Zimbabwe lobby group opposes new constitution drive

http://af.reuters.com

Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:31pm GMT

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE, April 15 (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean constitutional lobby group has
rejected parliament's lead role in writing a new charter, demanding that an
independent commission oversees the process many hope will guarantee free
and fair future elections.

A new constitution was a key demand of the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) for joining a unity government with President Robert Mugabe, who
critics say has rigged polls in the last 10 years to stay in power.

Zimbabweans hope a new charter to replace one inked in 1979 would whittle
the president's powers, strengthen the role of parliament and guarantee
civil liberties and political freedoms.

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), which has campaigned for a new
charter for the past decade, said on Wednesday it opposed parliament driving
the process and wanted a "reputable" sitting or retired judge to chair an
independent commission, which would include civic groups.

"Our point of departure is that we believe the process is not people-driven,
it will be controlled by the political parties and our principles stand
against this," NCA Chairman Lovemore Madhuku told reporters.

"We are going to start a process of opposing this process. The NCA will
campaign for a 'No Vote'."

The NCA's stance sets it at odds with its MDC allies. Together they
mobilised Zimbabweans to reject a government-sponsored constitution in a
2000 referendum.

Analysts say opposition from the NCA, which groups political parties, rights
groups, churches and activists, would stain the credibility of the current
process.

But they also say the NCA, weakened by government crackdowns, may find it
impossible to marshal enough support against a new constitution without its
MDC allies.

"DEFECTIVE PROCESS"

Madhuku also rejected government's plans to use a draft constitution agreed
to by the MDC and Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in negotiations in September 2007
as a starting point for consultations around the country.

The so-called "Kariba Draft" has not been made public.

Madhuku said the NCA would hold demonstrations and was strengthening its
grassroots campaigns to reject the document.

Zimbabwe's Speaker of Parliament on Sunday announced that the unity
government, in which MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is prime minister, had
assembled a 25-member parliamentary committee to lead the constitutional
writing process.

The process would include consultations around the country, and the new
constitution would have to be approved by a national referendum to be held
by mid-July next year.

But Madhuku said members of the committee were loyalists who would take
instructions from the executive and that the NCA was disappointed with its
MDC allies in government.

"If you look at the people who are in the 25-member committee, these are
loyalists of the various political leaders. The main lead singers are in
that committee," he said.

"In 1999 we opposed a process, which in many respects was not as defective
as the current one. We made it clear then that no government must
superintend a constitutional making process. That remains our position
today."

Cabinet meets Wednesday after delay

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15152

April 15, 2009

By Our Correspondent

HARARE - Cabinet belatedly meets today Wednesday for crucial deliberations
over the 100-day programme of action for the inclusive government that was
drafted at the ministerial retreat in Victoria Falls last week.

The 100-day programme of action rolls into action the Short Term Emergency
Recovery Programme, STERP, drafted by Finance Minister Tendai Biti to
breathe new life into the comatose economy.

The Cabinet meeting, which is traditionally held on Tuesday, was deferred to
Wednesday this week after the Council of Ministers, which traditionally
meets on Thursday, met on Tuesday instead to refine the programme of action
ahead of the crucial Cabinet meeting today, the Prime Minister's spokesman
James Maridadi told The Zimbabwe Times.

President Mugabe will chair Cabinet today.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai chaired the Council of Ministers yesterday
which deliberated on the 100-day plan to implement STERP. Maridadi said the
100 day period started on April 6, the first day of the ministerial retreat.

Critics suggested it was delinquent for the inclusive government to identify
the retreat as the beginning of the 100-day programme of action when it was
already halfway through the 100-day period since government was established
on February 13.

Officials say the retreat came up with clear-cut, performance-based and
time-framed ministerial roles and responsibilities which were reaffirmed by
the Prime Minister at Tuesday's meeting of the Council of Ministers.

The ministries were grouped into five "clusters" for the purpose of
formulating their action plans. The clusters are Economic, headed by the
Ministry of Finance, Social, headed by Ministry of Local Government, Rights
and Interests headed by the Ministry of Justice, Security headed by the
Ministry of State Security and Infrastructure headed by the Ministry of
Public Works.

Details of the visions and specific targets formulated during the retreat
have not yet been officially released. The Minister of State in the Prime
Minister's Office Gorden Moyo said it should be ready sometime this week.

