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Voter
registration exercise begins amid claims of fraud
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
29 April 2013
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has
officially launched a nationwide
voter registration campaign, for elections
due to be held this year.
But the exercise has been overshadowed by
reports of irregularities on a
massive scale. The MDC-T said they’ve noted
with great concern fraudulent
activities in the days leading to the launch
of the campaign.
Party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told journalists in
Harare on Monday that
in some constituencies the voters roll has ballooned
by as many as 10,000 in
48 hours, meaning that the Registrar-General’s
officers are registering
about 153 voters a second.
‘This is just
impossible. In ward 42 of Hatcliffe (Harare North), a
constituency held by
(Theresa) Makone, on Monday 15th April the roll had a
mere 5,196 voters, but
by Wednesday 17th April it had 17,068. A difference
of 11,890 more voters in
48 hours,’ Mwonzora said.
The Nyanga North MP said an initial inspection
of the roll in many other
constituencies revealed that in some instances
names of voters are missing,
while others have their names
misspelt.
‘This is something that can prevent people from voting because
it is very
difficult to pick up the mistakes,’ he said.
The voters’
roll is also currently riddled with names of dead people, some
of whom died
decades ago. There have been calls for ZEC to overhaul the
electoral roll as
the nation prepares for polls that could end the political
stalemate.
An editorial in the Zimbabwe Standard newspaper suggested
that a starting
point would be to independently audit and flush out ghost
voters.
‘A chaotic registration system which has allowed duplicate
entries and
voters to be enrolled in wrong constituencies should also be
done away with.
These problems need to be sorted out first, since a credible
voters’ roll is
a critical element of a free and fair election,’ the paper
said on Sunday.
The 20-day process began as the three parties to the GPA
are still to agree
on an election date, though analysts believe the poll
might be held at the
end of July or end of September.
The month of
August has been ruled out due to the United Nations World
Tourism
Organisation (UNWTO) summit, to be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and
Zambia in
Victoria Falls. The annual Harare Agriculture Show is also to be
held at the
end August.
Voter registration was due to begin in early January, but
failed to take off
after the Ministry of Finance failed to give funds to ZEC
for the campaign.
However government last week dished out $8 million for the
exercise.
With memories of the botched disputed 2008 election still
fresh, ZEC is
approaching the voter registration with the knowledge that a
botched voter
registration process could have negative consequences for the
credibility of
the coming election.
Mwonzora said the registration
exercise will be a test for an electoral body
still struggling to
demonstrate integrity and competence, having used a
discredited voters’ roll
in the past.
In just a month ZEC must put in place a system that will
capture and store
voter information for millions of people while at the same
time making sure
that the register is secure and without errors.
Massive
irregularities on voters’ roll: Makone
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 29 April 2013 14:12
HARARE
- Co-Home Affairs minister Theresa Makone has accused the Registrar
General
(RG)’s office of manipulating the voters’ roll and claims she
unearthed
“massive irregularities” on her Harare North Constituency roll.
Makone
says according to copies of the voters’ roll she bought from the RG’s
office, over 13 000 fresh voters had been included within 48 hours but her
name was missing from the roll. In a bid to validate whether the fresh 13
000 fresh voter’s were indeed in existence, Makone dispatched 19 MDC
supporters in her constituency to conduct a door to door campaign and
“verification” exercise.
The MDC activists endured the weekend in
police custody after they were
arrested during the “verification” exercise
and accused of impersonating a
public official.
“On Monday April 15,
I went to the RG’s offices and bought a copy of the
voters’ roll which had 8
305 voters for ward 18 where I am a registered
voter. My name was missing. I
bought another copy for ward 42 which is
Hatcliffe, it had 5 196
voters.
“I went back on Wednesday 17 April, I found the situation to have
changed,
ward 18 had 10 076 voters and my name there but misspelt. In ward
42, the
figures had grown from 5 196 to 17 068 voters” said
Makone.
From the statistics 13 643 people were added to the roll within
48 hours,
which translates to 284 people being registered hourly if workers
at the RG’s
office are working 24 hours without resting, Makone
said.
The RG’s office is headed by Tobaiwa Mudede, a man MDC formations
and civil
society want fired before the next elections are held claiming he
has over
the years helped Zanu PF rig polls. Mudede was said to be in
meetings when
the Daily News sought comment with officials saying he was the
only one who
could comment.
Mudede has in the past repeatedly
dismissed allegations of abetting vote
rigging, and at one time said the
voters’ roll was 100 percent perfect. But
Makone, whose ministry is in
charge of the RG’s office, is less than
impressed.
“If the RG’s
office is working at that rate, then I am sure everyone in
Zimbabwe by now
is on the voters’ roll. But I am surprised to note that my
name was missing
on Monday only to be found two days later, although
misspelt to ensure that
I could not vote,” Makone said.
The minister’s full name is Theresa
Maonei Makone, but the RG’s office wrote
it as Theresa Maoneyi
Makone.
Makone says the “massive rigging plot unearthed” in her
constituency could
be a “tip in an iceberg”.
“If they can do it to
me, what it is that can stop them from doing it at to
other constituencies’
around the country?” Makone asked.
With elections beckoning on Zimbabwe,
preparation of the voters’ roll has
turned to a hot issue for parties in the
shaky coalition government, with
allegations of manipulation and vote
rigging strategies being raised by both
the MDC and President Robert
Mugabe’s Zanu PF.
Last week, Zanu PF, which conducted its own
verification exercise, alleged
that hundreds of people in Marondera had used
fake addresses to register as
voters.
State Security minister Sydney
Sekeramayi alleged this was a plot to rig
elections and Zanu PF raised an
official complaint with elections management
body Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission over the issue. - Xolisani Ncube
SA
facilitators ‘blocked’ by ZANU PF
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex Bell
29 April
2013
ZANU PF is reportedly blocking efforts by the South African
facilitation
team from making any meaningful progress in its mediation
efforts, calling
their presence ‘unnecessary’.
According to a report
by South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper, Robert
Mugabe and his party
do not want Jacob Zuma’s facilitation team playing a
central role in
Zimbabwe’s election plans. As a result, the party has
actively been snubbing
the SADC appointed team.
The newspaper quoted senior party negotiators
representing both the MDC-T
and ZANU PF, a SADC representative and a
government minister and a ZANU PF
politburo member. The SADC representative,
who preferred to remain
anonymous, said the SADC team had been in and out of
Zimbabwe attempting to
secure access to joint ZANU PF and MDC meetings,
without success.
“He said they had been told off the record that their
presence was
unnecessary and tantamount to interference in the running of
government,”
the newspaper reported.
The report goes on to state that
repeated attempts to secure a meeting with
Mugabe have been in vain. Last
week, Zuma’s team was in Harare to meet
government principals and party
political leaders but only managed to see
MDC-N leader Welshman Ncube.
According to the Mail & Guardian, Ncube said
the facilitation team had
not been able to meet Mugabe because his office
had indicated he would be
unavailable “indefinitely”.
Another government official confirmed that
Zuma’s team had been snubbed, and
said there is “growing hostility and
tension between Mugabe and Zuma.”
South Africa’s mediation efforts have
hit numerous stumbling blocks over the
past four years, mainly due to
opposition by ZANU PF. Most recently the
party blocked the South African
team from attending JOMIC meetings, saying
there was no place for them
there.
SW Radio Africa last year spoke to South African diplomats who
accused ZANU
PF of deliberately frustrating Zuma’s facilitation efforts. The
diplomats
said that ZANU PF ‘obstruction’ was becoming an endemic
problem.
The mediation team are not the only group being brushed off by
Mugabe’s
party. Earlier this month, a United Nations (UN) delegation ended
up
stranded in South Africa after ZANU PF refused to allow them to visit the
country on a fact-finding mission. The party refused to bend to UN
stipulations that they meet with civil society groups.
McDonald
Lewanika, the Director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, said
this kind
of bevahiour from ZANU PF is expected this close to elections.
“As we
move closer to elections we are going to see increased resistance to
reforms
and increased resistance to any group demanding the reforms. These
actions
are mean to stonewall attempts at the reforms stipulated in the
GPA,”
Lewanika told SW Radio Africa.
Commenting on why SADC never speaks out
against these stonewalling efforts
by ZANU PF, Lewanika said this was
because of the ‘embarrassment’ that would
be caused. He said Zuma in
particular would want to ‘save face’, by
exercising a non confrontational
approach.
“It is the biggest challenge in this situation. But this is the
way
diplomacy is,” Lewanika said.
Meanwhile the South Africa
facilitation team has said it will tackle the
exclusion of MDC-N leader
Ncube, saying this was a violation of a regional
resolution.
Chief
facilitator Lindiwe Zulu said the facilitation team was not happy with
Ncube’s continued exclusion and wanted to bring an end to this.
Ncube
recently wrote to the SADC chairman, Jakaya Kikwete, accusing Mugabe
and
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of making key governance decisions
without
consulting him.
But Zulu said this should come to an end, as all the
parties that signed the
GPA must be included in negotiations.
“The
GPA was signed by three political parties and we think they should all
be
represented, SADC has taken a decision to that effect,” she said. “None
of
those parties must be marginalised.”
Tsvangirai
heads to Tanzania as diplomatic offensive continues
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Alex
Bell
29 April 2013
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai travelled to
Tanzania on Monday as part of
a regional diplomatic offensive, with the MDC
leader urging SADC to put
pressure on Robert Mugabe ahead of
elections.
Tsvangirai was due to meet Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete
on Monday
evening after embarking on his regional tour on Sunday, with his
first stop
being neighbouring South Africa.
Calling the meetings so
far ‘fruitful’, Tsvangirai’s spokesman Luke
Tamborinyoka confirmed via
Facebook that the Prime Minister would be meeting
Kikwete. Tamborinyoka also
said that the MDC leader had met South African
President Jacob Zuma and held
a 40 minute meeting with him.
“President Zuma told the Prime Minister
that SADC and the AU will do
everything in their power to ensure a free and
fair poll in Zimbabwe,”
Tamborinyoka said. He added: “The PM is keen on an
extraordinary summit on
Zimbabwe.”
Tsvangirai is also expected to
travel to Mozambique to meet President
Armando Guebuza, and to Namibia to
meet Prime Minister Hage Geingob. It is
understood that Tsvangirai may also
extend his trip beyond SADC, by meeting
key members of the African
Union.
