Telegraph
Zimbabwe's empty larder
(Filed: 15/04/2002)
IN a
forlorn gesture, Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change
has
lodged an affidavit in Harare's High Court seeking annulment of
President
Mugabe's election.
It is forlorn for at least two reasons. As the MDC
admits, it is likely to
be several months before the challenge is heard, and
in any case Mr Mugabe's
ruling Zanu-PF party has packed the Bench with judges
friendly to it.
There will be no early re-run of the election, even
though it has been shown
to be fraudulent. Mr Mugabe will take steps to
consolidate his position
while thumbing his nose at Britain, Europe and the
United States. He will
step up his campaigns against the press in Zimbabwe
and what is left of the
commercial farming sector.
In theory, South
Africa and Nigeria are seeking ways of healing the rift
between Zanu-PF and
the MDC. How can anyone hope to heal the rift between a
party which was
palpably cheated of victory and the party which did the
cheating?
The
only certainty in Zimbabwe now is that a lot of people are going to
get
hungrier. The situation is comparable to what happened in the Soviet
Union
in the 1930s when Moscow determined to impose collective
farming.
That experiment produced a huge death toll of which the world
remained
largely ignorant. That will not happen in Zimbabwe, because the
world is
watching too closely; but there will be other dire consequences.
Zimbabwe
will have to import huge amounts of food, for which it lacks the
currency to
pay.
The government there is now seeking 200,000 tons of
maize. Over the next 18
months it will have to import about 1.5 million tons
of corn. That is more
than the battered economy can
afford.
Furthermore, now that Mr Mugabe's continued rule looks certain,
the exodus
from Zimbabwe will accelerate. Many will go to South Africa,
adding to its
already heavy burden of unemployed.
So the consequences
of Mr Mugabe's misconduct will be felt throughout
southern Africa. Those who
still insist that he is being unfairly demonised
in the West simply because
of his hostility to white farmers will find they
are greatly mistaken. He is
endangering a huge region of Africa.
What the continent most needs is
overseas investment and Mr Mugabe is
repelling such investment. Our own Prime
Minister has declared that
suspending Zimbabwe's membership of the
Commonwealth makes it more likely
that the G8 summit in Canada next month
will sanction a "long overdue"
increase in aid to Africa.
That needs
rephrasing. The consequences of Mugabe, as we shall soon
discover, will
vastly increase the aid that Africa needs.
Daily News
Leader Page
Our sick nation can’t be healed by
shameless lying
4/15/02 8:49:57 AM (GMT +2)
WHEN
travelling in Europe recently by train I noticed two co-travellers on
the
station platform speaking in Shona, discussing the latest bad news
from
home.
I greeted them, and we enjoyed a brief chat before
going off in different
directions. More and more young people are leaving the
country because they
have lost faith in the many promises made to them which
were never kept.
People are deeply distrustful of public pronouncements.
Exclaiming “Kunyepa!
(Lies!)” has become an automatic reaction. The
“information” we are given is
“edited” so as to fit the political purpose of
attaining or keeping power at
any cost.
Not even the spokespersons
releasing “information” and their collaborators
in the media believe it to be
true unless we assume that wishful thinking
makes them believe their own
propaganda.
Because of habitual self- deception they have lost touch with
reality which
will catch up with them, though. “Lies have short legs,” says
the proverb,
they will be overtaken by the longer legs of truth.
We
not only tell, but live lies. We build the house of our nation misled
by
self-delusion into dreams of greatness. The person deceiving himself
blames
others.
The honest person accepts responsibility himself. Let
the honest admission
of errors be the starting point.
Truth in our society
is no longer a basic value to be respected.
Truthfulness and honesty are no
longer virtues. Our political and economic
decay is due to our contempt
for
fundamental human values and human dignity.
Being able to seek and
find the truth is a gift that distinguishes us as
humans. Seeking the truth
by sharing insights among trusted friends and
eventually arriving at a larger
and truer picture of our social reality that
is a genuine pleasure which
unfortunately is getting very rare these days.
Partisanship divides us
and spreads fearful silence, distrust and suspicion.
Words are twisted and
distorted. People misunderstand each other since there
is no longer a common
language. Without mutual trust marriage collapses, but
also society at large
falls apart.
Our society is sick and needs healing. It has been said that
uniting and
reconciling our nation “cannot be done by looking backwards”.
(Faith for the
Nation Campaign)
At first sight, this sounds good. But what
this really means is that our
nation, sick to the core because of all this
shameless lying, is to be
healed by a massive cover-up.
This is like
“casting out devils with Beelzebul, the prince of devils”.
(Matthew 12:24)
Our southern neighbours faced the immensely difficult task
of trying to
reconcile after an extremely bitter and cruel struggle. They
created
the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
It did not complete the
entire task, but at least it was a move in the right
direction.
Reconciliation must be based, not on a massive cover-up and,
therefore, more
lies and falsehood, but on truth and honesty. In the ongoing
battle for
political supremacy, even the Church gets roped it.
The combatants,
instead of being open to its message, see in the Church a
useful tool with
which to try and gain control over people. Some churchmen
line up to make
statements they expect will please the powers that be,
jockeying for
positions of influence like anybody else.
That is shameful and
unworthy of the Church. Other church leaders are so
disgusted with the
ongoing war of words that they keep silent, afraid that
whatever they say
will be twisted and misused for partisan-political
purposes.
Beware of
preachers who offer sweet messages of peace and reconciliation,
disregarding
the need for truthfulness and honesty.
“All are out for dishonest gain;
prophet no less than priest, all practise
fraud. They dress my people’s wound
without concern: ŒPeace! Peace!’ they
say, but there is no peace,” Jeremiah
warns in the name of God. (Jeremiah 6:
13-14)Can you sweep the anguish of
women who lost their husbands and
children under the carpet and ignore the
scars left by torture and beatings?
Can you dress wounds without cleaning
them out first? Will they not go on
festering and erupt again later? Dialogue
is certainly what we need, and the
Church must always be ready to mediate in
disputes as peacemaker. But
negotiations will fail unless the truth comes out
and the full facts are
known.
Certainly we want “the wolf to live with
the lamb, and the panther to lie
down with the kid” (Isaiah 11: 6), but not
if that merely allows the wolf to
swallow the lamb, or the panther the
kid.
No one can be forgiven and reconciled who does not face up to the
truth of
what his role and responsibility was in recent bloody events. And
there will
not be peace unless he resolves honestly and wholeheartedly to
drop his
weapon and respect the personal integrity of his former
enemy.