As well as the 100-day plan there were also some 30-day time-frames set.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has been quoted as stating that the
Rights cluster has made a commitment to address the plight of prisoners by
May 6 amid outrage at footage that was broadcast on South African State
television about the appalling state of prisons and prevalent conditions of
cruelty. Chinamasa said the cluster would ensure that the basic needs of all
prisoners in terms of food, clothing, bedding and health would be addressed
by May 6.

Time frames for the other clusters have not been availed to the Press but
once they are available for each ministry, they will facilitate monitoring
the fulfillment of the inclusive government's promised undertakings.

Launching STERP last month, Mugabe said that Zimbabwe needed to move away
from "divisive and distractive activities and devote ourselves to a
constructive and beneficial socio-economic reconstruction programme." The
wide-ranging scheme calls for reviving agriculture, which has been
devastated following Mugabe's chaotic land reform programme, as well as
mining, manufacturing and tourism.

The programme would involve lifting price controls, which have been blamed
for undermining manufacturing. The plan envisages a giant step towards
economic stabilisation, according to Mugabe.

The economic blueprint says the government would stop measuring inflation in
Zimbabwe dollars and use foreign currency instead.

STERP projects to bring inflation down to 10 percent by the end of the year.

Zimbabwe economic revival program jilted by SADC?

http://en.afrik.com/article15573.html

SADC leaders set Tuesday as the deadline for individual pledges

Southern African Developemt Community countries failed to meet the deadline
they set to submit of pledges to Zimbabwe's economic revival programme as it
expired last night.

Wednesday 15 April 2009, by Alice Chimora

Southern African Development Community Extraordinary Summit in Swaziland
three weeks ago committed themselves to assisting Zimbabwe raise US$10
billion needed to revive the country's economy. SADC leaders set yesterday
as the deadline for member states to make their individual pledges towards
Zimbabwe's economic rescue package.

It was not immediately clear what Harare's regional counterparts would
contribute towards the package.

The regional leaders also pledged to mount an international campaign to
lobby for the lifting of the Western sanctions on Harare and mobilise
financial resources from institutions such as the International Monetary
Fund and World Bank towards funding Zimbabwe's economic recovery efforts.

It was not clear by yesterday evening whether any money has come through.
But not much is expected to come through anytime soon as most SADC countries
depend on donor funds.

Zambia's Chief Government Spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha yesterday was
quoted saying that Zambia's official position on how much to contribute
towards rebuilding Zimbabwe's collapsed economy would only be known after
cabinet sits to discuss the matter.

At the weekend, South Africa's Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma, said the regional body had dispatched teams of ministers to
the United States and European Union to lobby for the lifting of sanctions
on Zimbabwe and canvass for economic support for the inclusive Government.

Zimbabwe has vast quantities of minerals including gold and platinum with
the latest discovery being diamonds, which have not been exploited and have
the potential of making a significant contribution towards extricating the
country from its economic doldrums.

On Tuesday Deputy Prime Minister Arther Mutambara said Government will not
wait for investment from countries that are not ready to engage it. He told
the Korean Ambassador to Zimbabwe Jae-Hack Oh that Government would engage
all countries interested in working with Zimbabwe. "We are not for charity
but would want to deal in economic issues. We are a profitable country and
we have the resources for all that are interested to invest in Zimbabwe," he
said.

Veteran journalist appointed editor of new Zimbabwe daily paper

http://www.apanews.net/

APA-Harare (Zimbabwe) Publishers of Zimbabwe's NewsDay newspaper have
appointed veteran journalist Barnabas Thondlana as editor of the newly
formed daily publication expected to be launched in the next few months, APA
learnt here Wednesday.

Thondlana is expected to lead the privately owned daily as it tries to
wrestle market share from the state-run Herald which is presently the sole
daily publication in Zimbabwe.

Thondlana has worked for several Zimbabwean newspapers, including the
Zimbabwe Independent and the defunct Daily News.

ZimInd Publishers chairperson Trevor Ncube said the paper had an
overwhelming response in applications from both the Diaspora and local
journalists.

ZimInd Publishers announced in March its intentions to launch NewsDay which
is intended to play a vital role in rebuilding the nation as a forum and
market place for ideas and debates to create a prosperous economy as the
nation thrives to revive the education, health and social sectors.

Ncube said at the time that ZimInd Publishers had been encouraged to launch
the paper by the power-sharing agreement signed by President Robert Mugabe
and former opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai which led to the formation of
a unity government.

