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Mudzingwa and Dhlamini re-arrested

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
21 April 2009

Despite being released on bail on Friday evening two of the political
detainees who had been in police custody since December were re-arrested.
The MDC announced late Tuesday afternoon that Gandhi Mudzingwa, the former
personal assistant to MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai and Chris Dhlamini,
the MDC Director of Security, were arrested again at the Avenues Clinic
where they are receiving treatment.

The two MDC officials were receiving treatment for torture injuries
sustained when they were abducted by state agents last December.

Their lawyer Alex Muchadehama said as far as he is concerned his clients
were properly released and no fresh charges have been made against them. He
had been to the High Court and Supreme Court on Tuesday to find out if there
had been any warrants for his clients' arrest and found nothing. Muchadehama
said what is happening is unlawful and "this is just a case of yet another
abduction of my clients who had been released."

The MDC said: "Three police detectives who have been identified as Detective
Chief Inspector Ntini, Detective Inspector Muchada and Detective Assistant
Inspector Mukwaira, accompanied by two other unidentified detective
inspectors, re-arrested Mudzingwa and Dhlamini at the hospital on Monday.
Eight armed prison and police guards who had since been removed from the
ward, were recalled to guard the two."

According to the MDC Ntini, Muchada, Mukwira and the Officer Commanding CID
Homicide, Chief Superintendent, Crispen Makedenge, were instrumental in last
year's abduction of the three and other MDC activists. Scores of MDC and
civic activists, including Jestina Mukoko are facing charges of plotting to
overthrow the previous ZANU PF led government.

We were not able to get a comment from the Home Affairs Ministers Giles
Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi to find out why they accused persons have been
arrested again.

Freelance journalist Shadreck Manyere, who had been at the notorious
Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison was also released on bail on Friday.
The MDC maintains that seven party members who were also abducted in similar
circumstances by State security agents last year are still missing. Those
missing are;

Gwenzi Kahiya - abducted 29 October 2008 in Zvimba,
Ephraim Mabeka - abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe,
Lovemore Machokoto - abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe,
Charles Muza - abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe,
Edmore Vangirayi - abducted 10 December 2008 in Gokwe,
Graham Matehwa - abducted 17 December in Makoni South
Peter Munyanyi - abducted 13 December 2008 in Gutu South.

Meanwhile the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) condemned the latest
actions taken by the police: "Officers from the Law and Order section
continue to involve themselves in unlawful, unjustified and clearly
intimidatory activities and harassment of those perceived to be political
opponents. They continue to act with arrogance and blatant impunity. This
must come to an end. "

"Likewise, the actions of those who ordered prison officers to return to
Avenues Clinic must be publicly named, and held to account, as they have
effectively unilaterally and unlawfully revoked the men's bail in flagrant
disregard of valid court orders and process. The fact that these individuals
gained entry into the private hospital at late hours of the evening clearly
implies sinister motives."

A rights body said the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC)
had publicly advised that an agreement had been reached that Attorney
General Johannes Tomana would not oppose bail in relation to the political
detainees. They demand to know why he still insists on proceeding in
violation of such an agreement.


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Bennett remanded to July 1st

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Violet Gonda
21 April 2009

It's three months since the formation of the inclusive government but
Senator Roy Bennett, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, has still
not been sworn into the new government. The reasons for this vary from
waiting for the contentious issue of governors to be resolved so that he can
be sworn in with them and Robert Mugabe refusing to swear him in.

What is happening in the meantime is that despite the rival parties agreeing
to bury the hatchet and form an inclusive government, some MDC officials are
still being harassed. Bennett continues to have to report to the police
station and on Tuesday he appeared at the Mutare Magistrate Court where he
was further remanded on bail, to the 1st July.

The MDC said in a statement that although his bail conditions have been
relaxed, from reporting three times a week to once a week, the party is "not
enticed by the relaxation of bail conditions on a charge that is baseless at
law and trumped up. The charges are driven by a vindictive and malicious
political motive, and must be dropped immediately. Attempts to fabricate
'evidence' will be exposed, and those behind such named."

The MDC said their Treasurer General is their 'exclusive choice' for the
position of Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and it is inconceivable that
this will change.

"The commendable government Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP)
makes explicit and express need to revive our agricultural sector, and
delaying the swearing in of Senator Bennett, as a Deputy Minister of
Agriculture, runs contrary to the objectives of STERP," the statement said.


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Chamisa likely to retain communication portfolio

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Tichaona Sibanda
21 April 2009

Nelson Chamisa is likely to retain control of the communication portfolio,
after it was generally agreed that Robert Mugabe had no authority to
unilaterally dictate terms in the inclusive government.

The three principals to the Global Political Agreement, Robert Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara met on
Monday. Clarification was sought during the meeting on Mugabe's powers,
under the unity government agreement, from Welshman Ncube and Emmerson
Mnangagwa, both seasoned lawyers.

Initially, Ncube, Tendai Biti and Patrick Chinamasa, the three lead
negotiators from the three parties, were scheduled to legally interpret each
principal's role and powers as defined in the GPA. However Biti and
Chinamasa were unavailable, so ZANU PF invited Mnangagwa to step in for
Chinamasa, while Ncube represented both MDC's.

The Global Political Agreement is clear that all senior appointments in
government can only be made by Mugabe in consultation with Tsvangirai and
Mutambara. But since the formation of the inclusive government Mugabe has on
several occasions violated the provisions of the GPA by making unilateral
appointments of senior staff without consulting Tsvangirai and Mutambara.

According to a source in Harare, the decision means that the unilateral
appointments of permanent secretaries, and any other decisions taken by
Mugabe without consulting Tsvangirai and Mutambara, are all null and void. A
source told us the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and that all the
three principals appeared happy with its outcome. We were unable however to
verify if Mnangagwa sided with Ncube in telling the principals that Mugabe
had no absolute power in the inclusive government. He is Mugabe's right hand
man and a likely candidate to take over from the 84 year-old leader when he
steps down from politics.

The legal clarification had been sought following Mugabe's decision to
remove Chamisa's Communication Technology portfolio. The influential NetOne,
TelOne, Zimpost and their governing body, the Postal and Telecommunications
Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe were reassigned to the newly renamed
Ministry of Transport, Communication and Infrastructural Development.

This ministry is headed by Nicholas Goche, a senior ZANU PF cabinet
minister. Mugabe took away NetOne, TelOne and ZimPost from Chamisa,
allegedly following pressure from ZANU-PF cronies who said the three
companies were too influential to let them fall into the MDC's hands.

A source told us that soon after the separation of Chamisa's ministry, ZANU
PF plotters were already working on removing the District Development Fund
(DDF) department from the Public Works ministry, headed by MDC's Theresa
Makone. Plans were at an advanced stage to move the DDF to the Transport
ministry under Goche.

But because the MDC has made so much noise about Chamisa's ministry, it's
believed ZANU PF has now shelved any plans to try and wrestle any more
influential departments from the MDC.

The DDF is an influential arm of the government that develops and maintains
infrastructure in rural areas, once a stronghold of ZANU PF until last year's
elections.

'They realised they had lost the workhorse department of government that was
being abused by ZANU PF to ferry people to rallies using DDF trucks. DDF was
also the mainstay of ZANU PF's programmes in rural areas by transporting
relief aid to its strongholds and providing tillage to farmers with links to
the party,' our source said.

But as the politicians sit and 'talk' chaos continues on the ground with
ongoing violent farm invasions and Tuesday's rearrest of freed MDC political
prisoners. Zimbabweans still see little action to halt the dramatic downward
spiral that the country continues on.


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3 farm workers injured after police open fire on Stockdale farm

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Alex Bell
21 April 2009

Three farm workers from Chegutu's Stockdale Farm are recovering from gun
shot wounds after police officials opened fire on them on Tuesday morning.
One of the victims is still being treated in hospital after his foot was
amputated as a result of his injuries.

SW Radio Africa correspondent Simon Muchemwa explained on Tuesday that the
workers had accompanied the farm owners, John and Peter Etheredge, to
inspect the farm. The Etheregdes and most of their staff have been forced
off the land by Senate President Edna Madzongwe, who has led an often
violent campaign of harassment in an effort to force the Etheredges off the
land. She has vowed she will not leave the farm and has posted police
officers on the land to prevent the Etheredges from returning.

Muchemwa explained that on Tuesday morning the Etheredges and their staff
had been inspecting the plantation of oranges on Stockdale when they were
met by a group of police officers. Without any warning, police opened fire
on the group, injuring the three workers.

"It was an entirely unprovoked shooting," Muchemwa explained. "It appears
that this was done by order of Senator Madzongwe."

Meanwhile the recent wave of farm invasions that have resulted in the
large-scale plunder of farm produce has continued unabated, despite last
week's direct orders by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara for the
attacks to cease.

In Chegutu, Mount Carmel farm continues to be a looting ground and campsite
for invaders who have forced the landowners and staff off the land, and are
now selling the cultivated fruit on the farm to hawkers. Last week,
Mutambara and a ministerial delegation, instructed by Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai to probe the farm invasions, visited the farm and ordered the
invaders to leave the farmers in peace. But the orders have been completely
ignored, and the farm owners still cannot access their land or the millions
of dollars worth of produce, which, when it's not sold, is being left to
rot.

The grand theft on Mount Carmel is being completely looked over as a part of
the land invasion that Chegutu police have openly supported. At the same
time, despite the law being obviously flouted on the farm by the invaders,
eight of the farm's staff have remained behind bars on ludicrous kidnapping
charges.

The same situation is being echoed on Twyford farm in Chegutu, a farm that
is meant to be safeguarded by a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement
(BIPA) between France and Zimbabwe. BIPA agreements are meant to protect the
farming investments of foreign nationals. But much like the SADC Tribunal
ruling last year, which was also meant to offer commercial farmers
protection from future land invasions, the BIPA laws are being totally
ignored.

Twyford farm was also visited by last week's ministerial delegation, after
the land was forcefully invaded by ZANU PF Senator Jamaya Muduvuri and has
been continuously plundered since February. After the visit last week,
Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara ordered the ZANU PF official to 'peacefully
cohabit' on the farm with the farm's owners without interfering with farming
activities, until the government makes a decision about the farm attacks.
But within three hours of the ministerial delegation leaving, the farm had
been barricaded by invaders and the farm owners have not been allowed back
on the land.
Large scale theft has also continued on the property, and tons of cultivated
fruit and vegetables have been sold to hawkers, once again clarifying that
this is not about land - but is nothing more than government sponsored theft
on a grand scale.


