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Stop whining about sanctions, Zim told

THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) has challenged Zimbabwe to take advantage
of its membership and stop mourning about sanctions imposed by the West.

President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF argue that Western sanctions were the
largest contributor to the country's unprecedented economic collapse.

Keith Rockwell, the WTO director for information and external relations told
a workshop jointly hosted by the body and the Friederich Ebert Stiftung
Foundation that despite the restrictions, Zimbabwe can still sell its goods
and services to any country.

"As a member of the WTO, Zimbabwe is able to enjoy the rights of all
members," Rockwell said.

"What this means in practice is that WTO members cannot discriminate against
Zimbabwe's trade in goods and services."

"Zimbabwe has access to the dispute settlement system which means it can
defend its rights through our binding system of dispute resolution."

Rockwell said Zimbabwe was involved at every level of the WTO's discussions
on trade policy and ongoing Doha round of talks.

The United States and the European Union (EU) have repeatedly dismissed
accusations that the sanctions targeted at Mugabe and his inner circle were
behind Zimbabwe's economic collapse.

British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mark Canning on Tuesday told journalists in
Harare that the so-called sanctions impact one in every 70 000 of Zimbabwe's
population.
"They played no role in the economic chaos of the past, indeed if they did
how is it that the economy is now growing for the first time since 1997,"
Canning said.

"Would the UK really be pouring all this money into the country if it was
simultaneously undermining the economy at the same time?

Zimbabwe's trade promotion body, Zimtrade, has in the past called on local
businesses to be proactive on issues relating to international trade
agreements so that they can take advantage of export opportunities.

Some of the agreements, which are regulated by the WTO, are increasingly
determining the direction of global trade.

Rockwell said developing countries including Zimbabwe can take up trade
disputes with developed countries to the WTO for arbitration and win the
cases. At least 70% of WTO members are developing countries.

Meanwhile, participants at the workshop noted that all was not well in the
WTO as more developing countries were resorting to bilateral trade
agreements.

They attributed the growing phenomenon to the lack of progress in the Doha
round of negotiations.

Zimbabwe last year signed a bilateral trade agreement with South Africa and
is ready to sign another one with Botswana to enhance trade and investment
with its neighbours.

The experts said they foresee bilateralism becoming the preferred method of
business and trade between various countries in the regions as
multilateralism was getting more complex.

They said multilateralism involved serious power play between the bigger
nations.
"Many regional African organisations are moving towards deeper integration
in terms of trade and customs," said Prega Ramsamy, the head of Business for
Development Southern Africa Trust.

"Integration deepens political and regional co-operation, enhances export
and investment opportunities and increases market size and that's why we are
seeing a proliferation of regional agreements," he explained.

Deeper integration however, would mean yielding part of a county's power and
sovereignty to the regional institutions like Sadc.

Ramsamy said most African countries were not yet ready to compromise on
their sovereignty.

The US on Zimbabwe, Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Ncube

International wesbite Wikileaks has begun releasing more than 250 000 documents detailing correspondence between the US State Department and Washington's various embassies around the world.

The 251 287 documents previously unavailable to the public and all of which are classified either confidential or secret focus on US policy and diplomatic relations between the world's sole superpower and countries in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

And below is a document filed by headquarters by the then US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell in 2007. The document gives insights into US thinking and objectives on Zimbabwe as well as Washington's opinion about the leading political players in the southern African country:

Date 2007-07-13 10:04:00

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000638

SUBJECT: The End is Nigh

Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Section 1.4b/d

Having said my piece repeatedly over the last three years, I won't offer a lengthy prescription for our Zimbabwe policy. My views can be stated very simply as stay the course and prepare for change. Our policy is working and it's helping to drive change here. What is required is simply the grit, determination and focus to see this through. Then, when the changes finally come we must be ready to move quickly to help consolidate the new dispensation.

THE SITUATION

Robert Mugabe has survived for so long because he is more clever and more ruthless than any other politician in Zimbabwe. To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician and has long thrived on his ability to abruptly change the rules of the game, radicalise the political dynamic and force everyone else to react to his agenda.

However, he is fundamentally hampered by several factors: his ego and belief in his own infallibility; his obsessive focus on the past as a justification for everything in the present and future; his deep ignorance on economic issues (coupled with the belief that his 18 doctorates give him the authority to suspend the laws of economics, including supply and demand); and his essentially short-term, tactical style.

While his tactical skills have kept him in power for 27 years, over the last seven this has only been achieved by a series of populist, but destructive and ultimately self-defeating moves. In reaction to losing the 2000 referendum on the constitution, a vengeful Mugabe unleashed his Green Bombers to commit land reform and in the process he destroyed Zimbabwe's agricultural sector, once the bedrock of the economy.

While thousands of white farmers saw their properties seized, hundreds of thousands of black Zimbabweans lost their livelihoods and were reduced to utter poverty. In 2005, having been forced to steal victory by manipulating the results of an election he lost, Mugabe lashed out again, punishing the urban populace by launching Operation Murambatsvina. The result was wholesale destruction of the informal sector, on which as much as 70-80 percent of urban dwellers had depended, and the uprooting of 700,000 Zimbabweans. The current inflationary cycle really began with Murambatsvina, as rents and prices grew in response to a decrease in supply.

And now, faced with the hyperinflationary consequences of his ruinous fiscal policies and growing reliance on the printing press to keep his government running, Mugabe has launched Operation Slash Prices. This has once again given him a very temporary boost in popularity especially among the police, who have led the looting of retail outlets and now seem well positioned to take a leading role in the black market economy) at the cost of terrible damage to the country and people.

Many small grocery and shop owners, traders, etc., will be wiped out; the shelves are increasingly bare; hunger, fear, and tension are growing; fuel has disappeared. When the shelves are still empty this time next week, the popular appeal of the price roll back will evaporate and the government simply doesn't have the resources to replace the entire private commercial sector and keep Zimbabweans fed. It may attempt to do so by printing more money, adding even more inflationary pressure on a system already reeling from the GOZ's quasi-fiscal lunacy combined with the price impact of pervasive shortages.

The increasingly worthless Zim dollar is likely to collapse as a unit of trade in the near future, depriving the Government of Zimbabwe of its last economic tool other than sheer thuggery and theft of others' assets.