“The time has come and the Kingdom of God is close at hand.
Repent, and
believe the Good News.” (Mark 1: 15) That is the basic message
Jesus left
the Church. There is no good news of peace without repentance
first, without
facing up to the truth, however ugly, and accepting
responsibility for it.
I think Christians and all truth-loving people can
agree on that. Any call
for peace and reconciliation without this call for
repentance is just the
sweet, misleading talk of false prophets, trying to
please their human
overlords, but not God.
Christians must seek the truth
because their Lord is truth (cf. John 14: 6)
and they believe that “God is
light, and there is no darkness in him at all”
. (1 John 1:5) They must never
be part of a witch-hunt or chase scapegoats.
They can face up to the
truth of their own guilt, and need not hide it,
since they believe in a
forgiving God. Fraud and deception, lies and
falsehood are the chains we are
wearing at this moment. Only “the truth will
make us free”. (cf John 8:
32)
Daily News
Leader Page
Zanu PF is not sincere in pursuing party
talks
4/15/02 8:49:03 AM (GMT +2)
WHEN talks between the
warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo
began on 1 March 2002, an
agreement was expected within 45 days. By last
Thursday, there was only one
hurdle which remained to be overcome.
In the next seven days,
even that should have been negotiated
satisfactorily. Similarly, if the talks
between Zanu PF and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), are
expected to make any meaningful
and significant progress, there must be a
time frame within which some
agreement must be reached.
Without this
stipulation, Zanu PF will continue to string the MDC along,
because it is in
its interests to be seen to be talking. The idea, as far as
Zanu PF is
concerned, is to seek to prolong its grip on power, while staving
off
implementation of international measures, such as smart sanctions,
against
this country’s ruling elite.
As long as the talks appear to be in
progress, the international community
will be duty-bound to stay any action
until an outcome. It is imperative,
therefore, that Presidents Thabo Mbeki of
South Africa and
Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria demand a conclusion to the
talks between Zanu
PF and the MDC within a certain period, in order to inject
some sense of
purpose.
As far as Zanu PF is concerned, it would be
happy to continue engaging the
MDC in talks for the next six years. Zanu PF’s
spokespersons seem to have
enormous contempt for the talks, and it is partly
for this reason that there
must be a consensus on when an end to the process
should be concluded.
Unless such a condition is insisted upon, it is
certain Zanu PF will
repeatedly find every excuse in the rule book for
postponing conclusion of
the talks. They are masters at the art of
procrastination. Here is how:
After independence, Zanu PF and the government
declared a policy of national
reconciliation.
Today, the nation is
much more the wiser about the fate of this policy. Then
at the start of the
last decade, the government entered into an agreement
with the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank on the Economic
Structural Adjustment
Programme (Esap), but by the second half of the last
decade, the government
showed clearly it had no intention of honouring its
part of the bargain with
the Bretton Woods institutions.
It was not long after that the government
declared it had abandoned Esap and
was touting something called the Zimbabwe
Programme for Economic and Social
Transformation (Zimprest) in its
place.
But by sometime last year, the government could not make good its
promise on
Zimprest, and like a crafty magician it instead offered something
called the
Millennium Economic Recovery Programme (MERP), which suffered a
stillbirth.
The government scuttled it, preferring what it promises is an
agrarian
reform programme, which it proclaims will create millions of jobs
for a
country with an almost 70 percent unemployment rate.
But before
the government’s latest carrot, last September it signed the
Abuja Agreement,
under which invasions and compulsory acquisition of
commercial farmland was
to stop, while a fair process was being put in
place.
However, in
recent weeks the government has gone ahead and listed hundreds
of remaining
commercial farms for compulsory acquisition.
The affected farmers are
required to vacate the properties within 90 days
and leave behind all the
equipment they have been using on those farms.
The government is, in
fact, asking for total surrender.
Alternatively, it is telling them they can
no longer undertake farming,
otherwise it would be willing to let them take
all the movable equipment on
the farms the government is seizing.
The
above is part of the government’s record in adhering to agreements.
What
makes the MDC believe the government has any intentions of reaching
an
agreement, and if it does, what guarantee is there that this time it
will
uphold it, given its record?
The consequences of failure of the
talks and unwillingness to comply with
the demand for a presidential poll
rerun within 12 months must be spelt out
to the government.
Daily News
Zanu PF fails to settle debt
4/15/02 9:34:46 AM (GMT
+2)
From Brian Mangwende in Mutare
A GROUP of Harare business
people are fuming over Zanu PF’s failure to pay
them about $400 million for
the production and supply of the party’s
campaign material for last month’s
presidential election.
The business persons said they provided
Zanu PF with T-shirts inscribed
“Hondo Yeminda” and, “Third Chimurenga,’’
caps, hats, headbands and flags.
However, senior Zanu PF officials insisted
the party did not owe them
anything.
A disgruntled business person,
who spoke on condition of anonymity, said:
“If I disclose my name, that would
be the end of my investment. I invested
at least $38 million in this campaign
and this is how we are being treated.
“We are contemplating taking legal
action against Zanu PF. They took us for
a ride. We are now tired of their
empty promises. We invoiced Zanu PF
through the Ministry of Information after
delivering the material to
Munhumutapa Building.” Dr Nathan Shamuyarira, Zanu
PF’s secretary for
publicity and information, insisted the party had paid all
its creditors.
He said: “We paid all those who provided us with campaign
material. I
believe this is a smear campaign against Zanu PF.” But he would
not say how
much had been paid out and to which companies. On Friday, the
suppliers held
a meeting with officials from the Department of Information at
Munhumutapa
Building, where they demanded payment, contrary to Shamuyarira’s
assertions
that the debts in question had been settled.
The meeting
attended by 14 suppliers, however, lasted only 20 minutes after
Professor
Jonathan Moyo, the Minister of State for Information and
Publicity, and his
permanent secretary, George Charamba, failed to turn up.
The officials who
met the suppliers on Friday made an undertaking to pay
them today.
One of
the suppliers at the meeting said the Department requested them to
provide
additional material for the independence celebrations, due
this
Thursday.
The request was turned down because this was the fifth
time they had been
promised payment for the presidential election campaign
material supplied,
but to no avail.
Meanwhile, another business
person, who refused to be named, said efforts to
seek an explanation from
Charamba had been in vain.
He said: “All efforts to get an explanation
were fruitless. The accountant
in that ministry has made several false
promises to us. “I borrowed a lot of
money from the bank and put up some of
my property as collateral.
