http://www.mineweb.com/
The
empowerment minister said Thursday that all foreign mining companies
that
did not comply with local ownership laws should note that 51% of their
shareholding now belongs to the state.
Author: By Nelson
Banya
Posted: Thursday , 05 Apr 2012
HARARE (Reuters)
-
Zimbabwe's government raised the stakes on Thursday in its drive to
wrest
majority control of foreign mining companies, with a minister saying
the
state now considered it owned 51 percent of firms that have not complied
with local ownership laws.
"All mining companies that have not
complied ... should note that 51 percent
of their shareholding is now deemed
to be owned by the state," empowerment
minister Saviour Kasukuwere said in a
statement.
It was not immediately clear which firms were being targeted,
or whether
President Robert Mugabe's cash-strapped government planned to pay
for the
shares. Kasukuwere did not respond to requests for
clarification.
The demand for foreign companies, particularly miners, to
transfer a 51
percent stake in local operations to black investors is widely
seen as a
tactic by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party to raise cash for elections that
may come
this year.
Johannesburg-listed Impala Platinum, the world's
second-biggest platinum
producer, bowed to pressure last month to surrender
half its Zimplats unit,
although details of the transfer have not yet been
worked out.
Analysts said this latest broadside from Kasukuwere might be
more bluster
than fact.
"I would treat this with quite a degree of
skepticism," said Nic Borain, an
independent political analyst based in Cape
Town.
"I would want to wait to see the specifics of how those shares
would be
transferred, how the assets would come to be in government hands,
how
government would exercise any control over those assets."
The
statement added that any profits accruing to the 51 percent stakes
"should
be regarded as property of the state", and that other companies
transacting
with mining firms should remember that they are dealing with the
government.
"Any attempt to defraud the state will result in
prosecution," it said.
Kasukuwere has previously said most major firms
have complied or are in the
process of complying, but he has not publicly
endorsed plans relating to
leading gold producer Metallon Gold, an unlisted
South African miner, and
Mwana Africa's Bindura Nickel
corporation.
Harare says its "indigenisation" policy is needed to redress
the racial
inequities of past colonial rule, but similar drives in other
sectors have
been disasters, most notably the government's seizure of
white-owned
farmland that decimated commercial agriculture and led to
widespread food
shortages.
Thursday, 05 April 2012
The Minister of Youth Development,
Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment today issued a notice announcing that
all mining firms that had not complied with the indigenisation regulations by
the September 2011 deadline should assume that 51 per cent of their shares and
proceeds of their transactions now belongs to the Government with effect from
that date.
The Prime Minister would like to inform the public that there
is no such Government position. That issue has not been discussed and agreed
upon by Government. The Prime Minister wishes to inform the public in general
and mining firms in particular that the inclusive Government has not sanctioned
the Minister’s actions that are a threat to investment in the
industry.
The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act does not
empower the Minister to unilaterally nationalise private entities and there is
no reason to create panic among investors by projecting the image of a voracious
government keen to grab compulsorily people’s companies without compensation. It
is not the policy of this Government to nationalise the mining businesses or any
other business.
The Prime Minister of Zimbabwe has executive powers and
the Constitution of Zimbabwe bestows him with the authority to oversee and
supervise “policy formulation and implementation.” The Government forum that
deals with implementation of Government policy is the Council of Ministers,
which has not discussed or approved the purported Government position captured
in the public notice.
The Prime Minister notes with concern that the
Minister chose not to attend the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, an executive
forum of Government, only to surreptitiously publish a notice with far reaching
economic consequences without consensus.
The Prime Minister would like to
inform mining entities that, should anyone or any institution be it private or
public, attempt to enforce Minister Kasukuwere’s pronouncements, they would be
doing so unlawfully and without the mandate of the Inclusive
Government.
The Prime Minister takes a serious view of the Minister’s
attempts to incite the public to act unlawfully against mining businesses. The
Minister’s statement poses a real risk of creating anarchy in the industry and
the PM will take corrective measures within the proper fora and channels of
Government.
National economic interests of Zimbabwe demand a proper
policy that creates jobs for the millions of unemployed people in the country.
They want massive investment in the country and not a political campaign
platform that will only benefit the elite at the expense of the majority of the
people in the country.
Luke
Tamborinyoka
Spokesperson
Office of the Prime Minister
--
MDC Information & Publicity Department
http://af.reuters.com
Thu Apr 5, 2012 4:46pm
GMT
* Tsvangirai says Minister has no powers to nationalise
*
Finmin, CBank warn of instability over seizures
* Not clear where hammer
will fall
By Nelson Banya
HARARE, April 5 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's
bid to win majority control of
foreign-owned mines was locked in confusion
on Thursday, as the prime
minister contradicted a fellow minister's
declaration that the state owned
51 percent of firms that had not complied
with local ownership laws.
"All mining companies that have not complied
... should note that 51 percent
of their shareholding is now deemed to be
owned by the state," empowerment
minister Saviour Kasukuwere said in a
statement.
Kasukuwere's declaration drew a sharp rebuke from Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, who is sharing power with President Robert
Mugabe in a fragile
coalition formed three years ago.
He said
Kasukuwere had no power to do this and it was not government policy,
adding
to the confusion over a drive that has often been carried out in an
ad-hoc
manner.
It was not immediately clear which firms were being targeted, or
whether
Mugabe's cash-strapped government planned to pay for the shares.
Kasukuwere,
a key Mugabe ally, did not respond to requests for
clarification.
Tsvangirai said in a statement: "the ... act does not
empower the minister
to unilaterally nationalise private entities and there
is no reason to
create panic among investors by projecting the image of a
voracious
government keen to grab compulsorily people's companies without
compensation,"
"It is not the policy of this government to
nationalise the mining
businesses or any other business. The Prime Minister
takes a serious view of
the Minister's attempts to incite the public to act
unlawfully against
mining businesses."
ELECTION PLOY
The
demand for foreign companies, particularly miners, to transfer a 51
percent
stake in local operations to black investors is widely seen as a
tactic by
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party to raise cash for elections that may come
this
year.
Johannesburg-listed Impala Platinum, the world's second-biggest
platinum
producer, bowed to pressure last month to surrender half its
Zimplats unit,
although details of the transfer have not yet been worked
out.
Analysts said the latest broadside from Kasukuwere might be more
bluster
than fact.
"I would treat this with quite a degree of
skepticism," said Nic Borain, an
independent political analyst based in Cape
Town.
"I would want to wait to see the specifics of how those shares
would be
transferred, how the assets would come to be in government hands,
how
government would exercise any control over those
assets."
Kasukuwere's statement added that any profits accruing to the 51
percent
stakes "should be regarded as property of the state", and that other
companies transacting with mining firms should remember that they are
dealing with the government.
