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INSIDE AFRICA
The Crisis in Zimbabwe
Aired September 22, 2007 - 12:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FEMI OKE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Femi Oke. This is INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly look at life and issues on the continent.
In the show today, undercover in Zimbabwe. Most Western journalists are banned from the country, but we got a first-hand look at the crisis there. Zimbabwe has been devastated by food and water shortages, as well as staggering inflation rates. We'll show you why hundreds of Zimbabweans are risking their lives every day to leave the country. That's coming up in just a moment, but first, let's take a look at what's making the news in the continent this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: Uganda was hit by the worst flooding it's seen in more than 35 years. Heavy rain and severe flooding submerged villages, and left thousands cut off from food and medical help. Humanitarian workers in the country are concerned that the contaminated water may spread diseases. The World Food Program has appealed for more than $60 million in aid for the country.
Ernest Bai Koroma was sworn in as Sierra Leone's new president. The leader of the All People's Congress Party became the country's first democratically elected president since U.N. peacekeepers left two years ago. Many Sierra Leoneans celebrated peacefully in the street after the announcement, but since then, there have the reports of attacks against the ex-ruling party by Koroma supporters.
PIUS NCUBE, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF BULAWAYO: Mugabe and this government, they've gone against the people. They're only interested in power and in self-preservation, and therefore, they're not at all interested in uplifting the people. They're not taking any steps to assist the recovery of the economy.
OKE: Pius Ncube, one of the most outspoken critics of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, may run for president. The former archbishop resigned last week after being implicated in a sex scandal. Reports now say he will start a new political party and challenge Mugabe next spring in the presidential election.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: We turn now to focus on Zimbabwe and the crisis there. The country was once considered the bread basket of southern Africa, but now Zimbabwe is on the brink of starvation. Some Zimbabwean officials blame sanctions by Western governments for these problems, but many in the international community blame the Zimbabwe government, led by President Robert Mugabe. President Mugabe has ruled the country for two decades, and the once flourishing economy is now in ruins.
Details about what's happening inside the country are difficult to come by. In fact, most Western journalists are banned from Zimbabwe, making reporting out of there increasingly dangerous. ITV reporter Mark Austin traveled undercover to bring us this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK AUSTIN, ITN: Dawn in Harare, and the few lucky enough to have jobs begin the daily commute. It is on foot, often for several miles. There is no affordable petrol, so no transport.
In the townships they've left behind, they're also walking for miles. The search is on for water, any water to keep their families alive.
Zimbabwe is running out of almost everything. Now, it's running out of the most precious commodity on earth. In some places, wells are dug close to raw sewage seeping from cracked pipes. This is a broken country of broken people.
66-year old Agnes Matango (ph) doesn't have much to sing about. She's had no running water for three weeks now. This is a grandmother who deals family death certificates like playing cards.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One.
MARK AUSTIN (on camera): Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two.
AUSTIN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three
AUSTIN (voice over): Her four sons all died before they were 30, and so did their wives.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four. Five. Six.
AUSTIN: So all nine of her orphaned grandchildren are her responsibility, and it isn't easy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No water, three weeks no water, nothing at all. No money for school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know what they're cooking here?
AUSTIN: A neighbor trying to support them says they have nowhere near enough food either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is - this is not enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It pains me. It pains me. Every day, every second. Every second. Every second, every second of our life, to ask others it is OK, but for the kids, I cry for the kids.
(on camera): And what does the future hold for them, do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really don't know. I really don't know. I think our future is dark. It's dark.
AUSTIN: Dark. Dark future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.
AUSTIN (voice over): And the sad thing is, what we've witnessed here is not unusual for Zimbabwe, where the water shortages, the food shortages and the AIDS crisis have come together to create what amounts to a humanitarian catastrophe.
Under cover of darkness, we enter another township on the outskirts of Harare, where the power is off more than its own, where what food the people can muster is cooked outside on firewood, and where homework is by candlelight.
(on camera): Harrison, Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Mark.
AUSTIN: Thanks very much.
(voice over): I`ve come to meet a teacher, anxious to tell me how bad things really are here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can say from now on, we're just a few steps away from a total collapse. Everyone thinks that it will be better if there's a change of government.
AUSTIN: He knows by talking to me he's risking his life, but he feels he must speak out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may (inaudible), or they abduct you, they beat you, you're tortured.
(on camera): So you're scared -- frightened talking to me now. Are you frightened talking to me now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm afraid, because I'm found talking to you, they (inaudible). But for -- if we are to keep quiet, then we're closing our problems, the world won't know.
AUSTIN: Though there are only small signs of it so far, he predicts a spontaneous explosion of anger in Zimbabwe. The food queues we filmed with a hidden camera are growing longer by the day. Virtually empty supermarkets, symbols of Robert Mugabe's disastrous economic management.