Zimbabwe's new government has promised to free the media by allowing a
multiplicity of players in the industry.

ZimInd also publishes the Zimbabwe Independent, the Zimbabwe Standard and
South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspapers.

Thondlana's appointment comes barely a week after another Zimbabwean private
weekly, The Financial Gazette, announced plans to launch an evening daily.

  JN/nm/APA 2009-04-15

MDC Chipinge MP remanded in custody

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
15 April 2009

Mathias Mlambo, the MDC MP for Chipinge East, was arrested on Monday for
allegedly inciting violence at a funeral of an MDC member who died recently.
The MP was granted bail on Tuesday, but remains in Chipinge Remand Prison
after the State and the defence team disagreed over his bail conditions.

Lawyer Langton Mhungu said the MP was ordered to pay bail of US$10, reside
at his home, report once a week to police and not interfere with the police.
"And our view was that it was impossible for him not to interfere because
the key witness is a police officer who caused his arrest,' the lawyer said.

Last Friday an altercation erupted between ZANU PF and MDC supporters at the
funeral of the MDC member in Chipinge. It is alleged that some ZANU PF
supporters came to the funeral and started mocking the MDC, resulting in a
fight breaking out.

The lawyer said his client, who had contributed significantly to food
provisions at the funeral, was at the graveside with other people and was
not even aware that a fight had started elsewhere at the funeral. The police
were called in and it is alleged that a police officer discharged a firearm
into the air causing a serious commotion.

Mlambo went to report the incident to the local police station. But he was
the one who ended up being detained. He appeared in court on Tuesday and was
charged with obstructing or defeating the course of justice. He is being
accused of preventing police officers from arresting people who were
involved in the altercation.

His lawyer said ironically the MP, who went to report the unprofessional
behaviour of a police officer, was the one who ended up getting arrested and
being charged with inciting violence. The people who were allegedly
assaulted remain unknown and no one else was apprehended.

The MP told his lawyer that when he tried to confront the police officer
after he discharged his firearm at the funeral, the officer mockingly told
him to go and report the matter to his Prime Minister - referring to Morgan
Tsvangirai.

A Chipinge magistrate will make a ruling on the bail conditions on Friday.

14 bodies of prisoners not collected for burial at 3 Zim jails

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/


Wednesday, 15 April 2009

HARARE - At least 14 bodies of prisoners who have died of various
ailments at three of the state-run prisons have been not collected for
burial with some of the corpses lying at the jails since the start of the
month, prisons sources have said.

According to official announcements on Wednesday there are seven
uncollected bodies at Khami Prison, one at Marondera Prison and six at
Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in the capital, Harare.
The announcement to collect the bodies, which was made on state-run
Radio-Zambabwe indicates the crisis which most of the country's prisons are
facing, officials said.
Speaking on condition that they were not named because they were not
authorised to speak to the media, the officials at the prisons said the
situation was deplorable as a result of serious shortage of food, water and
medicine which has seen a number of prisoners succumbing to various skin
diseases.
The officials said the number of the dead prisoners announced on
Wednesday is an indication of the worsening plight of prisoners.
"There are serious problems across prisons. The announcements to
collect dead bodies is just being managed but the situation is worse than
what the public is being told," the official said.
"Almost everyday there are announcements of dead prisoners which
relatives have to collect. Things are bad."
Both the Zimbabwe Prisons Service (ZPS) and Justice Minister Patrick
Chinamasa were not immediately available for comment on the matter.
Early this month, SABC Special Assignment programme showed a harrowing
documentary on the plight of prisoners in the country.
A high-ranking MDC official and top aide of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai Roy Bennett recently said a human rights tragedy was unfolding in
Zimbabwe's overcrowded jails after spending a month behind bars.
The 52-year-old Bennett, who is a white former commercial farmer and
Tsvangirai's nominee for deputy agriculture minister in the unity government
said some prisoners had died while he was in jail and it took the prison
officers four to five days to remove the bodies.
Zimbabwe's prisons have been long known to be virtual death houses
with hundreds of inmates reportedly dying in the jails because of diseases
and an acute shortage of food.
According to local prisoner's rights group Zimbabwe Association for
Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO) at least two
inmates die everyday due to hunger and disease at two of Zimbabwe's biggest
jails - Chikurubi and Harare Central.
Conditions in prisons across the country have deteriorated over the
years with the ZPS out of cash to buy enough food and drugs to treat
HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, rampant in jails because of overcrowding.
With Mugabe's government preoccupied with trying to find money to buy
food, essential medicines, fuel, electricity and for salaries for hundreds
of thousands of its workers, prisons have been virtually forgotten.
More often than not, inmates in many of the country's jails have to
survive on a single meal per day of sadza (a thick porridge made of ground
maize) and cabbage boiled in salted water because there is no money to buy
adequate supplies.
An outbreak of pellagra disease in 2007 killed at least 23 inmates at
the notorious Chikurubi prison. Pellagra is a vitamin deficiency disease
caused by shortage of vitamin B3 and protein.
A parliamentary committee that toured Chikurubi and other prisons in
2006 was shocked to find inmates clad in torn, dirty uniforms and crammed
into overcrowded cells with filthy; overflowing toilets that had not been
flushed for weeks as water had been cut off due to unpaid bills.
The committee said in a report that the conditions in prisons were
inhuman. However nothing much has been done to date to improve conditions
due to a lack of resources.
ZimOnline

