The ZIMBABWE Situation | Our
thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe - may peace, truth and justice prevail. |
Zimbabwe seizes farmers' tractors | ||
The government said it had "acquired 140 tractors, seven combine harvesters... and 3,262 irrigation pipes" under rules introduced last year. President Robert Mugabe speeded up his controversial land reform programme in 2000, seizing 90% of white-owned land. Critics say the programme has caused food shortages, with more than half of the population going hungry. Mr Mugabe denies that the land reform programme has led to food shortages, blaming years of poor rains. In 2000, some 4,500 white farmers owned much of Zimbabwe's best farm-land. Now, just 400 remain on 3% of the land, the government says. 'Daylight robbery' A presidential decree last December said that owners who sold, damaged or immobilised their machinery face an equivalent fine or up to two years imprisonment.
When the decree was passed, farmers' representative John Worsely-Worswick called it "daylight robbery". "It is suddenly a crime to have a piece of equipment you cannot use because you have been forced off your farm." Although the government said it would pay compensation for all farm machinery, Mr Worsely-Worswick said owners of such equipment were sceptical because the government had yet to compensate for the seized farms. He said the decree violated constitutional rights of ownership. |
Zimbabwe's besieged cricket authorities have made the first concession in their attempts to solve the crisis which is tearing the sport apart.
The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) changed the make-up of its selection panel which had been one of the key demands set down by former skipper Heath Streak who was sacked as national captain.
The new panel is: Peter Mangongo (convenor), Mpumulelo Mbangwa, Max Ebrahim and Richie Kaschula.
Mr Mangongo and Mr Ebrahim have been retained but Mr Mbangwa, one of the names suggested by Streak as a replacement, is knowledgeable and popular among all races, while Mr Kaschula was a noted spin bowler for Rhodesia in the 1970s.
The alterations to the panel, which were demanded by Streak and his 12 fellow rebels, are aimed at achieving a breakthrough following almost two weeks of tension.
The players, who earlier released an open letter in which they detailed a whole list of grievances and accused some members of the ZCU of intimidation, were still in talks with their lawyer to decide whether the ZCU move is enough to make themselves available to face Sri Lanka whose tour starts on Tuesday.
The white players are facing a tough deadline over whether or not to accept the new panel, as its first job will come soon when they are due to select the squad for the Sri Lanka series.
Wednesday's open letter was signed by 13 white players - Streak, Stuart Carlisle, Grant Flower, Craig Wishart, Andy Blignaut, Raymond Price, Gary Brent, Sean Irvine, Travis Friend, Barney Rodgers, Trevor Gripper, Richard Simms and Niel Ferreria.
"We have been concerned for some time about what we consider to be the unprofessional manner of selection. There has been interference of a non-sporting nature," the statement said.
"There has, in our view, been racial and ethnic discrimination in the selection of the national team. We believe that problems of this kind can be rectified if minimum qualifications for selectors were introduced, as we have suggested.
"We should also stress that the minimum qualifications proposed by the players are not discriminatory and indeed it would in our view be easy for a selection panel to be established with a majority of qualified black Zimbabweans.
"Names that come to mind would be Ethan Dube and Mpumelelo Mbangwa (providing he is willing to give up his media commentary) both of whom are qualified, ex-national players."
The players also angrily denounced "intimidation of players and a journalist".
"We have been made aware that at least one black journalist and at least one black player (who has asked us not to reveal his name for his own safety) have been threatened by a member of the board not to side with Heath.
"We suspect that other black members of the team have been phoned and threatened in the same manner.
"Once again, we have been reliably informed that a board member suggested during a selection meeting that Mark Vermuelen be offered a double match fee, not to play (in the fourth one-day international against Bangladesh).
"The suggestion was made to try and pave the way for Stuart Matsikanyeri, who had been dropped, to play."
The players insist that their criticisms are not racially-motivated.
"We are all deeply patriotic to all our colleagues and to Zimbabwean cricket supporters of all races. However, we refuse to bow to this unacceptable conduct and we trust that reasonable members of the Board and the ICC will support our stance.
