm Mechanisation Minister Joseph Made, Oppah Muchinguri - Women's Affairs and Gender Minister and head of the ZANU (PF) women's league, Energy Minister Mike Nyambuya and Mines Minister Amos Midzi, lost to the MDC juggernaut.

Even going by the fixed official results, Morgan Tsvangirai got 1,195,562 votes (47.9%) against Robert Mugabe's 1,079,730 ballots (43.2%) of the total valid vote cast.

Simba Makoni, who stood as an independent, took 207,470 votes or 8.3% of total ballots cast while another independent candidate, Langton Towungana, polled 14,503 votes equal to 0.6%. Total percentage poll stood at 42.7% of the 5,605,204 registered voters.

Immediately after the release of the presidential election results, a source in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces leaked details of the deployment, on April 8, of a total of 200 senior serving military officers to participate in Operation Makavhoterapapi (Where Did You Put Your Cross) in preparation for the presidential run-off election slotted for June.

Government domestic debt stood at Z$10.5 quadrillion as of April 1. This is financed mainly through borrowing and money printing, thus, fuelling money supply growth and inflation. The official money supply figure for April was 420,867.4%. The regime's huge appetite for cash spurred increased money printing, pushing money supply growth upwards. The Reserve Bank has kept the lid on the money supply (M3) figures. Economic analysts said the figure could be nearing 500 million percent by December as the central bank governor, Gideon Gono, continued to introduce new denomination notes.

May 2008.

The Reserve Bank relaxed the foreign exchange policy by introducing the interbank forex market. This development received a fair dosage of approval only to be widely condemned after reports that the rates were managed by the central bank. As a result, the new exchange rate regime lagged behind the parallel market rates. So redundant had the interbank bank rates been that the central bank was now purchasing foreign exchange on the parallel market.

Terror camps were reportedly set up throughout the country by state security agents, war veterans and ZANU (PF) militia in preparation for the June 27 presidential run-off. During the run-off campaign, the Joint Operations Command launched a brutal harassment against the MDC, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), NGOs and other civic organisations. The brutal campaign evolved into a full-blown military strategy of abductions and murders of opposition MDC activists and supporters.

In the countdown to the run-off, more than 100 opposition supporters were allegedly killed, 200,000 internally displaced and at least 10,000 injured.

June 2008.

On June 4, the Mugabe regime banned the operations of humanitarian agencies over allegations that they were campaigning for Tsvangirai to win the run-off. ZANU (PF) is known for its refusal to distribute food to MDC supporters especially during elections. As a result of the ban, millions of people who used to benefit from humanitarian aid were left exposed to starvation and diseases. Unicef reported that about 100,000 child-headed families were affected while 1.3 million orphans could not access free food, education and healthcare.

During the run-off campaign, Morgan Tsvangirai was detained five times in a week (twice on June 12). Some victims of the political violence sought sanctuary at Harvest House, the MDC headquarters in Harare and the South African and American embassies. Due to the increased violence, Tsvangirai pulled out of the June 27 election, leaving Mugabe as the only candidate.

MDC Secretary-General, Tendai Biti, was arrested on June 12 and charged with treason. The charges are based on an alleged MDC document about changing the government. This document, which was called "The Transition Strategy" and was said to have been written by Biti on March 25, included purported plans to rig the election in favour of the MDC.

Meanwhile, statistics indicated that exports of manufactured goods amounted to US$113.04 million in the first six months of the year compared to US$473.17 million recorded during the same period last year - a drop of 76.1%.

Currently contributing US$50 million in forex receipts, tourism recorded another 58% decline in the first six months despite frantic efforts by the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority to carry out publicity campaigns to save the country's bartered image.

July 2008.

After the widely condemned re-election of Robert Mugabe in a violent poll ruled not free and fair by monitors, AU leaders approved a resolution calling for the "creation of a government of national unity" in Zimbabwe at the end of a two-day summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The condemnation resulted in the SADC, the African Union and the United Nations calling for fresh talks for the formation of a unity government. The talks culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on July 21 between ZANU (PF), the mainstream MDC and the Mutambara MDC faction. In the MoU, the parties agreed that "in the interim, they will work together to ensure the safety of any displaced persons and their safe return home and that humanitarian and social welfare organisations are enabled to render such assistance as might be required".