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Thirteen students arrested after Masvingo protests over fees

http://www.swradioafrica.com

By Lance Guma
21 April 2009

At least 13 student leaders meeting at the Masvingo Polytechnic were
arrested by police soon after a demonstration at the nearby Great Zimbabwe
University. Close to 600 students at the university staged a peaceful
protest against what they describe as exorbitant fees charged in foreign
currency. They marched to the central business district in Masvingo, holding
placards denouncing the fee structure.

A statement from the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) said riot
police fired two gunshots into the air in an attempt to disrupt the march.
The students are however said to have remained resolute and marched on to
Rujeko Police Station where ZINASU Legal Secretary, Courage Ngwarai, was
being held after they picked him up during the protest. Police gave in to
their demands and released Ngwarai.

But this was not the end of their troubles, as ZINASU spokesman Blessing
Vava told Newsreel. Thirteen student leaders holding a strategy session were
arrested later on. By the end of the day 8 had been released, leaving 5
still locked up.

This year the national students union began the 'National Campaign Against
Privatization of Education in Zimbabwe' (NACADEZ) and has since organized
dozens of protests at the different colleges and universities.

Last week Thursday over 30 students were arrested after riots broke out at
the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo. Close
to 1000 students, unhappy with exorbitant forex fees clashed with riot
police, who were armed with rubber truncheons, sjamboks, tear gas canisters
and AK-47 assault rifles. Fueling student unrest has been the decision to
bar those who have failed to come up with the fees from writing their exams.

Kurai Hoyi, the NUST student's representative council president, told us
police sealed off the campus on Monday to block students who had not paid
their fees. Although the government has offered a cadetship programme, where
students are bonded to serve the government after completing their studies,
in return for sponsorship, applications for that scheme still require a
US$150 fee. Even those who applied for the scheme and are still waiting for
a response, were barred from writing their exams.

Meanwhile the University of Zimbabwe still remains closed indefinitely after
over 70 percent of the students failed to raise the required fees. The UZ
initially resumed lectures in January this year but was forced to close,
following demonstrations by students. With other technical and polytechnic
colleges around the country set to open on the 4th May, more protests are
expected over the controversial fee structures.


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Ten NUST university students released from police custody

http://www.nehandaradio.com

20 April 2009

Ten National University of Science and Technology (NUST) students have been
released from police custody on strict bail conditions today.

The ten, Keith Chigumo, Tawanda Saiti, Trevor Simbarashe, Lawrence Bhebhe,
Evans Musara, Daniel Hwacha, Kennedy Chizama, Michael Zvinowanda, Brighton
Mukuvari and Fortune Karimanzira were remanded to the 4th of May 2009.

They were released after paying US10 each and are to report at Bulawayo
Central Police Station every Wednesday as well as to reside at their given
addresses up to the finalization of their case.

Their charge was changed from malicious damage to property to public
violence. The ten have been languishing in police cells for the past five
days.

Two of the students sustained serious injuries after being assaulted by a
University security guard a Mr. Banda. One student sustained a suspected
fracture while other is having blurred vision after being hit on the nose
bridge by a truncheon.

The students were arrested following a demonstration on campus after NUST
authorities put up notices to the effect that students who had not fully
paid up their tuition fees will not be able to sit for their examinations.

The students were represented by Christopher Dube-Banda from Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).


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MPs meet, to defy order to return vehicles

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

By Lebo Nkatazo
Posted to the web: 21/04/2009 17:01:41
ZIMBABWEAN MPs met Tuesday and resolved not to heed Finance Minister Tendai
Biti's directive that they hand back vehicles received from the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last week.

Makhosi Hlongwane, a Zanu PF MP who chairs a parliamentary committee that
looks into legislators' welfare said the 50 new legislators from all three
parties - MDC-M, MDC-T, and Zanu PF - would comply with the order to return
the vehicles only after farmers and government ministries had also returned
"everything" they had accessed under the RBZ's quasi-fiscal activities since
2003.

"We are going to comply but on a first come, first out basis. So we are not
going to be the first to park the vehicles at the Ministry of Finance. If
all the beneficiaries do not comply, we are not going to comply with the
directives," Hlongwane said.

On Monday, RBZ Governor Gideon Gono issued a statement saying the MPs had to
take the vehicles to Biti's office. The central bank chief said the order
had come from the Finance Minister.

Then on Tuesday, the state-run Herald quoted Biti saying the vehicles should
be taken to Parliament only for the Speaker of Parliament, Lovemore Moyo, to
say he did not want to be dragged into the feud.

Some 25 MPs from the MDC faction led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
defied the party leadership by accepting the vehicles which the RBZ said had
been lying idle after their withdrawal from the bank's controversial
quasi-fiscal activities.

The MPs charge that ministers have accepted vehicles from the RBZ, and they
should also be allowed to use the vehicles which are loaned to them until a
parliamentary vehicle loan scheme is revived.


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JAG - farm situations communique - dated 18th  April 2009



Email: jag@mango.zw : justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw

JAG Hotlines: +263 (011) 610 073, +263 (04) 799410.  If you are in
trouble or need advice, please don't hesitate to contact us - we're here
to help!

To subscribe/unsubscribe to the JAG mailing list, please email:
jag@mango.zw with subject line "subscribe" or
"unsubscribe".

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1. Brief Case History of Recent Lawlessness on Mount Carmel Farm to date.

2. Twyford Farm.

3, Stockdale Farm.

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1. Brief Case History of Recent Lawlessness on Mount Carmel Farm.

Background:

* An invalid offer letter for Mount Carmel Farm was issued in 2004 for
Nathan Shamuyarira [the farms section 8 had been struck down in the High
Court].  Mr. Shamuyarira visited the farm and we asked that if he wished
to take over he should do it legally as would legitimately be expected.

* In March 2005 a High Court order [HC 553/05] was obtained by Mike
Campbell preventing interference or occupation by third parties.

* Another offer letter was apparently issued to Mr. Shamuyarira but the
acceptance was unsigned by Shamuyarira and the conditions never adhered
to [take up residence in 30 days or appoint manager to permanently take
up residence within 3 months of accepting the offer].  A copy of this
stale offer letter was first seen by the owners in an application by Mr.
Chamada to the magistrate's court in Chegutu in March 2009 and
there is reason to believe that it is not valid.

* Mr. Shamuyarira has never visited Mount Carmel or communicated with the
owners since his initial visit in 2004 and the request for him to do
things legally.

* Various people have since come to the farm claiming to be sent by Mr.
Shamuyarira.  Some have been very aggressive and disruptive but this will
not be outlined in this report of recent lawlessness.

* After the State started proceedings in October 2007 to evict Mr.
Campbell, Mr. Campbell sought protection from the SADC Tribunal so that
he could continue to farm.

* More recently, on 29 June 2008, Mr. and Mrs Campbell and Ben Freeth
were severely beaten by a gang who were acting with impunity around the
Chegutu district and Mr. and Mrs Campbell's house was looted by the
invaders.  Various workers were also beaten at pungwes.

*  On 28/11/08, Mr. Campbell got full protection to continue farming by
the SADC Tribunal in a well publicised Judgement which the Zimbabwe
Government had pledged to uphold when questioned in open court
[transcripts are available].

Recent lawlessness:

* On 3/4/09 an unknown man saying his name was "Landmine"
walked into the main house with 10 others and gave Bruce Campbell 5
minutes to leave the family home.  [Police report RRB no. 0505651].

*The farm workers told "Landmine" to leave and he did; but he
returned later and again the next day.  Reports were made to ZRP but no
action taken.  Eventually various individuals transported the 8 invaders
off the farm and police come out in a show of force firing live
ammunition and made arrests of workers and the manager [Martin Joubert]
making it into a political case.  They are still in jail and only allowed
1 visitor once a week.

* After that "Landmine" was clearly given "carte
blanche" by the authorities to do as he liked.

* On 4/4/09, workers were beaten by "Landmine."  Sinos [a
Mount Carmel worker] was put in a fire and had his skull fractured by
blows from a metal pipe but police refused to arrest anyone.  Other
workers were also beaten.  They were dumped by "Landmine" at
the police in the presence of witnesses but police did nothing to caution
or arrest the offenders.

* "Landmine" smashed the lock and broke into the Campbell
house with his gang shouting that it belonged to him.  Eventually after 4
hours trying to make a report and get a reaction Chief Inspector Manika
eventually went out and saw the evidence but ZRP did nothing about
arresting anyone [RRB eventually got no. CR 74/04].

* None of the 150 workers have been allowed to work since that date.  The
intimidation campaign is ongoing with many of them sleeping in the bush.

* On 5/4/09 Mike Campbell was given 2 hours to vacate by Landmine and the
gang.  A report was made [RRB no 0505671] but there was no reaction from
ZRP.  Being in poor health as a direct result of 29/6/08 severe assault
and fearing the same fate of what happened to the workers the night
before, he complied and has not been able to get back to his house to
date.

* On 6/4/09 a letter is delivered to the Commissioner of Police from
David Drury [a law officer] pointing out the lawless state of affairs,
but there are still no arrests.  Mrs. Campbell tries to get to her house
but is stopped by "Landmine" at his barricade.  Despite 7
hours at the police station with David Drury nothing is done to rectify
the situation.  It is discovered that the workers have been beaten by
Sergeant Machoto using armoured cable and that gun butts were also used
to hit them on the truck.  Police refuse to give the name of the invader
or under what authority he can be on the farm or commit these crimes.

*On 7/4/09 police came to Mount Carmel and clear the barricades to
collect a vehicle that transported the invaders off the farm; but
"Landmine" is not arrested.

* On 8/4/09 the theft of the mangos starts in a major way.  The guards
are chased away and threatened with death if they return.

* On 9/4/09 a Mount Carmel mango guard called Takawira had his shotgun
stolen by "Landmine" and he ran away in fear of his life.
Police would not take an official report.  A visit to DISPOL crime [Ch.
Supt. Bashoma] was made.  He phoned Insp. Zengeni and asked him to sort
the problem out.

* On 10/4/09 Insp. Zengeni arrived 3 hours late.  Film is taken at Mount
Carmel main homestead of smashed locks; forced entry through the windows;
evidence of stolen goods etc.  Landmine hands in stolen shotgun to ZRP
but there is no cautioning by ZRP.  At the pack shed the locks have been
smashed and the 50 tons of export mangos inside are rotting and some
being sold by "Landmines" men to hawkers.   ZRP do nothing to
caution or arrest anyone.  We go back to DISPOL crime who says that he
can bring back the rule of law in 5 minutes but if he does he has been
warned he will be on the street

* On 11/4/09:  Mango theft continued.  Still no action by ZRP.

* On 13/4/09:  Tractors belonging to Mike Campbell were stolen and used
to steal mangos by the ton.  Oranges were also being stolen and workers
threatened.  A report to police was made and an RRB no. 0513353 got.  No
action is taken by ZRP.

