The Scotsman
Fri 27 Apr 2007
JANE FIELDS IN HARARE
ZIMBABWEAN tyrant Robert Mugabe
strikes terror into many Zimbabweans -
including his central bank governor,
it emerged yesterday.
So anxious not to offend the authoritarian Mr
Mugabe is Dr Gideon Gono, the
governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ), that, when he announced a
huge devaluation, he insisted it wasn't
really a devaluation at all.
Mr Mugabe, 83, is famously opposed to any
form of devaluation of the
Zimbabwe dollar. He wants exporters and tourists
to continue selling their
hard currency to the cash-strapped authorities at
the official exchange rate
of 250 Zimbabwe dollars to $1 US (500 Zimbabwe
dollars to the pound). That's
about 100 times less than the street
rate.
Mr Mugabe and his lieutenants' refusal to move the exchange rate
has forced
many exporters to shut. Almost all of the country's gold mines
have closed
down, while growers of tobacco - once Zimbabwe's main foreign
currency
earner - have refused to sell their crops, sending Zimbabwe further
into
economic crisis. Businessmen and locals sent foreign currency by
relatives
abroad risk arrest and prison if found trading their notes on the
parallel
market.
Yesterday, Dr Gono effectively devalued the Zimbabwe
dollar 60-fold in a
last-ditch bid to persuade tobacco farmers to sell up
and holders of hard
currency to surrender it to the central
bank.
However, the central bank chief maintained he was sticking to the
official
exchange rate.
Dr Gono said Zimbabweans would still have to
exchange their hard currency at
the 250:1 US dollar rate - but would then
have their payouts upped by a
"drought accelerator factor" of 60. "There is
no devaluation," Dr Gono
insisted. "The exchange rate policy remains as
is."
This means a tourist who sells £100 to an RBZ office will get 3
million
Zimbabwe dollars. Previously, the payout was 50,000 Zimbabwe
dollars.
Zim Online
Friday 27 April 2007
By Nqobizitha
Khumalo
BULAWAYO - Only six African countries and Pakistan are exhibiting
at this
year's Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZIFT) as major Western
countries
continue to shun the troubled southern African
country.
South Africa, Zimbabwe's biggest trading partner, is also absent
from the
fair which opened on Tuesday in the second biggest city of
Bulawayo.
The foreign countries that are participating at the fair are
Mozambique,
Malawi, Sudan, Swaziland, Zambia, Tanzania and
Pakistan.
A visit to the trade fair grounds showed that only flea market
and small to
medium-scale enterprises were the only ones that had taken up
space at the
low-key trade fair.
ZITF chairman Nhlanhla Masuku told
ZimOnline that 690 local companies were
participating at the fair, down from
the 713 companies that took part in the
fair last year.
Masuku said
the decline in the number of foreign exhibitors was due to some
foreign
companies exhibiting at the fair through local agents.
"The traditional
companies are here since they are exhibiting through their
gents but the
fact that they are represented by other people does not
necessarily mean
they are not here," ¯Masuku said.
The trade fair ends on
Saturday.
European and American firms have since 2001 been boycotting
Zimbabwe's trade
fair in protest against President Robert Mugabe's human
rights record and
failure to uphold democracy.
Mugabe, who denies the
charges, has however been courting Asian countries
through a "Look-East"
policy through increased ties with China, Malaysia and
other Asian
nations.
This year's trade is being held under dark cloud of a worsening
economic
crisis for the country that has seen inflation at the 2 200 percent
mark.
The economic crisis has also seen shortages of fuel, essential
medicines and
basic commodities. - ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 27 April
2007
By Wayne Mafaro
HARARE -
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (UCCB) has
said Zimbabwe's
long-running political and economic crisis is because of
misgovernance and a
lack of moral leadership.
In a letter hailing the Zimbabwe Catholic
Bishops Conference (ZCBC)
for standing up to oppression, the UCCB said it
was calling on the American
government and people and the international
community to support the push
for a negotiated settlement to Zimbabwe's
crisis.
In an unprecedented Easter Sunday message to President
Robert Mugabe,
the ZCBC called on the Zimbabwean leader to embrace democracy
or face
popular revolt.
The ZCBC warned in the pastoral letter
to Mugabe's government that
anger was rising among a populace suffering
worsening economic hardships and
boldly predicted mass uprising unless the
government conducted democratic
elections next year.
The Harare
government however rejected the pastoral letter and instead
pointed out the
fact that the ZCBC was able to go public with a letter that
was highly
critical of the government only because Zimbabwe was a "free
country" in
which citizens could freely express their opinions.
Describing
ZCBC's letter to Mugabe as brave and a strong cry for
justice, the American
clergymen said Zimbabwe's crisis was "at once a crisis
of governance, a
crisis of moral leadership and a spiritual and moral
crisis."
Zimbabwe Catholic church leaders have also received support from Pope
Benedict XVI, the bishops of Britain, the Symposium of Episcopal Conference
of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops
Conference.