SADC, as the guarantors of the unity government in Zimbabwe, have
faced a
barrage of criticism over the past four years for not doing more to
ensure
that reforms promised by the Global Political Agreement (GPA) are
implemented. Tsvangirai too has faced criticism for not being vocal enough
in demanding that ZANU PF stop stonewalling attempts at democratic
change.
MDC leader Welshman Ncube has also reportedly dismissed
Tsvangirai’s
regional tour as “nonsensical.” Ncube has accused Tsvangirai
of colluding
with Mugabe in going against the GPA.
“They agreed for a
July election and two weeks ago, he announced that they
had tasked two
ministers to come up with a roadmap. In the last few years,
they have been
focusing on stupid announcements. So how do you run to SADC
yet you colluded
with Mugabe in subverting the GPA? They sit with Mugabe
every Monday, but
all he did was to be cheated and dribbled by Mugabe,”
Ncube is quoted by
NewsDay as saying.
Zuma
promises Tsvangirai free and fair elections
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
29.04.13
by Nelson
Sibanda
SADC facilitator to the Zimbabwe Global Political Agreement and
South Africa
President Jacob Zuma has promised Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai free and
fair elections in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai
met with Zuma in Pretoria last night as part of his diplomatic
regional tour
aimed at sensitizing heads of states on GNU squabbles
threatening to derail
coming Zimbabwe elections.
The MDC-T leader wants GPA guarantors, SADC
and African Union to ensure that
the agreed election road map is respected
to make the political environment
conducive for free and fair
election.
“SADC and AU as guarantors of the GPA will do everything
possible to ensure
a free and fair poll in Zimbabwe,” Zuma told
Tsvangirai.
Sticking GPA points Tsvangirai would want cleared ahead of
elections include
public media reforms, security sector realignment, a clean
and credible
voters roll and the alignment of laws to the new
constitution.
To iron out the differences Tsvangirai would want both a
full SADC and a
Troika summit to be convened to clarify and define the
election roadmap.
President Zuma is expected in Zimbabwe anytime soon to
engage with the
principals of the GPA as a matter of urgency.
The
second leg of Tsvangirai’s regional diplomatic offensive tour will see
him
meet with SADC Troika chairperson President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania
tonight.
Tsvangirai would appraise Kikwete on the developments in
Zimbabwe politics.
Last week Tsvangirai reacted to Zanu (PF) declarations
that security sector
reforms were not part of GPA by demanding that
outstanding and agreed
reforms must be implemented before elections are
held.
“SADC should pressure Mugabe to implement reforms before elections
or else
there will not be any polls,” Tsvangirai told journalists at MDC-T
Harvest
House in Harare last week.
He said the major stumbling block
to the implementation of the reforms was a
palpable deficit of political
will to implement agreed issues.
“In a short while I will be visiting
players within SADC and the AU to
ensure that Zimbabweans are guaranteed of
a free and fair election.”
Tsvangirai
takes crisis to Sadc
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 29 April 2013 14:14
HARARE - Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai today meets Sadc chairperson
Jakaya Kikwete over
Zimbabwe’s political problems, as preparations for a
watershed election
scheduled for later this year threaten to tear the
coalition government
apart.
The meeting with Kikwete in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, is
part of a
blitz planned by Tsvangirai to update regional leaders on the
situation in
Harare, with a hope that they can nudge President Robert Mugabe
into
accepting media and security sector reforms.
Minister of State
in Tsvangirai’s office Jameson Timba confirmed the
meeting.
“The
Prime Minister is meeting the Sadc chairperson tomorrow (today) to
discuss
the conditions under which the elections are to be held particularly
ways of
protecting the voter and the vote itself. Other outstanding issues
of the
(power-sharing) Global Political Agreement, including media reforms
and
security sector realignment, will also come under discussion,” said
Timba.
Signs are Mugabe and Tsvangirai are moving further apart as
the election
nears.
For example, a mobile voter registration blitz
agreed to by Mugabe and
Tsvangirai scheduled to start today is already up in
smoke, a move
signalling the height of mistrust and discord in Zimbabwe’s
shaky “unity”
government.
Eight million dollars has been pumped into
the blitz, but Tsvangirai’s MDC
and the formation led by Industry minister
Welshman Ncube say the period
allocated to it is illegitimate.
Added
to this, Home Affairs co minister Theresa Makone, whose ministry is in
charge of government departments responsible for voter registration, claims
to have unearthed “massive” irregularities on the voters’ roll.
From
today until May 19, officials from the Registrar-General’s office are
expected to move to every corner of the country to start a blitz aimed at
mopping potential voters who are not on the voters’ roll ahead of the
harmonised elections sometime this year.
In a statement last week,
Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede said his
officials would be camped in 1 958
wards countrywide.
But Tsvangirai and Ncube’s parties are raising a storm
arguing that the
recently-adopted draft constitution should be formally
adopted first and the
date for its coming into effect promulgated in the
government gazette before
a 30-day voter registration and voters’ roll
inspection blitz begins.
The former opposition parties say the process
should enable aliens who have
not voted since independence from Britain in
1980 to acquire proper
documents that allows them to vote in line with the
recently-endorsed new
draft constitution.
MDC spokesperson Douglas
Mwonzora said Mudede’s announcement was at variance
with what was agreed to
by “all political parties” in their election roadmap
and with the Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (Zec).
“We don’t know what Mudede is talking about
when he says the duration of the
voter registration blitz is three weeks.
This is just a mobile voter
registration exercise,” said
Mwonzora.
“What we know, according to the new draft constitution and the
election road
map agreed to by political parties, is that we will conduct
the national
registration blitz and it takes not less than 30
days.
“The process must be long enough to allow everyone to register,
including
the so-called aliens, and we will make sure this happens because
that is
also the agreement between political parties and Zec,” said
Mwonzora.
Ncube’s MDC spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube described today’s voter
registration
exercise as “just a normal” voter registration that is an
ongoing process
nationwide.
“I don’t think he (Mudede) is talking
about the accelerated national voter
registration exercise that is carried
out whenever elections are due. That
one requires not less than 30 days
according to the law and when one looks
at the time allocated for this one
it is clear that what is going to happen
on Monday (today) is part of the
ongoing exercise,” Dube said.
Voter registration was supposed to have
started on January 3, 2013 but
failed to take off because Treasury argued
there were other budgetary
demands.
Voter registration is a
continuous process, but government conducts a
registration blitz towards
each election to cater for people who would not
have registered.
For
these elections, aliens are expected to vote for the first time after
being
granted voting rights in the new constitution.
The voters’ roll is
ward-based and one is required to produce proof of
residence to be
registered as a voter in that particular area. - Mugove
Tafirenyika
EU
delegation visits Zimbabwe
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/
29.04.13
by Staff
Reporter
A delegation of the European Parliament Development
Committee is visiting
Zimbabwe from today (29 April) to 3 May as part of the
re-engagement
process, an EU statement says.
In the statement
released on Monday, the EU country office in Harare said
the visit would be
the first by the committee in over 10 years.
The three-member team is
being led by Norbert Neuser, the German MEP of the
Progressive Alliance of
Socialists and Democrats group and also comprises
Filip Kaczmarek, the
Polish MEP of the European People's Party group and
Judith Sargentini, the
Dutch MEP of the Greens/European Free Alliance group.
“During the visit,
the delegation will be updated on existing EU development
assistance
programmes, the development needs of the country and the
priorities of the
Government of Zimbabwe.
“The members of the delegation have a particular
interest in food security,
health, agriculture and sustainable energy. The
visit is important in view
of the programming and preparation for future EU
cooperation with Zimbabwe
in the framework of the 11th European Development
Fund (2014-2020),” says
the EU statement.
The visiting delegation is
expected to meet representatives of key
ministries such as Finance,
Education, Agriculture, Energy and Small and
Medium Enterprises and
Cooperative Development.
In addition, it will meet the Speaker of
Parliament, Lovemore Moyo and the
President of the Senate, Edna
Madzongwe.
It will also visit ongoing development assistance programs.
Poor
planning blamed for power cuts at Townhouse
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Nomalanga
Moyo
29 April 2013
The Harare City Council has been criticised
following the disconnection of
electricity at several facilities owned by
the authority.
Townhouse was last week Tuesday plunged into darkness when
national energy
supplier the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA),
cut off supplies
over an estimated $774 million bill.
Two other
council facilities, Cleveland House and Remembrance Drive, have
reportedly
been without electricity for at least five days.
Cleveland House is where
the urban planning services and the engineering
departments are based, while
Remembrance Drive is home to the housing
department and its
divisions.
Media reports suggest that even Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda’s
offices were in
total darkness on Friday, with idle workers attending only
to those queries
requiring manual processing.
Last week council
officials could not shed light over what was happening at
townhouse, with
Mayor Masunda saying he did not have the full details as he
had been abroad,
while the council’s spokesman indicated that he was out of
the
office.
Precious Shumba, who heads the Harare Resident’s Trust, said
given such
abdication of responsibility by officials, it was hardly
surprising that
ZESA had taken steps to disconnect supplies. He said the
switch-off
highlights the lack of planning that residents are confronted
with at the
municipality.
He said: “While we condemn the way ZESA has
handled the situation, this is
what residents have always complained about:
a lack of foresight on the part
of those entrusted with running the city on
our behalf.
“Generators are sold everywhere in Zimbabwe and for such a
large authority
to lack a backup plan for when something like this happens
boggles the
mind.”
Shumba said for the past decade, Zimbabwe has
been facing power outages and
load shedding and the council should by now
have put in place measures to
ensure that there are no major disruptions to
council business when power is
disconnected, for whatever
reason.
Harare Water also owes ZESA $45 million, accumulated over 45
months, with
monthly power consumption at $1 million a month at its water
treatment
plants, according to state media.
It was not possible to
verify the figures with council spokesman Leslie
Gwindi as he refused to
speak us, saying all questions should be sent to him
in writing. Gwindi had
not responded by close of business Monday.
It is understood that the huge
council bill includes charges for traffic and
street lights, as well as for
the council-owned properties such as Mbare
Hostels, where ZESA has failed to
install meters due to the poor state of
the buildings.
However the
majority of street, traffic and tower lights, like most other
facilities in
the country, are in a state of disrepair and do not work.
Shumba said it
was important for the Harare City Council and ZESA to reach a
workable
arrangement over the outstanding bill so that normal council
business
resumes as soon as possible.