*  We saw Minister of Home Affairs [Giles Matseka] and give him a copy of
the letter to the Commissioner of Police and ask a team to come down to
investigate police complicity with theft; assault; break and entry and
theft of a crop that should be earning US$100,000 foreign currency.  We
ask for a police guard to stop it continuing.

* On 15/4/09:  PROPOL was visited but she was not there and PROPOL
[crime] could not make time to see us.  The provincial clerk said we
should go back to DISPOL.

* A team of police with lands officer [Kunonga] arrived on Mount Carmel
and wanted to do an inventory of all the things in Mike Campbell's
homestead but said they will come back another time. Nothing is done
regarding continued large scale mango theft; denial of owner access to
his home and workplace; stopping of workers from working; assaults of
workers; break and entry into house and building; theft of weapon; use of
tractors; etc.

* On 16/4/09 RRB no 0513370 was finally opened at ZRP concerning break
and entry into cottage; break and entry into pack shed and theft of
mangos in pack shed and theft of a weapon which police investigated on
10/4/09.  SPCA came out to rescue some animals but police did not allow
owner to accompany them and they failed in their mission.

*  On 17/4/09 Ben Freeth was given till the next day to get out of his
house ["we do not want to see white people in Zimbabwe"] by
Landmine who eventually gave his name as Lovemore Madangonda to the
Deputy Prime Minister and other Ministers on a visit to see the
lawlessness prevailing on the Commercial Farms in the Chegutu district.
"Hondo" [war] songs were sung around Freeths house at
midnight and the house was broken into at 2.30 am.  Chief Inspector
Manika was informed.

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2. Twyford Farm

Dear all,

Yesterday, Friday 17th April 2009, a ministerial delegation came to
Chegutu to take stock of the farms situation. The Deputy Prime Minister,
Mr. Mutambara, was heading this delegation and was accompanied among
others with Mr. Mutsekwa and Mr. Mohadi, co-ministers of Home Affairs,
and Mr. Murerwa, Minister of Land and Land Resettlement. The French
Deputy Ambassador, Mr. Stephane Toulet, was also present as the lack of
respect for this BIPA protected farm is of great concern for the
government of France as for all the other countries who have BIPA
concerns in Zimbabwe.

Being a French farm and therefore protected by a BIPA agreement between
France and Zimbabwe, Twyford Farm was visited by this delegation. Senator
Jamaya Muduvuri who received an Offer Letter on the 23rd January 2009 for
this farm and has been occupying the farm forcefully since the 6th
February 2009, stopping all work and stealing all the farm produces i.e.:
oranges, lemons, sweet potatoes, maize, sheep and eggs, was also present.

The conclusion of the visit on Twyford Farm was clearly stated by the
Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Mutambara, and was that I should cohabit with
Muduvuri and that he should not interfere with my farming activities,
should not stop me from entering the farm or my house, should not use my
farming equipment, should not sell or make use of my farm produces and
that we both should live in harmony on the farm until the government
takes a decision on this new wave of farm invasions after this
fact-finding mission in Chegutu.

The reality of it is that I tried to get back on Twyford Farm at 2pm
yesterday, three hours after the delegation had left and after Jamaya
Muduvuri assured the Deputy PM that he would not interfere with my
farming activities, and Muduvuri had already re-locked the gate at the
entrance of the farm so that I could not get back onto my farm. He also
forbid Mrs. Prinsloo, my tenant, to enter the farm or get back in her
house as agreed with the Deputy PM. Mr Muduvuri changed all the locks on
the farm gates, including the gate to my house 6 weeks ago.

Later on yesterday, a 3 ton truck left from Twyford Farm full to the brim
with MY oranges, MY sweet potatoes and MY workers maize. Again, Mr.
Muduvuri had assured he had never (!) and would not touch my produces.

He told my workers that (and I quote) :" I am a ZANUPF Senator and MDC
will not tell me what to do on this farm. It is my farm and I will not
allow this French woman, this Catherine Meredith, to come back here or
reap her crops. If she has to be paid for damages, the Prime
Minister must pay her (end of quote)".

Muduvuri proceeded to give some beer to all the workers on Twyford Farm
to celebrate his keeping the farm and his gang started singing Chimurenga
songs.

It is clear that Senator Jamaya Muduvuri is totally ignoring the
moratorium put in place yesterday by all the Ministers present, and that
he is determined to carry on his illegal activities on the farm by
primarily helping himself to what is legally not his.

The co-habitation proposed by our Deputy Prime Minister, although an
honorable suggestion, is in actual fact an impossible scenario when Mr.
Muduvuri is prepared to blatantly lie to his own Ministers and not stand
by his word. Let it be reminded that Mr. Muduvuri is meant to be an
upstanding citizen of Zimbabwe and a Senator at that, so that he should
indeed be the one leading by example and follow the law to the letter.

Twyford Farm awaits the decision of our government as they compile the
information gathered on their fact-finding mission and hopes that a fair
and equitable conclusion will put an end to this very traumatic and
devastatingly costly situation.

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3. Stockdale Farm

Just to let you know that Edna Madzongwe came to Stockdale Farm at about
4 p.m. yesterday afternoon, packed a couple of bags of, presumably,
clothing and left with her children.  We are assuming that she is heading
for the Independence Celebrations.

Cheers,

pp Peter Etheredge


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Tsvangirai, Ministers to Lure Western Investment

http://allafrica.com

BuaNews (Tshwane)

Bathandwa Mbola

21 April 2009

Pretoria - Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is to lead a team of
ministers on an international tour to lure Western countries to urgently
invest in Zimbabwe.

Foreign Affairs Director General Ayanda Ntsaluba said on Tuesday the
decision was taken that Mr Tsvangirai, together with a team of ministers,
will go to the major Western nations to see if they can partner in assisting
Zimbabwe.

"The tour basically will be aimed at enticing investment," he said.

Zimbabwe's government, which is made up of President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF
party and Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, is seeking $8.5
billion from international donors for its short-term emergency recovery
program.

However, international donors have said they will only dispense aid once
there is clear evidence of real change within the shattered country.

The United States and European Union maintain visa bans and asset freezes on
individuals and companies linked to human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, as well
as embargoes on the sale of arms and equipment that could be used for
internal repression.

Mr Ntsaluba said the region has begun to see progress in the union
government, though it was still early stages.

He added that South Africa and the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) remained committed to assisting in resolving the economic crisis in
that country.

"South Africa will help in alleviating the plight of the most vulnerable in
terms of targeted sectors like health and education and in terms of credit
line," Mr Ntsaluba said.

Government is currently in discussions to determine how much it is prepared
to give to Zimbabwe, but declined to speculate on how much.

"We'd prefer not to say how much is involved as discussions are still
underway," Mr Ntsaluba said.

It was vital for other the SADC countries to join in helping out in Zimbabwe
as the inclusive government there continued to work together as a unit.

"We continue to be encouraged by progress the inclusive government is
making. We get a sense of greater coherence and commitment by all parties
involved," Mr Ntsaluba said.

Zimbabwe Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma on Monday declared the
Zimbabwe Dollar a dead currency.

He said it could be returned as a different currency or as notes, once
inflation was under control.

Speaking in Pretoria, Mr Mangoma, who was in South Africa to lure South
African business to invest in Zimbabwe, said officially the rand was the
most favoured currency for trade while the US dollar, the Botswana pula and
British pound were also allowed.

"The Zimbabwe dollar is dead. It is no longer being printed and not likely
to be used for a year at least," he said.

Mr Mangoma said the role of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the powers of
its governor have been reviewed and considerably reduced so that they no
longer determine and pioneer economic policies and direction.

"It is the unity government that has agreed on the macro-economic framework
and will be driving its implementation," Mr Mangoma said.
He assured South African businesses that his government would protect their
investments.

An deal with the South African government on the protection of investments
according to international conventions was being finalised.

The time was right for South African businesses to invest in Zimbabwe. -
BuaNews-Xinhua


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RBZ in double money scam?

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Tuesday, 21 April 2009

HARARE - Speculation emerged this week that the Reserve Bank may have
been printing two or more Zimbabwe dollar notes with the same serial
numbers.

A source at RBZ, who asked not to be named, said there was "a real
possibility" that, for each note with an officially recorded number on its
face, there was a second exact copy handed to Zanu (PF).
This system of fraud was perfected in the former Zaïre under late
dictator, Mobuto Sese Seko, who produced a stash of unrecorded notes for his
own use.
The RBZ official said that he and several of his colleagues had
recently been questioned over the allegations.
"It is quite possible," he said. "The team heading the bank had total
control of the process, so they would have been able to produce several
versions of each Zimbabwe dollar note."
Separate reports have spoken of truckloads of money being delivered to
the army, CIO, youth militia and Zanu (PF) headquarters. There are also
well-documented cases of senior party members swapping Zimbabwe dollars for
foreign exchange on the black market.
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT


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Daily cholera update and alerts, 18 Apr 2009


 Full_Report (pdf* format - 175 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:

- 90 Cases and 8 deaths added today (in comparison with 42 cases and 9 deaths yesterday)

- Cumulative cases 96 718

- Cumulative deaths 4 218 of which 2 589 are community deaths

- 65.0 % of the districts affected have reported today 39 out of 60 affected districts)

- 96.7 % of districts reported to be affected (55 districts out of 62)

- Cumulative Institutional Case Fatality Rate = 1.7%

- Daily Institutional CFR = 1.2 %.

- No report received from Bulawayo, Mashonaland East, Matebeleland South provinces


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Know Your Ministers: Gibson Sibanda

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15491
 

April 21, 2009

gibson-sibandaWith Conrad Nyamutata

Sibanda Gibson (MDC) - Minister of State in Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara’s Office

Gibson Sibanda is the Vice-President of the smaller Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Professor Arthur Mutambara and serves as Minister of State in the office of Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara.

In an earlier life Sibanda was deputy to the president of the MDC, Morgan Tsvangirai, the party split into two in 2005.

Now 64 years of age, Sibanda is the father of three boys and one girl. Born the only child to a Filabusi couple in Matebeleland South province, Sibanda attended Mzinyathi Secondary School. His early working career was as a schoolteacher in Lupane. He then left the classroom altogether to work as a fitter with the Rhodesia Railways. From 1965 and 1982 Sibanda was a train driver.

During the period, Sibanda became the welfare secretary of the Joshua Nkomo led Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU). This led him into trouble with the authorities and he was detained at Marondera Prison from 1976 to 1979.

Holding a Diploma in Industrial Labour Relations, Sibanda was elected president of five amalgamated railway trades unions in 1984.