"Any attempt to defraud the state will
result in prosecution," it said.
Kasukuwere has previously said most
major firms have complied or are in the
process of complying, but he has not
publicly endorsed plans relating to
leading gold producer Metallon Gold, an
unlisted South African miner, and
Mwana Africa's Bindura Nickel
corporation.
Harare says its "indigenisation" policy is needed to redress
the racial
inequities of past colonial rule, but similar drives in other
sectors have
been disasters, most notably the government's seizure of
white-owned
farmland that decimated commercial agriculture and led to
widespread food
shortages.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Tendai Biti,
who is from Tsvangirai's party,
and central bank governor Gideon Gono,
another Mugabe ally, both warned that
the empowerment drive would
destabilise the economy if extended to the
banking sector.
"If you
tamper with the banking sector, you can't have capital. Capital is
fungible
and fluid and it will move (away)," Biti said.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona Sibanda
05
April 2012
Speculation on the health of the 88 year old ZANU PF leader
Robert Mugabe
mounted today, after his party was forced to cancel its
emergency politburo
meeting on Wednesday.
Mugabe flew to Singapore on
Saturday, accompanied by his wife Grace. The
state media described the visit
as private, saying he was there to prepare
for his daughter Bona to start
her graduate studies.
Mugabe’s failure to return home in time for the
politburo meeting has
heightened reports of his failing health, because he
rarely fails to turn up
for crucial ZANU PF meetings. After last Wednesday’s
politburo meeting ZANU
PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo told the media that his
party’s top decision
making body would be meeting the following week to
decide the future of the
constitution making process.
‘The politburo
is meeting on Wednesday (April 5) to decide once and for all
on the
constitution. Chief negotiators (Patrick) Chinamasa and (Nicholas)
Goche
were given until (last) Friday to clear the parked issues on the new
constitution,’ Gumbo said.
However the politburo meeting did not
happen and Mugabe has not returned
home.
Mugabe’s health has been the
subject of much speculation, especially since
WikiLeaks, the whistleblower
site, last year released a 2008 US diplomatic
cable saying that Zimbabwe’s
central bank chief, Gideon Gono, had told
then-US ambassador James McGee,
that Mugabe had prostate cancer and had less
than five years to
live.
His failing health has been cited as one reason that he appear to
be in a
rush for new elections. But the ZANU Pf strongman denies he has
cancer.
In February he declared himself ‘fit as a fiddle’ adding that
‘the day will
come when I will become sick.’
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tichaona
Sibanda
05 April 2012
The MDC-T said on Thursday there is an upsurge
in violence countrywide and
very little reaction from the
police.
Party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora told a press conference in
Harare that most
of those being targeted are the urban poor, mainly residing
in high density
surburbs.
‘In Harare for example, market vendors in
Mbare and Highfields are being
targeted by Chipangano. This group led by
Hubert Nyanhongo, (ZANU PF MP,
Harare South) has confirmed that it is behind
most of the violence in
Harare,’ Mwonzora said. The Nyanga North MP said his
party will appeal to
the inclusive government to deal with the issue of
violence before they
start talking about elections.
‘The issue of
violence must be addressed before elections. Still on the
issue of
elections, we will not allow Mugabe to make unilateral
pronouncements on
elections.
‘The President must agree with the prime Minister on a date
following the
completion of the constitution making process and a roadmap
leading to free
and fair elections,’ Mwonzora said. He added that Copac was
still to revise
five chapters out of 17 in the new
constitution.
‘What we are left with is less work and should be done by
next week
Wednesday. After that we hope to hand over the final draft to the
management
committee.’
On Wednesday Mwonzora told SW Radio Africa
that MDC formations and ZANU PF
had brought their positions closer over a
new constitution following
differences on some contentious issues. The
legislator said partners in the
constitutional making process had reached a
breakthrough in negotiations to
resolve the impasse on dual citizenship,
devolution and the death sentence.
Drafters have targeted September for a
referendum on the charter. Public
consultations began in 2009 after the
unity government was sworn in, but he
process has been repeatedly disrupted
by bickering between the political
parties.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Sapa-AFP | 05 April, 2012
17:09
"He had a cardiac arrest, he is still unconscious since 9:00
am," a senior
official at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe said on
condition of
anonymity.
According to the source, Mutharika collapsed
at his official residence and
was rushed to hospital in an ambulance. He is
currently being treated at an
intensive care unit and his condition has been
described as critical.
He has been visited by senior politicians from his
cabinet, including his
wife and children.
"Those who visited the
president in the intensive care unit included his
brother Peter Mutharika,
the First Lady Callista, his daughter Duwa and the
chief secretary to the
president, Bright Msaka," the source said.
Energy and Environmental
Minister Goodall Gondwe also visited the president.
Mutharika, a former
World Bank economist, was re-elected with a sweeping
majority in 2009 as
president of the poor southern African country.
But his second term has
been marred by anti-government protests, with
activists accusing him of
mismanaging the economy and trampling on
democratic freedoms.
Two
weeks ago he vowed to govern until his term ends in 2014 after a leading
rights group threatened unrest if he did not resign or call a referendum on
his leadership.
"I would like to say that Bingu doesn't run away from
work, Bingu doesn't
desert responsibility even if the going gets tough," he
told a rally.
Last month, the Public Affairs Committee (PAC), made up of
religious groups,
rights activists and the opposition, demanded that
Mutharika quit office or
call the referendum within three months.
The
group accused him of mismanaging the economy and trampling on democratic
freedoms, saying the country was bordering on a failed state.
Critics
have lambasted new laws to restrain the media, limit protests, and
restrict
lawsuits against the government.
Political tensions erupted into rioting
in July, when police shot 19 people
dead.
Ahead of the riots, alarmed
by his restrictions on political freedoms,
donors had already begun
suspending aid, with former colonial power Britain
slashing its financial
support.
The leader presided over steady economic growth but has
struggled to manage
foreign currency reserves, which have also been hit by a
drop in earnings
from the country's main export tobacco.
His refusal
to listen to criticism, whether from civil society or the
International
Monetary Fund, has earned him the moniker 'Mr. Know-it-All'.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
05 April 2012
Five student leaders and activists at the
University of Zimbabwe were
suspended indefinitely on Wednesday, after a
picture of them with the Vice
Chancellor appeared in a newsletter published
by unknown activists.
Tinashe Chisaira and Kokerai Murombo of the Student
Representative Council
(SRC) and activists James Katso, Zecharia Mushawatu
and Gilbert Sibanda were
charged with defamation of character and
immediately escorted off campus.