Zimbabwe is in the grip of a severe economic crisis
which has left the
majority of the country's 12 million people mired in
poverty as unemployment
rockets and inflation surges to 2 200
percent.
Critics blame the crisis on repression and wrong polices
by Mugabe
such as his controversial land redistribution programme that
knocked down
the agriculture sector, which was the mainstay of the
economy.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its 1980 independence
from
Britain, denies ruining the economy and instead blames his Western
enemies
for sabotaging Zimbabwe's once brilliant economy. -
ZimOnline
Zim Online
Friday 27 April 2007
By Prince Nyathi
HARARE -
Experts from United Nations (UN) food aid agencies arrived in
Zimbabwe on
Wednesday on a three-week long visit to assess the country's
food security
situation, ZimOnline has learnt.
The officials from the World Food
Programme (WFP) and the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have already
started their assessment,
according to Jaspal Gill, WFP's information
officer in Harare.
"Yes, they are here and they have already started
work. They are scheduled
to meet government officials and then tour the
countryside," said Gill.
Gill could however not reveal the size of the UN
delegation saying they had
already lined up meetings with senior officials
in President Robert Mugabe's
government over the food security situation in
the country.
Sources within the agriculture sector told ZimOnline that
the UN officials
were likely to meet, among others, Agriculture Minister
Rugare Gumbo, State
Security Minister Didymus Mutasa who is also in charge
of land reform and
resettlement as well as Labour and Social Welfare
Minister Nicholas Goche.
Goche's ministry issues permits to international
relief agencies to
distribute food aid in the country, while it also runs
the government's own
food aid programme.
Zimbabwe, once regarded as
the breadbasket of southern Africa, has been
battling severe food shortages
over the past seven years after President
Robert Mugabe seized white farms
for redistribution to landless blacks.
The farm seizures slashed food
production by 60 percent resulting in most
Zimbabweans relying on food
handouts from international aid agencies.
Mugabe has been keen to portray
his land reforms as a success. For example,
in 2004 he banned food aid
agencies from operating in Zimbabwe arguing that
the country had harvested
enough to feed itself.
The Zimbabwean leader only relented at the last
minute allowing the food aid
groups to distribute food to millions of
starving people around the country.
The southern African country is this
year facing severe food shortages after
the country only managed to harvest
a paltry 600 000 tonnes of grain,
against national demands of 2.4 million
tones. - ZimOnline
New Zimbabwe
By Torby
Chimhashu in Bulawayo
Last updated: 04/27/2007 10:36:44
ZIMBABWE'S Reserve
Bank governor, Gideon Gono, has made an impassioned plea
to the government
to give amnesty to all businessmen who fled the country
after being charged
with economic crimes.
Gono said Zimbabwe requires healing, adding
that it was imperative for the
government to forgive those who were hounded
out of the country facing
charges of
externalising foreign
currency.
Said Gono: "Within the context of the on-going Social Dialogue,
the idea of
an amnesty linked to the return of all externalised resources by
Zimbabweans
who have left the country is one worth pursuing.
"As I
stated in January 2007, this nation, more than anything else, requires
a
great deal of healing, not only among individual families, neighbours,
villagers or Churches, but also requires tolerance and forgiveness towards
one another, guided by the spirit of economic patriotism and a branding of
Zimbabwe as the rallying point for all our endeavours."
Gono's appeal
was met with thunderous acclamation from the packed Large City
Hall in
Bulawayo, where he unveiled his Monetary Policy Interim Review
Statement
Thursday.
Several top bankers fled Zimbabwe in 2004, ironically when Gono
began his
first term as RBZ governor.
Among those who left Zimbabwe
were the founders of National Merchant Bank of
Zimbabwe (NMBZ) - Otto
Chekeche, Francis Zimuto, Julius Makoni and James
Mushore - who all earned
their full stripes as bankers of topnotch after
steering NMB to lofty
heights during their reign.
The quartet is reportedly based in the United
Kingdom.
Other bankers were former Trust Bank Holdings chief executive
officer and
founder William Tapera Nyemba , Chris Goromonzi, Nyevero Hlupo,
Barbican
Bank boss Mthuli Ncube and Intermarket chief, Nick
Vingirai.
Zanu PF longtime supporter and Metropolitan Bank founder Enoch
Kamushinda
and Africa Resources Limited top man, Mutumwa Dziva Mawere also
suffered the
same fate.
Other businessmen who fled include former
Telecel boss James Makamba and ENG
Management's Gilbert Muponda, who is now
based in America.
Manila Standard, Philippines
Adelle
Chua_Tulagan
X is a writer from Zimbabwe. His job pays him 200 thousand
Zimbabwean
dollars a month.
His transport costs alone, though, come
up to 220 thousand. Then he still
has to cover his rent, utilities,
groceries and other expenses. He has a
young wife; they don't think they can
afford to have a child yet.
