Published by the government of Zimbabwe
13 December 2008
Harare — THERE are growing fears that there is more to the cholera outbreak than meets the eye following revelations by the US State Department that it has been preparing for the outbreak for quite sometime. The outbreak began last August though the US hinted at years of preparation.
In a briefing with the US State Department on Thursday, attended by Ambassador to Zimbabwe James D. McGee and Director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance Ky Luu in Washington; United States Agency for International Development administrator Ms Henrietta Fore said the US had long prepared for the epidemic.
"The United States, working alongside the international community, has been preparing for a cholera outbreak for quite some time. Before the disease was widespread, Usaid began building contingencies into its ongoing emergency programmes, allowing us to quickly direct our assistance to specific targets for cholera outbreaks," Fore said, raising the fears that her country may have launched biological warfare on Zimbabwe.
US attempts to use cholera as an excuse to mobilise military action against Zimbabwe have fuelled suspicions of biological warfare.
Despite assurances from the Ministry of Health that fatalities were going down, Ky predicted that the outbreak would intensify over the festive season.
McGee said he hoped the intensification would force the UN to invoke the responsibility to protect proviso to facilitate invasion, the same resolution that was suspiciously made by the MDC-T national council that met in Harare yesterday.
"We've heard calls from Kenya, from Botswana, from Tanzania, from Zambia. Malawi recently stood up and said, you know, enough is enough; Zimbabwe has to clean up its act or President Mugabe has to go. This is what we're really desperate to hear, and these are the types of things that we're very pleased to hear," McGee said.
Observers questioned why the US was keen to use cholera as cause for war on Zimbabwe when it had not been similarly inclined when the water-borne disease hit other countries in the region.
Responding to the US campaign, the Minister of Information and Publicity, Cde Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, yesterday, described the epidemic as a calculated attack on Zimbabwe.
"The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe is a serious biological chemical war force, a genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British," he said.
"Cholera is a calculated racist terrorist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they invade the country."
Since the outbreak began in August, the American and British governments have led calls for military action against Zimbabwe to unseat the Government, claiming it was failing to protect its people.
Cde Ndlovu dismissed claims that the Government had abandoned the people saying the outbreak was a consequence of the illegal Western sanctions and Government was doing all it could to contain the outbreak.
"Because of sanctions we have not been able to import enough water purification chemicals and water restitution pipes," Cde Ndlovu said.
"Government through the RBZ has provided the Zimbabwe National Water Authority with foreign currency to import chemicals. We thank the World Health Organisation and all health workers for the support in our fight against cholera," Cde Ndlovu said.
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What a total Crock. It would be a good laugh if so many people weren't dying (800+), the plague is still spreading and the government is totally incapable of doing anything about it. Methinks the Herald has brought a group of North Korean propagandists in to write their editorials. It sure sounds like the garbage that comes out of Pyongyang, which normally is always delusional. I wrote the Herald off long ago as a propaganda rag, read only by fools.
Dude, you are completely off your rockers. Who are these North Koreans rocking your boneheaded 'brain'? You must be completely naive: you did read the Herald, otherwise your would not be making the xenophobic comments about the North Koreans.
Have you met all North Koreans, dude?
Who gives a rat's tail if some dude from DixieTexas "writes off the North Koreans."
May I remind you that Condo, neo-con Rice meets with "the North Koreans."
Or, do you imagine, in your volcanic delusional self-apperception that you are 'better' than Condo?
Yes or no: are you 'better' than Professor Rice?
My name is Bob, I'm a Texan. I've spent a lot of time in your country before you were born...Knock off the Dude crap
DUDE from DixieTexas, I don't give a rat's tail if you spent centuries in "my country" before I was born.
Here, we reflect, argue, throw rhetorical bombs, and engage in reflective catfights.
Here, we care not about your origin or your age. Get it? Dude, back off the country of origin and age crap! We DON'T OR SHOULD NOT care about such ephemeral matters in Africa; perhaps, you do in Texas. If you do, then its your bag, not mine: put a dip in your hip, and a funky stroke in your stride and style with us: Africans, for we are a cool people, despite THE CENTURIES OLD REACTION.
What, in the name of the defeated Confederacy, does YOUR TIME SPENT IN ZIMBABWE have to do with the price of tea even in Odinga's Kenya?
What will you do if I refuse "to knock off the Dude crap"?
Nicht; Nada; Natin.
Accordingly, I WILL NOT KNOCK THE DUDE CRAP, A DETERMINATION OR PREDICATE OR WHATEVER that, IN MY OPINION, perspicuously and objectively applies to you, D U D E; DUDE---AND NOW---all together: DUDE.
Cheers from Comedy Central in Harare, the city of the hardest, TOUGHEST people of Africa, Zims, IN MY OPINION.
"Here, we care not about your origin or your age. Get it? Dude, back off the country of origin and age crap! We DON'T OR SHOULD NOT care about such ephemeral matters in Africa"
More lies Shallow-head? How can you say that when clearly the land policies of Mugabe are 100% based upon these "ephemeral" matters?
Another one to add to your lie about 1 million children getting raped in the UK this year already?
A reply on topic please. Else we will simply see you have no substance or argument to back up anything you say once again.
BONEHEAD, I finally got you to fess up, dude.
Your real beef with the AFRICAN is that he took back BY FORCE what the REACTION stole, under Rhodes and company.
Glory to the African warrior, then!
It has always been about the land, dude. Did you imagine I did not know that, bonehead?
May I assure you BONEHEAD that THE LAND WILL NEVER REVERT. GET IT?
NEVER.
The land ain't no ephemeral matter. Right, a zillion times.
It belongs to Africans, and the Africans got it now: and, there ain't crap YOU OR THE TAILS OF THE TAILS OF THE TAILS OF THE REACTION CAN DO ABOUT IT.
GET IT, BONEHEAD?
So you are saying that your statement:
"Here, we care not about your origin or your age. Get it? Dude, back off the country of origin and age crap! We DON'T OR SHOULD NOT care about such ephemeral matters in Africa"
Is wrong? Clearly where people come from does matter to you, as clearly you are against a white person owning land in Zimbabwe. So your statement is clearly hypocritical.
So tell us, why do you condone and support that beats and rapes and murders your fellow Zimbabweans? Why do you support someone that willingly altered the GNU agreement without informing the other parties? Why do you support someone that allows human rights activists to be abducted? Why do you support a leader who does not allow freedom of speech to reign in Zimbabwe? Why do support a leader that denies the very existence of cholera when so many of your brothers and sisters are dying from it? How much are they paying you?
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Active Discussions: UN Chief Says Cholera Epidemic Not Over