Joint trial for six MPs accused of inputs abuse

From The Herald, 15 April

Harare - The prosecution has consolidated cases of six Members of the House
of Assembly from Masvingo Province accused of abusing Government subsidised
inputs valued at US$90 000 into a single trial starting on May 5. This
followed a suggestion by Harare regional magistrate Mrs Lilian Kudya that
the MPs should be jointly charged. Mrs Kudya made the suggestion while
presiding over the case of Zaka North MP Edmore Mudavanhu, which she
deferred to May 5 pending the consolidation. She said there was no need to
have separate trials when the elements constituting the alleged offences
were similar. Regional prosecutor Mr Obi Mabahwana yesterday said the State
had subpoenaed Zanu PF legislator for Chivi South Irvine Dzingirai and
MDC-T's Hega Shoko (Bikita West), Edmore Marima (Bikita East), Tichaona
Maradza (Masvingo West) and Hamandishe Maramwidze (Gutu North) for trial. He
added that the five would now be jointly tried with Mudavanhu who is already
on remand. The six allegedly acquired a tonne each of maize seed and
diverted a total of 5,2 tonnes to people in their constituencies in the
province. It is also alleged that the MPs collected 120 tonnes of Compound D
fertilizer purportedly for use at their farms but distributed 113,3 tonnes
to farmers in their constituencies. It is the State's case that Maramwidze
diverted 962,5kg of seed and 19,65t of fertilizer while Maradza allegedly
redistributed 650kg seed and 16,5t of fertilizer. Shoko is alleged to have
abused 900kg maize seed and 18,9t fertilizer; Mudavanhu 900kg seed and 19,5t
fertilizer and Dzingirai 925kg seed and 19,25t fertilizer. Marima allegedly
diverted 900t of seed and 19,5t of fertilizer.

Chegutu farm workers still behind bars as invasion continues

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
15 April 2009

Seven farm workers from Chegutu's Mount Carmel Farm are still behind bars
this week, more than ten days since their vicious and wrongful arrest.

The group was hauled into custody by Chegutu police, the day after the
illegal invasion on the farm began in earnest earlier this month. More than
fifteen thugs stormed the farm property and demanded that the farm owners
leave the land. After an overnight standoff, the farm's staff and workers
from farms in the surrounding area joined together to forcibly remove the
invaders from the land. But the invaders retaliated with force later that
same night, viciously attacking the staff, with the help of Chegutu police.
The seven staff members who were arrested were all brutally tortured by the
police in an effort to force false statements from them. They are now facing
trumped up charges of kidnapping, and have been repeatedly remanded in
custody.

The invaders meanwhile have been allowed to run riot on the land,
threatening and beating the remaining staff, to the point that the farm
staff have all been forced into hiding. One staff member was so badly beaten
in the first attack that he suffered a fractured skull. The same man was
even thrown into an open fire and escaped with burns to his legs.

The farm's owners, Mike and Angela Campbell, have since left the farm
because of the continued stress. Their son-in-law, and co-owner of the farm
Ben Freeth, explained on Wednesday that almost the entire farm has been
completely looted, including vast amounts of produce that is now being sold
by the land invaders. He explained that the situation is 'chaotic' and that
not a single police or government official has attempted to prevent the
ongoing attacks.