The position was to open doors for him to become the first vice-president of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) in 1988 before serving as its president from 1989.

Perhaps his biggest gamble in politics was to become a leading member of a ZCTU initiative that led to the formation of the MDC in 1999. The party was destined to pose the toughest challenge to President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF, a liberation war movement that has ruled Zimbabwe since her independence in 1980.

Sibanda was unanimously elected MDC Vice-President at the inaugural congress, with Morgan Tsvangirai, his former secretary general at the ZCTU, as his president.

The soft-spoken politician was soon to be elected to the House of Assembly in the 2000 election, representing Nkulumane Constituency in Bulawayo. He defeated Zanu-PF heavyweight and former PF-Zapu luminary, Dumiso Dabengwa.

Sibanda’s political fortunes took a nosedive of its own after he and MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube led a small of group of politicians who broke away from the mainstream MDC in October 2005.

This followed sharp disagreements with founding President Morgan Tsvangirai and the majority of the party over whether the MDC should participate in the elections for the just reintroduced Senate.

As the most senior member of the breakaway group, Sibanda automatically became the president of the splinter group before. He relinquished the position a few months later to Mutambara, a former student leader, who was invited back from South Africa to take over the leadership of the breakaway faction.

There was a perception in the breakaway faction that Mutambara’s Shona origins would cast a faction that was essentially Ndebele-based as a national organisation. The gamble did not pay the expected dividends.

The entire leadership of the Mutambara-led faction, including Sibanda, was swept away into political oblivion when they lost in the March 2008 parliamentary elections that saw the mainstream MDC emerge as the majority party in parliament, but with a small majority. Sibanda lost his seat to Thamsanqa Mahlangu, the mainstream MDC youth assembly leader.

Sibanda and the rest of the leadership of the Mutambara faction have the Global Political Agreement to thank for their survival as politicians after their collective demise at the polls. Sibanda in particular, must be particularly grateful because he is one of those lucky few who had special ministries created to rescue them from oblivion after they had not been included in to their party’s allocation of ministries. Sibanda was appointed to the Senate to facilitate his elevation to ministerial post.

Now Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, he along with two other ministers, one from Zanu-PF and the other from the mainstream MDC, have been assigned to spearhead the process of national healing among politically polarised Zimbabweans.

Wednesday: Saviour Kasukuwere


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Forum takes Govt to SADC tribunal

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
 
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
zimhumanrightsforum.jpg
LONDON - The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has taken the Government of Zimbabwe to the SADC tribunal on the grounds that it has breached the SADC Treaty and its various Protocols.
This case has been brought by the Forum in terms of Articles 4(c) and 6 of the SADC Treaty. The former refers to the state's obligations to act in accordance with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, whilst the latter refers to the state's obligation to adopt adequate measures to promote the achievement of the objectives of SADC and refrain from taking measures which jeapordise these.
The background to this case is the lack of effective domestic remedies for victims of violence and torture perpetrated upon the Forum's clients by state agents, including the police and army.
In May 2008 the Forum brought an application against the Government of Zimbabwe before the SADC tribunal on behalf of twelve of its clients after the Government of Zimbabwe failed to comply with the court orders handed down on behalf of these clients. The Forum persued the cases through civil litigation resulting in awards of monetary compensation.
However, the Government of Zimbabwe failed and / or neglected to pay these amounts altogether, or, in the case where it was paid, the delays were so lengthy as to render the amounts useless due to hyperinflation.
The case is set down for hearing at the Tribunal Seat in Windhoek, Namibia on Wednesday 22 April 2009. This case has been brought by the Forum in terms of Articles 4(c) and 6 of the SADC Treaty. The former refers to the state's obligations to act in accordance with human rights, democracy and the rule of law, whilst the latter refers to the state's obligation to adopt adequate measures to promote the achievement of the objectives of SADC and refrain from taking measures which jeapordise these.
The background to this case is the lack of effective domestic remedies for victims of violence and torture perpetrated upon the Forum's clients by state agents, including the police and army.
In May 2008 the Forum brought an application against the Government of Zimbabwe before the SADC tribunal on behalf of twelve of its clients after the Government of Zimbabwe failed to comply with the court orders handed down on behalf of these clients. The Forum persued the cases through civil litigation resulting in awards of monetary compensation.
However, the Government of Zimbabwe failed and / or neglected to pay these amounts altogether, or, in the case where it was paid, the delays were so lengthy as to render the amounts useless due to hyperinflation.
The case is set down for hearing at the Tribunal Seat in Windhoek, Namibia on Wednesday 22 April 2009.



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Zimbabwe's Siamese twins lose battle for life

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/

By Lindie Whiz
Posted to the web: 21/04/2009 16:06:16
THE Siamese twins born by Caesarean section at a crumbling Tsholotsho
infirmary have died at Bulawayo's Mpilo Central Hospital, officials
confirmed on Wednesday.

The twin girls died in the early hours of Monday morning, said Mpilo's
medical director Dr Lindiwe Mlilo who on Tuesday spoke to reporters and an
MP but was UNAWARE the twins had died.

Tsholotsho North MP Professor Jonathan Moyo, reacting to the mother's
appeal, had been in touch with the hospital on Tuesday after "a corporate
sponsor" undertook to fund the twins' surgery in neighbouring South Africa.

Hundreds of Zimbabweans had also answered the call to help.

Moyo said the twins, who were born on Tuesday last week, stood no chance.
"It's a pity too the authorities did not release the information timeously."

Dr Mlilo said she was returning from her annual leave and apologised for the
hospital's handling of the matter.

The conjoined twins are thought to be only the second pair to be born in
Zimbabwe following Tinashe and Tinotenda who were successfully separated by
doctors in Canada in 2005. They were joined at the abdomen and shared a
liver.

Dr Mlilo said: "We are going to conduct a post mortem to see what killed the
twins. We have established that they were sharing one heart, one liver and
two kidneys instead of four. Their chances were very slim."

Mlilo said the hospital's care for mother and babies "may not have been
optimum, but we did the best for them. We don't have a paediatric surgeon
here. What we needed really was human resources to do the operation and the
material resources to fund it. We had neither."

She said the twins' mother Jester Mpofu, 39, was "recovering well" and would
be kept under observation for "two or three more days" before being
released.


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HOT SEAT transcript: Welshman Ncube part 2