With all this in view, I'm convinced the end is not far off for the Mugabe regime. Of course, my predecessors and many other observers have all said the same thing, and yet Mugabe is still with us. I think this time could prove different, however, because for the first time the president is under intensifying pressure simultaneously on the economic, political and international fronts.

In the past, he could always play one of these off against the other, using economic moves to counter political pressure or playing the old colonial/race/imperialist themes to buy himself breathing room regionally and internationally. But he is running out of options and in the swirling gases of the new Zimbabwean constellation that is starting to form, the economic, political and international pressures are concentrating on Mugabe himself.

Our Zanu PF contacts are virtually unanimous in saying reform is desperately needed, but won't happen while the Old Man is there, and therefore he must go (finding the courage to make that happen is another matter, however, but even that may be coming closer).

This is not some sudden awakening on the road to Damascus, but a reflection of the pain even party insiders increasingly feel over the economic meltdown. We also get regular, albeit anecdotal, reports of angry and increasingly open mutterings against Mugabe even in ZANU-PF's traditional rural bastions.

Beginning in March, the other SADC leaders finally recognised (in the wake of the terrible beatings of March 11 and the international outcry that followed another self-inflicted wound for Mugabe) that Zimbabwe is a problem they need to address.

Thabo Mbeki appears committed to a successful mediation and is reportedly increasingly irritated with Mugabe's efforts to manipulate him or blow him off altogether. If Mugabe judges that he still commands all he surveys by virtue of being the elder statesman on the scene, he may be committing yet another serious blunder.

Finally, one does well to recall that the only serious civil disturbances here in a decade came in 1998 over bread shortages, showing that even the famously passive Shona people have their limits. The terror and oppression of the intervening years have cowed people, but it's anyone's guess whether their fear or their anger will win out in the end.

WHAT WILL THE END LOOK LIKE?

This is the big, unanswerable question. One thing at least is certain, Mugabe will not wake up one morning a changed man, resolved to set right all he has wrought. He will not go quietly nor without a fight. He will cling to power at all costs and the costs be damned, he deserves to rule by virtue of the liberation struggle and land reform and the people of Zimbabwe have let him down by failing to appreciate this, thus he needn't worry about their well-being.

The only scenario in which he might agree to go with a modicum of good grace is one in which he concludes that the only way to end his days a free man is by leaving State House. I judge that he is still a long way from this conclusion and will fight on for now.

The optimal outcome, of course, and the only one that doesn't bring with it a huge risk of violence and conflict, is a genuinely free and fair election, under international supervision. The Mbeki mediation offers the best, albeit very slim, hope of getting there.

However, as Pretoria grows more and more worried about the chaos to its north and President Mbeki's patience with Mugabe's antics wears thin, the prospects for serious South African engagement may be growing. Thus, this effort deserves all the support and backing we can muster.

Less attractive is the idea of a South African-brokered transitional arrangement or government of national unity. Mbeki has always favored stability and in his mind this means a Zanu PF-led GNU, with perhaps a few MDC additions. This solution is more likely to prolong than resolve the crisis and we must guard against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which perpetuates the status quo at the expense of real change and reform.

The other scenarios are all less attractive: a popular uprising would inevitably entail a bloodbath, even if it were ultimately successful; Mugabe's sudden, unexpected death would set off a stampede for power among Zanu PF heavy weights; a palace coup, whether initiated within Zanu PF or from the military -- in which Mugabe is removed, killed, exiled or otherwise disposed of, could well devolve into open conflict between the contending successors.

Similarly, some form of "constitutional coup" i.e., a change at the top engineered within the framework of Zanu PF's "legitimate" structures could well prove to be merely the opening bell in a prolonged power struggle. None of the players is likely to go quietly into the night without giving everything they have, including calling on their supporters in the security services. Moreover, experience elsewhere would suggest that whoever comes out on top initially will struggle, and more than likely fail, to halt the economic collapse. Thus, there is a good prospect of not one but a series of rapid-fire transitions, until some new, stable dispensation is reached.

The final, and probably worst, possibility is that Mugabe concludes he can settle for ruling over a rump Zimbabwe, maintaining control over Harare and the MaShona heartland, the critical forces of the National Reserve Force and CIO and a few key assets gold, diamonds, platinum and Air Zimbabwe to fund the good times. Under this scenario, the rest of the country, in one of the comrade's favorite phrases, could "go hang", leaving it to the international community to stave off the worst humanitarian consequences.

WHAT OF THE OPPOSITION?

Zimbabwe's opposition is far from ideal and I leave convinced that had we had different partners, we could have achieved more already. But you have to play the hand you're dealt. With that in mind, the current leadership has little executive experience and will require massive hand holding and assistance should they ever come to power.

Morgan Tsvangarai is a brave, committed man and, by and large, a democrat. He is also the only player on the scene right now with real star quality and the ability to rally the masses. But Tsvangirai is also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him. He is the indispensable element for opposition success, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power. In short, he is a kind of Lech Walesa character: Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to lead the country's recovery.

Arthur Mutambara is young and ambitious, attracted to radical, anti-western rhetoric and smart as a whip. But, in many respects he's a light-weight who has spent too much time reading U.S. campaign messaging manuals and too little thinking about the real issues.

Welshman Ncube has proven to be a deeply divisive and destructive player in the opposition ranks and the sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better. But he is useful to many, including the regime and South Africa, so is probably a cross to be borne for some time yet. The prospects for healing the rift within the MDC seem dim, which is a totally unnecessary self-inflicted wound on their part this time.

With few exceptions -- Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa -- the talent is thin below the top ranks. The great saving grace of the opposition is likely to be found in the Diaspora. Most of Zimbabwe's best professionals, entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, etc., have fled the country. They are the opposition's natural allies and it is encouraging to see signs, particularly in South Africa and the UK, that these people are talking, sharing ideas, developing plans and thinking together about future recovery.

Unfortunately, among the MDC's flaws is its inability to work more effectively with the rest of civil society. The blame for this can be shared on both sides (many civil society groups, like the NCA, are single-issue focused and take the overall dynamic in unhelpful directions; others, like WOZA, insist on going it alone as a matter of principle), but ultimately it falls to the MDC as the largest and the only true political party, to show the way.

