As the current global financial turmoil deepens, Zimbabwe's chances of garnering a much-needed financial aid injection for its shattered economy hangs in the balance. With major world economic powers - the US and the EU - bogged down in a desperate effort to save their economies from slipping into a recession or, even worse, a depression, the Zimbabwean economic quandary is the last thing on their minds.

Highlighting women’s conspicuous absence in the media coverage, negotiations, and resolutions during the Zimbabwe crisis, Pumla Dineo Gqola outlines the extent to which we have grown accustomed to the near total elision of women’s lives, contributions and agency from significant political events. Drawing upon her recent experiences with a group of South African women on a feminist solidarity trip to Zimbabwe, the author concludes the Mugabe-Tsvangirai power-sharing agreement and its ‘gender neutral’ language to be blind to women’s struggles.

Denouncing the implications of the Mugabe-Tsvangirai alliance, Kola Ibrahim assesses the consequences of a pro-capitalist union for the Zimbabwean working masses. Emphasising the MDC’s and ZANU-PF’s moral bankruptcy, the author concludes that unless the country’s labour movement is resurrected to take a lead in forthcoming struggles, its future will be doomed.

The humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is deteriorating and will continue to worsen into next year, according to the top United Nations humanitarian official, who has called for urgent aid to avert increased human suffering in the Southern African nation. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said that an estimated 3.8 million people would be classed as food insecure between now and the end of the year.

Over 600 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (MOZA) took to the streets of Bulawayo, marching straight to Mhlahlandlela Government Complex to demand the immediate forming of a new government as outlined in the 15 September power-sharing deal. Despite this complex being directly opposite the Zimbabwe Republic Police Drill Hall, no members appear to have been arrested at the time of this release.

Rather than encouraging enrollment, schools in Zimbabwe are asking children not to report for lessons. "We have received, with concern, continuing reports that some children [in Zimbabwe] are not going to school because there are no teachers," said Roland Monash, deputy representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). UNICEF keeps 150,000 Zimbabwean children at school by paying their fees.

With Robert Mugabe begrudgingly accommodating Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara at the bridge of Zimbabwe’s sinking ship, there is at last hope that the once proud country will soon find its way to calmer waters. Although anxious of snags ahead, no one is more relieved than the millions of Zimbabweans both in and outside the country who have suffered through more than eight years of violence, persecution, and economic tragic-comedy.

Zimbabwean women have experienced higher levels of trauma, including violence and lack of food, after the country's independence from Britain in 1980 than before. This is one of the findings of a study conducted by the civic movement Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) on trauma in the collapsing southern African state.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/396/cartoon160908_54131a_l.jpg… Congress of South African Trade Unions has noted the agreement signed by the leaders of the political parties in Zimbabwe on 15 September 2008. We stand by our view that it is only the people of Zimbabwe who must judge whether or not this deal is in their interests. We are therefore awaiting the comments of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and will be guided by them.

Meanwhile, while awaiting the ZCTU’s response, only insofar as the people accept it, we give the agreement our cautious support, but note that many of the demands raised by civil society and supported by COSATU have not been met, including:

- Civil society has been shut out of the negotiations and it has thus been an agreement between the political leaders;

- The agreement does not recognise the result of the 29 March elections. As a result the loser has become the winner and the winner the loser;

- MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai is effectively in charge of a cluster of ministries, while President Mugabe still has extensive powers;

- The agreement is not for an interim government until new elections have been held but for a normal full-term government;

- All Mugabe’s draconian laws remain in place, which give him, for example, the power to arrest political opponents.

The agreement marks a dangerous spread of the Kenyan virus that sends a signal to dictators that they can defy the will of the people by force and then retain power through negotiations, brokered by other African leaders.

It marks a retreat from the principles that the African Union and SADC are supposed to uphold and a return to the bad traditions of the Organisation of African Unity that sacrificed the interests of the people to protect dictators. Meanwhile COSATU waits to hear from the ZCTU, after which it will consider their advice as to whether to continue with the proposed programme of boycotts. If they ask us to proceed we shall do so.

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Zimbabwe’s three main political parties have signed a power-sharing agreement, bringing to an end to nearly 30 years of exclusive rule by Zanu-PF. President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, facilitator of the Zimbabwe talks, told journalists that ‘a unanimous agreement, arrived at without any reservation by all the negotiating parties had been concluded.’ The AU Commission chairperson, Jean Ping, commending the Zimbabwean parties for arriving at the agreement, added that ‘the deal marked a turning point in efforts aimed at promoting reconciliation, stability and fostering conditions conducive for the recovery of the southern Africa country.’ In the power-sharing accord, President Robert Mugabe effectively remains head of state and government, chairman of the cabinet and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and his party will have 15 ministers in a 31-member cabinet. Morgan Tsvangirai will become prime minister and will have 13 cabinet ministers while Arthur Mutambara will be deputy prime minister and his party will have three ministers in cabinet. While the power sharing agreement has been widely acclaimed among policy makers, Johann Kriegler, a retired South African judge who is leading the independent commission investigating the integrity of Kenya’s 2007 elections, argued that the trend towards power sharing pacts was dangerous and warned that competitive elections, though costly, were 'cheaper than civil war'.