Freeth has previously urged Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to take action
to stop the land attacks that have forced many of the country's remaining
commercial farmers into hiding. In an open letter to the Prime Minister two
weeks ago Freeth called for the immediate halt to the ongoing farm attacks,
saying the ongoing invasions were preventing real change in the country.
Freeth has since written a second open letter to the Prime Minister, after
receiving no response from the first urgent plea. He has again implored
Tsvangirai to take action by having the invaders arrested, a promise
Tsvangirai made during a speech over two weeks ago. But it is becoming daily
more clear, as the invasions continue, that Tsvangirai has no power to
prevent the attacks, which are openly condoned by Robert Mugabe. Critics say
the farm attacks will ultimately be the final nail in the coffin of the
unity government, which Tsvangirai is already being urged to leave.

Murder on Stockdale farm

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
15 April 2008

The violence on farms in Zimbabwe reached alarming proportions on Sunday
when a man was murdered in Chegutu, allegedly by farm guards working for
Edna Madzongwe, the Senate President.

Justice for Agriculture (JAG) spokesperson John Worsely Worswick told SW
Radio Africa the man had been caught stealing oranges at Stockdale Farm,
owned by the Etheredge family but illegally taken by Mrs. Madzongwe. The
pressure group said the Senate President, who has been an illegal resident
at the farm since March 5th, was in residence when the murder took place.

Worswick said it is believed the man was just an ordinary member of the
public who probably got hungry and helped himself to some oranges.

"This gentleman was taken to the citrus pack shed where he was tortured for
most of the night; at around 05:00 on the 13th march 2009 this man was
released by the guards (no police report was made of the theft). This
gentleman's body was found near the entrance to the farm.'

A report was made to the Chegutu police and three of Madzongwe's guards,
plus two Stockdale former employees, were picked up by the police and taken
to the police station. However no arrests have so far been made.

Worswick said that on Monday MDC youths in Chegutu reacted angrily to the
murder and stormed the farm, chasing away the remaining guards.

JAG also said in a statement: "These people then started shouting at
Madzongwe and her two grown up children, who were in the cottage that she
had broken into on the 5th March. The group shouted at her calling her a
murderer and a thief, as she has destroyed many farms in the Chegutu
district."

They warned Madzongwe to vacate the premises by the time of their friend's
funeral. Police were deployed at the farm during the night because of the
volatile situation and the frightened Senate President sneaked off the farm
at midnight. "She was made to walk off the farm and I believe she was not
allowed to take her vehicle," the JAG spokesperson said.

Edna Madzongwe is no stranger to controversy. She first arrived at Stockdale
Citrus Estate in April 2007, with an expired 'offer' letter signed by
Minister Didymus Mutasa. Stockdale had not been gazetted at the time and no
audit had been carried out on the land.

This was followed by a systematic campaign of violent evictions and looting
of property worth over a million US dollars, by thugs under the instruction
of the Senate President. Despite several court battles and rulings in favour
of the farm owners, the Etheredges, Madzongwe continued with the onslaught
to acquire the farm.

Madzongwe has defied four High Court orders and ignored a SADC ruling that
protects the farm from acquisition. JAG said she has also occupied and
destroyed eight other farms in a similar manner. "Madzongwe's other farm
(Aitape), which is occupied by her, is close to Stockdale. It is understood
that there is no active farming on Aitape by Madzongwe in spite of it being
a very productive farm in the past. Madzongwe is a beneficiary of the farm
equipment programme and has a massive amount of equipment parked on
Stockdale and on her other farms, Reyden farm, Bourne farm and Mpofu farm"

"It is interesting to note that Madzongwe and her entourage arrive at
Stockdale farm each time the citrus export crop is ready to reap, demanding
that the Etheredges vacate the farm."

War veterans demand salary increase

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
15 April 2009

Online website The Zimbabwe Times reports that war veterans have told Robert
Mugabe to immediately review their salaries, or pull out of the coalition
government. The veterans are said to be earning monthly pensions of US$40
each but say this is not enough to sustain them. The Zimbabwe National
Liberation War Veterans' Association is said to have written a strongly
worded letter to Mugabe, who is patron of the group. In the letter they told
Mugabe they liberated the country and should not be looked down upon by the
new government.