"We are deeply conscious of the effect that non-closure would have on the game, and believe that unless we take action the cancer that is eroding the game in Zimbabwe will not be dealt with."
-- AFP
Daily news |
Staff tossed off Zimbabwe
farm |
Zimbabwe's selectors were due to meet today to choose
what is set to be a novice squad following the dispute with 13 top players that
threatens the future of international cricket in the country.
In a six-page statement issued yesterday, the rebels accused the Zimbabwe
Cricket Union of "racial and ethnic discrimination" in their selection of the
national team.
The group, headed by former captain Heath Streak, say they will not play
international cricket again unless their concerns are addressed.
The 13 players are all white and include only one who has not represented
Zimbabwe at international level.
The ZCU refused to comment on the document and chief executive Vince Hogg was
locked in talks last night with Streak to work out a compromise.
The players, who are refusing to train, say they will only play in the
one-day series against Sri Lanka, starting on Tuesday, if the ZCU overhauls its
selection process.
If talks break down, it raises the prospect of new captain Tatenda Taibu
leading out a second- or even third-string side in the forthcoming series
against Sri Lanka and Australia, and against England in the
autumn.
Zimbabwe 13 pull plug and
threaten tour The Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) vowed to take action against any contracted
player who does not turn out for net practice in Harare this morning. That means
13 players, all of them white, who between them hold 262 Test caps will in all
likelihood be lost to cricket. In their place the ZCU has named a squad of 14
players, all but one of them black, and only eight of whom have international
experience, for the first of five one-day internationals in Bulawayo on
Tuesday. "There's no doubt about it, we're not budging; we will not be at nets," one
of the players, who declined to be named, said yesterday. The International Cricket Council has neither the right nor the inclination
to intervene in disputes between boards and their players. The most it will do
is volunteer to act in a peacemaking capacity and that offer is likely to be
made early next week when the ZCU's hardline director Ozias Bvute and chairman
Peter Chingoka arrive in London. Developments are being watched closely at Lord's, where the England and Wales
Cricket Board will next week consider its options over its proposed autumn tour.
Bvute and Chingoka are due at Lord's on Tuesday where they will address the
ECB's management board. England had looked set to tour but the machinations in Harare will certainly
strengthen the belief that the ZCU is a political body which relies on the
patronage of the president Robert Mugabe's regime. It is already widely held
that Bvute's actions have placed its chief executive Vince Hogg in an impossible
position. Bute reportedly sacked five players for failing to play in a first-class
fixture last weekend, despite all five having been given permission by Hogg to
miss the game. Much will depend on the ICC's next move. Officially the governing
body cannot interfere in the internal workings of an individual board but there
are concerns that, unless some of the 13 can be tempted back to the side, the
series against Sri Lanka may be so one-sided that the integrity of the game will
be called into question. Only a groundswell of opinion among cricket's international community could
lead to Zimbabwe's relegation as a full Test nation - and the apparent appetite
for expansion at any cost would make that a last resort. Zimbabwe's cricket base has never been broader - 60,000 regular players is
the official ICC estimate - but there is little strength in depth and there are
fears that, with players of Minor Counties standard filling eight places in the
team, Tests may be over in two days. Were that the case, and with Australia due to play a series in Zimbabwe in
May, the ICC might be forced to act for the good of the game, something its
president Ehsan Mani referred to when earlier this week he urged both sides to
reach a resolution. If England do decide to tour, the ECB is likely to give its contracted
players the chance to pull out. Any charge by the ZCU that they are not bringing
a full-strength team would be undermined were its own side to feature as few as
three Test-class players. The 13 players yesterday reiterated their demands that Heath Streak be
reinstated to the Zimbabwe captaincy and that the ZCU owns up to incidents of
misconduct the players say have been committed by board members. These include alleged threats to dig up pitches if more black players are not
included in teams, selected and ratified XIs being vetoed by individual board
members on racial grounds, and a claim that the batsman Mark Vermeulen was
offered twice his match fee to withdraw from a one-day international he had been
selected to play in to allow a black player to take his place.