Darlington Madzonga from the Students
Solidarity Trust (SST) said the
students took a picture with U.Z. Vice
Chancellor Levi Nyagura last week,
while campaigning for the student
executive council.
Innocently, they posted the photograph on Facebook,
where other students
copied and published it, along with a story claiming
that Nyagura held a
meeting with the students and agreed to some key reforms
at the
institution..
Madzonga said the Chancellor should have
investigated the incident to
establish who published the false story, before
suspending the students in
the photograph.
“Last month was tough for
students around the country. We recorded a high
number of arrests and
illegal detentions of students. This is probably
linked to all this talk of
elections,” Madzonga told SW Radio Africa.
He said it appears that
University authorities are playing the role of
government officials and
pushing a political agenda that does not promote
the interests of the
students.
Meanwhile five Masvingo student activists appeared before a
magistrate on
Thursday for continuation of their trial. Brighton Ramusi,
Prosper
Tiringindi, Zivanai Muzorodzi, Godfrey Kurauone and Brian Chimwayi
were
facing charges of public violence, later changed to assault, after they
demanded money back for a course that had been cancelled by the
school.
Four of the students were acquitted, but the case continues for
Prosper
Tiringindi, who is due back in court April 11th for judgment.
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
04/04/2012 00:00:00
by Staff
Reporter
HIGHER Education Minister, Stan Mudenge and several top
military and
political figures have been blamed for the destruction of Save
Valley
Conservancy, once one of the largest private wildlife sanctuaries in
the
world.
A report by the Parliamentary portfolio committee on
natural resources and
tourism says forced seizure of the conservancy by top
political and military
figures with “no interest (or) experience in wildlife
conservation” had
resulted in massive destruction of the
conservancy.
According to the committee’s report, “Save Valley
conservancy had ceased to
exist in its original form: there is extensive
habitat destruction, large
scale fence destruction and rampant poaching of
animals, especially the
rhino whose numbers were said to be fast
dwindling.”
The committee said under the country’s land reforms,
conservancies were
supposed to be restricted to indigenous investors with
demonstrable
“interest and experience in Wildlife conservation (as well as
the) capacity
for business development and ability to contribute to the
asset base.”
However, the seizure of Save Conservancy contradicted these
principles, the
committee found, as those who benefitted “perceive the value
of the wildlife
industry as coming from meat and not from the exportable
trophies and
photographic safaris.”
In addition the beneficiaries
“believe(d) that they would be given
shareholding at the animal sanctuary
without investment.”
“It is the committee’s finding that the allocation
of indigenous
beneficiaries that include General Engelbert Rugeje, Hon.
Sithole, Hon.
Senator Hungwe, Mr. Ndava, Hon. Minister S. Mudenge, Hon.
Governor T.
Maluleke, Mr. Cladman Chibemene, Rtd. Lt. Col. D. Moyo, Mrs
Mahofa and Mr.
A. Baloyi according to the list submitted to the committee
was not based on
business principles,” the committee said.
“These
beneficiaries were merely imposed to conservators despite assurances
from
the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment that
there
was a transparent system in place to identify indigenous partners
through
the Zimbabwe Investors Authority’s Independent Board using the
databases for
both foreign and local investors.”
Established in 1984, Save Valley
Conservancy combined 24 adjacent farm
properties totaling 3,200 square
kilometers to create one of the largest
private conservancies in the
world.
Several lodges were established throughout the conservancy, which
offered
wildlife tourism and photographic safaris.
Meanwhile the
committee also said the destruction of Save Conservancy
mirrored the
devastation at plantations and forests in Manicaland province.
Illegal
settlers were found to be causing extensive damage to plantations
near
Mutare through forest fires. Erin Forest alone had lost over 80
hectares of
land to fire caused by arsonists.
“At Erin Forest, a total planting area
of 589 hectares has been occupied by
these settlers, at Gwendingwe 700
hectares have been consumed while at
Chisengu an illegal settler took 150
hectares to himself,” the committee
said.
“The Committee learnt that the
Forestry industry contributes about 5 percent
to the country’s Gross
Domestic Product.
“Its market stretches from Botswana, Zambia, South
Africa, United Kingdom
and United States. As a result of these challenges,
the quality of timber is
gradually diminishing.”
http://www.voanews.com
05 April
2012
The
insufficient funding has also resulted in large measure to corruption,
especially at the lower levels of the judiciary with some officials,
including the police taking bribes, Chidyausiku added
Ntungamili
Nkomo | Washington DC
Corruption has become endemic in the
Zimbabwe justice system, caused partly
by poor salaries for judiciary
employees, says Chief Justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku, calling on government to
review their salaries.
Launching a reformed Code of Ethics for judges on
Wednesday, Justice
Chidyausiku said the underfunding of the judiciary had
compromised its
capacity to deliver justice.
The insufficient funding
has also resulted in large measure to corruption,
especially at the lower
levels of the judiciary with some officials,
including the police taking
bribes, Chidyausiku added.
Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa also said
corruption had become “a
cancerous cell eating away the fabric of our
justice delivery system.”
The Judiciary Service Commission-revised ethics
code compels judges to
deliver reserved judgments within 90 days. Some
judges were accused of
reserving judgments for as much as 6
years.
Some lawyers, including Matshobana Ncube, are not convinced a
salary review
is the solution to the judiciary corruption. He told VOA that
judiciary
reforms are the panacea.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, April 5,
2012 - Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma
says President
Robert Mugabe would not be given VIP treatment during the
current efforts by
the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) to
recover long outstanding
payments owed to the defaulting clients.
In an exclusive interview with
Radio VOP Wednesday, Mangoma said all ZESA
defaulters would be treated with
the same attitude insisting they were
primarily ZESA clients before they
assumed their stations in life.
“He is a consumer of ZESA and I am sure
within ZESA, appropriate action has
been taken or would be taken just like
any other consumer,” Mangoma said.
“He is consuming that electricity in
his private capacity. I do not see any
reason why he should not be switched
off. But if he makes a down payment of
25 percent as is the case with every
other ZESA client, why should he be
switched off?”
President Mugabe,
a large scale farmer who operates a dairy concern with
massive cash inflows,
was last month exposed by a local daily to be owing
the struggling power
utility in excess of US$350 000.
Together with his powerful lieutenants
linked to Zanu PF, they owe ZESA over
US$1, 5 million.
Mugabe’s
apparent unwillingness to honour his bills despite continuously
claiming
western imposed sanctions were the major cause of the collapse of
the
economy was met with outrage by ordinary Zimbabweans who have endured
endless power cuts for the past decade.
Mangoma, an MDC-T ministerial
appointee, said every ZESA client who was
indebted to the parastatal had
been asked to pay 25 percent down payment as
a compromise
arrangement.