The bank has now informed me that if I do not
honour my part of the
agreement they will simply attach my property. “Was it
wrong for us to
support the party we so deeply cherish?” Charamba said: “It’s
not in my
knowledge that they were not paid. Officials from Zanu PF will have
to shed
more light on that one.” Mike Madiro, Zanu PF’s provincial chairman
for
Manicaland and the party’s director for finance, said on Wednesday he
was
unaware of the situation.
ZIMBABWE: EU urges government to respect human rights
JOHANNESBURG, 12
Apr 2002 (IRIN) - The European Union (EU) has submitted a
draft resolution to
the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC)
urging Zimbabwe to comply
with its human rights obligations.
Wednesday’s submission, by Spain as
head of the EU, expressed concern over
government human rights violations and
"the adverse impact of the actions by
the government of Zimbabwe on the
security of its citizens".
The submission referred to "continuing
violations of human rights", the
deaths of "at least 100" opposition Movement
for Democratic Change
supporters since June 2000 and the actions of "youth
militia" and "war
veterans".
The EU said it was concerned about
disappearances, executions, kidnapping,
torture, beatings and detentions
without trial of members of the media, the
opposition and human rights
groups.
Its submission referred to attacks on the judiciary and the rule
of law, and
cases of sexual and other forms of violence against women. It
also cited the
recent Public Order and Security Act and the Access to
Information Act as
violations of freedoms of expression, opinion, association
and assembly.
The EU urged the government of Zimbabwe to uphold its
obligations under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
Convention Against
Torture, and other human rights treaties to which it is a
party, including
the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
It
also asked for an investigation into allegations of
politically-motivated
killings, violence and harassment and to create
conditions for the "proper
exercise of human rights".
The resolution
asked for UN special rapporteurs on torture, the independence
of judges and
lawyers, freedom of expression, extra-judicial executions and
violence
against women to carry out missions to investigate the allegations
and report
to the Commission at its 59th session.
The EU urged the international
community to strengthen support for human
rights non-governmental
organisations in the country.
UNHCR spokesperson Veronique Taveau said
that once the resolution was
finalised and voted on it would be "a moral
contract" on Zimbabwe.
The EU rejected the outcome of the March
presidential election in Zimbabwe
after a stand-off over foreign election
observers. The EU team left the
country even before the election.
The Age
Govt bans travel to NZ by Zimbabwe president and
ministers
WELLINGTON, April 15 NZPA|Published: Monday April 15, 3:35
PM
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff has again
called for the full
suspension of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth as he
announced sanctions
against the African country.
The sanctions ban 20
key members of Zimbabwe's government and administration
from travelling to
New Zealand, Goff said today.
"The ban has been placed on individuals
implicated in a serious way in
undermining the rule of law and promoting or
allowing human rights abuses,"
he told a press conference.
"It follows
closely the list of individuals banned by the European Union,
Canada and the
United States."
The list, which Goff released, is headed by President
Robert Mugabe and
includes members of his cabinet, the heads of the armed
services, police and
intelligence as well as several top public
servants.
"All are people about whom there is evidence linking them with
abuse. We
will monitor closely the lists in place in other countries and add
to our
blacklist further names if evidence comes to hand to warrant any
such
additions," Goff said.
Goff repeated his previous calls for the
full suspension of Zimbabwe from
the Commonwealth.
The country was
suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth after the
recent presidential
elections, a situation which will allow it to be
represented at the
Commonwealth Games later this year.
Goff wants Zimbabwe banned from the
games, which he described today as the
public face of the
Commonwealth.
"There is limited support from other countries for such a
move at this
point. However, as Zimbabwe continues to refuse to engage with
the
Commonwealth Secretary-General (Don McKinnon) and as evidence comes to
light
of continuing repression of opponents, the Commonwealth must consider
full
suspension," Goff said.
He said there was no question of New
Zealand boycotting the games because
Zimbabwe attended.
"There's no
point in New Zealand cutting off its nose to spite its face,"
he
said.
Daily News
Obasanjo spurns invitation to officiate at Trade
Fair
4/15/02 8:44:37 AM (GMT +2)
By Foster Dongozi
The
government turned to Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to officiate at
this
year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) after the preferred
guest of
honour, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, turned down
the
invitation.
A senior ZITF official, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said: “The
Nigerian President was at the top of our wish list for
eminent people that
we wanted to officiate at this year’s ZITF, but we were
surprised to learn
that the Zambian President would, instead, be the guest of
honour.”
Contacted for comment, the ZITF chief executive officer, Graham
Rowe, said:
“We make recommendations on who should be the guest of honour and
the
President’s Office makes the request. But the President can clarify that
for
you.”
An official at the Nigerian High Commission was
non-committal when asked for
a comment.
“That was the official rumour
that President Obasanjo would be the guest of
honour at this year’s Trade
Fair, but I understand the Zambian head of state
will
officiate.”
Josiah Akinola, the head of the economic desk at the Nigerian
High
Commission, was also reluctant to discuss the matter.
“I am not
very sure. Please, it is not confirmed - goodbye.”
Speculation is rife in the
diplomatic circles that Obasanjo turned down the
invitation for fear of
tainting his image by attending official functions of
a government whose
legitimacy is being questioned following President Mugabe
’s disputed
election victory.
Nigeria is one of the many African countries which
could benefit from South
African President Thabo Mbeki’s efforts to secure
US$64 billion (Z$3 520
billion) for struggling African economies under the
New Partnership for
Africa’s Development.
Conditions for accessing the
aid include democracy, rule of law and good
governance.
Obasanjo and
Mbeki together with John Howard, the Prime Minister of
Australia, were part
of the troika which recommended Zimbabwe’s suspension
from the Commonwealth
after the 54-member organisation’s observer mission to
Harare declared the
9-11 March presidential election as not free and fair.
It is believed
that Mwanawasa, whose legitimacy, like that of Mugabe, is
being challenged in
the courts, was one of the few willing African leaders
to be seen
legitimising the government by attending its official functions.
This
year’s Trade Fair runs from 23 to 28 April.
Only 13 countries as opposed
to last year’s 18, have confirmed that they
will be attending the country’s
premier trade show this year. Some 105
exhibitors have reportedly given the
trade fair a wide berth.
Following widespread violent farm invasions
since February 2000, livestock
exhibition will be notable by its absence from
the Fair this year.
The suspension of the livestock show has been
officially attributed to an
outbreak of foot-and-mouth.