Once again, however, these are natural allies and they have more reason to work together than fight against each other.

STAYING THE COURSE, PREPARING FOR CHANGE

If I am right and change is in the offing, we need to step up our preparations. The work done over the last year on transition planning has been extremely useful, both for stimulating a fresh look at our own assumptions and plans and for forging a common approach among the traditional donor community. But the process has lagged since the meetings in March in London and should be re-energised.

It is encouraging in this respect that USAID Washington has engaged the Mission here in discussing how we would use additional resources in response to a genuinely reform-minded government. I hope this will continue and the good work done so far will survive the usual bloodletting of the budget process.

The official media has had a field day recently whooping that "Dell leaves Zimbabwe a failed man". That's not quite how it looks from here. I believe that the firm U.S. stance, the willingness to speak out and stand up, have contributed to the accelerating pace of change. Mugabe and his henchman are like bullies everywhere: if they can intimidate you they will. But they're not used to someone standing up to them and fighting back. It catches them off guard and that's when they make mistakes.

The howls of protest over critical statements from Washington or negative coverage on CNN are the clearest proof of how this hurts them. Ditto the squeals over illegal sanctions. In addition, the regime has become so used to calling the shots and dictating the pace that the merest stumble panics them. Many local observers have noted that Mugabe is panicked and desperate about hyperinflation at the moment, and hence he's making mistakes. Possibly fatal mistakes.

We need to keep the pressure on in order to keep Mugabe off his game and on his back foot, relying on his own shortcomings to do him in. Equally important is an active U.S. leadership role in the international community. The UK is ham-strung by its colonial past and domestic politics, thus, letting them set the pace alone merely limits our effectiveness. The EU is divided between the hard north and its soft southern underbelly. The Africans are only now beginning to find their voice. Rock solid partners like Australia don't pack enough punch to step out front and the UN is a non-player. Thus it falls to the U.S., once again, to take the lead, to say and do the hard things and to set the agenda.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of ordinary Zimbabweans of all kinds have told me that our clear, forthright stance has given them hope and the courage to hang on. By this regime's standards, acting in the interests of the people may indeed be considered a failure. But I believe that the opposite is true, and that we can be justifiably proud that in Zimbabwe we have helped advance the President's freedom agenda. The people of this country know it and recognise it and that is the true touchstone of our success here. DELL

Report casts doubt on Mbeki's neutrality on Zim

Former president Thabo Mbeki had a bias for Zanu-PF during his time as
mediator between Zimbabwe's ruling party and opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), United States embassy documents have revealed.

During the past weekend whistleblower website WikiLeaks released 250 000
documents, consisting of US diplomatic and intelligence reports, to five
international newspapers, sending shockwaves through the international
diplomatic community.

Included in these documents is a report by US ambassador to Zimbabwe
Christopher Dell in 2007, marked "confidential", which sheds light on the US
strategy in Zimbabwe, as well as Mbeki's role.

It shows, for the first time, that Mbeki may not have been a neutral broker
during the negotiations process, which he was mandated by the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) to take charge of.

"Mbeki has always favored [sic] stability and in his mind this means a
Zanu-PF led GNU [government of national unity], with perhaps a few MDC
additions. This solution is more likely to prolong than resolve the crisis
and we must guard against letting Pretoria dictate an outcome which
perpetuates the status quo at the expense of real change and reform," Dell
wrote in his report.

Dell's report was written shortly after then-US president George Bush
declared Mbeki as his "point man in Africa".

Behind the scenes, MDC activists claimed that during the negotiations
process Mbeki had favoured president Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, but this is
the first time the issue is stated in official documents.

Flawed figure
In his assessment of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, Dell said he was the
"only player on the scene right now with real star quality and the ability
to rally the masses".

But, he said, Tsvangirai was a flawed figure.

"[He is] not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable
judgment in selecting those around him. He is the indispensable element for
opposition success, but possibly an albatross around their necks once in
power. Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to
lead the country's recovery," Dell warned.

According to Dell, the amount of talented individuals in the MDC was
limited.

"With few exceptions -- [finance minister] Tendayi (sic) Biti and
[communications minister] Nelson Chamisa is the talent thin below the top
ranks. The great saving grace of the opposition is likely to be found in the
diaspora."

Dell pulled no punches when he assessed Mugabe.

"To give the devil his due, he is a brilliant tactician and has long thrived
on his ability to abruptly change the rules of the game. However, he is
fundamentally hampered by several factors: his ego and belief in his own
infallibility; his obsessive focus on the past as a justification for
everything in the present and the future; his deep ignorance on economic
issues (coupled with the belief that his 18 doctorates give him authority to
suspend the laws of economics, including supply and demand); and his
essentially short-term tactical style."

Wikileaks report: Tsvangirai gets fairly favaourable appraisal from the US

THE United States believes Morgan Tsvangirai is a is a brave, committed man
and, by and large, a democrat, and in a well balanced assesment its former
ambassador to Zimbabwe also found him to be "a flawed figure, indecisive and
with questionable judgment", according to a leaked secret cable published by
Wikileaks.

This is contrary to Zanu PF media reports cranking up the propaganda that
says "US expresses doubts on the PM".

"Morgan Tsvangarai is a brave, committed man and, by and large, a democrat.　
He is also the only player on the scene right now with real star quality and
the ability to rally the masses.　 But Tsvangarai is also a flawed figure,
not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in
selecting those around him.　

He is the indispensable element for opposition success, but possibly an
albatross around t heir necks once in power.　 In short, he is a kind of Lech
Walesa character:　 Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive
abilities to lead the country's recovery.　

Arthur Mutambara is young and ambitious, attracted to radical, anti-western
rhetoric and smart as a whip.　

But, in many respects he's a light-weight who has spent too much time
reading U.S. campaign messaging manuals and too little thinking about the
real issues.　

Welshman Ncube has proven to be a deeply divisive and destructive player in
the opposition ranks and the sooner he is pushed off the stage, the better.　
But he is useful to many, including the regime and South Africa, so is
probably a cross to be borne for some time yet.　 The prospects for healing
the rift within the MDC seem dim, which is a totally unnecessary
self-inflicted wound on their part this time.　