But he said he was not yet aware if Mugabe has met his own
end of the
bargain.
Meanwhile, Mangoma said ZESA had started
switching off other top government
ZESA bills defaulters.
“If you can
say that there is a person that you definitely know owes ZESA
and has not
been switched off, I would like to know that information because
as far as I
know, I have been told that defaulters are being switched off,"
he
said.
"I am aware that there are some government ministers who have been
switched
off."
ZESA has gone on a blitz to switch off non paying
clients in a bid to
recover an estimated US$400 million it was owed by local
consumers.
http://www.voanews.com
04 April
2012
Association president Claudio Mutasa is quoted in the state
controlled
Herald newspaper as saying the headmasters and school committee
members work
closely with suppliers who give them kickbacks after schools
have made their
payments
Gibbs Dube & Marvellous Mhlanga-Nyahuye
| Washington
The Zimbabwe Schools Development Association says some
school committees and
headmasters are looting levy funds by inflating prices
of goods and learning
materials.
Association president Claudio Mutasa
is quoted in the state controlled
Herald newspaper as saying the headmasters
and school committee members work
closely with suppliers who give them
kickbacks after schools have made their
payments.
Mutasa said his
association is handling a lot of corruption cases relating
to the looting of
levies by school authorities and committees.
Education Minister David
Coltart recently said his ministry recorded 30
cases of what he called
massive corruption in some schools in the past three
months.
Agent
Moyo, a senior school teacher in the country, told VOA the looting of
levies through fake invoices is common in most schools.
A parent, who
can only be identified as Mukanya, said schools are losing
millions of
dollars in shady deals involving headmasters and school
committees.
Former headmaster Paul Ngwenya said schools should
introduce tight measures
to stop the massive looting of levies.
http://www.swradioafrica.com/
By Tererai Karimakwenda
04
April 2012
An MDC- T official from Zaka West in Masvingo province was
abducted,
severely assaulted and then turned over to the police last
Saturday, by
known ZANU PF thugs.
According to the MDC-T Rhinos
Musareva, secretary for Defence and Security
in Zaka West, was handcuffed by
ZANU PF supporters and war vets from
neighbouring Chiredzi North
Constituency, led by Dunanga Bwazvo and
Mupangani Chekero.
Musareva
was taken to the home of a ZANU PF activist named Tsvana, where he
was
severely assaulted with sticks and dragged around the yard. The thugs
then
took him to the Chiredzi North home of a prophet named Hardlife
Kuzonyei,
who was accused of praying for Musareva and MDC-T supporters last
month, and
assaulted them both.
The next stop was the Wasara area in Chiredzi North
Resettlements, where the
thugs forced a woman to accompany them to the
police base at Oscro Farm,
having devised the story that Musareva and
Kuzonyei robbed the woman. The
two victims were turned over to a Constable
Moyo.
Zaka West MP Festus Dumbu and MDC-T party youths who were informed
of the
abductions searched the area and found the two at Chiredzi Police
Station.
According to a statement from the MDC-T, MP Dumbu was “shocked to
see the
horrific injuries” that Musareva had sustained.
Dumbu offered
to take the injured Musareva to a hospital but the police
insisted they
would take on the responsibility. But according to the MDC-T
the Zaka
official never received medical treatment.
The incident occurred in the
same area where ZANU PF supporters on Wednesday
force marched villagers from
Zaka Central to a meeting and threatened them
with severe assaults if they
vote for the MDC-T.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
05 April
2012
Zimbabweans travelling over the Easter holiday will encounter more
roadblocks and traffic police, the national traffic spokesperson Inspector
Tigere Chigome has announced. The operation has been code named “Safe Easter
Holiday” to try and reduce road accidents during the holiday.
In a
report carried by the ZANU PF controlled broadcaster ZBC, Inspector
Chigome
said: “Only public transporters will be allowed to ferry commuters”
and road
users were urged to “abide by traffic regulations”. Police officers
at the
roadblocks will be “carrying out inspections on all public
transporters.”
Road users however will take the announcement with a
pinch of salt given the
notorious reputation of corrupt police officers. In
February this year we
reported how police were raising funds to buy new
luxury cars, by soliciting
bribes from innocent civilians at roadblocks and
imposing illegal fines on
minibuses.
The problem is so widespread
that some mini bus drivers are using alternate
routes to avoid paying bribes
of up to $100 per day, which they say are
driving them out of business. A
trip from Harare to Bulawayo could have as
many as 15 roadblocks with
officers issuing tickets for ‘obscure’
violations, a journalist told
us.
It was no surprise in February when commuter omnibus drivers on the
Harare-Norton route went on strike against what they termed harassment and
extortion on the route. A similar strike in Epworth saw commuters being left
stranded.
Operators said each bus was being made to part with an
average of $50 a day
in bribes. So blatant is the soliciting of bribes that
one operator said:
“They don’t even come to us and search our vehicles. They
just ask for money
and if we don’t comply, they write a ticket for $20 which
is unfair to us.”
More roadblocks over the Easter holiday will only mean
more of this and more
frustration for motorists.
http://www.radiovop.com
Harare, April 05, 2012
–Zimbabwe government will review the exorbitant
mining application fees they
hiked in the last months following concerns
from stakeholders, Mining
Minister Obert Mpofu has said.
The country had hiked mining claims fees
for platinum and diamond mines
applications between $US2 million to$US5
million. But the move was
castigated by analysts who said this will
discourage investment at a time
when it is desperately needed.
"The
fees were promulgated in order to discourage holding of exploration and
mining ground for speculative purposes and to enable the release of ground
for exploration and development by serious players,” Mpofu said at a mining
meeting in Harare.
“The ministry is presently reviewing the impact of
these fees on the mining
sector in line with targeted
objectives.”
Zimbabwe is mineral rich in different minerals that include
gold, platinum,
coal and diamonds among many minerals. The hiking of mining
claims
application fee came at a time government is demanding majority share
ownership be given to it and indigenise people in all mining companies that
are owned by foreigners.
Major foreign mining company Zimbabwe
Platinum Mines submitted its
indigenisation plan to government and said it
expects the locals as well as
the government to pay for the shares that are
going to be takenover.
We, community radio initiatives, civic society organisations and the community of Bulawayo, gathered at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo on the 21st of March 2012,
Recalling:
Aware of :
Reaffirming the:
Call upon the government of Zimbabwe to:
A) Make provisions for the creation of policies, legislation and resources to support community radio in Zimbabwe,
B) License community radio stations in Zimbabwe within 3months, before the 5th of July,
C) Facilitate dialogue among government, international and regional intergovernmental organisations, civil society and development agencies in Zimbabwe to promote community radio development in alleviating poverty,promoting democracy and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS).