However, it is
widely believed that the major reason could be linked to farm
invasions
spearheaded by war veterans and Zanu PF supporters which led to
massive
disruption of farming activities on most of the country’s
large-scale
commercial farms.
Daily News
MDC members ordered to return agricultural
inputs
4/15/02 8:45:23 AM (GMT +2)
From Brian Mangwende in
Mutare
ZANU PF youths in Manicaland, who have been on the warpath against
suspected
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) members, are demanding refunds
for the
agricultural inputs distributed before the presidential election last
month.
The ruling party distributed fertiliser, maize seed, soya beans
and grain as
part of its campaign strategy to entice the electorate into
voting for
President Mugabe.
Both Zanu PF and MDC supporters benefited
from the election campaign
strategy.
But soon after Mugabe was
declared the winner, the ruling party embarked on
a countrywide retribution
exercise beating up suspected supporters of the
opposition MDC.
Pishai
Muchauraya, the MDC’s spokesperson in Manicaland, said yesterday:
“The areas
affected are Chirimutsitu resettlement area, Gambe, Chipike and
Zuzu communal
lands.
“Zanu PF youths are moving with a list of names of all MDC
supporters who
benefited from the scheme.
They are being asked to
reimburse the cost of the inputs with five percent
interest.
Those who
fail to pay are brought before the chief.
One person has so far been
dragged before a chief’s court after he refused
to comply with the
order.
The chief is said to be imposing fines of $300 against those who
appear
before him.
Muchauraya said: “Bothwell Kawadza, the MDC’s
vice-chairman for Makoni East,
was dragged before the chief to answer
allegations of non-payment.
“He promised to pay, but later fled the
constituency. His whereabouts are
unknown.”
He said the youths were
also demanding a contribution of $50 from every MDC
supporter ahead of this
year’s independence celebration in Makoni East.
Charles Pemhenai, Zanu
PF’s spokesperson in Manicaland, described the
actions as
criminal.
Pemhenai said: “These people are criminals and I urge all those
affected to
report the cases to the police.”
Mugabe won the election
amid accusations by Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC
leader, of massive fraud,
intimidation and politically motivated violence.
The international
community has condemned the 9-11 March presidential
election as not having
been free and fair.
Tsvangirai has since filed papers with the High Court
seeking nullification
of the election result.
Mugabe polled 1 685 212
votes against his closest rival Tsvangirai’s 1 258
401 to earn another
six-year presidential term.
Mugabe has dismissed MDC calls for an
election rerun and threatened to clamp
down on any civil unrest.
Daily News
Marauding Zanu PF youths close Binga council
offices
4/15/02 8:48:44 AM (GMT +2)
From Sandra Mujokoro in
Bulawayo
Marauding Zanu PF youths on Wednesday closed the Binga Rural
District
council offices after throwing out Shadreck Mudimba, the chief
executive,
accusing him of supporting the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
The youths were allegedly led by Mvelenga Mugande, an official in
the
Ministry of Youth Development, Gender and Employment Creation in
Mijeki
district.
The group descended on the offices early in the
morning and demanded the
keys to the offices before locking them
up.
Mudimba was accused of harbouring MDC supporters within the
council.
The council employs about 35 people who were all suspended by the
Zanu PF
supporters.
Mudimba declined to comment for security reasons
but confirmed that he had
been ordered to vacate the council offices. He said
he was waiting to hear
from the Ministry of Local Government on the next
course of action.
By yesterday the offices were still closed.
The
purges in the civil service is part of Zanu PF’s plan to get rid of
public
servants suspected of supporting the MDC.
Soon after the announcement of
the presidential election results, Zanu PF
supporters and war veterans armed
with a list of names of enemies of Zanu PF
’ descended on government offices
rooting out MDC supporters.
Early this month, war veterans fired the
Lupane chief executive officer,
Sibangilizwe Mnkandla, the registrar general,
Boniface Chivige, and his
assistant Mbuliswa Mathe, for allegedly
sympathising with the opposition.
They promised to return when schools
open and deal with teachers who are on
their list.
Tsholotsho rural
district council was also besieged last week. All the
affected are not at
work, doing a blow on the councils.
Daily News
Bankers urge government to set up investment
code
4/15/02 8:21:25 AM (GMT +2)
By Ngoni Chanakira Business
Editor
The government needs to put in place a National Investment Code if
it is
serious about attracting investment, the banking community has said in
one
of its recommendations.
The recommendations come at a time when
the country has been shunned by the
international community and suspended
from various important trade
associations because of its economic uncertainty
resulting from the
controversial presidential election.
The country
was recently slapped with the notorious title, “the riskiest
investment
destination”, by the European Intelligence Agency. While Zimbabwe
does have
an investment code, bankers say it is now out-dated and needs to
be revised
to deal with the issues that are at the centre of dispute between
the country
and the world.
Stanbic Bank of Zimbabwe Limited (Stanbic) said issues
that need to be
looked into included the tax regime, the exchange control
regulations, as
well as the alleged abuse of property rights. Stanbic said:
“The government
needs to put in place a National Investment Code, supported
by a
demonstrably preferential tax regime, as well as flexible exchange
control
requirements.
“Zimbabwe is among the most taxed economies in
the world, making it a less
preferred destination for international capital.
Reassurance to investors of
sanctity of private property rights, as well as
zero tolerance for any acts
of malicious destruction of productive capital
would also help shape up a
credible investment code.”
The bank said
the the government needed to re-align the exchange rate. It
said in as much
as the authorities wanted to contain inflationary pressures
by capping the
exchange rate at $55 against the US dollar, there was also
need to recognise
the negative effect this move was now imposing on the
country’s foreign
exchange situation.
The bank said: “Most exporters have amply indicated
that at the fixed
exchange rate, exporting has become a non-viable
undertaking, given the
steep increases in production costs. Increased inflows
in the official
foreign exchange market can, thus, only be promoted by
adoption of an
eclectic approach to the exchange rate issue. A meticulous
balance will have
to be struck between cost-minimisation and export
promotion.”
Since August 2000, when the exchange rate was adjusted from
$38 to $50
against the US dollar, Zimbabwe’s general level of prices went up
by at
least 175 percent. Adjustment of the exchange rate to $130 to $150 to
the US
dollar would, thus, suffice to make up for lost export
Daily News
Zanu PF heavyweights eye wildlife hunting
concessions
4/15/02 8:50:39 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
Zanu PF political heavyweights are reportedly eyeing wildlife
hunting
concessions, mostly in Mashonaland West Province, with a view to
taking them
over.
