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SW Radio Africa (London)
31 October 2007
By Tichaona Sibanda

The SADC led mediation talks on Zimbabwe resumed in Pretoria on Wednesday after a month long break. The talks, which are already behind schedule on several fronts, missed Tuesday’s key deadline for agreement on a broad framework for free and fair elections.

A source told us from Pretoria that during the month long break negotiators from Zanu-PF and the MDC have been comparing notes and reporting back to the facilitating team in South Africa.

‘A lot of ground was covered during this period because the negotiating teams made contact on a number of times and a number of concessions were made during this period,’ said the source.

David Coltart, MDC MP for Bulawayo South, said it was unfortunate that Zimbabweans were not being informed about the progress of the talks, but stressed that whatever the outcome, a transitional period of six months was needed to push through any changes agreed on by both sides.

‘If the mediation process were to be concluded today (Wednesday) we will not have sufficient time to establish conditions for free and fair elections. We need at least six months to put everything in place before calling for an election,’ Coltart said.
The MP from the Mutambara led faction said they understood the reasons for not meeting Tuesday’s deadline, because of the weighty issues under discussion.

The talks that resumed Wednesday are expected tackle the remaining issues on the agenda that include the roles of the police, military and the CIO during the elections.

By VOA News
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
22 October 2007

The cemeteries of Zimbabwe are filled these days with fresh graves, many of the smallest mounds covering some of what was the southern African nation’s future. An opposition leader says the acres of freshly dug graves are evidence of the ruin President Robert Mugabe has left Zimbabwe. The World Health Organization blames the rising death rate on a combination of AIDS, food insecurity and poor health care. We again join a foreign journalist for a look inside a nation teetering on the edge of humanitarian collapse — a reporter who must remain anonymous because independent reporting in Zimbabwe earns beatings and jail time, who files this undercover report from Bulawayo.

It is an hour before sunset in the city of Bulawayo and we are driving through Westpark Cemetery, situated on the edge of town.
Behind the wheel is a man we shall call William. His true identity, like mine, must be kept a secret for his own safety. William is a local mortician, a lucrative career in this part of the world, where the business of death is very profitable.

“Some people might say it is a political thing,” says William. “The ruling government is not doing anything to help the people. They say they are helping, but according to the death rate, there is nothing they are doing.”

A brisk winter wind rustles through the tall dead grass and dried flowers. Most of the graves, however, have hand-painted signs. They are decorated by rocks and wooden crosses. In this country, this is steady work.

The World Health Organization estimates that the crisis in Zimbabwe claims an average of about 3,500 lives each week. This has led to criticism of the Zimbabwean government and President Robert Mugabe, who will not allow the official figures to be released.

By VOA News
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
20 October 2007

Blessed with natural beauty, Zimbabwe was once a destination for thousands of world travelers. Amid an economic and humanitarian crisis, tourism in the southern African nation is at an all time low — except at The Victoria Falls. There, the government shields tourists from the privation and oppression many Zimbabweans complain they suffer.

A correspondent for VOA, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, files this undercover report from Bulawayo.

Victoria Falls continues to draw tourists to Zimbabwe.The mighty Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, located on Zimbabwe’s northern border with Zambia, is still a hot spot for tourists. Although, their numbers have dropped by 30 percent since 2000, when the Zimbabwe government first began to seize white-owned commercial farms.

But here, on what is called a “booze cruise” down the Zambezi River, where the wine flows much like water, tourists are not thinking about Zimbabwe’s plight – the fact that 90 percent of the country is unemployed, that public demonstrations are forbidden and often brutally suppressed, and that something as simple as buying a packet of sugar can get you killed in a stampede of desperate shoppers.

Instead, hippopotamus, elephant and crocodile are welcome distractions. And as tourists enjoy the ultimate African vacation, they are shielded from the violence, poverty and desperation that exist in the rest of the country. With the exception of the falls, tourism in Zimbabwe is at an all-time low.

In early July, at a famous place further inland, we saw no tourists all week. Great Zimbabwe is a collection of ruins that are one of the most important archeological sites in the country, and what Zimbabwe was named after. The scene is deserted. The only other people there – the workers.