With few exceptions Tendayi Biti, Nelson Chamisa 　the talent is thin below
the top ranks.

The great saving grace of the opposition is likely to be found in the
diaspora.　 Most of Zimbabwe's best professionals, entrepreneurs, businessmen
and women, etc., have fled the country.　 They are the opposition's natural
allies and it is encouraging to see signs, particularly in South Africa and
the UK, that these people are talking, 　sharing ideas, developing plans and
thinking together about future recovery.　　

Unfortunately, among the MDC's flaws is its inability to work more
effectively with the rest of civil society.　 The blame for this can be
shared on both sides (many civil society groups, like the NCA, are
single-issue focused and take the overall dynamic in unhelpful directions;
others, like WOZA, insist on going it alone as a matter of principle), but
ultimately it falls to the MDC as the largest and the only true political
party, to show the way.　 Once again, however, these are natural allies and
they have more reason to work together than fight against each other.　

The MDC Prayer

The MDC has developed a prayer to seek for guidance from the Lord Almighty that Zimbabwe be a free nation again. Zimbabweans have suffered so much at the hands of men who have turned from God's word and wisdom. The MDC family is therefore praying for a nation that abides by God's major command, that we love one another.

The MDC Prayer

Dear Lord,

We pray for your guidance in building a nation that abides by your word and guarantees the values of democracy, human rights and individual freedoms.

We ask that you give us strength to always fight for justice and the rule of law for all our citizens.

To ensure that all Zimbabweans are free to pursue opportunity, equality and empowerment.

Lord we ask that you grant our leaders the wisdom and humility to follow your word and to serve the people of Zimbabwe with honesty and devotion.

We pledge to work in your name and in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe to deliver dignity, hope, peace and prosperity to our great nation.

In Jesus name

Amen

--

MDC Information & Publicity Department

Zimbabwe's 2011 Budget Angers Labor Groups, Empowerment Advocates

Zimbabwe's largest labor movement, economic empowerment advocates and civil
servants have reacted angrily to Finance Minister Tendai Biti's 2011 budget
saying it does not meet their expectations.

Secretary- general Wellington Chibhebhe of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions said Biti's adjustment of tax-free income thresholds will not benefit
workers.

Chibhebhe said the majority of workers are next year expected to be still
earning salaries that are far below the breadline.

Biti increased the tax-free income threshold from the current US$175 to
US$225 and revised upwards the tax-free bonus threshold from US$400 to
US$500.

He set aside US$1.4 billion for civil service remuneration, almost twice the
US$773 million allocated in this year's budget.

Affirmative Action Group president Supa Mandiwanzira said the budget does
not cater for the nation's indigenization program. "It is an insult for the
minister to allocate only US$5 million for the indigenization program."

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe president Takavafira Zhou said
teachers, who are struggling to make ends meet, are angry that Biti's budget
proposal does not spell out any salary increases for them.

However, his Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai said the minister showed unparalleled leadership in the
inclusive government with a presentation of a robust, well balanced and
professionally crafted national budget that captures the party's values and
people-centered development thrust to pluck out Zimbabwe from three decades
of economic ruin and policy confusion.

"The national budget, a brain child of Biti and a result of extensive
consultations countrywide, reflects a radical departure of previous national
financial plans and projections in that it emphasizes measurable growth
targets, subjects itself to the needs of the poor, accepts and recognizes
the central role of civil servants and demonstrates the MDC's solidarity
with the peasantry," the party said.

It further said the minister "deserves national commendation for unbridled
sensitivity to all Zimbabweans for a good piece of work and for mitigating
the historical burden on a nation previously at the mercy of
hyper-inflation, social iniquity and general political wickedness.

Meanwhile, Biti said Thursday diamond production in 2011 is expected to
increase to 4 million carats compared to this year's 2.7 million carats.

He said the first and second sales conducted in August and September 2010
generated gross proceeds of US$56.5 million and US$30 million respectively,
bringing the total to US$85.3 million.

He said of this amount, accruals to government were US$30 million and
US$11.9 million with the first tranche paid directly to central government
and indirectly through the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.

Biti said from the second sale, only US$8 million was remitted to government
as dividend payment.

He said: "I have therefore requested that from the second auction of
diamonds, payments of royalties, commission and value added tax on
commission made to the Minerals Marketing Authority of Zimbabwe should be
remitted to treasury"
.
He further said negative investor perceptions coupled with persistent
liquidity challenges continued to subdue trading on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange (ZSE).

The daily average number of shares traded declined from 14.5 million in
January to 12.8 million shares by October 2010. The key industrial index
fell from 156.52 points in January 2010 to 137.04 by September while the
mining index dropped from 209.81 to 145.65.

However, Biti said, gains were realized in October when trading on the ZSE
picked up on the back of profit taking towards the end of the year and also
in response to better economic performance and positive outlook.

This saw industrials end October at 157.71 points while the mining index
rose to 217.07 due to firming world market metal prices.

Biti also said during the budget consultation process, a number of
stakeholders in the southern parts of the country raised concern over
exchange cross rates being applied by most retail shops, particularly
between the rand and the US dollar.

"In order to remove the rent seeking behavior by retailers, I am proposing
exchange regulations which will compel all authorized dealers, including
banks, shops and any commercial enterprise to display the daily applicable
international cross rates for all prescribed currencies in a manner that is
conspicuous to the public."

No Marange breakthrough

HARARE – Talks to break an international deadlock over Zimbabwe's suspended
diamond exports ended in Belgium on Thursday without a deal as the market
was awash with rumours that Harare was courting buyers for stones from its
controversial fields to the east of the country.

Industry representatives failed to hammer a compromise deal after a special
meeting of the Kimberley Process (KP)'s Working Group on Monitoring (WGM)
ended in Brussels with no consensus on whether to allow rough diamond
exports from Zimbabwe.

The Brussels meeting followed a KP plenary session held earlier this month
in Israel which nearly reached an agreement after direct consultations
between the United States and Zimbabwe.

The agreement was widely accepted by KP members but was blocked by Canada
and Australia.

The Tel Aviv meetings ended with a decision to continue negotiations until a
unanimous agreement is reached.

Zimbabwe boycotted the WGM meeting although it was said to be liaising with
the working group via a delegation from neighbouring countries.