This would deprive Zimbabwean hunters of places to
hunt, according to a
source who preferred anonymity.
He said: “They
will then sell the animal quotas to foreign clients. I
understand the country
needs foreign exchange but what annoys us is that we
will have nowhere to
hunt if this goes ahead.
“We will have to accept this but what annoys us
even more is that these
areas are supposed to go for either auction or tender
and our information is
that they will not go for auction but tender. This is
where the political
heavyweights will be granted the areas.”
He said
the areas would be worth more than $150 million for five years, plus
the
animal fees, if they were auctioned.
He said: “Will these politicians pay
this money? I doubt it. The areas
should go for auction to realise some money
for the State but that will not
happen.”
However, Francis Nhema, the
Minister of Tourism and Environment, on Thursday
said the allegations were
unfounded.
He said: “We have a number of citizen hunts for Zimbabweans
and what used to
happen was that they would bid for these as well as the
international hunts.
“What we have said is that even if they were
Zimbabweans, they could bid for
the international hunts. They bid for them
and then pay in Zimbabwean
dollars while they were paid by their clients in
foreign currency outside
the country.”
He said the government wanted
the foreign exchange to come into the country.
He said: “In the process
of changing that, we said there was no time to
conduct auctions, which are
supposed to be in April.
“The Department of National Parks must now go
ahead and market the areas.
Those who are complaining are those who probably
benefited from the other
system.”
Daily News
High Court bars police from ZCTU meetings
4/15/02
8:47:32 AM (GMT +2)
Staff Reporter
THE High Court on Thursday
last week prohibited the police from attending
any future meetings of the
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).
Justice Moses Chinhengo granted
the order following an urgent application on
Tuesday last week by the
ZCTU.
He ordered the respondents, the Commissioner of Police and the
Officer
Commanding Police Harare Province, to pay the costs of the
application.
The ZCTU’s action came after the police caused the
cancellation of the
labour body’s general council meeting on 14 March in
Harare after insisting
that two plainclothes officers be allowed to
attend.
The police said they were empowered to do so in terms of Section
24 of the
Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
When it wanted to hold
another general council meeting on 27 March, the ZCTU
wrote, through its
lawyer, to Augustine Chihuri, the Commissioner of Police,
on 25 March 2002,
demanding an undertaking in writing that the police would
not, “as
threatened, prohibit or interfere in any way or make forced
attendance within
the meeting room on the date, place and time
herein
specified”.
Chihuri replied, in part: “Why should you wish to
exclude the police in your
deliberations if the issues to be discussed are
purely labour issues? The
police are empowered to enter any such buildings
where public gatherings are
in progress in order to ascertain whether the
deliberations . . . are in
conformity with the requirements of
POSA.”
Chinhengo said the meetings of the ZCTU’s general council “could
not be
classified within the meaning of that word as defined in POSA nor can
it be
described as a public gathering to which Section 24 of POSA
applies”.
Chinhengo said it was not necessary for him to deal with the
ZCTU’s
entitlement to enjoy the fundamental rights of freedom of
expression,
assembly and association as they were granted by sections 20 and
21 of the
Constitution.
He said: “Unless it is shown that an authority
is acting on the basis of a
law which curtails that freedom as provided in
the said section, then the
applicant’s rights may not be interfered
with.”
Lovemore Matombo, the ZCTU president, said: “The ZCTU will not
rest until
the POSA is scrapped.”
Hoovers
Zimbabwean government rules out devaluation of
currency
April 14, 2002 2:44pm
04/14/2002
The
government has ruled out the devaluation of the local currency saying
that
the matter was not on the table and, therefore, is not
under
consideration.
This follows some post election rumours of an
imminent devaluation of the
national currency coming from some white
commercial farmers who are
preparing for the tobacco sales due to start next
month. Related to these
rumours is the call of the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industry, CZI, as
reported in the Zimbabwean Independent, that Zimbabwe
should abandon its
national currency which is the fundamental pillar of the
sovereignty, by
adopting the American dollar.
Advertisement: Explore
Within This Space
Speculation on the alleged imminent devaluation
gained momentum at the end
of last month when the minister of finance and
economic development, Dr
Simba Makoni, was reported by the local opposition
papers and western media
to have said Zimbabwe needs a credible and
predictable exchange rate policy.
Asked to comment on the matter, a
government spokesman told the Sunday Mail
that devaluation is a collective
responsibility within government, and that
it is not decided on the basis of
opposition media speculation. The
spokesman said following the election in
which the electorate voted in
favour of the ruling ZANU-PF party's land
resettlement programme, it is now
mandatory for the government to formulate
and embark on an agricultural land
economic growth and development
policies.
The dollar is currently pegged at 55 dollars to the United
States dollar.
A senior financial analyst said the same people calling
for the devaluation
of the Zimbabwe dollar are the same people who have been
pushing for an
economic policy which is anti people through IMF and World
Bank, and based
on ESAP [Economic Structural Adjustment programme] which has
been abandoned
by the government. The analyst said the pressure for
devaluation is a
backdoor attempt to find reasons to increase prices of basic
commodities.
He said devaluation has a negative impact on the country's
foreign debt,
importation of grain and food, industrial equipment, machinery,
and other
important health delivery requirements.
Times of India
Thousands attend Zimbabwe Oppn rally
AFP [
SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2002 11:25:49 PM ]
ARARE: Zimbabwe's Opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai urged thousands of
supporters Sunday to remain patient as
he bids to force a rerun of last
month's controversial presidential
poll.
"Mugabe stole your vote and you people did not get the government
you wanted
because of that," the leader of the opposition Movement for
Democratic
Change (MDC) told a rally attended by more than 12,000 people in
the densely
populated Highfields suburb of Harare.
"So we must have a
grand strategy of action which will ensure that this
illegitimate government
of Mugabe will not survive," Tsvangirai said.
"We as MDC should be ready
to govern because victory is certain for us. When
the time for action comes
we shall tell you people of Zimbabwe how to act
and you should be disciplined
when the time comes," he said.
The MDC on Friday petitioned the High
Court for nullification of the March
9-11 vote, in which Mugabe, who has
ruled Zimbabwe since independence from
Britain in 1980, was declared the
winner by a wide margin over Tsvangirai.
The former labor leader rejected
the result, charging massive vote-rigging,
and has refused to recognize the
Mugabe government.
The MDC is also engaged in talks with the ruling
Zimbabwe African National
Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) which are set to
resume May 13 at which
the opposition will also press for a rerun of the
election.