Adopted By: Radio Dialogue, Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations, Bulawayo Agenda, Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association, Bulawayo Residents Association, Habbakuk Trust, National Youth Development Trust, National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe, Media Insitute of Southern Africa – Zimbabwe, Musasa, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, Christian Legal Society, Mhlahlowesizwe,Bhetshulikazulu, National Cultural Association, Intsha.com, Victory Siyanqoba, Rural Communities Empowerment Trust, Women’s Institute for Leadership Development, Wild Trust, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development.
April 5th, 2012
Monitors of the convoluted, drawn-out Zimbabwean crisis will be forgiven for thinking that little has changed, despite the fact that the South African-brokered Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed in September 2008 and initiated in February 2009 remains in place.
The month of February was effectively a repeat of the last six months, with the GPA said to be in tatters as Zanu-PF systematically sabotages the foundations of the agreement. President Mugabe’s unilateral insistence that Police Chief Augustine Chihuri continues remains in his powerful position was described by exiled journalist Tanonoka Joseph Whande as a “betrayal” of the Zimbabwean people.
Given the scale of human rights abuses, notably the horrifying cases of torture perpetrated by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) during the past 12 years, the word “betrayal” is no exaggeration. Whande pointed out that the situation shows how little power the Movement for Democratic Change wields in the coalition government.
MDC youths and supporters continued their struggle to protect themselves and their families from rampant Zanu-PF thugs in an environment where there is no rule of law and in which they can expect no help from the partisan police.
On the streets, the ZRP demonstrated ingenuity in the selective application and interpretation of the law. Their total disregard both for the law and for human rights was again apparent in their suppression of peaceful demonstrations and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party meetings, irrespective of prior authorisation.
Food insecurity continues to be of significant concern. The Ministry of Agriculture has admitted that 500,000 of the 1,689,000 hectares of maize (corn) planted is a write-off, which will result in severe hunger among the poor. This is due not only of drought in the south, but also to the failure to use irrigation infrastructure, the theft or sale of irrigation equipment, late inputs, lawlessness and the investor-hostile environment. This will be to Zanu-PF’s advantage as it has relied increasingly on the selective distribution of food aid to force the reluctant electorate to vote for the party. In January, UNICEF warned that at least 3.5 million vulnerable children faced starvation.
Further destroying investor confidence, Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere threatened to nationalize 30 foreign-owned mines that have not complied with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act which requires a 51 percent ownership stake to be held by black Zimbabweans.
Ironically, his threats were issued while the Ministry of Trade and Commerce was in the final stages of promoting a two-day Zimbabwe Trade and Investment Conference due to be held in Johannesburg from 1-2 March.
In a letter to potential delegates, signed by Mrs C. Zhanje, the Deputy Director (Bilateral Trade Relations), who is a member of the MDC, potential investors were assured that all investments made by South African nationals were protected by the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection (BIPPA) signed by both countries in 2010. Mrs Zhanje went on to claim “Our legal system is also good in terms of being applied and implemented in various issues. There is respect and protection for all private property in the country.”
Nervous of the level of voluntary support for President Mugbe’s 88th birthday party, Zanu-PF officials frog-marched school children to the sumptuous event in Mutare, believed to have cost more than 1 million US dollars (around £650,000).
On 14 February, Global Witness published a report raising concerns that diamond purchases might help fund the Zimbabwean military. The report, Diamonds: A Good Deal for Zimbabwe?, revealed that several directors of one of the largest mining companies operating in the controversial Marange diamond fields, Anjin Investments, are drawn from the Zimbabwean military and police.
During February, a total of 65 media articles were recorded for ZIG Watch, each article representing a unique breach of the terms of the GPA. Categorising these articles by the nature of the breach allows the generation of representative statistics.
The greatest number of violations this month involved cases of violence, intimidation, hate speech, threats, abductions and brutality. This was followed by cases of legal harassment of perceived opposition politicians and supporters. Next came cases of denial of the right to freedom of speech, or abuse of freedom of speech, while the fourth-highest involved cases of deliberate or consequential economic destabilisation. Zanu-PF was either responsible for, or involved in, all breaches recorded.
We have compiled ten articles at the end of this report to represent the month’s media coverage of events in relation to the GPA. This list is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive because of the sheer volume of articles. We invite our readers to review the list of summarised articles, original articles (links provided) and previously captured articles, on the webpage http://www.sokwanele.com/zigwatch and ask you to share this information with your colleagues and other interested parties.
The first article in the category of violence, intimidation, hate speech, threats, abductions and brutality involves the gruesome murder of an MDC activist.
On 7 February in Zaka East, Masvingo province, the entire community was shocked when Sharukai Mukwena was brutally murdered by Zanu-PF thugs at his home. According to MDC-T provincial
spokesperson Hon. Harrison Mudzuri, Mukwena woke up to discover that his granary had been set ablaze. In trying to investigate, he was confronted by Zanu-PF youths who attacked him and chopped off his hands before killing him. Mudzuri said the escalating incidences of political violence against MDC members by Zanu-PF supporters in the province was cause for serious concern.
The Zanu-PF-sponsored Chipangano gang has instilled fear into residents of the high-density suburb Mbare, outside Harare, rendering them political and physical hostages. Resistance to the gang’s orders invites severe beatings, banishment from the suburb or even death. Victims who dare resist are often dragged off to torture bases such as Carter House – a council property forcibly seized. Attempts by the council to evict the gang have met with violent resistance, and the partisan police force refuses to intervene.
Also on 7 February, members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), a social justice movement, gathered outside the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) offices in Bulawayo where their leaders were meeting to commemorate their 10th anniversary.
Predictably, Jenni Williams and her colleague, Magodonga Mahlangu – both founders of the movement and recipients of international human rights awards – were arrested by the police as they emerged from the meeting during which they had complained to JOMIC about police abuse.
JOMIC – which has been widely described as “toothless” – expressed reluctance to take up their case without concrete proof. This was immediately provided when the riot police arrived. They beat WOZA members with batons and arrested seven other WOZA members, as well as six bystanders.
The final article in the violence and intimidation category reflects Zanu-PF’s thinly-disguised and widespread abuse and intimidation of children. To create an illusion of the ongoing popularity of President Mugabe, all school children in Mutare were forced to attend his 88th birthday party.
In the set of articles illustrating breaches in the legal harassment category, the first example provides an update on the outrageous and deliberately drawn-out court case involving a group of activists who were arrested last February for watching footage of the people’s revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia.