Legal
expert says not necessary to extend life of parliament
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Violet
Gonda
29 April 2013
A legal expert has said there are three main
pieces of legislation that
require amendments before the forthcoming
election, but that it’s not
necessary to amend the constitution to extend
the life of parliament, as
suggested in the media.
Derek Matyszak was
reacting to reports claiming the two MDC formations were
proposing a
constitutional amendment that would see the life of the House of
Assembly
being extended beyond June 29 when the tenure of parliament
expires. This
would allow more time for the implementation of fundamental
reforms.
But Matyszak said while it’s important to have key reforms
in place before
elections there are only three crucial pieces of legislation
that certainly
need amendment before elections. “The most important is the
Electoral Act,
because that needs to be amended to take into account the
provisions
relating to proportional representation and then you need to
tweak the Local
Government Act and probably the Provincial Councils
Act.
“So those are the only three pieces of legislation that absolutely
must be
changed before the elections, and I would have thought that
parliament would
have been able to do that by June 29th.”
The lawyer
told SW Radio Africa that President Robert Mugabe has the power
to use the
Presidential Powers Temporary Measures Act to introduce other
legislation
“though it would be undesirable for the President to use those
powers in
this situation.”
The new constitution is set to be enacted into law when
parliament resumes
in early May. It is this new charter that will determine
the setting of the
poll dates and the general conduct of the
elections.
In the new constitution 60 seats will be reserved for women on
a
proportional representation system. The parliamentary seats will be
distributed based on the proportion of votes that each party receives in
each province.
Matyszak said this is why the Electoral Act will need
to be amended to cater
for this new system. However he added: “I expect to
see a lot more blood on
the floor if you consider that you might have
candidates within each party
who are uncertain of winning their
constituencies; they might decide that
they want to take the safer route of
being on top of the proportional
representation list.
“And I don’t
know if the parties have even agreed if a person can stand both
as a
constituency member and also be on the proportional representation
list,
either as a woman representative or as a member of senate.
“If you are
not a member of parliament then your chances of becoming a
minister are
severely reduced because I think only five people can be
appointed ministers
from outside parliament. So there is going to be very
stiff competition to
get high up on those PR lists and I expect some serious
infighting as a
result.”
He said there are strong arguments for proportional
representation in a
deeply divided society like Zimbabwe where political
parties will be
represented in parliament according to their strength,
unlike the current
first past the post system, which stipulates that the
winner takes all.
Matyszak said: “If you think about the first past the
post system, the party
that for example gets 49 percent, can end up with
absolutely no
representation in parliament because every constituency was
won by 51
percent by the other side. So it’s a winner takes all system which
is very
dangerous and destabilising in an already deeply divided
society.”
The MDC formations in the inclusive government have
consistently complained
that there is a great deal of resistance by ZANU PF
to introduce any other
reforms. Matyszak said the new constitution will also
render several
sections of other legislation unconstitutional – such as
various provisions
in the Broadcasting Services Act and the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence
Act.
He believes these are the issues that the
drafters of the new constitution
should have worked on at the
beginning.
“If ZANU PF hasn’t agreed to these reforms in the many years
of the unity
government they are not likely to do so in the few months
remaining before
elections.” Matyszak added: “That is why I say it is not
strictly necessary
to extend the life of parliament because you will be
extending it for
reforms that are unlikely to take place in any
event.”
MDC leader Welshman Ncube denied his party is calling for the
extension of
parliament. We were not able to reach Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai for
comment.
MDC
activists remanded in custody over door-to-door campaign
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By
Tichaona Sibanda
29 April 2013
Nineteen MDC-T activists, who were
arrested in Hatcliffe last week while on
a door-to-door campaign, appeared
in court on Monday charged with
impersonating government
officials.
The bail hearing was adjourned to Tuesday and all 19 were
remanded in
custody. The activists, part of a campaign team put together by
co-Home
Affairs Minister Theresa Makone, were picked up by the police on
Thursday
last week as they went around Hatcliffe asking residents to
register as
voters.
Lawyers representing the group said police
claimed that they were wearing
T-shirts usually worn by officials from the
Ministry Home Affairs. They were
going around the high density suburb asking
residents to check and confirm
if their names were on the voters roll and
advising them to register to vote
if their names were missing.
The
group was found in possession of copies of the voters rolls for the
Harare
North constituency. Makone, who is the MDC-T MP for the area told SW
Radio
Africa she bought the voters’ rolls from the Registrar General at $15
per
copy.
‘I purchased 12 copies for my constituency, clearly for no reason
other than
voter verification. As a matter of fact my own name was missing
in the first
copy and then mis-spelt in the subsequent copy.
‘As far
as I am concerned, this whole furore is meant to cause fear and
despondency
in my activists, while ZANU PF continues with its own door to
door campaign
unhindered,’ Makone said.
Last week, Makone launched a blistering attack
on the police after they
arrested the group branding the actions as ‘stupid
and shameful.’
Zanu
PF on fire
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
Monday, 29 April 2013 14:14
HARARE - Despite the
bravado exuded by President Robert Mugabe in calling
for an early election,
he faces the daunting task of uniting a party that is
cracking at the seams
ahead of this year’s harmonised elections.
Zanu PF party’s boat is
sinking in almost all of the country’s 10 provinces
owing to Mugabe’s
failure to stem factionalism spurred by the 89-year-old’s
failure to groom
or at least identify a successor.
Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and
Vice President Joice Mujuru are
reportedly leading the two largest camps
battling to succeed Mugabe as party
leader.
Nothing could have
highlighted the cracks in the party more than the
Independence Day
celebrations boycotts in Masvingo and Manicaland provinces
by party
stalwarts.
In Masvingo, Mnangagwa’s faction led by provincial chairperson
Lovemore
Matuke is under fire from a rival faction that wants them punished
for
snubbing independence celebrations held at Mucheke Stadium, opting to
attend
a campaign rally for an aspiring member in Mashava.
The other
faction, loyal to Vice President, Joice Mujuru and led in the
province by
politburo member, Dzikamai Mavhaire, wants Mugabe to discipline
their rivals
for defying his calls for non-electioneering before primary
elections dates
and guidelines are set.
Mavhaire blasted the provincial executive for
doing the party a disservice.
“It’s very unfortunate that Zanu PF brought
independence to the country and
its leadership here decided not to attend
the celebrations for their own
activities. This is an exclusive show of
defiance of the party principles
and leaders at national level,” said
Mavhaire.
“The day is respected by every person in the country, including
members of
other parties that did nothing to liberate the country but we are
failing to
understand why some party members would do such a thing, it’s
actually
treacherous,” said Mavhaire, who is battling to outdo the rival
faction in
primary elections which have been stalled by
infighting.
Successive politburo meetings chaired by Mugabe have failed
to come up with
guidelines for primary polls as members continue to haggle
over the issue
which could aggravate cracks in the party.
In
Manicaland, provincial governor Chris Mushowe had to beg for Mugabe’s
intervention, warning that the party could again lose elections if the
factionalism is not sorted out.
Mushowe believes Mugabe’s
intervention in the province could help salvage
Zanu PF as factional fights
have now spilled into the courts where top
provincial officials Mike Madiro
and Dorothy Mabika are being prosecuted for
allegedly stealing Mugabe’s
birthday beasts.
Mushowe admitted to the Daily News that factionalism
could harm his party’s
chances of winning back support in the province where
it got only six seats
out of 26 which went to the MDC.
“What we saw
last week (Independence boycott), which is a culmination of the
political
squabbles in this province it must be avoided.
“I hope that the
leadership of President Mugabe and the presidium will one
day decide on how
Manicaland should be handled and take a decision that will
save Manicaland,”
Mushowe said.
Another case in point is the ongoing trial of
businessman-cum politician
Temba Mliswa on charges of assaulting Mashonaland
West Zanu PF‘s women’s
league chairperson, Sarah Mahoka which has been
viewed by many as
epitomising the factionalism in the
province.
Mliswa is reportedly in Mujuru’s camp while Mahoka represents
Mnangagwa’s
interests.
In Bulawayo, the party is in tatters as it has
had three provincial
chairpersons within seven months following the ouster
of Isaac Dakamela in
July last year to be replaced by Killian Sibanda, who
has since been toppled
by Callistus Ndlovu.
The infighting raises
questions about Mugabe’s preparedness for an election
likely to be the most
competitive since 1980.
Insiders say Mugabe is desperate to unite warring
factions to entertain
hopes of trouncing his political nemesis and uneasy
coalition partner, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who won first round
voting in the 2008
presidential election but pulled out of a subsequent
runoff citing violence,
leading to the formation of the coalition
government.
In the March 2008 election, Tsvangirai polled 47, 9 percent
of the vote
while Mugabe managed 43, 2, only to be saved by Simba Makoni,
who according
to Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa, entered the race to avoid an
outright
Tsvangirai victory.
Makoni garnered eight percent to force
the disputed runoff between Mugabe
and Tsvangirai.
Analysts say it
will be difficult for Mugabe, a former school teacher, to
bring together
warring factions ahead of elections as there is realisation
by the faction
leaders that Mugabe’s time is over in view of his advanced
age.
“The
two warring factions in Zanu PF will never be united by anyone
precisely
because there is a critical realisation that Mugabe is past his
sell by
date. They see this as a chance to cement their political hegemony
in the
party after Mugabe,” said Zimbabwe Democracy Institute director
Pedzisai
Ruhanya.
Ruhanya said the best move for Mugabe would be to resign before
elections
and call for a congress that would choose a new leader.
“If
you look at Mugabe’s physical appearance in public you can see he is
old,
tired and has serious health problems associated with old age. So the
factions also realise if they go to sleep, they will find another faction in
ascendancy.
“Mugabe can only save his party by resigning and calling
for a congress to
allow internal democratic processes to choose his
successor,” he said.
However, political analyst and publisher Ibbo
Mandaza says all parties in
Zimbabwe, despite their fractious nature, have a
tendency of uniting for
elections.
“It must be noted that here we are
not talking about political parties in
the conventional sense as it is say
in North America. In Africa parties are
movements which are largely election
platforms though outside elections they
have enormous problems,” said
Mandaza.
“They tend to unite during elections because there is a prize to
be won and
the advantage of Zanu PF in our case is that it is conflated with
the State
over the years. What you see as the State is Zanu PF in many
respects.