Meanwhile, year-on-year inflation rose to 231 million percent. Prices of basic commodities increased by an average of 1,300% in July because of high inflation, depressed production and profiteering by some retailers. The increase meant a family that spent Z$1.7 trillion on July 1 needed Z$6.8 trillion for the same goods as at July 30.

August 2008.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a new currency after years of using bearer cheques. The banks also reintroduced old coins as well as new ones which almost immediately lost value due to hyperinflation.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe knocked 10 zeros off the country's battered currency in a bid to prop up the nearly worthless money. Ten billion (Zimbabwean) dollars were reduced to one dollar with effect from Aug 1. The central bank's announcement came just one month after the country had introduced a 100 billion dollar note that was now not even enough for a loaf of bread. The Zimbabwe dollar hurtled from Z$5,300 at the beginning of the year to up to Z$800 billion for a single US dollar on the popular parallel market.

A bomb blast at Harare's Central Police Station damaged offices as talks on resolving Zimbabwe's political crisis were set to resume on August 3. Two other unexploded bombs were discovered on the first floor of the building. Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri said then some disgruntled police officers could have been involved. He said discontented police officers should learn to channel their grievances through the normal police communication channels as opposed to registering their displeasure through planting bombs.

Two bombs blew up a 60cm stretch of rail track at Norton, near Harare, on 21 August. There was suspicion that ZANU (PF) hardliners and "securocrats" opposed to efforts to form a unity government were responsible.

On August 25, a new historical script was written when ZANU (PF) was defeated in Parliament by the leading Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai despite trying to strike a coalition deal with MPs from the smaller MDC group led by Arthur Mutambara in a fierce battle for the post of Speaker of the House of Assembly. MDC National Chairman, Lovemore Moyo was then elected Speaker of Parliament.

On August 27, after opening Parliament, Mugabe acknowledged that his ministers had failed him when he said, "This Cabinet that I had was the worst in history. They look at themselves. They are unreliable..."

September 2008.

A strike over salaries by teachers, which coincided with the start of the third term led to school closures and class disruptions all over the country. The boycott came at a crucial time in the academic calendar as students were preparing for the end-of-year examinations.

The governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono, legalised the use of foreign currency for paying for goods and services on September 10. The Foreign Exchange Licensed Wholesalers and Retailers (Foliwars) were ostensibly established to generate foreign currency needed to boost industry to generate the US$900 million which the government said was required to improve capacity utilisation to 80% in the coming year.

On September 12, the Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) continued to receive disturbing reports of Cholera and Diarrhoea related illnesses and deaths from different parts in and around the city of Harare. CHRA received 13 cases of Cholera induced deaths from Chitungwiza while a total of 14 cases of diarrhoea were recorded in Harare. Harare and Chitungwiza have been hard hit by cholera and diarrhoea outbreaks following the water and sewer crisis that has gripped the two cities. The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), the institution managing the water supply and sewer reticulation for the two cities has failed to provide enough and clean water.

The power-sharing agreement (Global Political Agreement) signed by Morgan Tsvangirai, Robert Mugabe and Arthur Mutambara on September 11 and solemnised amidst much regional fanfare on September 15 underpins the need for the country's two major political parties, namely the mainstream MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai and ZANU (PF) led by Robert Mugabe to share power equitably and fairly.

The "power-sharing" agreement gives Morgan Tsvangirai immense executive powers as the new Prime Minister, and leaves Mugabe as a virtual ceremonial president. It was essentially fallacious for the architects of the agreement to have sought to "share" power between the two antagonistic persons and their respective offices.

But here is an opportunity, as outlined in article III of the agreement, for the country to develop a genuine economic policy framework, on the back of national dialogue through the National Economic Council, as a key advisory body to the government. Above all, it is evident that the agreement itself is premised on the need for a new Constitution for Zimbabwe.

October 2008.

Under the power-sharing deal, ZANU (PF) is entitled to 15 ministries with 8 deputies, the larger MDC - 13 with 6 deputies and Mutambara's MDC - 3 with one deputy. On October 10, Mugabe , though, widened the wrangle in the formation of a power-sharing government when he gazetted the crucial ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defence, Home Affairs, Justice, Information, Local Government, Agriculture and others, which he arbitrarily apportioned to his ZANU (PF) party. By so doing, Robert Mugabe created a huge problem as the MDC became a junior partner despite having won both the presidential and parliamentary elections.