The six accused, including former MDC-T MP Munyaradzi Gwisai, were among more than 40 people arrested. They were originally charged with treason but eventually 39 were released and treason charges were changed to ‘conspiracy to commit public violence’, among other minor charges. The magistrate dismissed their application for discharge at the close of the State’s case and the trial was set to continue on 5 March.
In another example of legal harassment, the State abused Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) by denying bail to 13 officials belonging to the MDC-T. They were arrested on 25 February on allegations of contravening the controversial Public Order and Security Act (POSA). Section 121 is regularly used by State prosecutors to “punish” individuals by delaying their release on bail. The police claimed they were holding a public gathering without ZRP authorisation, but they were in fact attending an internal party meeting for which no clearance was required.
Articles on the abuse of the legal process also included the case of a former lowveld farmer, 74 year-old Peter Hingeston, who retired to his house and plot of land in the Vumba district. A Mutare police commissioner who wants the property for himself, has charged Hingeston with refusing to vacate ‘State’ land. After failing to attend court for justifiable medical reasons, Hingeston was arrested for ‘contempt’ and held until 27 February, with repeated delays to block his bail hearing. He was finally released on US$50 bail and the case continues next month.
This month, the number of cases of deliberate or consequential economic destabilisation was high enough to warrant mention. According to an article in the Zimbabwe Mail dated 15 February, questions are increasingly being asked about the proceeds from diamonds sales and where they are disappearing.
Indian traders have revealed an international selling spree involving Zimbabwean diamonds being sold at prices of 50% less than those from other sources. Industry commentators said that the amount of diamonds being sold amounted to unprecedented looting being carried out by Mugabe’s criminal cabal. As a result, diamond prices have crashed by 25% in the markets of Mumbai and Surat since November 2011. International investigations show unspecified amounts of diamond earnings are being hidden in tax-free havens.
Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere continues in his attempts to bully 30 foreign-owned mines into complying with the Indigenisation Empowerment Act. The Act requires firms to put a 51 percent ownership stake in the hands of black Zimbabweans.
Kasukuwere told a parliamentary development committee that he was giving the mining companies two weeks to comply, and threatened to nationalise them if they did not. This is despite the fact that, according to Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire (MDC-T), the indigenisation law has no provision for nationalisation.
Our final selection covers cases of denial of the right to freedom of speech. In an article dated 29 February, the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) is reported to have intensified its onslaught against the Sunday Times and the Zimbabwean newspaper, both printed in South Africa. ZMC chairperson Godfrey Majonga accused them – and other foreign newspapers – of carrying out newsgathering in the country without registration and licensing, in contravention of media laws.
The reconstitution of the ZMC in 2010 was supposed to be a step to liberalizing the long-repressed sector.
MDC
activist murdered by Zanu-PF thugs in Zaka
SW Radio Africa (ZW):
10/02/2012
Sharukai Mukwena, an MDC activist of Ward 22, Zaka East in Masvingo was on Tuesday murdered by Zanu-PF thugs at his home. MDC-T provincial spokesperson, Hon. Harrison Mudzuri said the party activist was murdered by Zanu-PF supporters on Tuesday night, leaving the entire community shocked. “Mukwena woke up to discover that his granary had been set ablaze and in trying to investigate, he was confronted by Zanu-PF youths who attacked him,” said Hon. Mudzuri. “They chopped off Mukwena’s hands and it was a truly gruesome murder incident,” said Hon. Mudzuri. He said the escalating incidents of political violence against MDC members by Zanu-PF supporters in the province was a cause for concern.
Political
thuggery enslaves Mbare
Zimbabwe Standard, The (ZW):
18/02/2012
The Zanu-PF-sponsored thugs, Chipangano, have instilled fear into residents of Mbare, rendering them political hostages in their own backyard. Resistance to Chipangano’s orders invites severe beatings, banishment from the suburb or even death. If victims resists, they are dragged off to their bases and tortured. One such base is Carter House – a council property forcibly seized. Attempts by the council to evict them have been met with violent resistance. Last week, market vendors were being forced to contribute to a “funeral fund”. “We are being told to contribute a US$1 each,” said one resident. “… I think it’s a way of raising money for their operations.”
GPA
monitors witness brutal police assault on WOZA
members
SW Radio Africa
(ZW): 08/02/2012
Riot police in Bulawayo assaulted members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) on Tuesday, and arrested coordinator Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu as they emerged from a meeting with the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC). Seven other WOZA women and six bystanders were arrested while behaving peacefully outside the JOMIC offices, where the group had gathered to commemorate their 10th anniversary. A pregnant woman and a minor were among those arrested. In the meeting, WOZA had appealed to JOMIC to forward their complaints about police abuse to the principal leaders in the coalition government. The JOMIC team said they needed concrete proof and moments later, police used baton sticks to bash WOZA members just outside.
School
kids forced to attend Mugabe birthday bash –
MDC-T
ZimEye:
28/02/2012
(Mutare) School children were forced to attend President Robert Mugabe’s birthday bash, according to MDC-T’s “The Real Change Times” paper. Residents of high density suburbs planning to go to work were surprised when they found out that they were all being dropped at one bus-stop, Sakubva Stadium and ultimately forced to enter into the arena by soldiers, police officers and Zanu-PF youths manning the gates. Meanwhile, all school children were forced to attend the event without fail, with each school being led by its school head and each class by its class teacher. Members were forced to wear party shirts with Mugabe’s portrait emblazoned on the front and back while others wore t-shirts with his signature.
Court
dismisses acquittal application by ‘video watching’
activists
SW Radio
Africa (ZW): 15/02/2012
A Harare court on Wednesday dismissed an acquittal application by a group of activists arrested a year ago for watching footage of the people’s revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. The six, including former MDC-T MP Munyaradzi Gwisai, were among more than 40 people arrested last February after watching the video. The whole group was originally charged with treason but eventually 39 were released and treason charges were dropped. The group is now being charged with ‘conspiracy to commit public violence’, amongst other minor charges. A magistrate dismissed an application for acquittal on Wednesday, and the trial will continue. It was postponed until February 27.
State
Blocks Release of Arrested 13 MDC T Officials
RadioVOP: 28/02/2012
The State has invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act (CPEA) to deny bail to 13 officials belonging to the MDC- T arrested on Saturday on allegations of contravening the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). The group was arrested for supposedly holding a public gathering without police authorisation. Magistrate Auxillia Chiumburu had granted $50 bail each and ordered the accused to reside at their given addresses but State counsel immediately invoked Section 121 to retain the group custody. In opposing bail the State argued that the offence the accused had allegedly committed was politically motivated and the accused risked being attacked by Zanu-PF supporters if released on bail.