“The MDC has an uphill task especially because they have failed
to either
break the State or sufficiently infiltrate it to their advantage,”
Mandaza
said. - Mugove Tafirenyika
Zimbabwe
to seize Zimplats mining land
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Sapa-AFP | 29 April, 2013 11:34
Zimbabwe
plans to seize 28 000 hectares of land leased to a local subsidiary
of the
platinum-mining giant Impala Platinum the government said were being
underutilised.
"President (Robert Mugabe) intends to acquire...
part of the land held by
Zimplats Holdings Limited," read part of the notice
seen by AFP on Monday.
The notice, published on Friday, said a parcel of
land in the gold and
copper-rich Kadoma mining district would now be used
"for the benefit of the
public."
The mines ministry announced plans
earlier this year to seize land being
leased by Zimplats in the neighbouring
Chegutu district saying the firm
would not be able to exhaust the ore within
the tenure of its 25-year lease.
In January, Impala Platinum, the world's
number two producer of platinum
sealed a deal to sell a 51-percent stake in
Zimplats under a state-imposed
black empowerment scheme.
The deal,
expected to see Impala get $971 million, is in compliance with a
controversial indigenisation law that Mugabe signed in 2010.
The law
forces foreign-owned companies - including banks and retailers -- to
cede 51
percent ownership to black Zimbabwean investors.
Mugabe, who a decade ago
launched a campaign to seize white-owned farmland,
has threatened to take
over firms which do not comply.
His partner in a shaky power sharing
government, Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, is uneasy with the law, which
he says has driven away foreign
investment just as the country is recovering
from a decade-long economic
collapse.
Miners in the
dark on Zimbabwe’s plans to seize foreign stakes
http://www.mining.com/
Cecilia Jamasmie | April 29,
2013
Despite recent reports suggesting Zimbabwe's government is
unlikely to strip
foreign mining companies of half their assets without
compensation, firms
with operations in the African nation fear a draft bill
leaked to the media
last week could soon come in effect.
According to
the document, foreign-owned mining firms not only must continue
to cede 51%
ownership to black Zimbabwean investors, as specified in the law
passed by
President Robert Mugabe in 2010. Now they will also have to accept
the fact
they wouldn’t receive any sort of compensation for their
relinquished
stakes.
The so-called “indigenisation law” has been blamed for the
dramatic foreign
investment slump affecting the nation in the last couple of
years, reports
AllAfrica.com.
Based on figures supplied by the
Zimbabwe Investment Authority, foreign
direct investment (FDI) has fallen
76% so far this year compared to the same
period in 2012.
Zimbabwe
Independent columnist, economist Eric Bloch, wrote on Friday that
the
dramatic decline in FDI in Zimbabwe should send "a very loud message to
the
government," especially as most of the neighbouring countries are
attaining
considerable FDI growth:
Tragically, however, that message is falling on
deaf ears, for there are
none so deaf as those who will not hear. That
Zimbabwe is not attracting
considerable FDI, in contrast to the substantial
extent of such investment
in various other countries in Africa, is not
because it does not have
numerous, and diverse, positive resources which
provide opportunity for
investment.
In the meantime, mining companies
continue to face challenges in the African
nation. On Monday, local press
reported that the government plans to seize
28,000 hectares of land in the
gold and copper-rich Kadoma mining district
belonging to South Africa’s
Impala Platinum (JSE:IMP) (LON:IPLA), the world’s
second-biggest platinum
producer.
The company, which sealed a deal to sell a 51% stake in its
Zimplats
(ASX:ZIM) unit under the state-imposed black empowerment law, was
supposed
to obtain close to $1 billion in compensations.
The deal,
the first large agreement reached between a mining company and
Zimbabwe’s
government after the introduction of the indigenization scheme,
may need to
be revisited if the ruling is modified.
Bangladesh
level Zimbabwe series
http://www.iol.co.za/
April 29 2013 at 04:28pm
By
Reuters
Harare – Ziaur Rahman led the Bangladesh attack with four
wickets as they
completed a 143-run win over Zimbabwe on Monday to draw the
two-match series
1-1 and gain revenge for their mauling in the first
Test.
Set a target of 401 runs to win in their second innings at the
Harare Sports
Club, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 257 just before tea on day
five to hand
Bangladesh only their fourth Test victory.
Hamilton
Masakadza provided the only real resistance as he finished unbeaten
on
111.
Zimbabwe resumed on their overnight score of 138/4 wickets, but
nobody could
build a significant partnership with
Masakadza.
Medium-pacer Rahman finished with figures of 4/63 and was the
best of the
visiting bowlers, though he was ably supported by spinner Shakib
Al Hasan
who bagged 3/52.
Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim was
pleased with the way his team
responded after being humiliated in the first
Test in a 335-run defeat.
“A test win is a big achievement for us and
after the first test all the
pressure was on us,” Rahim said in a TV
interview.
“The boys have stuck their hands up, especially the senior
guys who all
played well. That shows the character of our team. Hopefully we
can take
this momentum into the one-dayers.”
Zimbabwe captain Brendan
Taylor defended his decision to bowl having won the
toss on the first
morning and admitted they were simply out-performed.
“We expected them to
come back strongly, we let ourselves down on the first
day and that set the
tone,” Taylor said.
“The wicket played a little bit better than we
thought it would on day one.
There were some quality performances from them
and they deserve the win. But
we are fairly pleased with some of our own
performances and can be proud
with a drawn series.”
Bangladesh's only
other victories in their 79 Tests to date came with a 2-0
series win against
a weakened West Indies outfit in 2009, as well as a win
against Zimbabwe in
Dhaka in 2005. – Reuters
New
law seek to gag youth
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
The ministry of youth, indigenization and
empowerment has come up with a new
set of legislation that was effective
February 15, that seeks to muzzle
youth organisations operating in the
country through the gazetting of the
controversial statutory instrument SI
4/2013.
The statutory instrument among other things seeks to criminalise
the work of
youth organisations and associations and to overhaul the Youth
Council Act
which has thrown the youth sector into panic.
The SI
states that it is mandatory for all youth organisations and
associations to
pay membership fees for each of their members US$3 by the
15th of February
each year, a figure which translates to thousands of
dollars for
organisations such as student’s unions, church organisations,
boys scout and
girl guides etc.
The instrument also demands that all youth organisations
must furnish the
youth council with their annual work plans, budgets and
donor information.
The registration of all youth organisations will also be
renewable every
year at the discretion of the council.
Youth
organisations argue that the instrument infringes on the freedom of
association of young women and men, and that it insists on the obligation of
the youth to the Zimbabwe Youth Council but is silent on its obligations and
that of government to the youth.
The youth have since held a meeting
with senators and urged them to adopt
the adverse report from the
Parliamentary Legal Committee on the statutory
instrument.
The Legality
of the Instrument
Youth organisations argue that the regulations go further
than what is
provided for in the Act. Section 2 of the SI states that the
regulations
“apply to all youth associations that are directly or indirectly
involved in
youth activities”. The term “youth activities” is not defined in
the
regulations or the Act.
The regulations are not consistent with
section 21 of the Constitution that
protects freedom of association. The
regulations are ultra vires the Act in
that all youth associations must
register [section 5], when the Act requires
only the registration of
national youth associations.
Section 4 provides for the establishment of a
Youth Council CEO when the Act
already provides for a Director while section
5 compels youth associations
to pay membership fees for their members
although the Act does not empower
the charging of a fee [the legal rule is
that regulations may only prescribe
fees if the enabling Act says so
expressly or by necessary implication,
which is not the case
here].
Veritas says that the regulations are also liable to cause
confusion as they
divert attention from the fact that the function of the
regulations is to
supplement the provisions of the Act, not to spell out a
stand-alone set of
rules.
What the youth are saying
Wellington
Zindove of the Youth Forum says the SI is a draconian instrument
that is
designed to rob the youth of Zimbabwe as it has nothing to do with
the
development of the youth but instead seeks to further impoverish them.
“The
government is supposed to be pouring resources to the youth and not the
other way round,” said Zindove.
Students Solidarity Trust Director
Simbarashe Moyo said the regulations are
meant to reverse the gains that the
youth have made in the democratization
of the country and the emancipation
of youth of Zimbabwe since Independence
in 1980. “If it is allowed to see
the light of the day, it will turn
Kasukuwere into a headmaster,” Moyo
said.
Youth Agenda Trust Programmes Manager Lawrence Mashungu says the
latest
stunt by minister Kasukuwere is a political gimmick meant to hoodwink
unsuspecting youth into believing that the SI is meant to protect ‘national
interests’. “It is sad that the ministry has the temerity of crafting such
legislation without consulting the youth, it must serve the interests of
young people and not persecute them,” said Mashungu.
Zanu
PF Spruces up Voter Victimization Strategy
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By David
Chidende
MUTOKO- Zanu PF has perfected its intimidation and coercive
electoral
machinery ahead of Zimbabwe’s next elections, an investigative
visit to
Mutoko, Mashonaland East province has revealed.
Located
142km North East of the capital Harare, Mutoko has a history of
covert
violence being met against perceived Zanu PF opponents. Now, tactics
seem to
have changed. Terror and intimidation are now taking place in an
overt,
hidden manner.
When this reporter arrived at Mutoko Growth Point, a
tranquil and serene
atmosphere engulfed the growth point with most people
concentrating on
tilling their fields and other livelihood chores.
At
the Growth Point, a significant number of people could be seen engaging
in
open market activities such as selling paraffin, vegetables and second
hand
clothing. On the face of it, they appeared unaffected by the current
election talk. One could almost think that violence and intimidation are now
a thing of the past.
But in-depth discussions with people in the
villages of Mtoko proved
otherwise. Politically motivated intimidation is
still rife. Some of the
villagers interviewed expressed shocking levels of
intimidation
which they say is taking place under the cover of deceptive
public calls
against violence.
Muzondiwa Karimazondo (35) a villager
in Mangoma village’s Ward 12, is among
the victims of a well calculated
psychological and stealthy campaign of
intimidation currently haunting those
deemed to be ZANU PF opponents.
Karumazondo’s ordeal at the hands of
soldiers and the police in the run up
to the June 2008 Presidential runoff
election still haunts him. His case
points to what Dr. Philani Zamchiya,
political analyst and
researcher based at Oxford University has called ZANU
PF’s well calculated
psychological warfare aimed at reaping votes from the
violent, torturous
campaign of 2008.
Recounting his 2008 nightmare,
which is failing to elude his mind,
Karimazondo said: “We were abducted by
the Zanu PF youths and handed over to
soldiers at Mutoko Centre. There, we
were severely beaten, made to roll on
the mud and, like fools, forced to
continuously pick and drop logs from one
point to the other”.