X is resourceful. Once a week, he hops over
to nearby Botswana to buy car
paint. He hauls it back to his hometown,
where, because of the influx of
second-hand vehicles, demand for paint is
high. This activity fetches him an
additional 5 million dollars, so he is
pretty much covered. He says his
friends have their own means to get
by.
Still, he does not like to keep his millions in the bank. Inflation
rate in
his country is close to 1,800 percent-and that's not a typographical
error.
So as soon as he gets his hard-earned money, X dashes to the
supermarket,
stacks up on supplies to last his family for a month, pays his
bills, and
then goes to the black market to exchange the rest of his money
for US
dollars. He keeps his prized possession, his foreign currency, under
his
pillow. He says it helps him dream of good things.
In recent
days, X has stumbled upon a piece of good luck: A professional
training out
of the country where he is provided with accommodation and
transport
allowance as well as a modest stipend to cover his day-to-day
needs.
X now holds on to his precious euros, careful not to go on a
shopping spree
or buy any more food than what he actually can consume. He
says the
aggregate allowance is equivalent to five years worth of
income-both from
trading and writing. If he scrimped hard enough, he will be
able to afford a
car upon his homecoming. Would that not be
fancy?
Not at all, he says. In fact, not even halfway through this
course, he is
already looking around for similar opportunities that would
keep him out of
Zimbabwe for a few more weeks or months.
Yes,
according to him, it is that bad.
***
Zimbabwe is a country of 13
million people, 3.5 million of which are
scattered in various other parts of
the world. The unemployment rate is 80
percent. Gross domestic product
shrunk 5.7 percent last year and has
actually contracted 30 percent in the
last 10 years. The exchange rate is
erratic: In 2000, 1 US dollar was
equivalent to 55 Zimbabwean dollars. After
three years, the US dollar
fetched 824 Zim dollars. By end 2006, it went
back to 250-all because the
central bank decided to slash three zeroes from
the convoluted
rate.
It is quite a story, one unlikely to exist under present
conditions. But it
does. X's colleague, Y, says that when the government
feels it does not have
enough money to fund certain projects or pay for some
imports, the President
only has to write a nice letter to the central bank
governor and the
printers start churning out more money.
The
Zimbabwean "situation" has become an enigma for the rest of the world.
Most
agree that even the most well-researched, sophisticated economic
solutions
would not work until the present administration realizes what a
mess it has
made out of everybody's life. This ill brings down the entire
country,
heaping trouble upon every citizen-old and young, educated or
illiterate,
male or female.
Ultimately, no economic changes can be introduced without
an overhaul of the
political system, more so in the absence of political
will.
Thus, desolation and helplessness permeate the streets. Despite the
abundance of millionaires that populate them.
***
Relative to
Zimbabwe's, the Philippines' economic performance looks
phenomenal.
By leaps and bounds, our growth, inflation and balance of
payments figures
are more handsome. We have clear targets and, at least on
paper, we know how
to go about achieving them. See, economic advancement is
not mere
propaganda, contrary to what the opposition says. The country is
really
making progress, judging by the numbers that don't lie and are in
fact
validated by impartial international organizations.
What, then,
remains wrong?
The problem is not economic; it is social. It is not the
government per se;
it is governance.
The issue is not whether there
are prospects for sustainable growth; it is
whether the inequitable income
distribution will ever be addressed.
Will the poor ever be empowered,
contribute to the country's output and
partake of its gains? Will a greater
portion of the population be able to
cross over the poverty
threshold?
The question is not whether the government can generate enough
funds to
support basic services and infrastructure projects; it is whether
the money
is used prudently and released only for purposes earlier
identified.
Will the corruption menace ever be overcome? Will there be an
end to
politicians enriching themselves at the expense, literally and
figuratively,
of the people?
In Zimbabwe, everybody is in a
rut.
Here in the Philippines, many are in a rut with a few chosen ones
thriving
in posh villages. And from a moral point of view, that's equally
bad.
Equally despicable.
E-mail: adelle_tulagan@yahoo.com
Church Times, UK
by Pat Ashworth
ANGLICAN bishops in Central Africa
have for the first time ever put
out a combined statement on the crisis in
Zimbabwe.
Their pastoral letter, which denounced violence and
highlighted the
effect of sanctions on the poor, was widely interpreted as
pro-Mugabe, and
drew scornful comparisons with the uncompromising Easter
letter issued by
Roman Catholic bishops . But light has since been thrown on
its context by a
respected signatory, the Bishop of Botswana, the Rt Revd
Trevor Mwamba, and
by the Bishop of Croydon, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, who
returned on Wednesday
from a diocesan visit to Zimbabwe.
The African bishops declare themselves "concerned and pained at the
distressing occurrences that have been taking place in Zimbabwe". The
deteriorating economy, they say, has left ordinary Zimbabweans unable to
make ends meet.
They continue: "This, we note, has been
exacerbated by the economic
sanctions imposed by the Western countries.