Telford Vice in Cape Town, Paul Kelso and David Hopps
Friday April
16, 2004
The Guardian
Two years of
smouldering acrimony in Zimbabwean cricket burst into flame yesterday when 13 of
the country's most experienced players refused to play in the imminent series
against Sri Lanka. The resignations have cast a shadow over Zimbabwe's future at
international level, to say nothing of England's proposed tour there this
autumn.
15 Apr 2004 19:11 GMT DJ Zimbabwe Avoids UN Censure Over Political Violence, Media | |
Copyright © 2004, Dow Jones Newswires | |
GENEVA (AP)--Zimbabwe avoided the top U.N. human rights watchdog's censure
Thursday over media restrictions imposed by President Robert Mugabe's autocratic
regime and political violence plaguing the increasingly impoverished country.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires |
Mozambican defense chief arrives in Zimbabwe for independence anniversary |
www.chinaview.cn 2004-04-15 04:12:08 |
HARARE, April 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Mozambican Defense Forces (MDF) chief of general staff, General Lagos Henriques Lidimu arrived here on Thursday as a special guest at Zimbabwe's 24th independence anniversary at the weekend. Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) Commander Constantine Chiwenga told reporters General Lidimu was also in the country for routine consultations in areas of cooperation between the ZDF and MDF. "Zimbabwe and Mozambique are one people and the coming of General Lidimu is part of reciprocal visits we carry out from timeto time so that we share ideas and problems we face," he said. Chiwenga said the two defense forces would also look at furthercooperation in areas such as disaster relief. Lidimu said he would want to know more about the situation in Zimbabwe "in the spirit of our cooperation" during his stay in thecountry. Zimbabwe won independence in 1980 after a protracted liberationstruggle and April 18 was set as the country's independence day. |
Former Zimplats man pursues PGM prospects in South Africa
|
London-listed Southern African Resources (SAR), which has
appointed well-known Zimbabwean mining personality Roy Pitch- ford as its CE,
will consider buying into existing mining companies in addition to acquiring
exploration projects. Pitchford, who assumed his new position at the beginning of this month and will continue to live in Harare, says SAR will focus on platinum-group metals (PGMs) in Africa. The company’s main project in South Africa is an exploration-drilling programme in the North West on land and mineral rights owned by the Bakwena Ba Mogopa tribe to raise the confidence level of a PGM resource which was previously scrutinised by Rand Mines. The drilling programme is scheduled for completion in November and will be followed by a bankable feasibility study if it produces favourable results. SAR is responsible for the full cost of the programme, which could be in the region of R20-million, but the Bakwena will have a right to negotiate the terms of an agreement regarding their participation in a future mining venture. A bankable feasibility study, if it is deemed neces-sary at the conclusion of the drilling programme, will take at least six months, while sinking the envisaged 900-m shaft will take up to two years. More time will be required for development work before mining starts. Before a prospecting licence was issued by the Department of Minerals and Energy, consulting firm Snowden completed financial and platinum-resource evaluation exercises which confirmed the potential to produce 300 000 oz/y from 240 000 t of ore processed every month. Pitchford tells Mining Weekly that SAR is also scrutinising the Molopo Farms complex in Botswana, but cannot be drawn to provide further details. “It is early days, but I hope that we will be successful in finding and developing new mining operations,” says Pitchford, who stresses that the search for mineral deposits will not be confined to South Africa. Apart from a stint as the head of Malawi’s Press Corporation, Pitch-ford has held top positions in the Zim-babwean mining industry since 1990. He was the MD of what is now Ashanti Goldfields Zimbabwe, the owner and operator of Freda-Rebecca, that country’s largest gold-mine. He also headed up Masasa Mines, a subsidiary of Australian-listed Delta Gold, before it split its gold and PGM interests into Delta Gold Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Zimplats) respectively. When his contract with Press Corporation expired, Pitchford retraced his steps to the Zimbabwean mining sector and became the MD of Zimplats, which is now majority-owned by South Africa’s Impala Platinum. Zimplats owns and operates Ngezi mine, which it intends to underground-mine in addition to the existing opencast mine. The company has title to vast PGM reserves on the Zimbabwean Great Dyke, the largest known PGM deposit after South Africa’s Bushveld Complex. Responding to a suggestion that his departure from Zimplats indicates that he is worried that President Robert Mugabe’s government may introduce policies and laws which may be detrimental to the nascent PGM industry there, he says: “No, the opportunity to develop new mining operations was a challenge I felt I wanted to pursue.” There was a stir at the beginning of this month when it came to light that the Zimbabwean government was considering making it mandatory for private mining companies to have 49% of their equity in the hands of black Zimbabweans within three years. The government has moved fast to assure worried investors that it will consult widely before taking this proposal to Parliament. |