He
added: “The memory of that experience still haunts me and I am afraid
that
the same fate is going to befall many people in this area as we go to
the
elections.”
Karimazondo’s fears are characteristic of the political mood
in Mtoko North
and South as the country gears for elections.
As this
reporter established, village heads are an integral part of ZANU PF’s
unfolding strategy. In Mtoko North’s Ward 12, village heads, Cephas
Chinopfumbuka and Herbert Mujanji are working with war veterans and a
somewhat disguised youth militia in an overt campaign to instill fear in
those who may want to vote against ZANU PF.
Unlike in 2008 when toy
toeing militias could be seen around Mtoko chanting
pro-ZANU PF songs and
slogans, they are now disguising themselves as
development officers
promoting indigenisation and empowerment.
Chiefs and village heads have
been roped into the empowerment drive through
Community share ownership
schemes that have been set up across Zimbabwe. In
Mtoko, chiefs, village
heads and ZANU PF aligned youths are intensifying the
call for locals to be
an integral part of the lucrative granite extraction
industry.
Apart
from being part to the ZANU PF tailored empowerment drive, some
village
heads are collaborating with war veterans in orchestrating a stealth
campaign of intimidation in Mtoko.
A team led by Chinopfumbuka,
Taurai Nyamukondiwa, a war veteran, Johannes
Mapisaunga and headman Raymond
Rutsito is reportedly moving around the
village writing down names of
suspected MDC-T supporters for unspecified
reasons.
“We have been
given orders by our superiors in the party to write down and
submit names of
all MDC-T supporters”, said Everest Mariyapera, a Zanu PF
district political
commissar in Mtoko.
Another villager, Angeline Mtisi said the people are
no longer feeling safe
to express views on day to day survival issues for
fear of being labeled MDC
supporters.
“People are being intimidated
and are no longer free to support parties
other than Zanu PF,” said
Mtisi.
She added: “We are not yet prepared for elections and if they are
going to
be held in this environment, violence is most likely to
erupt.”
Investigations in Ward 20, Mtoko South revealed that former Zanu
PF District
Coordinating Committee chairperson Zephanias Nhidza is
threatening known and
suspected MDC-T supporters with
unspecified
action.
A Zanu PF executive who spoke to this reporter on
condition of anonymity for
fear of victimization said the party is targeting
all suspected opposition
leaders as it prepares for a landslide victory in
the elections.
“There will be no torture bases, but we are going to
simply fish out our
targets from their homes and deal with them in
seclusion,” he said.
Another Mtoko, villager Mapengo Mapengo said there
are few cases of physical
violence and an open victimization of people. He
added that those who
perpetrated violence in 2008 are still milling around
the community in which
they save as a reminder to what can happen to those
who dare oppose ZANU PF.
“While those who perpetrated violence and
torture in 2008 are being haunted
by what they did, they are still walking
freely and their presence cannot
help, but create more fear among ordinary
villagers,”
Mapengo said.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora has
confirmed cases of victimization of
Mtoko villagers by village heads, war
veterans and Zanu PF youths.
“We are aware of the extreme provocation
started by Zanu PF and harassment
of our members and ordinary
people”
“We have engaged JOMIC on the matter, but nothing has been done.
We have
also reported cases to the police, but no arrests have been made so
far,”
Mwonzora said.
He added, “We call upon the International
Community, especially SADC to
reign in on Zanu PF so as to avoid human
rights abuse in the run up to
elections.”
Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare
Gumbo dismissed reports of continuing
intimidation as “outright whims of
imagination bent on tarnishing the image
of Zanu PF.”
“MDC-T is
desperate to gain sympathy from their western masters. There is no
violence.
MDC-T is basing its arguments on beer hall talk, fictitious and
non-existent
events. If they have genuine cases, why don’t they report to
the police
instead of rushing to the papers?”the ZANU PF spokesperson said.
However
as observed by this reporter and as Dr Zamchiya’s analysis point to,
the
ZANU PF campaign of intimidation and victimization is continuing through
more sophisticated and hidden means.
Building
a New Value System in Zim: Mutambara Speaks
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
Zimbabwe International
Trade Fair
Significance of Building a New Value System for Sustainable
Development in
the Future of Zimbabwe
Address at the ZITF
International Business Conference
Prof. Arthur G.O. Mutambara, Deputy Prime
Minister of Zimbabwe
24th April 2013, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
The
import of the topic before us must be understood. We are discussing the
importance and impact of identifying, designing and adopting national
winning and empowering beliefs and ethos that will allow us to improve the
social, political and economic status of our nation without endangering the
environment or negatively impacting the future of our country. Sustainable
development means pursuing economic activities that meet the needs of
present citizens of Zimbabwe without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs. In doing this, it cannot be business as
usual. Zimbabweans have to be motivated to do things differently. In terms
of values, we must acknowledge both our national achievements and our
failures, and then seek to take corrective measures while reinforcing our
strengths. This is what this topic entails.
A “value” is what is
considered to be of importance in life, what makes life
worth living. A
value is also something that helps people decide what is
right or wrong;
what motivates and drives a citizen. Characteristics of a
value include that
it is very important, guides our activities, is
applicable to a wider
community, and that it is universal and enduring. Our
values separate us
from others, by defining who we are. They constitute
ethos that one holds
dearly, that which influence one’s actions. Put
differently, a value is a
universal eternal truth that guides both our
behaviour and actions while
giving us identity. Good values lead to winning
behaviors, which in turn
drive social and economic prosperity. National
values are important as
lasting beliefs or ideals shared by citizens about
what is good or bad,
desirable or undesirable. A value system is a set of
consistent values and
measures which forms the basis for action while
defining and determining
success. When values and principles are organized
and adopted as collective
and universal to a group, community or citizenry,
in a manner that defines a
way of life, this then defines a shared value
system. This is the foundation
of a shared national vision; a collective
aspired-to social, political, and
economic destination. In order to achieve
sustainable development, Zimbabwe
needs both a shared value system and a
shared national vision.
There are
three areas where we will explore the development and adoption of
new
values. The first is the social and political arena, followed by the
field
of economic values. Thereafter, we will attend to the new values that
allow
us to effectively engage globalization and the ICT revolution.
Politically,
we have just adopted a new national constitution, which lays
the legal
foundation for sustainable development rooted in the rule of law.
While this
is a major achievement, it must be emphasized that the
constitution itself
is just a piece of paper. It does not compel or force
anyone to obey or
respect it. We need to build and develop the culture,
tradition and behavior
of respecting the constitution. This is the value we
call constitutionalism.
We need a new value system that puts
constitutionalism at the center of our
thoughts and actions. It is
instructive to note that the outgoing
constitution which we are retiring did
not provide for violence, corruption
and rigging of elections. However,
these vices and shenanigans occurred in
our country, which means in addition
to good rules and laws, we need good
values, and the corresponding value
system. Furthermore, we need to embrace
peace, fairness, respect, equity,
integrity, equality, democracy, political
tolerance, the dignity of
difference, and view diversity as
strength.
Unfortunately, all these values cannot be legislated or declared by
proclamation. They require civic education, social mobilization,
socialization, and leading by example. All this must be complemented and
enabled by transformational leadership, innovative institutions and learning
organizations. Obviously, such development and adoption of values and the
corresponding value system will take time, but the journey must start today.
The Government of Zimbabwe, itself, must promote, espouse and be an
embodiment of values that promote economic development. In particular, it
has a duty and obligation to create an enabling economic environment and
conducive business climate. There is need for certainty, predictability,
policy consistency, respect for the rule of law, and provision of an
enabling policy framework that fosters and enhances sustainable development
in Zimbabwe.
In addition to learning from other nations we must look
within ourselves for
insights on values. Our African cultures, traditional
practices, indigenous
knowledge systems are excellent repositories of
lessons. For example, the
Ubuntu (unhu) value framework with its various and
variegated slogans; I am
because we are. We are because I am. I am because
you are. You are because I
am; is a good starting point. The essence and
spirit is that a person is not
successful until their entire community is
prosperous. Similarly, a group
cannot claim achievement when there are some
individuals walloping in
poverty. The emphasis is on collective success and
not individual greatness
accomplished at the expense of shared achievement.
Surely, this African
wisdom can be leveraged and employed in developing both
corporate business
strategies and national economic models. Zimbabweans must
look within
themselves for intellectual empowerment.
In terms of the
economic aspects of the new value system, Zimbabweans must
embrace
entrepreneurship and innovation. We have too many workers and large
numbers
of people who are trained to be employed. Let us nurture and develop
more
job creators and builders of companies. Let us teach entrepreneurship
and
innovation in our schools and universities. Our society must
acknowledge,
respect and recognize outstanding entrepreneurs. Under the new
global
economy, talent and innovation are more important than cash. Hence, a
human
capital development culture is key. In particular, we must move from
being
producers of raw materials to selling refined products. This means
Zimbabwean companies must move up the regional and global value chains. In
other words, we must adopt beneficiation and value addition as economic
values.
It is important to note that it is not in the interest of the
rich North,
Western or Eastern economic powers to promote beneficiation in
Africa. Their
preference is for Africa to produce and sell raw materials
while they sell
refined goods to Africa. Beneficiation will happen in spite
of these rich
nations. Africa is on its own with respect to the value
addition agenda. In
fact, the economically strong will disincentivize Africa
from value
addition. Moreover, we must understand why value addition has not
occurred,
and is not happening, in Africa in general and in Zimbabwe in
particular.
For over fifty years Africans have talked about value addition.
Why have
they not walked the talk? The reasons include the following;
pursuit of
“easier” trade options; quick buck for corrupt regimes or
officials; lack of
a clear Industrialization strategy; absence of the
enabling and facilitative
framework, unfair trade; and worshipping the false
anti-protectionism
gospel. The following must be done to drive
beneficiation;- resolve the
identified barriers; adopt a value addition
driven national vision,
strategy, and industrial development plan; delayed
gratification, long term
planning; timeline and planning; new technology,
new human capital, new
capital; new infrastructure, and new mindset. The
need for a new mindset
with respect to value addition applies across the
board. The Zimbabwean
investor, proprietor, the manager and the engineer
must have self-belief and
confidence that a Zimbabwean company can produce
value added products and
compete on the global market. The consumer must
believe in, and buy locally
manufactured goods. Made in Mbare, made in
Dotito, made in Chimanimani, or
made in Tsholotsho must not be sources of
scorn derived from preconceived
perceptions of poor quality. We must have
the national consciousness and
pride to consume our own products from value
addition activities in
Agriculture (agro-processing), the textile industry,
mining (refining,
processing, up to manufacturing), ICT sector, and the
broader manufacturing
sector.