The veterans went further to claim, 'We were better off when our party ZANU
PF was in control and our suffering has now worsened following this
inclusive government.' Tranos Huruva, the Masvingo provincial chairman, was
quoted as saying the war veterans association had to make sure their members
are not neglected. But the Zimbabwe Times reports the veterans are not happy
with Mugabe for telling them to engage Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on
the issue of their pensions.
Political commentator Bekithemba Mhlanga believes the latest demands from
the war vets are part of a strategy by a group recently created by ZANU PF,
called the Social Revolutionary Council, who are being used to undermine the
coalition government. He pointed to Mugabe saying the war vets should engage
Tsvangirai on their pensions as a good example of this attempt to undermine
the situation. Mhlanga is convinced the hardliners in ZANU PF, including
Mugabe, are merely opening another front in the battle to torpedo the new
government, this time using financial demands from the war veterans.
In 1997 unbudgeted gratuity payments to the war vets sent Zimbabwe's economy
crashing and economists have warned the new government against being bullied
into another unplanned increase in pensions. But just like the youth
militia, the war vets have served as Mugabe's shock troops and are regulary
used to invade white owned commercial farmers on behalf of senior ZANU PF
officials.
At the beginning of April we reported how an estimated 29 000 youth militia
members, loyal to ZANU PF, are still on the government payroll and are
listed as civil servants. With monthly allowances for civil servants pegged
at US$100 it means nearly three million US dollars is being spent on paying
youths whose only mandate was to terrorize opposition activists.

Minister threatens to resign

http://www.africanews.com/

  1.. Posted on Wednesday 15 April 2009 - 10:04

  Bruce Sibanda, AfricaNews reporter in Harare, Zimbabwe
  Zimbabwe's ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa threatened to resign from the
fragile inclusive government if President Mugabe does not reverse his
decision to take some department from his ministry. "I would not hesitate to
resign if Mugabe does not reverse his unilateral move to strip me of some
departments."

  Mugabe stripped Chamisa of key functions of his ministry and gave them to
a ministry controlled by one of his Zanu PF loyalists.

  According to the state controlled Herald newspaper the chief secretary to
the cabinet, Micheck Sibanda, sent letters to Chamisa and the Information
and Publicity Minister, Webster Shamu, outlining the functions of their two
ministries after they both contested to bring the posts and
telecommunications sector under their ambits.

  In the end, the sector was brought under the control of an expanded
Transport and Infrastructure Development Ministry under Nicholas Goche, a
senior member of Mugabe's party.

  That ministry now becomes the Ministry of Transport, Communication and
Infrastructural Development - in charge of regulating telephone operators
and Zimbabwe's postal service.

  Both Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime minister Mutambara
have indicated that they would confront Mugabe in cabinet over the unpopular
move.

  But it is understood that Zanu PF is keen to reclaim control of the
telecommunications sector because an MDC minister is a threat to illegal
phone tapping operations.

  One official is quoted as saying: "It's the issue of eves-dropping and the
fact that telecom is clearly a security matter. So it's all to do with
Chamisa's character and personality. Zanu PF has been so desperate to take
that sector back under its control that they first wanted to give it to
Shamu's ministry before losing the argument, and now this!"

Another car crash

From ZWNEWS, 16 April

Giles Mutsekwa, the MDC-T Co-Home Affairs Minister was involved in a car
accident on Tuesday - another in a series of car accidents in which MDC
officials and their families have been involved. Mutsekwa was travelling to
Harare on the Mucheke road when the car in which he was travelling was
rammed from behind by a Nissan Hard Body truck. The Co-Minister survived
unscathed. The driver of the Nissan is reported to be in police custody.
Mutsekwa heads the Home Affairs ministry jointly with Kembo Mohadi of Zanu
PF. This is the fourth accident involving MDC officials since the unity
government was established. Prime Minister Tsvangirai's wife was killed in
an accident which left Tsvangirai injured. Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani
Khuphe's mother died from injuries received in an accident on the
Bulwayo-Harare road last month. MDC ministers Gorden Moyo and Sam Nkomo were
travelling to Harare airport last month when the vehicle in which they were
travelling was also struck from behind by another vehicle.

Zimbabwe gold miner seeks $10 mln to re-open

http://af.reuters.com

Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:09am GMT

HARARE, April 15 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's largest gold miner Metallon Gold is
negotiating a $10 million loan from local and foreign banks to restart
operations at its closed mines next month, a state-owned newspaper reported
on Wednesday.

The Herald said Metallon hoped to secure the money by the end of this month
and would use it to fund operations and re-equip its mines.

A majority of the country's gold mines shut last year as they struggled with
an economic crisis made worse by hyper-inflation, which made the local
currency worthless.