A cholera outbreak that has bridged Zimbabwe's dry season was proving difficult to contain and has spread from the cities to rural areas.

Zimbabweans have become a very imaginative lot. Each time the Reserve Bank imposes daily cash withdrawal limits, new methods of withdrawing millions are devised. The central bank set Z$50,000 as the maximum daily limit, but thousands of Zimbabweans have bank balances running into billions of worthless currency. If one has Z$1 million, it would take him/her close to a year withdrawing it. By October, the zeros were back with a vengeance and so Zimbabweans introduced a new form of trading called "kupisa mari" - literally translated as money burning or simply forex trading.

Officially, one US dollar is trading at Z$30,000 and that is way too low. Thus, foreign currency dealers are offering lucrative rates. A US$100 bill translates to Z$30 billion. Thus, a middleman approaches a dealer and is given a bank fat cheque. The individual then goes to the bank armed with countless (forged) documents. He/she brings a burial order, death certificate and affidavit and is able to withdraw millions of Zimdollars needed to buy forex for black market trading.

The middlemen would make more money than their principals. Many would take their "margin", after intermediating for the buyer and seller, in hard currency. "Money burning" has become so lucrative that most people particularly civil servants are spending time at banks, banking fat cheques. Through these activities, windfall gains have been and continue to be realised. Many who accumulated huge piles of hard currency have joined the fray of glamour.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), one of two unions representing teachers in the country, told the government to scrap public examinations later in the year because pupils and schools were not ready after political violence and a strike by teachers.

PTUZ said a nationwide strike by teachers at the beginning of the year plus disruptions caused by the holding of elections from March to June as well as political violence during the polls had resulted in very little learning or teaching taking place during the year. The union claimed that six teachers were killed during the political violence that engulfed Zimbabwe in the run-up to the June 27 second round presidential election.

PTUZ said the country required 150,000 qualified teachers for effective learning but there were only 75,000 teachers in the country at the moment and of these 35,000 were not trained.

November 2008.

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) ignored calls for cancellation of exams. Primary and secondary schools, state universities and college students spent the better part of the year without receiving any education. It then emerged that workers who were supposed to compile a database for the examinations had been on strike for months, protesting against poor salaries. As a result, the database, which is usually compiled months before the examinations, had not been completed.

This development compounded the confusion in the administration of the examinations, which had already seen some papers being invigilated reportedly by headmen, youth militia and police officers. Examination results have yet to be announced.

The SADC extraordinary summit of November 9 lost a chance to resolve important issues such as the promulgation of Constitutional Amendment No 19, the equitable distribution of cabinet portfolios, governorships, diplomatic postings and senior civil servants as well as the composition and operations of the National Security Council, which have to be clearly and unequivocally canvassed and agreed upon before Tsvangirai can be sworn in as Zimbabwe's new Prime Minister.

A bomb blast, the second in a week, hit Harare Central Police Station, shattering windows and damaging halls. There were no casualties reported as a result of the blast which occurred on November 13. Highly placed sources revealed the bomb blast occurred on the third floor of the central police station block which houses the investigations section. On November 17, a similar blast hit the police CID headquarters at Morris Depot and damaged a toilet while shattering windows in the eastern wing that houses the CID Scenes of Crime section. Initial investigations suggested the suspects bombed the offices in an attempt to destroy evidence linking them to a theft case.

However, there were fears the freak bomb explosions could have been orchestrated by State security agents out to build a case against the MDC which the government alleges is planning acts of banditry in the country. Outgoing Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, has repeatedly told the press that the MDC is training its militia in neighbouring Botswana with the support of the Ian Khama government to be deployed in Zimbabwe to dethrone President Mugabe.

On November 17, the central bank cracked the whip on suspected fraudulent dealers on the bourse resulting in all trading stopping. Market watchers now wait whether the Securities Commission would restore activity at what had become the alternative investment option for many.

Not only are investors unable to get their monies because the Stock Market is not trading but Zimdollars are no longer easily exchangeable for goods or services leading to the zeros that grew on their portfolios during the year counting for very little, if anything.

Mugabe re-appointed central bank governor, Gideon Gono, to serve another five-year term despite concerns from the mainstream MDC and economic analysts that his policies had resulted in the current hyperinflationary environment.