These so-called targeted
sanctions, aimed at the leadership of the country
of Zimbabwe, in reality
have affected the poor Zimbabweans, who have borne
the brunt of the
sanctions."
The bishops call on Western
countries to lift the sanctions, and the
British and American governments to
"honour their obligation of paying
compensation to the white farmers". They
then ask the Zimbabwean government
to "provide a framework of peace by
creating a conducive environment for
dialogue and
tolerance".
They denounce all forms of violence, and emphasise:
"We want to make
it unequivocally clear to all of our people that we do not
condone what is
happening in Zimbabwe." They call for "a culture of
governance that respects
the sanctity of life", and urge the Church to be
prophetic, and to offer an
effective pastoral ministry to the
downtrodden.
Headlines in an Associated Press report
proclaimed: "African Anglican
Bishops support Mugabe", and the pro-Mugabe
Herald had "Anglican Bishops rap
sanctions". SW Radio Africa reported
"Anglican Bishops blasted for
supporting Mugabe", and another AP report
described the Anglican Church as
"traditionally muted in its criticism of
the government, with its leaders
generally toeing the ruling party
line".
But Bishop Mwamba, who gave a keynote address to senior
judges and
others at the Ecclesiastical Law Society Conference in Liverpool
earlier
this year , said on Tuesday that the letter had to be seen in the
context of
the Anglican situation in Zimbabwe. The spirit in which it had
been sent was
to support the progressive forces and the need for change, and
was not in
any way meant to be pro-Mugabe, he said.
Choosing his words carefully, the Bishop commented: "As you can
imagine, in
Zimbabwe there are divisions within the Church itself, and so
there was a
need to wean certain hearts and minds to be able to put forward
a statement
all the bishops could subscribe to.
"In that sense, yes, it
does not appear as sharp as the pastoral
letter from the Catholic bishops.
It took a middle-of-the-road pastoral
approach. Nevertheless, the sting is
there in calling for drastic change,
for the government to be called upon to
create a conducive environment for
that, and for the Church to stand forward
and speak sharply in the context
of its calling and prophetic ministry." The
Bishop described it as "the
beginning of a long journey of bishops moving
together - very gently, for
need of carrying certain of our friends
along."
Bishop Baines added his own view of the story. He made
unwanted
headlines himself while on a ten-day visit with 20 members of his
diocese as
guests of Bishop Ishmael Mukuwanda (News, 5 April). Under the
headline
"Media lies about Zim - British clergyman", a Herald story said
that Bishop
Baines had "criticised his country's media for peddling lies
about the
situation in Zimbabwe, and said London has no right to dictate how
Harare
should run its affairs."
Speaking from Zimbabwe on
Tuesday, Bishop Baines said that after a
courtesy call to the Midlands
Governor in Zimbabwe, Cephas Msipa, the
Governor had asked to meet him. He
had not expected two national
journalists, a television cameraman, and a
reporter from President Mugabe's
office to be present as
well.
"I took the judgement that if we pulled it at that point
and said 'no
media', then it would have come out that we were frightened of
the
discussion," he said.
A discussion in which sanctions
were mentioned and questions permitted
elicited a response from Mr Msipa
that was both "frank and fair", said
Bishop Baines, who described the
Governor as having remained honourable
throughout. The journalist - who
later ran a story, "Clergyman slams UK
media lies" - then accused the UK,
among other things, of backing the
Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC).
"I came back robustly, and told him I seriously disputed
much of what
he had said in terms of content and analysis," the Bishop said.
"I told him
that the ban on media, and particularly British media, did the
country more
damage than being open to bad stories and misrepresentations,
and that, if
they closed their doors to the media, they could not then
complain that the
media got the information second-hand, and the country did
not get the
stories it liked. "I told them the ban was counter-productive,
and that
Zimbabwe was blaming everyone but Zimbabwe for the plight it was
in."
The TV report did not appear, but when the headlines came
out, Bishop
Baines rang the Governor. "I told him, 'I could go back to the
UK and say we
were the victims of Zimbabwean propaganda and manipulation,
but I'm not a
coward. I'm doing you the courtesy of telling you now that's
what I'm going
to say when I get back.' He understood, and was very
embarrassed," said
Bishop Baines.
Regarding the African
bishops' letter, which had been used to
criticise the Archbishop of
Canterbury, he said: "The bishops have a serious
problem with the Bishop of
Harare [the Rt Revd Nolbert Kunonga]. If they
divide, there are other
implications that may give Bishop Kunonga what he
wants. I appreciate the
silence of the Anglican bishops more than I did
before I came. It's a mess.
But they are not being silent on the ground."
The Telegraph
By Kate Hoey
Last
Updated: 1:35am BST 27/04/2007
Zhou Chunxiu's domination of
the women's race in the London Marathon last
Sunday was another signal of
how far the Chinese have progressed in every
sport since they were awarded
the Olympic Games in 2001.