Harare has insisted that it would resume selling the gems "without any
conditions".

Under a set of measures meant to bring Zimbabwe's controversial diamond
industry in line with KP standards, the world diamond industry must monitor
production and sales of diamonds from Marange field where the army has been
accused of rights abuses against civilians.

International rights groups have been pushing for a world ban on Zimbabwe
diamonds until Harare acts to ensure mining at Marange also known as
Chiadzwa is in full compliance with KP standards.

Meanwhile, media reports said rough diamonds mined by Mbada and Canadile –
two joint venture companies partnering the government in mining the Marange
gems –are being offered to diamond buyers.

Diamond industry publication IDEX Online noted that while the export status
of the diamonds was unclear, Zimbabwe was reportedly "seeking bids for the
goods".

"It's not clear if the goods are among those that were KP certified earlier
this month by the KP monitor, Abbey Chikane," the publication said.

Chikane sneaked into Harare this month and authorised the sale of Marange
diamonds without the consent of other KP members.

Only 4% of industry viable Print

HARARE – Only four percent of Zimbabwe's manufacturing companies are
operating at full capacity while the majority are struggling to ramp up
operations to match at least half of their potential, according to an
industrial survey published last week.
The 2010 CZI Manufacturing Survey, conducted by the Confederation of
Zimbabwe Industries showed that policy pronouncements such as the
Indigenisation and Empowerment Act impacted on the performance of the sector
with some companies adopting a wait-and-see attitude. The CZI noted that
capacity utilization remained a key challenge in the manufacturing sector.
"Although a few firms are producing to their full capacity or close to 100%,
the majority claim under utilization," the survey said. At least 55 percent
of manufacturing concerns are yet to reach 50 percent of their capacity
largely due to lack of working capital, low demand and antiquated equipment
which often results in high plant downtime.
Average capacity utilization at the end of the first half of 2010 stood at
43.7 percent compared to 32.3 percent at the end of the first half of 2009.
This has been largely due to the stable environment which has allowed
companies to plan and budget.The manufacturing sector is yet to experience
the big leap to high sustainable growth that had been projected by
Government. On interrogation, it was observed that the major constraints to
capacity remain largely unchanged with government having failed to address
the fundamentals required to attract the much needed investment.
The three major capacity constraints have been attributed to lack of working
capital; antiquated plant machinery which has resulted in loss of time due
to machinery breakdowns or plant and machinery refurbishment; and low
demand. Exports also remained depressed, with Zambia being the top export
destination. The survey also cited high wage bills as one of the constraints
affecting operations of most companies in the sector.
Workers continue to demand wage increments that are neither productivity
based or in line with inflation developments.
Average wage bills rose by 12% from the second half of 2009 to the first
half of this year. "As the confederation we believe that any wage
adjustments should be productive based, we need to realize the need to
contain unnecessary
inflationary pressures in the economy," CZI said.
The majority of the manufacturers believe there are "minimal" chances of
positive growth for the sector until the right fundamentals are put in
place. They said the government has to seriously address the issue of
capital availability as well as power shortages which are hurting the
industry.

Zimbabwe sees higher 2011 growth but no foreign aid

By MacDonald Dzirutwe and Nelson Banya

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe expects its economy to grow nearly 10 percent
next year as the key mining and agriculture sectors expand, and will rely
largely on domestic revenue to fund its budget as donors hold back aid.

The southern African country's economy expanded for the first time last year
under a unity government led by President Robert Mugabe and bitter rival
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, but investors are still unhappy about
Mugabe's policies.

GDP growth is seen at up 9.3 percent next year from 8.1 percent in 2010 and
5.7 percent last year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said in a televised
budget speech on Thursday.

"The economy is set to grow by 8.1 percent this year, compared to 5.7
percent in 2009 on the back of growth in mining by 47 percent and
agriculture at 33 percent," Biti said.

"In 2011 we anticipate that GDP will grow by 9.3 percent to $8 billion. Our
initial projections were that our GDP would be $5.9 billion in 2011 ... we
are ahead of schedule."

Biti presented the 2011 budget against the backdrop of scant aid flows, with
donors withholding funds crucial to boost an economy emerging from a decade
of contraction mainly over Mugabe's seizure of white-owned farms for blacks.

Investors have also been rattled by Mugabe's drive to transfer control of
all foreign firms, including mines and banks, to locals.

Analysts said Biti's growth projections were unrealistic.

"These are very optimistic figures and I don't know where that growth will
come (from). I believe growth will be much lower than that," Tony Hawkins, a
professor of business studies said at the University of Zimbabwe said. The
IMF has forecast growth of 2.2 percent this year.

Biti saw total revenue for 2011 rising to $2.7 billion from $2.25 billion in
2010, adding: "That is the budget we are working with, which is reliant
entirely on domestic resources."

Zimbabwe had produced 2.7 million carats of diamond this year and sales had
raised $85 million from two auctions. Diamond production is expected to
increase to 4 million carats in 2011.

ELECTIONS CLOUD OUTLOOK

In his speech to parliament, Biti did not give provisions in the budget for
a referendum on a new constitution and for elections Mugabe's ZANU-PF party
says will be held next year.

Biti, from Tsvangirai's MDC party, later told journalists an amount had been
set aside but did not elaborate. The next elections would ordinarily be held
in 2013.

Analysts say a rushed vote could derail economic recovery and that if held
without first implementing political reforms, including a new charter
guaranteeing basic rights, it would favour Mugabe, in power since
independence from Britain in 1980.

Biti said the government would increase royalties on diamond sales to 15
percent from the current 10 percent, while those on gold and platinum would
go up to 4.5 percent and 5 percent respectively from 4 percent.

"Despite the increase in international metal prices, royalties collected
from precious metals amounted to a paltry $20.7 million from sales of $593.8
million, during the period January to September 2010," Biti said.

Zimbabwe, which has grappled with chronic power shortages for the past
decade, would spend $135 million to raise its power generation capacity to
1,650 MW in 2011 from current supply of around 1,000 MW.

"It is our intention to raise power generation in 2011 to 1,650 megawatts by
prioritising the rehabilitation of the Kariba and Hwange stations as well as
the small thermal stations in Bulawayo, Harare and Munyati," Biti said.