However, beneficiation cannot be achieved
by a business as usual industrial
mindset. It requires the development of
backward and forward industrial
linkages to the commodity sector, which
linkages, in turn, allow movement up
the regional and global value chains
(GVC). This way, Zimbabwe can maximize
direct and indirect job-creation
effects, while growing the economy and
driving industrialization. Lessons
from other emerging economies that are
embracing value addition are
instructive. Provided their resource-processing
industries are
internationally competitive and well integrated in GVCs,
exporting countries
can move into higher-rent value-chain links and extract
the benefits of
moving up value chains. For instance, up to 90 per cent of
the total income
from coffee, calculated as the average retail price of a
pound of roasted
and ground coffee, goes to consuming countries. This
presents an opportunity
that can be seized to improve incomes in the source
countries if they pursue
beneficiation.
Forward integration confers other benefits. It can reduce the
exposure of
countries producing primary commodities to price fluctuations
and thus yield
dynamic skills-migration and cluster benefits of linkage
development. By
developing backward linkage supply firms to the commodity
sectors and
resource-processing industries, Zimbabwe can help to diversify
its
technological capabilities and skills base, deepening their industrial
structure. Moreover, the natural resource sector’s need for infrastructure,
to extract and transport the commodities, enhances the potential for
linkages. Linkage development creates an opportunity to maximize positive
externalities derived from clusters. Supplier and resource-processing
industries’ closeness to the extraction location generates agglomeration
effects. Efficiency gains for firms in clusters include gaining access to a
pool of specialist labour and networks of suppliers.
African people and
Zimbabweans, in particular, must have the self confidence
that their refined
products are as good (if not better) as any in the global
market. Even if
the quality is not as good as the foreign alternatives,
national pride and
self-belief must drive us to buy these products and
sustain our economy.
That is the story of Japan, Malaysia, China and the
USA. In fact in the
early fifties some of the Japanese brands; Sony, Nissan,
Toyota and Toshiba
were derided for poor quality. However, the Japanese
consumer stood by their
poor products and bought them, while their
innovators and industrialists
improved the quality of the products. Today
the Japanese brands are the
respected and sort after in the world. The
general USA car brands are not
the most respected, durable or preferred
globally, but the US citizens,
government and institutions predominantly buy
American cars. You will never
see a US government official in a Mercedes
Benz, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar, or
Rolls Royce; even when they are outside the
USA. If the US president was to
use any of these European and Japanese cars
he will probably be prosecuted,
convicted and subsequently executed.
Contrary to conventional wisdom
protectionism is not necessarily without
merit. In order to effectively
pursue value addition, Zimbabweans must
initially adopt a value system that
embraces smart and innovative
protectionism. As long as there are strategic
plans, timelines with key
milestones, and an exit strategy; the protection
and incubation of chosen
industries has efficacy. What is critical is
nurturing and growing the
manufacturing industries for a limited and defined
time frame. When they are
matured and can openly compete, they can then be
unleashed unto the global
market, without any further handholding. This is
structured and smart
protectionism, NOT blanket protectionism which is
clearly unsustainable. In
fact most of the countries that have
industrialized, have engaged such
clever protectionism. Short-term
protectionism rooted in strategy, plans, &
timelines might be necessary.
All industrialized countries engaged some
degree of protectionism in their
journey to industrialization. Africans must
disregard conventional wisdom
and the Washington consensus on this subject.
Furthermore on economic
matters, Zimbabweans must adopt a value system that
interrogates the nature
and quality of economic growth. We must seek
economic growth which is
Strong, Shared, Sustainable, Green (low carbon),
Global (make sense in the
region), and produces better quality of life for
our people. We must measure
what is called the Global Happiness Index (GHI)
and Planet Happiness Index
(PHI). The latter is critical because there is
need for climate change
mitigation and adaption, while preservation of the
environment is now
central. You can have a plan B, but unfortunately there
is no Planet
B.
Another new economic value we must embrace is with respect to gender.
Empowerment of women and equality of the sexes is more than a discourse on
human rights. It is not just about morality and righting the wrong of the
past. It is all about economics. Women constitute more than 52% of the
population. Moreover, new studies find that female managers outshine their
male counterparts in almost every measure. Women have special skills, that
men are weak in, such as multi-tasking, caring and nurturing, meticulousness
and thoroughness, service excellence, quality and aesthetics, sensitivity,
high emotional intelligence (EQ), and high cultural intelligence (CQ). Men
and women bring different skills and strengths to an organization. There is,
therefore, need to leverage and unlock value from the differences between
men and women. Diversity is a virtue, if it is creatively embraced and
leveraged. Hence, when women are empowered in terms of ownership,
leadership, and management, the institution is not doing women favours.
Rather, the organization is doing itself a favour because the institution
will obtain better results, such as productivity and profitability. This is
the new bold world of Womenomics, that is, the economy as enabled, driven
and experienced by women. Zimbabweans must adopt this new value system that
views diversity, in particular women empowerment, as a major strength. We
must embrace the empowerment of women because; it makes business sense;
there is an economic value proposition, increased GDP & per capita
income,
improved productivity, increased profitability and better
performance.
Clearly, empowering women is smart economics, and empowering
girls is
smarter economics.
Another paradigm shift we must pursue in our
economic values should be in
what motivates business people, in particular
investors. We need to move
away from the traditional approach where the
motivation is making money.
Creative linkages between business opportunity
and social impact must drive
the new economic growth in Africa.
Entrepreneurs and investors must identify
a human need and seek to satisfy
it. Cash will come as a by-product and not
as the sole purpose or
motivation. This must be done in a strategic
framework that seeks to create
shared value for business, the community and
the environment. The notions of
corporate social responsibility (CSR) and
even corporate social investment
(CSI) are now inadequate and obsolete. We
must seek a strategic framework
where the social and environment imperatives
are embedded as part of
corporate strategy with the motivation to create
shared value (benefit) for
business, society and the environment. In this
way, sustainability is
guaranteed by embedding it into the business model
right from the
beginning.
The mobile telephony narrative in Africa is an instructive and
illustrative
example of the paradigm of identifying human needs and then
linking them to
business opportunities. In 1994, 70% of Africans had never
heard a telephone
ring, not to mention use a telecommunication device. That
was a human need
which was negatively affecting African societies and
undermining economic
development. Mobile telephony companies came in to
address the need. Today,
70% of Africans have access to some form of
telecommunications. The
cellphone companies that answered that need such as
MTN, Econet, Telecel,
and Vodacom have made tonnes of cash as a by-product.
Another example comes
from the area of financial and banking services. About
80% of our people in
Africa, and in Zimbabwe specifically, have no access to
brick and mortar
financial and banking facilities. The footprint of the
physical bank branch
networks is limited. Yet, access to financial and
banking services is a key
enabler of social and economic development.
Clearly, this is an economic and
human need. Once again creative
entrepreneurs such as EcoCash in Zimbabwe
and M-Pesa in Kenya have come in
to satisfy the need. Naturally, they are
making a lot of money while
enabling socio-economic development in the
countries they operate in. Four
weeks ago, EcoCash launched a virtual debit
card into the market, a first in
the whole world! This is the innovative
spirit that should define the new
economic value system in Zimbabwe. What we
need to do is identify social and
economic needs in all the sectors such as
water, energy, sanitation, health,
environment, transportation, agriculture
and food security, and link these
to business opportunities. That’s a
paradigm shift in values.
In all
these initiatives, Zimbabweans must start measuring different
economic
metrics. The traditional parameters such as GDP and GDP growth rate
are
highly inadequate. We must clearly track per capita income, gini
coefficient
(measure of income inequality), economic productivity,
productivity growth,
nature of economic growth, per capita power, social and
political issues,
national values, and spirituality. We must measure the
size of the middle
class as a percentage of population, in addition to
tracking ICT
penetration, bandwidth, connectivity, ICT infrastructure, ICT
cost and
pricing, and ICT competition. These are the key measures to judge
success or
failure of the Zimbabwean economy. That which is monitored and
evaluated, is
what influences policy and strategy. We must be driven by this
philosophy.
The last set of values that we attend to, are with respect to
the importance
of making globalization work for us as Zimbabweans, while
making the most
out of the new advances in science and technology, in
particular the ICT
revolution. Zimbabweans must say “we are Africans first
before we are
Zimbabweans.” We must embrace pan-Africanism as a core
national value. Under
globalization, the nation state is no longer a viable
unit of analysis,
neither is it the best platform for survival or
socio-politico-economic
prosperity. Regional and continental blocks such as
EAC, COMESA, SADC,
Magreb, ECOWAS, AU, EU, ASIANA, and NAFTA are better
frameworks from which
to engage globalization. Scale, market size, pooling
of resources together
and regional consensus improve bargaining power
immensely. We need regional
strategies and policies to effectively respond
to global trends and
investments. A collective approach toward investors and
traders will improve
the benefits derived by African countries. African
countries must be
discouraged from bilateral deals and arrangements with
powerful economies
such as China, India or the US. For example, the
individual population and
GDP metrics of Botswana, Zimbabwe, and even that
of South Africa are not
strong enough to individually negotiate with these
big and rich nations.
These African countries are bound to be short-changed.
In fact, SA will only
be a meaningful member of the BRICS if it is there
representing SADC and
Africa. SA’s metrics; compared to those of Brazil,
Russia, India, and China;
do NOT qualify it as a legitimate member of the
BRICS. The collective GDPs
and populations of SADC, COMESA, the FTA, and the
AU will allow SA to have
more leverage and clout in the BRICS, thus
benefiting SA, the regions and
the entire African continent. Consequently,
the economic destiny of
Zimbabwe, just like that of SA, resides in
leveraging SADC, COMESA and the
AU. This is the new thinking we must
adopt.
In addition to the regional block approach, Zimbabweans must embrace a
framework where African countries organize themselves into value addition
industrial clusters, and engage the world through these. For example we can
define a diamond cluster (Zimbabwe, SA, Botswana, Angola, DRC), a platinum
cluster (Zimbabwe, SA), a cocoa cluster (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea), and a
petroleum cluster (Nigeria, Algeria, Senegal). With the scale, critical and
consensus achieved in these clusters, value addition and beneficiation will
be commercially viable on the African continent. The backward and forward
linkages to drive beneficiation can then be effectively developed in pursuit
of resource-based industrialization. African economies can this way move up
global value chains, yielding employment, incomes, and economic growth.