"The (Metallon) group is currently engaged in discussions with some lending
institutions both local and offshore. We are encouraged by the positive
responses we are getting, especially from local financial institutions,"
Collen Gura, the company's chief executive was quoted as saying.

Gura said Metallon planned to immediately resume production at two of its
biggest mines -- which contribute 66 percent of output and 95 percent of
cashflow -- and planned to re-open the other three later using its own
resources.

Zimbabwe's central bank in February allowed gold producers to sell their own
bullion after output slumped by more than 50 percent in 2008.

Last month, London-Listed Mwana Africa Plc (MWA.L: Quote) CEO Kalaa Mpinga
told Reuters the company planned to re-open a Zimbabwe gold mine within six
months after the central bank move allowing producers to sell gold on the
world market.

"This allows us to export gold for our own account and be in control of our
own destiny. Given this background ... Metallon Gold is in its preparatory
stages to resume operations," Gura said.

Metallon's mines have a capacity to produce 15,000 ounces of gold every
month.

Gold contributes one-third to Zimbabwe's export earnings following the
collapse of commercial agriculture after President Robert Mugabe's seizure
of white-owned farms to resettle landless blacks.

At its peak, the country produced 2,400 kg of gold per month. Last year
production stood at a record low of 3,072 kg.

Daily cholera update and alerts, 13 Apr 2009

 Full_Report (pdf* format - 189.5 Kbytes)

* Please note that daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the numbers. Any change will then be explained.

** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may occasionally result

A. Highlights of the day:

- 78 Cases and 1 deaths added today (in comparison with 73 cases and 1 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 95 997

- Cumulative deaths 4 166 of which 2 548 are community deaths

- 46.7 % of the districts affected have reported today 28 out of 60 affected districts)

- 91.7 % of districts reported to be affected (60 districts out of 62)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 1.3 %.

- No report received from Bulawayo, Mashonaland East, Manicaland, Matebeleland North and Masvingo provinces.

Daily cholera update and alerts, 12 Apr 2009

 Full_Report (pdf* format - 175.4 Kbytes)

* Please note that daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the numbers.

Any change will then be explained.

** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may occasionally result

A. Highlights of the day:

- 73 Cases and 1 deaths added today (in comparison with 84 cases and 6 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 95 919

- Cumulative deaths 4 165 of which 2 548 are community deaths

- 55.0 % of the districts affected have reported today 33 out of 60 affected districts)

- 91.7 % of districts reported to be affected (60 districts out of 62)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 1.4 %.

- No report received from Bulawayo, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.

Daily cholera update and alerts, 11 Apr 2009

 Full_Report (pdf* format - 175.5 Kbytes)

* Please note that daily information collection is a challenge due to communication and staff constraints. On-going data cleaning may result in an increase or decrease in the numbers.

Any change will then be explained.

** Daily information on new deaths should not imply that these deaths occurred in cases reported that day. Therefore daily CFRs >100% may occasionally result

A. Highlights of the day:

- 84 Cases and 6 deaths added today (in comparison with 137 cases and 0 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 95 847

- Cumulative deaths 4 163 of which 2 548 are community deaths

- 58.3 % of the districts affected have reported today 35 out of 60 affected districts)

- 91.7 % of districts reported to be affected (60 districts out of 62)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 2.5 %.

- No report received from Bulawayo, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces.

Flower accepts the poisoned chalice

 

A dogged refusal to buckle has long been a trait of Flower's character

April 15, 2009

	Andy Flower looked as though he was on his way out of the England set-up in January. Instead he has risen to the top © Getty Images

There was a time, not so long ago, when the job of England coach was arguably the most attractive in the world game - an enviable salary coupled with a high-profile team, and the chance to compete in some of cricket's most fabled contests. Times they have a-changed of late, and it's not just the IPL that has shifted the stumps. England's casual descent from genuine contenders to in-fighting also-rans has helped to cheapen the cachet.

Andy Flower, the latest man to take on a job that is beginning to seem as thankless as the football version, still hadn't decided whether he wanted the job at all when he set off for the Caribbean at the end of January. His reticence was unsurprising for, amid the internecine chaos that reigned in that extraordinary month, his name had featured alongside that of Peter Moores on Kevin Pietersen's list of intended dismissals, and for a few bleak days his position seemed untenable.