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
 
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
welshmanncube221107.jpgProfessor Welshman Ncube
HOT SEAT (PART 2): Journalist Violet Gonda brings you part 2 of an interview with Professor Welshman Ncube, the Minister of Industry and Commerce and co-chair of JOMIC.  He talks about the problems he has inherited in his new ministry and what measures he is taking to try to make it viable. How is he dealing with the ongoing chaos at Beitbridge border post and the corruption around the duty charged on imported items? And how is he dealing with corruption at parastatals, like ZISCO Steel?
Broadcast 17 April 2009
VIOLET GONDA: We bring you part two of the interview with Professor Welshman Ncube, the MDC Minister of Industry and Commerce and one of the chairpersons of the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee. In part one he spoke on the inner workings of JOMIC and in part two I first asked him to tell us what sort of challenges he is facing in his new ministry.
WELSHMAN NCUBE: Well of course there are general challenges we face which all the ministries will face which the whole government faces. Where your revenue base is so narrow, that you do not have enough resources to pay meaningful salaries, you have everybody from the President to the general hand being given an allowance of a US$100 every month - that is unsustainable.
You have very little money once you have paid those allowances to in fact then run the rest of the activities of government, get fuel for cars, get cars serviced, to buy stationary, to subscribe to the internet – all the basic things which anywhere else would be regarded as normal. We struggle around these and my ministry, just like all the other ministries faces these challenges.
Then in respect of our mandate and under the State programme it is our responsibility as the ministry to ensure that we assist, in particular the manufacturing sector to be able to raise capacity utilisation from an average of about 10% at the moment to an average of around 60 to 70% by the end of the year. You know that over the last years because of a variety of bad policy choices were made – price controls, surrender requirements - a whole plethora of problems – industry was unable to recapitalise; industry was unable to do ordinary ongoing routine maintenance of equipment; industry was unable to source raw materials; industry was often forced to sell commodities they produced at well below cost. And the industry - where those who were exporters and earned foreign currency, put it in their foreign currency account, this money was sterilised by the Reserve Bank and is not there at the moment. So now you then have the complete collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar, the introduction of the multiple currency system which means that everything that people have accumulated over the years, you suddenly are at zero debt. Whether you are a hundred year old company or a two day old company you change currency you immediately are at zero debt -beyond the equipment, the machinery and the capital items you own. In terms of a cash flow you are all suddenly at zero, which basically then means you have literally no money for working capital, let alone money for refurbishment and for retooling. And this is the challenge.
In addition to all of that in the ordinary production work cycle - you have the manufacturer who manufactures, invoices the retailer and pay in 30 days – the retailer takes the goods, puts them up in their retail shop and after the 30 days they pay. In the meantime also the banking sector would have advanced credit to the manufacturer and sometimes the retailer - ‘here is credit and pay us within 30 days to 90 days’. You have money, you buy your raw materials, you produce, you sell, and by the time you sell you now can pay back your bank.
The financial institutions are not operating in the usual way, they have no money because also of the changes of currency. It means credit is not available to the production sector. And to add to that the production sector is operating at such low capacity it is unable to employ significant numbers of people and those it employs pay very low wages. It means therefore the buying power of the people in Zimbabwe is also extremely low. So that even those who are able to import goods into the retail sector find themselves unable to move those goods because the consumer is buying only the basic necessities; and without credit - the furniture shops, the clothing shops cannot run. So you have this cycle of production which has been severely disrupted and this is what we are trying to fix and these are the challenges that industry is facing:
Absence of lines of credit, no money to recapitalise, no money for working capital and this is why you have seen us going to SADC, going to South Africa trying to negotiate lines of credit so that we can revive the production sector.
GONDA: That is what I was going to ask – what measures are you going to put to ensure that industry becomes viable now and what possible options of accessing capital are you exploring yourself?
NCUBE: Violet the key is being able to first do two things: To get the internal financial system working so that it can lend the money to the productive sector; two - organise external money to come into our productive sector in the form of lines of credit. Organise external investors with money to come in and invest into the productive sector in Zimbabwe. So that’s the challenge and that is what we need to do, that is what we are doing.
I’m aware that the Minister of Finance is working round the clock in trying to fix the financial sector. I know that collectively, government has been working to ensure that we negotiate with the external financial sectors with donors, lines of credit for our companies. This is what we were doing at the SADC summit in Swaziland, we are talking to COMESA, the PTA bank, and we are talking to the Africa Development Bank.
We are talking to other banks and financial institutions across the world – in India, in China and Russia – those who have not imposed any sanctions on Zimbabwe, who can immediately move to extending resources, financial resources and credit lines. And in this instance, we do not want grants. We are not saying give us money, we are saying let’s do business. Lend money to us in the normal commercial way, give us an opportunity to produce and we will pay you back.
So these are the things we are doing so we have been to India, the Minister for Regional Integration, International Cooperation has been to India to negotiate this; we have been to the SADC countries we are negotiating this. We are in communication with and at the moment prioritising the countries which don’t have sanctions - and the banks and institutions that have not imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe. So that’s our first priority of what we are trying to do.
GONDA: And the second priority?
NCUBE: Well then the second priority is to engage the rest of the international community. We all know that the deep pockets with real money, you’ll find it in Europe, in the United States, in Canada or in what is normally referred to as the white Commonwealth. That’s where the deep pockets are. But there are issues, there are governance issues, some of the issues we talked about earlier in this programme, the outstanding GPA issues, farm invasions and so forth and so on which are affecting our ability to move with speed to restore relations and to restore normalcy with that part of international community.
But we have agreed that we will reengage with them, we will commit ourselves to doing certain things around the issues which they are concerned about. So we will be talking to them but we realise that it will take time. Which is why also SADC agreed that as SADC they were  setting up a committee to engage these countries and to try and persuade them - which is why SADC in its communiqué from Swaziland instructed that all the embassies of SADC countries all over the world, wherever there are sanctions against Zimbabwe, they should work round the clock to lobby for the lifting of these sanctions and in those countries where there are no sanctions they should work to help Zimbabwe access financial assistance in terms of budgetary support as well as in terms of lines of credit.
GONDA: So do you think the sanctions should be removed even though the conditions that originally necessitated the placing of the sanctions have not changed?
NCUBE: Absolutely. As an inclusive government we are unequivocal and we agreed to it in the Global Agreement that the sanctions will be lifted as soon as an inclusive government is in place. It is in place and in our view yes, there are issues, there are issues on human rights, there are issues on governance but you will not help the inclusive government address those issues, work together with speed to correct those anomalies, to have a greater respect for human rights, get greater respect for the rule of law, to be effective in stopping farm invasions, a government which has no resources to actually get the police to move around. A government with no resources to monitor the Ministry of Lands, to monitor what is happening, is unable at the end of the day to deliver on the promises of the GPA. Which is why we are saying yes these things are there but let us work together - with the international community assisting us to address them. Without that assistance it will be that much more difficult to address those issues.
GONDA: But then you see, others will say if the authorities in the inclusive government, namely Zanu-PF, if they were really serious and really wanted help shouldn’t they at least abide by the provisions of the Global Political Agreement and actually restore the rule of law? If they desperately want the money, if they know that this is… (interrupted)
NCUBE: How do you restore the rule of law when you need the police to restore the rule of law and they’ve no capacity to go to the farms to see what is happening? How do you restore the rule of law if the Minister of Lands is unable to get to the farms to determine what is happening? Which is why we are saying, if you have a bankrupt government how does it do anything, how does it do anything? Because it’s not just that you have people who breach the rule of law, the farm invasions are sponsored by the State – it’s not necessarily true. It is that the people at the community level sometimes also resort to self-help. When they do resort to self-help the State must be sufficiently strong to intervene but if you have a weak State which is bankrupt which is unable to intervene, then you cannot correct those anomalies.
GONDA: How would answer people who say that there are still three people who are still held on ridiculous charges, instituted by a corrupt and inept Justice Ministry, there are still seven people missing and there are farmers being hounded so why should anyone invest or give money to Zimbabwe when Zanu-PF are harassing or stopping production of agricultural products. How would you respond to that?
NCUBE: Well on the first part, let’s deal with the technical part. There are no charges instituted by a corrupt Justice ministry. The charges are first instituted by the police and then the Attorney General - who is not Justice Ministry, takes them up through his prosecutors. That’s one. On the question of whether or not these people should be prosecuted, the point Violet is that if you are true believers in the rule of law, if you are true believers and you are not hypocrites, you must accept that the rule of law must take its course, regardless of who the accused person is. And you cannot have people tried, convicted, tried, and acquitted in the court of public opinion. It does not work like that. And if we want to get this thing right we cannot start by doing public trials in the court of public opinion. So let’s subject everyone to the rule of law if the police authorities say they have evidence let us check the accused persons humanely, let us expeditiously bring them to court, let the court of law determine the question.
Then secondly, on the farm invasions I absolutely agree with you that if there are farm invasions then they must stop. But I do not think, I do not think that it is right for those who it is within their power to assist us to ask us to do things which if we have no assistance we cannot do. It is pretty much like a sponsor in a soccer match saying I want you to go and play; I want you to be in the top of your log before I sponsor you. So you have a team without a uniform, without soccer boots, who have no capacity to train and say they must first win the soccer league before you can sponsor them. It just does not make sense.
GONDA: But surely is it too much to ask, to say ‘please restore the rule of law, stop the violence’, is that too much to ask from the international communities point of view?
NCUBE: It is not too much to ask, it is not too much to ask but it is not a matter, if we have had the rule of law being violated, if we have a culture of violence which is not necessarily always orchestrated by the State but can be orchestrated at the community level by people who are used to a particular way of doing things and you are asking us as the new political leadership to intervene to bring it to an end when we are clearly without the resources to do so. It is not a self-executing thing to enforce the rule of law. You need resources to enforce the rule of law. So which is why I am saying you cannot deny us the ability, the capacity to do it and then say we must still do.
GONDA: You know, we can go round and round on this one, so going back to your ministry, what about the chaos at Beitbridge border post and the duty which is holding up investment and preventing people importing equipment which is not available in Zimbabwe, is this not affecting your ministry?
NCUBE: Well there are problems at Beitbridge border post, we are painfully aware of them. When we have been talking to the South Africans to say come and invest in Zimbabwe, we have been talking to Zimbabwe businessmen who are in South Africa, they have raised the issues about the delays at Beitbridge border post, sometimes there are commercial trucks waiting there to be cleared for two weeks.
And we have decided as the government that we will try to work on an urgent basis with our colleagues in South Africa to convert Beitbridge border post into what we are calling a one-stop border post. So if you are cleared on the Zimbabwean side that’s it, you shall be cleared throughout and if you are cleared on the South African side, that’s it, you are cleared. And we are trying to work on this. There are issues about the compatibility of the two systems but it is something we have prioritised, it is something we are raising within the South Africa/Zimbabwe joint commission.
And there are issues of the bridge itself, there are issues of capacity there and indeed even as we talked with stakeholders in Victoria Falls, the Minister for Tourism was raising some of these issues; ‘as a country do we really want to say the first person who interfaces with tourists and our are visitors is the revenue authority? Are they the best people to be necessarily in charge at the border post and so forth’, so all these things are work in progress that we need to address as a matter of urgency.
GONDA: And of course many people have been asking how you are going to stop the horrendous bribes going on at Beitbridge. What can you say about that?
NCUBE: Well we are told that a lot of bribery is rife there but as a new inclusive government we have zero tolerance for that and we have no doubt that we will be moving with speed to investigate what is happening there and to bring it to, if indeed there is bribery and corruption, to bring it to a swift end.
GONDA: And you know ZISCO Steel has been resuscitated over and over again but there have been reports about layers and layers of corruption and even Minister Obert Mpofu said this in parliament a few years ago. So what are you going to do about ZISCO Steel in particular and the issue of corruption?
NCUBE: Well we are five weeks or six weeks in the job. There are problems at ZISCO, we know that. In fact ZISCO hasn’t produced steel since January 2008 so for all practical purposes it is a white elephant. They are surviving on selling scrap steel accumulated over years. We are also aware that part of the problem with the previous management was externalisation of money through the subsidiaries they have in Zambia and they have in Botswana, we are aware of that.
And we have said we need to commercialise ZISCO. We have put in place a new management there, or at least a new managing director and a new board put late last year - with a mandate to ensure that the new managing director there is able to deal with issues of the other senior managers working with the board at ZISCO. So that we have a team which can deliver on what we want and indeed if they are unable to deliver we will intervene and make sure we put in place a team which delivers and make no mistake about that.
But the most important thing at ZISCO is to be able to introduce equity and to be able to introduce new money. To be able therefore to recapitalise it, to refurbish blast furnace number four, revive blast furnace number three and go back to full production. And there are lots of things which are required here: You need to acquire and have locomotives, you need coaches to ferry the iron ore, the limestone, you then also need to fix the question of the supply of coal from Hwange. At the moment you get two hundred tons delivered in a month when you actually need more than 20 000tons in a month. Which basically means you can’t fire up your batteries; you can’t start any operation at ZISCO.
And so we need to fix the enablers - water, coal and electricity, so that when we have fixed the internal issues we can be able to be up and running at ZISCO. But the most critical, the most urgent thing is to be able to introduce equity there and we are in the process of processing applications for investors to come into ZISCO and hopefully we will move with speed and hopefully we will have the luck and the wisdom to find the best investors there to partner us in getting ZISCO on its feet again.
GONDA: What about parliament? When is the parliament going to get down to business and actually change some laws like the Gold Act, like AIPPA or even when are the portfolio committees going to be constituted?
NCUBE: Well it’s not in the first instance a function of parliament to get this legislation in place. The Executive must first of all get the legislation in place. The policy changes have been agreed through STERP, the line ministries must now review the relevant legislation as soon as possible. There is that instruction to make sure that all the legislation, part of why we were in Vic Falls was to be able to draw up those 100 day plans, which should include the processing of the requisite legislation to implement the agreed policies. And once the Executive has processed and the bills are ready they will be taken to parliament and they will be debated by parliament and hopefully those portfolio committees will be in place, they’ll look at the legislation, parliament in its fullest sense will also look at it and we can get it over with sooner rather than later.
GONDA: Do you still think it was a good idea challenging Lovemore Moyo’s appointment as Speaker of parliament - as the Mutambara MDC?
NCUBE: The applicant in the case is Professor Jonathan Moyo, that’s my understanding. Some of our members of parliament provided supporting evidence of what they witnessed during the voting in terms of what was complained of. That is what I am aware of and my understanding, I’ve not read the court papers and so I cannot vouch for this, but my understanding related to the manner in which the voting was conducted in a manner which contradicted the rules and procedures of parliament.
Whether or not it is right to strictly enforce the rules of parliament at a particular historical moment or not is another question, but as a general proposition, when we are insisting on the rule of law - we spend much of today talking about the rule of law, that rule of law in my view must apply everywhere, inside parliament, inside the courts, outside parliament, outside the courts and we cannot cherry pick. Therefore if there are individuals who think that the rule of law has not been observed in parliament, surely we must agree that there is a right to test their claim whether or not it has been observed.
GONDA: And finally, I know you are not the relevant minister for constitutional issues but you are a key member of the National Constitutional Assembly and the GPA says there will be a new constitutional process using the Kariba Document as the basis. Now how do you reconcile this position and the calls for a people-driven constitution by the civil society in Zimbabwe?
NCUBE: I always say Violet in respect of the constitutional process we should not allow the ideal (inaudible), to be an enemy of the good and the possible. The fundamentalist position of some people is that; unless you do something exactly my way, unless you do something exactly my way, it can’t be done! We will then never have a new constitution as a country.  What is in the Global Political Agreement is an attempt to find a compromise between two opposed views of the world. Our colleagues in Zanu-PF held the view that the processes and procedures of making a constitution must be the preserve of those whom people have elected in an election. In other words parliament as constituted at any one time. That is one world view which they have. The old opposition in the MDC and civil society collectively held the view that let us go through a transparent open process, which is not based in parliament, which is based outside parliament. You needed to reconcile this view.
You could not do it the Zanu way or the Zanu-PF way to the (inaudible) in parliament. Zanu-PF on the other hand will not accept a situation where you exclude totally the elected representatives and say those who have constituted themselves as the civil society have greater right to represent people.
So what we then did in the Global Political Agreement was to seek to reconcile this position, and therefore we brought an amalgam and said let parliament run with the process but let that process be mitigated by open transparent public consultation procedures. Have an all-stakeholders conference at the beginning where you bring stakeholders, you bring civil society into your thematic committee. You then go to the public and consult the public. You take the Kariba document, not as a Bible but as a starting point and say the three political parties sat and thought this was a fair compromise. Where do you disagree with it, what are the changes you want to be made to the Kariba document? And the public comments on it. It is a guide, it is a starting point where you carry that Kariba Document and you put it to the people. Part One says do you have problems with it? No, this can pass. Part Two no, no, no it is wrong, what should happening is this and this. That is what is in the Agreement.
GONDA: Well the NCA is rejecting this…
NCUBE: Well we cannot hold the nation to be hostages of egos of individuals who say unless something is done absolutely and totally in accordance with my way - and let us not forget when we say the people - you are including the people in civil society, you are including the people in the two MDC formations and you are including the people in Zanu-PF. And by definition if you are therefore saying the people in Zanu-PF are no longer a people, their world view doesn’t matter. It means from the beginning therefore your process is not a people driven process – you have excluded some people who disagree with you.