There is no divide between sport and the state
in China and the notion that
sport and politics should not mix is
unthinkable. But even in the UK it is
rare these days to hear anyone repeat
that phrase. Over the years government
has increasingly regulated sport and
all the political parties compete for
the endorsement of sporting stars to
give them 'street cred'. But there is
still a reluctance by government and
sporting bodies to speak out on what
are seen as 'difficult' issues -
particularly those which have a moral
dimension. We saw that clearly with
the buck passing between the cricket
authorities and ministers over the 2003
cricket World Cup in Zimbabwe.
Mihir Bose, who went to Zimbabwe to cover
that series for The Daily
Telegraph, was refused accreditation and deported,
and told that he was
singled out because as a holder of a British passport,
Zimbabwean officials
thought he would try to whip up more trouble between
rebel cricketers and
the Zimbabwe Cricket Union (ZCU) who were highly
politicised and firmly
under the thumb of Robert Mugabe's regime.
The
controversy over sporting links with Zimbabwe now looks to flare up
again.
Danny Jordan, the chief executive of South Africa's 2010 football
World Cup
organising committee, gave an assurance last week that Zimbabwe
could be
used as one of the bases for the national squads preparing for
Africa's
first football World Cup. Quite apart from security issues surely
teams
would not want to be used as propaganda tools to prop up Mugabe's
brutal
dictatorship.
There is a special irony that the most high profile and
successful use of
sport as a method of influencing the politics of a country
was the sporting
boycott of apartheid South Africa. Now South Africa refuses
to condemn the
behaviour of its neighbour and continues to support the
ruling party.
So why are we not isolating Zimbabwe by the same methods?
Why is the
International Cricket Council not suspending the ZCU over the
continued
politicisation of cricket? They have recently suspended the USA
Cricket
Association for irregularities at board level which pale into
insignificance
by comparison with the corruption of the
ZCU.
International pressure is needed to make Mugabe accountable for his
despotic
rule and a sports boycott should be one part of
that.
Unfortunately, just as Malcolm Speed, the chief executive of the
ICC,
maintains that playing cricket with Zimbabwe benefits the country so
the
same attitude is being adopted about China by the Olympic
family.
When Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games, concern was expressed
about its
lack of human rights and whether it was a fit country to host the
world's
largest sporting festival. At the time much was made of the IOC's
'bet' that
staging the Olympics in China would be a force for
good.
Part of the agreement that China signed was that journalists would
be
allowed to report freely from anywhere in the country in the run-up to
2008.
Despite repeated reports that local officials are ignoring the new
regulations that were supposedly introduced to allow this to happen, Jacques
Rogge, the IOC president, still claimed a few weeks ago that "the 20,000
journalists who come to the Games will show China as it is". Yet there have
been widely reported incidents of intimidation of both domestic and foreign
journalists in China. This is especially true of those who wish to report
from Tibet.
So are the IOC going to hold China to the promise they
made? How can China
be shown "as it is" when travelling freely is virtually
impossible? What is
it that the Chinese government is so keen to hide, for
example in Tibet?
Well for a start journalists would sense the climate of
fear in which most
Tibetans are living under. They might report on the
widespread torture of
'political prisoners' and learn just how many have
been kept in prisons for
years: they would hear how the spiritual leader of
the Tibetans, the Dalai
Lama, is vilified and see the constant attack on
Buddhism by state police.
A recent UN report concluded that torture
remains "widespread" in China.
These and many other aspects of life in China
are what Beijing wants to
hide. They don't want Olympic athletes competing
in the spirit of
sportsmanship to know the brutal realities of what it is
happening in Tibet.
So they ignore the binding agreements with the IOC and
it seems the IOC will
ignore them too.
It is certainly too late to
stop the Olympics in Beijing but it is not too
late for Olympic associations
to speak out and demand that China keeps its
promises. Unless there is
substantial progress in the next year on the human
rights situation, the
2008 Games in Beijing and the Olympic image will be
badly
tarnished.
But then as international sport today is more about money than
sportsmanship
will anyone notice?
European Parliament
External relations - 26-04-2007 - 17:11
In a resolution adopted on
Thursday by 68 votes to 1 with 0 abstention,
Parliament issues a
hard-hitting condemnation of the Mugabe regime. MEPs
call on Member States
to apply the EU's existing restrictions on Zimbabwe
strictly, including the
arms embargo and the travel ban. They also urge that
all aid to Zimbabwe be
delivered exclusively through NGOs, the EU being the
most important donor to
the country.
In the wake of the violent break-up of the Save Zimbabwe
Campaign prayer
rally organised on 11 March this year by opponents of the
regime - two
people were killed and more than 300 were arrested - MEPs
strongly condemn
the Mugabe dictatorship for "its relentless oppression of
the Zimbabwean
people, opposition parties and civil society groups and its
destruction of
the Zimbabwean economy".