Annual inflation, which slowed to 3.6 percent year-on-year in October,
should accelerate to 4.8 percent by year-end.

Mugabe and SADC set to impose Mnangagwa as next Zimbabwe President

HARARE – Zimbabwe is heading towards a full scale civil conflict as
President Robert Mugabe deploys troops across the country to secure another
hotly disputed re-election followed by the imposition of his ally Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa as his successor, highly placed sources in the
State intelligence and the military revealed.

A member of the army stationed at the Zimbabwe Military Intelligence
Directorate (MID) revealed to The Zimbabwe Mail with supported secret
military communications documents marked "Highly Classified" that the
Zimbabwe National Army is on course for a full scale deployment across the
country with their full combat equipment and orders to carry out raids on
innocent villagers.

SADC, South Africa and Thabo Mbeki

The source said Zanu PF, with the assistances of South Africa's ruling party
ANC and other regional SADC States are involved in a plot to influence the
imposition of a requirement in the new Constitution which will see a sitting
President retiring from office and his party nominating his successor. A
majority vote will then be passed in Parliament for the new President to
take charge for the remainder of the term without calling for general
elections.

Mugabe has reiterated that the country will　go for elections before June
next year to undo the ill conceived　power sharing agreement signed with the
two MDCs in September 2008, but we can reveal that this is all according to
the long political process backed and crafted with the assistance of the
government of former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

High level Zanu PF sources this week made the startling revelation that the
defence minister unknown to many, has had an invisible hand in the crafting
of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) whose brainchild is former South
African leader Thabo Mbeki. Mnangagwa we gather spent considerable time
going up and down to South Africa soon after Mugabe was defeated by MDC
leader Morgan Tsvangirai, where he would meet up in Pretoria with Mbeki then
President on several occassions to nudge a solution whose outcome would
protect Mugabe and Zanu PF from losing political power. The GPA forming the
coalition government in Harare was then initiated secretly by Mbeki, with
cosmetic broadbased participation of the two MDC's negotiators sources said.

"Mnangagwa, Mbeki, Mugabe and the army generals really know where this GPA
thing is going," a Zanu PF central committee member has said in privacy.
"You see they somehow control the process, because they conceived it way
ahead of our partners in the inclusive government. Mnangagwa himself is
using it for his own political calculations, that's why you hear talk of
elections and not surprising the re-surgence of violence at these
constitutional meetings. It's all meant to test the waters and position Zanu
PF for future victory. The problem in this country is that investigative
journalisim is dead, therefore our people will continue being in the dark
with regards to the political matrix in government."

The Zimbabwe succession plan has been foisted to the less sophicticated new
South African government led by Jacob Zuma.

China and Russia

The Chinese and the Russians have weighed in as part of a whole raft of a
package to assist South Africa obtain a sit in the UN Security Council and
an invitation for Africa's richest nation into the BRICs – a coalition of
World's vibrant emerging economies made up of Brazil, Russia, India and
China.

China is also understood to be backing Mnangagwa as a better replacement to
Mugabe. Interestingly, the defence minister seems to have deep chemistry
with the chinese after having attended the Beijing School of Ideology, run
by the Chinese Communist Party in the 1970s. Mnangagwa also received
military training from China and later in Egypt.

Diamonds

In recent months, South Africa's ruling party's ANC key figures have been
secretly awarded access to Zimbabwean diamonds and other mineral riches in
exchange of key roles and the backing of a transitional political process
that would keep Zanu PF in power long after Robert Mugabe is gone.

It is this political process unravelling in Zimbabwe which was authored by
President Robert Mugabe himself with the assistance of former South African
President Thabo Mbeki and executed by former South African Presidency's
Director-General Reverend Frank Chikane, the chief principal negotiator for
the Zimbabwe coalition talks.

Reverend Chikane is the brother of the controversial Kimberley Process's
Zimbabwe diamonds monitor Abbey Chikane.

The two Southern African liberation political parties, ANC in South Africa
and ZANU PF in Zimbabwe both share the same history in violence and
mentality and therefore, for them tolerance of a new party coming into
power, especially emerging from the union movement like the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) in Zimbabwe, and South Africa's Cosatu simply is not
on the agenda.

The discovery of immensely rich diamond fields in Zimbabwe have emboldened
South Africa's ruling elite and this has raised the grand scale of political
skulduggery using SADC to work against the Movement for Democratic Change or
any other opposition movement in Zimbabwe.

With an election coming up in Zimbabwe, the MDC and most opposition parties
faces the predicament of staying out of the poll or facing another stolen
election with the South African government and a majority of SADC States
playing key roles in the trampling rough shod on the will of Zimbabwean
people leading to the imposition of a man who is much more ruthless than
Robert Mugabe himself. The man who has lost Parliamentary elections in his
own backyard.

Senior ANC official, secretary general Gwede Mantashe has already uttered
statements warning that criticism of the South Africa government from
Cosatu, ANC's coalition partners from the South African labour union
movements, is tantamount to a Zimbabwe's MDC-like flirtation. Zimbabwe's MDC
was found with the backing of the country's main labour union ZCTU.

Mantashe has labelled the Movement for Democratic Change a creation of the
West, and this follows recent rabid attacks on the MDC by ANC Youths League
President Julius Malema.

Already, the plan to kick start the election rigging process in Zimbabwe has
began with the massive ID cards and passport registration process currently
being carried out in South Africa and Harare for exiled Zimbabweans, albeit
with the aid of South African government agencies.

Early next year South African authorities will drive out millions of
Zimbabwean refugees ahead of Zimbabwean elections and hence the South
African's Home Affairs Ministry's' deadline of December 2010 for is well in
schedule to the Zimbabwean elections.

It is therefore not rocket science that Robert Mugabe is insisting on
elections next year and South African President Jacob Zuma was the first to
pronounce the same earlier this year, only to be rebuked by Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.

Violence and rigging elections

Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, the success of the proposed Mugabe-Munangagwa
succession plan is build on the basis of Zanu PF securing a landslide
majority in Parliament and this will be enabled by massive unprecedented
State assisted political violence on rural populations by joint security
forces aided by party militia and mercenaries from the Great Lakes region.

The plan is to carry out these atrocities well ahead of the arrival of
foreign election observers and international monitors, a source said on
condition of anonymity.