Early indications were that ZANU-PF would not consider a
rerun
Daily News
CAAZ to waive landing fees in bid to attract
business
4/15/02 8:22:58 AM (GMT +2)
By Raymond Mgadzah Senior
Business Reporter
THE Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) is to
slash and waive
aircraft landing fees at Harare International Airport in a
bid to entice air
carriers to use the airport.
The airport has been
abandoned by 17 airlines in recent months as travel to
Zimbabwe has dwindled
because of the prevailing adverse socio-economic and
political
environment.
The CAAZ chief executive officer, Karikoga Kaseke, said that
“airline
incentives” which would reduce landing fees and waive them for an
agreed
period if an airline agrees to fly into Harare International Airport,
were
to be introduced from 1 July.
Kaseke said: “We are going to offer
airlines up to 35 percent reduction in
landing fees. There will be discounts
for those who start operations on that
route. For the first four months they
won’t have to pay a landing fee. Then
for the next four months they will pay
only 50 percent and then the full
amount after 8 months. This is because
promoting and developing a route
costs money.”
He said facilities at
Harare International Airport would also be improved to
increase the quality
of service for users.
He said a major objective would be to do away with
queues for passengers
checking in.
Kaseke said: “We are upgrading the
check-in system so that there will be no
more than three people in front of a
passenger checking in.”
However, the CAAZ’s efforts to entice visitors to
use Zimbabwe’s main
airport are likely to be set back by other measures which
are being
introduced.
Beginning from 1 June, the departure fee for
international passengers will
double to US$40 ($2 200), while domestic
travellers will be slapped with a
US$10 ($550) departure fee.
Attempts
to woo airlines to fly into Harare are also likely to be made
difficult by
the designation of Zimbabwe as an unsafe travel destination by
governments,
such as some in Europe, the United States of America and
Canada, whose
countries constituted traditional markets for tourism and
business travellers
using Harare International Airport
From News24 (SA), 14
April
‘Mugabe stole your
vote’
Harare - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai urged
thousands of supporters on Sunday to remain patient as he bids to force a re-run
of last month's controversial presidential poll. "Mugabe stole your vote and you
people did not get the government you wanted because of that," the leader of the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) told a rally attended by more
than 12 000 people in the densely populated Highfields suburb of Harare. "So we
must have a grand strategy of action which will ensure that this illegitimate
government of Mugabe will not survive," Tsvangirai said. "We as MDC should be
ready to govern because victory is certain for us. When the time for action
comes we shall tell you people of Zimbabwe how to act and you should be
disciplined when the time comes," he said. The MDC on Friday petitioned the High
Court for nullification of the March 9-11 vote, in which Mugabe - who has ruled
Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980 - was declared the winner by a
wide margin over Tsvangirai. The former labour leader rejected the result,
charging massive vote-rigging, and has refused to recognise the Mugabe
government. The MDC is also engaged in talks with the ruling Zanu-PF which are
set to resume on May 13 at which the opposition will also press for a re-run of
the election. Early indications were that Zanu-PF would not consider a
re-run.
'First Lady Not Involved in Alleged Labour
Dispute'
The
Herald (govt paper) (Harare)
April 13, 2002
Posted
to the web April 13, 2002
Herald Reporter
The Office of the President and Cabinet has dismissed as
absolutely false a story carried by The Zimbabwe Independent claiming the
involvement of the First Lady, Cde Grace Mugabe, in an alleged labour dispute at
a herbal company.
"The First Lady has no knowledge of the company in
question," said a statement from the President's Office yesterday.
"Equally, she does not know or have a relation who goes by
the name mentioned in the report, let alone who works for a company trading by
that name.
"The linkage by the Independent is thus not only forced and
mischievous, but part of a calculated wider, sinister and unrelenting bid to
tarnish the image of the First Family through sheer meanness and politically
calculated fibs," read part of the statement.
The Zimbabwe Independent had reported that a labour dispute
between Mr Erasmus Marufu and a local white-owned company had drawn in the First
Lady.
The First Lady's maiden name is Marufu and the paper
purported that Mr Marufu was her younger brother.
"It is significant that this white-edited, anti-liberation,
anti-black mouthpiece of Rhodesian interests finds falsehoods compellingly more
newsworthy than the serious allegations of economic sabotage which the paper
admits are being raised by the workers against the white owners of the
company.
"Clearly this fascination with the untrue and the
unimportant, using some thoughtless black journalists, has become the enduring
hallmark of this discredited paper.
"One hopes that after countless seasons of lying, the paper
finds time to pause, introspect and God willing, contritely mend its devious
ways," said the statement.
The President's Office has since directed the relevant arms
of Government to investigate the serious allegations of economic sabotage raised
by the workers against the company and "from which the story was calculated to
distract".
Nigerian Guardian
Libya now Zimbabwe's main oil supplier
LIBYA has
overtaken Kuwait as Harare's main oil supplier following the
latest
Zimbabwe-Libya accord, officials said in the Zimbabwean capital.
They
said that following the implementation of the deal signed last year,
Zimbabwe
now sourced 70 per cent of its fuel from Libya.
The North African country
came to Zimbabwe's rescue last year by extending a
$360 million fuel
facility, when Harare faced acute shortages due to lack of
foreign currency
to import the commodity.
Under the new deal, officials say Zimbabwe pays
for Libyan oil in the local
currency, while Tripoli imports agricultural
goods in return.
The officials claimed Kuwait had repeatedly suspended
fuel supply to
Zimbabwe over unpaid bills, and had refused to extend
concessionary
financing.
Meanwhile, economic co-operation between
Libya and Zimbabwe is expanding,
with the two countries last week reiterated
their commitment to boosting
trade ties during President Robert Mugabe's
just-ended visit to Tripoli.
The Age
EU beefs up Zimbabwe sanctions
LUXEMBOURG, April 15
AFP|Published: Tuesday April 16, 4:31 AM
EU foreign ministers
today beefed up their sanctions against Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe
and his government to include a ban on bilateral
ministerial contacts "until
further notice."
In a statement, they expressed "deep concern at reports
of continuing
politically motivated violence against opposition supporters"
by Mugabe's
governing ZANU-PF party.
Meeting as the EU Council of
Ministers, they also condemned "the wide-scale
abuse of human rights still
taking place, especially in the rural areas,
with the assent or the
complicity of the Zimbabwe authorities".
"The council decided to impose a
moratorium on bilateral ministerial level
contacts with Zimbabwe until
further notice, except for the conduct of
political dialogue intended to
promote democracy, human rights, the rule of
law in Zimbabwe, regional
security and for addressing humanitarian needs."