Beyond the regional block and the value addition cluster strategies, a
continental approach must be pursued. There must be an Africa-wide strategy,
AU and Nepad driven perspective. The collective GDP and overall population
of Africa present an even stronger bargaining framework in the deals with
the world. Continental policies, strategies and terms of reference must be
developed. We must aspire to have negotiations with investors carried out at
the level of the AU. That will be ultimate bargaining power derived from a
holistic and complete African consensus rooted in the pooling together of
all African economic assets and markets. To augment and operationalize this
strategy, first class regional and continental infrastructure must be
designed and constructed to facilitate integration, in particular,
intra-Africa trade and investment. New funding models must be structured to
finance these regional and continental projects.
Our national value
system must surely include strong and unwavering belief
in regional economic
frameworks, African solidarity, and economic
pan-Africanism rooted in
technology, entrepreneurship, innovation,
empowerment, indigenization, and
resource nationalism. One area that clearly
requires Africa-wide consensus
is reform of the continent’s laws governing
natural resources, in particular
oil, gas and mineral laws. Most of these
laws are colonial and apartheid
provisions that do not ascribe any intrinsic
value to the un-mined asset.
Resource claims are given to the investor for
free or for a nominal fee. The
investors then go and list these assets on
foreign stock exchanges and
borrow billions against the claims. This is
criminal. At independence
African States changed political and social laws,
NOT economic ones.
Geological surveys and exploration must be carried out so
that Africa’s
complete mineralization and quantification thereof are
established. Fair
value must be assigned to the un-mined resource, where
this wealth belongs
to ordinary citizens. Discovery of a natural resource in
a country by an
explorer or investor should not translate to ownership of
the asset. The
investor must pay up-front for this value of the resource
still underground,
leading to the establishment of sovereign wealth funds
(SWF). Only this way
can the generality of African people benefit from the
continent’s abundant
natural resources. African consensus on these new
natural resource laws will
mitigate against the foreign investor, Eastern or
Western, from playing one
African country against the other. It is
instructive to observe that Western
countries such as Norway, Canada and
Australia have actually implemented
similar SWF based natural resource laws.
What is good for the goose is good
for the gander. This is what should
inform the new value system.
The
imperatives of globalization demand that we have a value system that
acknowledges and appreciates the role of the Zimbabwean Diaspora. Just as
demonstrated by countries such as India, China, Israel, Ghana, Ethiopia,
Senegal and Rwanda; the Diaspora can be effective sources of remittances;
trade, tourism, investment, advocacy; knowledge and nation building ideas.
However there should be no taxation without representation! We as the
resident citizens must put in place mechanisms and institutions that
adequately address the concerns of the diaspora such as voting rights,
multiple citizenship, and travel and national documents.
We must have a
national culture that embraces advanced science and
technology including
nanotechnology, biotechnology, neuroscience, ICTs,
cloud computing, big
data, social media, crowd sourcing, robotics, and
mechatronics. We should
neither fear nor fight technology. Let us use
technology and science to
address our socio-political-economic challenges.
The conventional wisdom
that says the most advanced technology and science
is for the developed
world and that emerging economies must settle for older
technologies is not
valid. In fact sometimes the most advanced technologies
are more relevant,
easier to apply, and more profitable to deploy in
developing countries than
in the rich nations. This is because in the
emerging economies, there are no
infrastructure sunk costs and legacy
constraints. Thus the lack of the lack
of development, in particular
infrastructure, becomes a unique opportunity
to deploy new innovations. This
means developing countries have a unique
opportunity to leapfrog from 19th
Century technologies to a 21st Century
dispensation. In some cases these
countries will have more advanced
applications of new technologies than the
most advanced economies, and
actually act as sources of global best
practice. The experiences and
illustrative case studies of mobile telephony
and mobile financial services
are clear manifestation and demonstration of
this new phenomenon. It is
cheaper, easier, and more appropriate to deploy
new innovations such as
Wi-Fi, WiMAX and cloud computing in an environment
where there is
nonexistent telecommunications infrastructure (extensive
wiring, hardware
and storage). Big Data’s capacity to manage and analyze
large amounts of
information can be leveraged to handle geological and
exploration data as
Africans set out to quantify and attach financial value
to all their
un-mined natural resources.
Where technology presents potential dangers and
risks, the solution is to
devise mitigation plans and mechanisms. We should
never drop the use of a
new technology or fight it, because of fear of the
unknown. With
technological innovations, FDR the late US President was
right; “the only
thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Technology is our
friend, and not
the enemy. Of course there are disruptive technologies which
completely
revolutionize products, sectors, and industries. Zimbabweans must
embrace
these with both hands, as part of creative destruction. The culture
should
be innovate or die. In order to expedite the adoption of new science
and
technology innovations, we must continuously update our laws and
regulations. We cannot use old archaic laws to regulate the use of new
innovations. For example, how can you use a 1973 Urban Council regulation to
determine the use and efficacy of an LED advertising billboard screen driven
by 2013 technology?
Obviously, the ICT revolution is not compatible with
dictatorship, media
control and thought manipulation. One has to use ICTs to
promote their
views. Information control and stifling are no longer
sustainable under
globalization and the ICT revolution. The Impact of a
technology embracing
culture is illustrated in the application of technology
in Agriculture by
AGRA; innovations in financial and banking sector by
M-Pesa and EcoCash;
application of Biotechnology in developing high yield
seeds and fertilizers;
use of robotics and automation in mining, agriculture
and ports; the ICT
enabled revolution in Educational platforms, content, and
access; and
innovations in Health delivery such as e-Health, remote surgery,
and global
access. In particular the impact of ICT is illustrated by the
fact that an
increase of cellphone penetration by 10% leads to Increase of
GDP by 1%.
As we conclude, let us learn from the world on the significance of
an
empowering value system. When we look at successful economies part of
their
secret to success is rooted in a winning value system; Japan
(innovation,
hard work, planning, technology, consistency), China (hard
work, long hours,
discipline, focus, scale), USA (creativity, innovation,
technology,
research, competitiveness, enquiry) and Singapore (strategic
thinking,
planning, innovation, education). We must draw lessons about the
significance of values from these countries, while appreciating that we
already have a rich tradition of great values that we are nationally,
regionally and globally known for, such as hard work, determination,
perseverance, entrepreneurship, respect for history, national pride and
self-determination. What is critical is to fortify and continue to leverage
these values we already have, while expanding our national value system to
embrace the new ethos fleshed out and articulated in this presentation. It
is important that Zimbabweans build and adopt this new value system which
will be the foundation of our unique Zimbabwean economic model anchored in a
shared national vision, in pursuit of sustainable development.
Thank
you
Arthur G.O. Mutambara
Deputy Prime Minister, Republic of Zimbabwe
"We are
Zimbabwe" - claiming our right to accountability, transparency and good
governance
Have you ever sat down to read the
newspaper, perhaps during your lunch hour, only to come accross a news item that
enrages you and immediately puts you off your lovingly prepared sandwich. The
item may highlight government policy that is beyond belief in its stupidty (or
so you think). Or it may be yet another piece pointing to corruption at the
highest level. Or violence; injustice; an inflammatory comment by a Minister, or
just about anything that happens so often in Zimbabwe.
Or it may be the opposite: the news item
may be the biggest lie you have ever read, a product of malicious political
spin. It may be full of factual inaccuracies, ill-informed, and it might annoy
you that good work is being muddied and trashed like
this.
Are you the only person feeling this?
Where do you take your annoyance or sense of pride? How can we make government
officials aware that we notice and care?
We're pretty sure that just as you are
choking on YOUR sandwich, so are many others in Zimbabwe reading the same news
item and feeling equally outraged. Those who lie, cheat, steal and make stupid
policy decisions should not be allowed to get away with it. And those who are
doing a good job, or who are trying their very best to stand up to injustice
despite personal risks, should be supported.
The problem is, I hear many of you
wearily sigh, taking this kind of stand publically is only going to invite a
bashing, a smashing, and visits from unspeakably nasty people most likely
accompanied by threats and harrassment first. Our new accountability project has
been set up to help you give expression to your opinions and views - quickly,
easily, and anonymously. We hope that this will enable you to see that you are
not the ONLY people who feel this way and build confidence in sharing your
thoughts.
Don't get us wrong: it would be far
preferable for everyone to stand together publically and demand change en masse.
But perhaps this could serve as a start to a greater sense of unified national
opinion.
'We are
Zimbabwe' - claiming our
right to accountability, transparency, good
governance
Sokwanele has built a new project
called 'We are
Zimbabwe'. It is so titled because it is true: WE are Zimbabwe - we the people, all of us -
not those who drive the fancy cars and live in the mansions and wield
disproportionate amounts of power. Not those who promise us the world then make
our lives utterly miserable. Not those who make us fear that our children will
have to leave the country if they are ever to have a decent
life.
It is the people - WE - who voted for
these individuals and trusted them with ensuring we have a safe future: a future
where our children will thrive and grow into free spirits, able to claim their
own identities and allegiances without fear. It is our taxes - fruits of our
hard labour - that pays their salaries. They work for
US.
Sometimes politicians and civil servants
needed to be reminded of that fact.
So 'We are
Zimbabwe' is an accountability project, one that we hope will encourage
good governance and remind those in power of where the power really lies: in our
votes and our right to choose our own leaders. And we hope it will remind them
that they were elected to do a specific job, and
that
if they don't deliver, that we notice
their bad work and may withdraw our support.
'We are
Zimbabwe' is a social media project, meaning it
is driven by public contributions (yes, this is where you come when you've
finished choking on your sandwich in anger). Bring that anger and that news
article to our project and enter it on our system. That way, everyone else who
is as annoyed as you - or perhaps disagrees with you - can come and have their
say too.
'We are
Zimbabwe' takes all these issues and turns them
into submissions that people can vote on. It collects votes (easy, simple one
click voting) and turns them into an individual 'rating index' -
aperformance score for
MPs and officials - that is entirely determined by members of the public
engaging with the project.
So this is what you can do with 'We are
Zimbabwe':
- Create a submission that others vote
on
- Vote on issues that other have raised
before you.
Simple.