Last Updated: Friday, 16 April
2004 |
Zim-EU relations need to be revisited — Mumbengegwi TRADE relations between Zimbabwe and the European Union need to be revisited so as to create a win-win situation that would benefit all the parties involved, the Minister of Industry and International Trade, Dr Samuel Mumbengegwi, has said. Addressing delegates who were attending a one-day workshop on National Awareness Workshop on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union, Dr Mumbengegwi said trade relations should never be allowed to benefit other parties to the disadvantage of another. "There is going to be stiff competition ahead in the face of stronger and technologically advanced nations within the trade arrangement. "The enlargement will increase opportunities, but will also stiffen competition since other parties are technologically developed," said Dr Mumbengegwi. The Cotonou agreement, which was signed by African, Caribbean and pacific (ACP) countries in the year 2000, is expected to bring about a new partnership between the grouping and European Union in all areas of co-operation. Dr Mumbengegwi said the prepared negotiation should be centred on call for trade on reciprocal basis. "The trading arrangement will call for trade on a reciprocal basis. "It should be borne in mind that for our nation to progress and attain the desired industrialisation, there is need for the Government and the private sector to come and work together in negotiating issues for the benefit of our society," said Dr Mumbengegwi. The European Union is Zimbabwe’s oldest trading partner. Any changes that affect the trading arrangements with the EU is set to negatively impact on our business transactions and also the economy, said Dr Mumbengegwi. The Cotonou agreement should be operationalised through Economic Partnership Agreements, which will be negotiated with each regional economic grouping within the ACP countries. Zimbabwe is a member of two regional groupings, namely, Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). Turning to the issue of belonging to the EPAs, the Minister said each Sadc member would make the decision since countries in the EPA grouping configure under a single geographical grouping. South Africa, Zimbabwe’s major trading partner, has negotiated a Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement with the EU, which saw the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) countries coming aboard. Sacu is made up of South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho |
Last Updated: Friday, 16 April
2004 |
Zesa reduces tariffs by up to 45pc THE Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) has reduced its tariffs by between 29 and 45 percent following an outcry from the business community. The latest development is likely to bring a lot of relief to the business community, which has in recent weeks complained over the high tariffs that was imposed at the beginning of the year. Company executives complained that the 400 percent tariff increment threatened the viability of most organisations. Zesa corporate affairs manager Mr Obert Nyatanga said several meetings were held at various fora during which the contentious issue of the tariff levels was discussed. "We are pleased to advise that the Government (through the Ministry of Energy and Power Development) and Zesa have granted an interim tariff relief effective 1 April 2004," he said. Mr Nyatanga said Zesa had hired a consultant to undertake an energy pricing study. Each customer’s category or classification and the movement of some customers from a monthly maximum demand tariff to a daily maximum demand tariff would determine the percentage that would be levied. Mr Nyatanga said the tariff relief was applicable starting from March 2004 bills. "It is hoped that this relief will go a long way to address the financial distress currently being faced by the mining, industrial and commercial consumers," Mr Nyatanga said. He also expressed hope that organisations, whose electricity bills — both foreign and local currency denominated — have gone into arrears, would reciprocate this gesture by bringing their accounts up to date. Problems with the new tariff structure came to a head in March when the Association for Business in Zimbabwe (Abuz) took Zesa to the High Court on behalf of several businesses in Bulawayo. Abuz won an injunction stating that the massive tariff increases were null and void and the power authority was ordered to reconnect supplies. The increments were so huge that for some businesses, electricity bills were chewing as much as 90 percent of total expenses. "Due to the increases, our electricity bill jumped from around $150 million in December to more than $700 million in February. "This had a huge effect on the operations of most companies," said the president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Mr Anthony Mandiwanza. One company reported a jump from around $500 million to between $1,5 and $2 billion. O’Connoly and Company, a Bulawayo-based company ceased operations when its electricity was cut off after failing to settle a $400 million bill and was only granted relief after taking its case to the High Court together with Nimr and Chapman, which had been threatened with disconnection. The mining sector had also taken a beating from the new tariffs with reports that some mines had even had their power switched off for failing to settle their bills while some miners were underground, endangering their safety. |
