Most 'million' were forced to march
Zvakanaka
By Caiphas Chimhete and Vusumuzi Sifile
MOST people in Friday's "Million-Man March" in support of President Robert
Mugabe's candidacy in next year's elections were forced to take part in the
proceedings, it has emerged.
Among the conspicuous absentees were Vice-President Joseph Msika, Retired
Army Commander Solomon Mujuru, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Zanu
PF spokesperson Nathan Shamuyarira, Zanu PF chairperson John Nkomo, and
former Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa.
Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Minister of Rural Housing and Social
Amenities Emmerson Mnangagwa, both said to be eyeing Mugabe's job, attended
the rally. Mujuru endorsed Mugabe.
According to insiders, Mujuru was "politically correct" to attend, but didn't
score high marks on the dress code for the occasion.
While everyone else wore something with Mugabe's picture emblazoned on it,
Mujuru wore a formal dress with no picture of the 83-year-old leader on it,
nor the party's flag.
War veterans' chairman Jabulani Sibanda said "over a million" people took
part in the proceedings, but independent estimates put the figure at not
more than 200 000. The country's largest stadium, the National Sports
Stadium has a capacity of 65 000.
Veteran journalists and commentators said the crowd was much smaller than
the number of people who came to the Zimbabwe Grounds to welcome Mugabe home
in 1980.
Sibanda said no one had been coerced to march.
"We never forced them to close Mbare Musika," Sibanda said.
"People came on their own from all parts of the country. They were marching
freely. In any case, does Mbare Musika even accommodate 500 people? There
were over one million people at the Zimbabwe Grounds."
Even some heads of parastatals that "graced" the event went there under
pressure from the top. But other senior government and ruling party
officials boycotted the event.
Sibanda, the prime organiser of the solidarity marches, likened the absent
top officials to "leaves in a whirlwind".
"Some of the people we always believed understood the reasons for the
struggle have forgotten the purpose of the revolution," said Sibanda. "Most
of them are not revolutionaries. They just found themselves among
revolutionaries. They are like leaves in a whirlwind. The leaves are not a
whirlwind, but they are part of it."
Shops, vegetable and flea markets in Mbare and Highfield were ordered to
close down. Civil servants were coerced to take part in the event, virtually
bringing business to a standstill.
War veterans and the notorious Zanu PF youth militia, donning their familiar
green uniforms, shepherded vendors in the streets of Harare to join the
march to the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, 10 km away.
And as has become the norm, the first target was Mbare Musika and
Mupedzanamo Flea Market in Harare, where vendors were ordered to close their
stalls and join the march.
The vendors confirmed yesterday they were given a week's notice.
Those who refused risked losing their stalls.
When The Standard news crew visited Mbare on Friday morning, the vegetable
market was unusually quiet and most shops closed. Commuter bus touts and
drivers were either sleeping in their vehicles or playing games on the
street, as there were no passengers to ferry into the city.
"We were told one week ago that the flea market would be closed and that
everyone must join the march. We could not defy that order because we would
lose our stalls," said one vendor who identified himself as Arnold. "I
personally lost a lot of business because of the useless march . I usually
make up to $60 million a day."
Most affected were vendors who sell perishables such as tomatoes and fruits.
There were also hundreds of travellers waiting hopelessly at the bus
terminus. They said they had been told buses were ferrying people to the
march and would only be available the following day.
The Standard established that some travellers from Chihota communal lands en
route to Harare were diverted at 'Mbudzi' roundabout and ordered to join the
march.
Residents of Highfield, Glen Norah and Glen View were not spared. They were
rounded up and ordered to march to the Zimbabwe Grounds - where Mugabe later
addressed the reluctant marchers - to make up the numbers.
Earlier in the morning, a good number of Highfield and Glen Norah residents
had been given free fertilizer by Zanu PF officials so that they would take
part in the march.
"We were given fertilizer for free at Gazaland shopping centre and our names
were written down to make sure we took part in their march," said
57-year-old Mbuya Sibanda of Glen Norah A.
At Machipisa shopping centre, all shops - except for OK supermarket - were
closed. The vegetable market at Lusaka was also closed.
Those from the rural areas who came in buses, trains and lorries, were
forced to make the journey to Harare.
In some parts of Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands people were told that
those who refused risked losing the tractors, combine harvesters,
fertilizer, ploughs and other implements they received from the government
under the farm mechanization programme.
But there was chaos in the evening when marchers failed to get transport
home. The buses that brought them were suddenly not available.
One CEO said: "If you can't beat them, join them. That is what is happening
now. If I had not attended I would have been labelled as being against
Mugabe's candidacy.
Economists say the closure of shops and industry will have a serious impact
on the economy. They said other than the closure of industry, the money
spent on busing people from all over the country, feeding and accommodating
them could have been used to buy fuel or pay for electricity.
"We have over 4.1 million people in dire need of food, we don't have fuel or
electricity and you have a government squandering trillions of dollars in
support of an old man who is the source of our misery. My foot!" said one
economist.
Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) president, Marah Hativagoni,
refused to comment saying she was attending a church service.
http://www.thezimbabwestandard.com/viewinfo.cfm?linkid=11&id=7922&siteID=1
dank
> Most 'million' were forced to march
>
> By Caiphas Chimhete and Vusumuzi Sifile
>
> MOST people in Friday's "Million-Man March" in support of President Robert
> Mugabe's candidacy in next year's elections were forced to take part in the
> proceedings, it has emerged.
This happens in Mexico all the time, and occassionally in the USA. In
Mexico the ruling party was concerned about the well-being of the
country's workers, so it created a government-sponsored union for just
about every occupation, and required workers to join their respective
unions if they wanted a work permit. The condition for working is
union membership, and the condition for union membership is to attend
all political rallies in support of the ruling party. Attendance at
the rallies is taken and workers who don't show up are suspended from
work for days or weeks. Like Mexico, the ruling party of Zimbabwe
enjoys overwhelming public support while the nation's economy crumbles.
Zvakanaka
"dank" <da...@nugget.org> wrote in message
news:L6W7j.31880$Pv2....@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net...
Thank for that contribution but Zimbabwe is not like mexico because the
people would have voted Mugabe from power if the electoral process wasn't
blatantly rigged. Most Zimbabweans hate Mugabe.