Detained
farmer released after third weekend in custody
SW Radio Africa (ZW):
28/02/2012
74 year old former Lowveld sugar cane farmer Peter Hingeston was arrested after failing to attend court for medical reasons. He has fought for four years to keep his Vumba home. Hingeston lost his farm in the mid 2000s and ‘retired’ to a house and plot of land in Vumba. But a Mutare police commissioner wants the property and, to get rid of Hingeston, charged the farmer with refusing to vacate ‘State’ land. When Hingeston missed his court appointment almost three weeks ago, he was arrested immediately for ‘contempt’ and held until Monday afternoon, with repeated delays stopping his bail hearing. On Monday he was released on US$50 bail. His case for allegedly occupying ‘State’ land illegally continues next month.
Busted –
Mugabe’s criminal cabal selling diamonds at half price in looting
spree
Zimbabwe Mail,
The (ZW): 15/02/2012
As questions mount over proceeds from Zimbabwean diamonds sales, Indian traders have revealed a looting spree whereby Zimbabwean diamonds are being sold at knocked-down prices of 50% cheaper than those from other sources in a looting spree industry sources said amount to unprecedented looting carried out by Robert Mugabe’s criminal cabal. “Diamonds from Zimbabwe have brought stiff competition to the international market, causing prices to fall sharply,” said Santosh Desai, a diamond trader at Mumbai’s Zaveri Bazaar. “An immediate consequence of their arrival was that diamond prices have crashed by 25% in the markets of Mumbai and Surat since November 2011,” he added. Zimbabwe diamonds are available at $40 per carat, compared a normal $100 per carat.
Zimbabwe Indigenisation Minister Threatens to Nationalize 30 Mining Firms
VOANews (USA): 24/02/2012
Zimbabwean Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has threatened to nationalize 30 foreign-owned mines that have not complied with the Indigenisation Empowerment Act requiring a majority stake be held by a black Zimbabwean. Kasukuwere told a parliamentary development committee this week that he is giving the 30 private mining companies two weeks to comply with the law. He said 200 mining companies have submitted indigenisation plans but that only 54 of those proposals met the requirements as spelled out in regulations. Deputy Mines Minister Gift Chimanikire of MDC-T said the indigenisation law has no provision for nationalization. “This will be disastrous taking into account the Zimbabwe economy is recovering fast,” Beebe declared.
ZMC Sets
Police Against Foreign Newspapers
RadioVOP: 29/02/2012
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has intensified its onslaught against the Sunday Times by setting the police on the weekly newspaper. ZMC chairperson Godfrey Majonga reported the Sunday Times and The Zimbabwean newspaper to the Zimbabwe Republic Police to bar the newspapers from entering and circulating in the country because they were not registered with the media regulatory body. In an affidavit, Majonga accused the Sunday Times and other foreign newspapers of carrying out newsgathering in the country without registration and licensing in contravention of the country’s media laws.
http://www.sokwanele.com/thisiszimbabwe/archives/7450
April 5th, 2012
Introduction
In
September 2008, the parties to the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
committed themselves to conducting a comprehensive, transparent and
non-partisan land audit, and ensure that all Zimbabweans shall be considered
for allocation of land irrespective of race, gender or political
affiliation. They also agreed to ensure security of land tenure, to work
towards restoring full agricultural productivity, and to secure compensation
for the former land owners.
We believe that discussion on these and
other key land policy issues should
now begin. The intention is to open
space for dialogue by encouraging
Zimbabweans from all walks of like,
including the Diaspora, to engage in an
informed and vibrant online debate.
Sokwanele has therefore invited two
specialists on land in Zimbabwe, Prof.
Mandi Rukuni and Dr. Dale Doré, to
present a series of discussion papers on
our website. They have each agreed
to write a series of articles over a year
on key historical, legal, social
and economic issues that have come to
define land policy in Zimbabwe. The
hope is that Zimbabweans will comment on
their ideas through the internet in
what should prove to be a lively
debate.
The two invited contributors have each prepared a framework paper
which
introduces and outlines their series of articles. Mandi Rukuni takes
an
organic and holistic approach towards building a free, fair, just and
caring
society. His approach is founded on the belief that Zimbabweans
should
create a new history to become a model African society, whose
foundation is
not only truly African, but also an effective member and
contributor to
common global welfare. Dale Doré examines how the nationalist
narrative of
land has driven land policies that have undermined property
rights, the
agricultural economy, and the rule of law. His approach is
founded on the
need to treat land as an economic resource within the context
of
international law. In particular, he argues that secure property rights
form
the basis for commercialising smallholder agriculture and the
structural
transformation of the economy.
Mandi Rukuni is a
distinguished scholar, having published 12 academic
books and more than 100
research articles. He was Professor of Agricultural
Economics for 20 years
and served as Dean of Agriculture at the University
of Zimbabwe. During his
tenure he was invited to Chair the Commission of
Inquiry into Land Tenure
Systems in Zimbabwe in 1993. In 1998 he was
appointed as Director of the
Africa Program for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation
where he worked before being
asked by the World Bank in 2009 to facilitate
Cabinet retreats to support
Zimbabwe’s newly formed Inclusive Government. He
is currently the Founder
and Executive Chairman of the Mandi Rukuni Seminar
Group which includes IBS
Consulting and the Wisdom Afrika Leadership Academy
(WALA). He is also the
Founder and Trustee of the Barefoot Education Trust
for Afrika
(BEAT).
Dale Doré is a former Oxford scholar and agricultural
economist with a
special interest in the economics of land tenure systems
and the structural
transformation of the economy. He has consulted widely on
land, rural
livelihoods and environmental issues within communal areas of
Southern
Africa. From 1997 to 2000 he was the regional research
co-ordinator of a
community-based natural resource management programme in 5
SADC countries.
He is currently a Trustee and Director of Shanduko (Centre
for Agrarian and
Environmental Research), which seeks to promote
economically viable
livelihoods that are socially acceptable and
environmentally sustainable
within the context of human rights, democracy
and good governance. He was
recently invited by UNDP to join a group of
eminent economists to prepare a
Comprehensive Economic Recovery Strategy for
Zimbabwe.
This entry was posted by Sokwanele on Thursday, April 5th, 2012
at 8:16 pm
April 5th, 2012
[Part of the Zimbabwe Land Series]
By Mandivamba Rukuni1
IntroductionThis is the first of 12 articles I am going to write on Zimbabwe’s land issue. The land issue singularly continues to define Zimbabwe’s past, present and future. The way in which the nation has handled the land issue in the past and present also defines the social, political and economic character of the nation. My articles will therefore take a fairly organic and holistic approach in discussing the issue because I believe that lasting solutions to the issue require an understanding of the issue from all these different angles. I will argue that time has come to put emotional and partial analysis aside, and to work for lasting solutions that help build a free, fair, just and caring society. It is obvious to me that we cannot and should not try to change a 100 years of history. Rather we should put most of our best brains and efforts into creating a new history for Zimbabwe. If the land issue is resolved and handled well moving forward, then it can be argued that Zimbabwe has potential to be a model African society, whose foundation is not only truly African, but also an effective member and contributor to the common global welfare.