Positive corporate events boost financial counters
Last Updated: Friday, 16 April
2004 |
Future of unregistered asset firms unclear THE future of unregistered asset management firms might be hanging by a thread as the two-week grace period granted by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe draws to a close. The central bank recently extended the expiry date for the issuing of operating licences to asset managers by a fortnight. The new deadline elapses today. Initially, the RBZ had set the last day for registration at March 31, but extended the deadline after it emerged the central bank was yet to complete its inspections. In the meantime, the unlicensed institutions have continued to operate. To date, only two firms — Old Mutual Asset Management and Kingdom Asset Management — have been granted licences out of more than 100 companies that have mushroomed over the past year. Market sources said indications were that the central bank was inclined towards granting licences to asset management companies associated with banks and insurance firms "and probably between 10 and 15 companies would be issued with licences". Asset managers interviewed by The Herald Business said the RBZ has been silent on the issue and the authorities were yet to come back to the respective companies, informing them on their fate despite having lodged applications with the bank. "The Reserve Bank has not informed us on the state of our application for registration and, as such, we are still in operation," said an employee with an asset management firm who spoke on condition of anonymity. At the time of going to press, Reserve Bank officials had not yet responded to questions sent to them early this week. It, therefore, remains unclear whether the country would be serviced by only two asset managers as a great number of institutions are understood to have failed to meet the new RBZ registration requirements. Stockbrokers on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange have lately been lamenting the delays in the issuance of licences to asset management firms, saying this was dampening activity on the domestic bourse. Registration fees for one to operate as either a fund manager or portfolio manager or both now stand at $500 million. The companies are expected to present a certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association and paid-up share capital of $500 million, which should not be borrowed funds. Asset management firms are also required to furnish the central bank with past financial performance statements, proof of capital, details of directors and the management structures and tax clearance certificates, among other requirements. The RBZ has previously been reported to have been undertaking a thorough inspection of asset firms with the intention of drastically scaling down the number of companies presently in operation while simultaneously ensuring the institutions would stick to their core businesses. |
Last Updated: Friday, 16 April
2004 |
Arda secures joint venture deal with Chinese firm The Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (Arda) has clinched a joint venture deal with a Chinese company to produce and export tobacco to the Asian country, an official has said.Arda chief executive Mr Joseph Matowanyika said the agreement involves co-financing of the crop’s production in Zimbabwe, and would be exported to China outside existing tobacco marketing arrangements. China is one of the biggest importers of Zimbabwe’s tobacco, and companies from the Asian nation are now interested in investing in the sector as well to secure long-term supplies of the commodity. "Our partnership with the Chinese company is working well, and we plan to increase production and become a major producer of tobacco," said Mr Matowanyika. In the current marketing season, Arda expects to sell two million kilogrammes of tobacco, much of which, if not all, will be directly exported to China. The Arda chief said the two parties planned to increase output under the joint venture to 10 million kilogrammes next year, and to between 20 and 30 million kilogrammes in the next two years. "We plan to become a major producer of tobacco, to increase the country’s export earnings, and our revenue streams," he said. Tobacco is the country’s biggest single export, but until now, Arda did not produce the crop. Mr Matowanyika said Arda also planned to start exporting garlic, baby corn, onions and cotton, among other agricultural products, to Egypt. He said the North African country had expressed interest in a variety of Zimbabwean agricultural commodities, and Arda had the capacity to start exports to Egypt in the near future. The two countries signed a co-operation agreement in the agricultural sector two weeks ago, covering export of farming implements and commodities. — New Ziana. |