The 15-nation European
Union, at Britain's urging, had imposed personal
sanctions against Mugabe and
19 close associates, including an asset freeze
and a travel ban, prior to
Zimbabwe's general elections last March 9-10.
It also yanked its election
observers out of the country, after determining
that Mugabe's administration
would not allow them to fan out across the
country and go about their work
thoroughly.
In their conclusions today, the EU foreign ministers said
they were
deferring consideration of "additional targeted measures" against
Mugabe's
government until their next meeting next month.
They also
said they were awaiting "with interest" a report on a visit to
southern
Africa by an EU delegation, and for "signs of a clear commitment"
from Harare
to end political violence and strive for national
reconciliation.
"The
council welcomed the initiative of South Africa and Nigeria to
facilitate
inter-party dialogue in Zimbabwe," their statement said, adding:
"The EU
strongly supports all efforts which will lead to a fully
representative
future government in Zimbabwe."
Daily News 15 April 2002
Zanu PF heavyweights eye wildlife hunting
concessions
Young achievers defy State cronyism to make it to the top -
FEATURE
Foot-and-mouth looms in Masvingo - BUSINESS
Banking sector lends
$15bn to farmers - BUSINESS
UZ’s agriculture faculty introduces centre to
train resettled farmers -
BUSINESS
Our sick nation can’t be healed by
shameless lying - LEADER PAGE
Zanu PF heavyweights eye wildlife
hunting concessions
4/15/02 8:50:39 AM (GMT +2)
Staff
Reporter
Zanu PF political heavyweights are reportedly eyeing wildlife
hunting
concessions, mostly in Mashonaland West Province, with a view to
taking them
over.
This would deprive Zimbabwean hunters of places to
hunt, according to a
source who preferred anonymity.
He said: “They
will then sell the animal quotas to foreign clients. I
understand the country
needs foreign exchange but what annoys us is that we
will have nowhere to
hunt if this goes ahead.
“We will have to accept this but what annoys us
even more is that these
areas are supposed to go for either auction or tender
and our information is
that they will not go for auction but tender. This is
where the political
heavyweights will be granted the areas.”
He said
the areas would be worth more than $150 million for five years, plus
the
animal fees, if they were auctioned.
He said: “Will these politicians pay
this money? I doubt it. The areas
should go for auction to realise some money
for the State but that will not
happen.”
However, Francis Nhema, the
Minister of Tourism and Environment, on Thursday
said the allegations were
unfounded.
He said: “We have a number of citizen hunts for Zimbabweans
and what used to
happen was that they would bid for these as well as the
international hunts.
“What we have said is that even if they were
Zimbabweans, they could bid for
the international hunts. They bid for them
and then pay in Zimbabwean
dollars while they were paid by their clients in
foreign currency outside
the country.”
He said the government wanted
the foreign exchange to come into the country.
He said: “In the process
of changing that, we said there was no time to
conduct auctions, which are
supposed to be in April.
“The Department of National Parks must now go
ahead and market the areas.
Those who are complaining are those who probably
benefited from the other
system.”
FEATURE Monday 15,
April
Young achievers defy State cronyism to make it to the
top
4/15/02 9:32:34 AM (GMT +2)
By Ray Matikinye Features
Editor
NO STATE dogma seems to clearly illustrate best how Zimbabwe has
weighed
down its progress towards economic prosperity than its headstrong
fear of
competing individual initiative.
When a satellite television
multinational implored government to allow it
set up a satellite television
base in Zimbabwe ahead of the then strife-torn
South Africa, retired Minister
of Information, Posts and Telecommunication,
Victoria Chitepo, spurned the
offer.
The reason?
Digital satellite television would make short
shrift of what remained of
Zimbabwe’s cultural identity that had been spared
years of bombardment by
Western influence and its decadent
values.
Now, many Zimbabwean subscribers to digital satellite television
spit hard
and loud each time they scrounge for funds when they renew
their
subscriptions.
The service providers demand hard-to-get foreign
currency.
The more affluent subscribers, use offshore bank accounts to
retain the
service.
Had Chitepo accepted the offer, foreign currency
inflows from the deal could
have greatly ameliorated Zimbabwe’s critical
foreign currency shortage.
A grinding scarcity has compelled established
companies to prowl the
parallel market in search of foreign exchange to keep
afloat.
Yet Zimbabwe could be raking in millions monthly in foreign
exchange from
thousands of subscribers in southern African countries and
averting the
crisis it is currently facing, had it foreseen the long-term
benefits of
such a plum offer.
Instead, its stubborn quest for an
ill-defined cultural identify killed the
goose that would have perennially
laid the golden egg.
A group of journalists attending an economic
reporting workshop at a Harare
hotel had a rare insight into how Zimbabwe
lost numerous opportunities that
would have lifted it to economic prosperity
when flamboyant businessman
Philip Chiyangwa told participants:
“We have
advised Strive (Masiyiwa) not to confront the government.”
“Rather, if
you cannot beat the Zanu PF system, join it. That is the only
option and that
is how the systems works. We told him so.”
Chiyangwa was responding to
questions why the Indigenous Business
Development Centre (IBDC), a
single-issue lobby group, kept its arms folded
and did little to assist when
Masiyiwa was fighting a lone battle to upturn
a stifling monopoly and get a
licence from government to establish a
cellular network.
Cellular
phones have enhanced business the world over beyond the business
community’s
wildest imagination.
The IBDC is an ambitious grouping of emergent
businessmen supposed to
champion the indigenisation of the Zimbabwean
economy.
Chiyangwa’s revelation laid bare the cronyism which has cost
Zimbabwe
much-needed investment opportunities, which would have added to the
national
asset base. It reinforces the age-old suspicion among
Zimbabwean
entrepreneurs that government’s definition of enterprise is that
one cannot
go it alone without patronage from the State.
Little did
Chiyangwa know that Masiyiwa’s four-year legal battle with the
State would
yield one of Africa’s most successful cellular networks, ranked
fourth out of
32 companies in sub-Saharan Africa, less than three years
after it came on
stream.
Masiyiwa’s tenacity during the legal wrangle to break the Posts
and
Telecommunications Corporation monopoly at one time evoked the wrath
of
then-Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications,
Joyce
Mujuru, who threateningly declared: “We may jail Masiyiwa if he defies
the
government order. Cabinet was unanimous that Masiyiwa should sell
his
equipment to Telecel (a competitor) or surrender it to government for
no
compensation.”