Before we left Agnes Matango, we handed her a bag of maize meal, the staple food here. In today's Zimbabwe, they're grateful even for the smallest of mercy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: Coming out, we continue our coverage on Zimbabwe, and look into the country's economic problems.
How does a country with the world's highest inflation rates stay afloat? A report on that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Making business news in Africa this week -- higher interest rates and soaring labor costs in South Africa took a toll on the manufacturing industry, the country's second largest business sector. Second-quarter growth slumped to its lowest level since 2003, and economists say factory output shows no sign of improving for the rest of the year.
For the first time in months, people in Benin will be able to use MTN cell phone network. MTN, one of the biggest cell phone providers in the continent, agreed to a new 10-year contract for over $60 million. The network had been silenced in the West African country after a licensing fee dispute with the government.
And coffee prices in Kenya hit a record high this year, topping out at almost $130 for a 50-kilogram bag of coffee. Analysts say the price increase was caused by a lack of quality coffee made available to buyers, as well as unsteady prices in key international markets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: Hello again. Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate. Improvements have been made in the last few months, but not much. ITV's Martin Geissler explains how everyday Zimbabweans are being affected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN GEISSLER, ITN: Another day, another black market deal on the streets of Zimbabwe's capital. This is what happens when the country's economy collapses, when you don't buy your petrol from the pumps, but from the boot of a car across the road. When it doesn't matter that the buses don't run, because the average day's pay wouldn't buy your ticket home.
The money dealers are driving this economy. One call and they turn up with a suitcase full of cash. Foreign currency is everything here. Peter changed my money. He gave me 10 times more than I would have got at the bank.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our generic customers are an ordinary Zimbabwean from -- from (inaudible) walk of life.
GEISSLER (on camera): So, everybody is changing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is changing.
GEISSLER: Always on the black market?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always on the black market.
GEISSLER: So, you guys are running the economy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, oh, yeah. I can say that again. We are. Because we (inaudible) rates, what is going on today, and also looking at the demand.
GEISSLER: So, I've got my money. This is $100 U.S. worth, for now. But with the highest inflation rates in the world, this currency is losing its value all the time. So next week, this will probably be worth this. So, I've got to spend it. But even that isn't easy in Zimbabwe these days.
In the supermarkets, the shelves are empty. No bread, no milk, no meat, no maize meal. Luxury goods are available, but life's essentials have gone.
The privileged few can still eat out, if the restaurants have food. Paying the bill is like playing Monopoly.
Everyday life is a struggle here in Zimbabwe, even if you have money. It's far, far worse, of course, for the vast majority who don`t.
Martin Geissler, ITV News, Harare, Zimbabwe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: Coming up on INSIDE AFRICA, we follow Mark Austin on another undercover trip across the border to Zimbabwe. This time, he explains more about the country's humanitarian dilemma. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The situation is, what has caused that situation in Zimbabwe. When one looks at that situation from the Western side, they will blame the government of Zimbabwe for what Zimbabwe is going through. But when one looks at the causes of that situation, it is the -- we call it the bilateral quarrel between us and the United Kingdom on the issue of land reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKE: Welcome back to INSIDE AFRICA, as we continue our look at Zimbabwe in crisis. For many, living in Zimbabwe means a constant struggle to survive. The U.N. World Food Program says 45 percent of the Zimbabwean population is malnourished, and life expectancy isn't any better. The United Nations reports that the life expectancy for women in Zimbabwe stands at 34 years old, and for men it's 37 years. This makes Zimbabwe the country with the lowest life expectancy in the world.
ITV reporter Mark Austin travels undercover to Zimbabwe once again, to see firsthand the humanitarian crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUSTIN: Filming undercover, we're on the way to Bulawayo. For journalists without government permission, it is extremely difficult. With some apprehension, we made our way into a city where the food shortages are, if anything, worse than the capital Harare. Outside this supermarket, on one side they queue patiently for bread; on the other they're waiting forlornly for sugar.
And this is the extraordinary scene inside. But here, there is an even bigger problem -- this is what is happening in Bulawayo, filthy water drawn from holes straight from the arid scrubland. And it is this water many people here are drinking. There's been no proper water supply for well over a month. Diarrhea is rife, and there are now reports of a cholera outbreak.
So, this is what it's come to in Zimbabwe -- people taking filthy water out of the ground for drinking. There is no question a health catastrophe is looming here. These are desperate people living desperate lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two months without water. People are already using the ground outside their houses as toilets. It's a disaster.
AUSTIN: This church leader is planning to distribute water himself in imported tanks, but four out of five of the local reservoirs are dry, and the fifth can supply only 16 percent of this city's needs. The government is accused of ignoring pleas for help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No effort is being made to help them function and to bring that water, which can help a great deal. Nothing is being done.