And it is anonymous. We don't ask for
your name or collect private data.
Right to reply and discuss
further
We've set up Facebook and Twitter
accounts where you can link together with other people to discuss the issues as
they arise, or to simply keep up to date with the project and see whose
performance is being spotlighted at different times.
And politicians ... we know that there
will be times when you find yourselves stinging from a public rebuke. There is
nothing to prevent you too from visiting our Facebook and Twitter pages and
directly setting the record straight with the people. This is where you can have
your say too, because you do have a right to engage with us and answer our
questions.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sokwanele
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-are-Zimbabwe/583813364969982
Court Watch 4/2013 of 29th April [The State v Human Rights Defender Beatrice Mtetwa]
COURT WATCH
4/2013
[29th April
2013]
The State v Human Rights
Defender Beatrice Mtetwa
Mrs Mtetwa’s trial is listed
for Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May, at Harare Magistrates
Court.
Background
On Sunday 17th March, police
officers arrested and detained human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa while she was
attending to her client Tabani Mpofu, whose home was
being raided by police. [Mr Mpofu, Felix Matsinde,
Mehluli Tshuma and Warship Dumba were all arrested on
the same date: Mr Mpofu at his home at the time of the search, Mr Matsinde at Avondale shopping centre, Mr Tshuma at the Law
and Order section at Harare Central police station where he had been asked to
report, and Mr Dumba at his home. The four, who had
been working in the field of research at the Prime Minister’s communication
office, were charged with “impersonating
a police officer” for allegedly collating dockets on large-scale corruption
by top officials.]
In the events
leading up to her arrest, Mrs Mtetwa is said to have demanded that the police
produce a valid search warrant and an inventory for materials that had been
removed from Mr Mpofu’s home, and to have informed the
police that what they were doing was “"unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal
and undemocratic.”
[Comment: The allegations made by the prosecution
about Mrs Mtetwa’s conduct have been amended several times – see most recent
appearance in magistrates court, below.] Her mobile telephone was then
confiscated; she was handcuffed; put in the back of a truck; and taken to the
MDC office at 14 Bath Road where a further search was conducted. She was then
taken to the Law and Order section at Harare Central police station and charged
with “defeating and/ or obstructing the
course of justice” in contravention of section 184(1)(g) of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act, by hindering police in the execution of their
duty. She was taken to cells at
Rhodesville police station at 17:30.
Initial High Court
Application and Response
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human
Rights [ZLHR] submitted an urgent chamber application in the High Court in
response to Mrs Mtetwa’s arrest later on 17th March. At 01:51 hours on Monday 18th March, High
Court Judge Charles Hungwe, at his home, ordered Mrs Mtetwa’s immediate release
from police custody on the basis that the factual allegations in the charge that
had been put to her did not reveal a criminal offence, and there was therefore
no legal basis for her arrest. The order
was addressed not only to several named officers but also to generally to any
police officer holding Mrs Mtetwa in custody.
[Comment: Justice Hungwe has since been
subjected to extensive professional and personal attacks in the State-controlled
and other partisan media. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku
has also reportedly
written to the President in terms of
section 87(3) of the Constitution
which provides: “If, in the case of a
judge of the ... High Court ... the Chief Justice advises the President that the
question of removal from office of the judge concerned ought to be investigated,
the President shall appoint a tribunal to inquire into the
matter.” If, as he now must, the President appoints a
tribunal, Justice Hungwe would be automatically suspended from his duties
until the President, on the
recommendation of the tribunal or the Judicial Service Commission, revokes the
suspension.]
Mrs Mtetwa’s legal
representatives served Justice Hungwe’s order on officers at Rhodesville police
station at around 02:30 on 18th March, but the officers refused to comply with
the order.
On Monday 2nd
March, Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers lodged a further application in the High Court
complaining that the police’s failure to enforce Justice Hungwe’s order was in
contempt of court. On the same date,
however, Mrs Mtetwa was informed that she was to be taken to the magistrates
court the following day and so her lawyers withdrew this application. In spite of the withdrawal of the contempt of
court application, Justice Hlatshwayo later the same day [Monday 2nd March]
dealt with and dismissed the application in the absence of Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers
who had not been informed that it was going ahead in spite of their notice of
withdrawal. [Comment: Justice Hlatshwayo’s decision to
dismiss the contempt of court application against the police officers involved
did not expressly or impliedly revoke the order for Mrs Mtetwa’s release. There was no jurisdictional basis upon which
Justice Hlatshwayo could have revoked the order.]
Magistrates Court
Proceedings
First
Appearance
On Tuesday 19th March,
police brought Mrs Mtetwa before Harare Provincial Magistrate, Marehwanazvo Gofa, at Harare
Magistrates Court seeking her remand in custody on the charge of contravening
section 184(1)(g) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) – “defeating and/ or obstructing the course of
justice” by hindering police in the execution of their duties. The maximum penalty on conviction is a fine
of $400 or 2 years’ imprisonment or both.
Legality of the hearing in
the magistrates court
Advocate Thabani Mpofu [no relation to Mrs Mtetwa’s client Tabani Mpofu], briefed by Harrison Nkomo and Dzimbabwe Chimbga, argued that the
remand application could not be heard in the magistrates court given that Mrs
Mtetwa was already entitled to release in accordance with Judge Hungwe’s still
extant High Court order; the State could
not request the Magistrates Court to order remand in custody in direct
contravention of the order of a superior court for her release from custody on
the same charge.
Mistreatment in custody and
legality of ongoing detention
Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers also
raised a number of complaints with regard to her detention and treatment in
police custody. They argued that the
circumstances of arrest were unlawful as she was arrested while carrying out her
duties as a legal representative. During
her arrest she was handcuffed, which was not necessary as she posed no threat to
the police or the security services. Mrs
Mtetwa’s telephone, containing confidential lawyer-client communication, was
also confiscated in violation of her privacy and that of her clients. She was denied access to her relatives, who
had travelled from outside the country to see her. On Monday 18th March, two male police
officers entered Mrs Mtetwa’s detention cell at Rhodesville Police Station in
the dead of the night and attempted to remove some blankets that covered her,
causing Mrs Mtetwa and a fellow inmate to fear they would be raped. Mrs Mtetwa had also not been allowed to wash
since her arrest on Sunday 17th March.
Finally, her continued detention was unlawful given the High Court Order
for her immediate release.
Magistrate Gofa ruled that the matter was properly before the
magistrates court, as the High Court order related to her detention in police
custody only, and the proceedings before her related to Mrs Mtetwa’s placement
on remand. She proceeded to hear submissions in relation to suitability for
bail.
Bail
Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers then
put forward extensive arguments in support of bail: Mrs Mtetwa’s arrest was
unlawful; there was no basis for the case against her; she has no criminal
record; she is a lawyer of excellent repute with 31 years’ experience who is
extremely well-established in Zimbabwe; and she is therefore clearly not someone
who would abscond nor commit further offences or interfere with investigations
if released.
Following the arguments
submitted by Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers in support of bail, prosecutor Michael Reza
requested an adjournment till the following day to enable him to file a full and
reasoned response opposing bail. The
magistrate granted the adjournment to allow the State further time to file its
response and remanded Mrs Mtetwa in custody until the following day, Wednesday
20th March. [Comment: The effect of the decision to
remand Mrs Mtetwa in custody was to overrule the High Court order to release
her.]
Second
Appearance
On Wednesday 20th March, the
State put forward their arguments as to why Mrs Mtetwa should not be released on
bail. It was argued that she was facing a very serious offence; that the police
should not be hindered in the execution of their duties; and that her release
would set a dangerous precedent: “anarchy would prevail”. There was a
high risk she would abscond given the serious nature of the offence and the fact
that she holds a foreign passport. It
was also argued she would also be likely to hinder police investigations if
released and would further interfere with the course of justice, given that
during the commotion of her arrest three computers are alleged to have
disappeared. [Comment: The implication is that Mrs Mtetwa
arranged and assisted in the alleged removal of the computers, but the State’s
case was not clear on how she could have done so at the time of arrest. The prosecution also did not clarify the
nature of investigations outstanding. The Police Human Rights Pocket book emphasises that police should investigate before arresting,
not arrest before investigating; investigative detention is not
permitted.]
After adjourning the matter
until mid-afternoon for judgment, Magistrate Gofa
dismissed Mrs Mtetwa’s bail application and remanded her in custody to 3rd April
on the basis that there was a risk she would “continue shouting” and
hinder police investigations if released on bail.
High Court Appeal
Proceedings
On Thursday 21st March,
Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers lodged an appeal at the High Court against the
magistrate’s decision refusing bail. The High Court listed the matter to be
heard before Justice Joseph Musakwa on Friday 22nd March.
First Appearance
On Friday 22nd March 2012
the State’s representative requested an adjournment of the appeal
proceedings to allow time to submit their response: they had not had sufficient
time to review the complete transcript of the proceedings in the magistrates
court.
Justice Musakwa agreed to
the adjournment and set down the appeal hearing for Monday 25th March to allow
the State additional time to file their response.
Second Appearance
On Monday 25th
March, Justice Musakwa allowed Mrs Mtetwa’s appeal, setting aside the
magistrate’s decision and ordering her release.
He held that the police had not shed sufficient light on the nature and
scope of investigations that remained outstanding; and the magistrate should not
have restricted the liberty of a legal practitioner of such repute. The conditions of Mrs Mtetwa’s release were
to provide $500 recognizance; to reside at her given address; and not to
interfere with witnesses.
Further Proceedings in the
Magistrates Court
Mrs Mtetwa appeared at
Harare Magistrates Court on Wednesday 3rd April 2013 before Magistrate Don Ndirowei for a routine remand hearing. The matter was
postponed until 8th April 2013 to allow her legal representatives, Advocate
Thabani Mpofu and Harrison Nkomo, to file an
application challenging her placement on remand, and for the State to furnish
Mrs Mtetwa with a trial date.
On 5th April 2013, the
prosecution served Mrs Mtetwa’s lawyers with papers setting out their case
against her. The prosecution maintained
the charge of “defeating and/ or
obstructing the course of justice” but raised a number of new allegations
that had not been included in the original State papers.
On Monday 8th
April Mrs Mtetwa appeared again in the magistrates court, with the case now
being prosecuted by Tawanda Zvekare, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in the
Attorney General’s Office, assisted by Michael Mugabe, a chief law officer and
was remanded, still on bail, for trial
commencing on 27th May
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