Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Harare (Agenzia Fides) – Authorities in Zimbabwe have declared a health emergency on account of the cholera epidemic that has been plaguing the country for several months (see Fides 2/12/2008). Local healthcare centers have not been successful in responding to a crisis that has resulted in 565 deaths and 12,500 registered cases of the disease. This fact was admitted by Health Minister David Parirenyatwa himself, who described the situation as catastrophic: “the main hospitals are literally not functioning and the personnel have lost their motivation.”
All the state centers have collapsed and there are evident signs of negative attitudes and tension, as well as among the army – what was considered one of the pillars of the Mugabe regime.
Several analysts are wondering if the December 1 conflict between police and members of the military, who protested for not being able to extract their payments from the banks, may be the preview for a larger-scale revolt. The military police would have arrested some 500 soldiers, however the arrests were approved only after the soldiers had returned to their barracks. In the moment of the chaos, the police were not prepared to arrest any of the soldiers, who were joined by several civilians in the riot. This episode is simply the crowning moment in a series of felonies being carried out by military soldiers who have grown tired of the serious economic crisis that the country is in.
In response to the extremely high inflation rate (over 230 million%, however it is hard to place a number on it, as it is constantly on the rise), the government has demanded that the banks place a quota on withdrawals. The military soldiers can make withdrawals on their savings directly from their base, however the available funds are used up by the high-level officers, before lower-ranking ones are able to access them. The soldiers are also disturbed by the miserable conditions of their barracks, for the quality of their food and the lack there of it.
In order to evaluate the situation, an emergency meeting has been called for the Joint Operations Command, the highest-ranking security organization in the country, and the ones who really run the nation in the end. The regime fears a military rebellion that could lead to a general revolt.
The opposition, however, suspects that there is really a government plan behind the December 1 episode, meant to create a reason to declare a state of emergency and rob them of the little freedom they still had.
The situation in Zimbabwe is becoming more and more of a concern for neighboring countries, who would not be capable of establishing a common policy that would oblige the local regime to change its position and allow for the opposition to enter into a government of national unity. In the meantime, South Africa has announced that the cholera virus has been located in the Limpopo River, on the border between Zimbabwe and South Africa. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 4/12/2008)