Neither did the Affirmative Action Group founder
Chiyangwa and the State
foresee that the cellular company would create
thousands of jobs ranging
from service providers and dealers to airtime
street hawkers -a feat that
whittled down increasing unemployment
figures.
Zimbabwe’s current unemployment rate is conservatively estimated
at 60
percent and the governing Zanu PF has promised to create 800 000 jobs
in its
election manifesto.
At the moment, there is scant evidence the
ruling Zanu PF has the capacity
and acumen to fulfil that pledge.
The
best it has achieved is turning thousands of the urban jobless
into
“subsistence traders” through its much-flaunted projects
programme
spearheaded by the Ministry of Youth Development, Gender and
Employment
Creation. The ministry is nowhere within spitting distance of
achieving its
State mandate.
But scores of those employed by the
cellular company have contributed to the
State in the form of individual
taxes, as has the company itself, which
surrendered $49,5 million to State
coffers for the period ending 31 December
2000, according to financial
statements.
Masiyiwa’s company blazed the international trail and has
spread to Morocco,
Nigeria, Botswana, South Africa, New Zealand and the
United Kingdom.
Along Harare’s bustling First Street Mall, workmen are
busy sprucing up an
erstwhile top-shelf supermarket, run down by years of
neglect, to convert it
into one of a blue-chip financial institution’s newest
branches.
That a financial organisation, which emerged from two
individuals’
initiative, is preening the rough edges of a decaying part of
the ruling
elite’s business empire, is a serious indictment.
Without
State patronage, but through sheer determination and business
acumen, Nigel
Chanakira and Frank Kufa developed a financial establishment
voted the best
company listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. Chanakira was
voted among the
top 100 businessmen in the world in October last
year.
BUSINESS Monday 15, April
Foot-and-mouth looms
in Masvingo
4/15/02 9:25:45 AM (GMT +2)
By Columbus
Mavhunga
AN OUTBREAK of foot-and-mouth disease looms in Masvingo province
unless
relevant authorities take measures to stop the movement of cattle
by
commercial farm invaders.
In its latest issue of disturbances on
properties of its members, the
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) said that, in
the Save Conservancy, poaching
and snaring continue, raising fears that
controlling the movement of buffalo
could become difficult.
Last year
there was an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease attributed to
invaders and
hunters who destroyed fence in the Save Conservancy area
resulting in cattle
and buffalo mixing.
The outbreak resulted in Zimbabwe losing millions of
dollars in foreign
currency because of suspension of beef exports.
The
European Union has since told the government to first rehabilitate the
Save
Conservancy fence before it starts accepting its beef.
The CFU raised
concern over the movement of communal cattle to
Kleinbegin
Ranch.
“These cattle come from areas where there is active
foot-and-mouth disease,”
said the CFU.
The union also raised concern
over the continued farm disruptions
countrywide.
It claims that since
last month’s presidential election, 19 farmers had been
illegally evicted
from their property in Mashonaland East while more than 40
cases of looting
of property worth at least $150 million had been reported.
At least half
a million people are starving.
The CFU said in Karoi, maize theft was
rife and despite repeated reports by
the farmers, the police are very
reluctant to attend to these cases.
In Gutu and Chatsworth cattle
continue to be either slaughtered, stolen,
snared or
axed.
BUSINESS Monday 15, April
Banking sector lends
$15bn to farmers
4/15/02 9:26:30 AM (GMT +2)
By Ngoni Chanakira
Business Editor
Despite the controversies surrounding the country’s
agriculture industry,
the commercial banking sector last year lent farmers
more than $15,5 billion
for various projects.
The funds are, however,
being closely scrutinised to find out whether they
were being used for
agriculture and not for luxury items such as fancy cars
and house extensions,
bank officials said.
The banking community has been unwilling to lend the
farming community
because of the speeding up of the designation
policy.
Loans had been suspended by the majority of the banks.
The
government has now threatened to designate more farms and ban farmers
from
taking any immovables from them.
The Minister of Agriculture, Lands and
Rural Resettlement, Dr Joseph Made,
has accused commercial farmers of
“exporting immovables from confiscated
farms”, an allegation that has however
been denied.
Stanbic Bank of Zimbabwe Limited said the government should
expedite the
land redistribution exercise and come up with a clearly defined
tenure
system.
The bank said: “As of end of 2001, total commercial and
merchant banks’
lending to agriculture stood at $15,5 billion, or 12,4
percent of these
institutions’ total loans and advances.
“Expedition
of the land redistribution exercise and coming up with a clearly
defined
tenure system.
“A shorter transaction phase of the on-going land reform
programme would
enhance the credit worthiness of agriculture.
“This
would enable the financial system to continue to fully support
this
critically important sector,” the bank said.
The bank, which
pointed out that at least US$300 million would be needed
this year alone to
solve the current food crisis, said the calamity had come
at a time when the
country was facing its worst foreign currency crisis.
President Mugabe
has supported the new economic policy.
BUSINESS Monday 15,
April
UZ’s agriculture faculty introduces centre to train resettled
farmers
4/15/02 9:28:30 AM (GMT +2)
Farming Reporter
THE
University of Zimbabwe (UZ’s) Faculty of Agriculture, is dove-tailing
some of
its programmes so that the newly resettled farmers can benefit from
their
activities.
In an interview on Friday at the institution’s farm just
outside Harare,
Professor Ostin Chivinge, the Dean in the Faculty of
Agriculture, said they
had introduced a post-graduate centre for training
newly resettled farmers’
trainers.
“We want to involve everyone who
deals with these farmers, be they NGOs or
policy makers,” Chivinge
said.
“Policy makers are also involved so that they do not make fatal
decisions.
Some of their decisions, if not informed are
disastrous.
“If the farmers are properly trained and equipped and policy
makers have
knowledge, there will be production on these acquired pieces of
land.”
Chivinge said the effects of food shortages could be mitigated if
there was
concerted effort by all stakeholders.
“Our faculty must play
a leading role in giving people necessary information
and skills,” Chivinge
said.
He said his department needed to become
self-sufficient.
“The days when the UZ Faculty of Agriculture used to be
a centre for
research and teaching students are over.”
“We need to
generate income so that we can survive on our own,”
Chivinge
said.
During the open day, visitors were shown projects which
the UZ agriculture
students are undertaking in a bid to help farmers increase
production
without increasing economic costs.
Visitors said the
projects would benefit the country’s newly resettled
farmers who have limited
resources and skills.