AUSTIN: Bulawayo is a city controlled by the opposition, Movement for Democratic Change. They believe Robert Mugabe is using food and water there as a tool of repression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wants people to spend most of their time hunting for food, hunting for basics, and there is no time to sit down and discuss their lives, to discuss the way things are going in this country.
AUSTIN (on camera): So, he is using hunger, you think as a political weapon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Precisely. He's trying to scatter organized communities into the countryside as a form of control.
AUSTIN (voice-over): Life is even tougher in the countryside around Bulawayo, where village stores have scarcely anything at all, where most don't even bother to open now, and where many people are putting their faith not in government, but in prayer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: That was a glimpse of what life is like inside Zimbabwe. But month after month, thousands of people risk their lives to escape, and those running away are hoping for better life in a neighboring country. Coming up on INSIDE AFRICA, we follow two teenagers as they try to make this dangerous trip across the border from Zimbabwe to South Africa.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MUGABE, ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT: We built our struggle on it, the grievance that the people had been deprived of their land, and land to us, as indeed it is to every community, every society, every nation in the world, is very close to our heart.
GABRIEL SHUMBA, DIRECTOR, ZIMBABWE EXILES FORUM: Land is not (inaudible) in Zimbabwe. It's not a black or a white issue. It's about fundamental principles, (inaudible) governing or misgoverning. Mugabe has misgoverned Zimbabwe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OKE: Hello again. You're watching INSIDE AFRICA. The Zimbabwe border with South Africa is 225 kilometers long. The border is lined with rows of chain-link fence and razor wire, and it's meant to be a barrier. But for those desperate enough from the Zimbabwe side, the border is a magnet, attracting those prepared to risk their lives to escape the country.
ITV reporter Martin Geissler follows the trail of two border jumpers, leaving Zimbabwe for South Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEISSLER: Early morning on a dusty border road, and another group of Zimbabweans are fleeing their own home. They're desperate to leave this crippled country, but they can't afford visas, so they'll take their chances and jump the border fence.
Hundreds do this every day. Our camera followed two young men making the break to a better life. Edward (ph) and Tabil (ph) have paid a trafficker 5 pounds each to help them. Now, they're in his hands.
The instructions are simple: Be quick and quiet. "Slow," he tells them, "and you'll be caught."
They walk across the dry Limpopo River, and they're almost there.
Simon (ph), the trafficker, is an expert. He knows the best routes through the bush and the movements of the South African border patrols. The boys have to trust him completely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got two people with me. Yeah. OK. OK Thanks.
GEISSLER: He's organized the car to collect them on the other side. He leaves them hiding in the long grass and goes to cut a hole in the fence.
And then comes the order to go, through the coils of razor wirer and into South Africa.
This border is patrolled day and night by the South African army, but it's 200 kilometers long, and they can only catch a handful of the hundreds who cross it every day. And South African patrols aren't the only danger the border jumpers face. Here, on the Zimbabwean side, the bush is full of bandits. They call them the goma-gomas (ph). They know that the people leaving are desperate and carrying whatever valuables they can.
And in the months when the Limpopo River is full, they have to swim across. It's wide, fast flowing, and full of crocodiles. You have to be absolutely desperate to take that kind of risk, but these people are.
Back in South Africa, I phoned Tabil and Edward, living in a shack in a township nearby. They told me they're 18 years old, but they look much younger.
They plan to head for Johannesburg and find work there.
(on camera): Where are you going to go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Jo-burg. Hilbro (ph).
GEISSLER: You're going to go to Hilbro?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
GEISSLER: You know that's the most dangerous suburb in Johannesburg?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Some people say it is dangerous. I have never seen it.
GEISSLER: Are you frightened?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to leave Zimbabwe because (inaudible) suffering of many things, no food. We are suffering.
GEISSLER: Driving back along the border, we saw another group climbing through the fence. Most made it, but this struggler was caught on the razor wire. Terrified, he ran back into the bush. He'll have to try again later.
But still, they flood across this river, carrying what they can to build a new life. A suitcase in one hand, a child in the other. They're frightened, but determined to escape Zimbabwe, driven out by a manmade disaster. They might not know what lies ahead, but it can't be any worse than what they've left behind.
Martin Geissler, ITV News, on the South Africa-Zimbabwe border.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
OKE: And you may have some very strong views about today's program. Please share them with the team by sending us an e-mail to insideafrica@cnn.com, and we'll try to read some of your thoughts on the air. That email address again: insideafrica@cnn.com.
And that's it for this week's program. Thank you very much for watching. Next week, we'll be mixing it with some of the most influential Africans on the continent, as we take the show to New York, the United Nations General Assembly. I'll see you at the Big Apple.
I'm Femi Oke. Take care.
END
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