Cash shortages continue to haunt Zimbabweans in a country where the majority of people are wallowing in abject poverty with an economy characterised by hyperinflation, spiralling prices of basic commodities -- most of them in short supply -- an unemployment rate of over 85%, and the collapse of the health and education sectors.

The city of Harare witnessed a very eventful week (from Wednesday the 26th of November) which saw soldiers rebelliously taking into the streets, looting shops, beating and taking away money from forex dealers and clashing with the police in the process. This was after the soldiers had failed to withdraw their salaries from banks.

A chronic cholera outbreak in Harare that left dozens dead last month has spread countrywide, as health officials struggle to tame the water-borne disease, bringing the death toll to more than 200, according to CHRA.

December 2008.

Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) members based in Gutu went on a rampage on December 13, beating up anyone in sight, including bank officials and illegal foreign currency dealers, following their failure to get cash from banks. This follows similar incidents in Harare and Masvingo a fortnight earlier, as mutiny escalated in various quarters of the defence forces.

In a Government Gazette Extraordinary of 12th December, Mugabe gazetted Constitutional Amendment No. 19 without consulting the other parties to the power-sharing agreement. The power-sharing deal is yet to take effect as the MDC accuses Mugabe of taking all the key ministries such as foreign affairs, information, mines, agriculture, local government, finance, home affairs and defence.

The deadly cholera epidemic has spread to all the ten provinces of Zimbabwe and killed a total of 1,608 people by December 30 with 30,365 reported cases, WHO reported. This year saw the collapse of the public health sector in the southern African country. Government hospitals and clinics faced a critical shortage of basic drugs, food, water, surgical equipment and above all staff.

Acute child malnutrition has increased by almost two-thirds compared with last year, the aid agency, Save the Children, said in a new report on December 27. The World Food Programme (WFP) said an estimated 5.1 million people would face hunger between January and March 2009. Government's own estimates put the figure at 8.2 million out of a population of 12 million.

Eliot Manyika, ZANU (PF)'s political commissar often cited as responsible for violent crimes against opposition supporters in Zimbabwe, died in a car accident on his way to Gwanda. Manyika has been blamed for violence against MDC supporters, especially when he became responsible for the "Green Bombers".

Air Force commander Perrence Shiri reportedly escaped an assassination attack on his way to his farm in Mashonaland Central. The state alleged that a gunmen shot at him. Shiri is a member of the Joint Operations Command - a grouping of security chiefs from the Airforce, Army, CIO, Police and Prison Services - that is the real power behind Mugabe and is widely blamed for masterminding the bloody campaign for the veteran leader's re-election in the June presidential run-off vote.

The Mugabe regime abducted over 40 MDC and civil organisation activists including a two-year old child under Operation Chimumumu (Make Them Dump/Voiceless). This happened at a time when the regime professed commitment to sharing power with its political opponents. The behaviour of the regime was a clear violation of undertakings made in the Memorandum of Understanding and Global Political Agreement.

The ZANU (PF) regime now accuses members of the MDC and civil organisations of committing acts of bombing at the Harare Central Police Station, on a road and a railroad bridges in August, as well as the November bombings of the Criminal Investigation Department's headquarters in Harare and the Morris Depot police station. The accused include the abducted Jestina Mukoko, Emmanuel Dlamini - MDC's head of security and intelligence, Gandhi Mudzingwa - former personal adviser to Morgan Tsvangirai and photojournalist Shadreck Manyere.

The accused persons are also being held on alleged attempts to seek the overthrow of Robert Mugabe through recruiting persons to train as bandits and insurgents. The accused persons were seized by armed squads from their homes and workplaces in Harare, Norton, Chinhoyi and Banket on different occasions since end of October. Until December 22 when the police apparently took custody of the accused, they continuously denied any knowledge of their whereabouts.

For weeks, officials in Mugabe's regime have been trying to build the case that Botswana - Mugabe's most outspoken critic in the region - has allowed the MDC to train people on its soil to topple him - a charge Botswana has vociferously denied.

As expected, the Foreign Exchange Licensed Wholesalers and Retailers (Foliwars) has led to profiteering. For example, a family of six requires 80 Rand per month to purchase basic goods in South Africa compared to 290 Rand to purchase the same goods in Zimbabwe. As a result, the state-controlled Herald newspaper, on December 31, urged Zimbabweans to form groups and send members to South Africa to buy basic commodities there.

Chickens have now come home to roost!!!!