The House condemns the murder
of opposition activist Gift Tandare and the
arrest of Morgan Tsvangirai,
chairman of the Movement for Democratic Change,
Nelson Chamisa, Grace
Kwinjeh, Lovemore Madhuku, William Bango, Sekai
Holland, Tendai Biti, Arthur
Mutambara and many others treated brutally by
the police
forces.
Acknowledgment of crisis by neighbouring
countries
Parliament takes heart from one new development : "the
recognition by SADC
that a crisis exists in Zimbabwe and the appointment of
President Thabo
Mbeki of South Africa to facilitate dialogue between Zanu-PF
and the
opposition MDC".
EU must apply its own measures in
full
However, the EU must play its part too, and Parliament calls on the
Council
"to ensure that all Member States rigorously apply existing
restrictive
measures, including the arms embargo and the travel ban". MEPs
are also in
favour of enlarging the list of banned individuals so that it
encompasses
even more of Mugabe's power structure, including government
ministers,
deputies and governors, military, the CIO and police personnel,
and the
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
In addition,
Parliament calls on the Council to ensure that no banned
persons are invited
to, or attend, the planned EU-Africa Summit in Lisbon in
December this
year.
Aid, say MEPs, must be delivered through genuine non-governmental
organisations and must reach the people for whom it is intended without
being intercepted in any way by agents of the Mugabe regime. In 2006, the EU
donated ?193 million in total.
The House backs the initiative of the
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly to
send a delegation to Zimbabwe to
"ascertain the situation on the ground".
This investigation should be
carried out as soon as possible. MEPs insist
that the government of Zimbabwe
grant access to the country to all members
of any such
delegation.
Britain and South Africa urged to use their positions on the
UN Security
Council
Lastly, the resolution calls on the United
Kingdom, which assumed the
Presidency of the United Nations Security Council
this month, "to put
Zimbabwe on the agenda of the Security Council", and
"anticipates that South
Africa will play a constructive role as a
non-permanent member of the
Security Council".
VOA
By Jonga Kandemiiri
Washington
26 April
2007
Officials of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions said
the confederation
will not be holding May Day activities in four locations
because its
organizers fear for their lives.
The ZCTU said it has
ruled out organizing workers day celebrations in the
towns of Marondera,
Norton and Bindura in Mashonaland East, West and Central
provinces,
respectively, and Triangle in Masvingo, due to their volatile
political
climates.
The union's general council will finalize May Day plans on
Saturday.
The union has accused the government of President Robert Mugabe
of economic
mismanagement resulting in plunging living standards for
workers. It staged
a two-day general strike earlier this month that most
observers said had
little impact in business centers. An estimated 80% of
Zimbabwean workers
are unemployed.
ZCTU Acting Secretary General
Japhet Moyo told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri of
VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe
that despite the effective no-go zones in some
areas for May Day
celebrations, his union is planning major events in other
provinces.
Mining Weekly
By: Barnabas Thondhlana
Published: 27 Apr 07 - 0:00
The
government of Zimbabwe has deployed security agents at the country's
major
gold-mining firms to monitor gold production following concerns over
plummeting output.
Mining Weekly has established that
officers from the police gold squad and
the Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO), whose role is to maintain State
security, were deployed
at the mines about four weeks ago and are likely to
remain stationed there
for the next six months.
The move is said to have been instigated by the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
(RBZ), which speculates that production declared by
the mines has declined
because of smuggling.
Mining Weekly has been
informed that three police officers and one CIO agent
has been deployed at
each of the targeted gold mines and has been instructed
to monitor the
entire production process, from extraction to smelting.
"They are
recording every step of the production pro- cess and are working
in shifts,"
a manager at one of the affected mines tells Mining Weekly.
Inspectors
from Fidelity Printers & Refiners - an RBZ subsidiary and the
only
authoried buyer of gold and silver in Zimbabwe - have reportedly
intensified
visits to gold mines.
Zimbabwe risks losing its right to sell gold
directly on the international
market if it fails to produce 10 t/y, the
minimum required for a London
Bullion Market Association (LBMA) licence to
do so.
Zimbabwe produced 1,4 t in January and February, and
commentators say it
could fail to achieve the LBMA-prescribed mini- mum
production this year.
Government suspects that the dropping levels of
gold production are a result
of rampant smuggling, but miners say the
decline is caused by the overvalued
exchange rate and delays by the central
bank to pay for their gold
deliveries timeously.
The central bank is
yet to pay miners for gold delivered three months ago.
Commenting on the
presence of police and CIO officers at gold mines, Chamber
of Mines CEO
David Murangari says: "For the mines, that is not an issue -
they are more
worried about the local gold price and being able to get their
foreign
currency payment for gold lodged with the central bank timeously.
"The
situation is serious because some mines can no longer get lines of
credit
from their suppliers of essential chemicals and inputs."
The chairperson
of the Parliamentary portfolio committee on Mines, Energy,
the Environment
and Tourism, Joel Gabbuza, says the committee is aware of
the presence of
security officers at gold mines.
Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
VOA
By Patience Rusere
Washington
26
April 2007
Sources among Zimbabwean non-governmental
organizations said officials
within the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare
denied taking steps toward
the deregistration of NGOs as announced recently
by Information Minister
Sikhanyiso Ndlovu.
Ministry directorate
officials said in a meeting with NGO representatives
that they had no
knowledge of any such initiative, according to National
Association of
Non-Governmental Organizations Program Director Bob
Muchabayiwa.
But
civic organization leaders remain wary of Harare's intentions,
Muchabayiwa
told reporter Patience Rusere of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe.
VOA
By Carole Gombakomba
Washington
26
April 2007
A Harare court has set a trial date of May 9 in
the case of Gift Phiri, the
chief reporter for the London based weekly
newspaper The Zimbabwean who
stands accused of practicing without a license
under the country's draconian
media law.
Phiri could face up to two
years in prison for breaching the Access to
Information and Protection of
Privacy Act, better known to many Zimbabweans
as AIPPA.
Phiri has
accused police of torturing him in custody and said he is now
facing
official harassment following his lawyers' notification of police of
his
intent to sue. He is being treated for a broken arm and soft tissue
damage
sustained in the alleged beatings.
Phiri told reporter Carole Gombakomba
of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that he
had been licensed by the Media and
Information Commission to report for a
newspaper in Harare and had applied
for renewal of his license to report for
The Zimbabwean.
People's Daily
A new group
of Cuban doctors under the Zimbabwe-Cuba health program has
arrived in
Zimbabwe to help boost the health sector in this southern African
country,
ZBC News reported on Thursday.
The program was launched in 2000 to
supplement the number of doctors in
Zimbabwe's hospitals, at a time when the
health sector is bleeding from
brain drain.
The latest group of Cuban
doctors comprises 64 young men and women trained
in the areas of
paediatrics, gynaecology, neurology, radiography, forensics,
dentistry and
general medicine.
Head of the Cuban medical brigade in Zimbabwe Elision
Fernandes said the 64
new doctors bring to 136 the total number of Cuban
doctors currently
deployed in Zimbabwe.
The group is currently on a
two-week English language course, after which
they will be deployed to
provincial, central, and district hospitals
throughout Zimbabwe.
The
Cuban doctors in Zimbabwe provide a comprehensive program that includes
offering health promotion and prevention campaigns to Zimbabwean
communities.
This has seen some Cuban doctors working in some remote
and rural parts of
Zimbabwe where some Zimbabweans experts
shun.
Cuban medical practitioners are renowned throughout the world and
they have
been deployed in various parts of the world including Europe, Asia
and Latin
America, according to ZBC News.
Source: Xinhua
People's Daily
The French government and the University of Zimbabwe have
signed a
memorandum of understanding that will strengthen assistance given
to the
university by the French government, ZBC News said on
Thursday.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the French ambassador to
Zimbabwe G Jugnet
said the agreement is important in that it fully
recognizes the need to
further develop the teaching of French in
Zimbabwe.
He said there is need to continue strengthening ties with
Zimbabwe in the
field of education in order to further develop the
understanding of the
French language at a higher level. France will continue
to support all
efforts being made by the university to offer training of the
highest
standards to students.
The University of Zimbabwe's Vice
Chancellor Professor Levi Nyagura said the
university's faculty of arts and
the department of modern languages students
have benefited directly from the
assistance of the French government and the
signing of the memorandum of
understanding will enhance cooperation between
the two countries.
The
history of cooperation between the government of France and the
University
of Zimbabwe's department of modern languages dates back to the
1960's when
the French government started to actively support the teaching
of French in
Zimbabwe.
Source: Xinhua
article deleted by JB
Please send any job opportunities for publication in this newsletter to:
JAG
Job Opportunities; jag@mango.zw or justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Contracts in the DRC
Wanted: for six
month renewable contracts in the DRC, three Zimbabwean farm
managers. One
with experience in orchard and plantation crops especially
citrus and
bananas, the second with experience in row cropping: potatoes,
maize/soya,
wheat and barley and the third with experience in dairy
production. Formal
agricultural qualifications an advantage but not a
necessity.
Fluency
in Swahili preferable but not essential.
Contact:
011610073.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
JOB OPPURTUNITY
We have a vacancy for a
mature/semi retired man to join our team. The
position would be as workshop
manager to be in charge of maintenance and
repairs of all farm equipment.
Accommodation and competitive package
offered for the right person. Situated
30km from Beit Bridge (Zim)
Please send CV/References to fergs@netconnect.co.zw or
benfer@netconnect.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AT NO COST
We are
looking for a business partner in Bulawayo or Gweru or Masvingo to go
into a
50/50 venture to offer instant passport and visa photographs. We will
provide
all equipment and training. The equipment comprises 1 compact
digital camera
and 1 printer (the size of a supermarket till). The partner
will need to have
a shop outlet close to the CBD and be able to devote a few
square metres of
floor space to the passport/visa photography. The partner
will operate the
venture and share all costs and profits on a 50/50 basis.