In peace and security related news, The AU commissioner for peace and security began a series of talks in Mauritania with the members of the country’s new governing body, the High State Council, the government, the political community and the civil society, in order to find a solution to the current crisis. Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete, current chair of the AU, announced that Nigeria and Tanzania were seeking ways to stop the International Criminal Court’s plans to charge President Bashir, while affirming that the AU and United Nations would work with the Sudanese government to bring about peace and justice in Darfur.

In economic development news, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Japan signed a loan agreement to the AfDB of $300 million that will finance the bank’s private sector initiative. Meanwhile, the economic affairs department of the AU, in collaboration with the Regional Economic Communities and the Association of African Universities, has called for papers for the first congress of African economists.

Finally, the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies will host the Forum on the Participation of NGOs prior to the 44th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Abuja, Nigeria on November 7-9, 2008.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe is to retain control of the army and chair cabinet meetings, according to leaks of Thursday's power-sharing deal. South African President Thabo Mbeki said Mr Mugabe had agreed to share power with Morgan Tsvangirai but said details would be released on Monday.

At Book Café we have created a place of beauty, joy, togetherness and tolerance; an arts centre that celebrates free expression, where artists work with dignity and audiences appreciate a diverse multitude of perspectives. Since 1997 our Book Cafe in Harare has guaranteed no censorship. It is a refuge from violence and threat that imposes cruel uniformity; a refuge from the denial of free creation that is the antithesis of African values.

There are indications that after so many false starts, grand standing, braggadocio and unrealistic demands, both sides in the Zimbabwe conflict are finally negotiating genuinely and a deal may be reached soon. It will be a tribute to the much criticised President Thabo Mbeki's tenacity but also a final realisation by the hawks on both sides that neither can finish the other without finishing the country.

One recalls a statement I made at a public meeting in Harare in 2000 soon after the unexpected defeat of Mugabe and ZANU PF in the referendum on the constitution. The Public Forum at Hotel Monomopata was organised by SARIPS (a formidable institute then, under the leadership of Prof Sam Moyo). The CDD Observer Group was led by Former President of Liberia, Prof Amos Sawyer, who also spoke at the forum. One of the speakers, Dr Ibbo Mandaza was booed because of his pro-Zanu PF stance.

My key contribution in that Forum was that the government was not prepared for defeat while the opposition was not prepared for victory. My conclusion was based on extensive conversations we had with different groups and leading figures on both sides. When we met Prof Jonathan Moyo, one of the key figures propelling the government proposals, at his Sheraton residence and office the day before the referendum, I asked him what will happen if they were defeated. His answer was that there was no way they could be defeated and if it happened, there was going to be chaos. When the delegation met Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, the same day, his response when I asked him what would happen if they won, was that there was no way Mugabe would allow it. He was convinced that the government would jail all opposition leaders.

The Combined Harare Residents Association (CHRA) condemns the decision to convene the 7th Parliament of Zimbabwe. It is the Association’s view that the Parliament should have been convened after the completion of the inter party talks between ZANU PF and the MDC. Without an agreement between the two parties, it is very difficult for the Parliament to conduct its business. None the less, CHRA reasserts its demands for legal reforms on Zimbabwe’s local Governance system.

The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), which represents journalists in the country, has launched a programme to provide life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to its HIV-positive members.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists are calling for a new strategy to remove harsh media laws that have been used to intimidate and stifle independent journalism. The IFJ says the government has indicated its willingness to have a full review of the extensive legal regulations that have been put in place over the past five years.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has said the opposition MDC has until Thursday to agree a power-sharing deal, or he will form his own government. "We feel frozen at the moment [without a government]," he told state media. The MDC has rejected the ultimatum and says it will not be "bullied" into signing a deal.

Civil society organisations have been and continue to meet in South Africa in the run up to the 4th Annual SADC Summit due to take place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa on 15-17 August 2008.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has called on the Zimbabwean government to lift restrictions on aid deliveries, to stop "a catastrophic humanitarian crisis". He said curbs on aid agencies imposed in June meant that less than 20% of 1.5m people in need had received help.

Negotiators from Zimbabwe's rival parties are meeting to try to reach a settlement to the country's crisis before this weekend's regional summit, a spokesperson for an opposition faction said on Friday.