President Robert Mugabe's government cannot lead Zimbabwe out of its current humanitatian crisis, the Elders group of influential statesmen has said. The group - which includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - said there was "bitter disappointment" with the current leadership. The group also called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help contain a cholera outbreak. Humanitarian agencies say the epidemic has claimed about 600 lives so far. The Elders include former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and international advocate for women and children's rights Graca Machel. "There is bitter disappointment in the current leadership. This government has not demonstrated the ability to lead the country out of its current crisis," said former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
President Robert Mugabe's government cannot lead Zimbabwe out of its current humanitatian crisis, the Elders group of influential statesmen has said.
The group - which includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - said there was "bitter disappointment" with the current leadership.
The group also called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to help contain a cholera outbreak.
Humanitarian agencies say the epidemic has claimed about 600 lives so far.
The Elders include former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former US President Jimmy Carter and international advocate for women and children's rights Graca Machel.
"There is bitter disappointment in the current leadership. This government has not demonstrated the ability to lead the country out of its current crisis," said former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's government has accused former colonial ruler Britain of using a cholera epidemic to rally Western support for an invasion of the collapsing southern African nation, a state-run newspaper said on Sunday. President Robert Mugabe is under mounting pressure from the international community, especially Western nations which accuse him of ruining the once prosperous country and exposing its people to famine and disease. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has branded Mugabe's government a "blood-stained regime" and said it was responsible for the cholera epidemic that has killed at least 575 people. The world must tell Mugabe "enough is enough," he said. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday the veteran leader's departure from office was long overdue. The growing Western criticism signaled a plot to oust Mugabe's government militarily, Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said. "I don't know what this mad prime minister (Brown) is talking about. He is asking for an invasion of Zimbabwe ... but he will come unstuck," Charamba told the state-controlled Sunday Mail.
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's government has accused former colonial ruler Britain of using a cholera epidemic to rally Western support for an invasion of the collapsing southern African nation, a state-run newspaper said on Sunday.
President Robert Mugabe is under mounting pressure from the international community, especially Western nations which accuse him of ruining the once prosperous country and exposing its people to famine and disease.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has branded Mugabe's government a "blood-stained regime" and said it was responsible for the cholera epidemic that has killed at least 575 people. The world must tell Mugabe "enough is enough," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday the veteran leader's departure from office was long overdue.
The growing Western criticism signaled a plot to oust Mugabe's government militarily, Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said.
"I don't know what this mad prime minister (Brown) is talking about. He is asking for an invasion of Zimbabwe ... but he will come unstuck," Charamba told the state-controlled Sunday Mail.
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A cholera epidemic that started in Zimbabwe has spread to neighboring Botswana and Zambia as well as South Africa, the Southern African Development Community said. The 15-nation group has sent a team to Zimbabwe "to assess the situation," SADC's secretariat said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. The SADC team will consult with the World Health Organization and hold an emergency meeting with health ministers from some member states on Dec. 11. "The current spread of the cholera outbreak is also affecting Botswana, South Africa and Zambia," SADC said. It didn't provide details of how many people were infected in those countries. The Zimbabwe cholera outbreak accompanied the collapse of the country's health and sanitation systems following a decade of recession and political upheaval under President Robert Mugabe. The country's health ministry reported 484 deaths and 11,735 cholera cases since August, according the Web site of the WHO. Cholera, mainly spread through contaminated water and food and poor sanitation, causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to death.
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- A cholera epidemic that started in Zimbabwe has spread to neighboring Botswana and Zambia as well as South Africa, the Southern African Development Community said.
The 15-nation group has sent a team to Zimbabwe "to assess the situation," SADC's secretariat said in an e-mailed statement late yesterday. The SADC team will consult with the World Health Organization and hold an emergency meeting with health ministers from some member states on Dec. 11.
"The current spread of the cholera outbreak is also affecting Botswana, South Africa and Zambia," SADC said. It didn't provide details of how many people were infected in those countries.
The Zimbabwe cholera outbreak accompanied the collapse of the country's health and sanitation systems following a decade of recession and political upheaval under President Robert Mugabe. The country's health ministry reported 484 deaths and 11,735 cholera cases since August, according the Web site of the WHO.
Cholera, mainly spread through contaminated water and food and poor sanitation, causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to death.