ENDS.

SW RADIO AFRICA TRANSCRIPT


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Cross-country motorcade for visiting cop

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15477

April 21, 2009

By Owen Chikari

MASVINGO - A visiting foreign police commander in Zimbabwe on holiday was
accorded presidential treatment as he passed through the southern city of
Masvingo on his way to Great Zimbabwe over the weekend.

Namibian police boss Inspector General Kelab Ndeitunga visited the historic
monuments amid a level of tight security normally reserved for visiting
heads of states.

Business came to a stand still in Zimbabwe's oldest city and along the
Masvingo-Great Zimbabwe highway as hundreds of people rushed to line the
streets in the assumption that it was either President Robert Mugabe or
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai being escorted by the motorcade. Children
climbed on roof tops and up trees to obtain a better view of the motorcade.

Residents were dismayed to learn that it was only Inspector General
Ndeitunga of Namibia who was passing through their city amid such tight
security.

Heavily armed police officers were deployed at each road intersection and
along the Masvingo-Great Zimbabwe highway between the city and the popular
tourist attraction.

At least 100 uniformed policemen were out in full force while an undisclosed
number of plain clothes officers were also deployed.

"We thought it was the president when we saw the motorcade", said Jack
Moyana of Masvingo.

"How can our government provide such security to this man while ignoring our
Prime Minister and other senior officials who deserve such treatment."

Sources within the police in Masvingo explained on Monday that they had
received instructions from Harare to provide the visiting police commander
with tight security.

"We were just told to provide water tight security by headquarters but I do
not know the reasons," said a police source.

"But when Deputy Prime Ministers Thokozani Khupe and Arthur Mutambara
visited here we did not give them such security."

Police spokesman Inspector Tinaye Matake confirmed that the motorcade for
the Namibian policeman comprised eight vehicles.

"All the police officers deployed along all the roads in the city and along
the Masvingo-Great Zimbabwe highway were deployed to provide security for
the visiting Namibian police boss," said Matake.


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SAPS continue to harass Zimbabwe refugees and asylum seekers

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Tuesday, 21 April 2009

JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) - SOUTH African Police Service (SAPS) are
being accused of continuously arresting and detaining Zimbabwean refugees
and asylum seekers despite calls by the government to leave Zimbabweans
alone.
The government announced two weeks ago that Zimbabwean citizens in
South Africa should be issued with six month temporary permit to stay in the
country while waiting for long permit, the police, whose majority were
cashing in on Zimbabwe refugees and asylum seekers are still continuing with
their deplorable bribery actions.
SAWIMA Director, Joyce Dube, told CAJ News on Tuesday that she was
upset about what she saw of dozens of Zimbabwean refugees and asylum seekers
being forced to pay money in order to be set free.
"I carried my own investigations between Saturday and Sunday,
especially along streets comprising Claim, Pritchard, Bree, Jobourt Park,
Small and Plein streets where I saw it by my own eyes police officers in
both plain clothes and uniformed demanding bribes.
"Those that with no cash were forced into the back of their vehicles.
While we know that the police salaries were low, but it is not a ticket to
infringe other people's democracies / rights for your greediness. Many
Zimbabweans, who have no bank accounts, are losing their cash to the SAPS
officers.
"I am kindly appealing to President Jacob Zuma to stop this
unwarranting abuse of Zimbabwe refugees and asylum seekers," said Dube.
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) Spokesperson, Sibanengi Dube,
also lashed out at the South African Police Service's deplorable actions of
cashing in on poor Zimbabwe refugees and asylum seekers.
Over four million (4 000 000) Zimbabweans are believed to be living in
South Africa of which the majority of them are asylum seekers and
refugees-CAJ News


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The right to health in Zimbabwe: Human Rights Bulletin Number 41

http://www.kubatana.net/html/archive/hr/090409hrf.asp?sector=HR
 

Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum
February 2009

Download this document
- Word97 version (62KB)
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What the right to health entails

The right to health is the right to the enjoyment of a variety of facilities, goods, services and conditions necessary for the realization of the highest attainable standard of health. This right is guaranteed not only by timely and appropriate health care but by also determinants such as access to safe and potable water, adequate sanitation, an adequate supply of safe food, nutrition and housing and access to health - related education and information.

This Human Rights Bulletin has been prepared against a background of the collapse of basic service delivery such as health, education and food in Zimbabwe. The aim of this particular Bulletin is to examine the collapse of the health system in Zimbabwe and to consider the Government of Zimbabwe's (GoZ) international obligations in terms of guaranteeing the right to health for its citizens, and the internationally accepted benchmarks that the Inclusive Government must aim to achieve to ensure the attainment of 'the highest standards of living' for all Zimbabweans.

The Right to Health and Zimbabwe's International Obligations

Zimbabwe is party to legally binding treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights among other treaties that observe the right to health. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic Cultural and Social Rights states that:

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health

Under the general obligations clause of Article 2 (1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a State Party is required to take legislative and other steps to the 'maximum of its available resources', with a view to achieving 'progressively' the full realization of the rights recognized in the Covenant, including the right to health. This means that the Government of Zimbabwe has a legal obligation to all its citizens to be concerned about their health needs.

Furthermore, the 1998 Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights notes in Guideline No. 10 that "resource scarcity does not relieve States of certain minimum obligations in respect of their implementation of economic, social and cultural rights". Thus if the Zimbabwe government should argue that it is unable to meet its minimum obligations to the right to health for its citizens because of a lack of resources, it must at least be able to demonstrate that every effort has been made to use all resources that are at its disposal in an effort to satisfy those obligations.

Apart from these obligations, international law creates a number of legal obligations on every state to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the enjoyment of human rights by all those under its jurisdiction. The obligation to respect health rights requires the Government of Zimbabwe, and thereby all of its organs and agents, to desist from carrying out any discriminatory and retrogressive practices or sponsoring or tolerating any practice, policy or legal measure violating the rights of the individual to health. In Zimbabwe's case the responsibility to respect health rights requires the State to refrain from such acts as sending away patients from health centres because they are members of an opposition political party.

Concurrently, the obligation to protect the right to health obliges the State and its agents to prevent the violation of any individual's right to health by any other individual or non-state actor. The Government of Zimbabwe, therefore, has a duty to protect its people by making sure that the privatization of health services does not interfere with access to such facilities by poor people, and that medical practitioners and other health professionals meet appropriate standards of education, skill and ethical codes of conduct.

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Zimbabwe dispatches: crossing borders

http://www.channel4.com

Last Modified: 21 Apr 2009
By: Channel 4 News

Travelling on the same road on which Mrs Susan Tsvangirai was killed in a
car crash is an unnerving experience, writes Helen from Zimbabwe.

It's hard to tell exactly where the crash occurred as nothing marks the
site: no flowers or wreaths or even a simple wooden cross such as those
often left at other car accident sites on the highways.

The edges of the road are badly eroded and cut away and the shoulder to the
tarmac no longer exists in most places.

Numerous bridges no longer have guard rails, reflective road paint has long
since worn away and cats' eyes to mark the centre, edges and dangerous
sections of road have long since gone.

Because of the deteriorating state of the roads most vehicles tend to ride
very near to the middle of the single carriageway highways. Most of the
traffic on that stretch of road consists of heavy duty haulage trucks,
transport vehicles, buses and lorries.

As all of Zimbabwe's fuel and food is imported thanks to a decade of
political turmoil and economic collapse, the stream of big trucks on the
road to the border is incessant.

At night these huge vehicles do not dip their lights and in the day they sit
solidly on the road, their wheels riding almost right on the centre white
line.

All along the roadside the wrecks of other accidents lie in warning of the
treachery of this road. There are numerous burnt out trucks and cars,
rusting vehicle shells, and everywhere a carpet of broken glass lies along
the verges.

All of a sudden and without any warning a helicopter approaches from the
opposite direction, flying very low and following the tarmac road.

It is hard not to cringe away and duck down from the pulsing rotors and even
harder not to look at the horror unfolding on the road ahead where a bus has
plunged into a river.

Police road blocks are everywhere: on the approach and outskirts of every
town as well as in the middle of nowhere. From out of the long grass a
policeman will emerge and wave you down and it is hard to tell what they are
looking for.