Three months later, Flower has completed a remarkable reversal of fortunes. His resilience has not exactly matched the bravery he showed when standing up to Robert Mugabe at the 2003 World Cup, but a dogged refusal to buckle has long been a trait of his character. Even Pietersen was reportedly won over by his thoughtful yet stern leadership in the Caribbean, and though when asked about their relationship, Flower could offer nothing more effusive than "we get on pretty well", communication between the two has clearly improved now that Flower has escaped Moores' shadow and been allowed to become his own man.

Odgers Ray & Berndtson, the ECB-appointed headhunting firm, apparently sifted through 30 applicants before settling, conveniently, on the incumbent, but there might well have been palpitations at Lord's had they decided anyone else fitted the bill. With a coach and three captains already written off in the past six months, and a fourth awaiting appointment for the ICC World Twenty20, the last thing that England really needed was yet another change at the top.

"We've had enough instability already this winter, and it's been a tough time for all," said Hugh Morris, the managing director of England Cricket. "We're very, very pleased with the appointment of Andy. We see him as someone to take England forward, not just in the short-term but in the longer term too."

The ease with which Flower and Andrew Strauss gelled in the Caribbean was undoubtedly the clincher, even before the deal was sealed with England's unlikely last-ditch triumph in the one-day series. Two years ago to the week, the ECB valued speed over consideration, and chose to unveil Moores barely 24 hours after Duncan Fletcher's resignation in Barbados. Unease ensued thereafter - Michael Vaughan had less than a month to gel with his new coach, and never really succeeded, while Pietersen lacked the diplomacy even to pretend. Unity at the top is a very healthy starting point for England's planned renaissance.

But nevertheless, Flower's appointment is still quite a gamble - the very fact that Pietersen was oblivious to his merits throughout his first 18 months in the England set-up suggests that Flower has not yet perfected his pitch as a coach. As his former team-mate Henry Olonga told Cricinfo on Tuesday, the best players don't necessarily make the best leaders, and as Flower himself admitted today, he initially found the transition from player to watcher frustrating.

Flower has been learning to communicate his desires from the sidelines, and according to Morris, his key attributes are "vision, drive and ambition", which are precisely the sort of buzzwords that you'd find scrawled all over your average graduate CV. For all his myriad achievements as a player, Flower's coaching career is entirely in its infancy. Where most applicants would have laid out their experience, he can offer only promise and endeavour, and better things to come.

	"When Moores and Pietersen fell out in India before Christmas, the root of their breakdown was Moores' inability to offer any on-field insight to a clearly struggling captain. In the heat of battle, no amount of theory or management-speak can contain Virender Sehwag in full flow."

That is not to say he is not the right man for the job, however, for if anyone in the world game knows how to make something out of nothing it is Flower, who forged an international career of sufficient brilliance to turn his home nation of Zimbabwe (alas too briefly) into one of the game's over-achieving outfits. He famously made it to No. 1 in the world batting rankings, and along the way he was a part of some memorable team heists - not least against England, whom he was instrumental in embarrassing on their Test tour in 1996-97, as well as in six of the first eight ODIs between the two countries.

As Flower himself insisted, international experience is not a pre-requisite for coaching success, as John Buchanan and Troy Cooley, to name but two examples, have proven in recent years. But there's no doubt that it helps, not least when dealing with the type of cocksure characters that reside in the England dressing room. When Moores and Pietersen fell out in India before Christmas, the root of their breakdown was Moores' inability to offer any on-field insight to a clearly struggling captain. In the heat of battle, no amount of theory or management-speak can contain Virender Sehwag in full flow.

During his playing days, Flower led from the front in everything that he did - as a batsman, as a wicketkeeper, as an example for others to follow. His initial emphasis in the Caribbean was on physical fitness, and if his demand for "an ethos of constant improvement" sounds alarmingly like the sort of empty soundbite his predecessor might have come out with, then at least you can ascertain from his own indomitable career that he will walk the walk every bit as much as he talks it.

We may never know exactly who else made it to the Odgers-approved shortlist, but you could hardly blame any coach with a reputation to protect for steering well clear of England at present. With their unedifying combination of under-achievement and over-expectation, any given tenure could have been as brief and self-harming as, say, Luis Felipe Scolari's at Chelsea. Flower, on the other hand, has the opportunity to forge a reputation where none existed before. It's exactly the same challenge he faced as a player, and who's to say he cannot succeed once again.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

© Cricinfo