Woodrow Wilson Center Hosts Discussion on Crisis in Zimbabwe
September 24, 2007
Event Summary by CCD Staff Member Jacklyn Palme

On September 18th the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars hosted a panel discussion entitled “Zimbabwe: An Update from the Ground,” co-sponsored by the Open Society Institute.  The discussion was led by Mr. Deprose Muchena, Economic Justice Program Manager for the Open Society Initiative for South Africa (OSISA) and Mrs. Isabella Matambanadzo, Zimbabwe Program Manager for the OSISA, and was moderated by Mr. Dave Peterson, Senior Director of the Africa Program at the National Endowment for Democracy.

Mr. Muchena began by identifying four main deficiencies occurring in Zimbabwe; he argued that Zimbabwe is experiencing a deficit in democracy, leadership, the macroeconomy, and truth.  He said that the democracy deficiency has existed for about eight to nine years and is the result of poor government.  He added that over the past few months the government has run out of ideas and has resorted to force, exemplified by the events on March 11, 2007 in which police broke up a rally with force and arrested over a hundred people. The leadership deficiency exists due to the failure of political leaders to engage the people in a constructive manner to move the country forward.  Poor leadership and planning is responsible for the macroeconomic deficiency; the last coherent budget in Zimbabwe was in the early 1990s, and today there is no real budget in place. Finally, Muchena said that the efforts of the government to distance itself from responsibility for any of the problems in Zimbabwe have created a truth deficiency that has undermined the necessary trust between the government and the people.

Ms. Matambanadzo next focused on the efforts of Human Rights Defenders in Zimbabwe. She stated that since the March 11th arrests, over 1,000 people have been arrested as suspected political dissidents.  Many of those arrested end up in prisons that she said are not fit for human habitation. Those targeted have faced severe harassment and abuses by the police, including one example of women jailed with their children and threatened with HIV infection. The police and the military have focused their actions on those who are aligned with or are believed to be supporting the opposition.  She presented several recommendations for action: the Special Advisor from the UN must visit Zimbabwe as promised; the findings by the UN Special Investigators in 2005 should be reviewed; and the arrests of March 11th must be investigated and the people involved held accountable for their actions.

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