A cursory glance at your vehicle sometimes happens but mostly it's a
question: "Where are you going to, where have you come from."

Sometimes the more brazen ones ask "what have you got for me", which may
entail a bribe or food or drink. If you are lucky they are just trying their
luck and wave you onwards towards the border.

The queue at the Beitbridge border post to get into South Africa from
Zimbabwe is a massive four hour undertaking. I've done it twice in the last
three weeks, once early in the evening and once at three in the morning. It
seems that the time of day, or night, is of no consequence.

As fast as people reach the front of the queue so more join the back of a
line which I calculated held between 750 and 800 people all the time.

The South African officials, both police and immigration personnel, make no
attempt to disguise their contempt for the flood tide of Zimbabweans.

Surly, sullen and rude, they show no compassion whatever for Zimbabweans
who, despite a decade of hell, are still polite, courteous and humble.

No concession is made for women or children and aggressive South African
policewomen patrol the queue shouting at people who are not standing one
behind the other in a straight line or who have weakened and resorted to
sitting on the ground.

"No sitting allowed here," they bark. "Straight lines and standing only."

Touts locally called guma-guma weave in and out of the queue looking for
easy touches.

"You want to go fast?" they ask. "Two hundred rand (US$20) per person and
I'll take you to the front of the line. Another 200 rand and I'll take you
all the way to the passport control counter."

Police personnel in uniform watch the touts and the bribery taking place
right in front of them, but they do nothing at all. Everyone grumbles that
the officials are undoubtedly getting a cut of the deals, which is why they
don't intervene.

Bribery and corruption is institutionalized in Zimbabwe and now sadly it
seems to be becoming increasingly evident in South Africa.


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Donors should help rebuild Zim: think-tank

http://www.iol.co.za

    April 21 2009 at 04:35PM

Harare - Zimbabwe's unity government is likely to fail unless donors
quickly help rebuild the country after a decade of economic collapse and
political violence, a top international think-tank said on Tuesday.

The International Crisis Group said in a report that Zimbabwe is
turning a corner after long-time President Robert Mugabe and his erstwhile
rival, the new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, formed a unity government
in February.

"If the international community stands back with a wait-and-see
attitude, the unity government is likely to fail. Mugabe and the military
establishment will entrench themselves again," said Donald Steinberg, the
group's deputy president.

South African negotiators should also try to persuade hardliners in
the military to retire before new elections are held, in exchange for
limited immunity from prosecution for political crimes, the report said.

Such efforts would counter the risk of an attack against Tsvangirai or
his Movement for Democratic Change party, it said.

Western countries have so far refused to extend major new aid and
investments, or lift sanctions against Mugabe and his inner circle, until
the unity government shows more tangible signs of progress.

The report said it was still premature for the United States, the
European Union and others to remove their visa bans and asset freezes
against Mugabe and his allies, or to give the government direct budget
support.

But it called for more dynamic humanitarian aid to the country, where
more than half the population depends on foreign food aid for survival.

Donors should help revive the education, health and sanitation
systems, which are all in tatters after a decade of economic freefall.

"Zimbabwe should be treated as a post-conflict society," the report
said, saying donors should also help rebuild infrastructure and the civil
service.

The unity government says it needs $8,5-billion over three years to
revive the economy, but so far has not won any major commitments. - AFP


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Kofi Annan and Thabo Mbeki owe Africa an apology

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk


Monday, 20 April 2009
by Tanonoka Joseph Whande

Recent media reports from Kenya about the deepening rifts in Kenya's
coalition government, caused by a failure to press ahead with promised
reforms and a proliferation of armed militia groups are causing anxiety
among many Zimbabweans and those who have been holding their breaths over
the shaky forced coalition "government of national unity" in Zimbabwe. As in
Kenya, there are fears that the country could slide back into violence.

In Zimbabwe, as in Kenya, an aging politician, totally out of touch
with what was on the ground and the younger generation, lost an election and
simply refused to step down.
Both held their respective nations hostage by unleashing violent
militia gangs that killed hundreds and displaced millions more.
In both cases, the world exposed its impotence towards rogue leaders
who defy elections and abuse their citizens.

Continental and regional groups kept a safe distance away, reluctant
to commit themselves by chiding the aging leaders to vacate State House and
to respect the democratic electoral process.
Once in a while, an African leader would make a feeble statement here
and there but, on the whole, African leaders preferred their nonsensical
policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of another country,
thereby defeating the whole need for the existence of such continental and
regional bodies.

The carnage in Kenya started affecting the entire world as the death
toll compelled hourly updates, more or less like what has been happening in
Iraq for the last several years.

Someone pushed former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan
into the fray to mediate between the two political rivals, Mwai Kibaki, the
loser, and Raila Odinga, the man perceived to have won the election.
And Africans being Africans, instead of coming together and sternly
making it clear to Kibaki that Africa cannot tolerate such behaviour and
such total disregard for human life, Annan brokered an agreement in which
the loser kept the presidency he had lost and the winner having a new post
created for him.

I wrote many articles chiding Annan for setting a dangerous precedent
in Africa as this was clear encouragement to other African leaders and a
signal to existing aspiring dictators to ridicule the electoral process at a
time when Africa, in spite of its leaders, is genuinely trying to invite
democratic governments on its soil.
Supporters of the two losing presidents chided me and called me names,
saying I was a prophet of doom.

The killing subsided in Kenya and Kofi Annan received accolades from
just about everywhere.

In March 2008, three months after Africa betrayed Kenyan voters with
the installation of a bloated government and keeping a losing presidential
contender in power, Zimbabweans went to the polls and a mirror image of the
Kenyan experience was re-enacted, complete with run-off elections.
If anyone had missed news bulletins of what had happened in Kenya, all
they had to do was to listen to news bulletins of events unfolding in
Zimbabwe and they would get the Kenyan picture.

As people died in election violence, Mugabe lost the election and,
like Kibaki, refused to accept the outcome, forcing his way into a run-off
election in which he was the sole candidate.
The violence increased and a stalemate was born. With the help of
Thabo Mbeki and SADC, the quarrelling political rivals were forced into a
coalition government that demanded, as in Kenya, that the loser keep his job
and the loser having a new post created for him.

Hardly two months into this marriage of inconvenience, cracks are
beginning to show at a time when people were just about to start believing
that the little peace they were reluctantly seeing might be there to stay.

In both cases, bad faith is the stumbling block but it is bad faith
born from an imperfect arrangement.
The losing candidates were sitting presidents who feared losing power
because of what they had done during their tenure.

Kibaki was concerned about rampant corruption in his government.
Stepping aside would have given his political opponents a chance to bring
him before the courts and once that happened, no one would tell where it
would end.

Mugabe, on the other hand, had not only to worry about corruption and
the emptying of national coffers, he also has to worry about human rights
abuses and possible prosecution for genocide.
Mugabe and his lieutenants badly want amnesty and immunity from
prosecution although none of them has either apologized or admitted to any
wrong doing.

In either case, it was clearly a big mistake to prescribe such a
solution involving leaders who had abused their own people and who had been
rejected by the same people.

In the end, it was outside interference, after all, that helped to
keep these people in power.
It is a big shame that the architects of these horrible solutions,
Annan, Mbeki and SADCC, continue to keep quiet when the men they installed
against the citizens' wishes continue to abuse the nation.

These dangerous "former" presidents, who had so much to answer for,
were given opportunities to stay in power to continue doing the same things
against their nations and their people when their own people had rejected
them.

Is it not a pity that the SADC Tribunal long ruled that the farm
invasions in Zimbabwe were illegal?

But last week, Mugabe came out in support of his war veterans who had
started launching new raids and seizing farms beating up and killing people
in the process.

As the other partners try to bring normalcy to the country, the
ZANU(PF) people, who have everything to fear if the country returns to the
rule of law, are doing everything possible to foil this unity government
because in chaos, they have always had the upper hand.
SADC is quiet about all the arrests and property grabbing not to
mention the continued incarceration of innocent people.

Kofi Annan and Thabo Mbeki must apologise to Africa for their
prescriptions for both Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Both Annan and Mbeki forced these two countries to accept an agreement
that did not take into consideration the prevailing opinion among the
peoples concerned.

They forced nations to accept imperfect governments made from
imperfect arrangements.

Surely, such governments cannot be expected to deliver justice, law
and order.

We are in trouble, thanks to these two African statesmen.
Thabo Mbeki and Kofi Annan owe Africa an apology and they must never
let their prescription be used on any African nation again.

Sunday Standard


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MDC now displays signs of hypocrisy

http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=15484

April 21, 2009

By Jakaya Goremusandu

NOW that three illustrious sons of Zimbabwe, Messrs Gandhi Mudzingwa, Chris
Dhlamini and Andrison "Saddam" Manyere, have been released from jail on bail
on what is generally perceived to be trumped up charges of banditry and
terrorism, perhaps it is high time for the temporary administration in
Harare to focus on the real issues bedevilling Zimbabwe.

The story of Mudzingwa and his comrades was covered in greater detail by The
Zimbabwe Times a few days ago and until the court hearings commence, it
could be pointless to go over the merits or otherwise of the case.

Time will determine their fate and history shall place on record the serious
consequences the three MDC activists were forced to endure in the final
stages of Zimbabwe's long drawn transition to a society where the supremacy
of the people's dignity can finally be taken for granted.

Zimbabwe seems to be in far worse crisis than ever imagined, far worse than
the time when Robert Mugabe finally threw in the towel, capitulated and
agreed to reverse an earlier sworn vow that Morgan Tsvangirai should never
be allowed near a government office as a political leader.

Yet, for some strange reason - maybe because of poverty and confusion -
there remains a largely influential section with an unexplained habit of
dabbling in emotional debate, directing the national agenda towards trivia
at the expense of the mammoth task ahead.

Older Zimbabweans will not have forgotten that the government (both national
and urban councils as well as parastatals) owns a lot of properties which it
either inherited from Rhodesia or developed after 1980 as necessary state
assets. In almost all the low density areas of Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru and
Mutare, the government owns houses used by state guests, civil servants and
even politicians whenever the need arises.

Harare, for example, owns houses in almost all former low and medium density
suburbs, including Southerton, Milton Park, Highlands and many others. The
government inherited plush properties in Alexandra Park and Mount Pleasant
used by mainly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for various dignitaries
visiting Zimbabwe.

These executive properties are also reserved for temporary use by newly
appointed ministers and senior officials from other parts of the country
than Harare, or by its own diplomats in foreign lands when they come home
for consultations.

Traditionally, when a diplomat was recalled at short notice, for whatever
reason, they were housed in government properties while waiting to move into
their own properties after their tenants eventually leave.