The political cleansing operation in the country side will see Zanu PF re-
take the majority of rural constituencies including those held by the
Movement for Democratic Change.

SADC states who are mainly loyal to President Robert Mugabe with the backing
of South African government will immediately declare the elections free and
fair and pressure will be mounted on the opposition not to contest the
results. South African bases for the opposition will be closed down and
arrest warrants issued for any exiled MDC leaders stationed in South Africa.

On retaining power, President Mugabe will step down in a year's time and his
party will nominate Mnangagwa as his successor, a process which will be
rubber stamped by Parliament by a majority vote.

With its new position in the UN Security Council, South African government
and its SADC allies will crank up the pressure to the international
community to accept Mnangagwa as the new undisputed leader in Zimbabwe.

Key figures in the Western governments, the United States and United Kingdom
will be given access to the country's mineral resources alongside the
Chinese on condition that they lobby for the acceptance of "President
Emmerson Mnangagwa" into the international fold.

Efforts are already underway to approach the new British coalition
government through business and mining investors linked to Mnangagwa's proxy
business associates who have been awarded rights to mine platinum and Gold.

Meanwhile, the rural pre-election political cleansing operation which will
be administered by the Zimbabwe National Army's Brigade commanders and has
been dubbed "Operation Last Chimurenga" will soon establish "defensive
barriers" and enforce no-go areas for the opposition in the months ahead.

Small groups of heavily armed army patrol units will move into villages to
carry out "re-education" campaigns aimed at instilling fear through mental
torture of rural people.

Identified opposition supporters will be silenced and those who resist will
be killed in front of villagers with their heads decapitated in what will be
dubbed "Operation headless chicken".

Every village head is now a Zanu PF ward leader, doubling up as the Village
Development Committee chairman (VIDCO), who replaced the colonial times
Kraal heads.

In the Zimbabwe Voters Roll Register Database Management System batch
header, the VIDCO Chairman will be ordered to mobilise database member
batches of all people in the his cell or ward (Village) and he will be
assisted by security forces and the data will be submitted to provincial
Governors in those in batch headers and their members.

The Governors will then submit the data to the Registrar General who will
manage it on behalf of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and by the
time the elections are conducted Zanu PF will be in a position to know
exactly the precise numbers in the each rural constituencies and on the
polling day, no member in the batch will be turned away, while those in
urban areas struggles to find their names – "enda kwawakambovhotera last
time" (go where you voted last time).

Reports say, the Zimbabwe electoral voters register database management
system software was designed and is still being run by an Israel company
called Cogniview.

However, in recent months the company has denied any association with Robert
Mugabe's regime and writing on his blog Cogniview CEO Yoav Ezer has called
the story "codswallop".

In the country side, the office of the Registrar General is already busy
issuing National ID cards and birth certificate whereas those in the urban
areas have to put up with long queues and high standards set to put them off
or they are asked to go to rural bases.

The information on new birth certificates and national ID cards is being
secretly relayed to village VIDCO chairman who would then mobilises young
villagers to take ID Cards and Birth Certificates from mobile government
agents. This is usually carried out during the legendary food-for-work
programmes.

The whole process is organised by the provincial Governors and it is
therefore not rocket science that Robert Mugabe has remained adamant on the
appointment Governors in the face of the MDC's bitter protests.

Meanwhile, alongside the military terror plan there are deadly Zanu PF
militia hit squads trained in Angola and they will be working with Hutu and
Tutsi refugees recruited from a refugee camps located in the Manicaland
province.

A fugitive former Rwandan general who is wanted by the UN for war crimes
will be leading the mercenaries.

Some of the refugee hit squads participated in the aborted 2008 Presidential
run-off and they are renowned for their role in brutal cutting off hands in
what was called "Operation short sleeve", and the gruesome cutting off of
tongs and toggling of eyes of abducted MDC supporters.

The hit squads will target opposition leaders at grass roots level,
particularly in both the urban and rural areas to decimate the party's
structures.

An internal army command signal which has already been circulated to all
commanding officers is ordering them to cancel all leave days for serving
members in the coming year and massive cash payments will be made in
exchange.

Political monster

The newly created and expanded Zimbabwe National Security Council (ZNSC) to
be chaired by Mnangagwa will replace the current Joint Operations Command
(JOC).

The Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa has been
tasked to fast track the Bill in order to create the legislation which will
transform JOC into a massive political monster called Zimbabwe National
Security Council (ZNSC) which will catapult Mnangagwa into power.

ZNSC will include military commanders; State spy agents, police and prison
Generals in addition to senior high ranking Zanu PF officials. In the coming
year, its first role will be to roll out a full program of seeking Robert
Mugabe's re-election, ahead of the national constitutional referendum.

The Zimbabwe National Security Council will be divided into various
committee groups and former Information and Publicity Minister Professor
Jonathan Moyo, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa's long time campaign
strategist will be tasked to run its operations as chief strategic
operations officer.

Moyo, who will become the country's Prime Minister when Mnangagwa takes
charge, is said to be central to the overall plans and heading the strategic
think-tank involved in the dark arts of Zanu PF power gamesmanship scheme
and sources said he has already secured two floors at the Zanu PF HQ with a
strong team making preparatory stages for the final assault to the close
down of Robert Mugabe's era.

Across the country, soldiers and intelligence officers on reconnaissance
missions have already been deployed in towns and country side across the
country, reportedly to monitor MDC activities and positions.

They have set up camps at local police stations and teamed up with local
Zanu (PF) members in joint operations conducted at ward level, according to
well placed sources.

"We were deployed to take note of people's grievances around town. Three-man
teams comprising a CIO, Army and Zanu (PF) official would monitor political
proceedings in various wards. The exercise was meant to bring back 'normalcy'
among the electorate.

Several army control stations have been established country-wide, equipped
with stand-by generators to maintain a round-the-clock radio communication
with other sub-stations and army headquarters," said the source.

Other sources in the army confirmed that the reconnaissance teams were
assisted by local Zanu (PF) members to identify influential MDC officials in
each ward for future action.

"It was felt strategically correct to deploy the army now, as deploying it
towards election time would raise eyebrows among the international
community. This is a military state and the army would not want to take any
chances. The political playing field has to be tilted in favour of Mugabe
and Zanu (PF) now," said another soldier.