The paper seriesThe 12 papers are divided into four categories as follows:
Introduction
1. Why the land issue continues to define Zimbabwe’s past present and future (this article).
Past
2. Lost opportunities to de-racialise the land issue.
Present
3. Update on preparations for a national land audit.
4. Current law as a basis of land compensation and rehabilitation: experience to date.
5. Land rights, tenure, and what is needed to convert the 99 Year Lease to bankability?
6. How the 1994 Land Tenure Commission can inform the Constitutional making on land.
7. A critique of the Wildlife and Forestry Based Land Reform Programmes.
8. Has the MTP provided sufficient guidance for future priority and investment into the land sector?
Future
9. A framework for a comprehensive land and agrarian reform programme.
10. Modernising the traditional land rights system for sustainable development.
11. Prospects for social and racial integration in Zimbabwe’s agriculture.
12. My vision of Zimbabwe’s land issue 10, 20, 30 years on.
BackgroundIn the next article I will discuss the land issue in its broader historical context. In the present article, however, I would like to offer a general framework for addressing the land issue and will therefore discuss the more recent historical context. At independence in 1980, the Government of Zimbabwe operating under the Lancaster House Constitution, established a land reform program, which saw the government acquire about 3 million hectares of land under a willing-seller-willing-buyer basis and settle almost 80,000 families between over the next five years. During this period, the British Government contributed to land purchase on a dollar for dollar basis. But in 1985, land resettlement took a back seat as the government dissolved the Ministry of Lands and incorporated it into the agriculture ministry. The government also reduced its budgetary commitment to land purchases considerably and the British Government correspondingly reduced its funding. The country then went through a phase from 1985 to 1998 when all key players started behaving as if the land issue was resolved.
The Rukuni (1994) Commission summed up the fallacy of a ‘start/stop’ approach to land reform and the need for a consistent and progressive approach by all concerned. By 1998, two developments, in my opinion, brought the land issue back to centre stage. First was the growing political opposition to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF), which eventually saw the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on the back of the labour movement, disgruntled communities in Matabeleland, white farmers and other opposition groups. The second trigger was the refusal by the British Government under Tony Blair to take any more responsibility for land purchase (the famous Clare Short letter infers). The rest – as they say – is history.
The period 2000 to 2008 saw the Fast Track Land Reform Programme take place. By 1997, only 20 percent of the large scale commercial farm land had been redistributed. The speedier Fast Track programme led to mass land expropriation based on compulsory acquisition, which was stimulated and accompanied by land occupations led by war veterans and supported by the state, but mobilising various social classes. The government promulgated constitutional reforms and new legislation that legalised compulsory land acquisition with compensation for improvements but not for the land. The intensity, pace and ferocity of land reform precipitated a political and economic crisis.
The land issue: a framework for national development
The issue of land and its impact on agricultural development and the economy is still centre stage as agriculture forms the backbone of the Zimbabwe economy. Zimbabwe is an agrarian society with more than 70% of its population still dependent on land and agriculture. In order to place the role of land and agriculture in the transformation of the Zimbabwean society, I am offering three aspects that form a conceptual framework for national development: a) an economic framework; b) political framework; and c) governance framework.
Economic framework
The economic conceptual framework focuses on the transformation of an agrarian economy to an urban-industrial economy through four stages of development.
Political Framework
The political framework concerning land is both important and controversial, particularly when the vast majority of the population is land dependent; it becomes a crucial part in the dynamics of power, and access to it determines both social and economic status. The dynamics of land reform in Asia and South America are essentially different in that the former relates mostly to change from feudal or traditional systems whilst the latter to post colonial redistribution. Africa has both traditional and post colonial models to deal with. In Zimbabwe the process has been inherently political as the process moved from willing- buyer /willing-seller, to compulsory acquisition.
The key elements of the political framework relevant for Zimbabwe are:
Elements of governance framework
Land rights and tenure: Policies that determine who owns what and is allowed to do what on the land becomes more and more important as economy moves into higher stages of development, as this determines links with main economy;
Land administration: that facilitates registration and transfer in an accountable way. In Zimbabwe the provincial and district committee structures installed for land distribution now need reform as the government endeavours to develop professional systems of land administration;
Compensation for acquired land (according to current law, dispossessed farmers have to be compensated for improvements only. This forms the basis for quittance before the same land can be issued a legal ownership through say a 99 year lease.
A dispute resolution system and access to the Administrative Court and other courts. In an agrarian society the judicial system is out of reach for most rural inhabitants due to their location and also the dual legal system that exists in the country. The administrative court that deals with land is only found in Harare and makes it difficult for access.
Land use and development planning and access to capital and the need for the provision of guidance from government.
Land taxation generally aimed at limiting the number and size of holdings and or generating revenue mainly for local development.
Environment’s protection and the need to promote sustainable development.
ConclusionsThe frameworks above form the key concepts for subsequent articles. The next article will be the only deeply historical. In the next article, I will discuss the how the issue of ‘race’ has been poorly handled over the last 100 years and how this continues to be unresolved. This alone is in my opinion the source of great sensitivity and emotional energy that has delayed resolution and rehabilitation. In the same article I will provide some fresh insights into the real politik aspects of land in Zimbabwe. I have decided to invest 6 out of 12 of the articles on the present, and there articles will deal with the various elements of land governance as indicated in the framework. I then turn to the last 4 articles on the future, and these articles will address the economic elements of my framework. In concluding this introductory article, therefore, I would like to remind the reader to take a broad and holistic view that encompasses politics, economics and governance. The social aspects are also crucial as will be dealt with in the next article where I argue that the failures in racial integration in Zimbabwe will continue to hound the nation into the immediate future. This unfortunate legacy has to be overcome if Zimbabwe is not only going to overcome historical baggage, but more importantly if Zimbabwe has to harness its true potential and transform into the dynamic and leading nation on the African continent and globally.
References
Rukuni, M (Chairman). 1994. Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Appropriate Agricultural Land Tenure Systems. Vol. I. Main Report; Vol. II. Technical Reports; Vol. III. Methods, Procedures, Itinerary and Appendices. Harare. Government Printers
GoZ 2000. Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment, Government Printers, Harare
GoZ, 2001. Fast Track Land Reform Programme. Government Printers. GoZ, Fast Track Plan draft.