It will be recalled that in 1986, Zimbabwe played host to the Non-Aligned
Movement summit. As part of the preparations, the government built top
flight mansions in Gunhill and Borrowdale for heads of state and leaders of
liberation movements.

Such guests included Cuban President Fidel Castro, Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi, PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, Oliver Tambo of the ANC of South
Africa, Sam Nujoma of SWAPO of Namibia and many others. Ministers John
Nkomo, Kembo Mohadi of Beitbridge, Jonathan Moyo and several of their
political colleagues from Matabeleland lived in state properties at
different stages of their assignments at national level.

Today, Mengistu Haile Mariam, the former Ethiopian strongman remains
ensconced in one of these mansions.

Imagine if Tamsanqa Mahlangu, the legislator for Nkulumane in Bulawayo and a
recently appointed deputy minister of youth was allocated one such house in
Gunhill. Mahlangu would certainly be in trouble for what Zimbabweans now
call "joining the gravy train" and would be hounded out of the house by
civil society, the Diaspora and, more painfully, by his party, the MDC.

The Mahlangu story would dominate news headlines and redirect the national
agenda far from the issues at hand for weeks. How unfortunate! So where do
we want Mahlangu to operate from, Epworth, Porta Farm, so that he can instil
faith in us as one of our own? Why should Mahlangu's ministerial package,
granted to enable him to work for Zimbabwe without thinking about other
basic issues likely to nag and disturb him, be a matter of concern to us?

Mahlangu life was ruined by Mugabe. He was arrested several times for his
role in the struggle for democracy. He has no car or house. He does not have
wealthy relatives or other connections in Harare, like David Coltart. How do
we expect Mahlangu to perform his duties if he is homeless? We expect him to
ride on public transport to work, bodyguards in tow.

The debate about whether to accept the privileges of office or to forsake
them represents a serious diversion from the serious issues confronting
Zimbabwe today.

It is, indeed, strange that Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai should state
that he will not move into State House because he is comfortable in the
three-bedroom bungalow he owns in Strathaven. This is a misrepresentation
based on a dishonest, populist façade which seeks to belittle the office
Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

With numerous state workers and assistants, in and outside the premises,
engaged in all kinds of work to make the Prime Minister's residence a place
of honour, how does the little house in Strathaven (with squashed
surroundings and young, music-loving neighbours) become ideal for a mature
and important national leader? How about space for entertainment, the
secrecy of visitors and dignitaries - or even simple parking space?

If Tsvangirai does not wish to occupy State House now, he must maintain that
position - never set foot there and turn the entire establishment into a
children's hospital even if he finally assumes power as President of
Zimbabwe. What justification is there for him to refuse to take up the
residence when he accepts government security, vehicles and other perks?

The same argument can be extended to the on-going debate about vehicles for
MPs. It is inconceivable that the MDC finds itself pushed off course in a
manner with a potential to break the party asunder while Zimbabwe continues
to burn. A vehicle is a known perk for an MP. If the vehicle is there, why
not allocate it to him or her, as per requirement?

The perks were disbursed by the Speaker as leader of Parliament after
sourcing the money for vehicles from Treasury. Where does Gideon Gono, the
governor of the central bank, come in? If he has leftovers from the bank's
huge fleet, he should simply surrender them to Treasury, through the Central
Mechanical Equipment Department, for onward transmission to the Speaker, and
then on to the MPs.

The MPs accept the vehicles at an agreed price - they are buying them, by
the way - and they pay for them during their tenure. The vehicles have never
been free. In the last Parliament, Gertrude "Trudy" Stevenson opted out of
the loan scheme and never claimed a car from Parliament. She said she found
the vehicles to be too expensive.

Former MPs Tafadzwa Musekiwa and Job Sikhala received the cars and sold them
soon afterwards, like many other MPs, allegedly after failing to maintain
them, which is not surprising, considering that almost their entire salary
was going towards servicing the vehicle loan.

Certainly, there is no gravy here!

What makes these matters laughable is that even Muchadeyi Masunda, the Mayor
of Harare, now says he can't move into the mayoral residence in Gunhill. The
majestic villa has had no regular occupant since the late Solomon Tawengwa
was pushed out of it.

Surely, this does not make sense. Masunda may claim he has a good property
of his own in Harare, but there is a good reason why public officials are
allocated public utilities and residences?

For consistency Masunda should turn down the mayoral fleet of vehicles,
assistance to sports facilities, allowances for rates and municipal charges
and many other mayoral perks? Why are we being hypocritical and uselessly
selective? The villa was built with public funds and must be used or be
sold, together with all government houses.

For the MDC, it is strange that it has to drag itself into these puerile
debates about such basic perks such as cars and houses when it draws an
allocation from Treasury for party activities, fuel and many other expensive
services from the same government.

Keep your eyes on the ball - and on the goal.


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With Zuma, SA begins slippery slope

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com

21st Apr 2009 11:47 GMT

By Chenjerai Chitsaru

AS South Africans began preparing for their elections this week, their
neighbours in Zimbabwe were recovering from celebrating 29 years of
independent moist thought "celebrate" was an inappropriate description.

Zimbabwe is only one of many African countries who, since 1957, entered
independence with huge hopes of prosperity. Will South Africa be another,
with the almost certain election of Jacob Zuma as president?

The man is an unabashed admirer of Robert Mugabe who, to many Zimbabweans,
has led the country on a slippery slope from which it may or may not topple
into an abyss of darkness.

The celebrations on 18 April were remarkable for the outward amity between
the two partners in the inclusive government - Mugabe ands his erstwhile
implacable foe, Morgan Tsvangirai.

The former trade unionist is hanging in there - some might say by the skin
of his teeth - in spite of the loss of his wife and a grandson in accidents
which inexplicably happened after he had been sworn in as prime minister.

At the newly-refurbished National Sports Stadium where the celebrations were
held, without party slogans or party regalia, the two men - and the third
component of the government - Professor Arthur Mutambara, a former
university student activist - displayed a façade of unity which successfully
camouflaged what may be seething discontent among in the two MDC formations
with how Mugabe's Zanu PF has handled the three-legged administration so
far.

There is a truly comic, if not tragic-comic, scenario involving MPs'
secondhand vehicles, dished out by the controversial governor of the central
bank, |Gideon Gono. They were described as having "scrambled: for the
vehicles, a performance that must have disgusted their supporters.

These people were to have displayed a calmness of nerves and a grasp of
dignity which the supporters would shame their Zanu PF counterparts, to whom
ostentation and rambunctious conduct is almost second nature.

There was a frightening likelihood of the MDC  going into a period of
internecine squabbling over the cars - a display of greed and childish
fascination with the trinkets of power which could lose them their seats the
next time around.

South Africa, fortunately or otherwise, has had its fair share of MPs being
cited for corruption, including a senior figure who ended up in prison for
his pains.

With Zuma at the helm what does the future hold for the republic? All the
pundits' predictions xo far point to a thumping ANC victory although the
opposition parties could score in certain areas, a consequence of discontent
with Zuma and a record of tackling widespread poverty with less than the
vigour the people had anticipated since 1994.

But the focus will undoubtedly be on Zuma himself. His tenacious drive to
snatch the ultimate political prize of his relatively illustrious political
career must earn him the admiration, albeit grudging, of most of his
opponents.

Few politicians, having made what hard-boiled political analysts have
described as his monumental blunders, would have dared to proceed to his
target so blithely, without so much as an apology to the electorate.

The voters will have judiciously weighed the realistic chances of this man
being able to successfully run their multiracial country, after the events
which have occurred over the years and have shown him to possess a paucity
of talent for avoiding disaster.

Fortunately, he has not been convicted of any offence yet. Still, the
HIV/Aids episode with his female relative must surely leave many of his
sympathisers wondering at his capacity for self-incrimination or even
self-destruction.

Zuma may possess the political savvy to survive the SA political jungle, but
when it comes to survival in the trenches of social life I this new
millennium, he most certainly could use the equivalent of survival handbook.

Is he HIV positive? Will that question thrust itself into the voters' face
as they confront the ballot box?

Some may decide it is too personal a question for them to pose. Others might
give him the benefit of the doubt; others might take the high moral road and
decide that Zuma and his Maker better made that decision.

Can he be trusted to confront the truth, as any leader must, when all the
fancy rhetoric and bombastic language has failed to convince his supporters
that he is on the up-and-up?

Or will resort to the sort of nonchalance with which he handled the truth in
some of the cases he has been so publicly involved?

Fortunately for Zuma, the prospect seems distinctly remote that there could
be a backlash with the same volume as that which droned Richard Nixon after
the Watergate scandal.

Nixon faced impeachment by Congress over his role in the attempted cover-up
of the 1972 burglary by the notorious "plumbers" at the Democratic Party
offices in the Watergate Building in downtown Washington DC .

Yet things could still turn nasty for Zuma. There are unanswered questions
over how his lawyers obtained the confidential tapes of crucial
conversations relating to the conduct of the prosecution case in one of the
crimes he was accused of committing.

Incidentally, tapes also featured in the evidence which finally clinched the
case against the former US president.

The tapes, ancient as they were, proved disastrous for Nixon because there
were "gaps" in them, apparently caused by what were proved to be "erasures".
These seemed to be designed to eliminate evidence incriminating Nixon. They
blew to smithereens any defence the Nixon lawyers had hoped to build up
against his prosecution.

The man gave up by resigning from the presidency in 1974.

So far, Zuma's lawyers have overcome every obstacle thrust in their [path
with the aplomb and dexterity of the best Olympics champion hurdlers.

Yet there are always gremlins lurking around every corner. Nixon's people
believed they were home and dry, and the man himself had the temerity to
declare publicly "I am not a crook!"

He spoke too soon, for Fate had taken a hand in the proceedings.

For South Africans, including his own Zulu compatriots, there is a need to
anticipate more international opprobrium. Every foreign country he visits as
head of state will have a host of eager journalists doing their assigned
duties - asking him the ticklish questions about his past and even his
future.

It could be excruciating for him, unless he can avoid the sort of boorish
reaction which resulted in Mugabe and George Charamba almost exchanging
fisticuffs with journalists in Egypt last year.

Many African leaders have in the past survived their political gaffes,
through a blend of

tenacity and diplomacy. Others have not done so well ad have paid the
price - an unrelenting media blitz on their every public mishap, however
trivial.

South Africans, having handled rather smoothly and sensibly, Nelson Mandela
and Thabo Mbeki's exits from the big political stage, need to continue on
this sober, unemotional path, and avoid the slipper slope.

They have set a precedent on media freedom: let not what the world media
decides to call The Zuma story become a big black blot on that reputation
for prudence and tolerance.

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