No photographic
experience is required. The net profit to each party should
be in the region
of USD 600 (equivalent) per month. Please reply to
acacia@africaonline.co.zw giving
details of your location and any other
relevant
information.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Management Couple / Professional
Guide
Management couple/professional guide needed to run small,
exclusive, safari
camp in Kariba/Matusadona as soon as possible. Salary and
benefits
negotiable depending on experience and qualifications - please
contact one
of the following:
Steve - steve@saflodge.co.zw Phone 013 43358
011 207 307
Wendy - wendy@saflodge.co.zw 0912 307
875
Belinda - email: belinda@zol.co.zw phone: (04)
301494/301496 or 011
603
613
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Transport Manager
To co-ordinate all
aspects of transport for cane haulers, mechanical
background is a
pre-requisite
Please contact Rob Buchanan, E-Mail - robbuchanan@yebo.co.za
Cell
082-3371290, Tel
033-3431106
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Manager for Sawmill
We are a large
furniture manufacturing company (J.W.Wilson Int (Pvt) Ltd).
Based in Harare.
We are currently looking for a manager for our sawmill in
Matabeleland, which
supplies our Norton factory with teak.
The position entails travel to the
mill in the Thlotsho area spending 2
nights, 3 days, a week at the mill
attending to the management of the mill.
We feel that the job would suit a
person with a farming background.
Should you need any further details
please contact me at dave@wilson.co.zw
of phone on cell
0912231 511 or Harare
620131.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
COMPUTER STUDIES TEACHER - PRIMARY
A
leading Independent School in Zambia requires a teacher of Computer
Studies
for September 2007. Experience in a CHISZ school in Zimbabwe or
an
Independent School in South Africa is essential. A good US dollar salary
is
offered along with accommodation and other benefits which include
medical
cover.
There is a possibility of other vacancies at both primary
and secondary
arising in the future and interested teachers with appropriate
experience
should register there interest.
A brief resume should be
emailed to zamvacancies@fsmail.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
URGENTLY NEEDED
Looking for an honest hard
worker in Harare to work in the house as well as
in the garden. We would
prefer a mature male who has experience.
Please if there is anyone out
there who is leaving or knows of someone
please contact me on 011207583 or
0912308410.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
GIRL FRIDAY
Busy office in Avondale
requires a full day lady to take care of
correspondence and general office
duties. Email/computer knowledge an
asset but we can teach
you what you
need to know. Pleasant working environment - to start as
early as
possible.
Please contact - dundawidaho@mango.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Offered
I am a South African
farmer who needs employers for the following vacancies:
1: A person with
mechanical knowledge who can do welding and am able to work
with steel as
well. He must be reliable, able to attend to my vehicles and
help with
general work on the farm and with the cattle
2. A reliable chef,
housekeeper. He/she must have experience in western
cooking
I would
like to see references which can be e-mailed to the following
E-mail
Address(as): vermaasboerdery@telkomsa.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPLOYMENT
REQUIRED
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad inserted 26 April 2007)
BUILDING
CONSULTANT
Available to oversee construction operations
and
alterations/modifications, assess and monitor quality control; submission
of
appraisals for repairs and maintenance undertakings, and other
associated
tasks.
For further information please reply to the
following contact.
mhowarth@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Sought
25 year old female
recently returned from London looking for PA/Secretarial
work.
* 6
1/2 yrs work experience (all in London)
* Advanced knowledge of all
Microsoft Office Programs and other
* Shorthand 110 wpm
* Typing 70
wpm
* Eager to learn and take on new challenges
Please email Louise
for cv or further details at weasel@zol.co.zw
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
FULL OR PART TIME EMPLOYMENT SOUGHT
I am
an active, multi-skilled retiree seeking a fresh challenge. I have
extensive
and long-standing knowledge of the Agrichem and Veterinary
supplies
industries with over twenty years experience in management and
research. I am
computer competent, multi-lingual, and have good
communications skills with
all segments of Zimbabwean society. I will
consider full or part time
engagement in any field.
Please contact me on 885236, on cell 0912 535737 or
e mail at:
carmiked@zol.co.zw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Ad
inserted 26 April 2007)
Employment Sought
A husband & wife
team looking for employment with accommodation in Harare.
They both come
highly recommended; he in the garden and she with housework,
cooking and
child minding. They have 4 children, 3 of whom are school
going. Current
employer does not allow the family on the property so he
spends his entire
earnings on visiting them every 6 weeks in the Eastern
districts. Please
phone Julie on 011 605 083 or evenings only on 744156;
email: julie@fresh-value.net
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
the latest listings of accommodation available for farmers, contact
justiceforagriculture@zol.co.zw
(updated 26 April 2007)