Mugabe's succession is a very serious matter in Zimbabwe, particularly in
Zanu PF. Over the years, the two persons thought to be heading the race are,
Emmerson Mnangagwa, and former military supremo, Solomon Mujuru, whose wife
is one of Mugabe's vice presidents. Mujuru is backing his wife in the race.

Last month, at the burial of his brother Mnangagwa made a startling
confession, that he was taught to destroy and kill, but in the same breath
immediately said he had turned a new leaf and had found comfort in the arms
of God.

However, this week Mnangagwa told hundreds of people in the midlands city of
Kwekwe that Zanu PF will continue to rule Zimbabwe even if Zimbabweans
rejected it.

"If you disagree with what is being said here, then there is nothing I can
do about it and if you don't vote for us in the next election, this country
is huge, we will rule even if you don't want," Mnangagwa said.
Mnangagwa, is one of the most shrewd politicians in Zimbabwe who is referred
to by those that know him well as "Ngwena" (the Crocodile), for his deadly
ruthless streak in maiming opponents who crosses his path.

"Ngwena" is fingered in most political murders and torture in both the
opposition and Zanu PF that have taken place during Robert Mugabe's 30 year
rule.

A United Nations report has also fingered him and the late army General
Vitalis Zvinavashe as some of the individuals involved in the plunder of
Democratic Republic of Congo, late in the 90s.

Mnangagwa a qualified lawyer is said to have ganged up with Justice minister
Patrick Chinamasa, in tilting the GPA pendulum in favour of Zanu PF thus
expalining the current order where the party has a grip on all powerful
ministries such as defence, mining, justice, police and agriculture.

Some of the key support which Mnangagwa secretly has inside Zanu PF, through
a power plotting scheme fronted by his chief political strategic Jonathan
Moyo reportedly includes, but is not limited to: Sydney Sekeramayi, Didymus
Mutasa, Patrick Chinamasa, Ignatius Chombo, Joseph Made, Kembo Mohadi,
Obert Mpofu, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, and Webster Shamu. - *Additional
reporting: Zimbabwe News Intelligence featuring Tsitsi Madiro (South Africa)
and Gilbert Mushonga (Canada).

　

Royal Wedding on 29 April

Prince William and Kate Middleton are to marry on Friday 29 April next year at Westminster Abbey.

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Two Koreas trade artillery fire

North and South Korea exchange dozens of artillery shells across their western sea border, in one of the most serious incidents in years.

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G.M. Shares Said to be Priced at $33, Raising More Than $22 Billion in Biggest U.S. Initial Offering

General Motors has set the offering price for its shares at
$33 each, raising more than $22 billion and setting a record
for the largest initial public offering in American history,
people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday.

The offering will cut the government's stake in the company
by more than half, to about 26 percent, and speed up the
Obama administration's efforts to remove itself entirely from
the company, a goal that G.M. has also avidly sought. Strong
demand for the company's shares allowed a larger amount of
the government's stake to be sold than originally expected.

G.M. will return to the stock market as a public company on
Thursday morning, almost 18 months after it filed for
government-directed bankruptcy protection to shed billions of
dollars in debt and reshape its business. The government's
stake in the company stemmed from that intervention, which
injected $49 billion in public money into the company; $7
billion has since been repaid.

Read More:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/11/17/g-m-prices-its-shares-at-33-in-return-to-stock-market/?emc=na

Aung San Suu Kyi released

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest.

For more details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

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Adversity wil make u sucesful and satisfied

Ladies and Gentleman, it is official: A new study has concluded that experiencing "adverse life events" not only makes you stronger but more satisfied with your life. This study also found that people who sail through life with ease or face less frequent adversity usually do not fare as well compared to those that do. Due to this information, researchers came to the conclusion that ''people are more resilient than we thought and happier because of it."

Have you ever experienced an emotional, financial, or personal setback? Has that setback ever been a key to your success?

Personifications of Marriott's quote are available throughout America's rich history. For instance, Babe Ruth struck out a ridiculous 1,330 times in his professional baseball career, but because of his willingness to continue on after failure Ruth went on to amass the record-setting tally of 714 home runs. R.H. Macy failed an incredible 7 times before his Flagship Macy's Department store of New York City caught on! The great Walt Disney, creator of Disney Motion Pictures and DisneyWorld, failed numerous times, and even suffered a nervous breakdown and lost his home, before he was able to develop a successful cartoon about a mouse named Mickey. The moral of these great American success stories is that the most amazing successes are more often than not built upon early adversities. Therefore, it is important to bear in mind that only out of adversity can massive success truly be born, and it is our job as humans striving for excellence to turn these adversities into eventual successes.

One important key to turning your adversities into amazing successes is the importance of seeing your adversities as a bump in the road and not the end of the road. Your adversities are integral parts of the development process that prepares you for eventual success.

A second important key to turning adversity into success is one's attitude. Answer this question: do you see your glass as half full or half empty? Or, more grammatically, do you see your current adversity as a "setback-period" or as a "setback-comma"? I ask this because as children we were all taught that there were two punctuation marks, each being critica l to our ability to effectively learn to read and write. These two punctuation marks were the period and the comma. A period means the end of a sentence or end story, automatically implying that there is no more to be said or communicated, whereas a comma signifies a pause in the thought, with more to come in the sentence or story! When we have a setback, which we all will experience at some point or another in this life, we have the choice of deciding if this is particular setback will be a period or a comma in our life's story. I encourage you to see life's challenges as a comma and not a period, but you are the one who must make the choice.

Remember that your attitude determines how you see and respond to the adversity that you are facing. As Bob Johnson, the founder of BET and current billionaire, once wrote, "Adversity can either make you or break you! The same hammer that breaks the glass happens to be the same hammer tha t sharpens the steel!" Hence, your eventual success or failure all depends on the positivity or negativity of your attitude and perspective.

Speech

Have just delivered this speech please send it far and wide I delivered it to the International Association of Political Consultant where Morgan was awarded the democracy prize, and delivered the key note speech.

best

Roy

Republicans win House in US poll

Republicans gain control of the US House of Representatives, but President Obama's Democrats retain majority in Senate.

For more details: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news

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