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Army chief tells Mugabe to raise soldiers' salaries ahead of protests

Zim Online

Fri 7 April 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) chief Constantine Chiwenga last
Tuesday told President Robert Mugabe to raise soldiers' salaries to secure
their support in the event of an opposition-led mass revolt, authoritative
sources told ZimOnline.

      The sources said Chiwenga was speaking to Mugabe at a briefing before
the President's Wednesday departure to Singapore and during which Mugabe had
demanded to know from the General his forces' state of preparedness to crush
mass protests the opposition has threatened to call this winter.

      Mugabe had told Chiwenga that he did not trust that the police alone
could thwart opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party-led
protests and that he was banking on the army to do the job, the sources
said.

      "The President wanted assurances from Chiwenga that the army was in a
state that it could handle the situation no matter how rough things might
turn," said a senior army officer at ZDF headquarters in Harare.

      The officer, who agreed to talk on condition he was not named, added:
"Chiwenga was frank and told the President that defence personnel were worse
off than many ordinary Zimbabweans and that while soldiers were expected to
follow orders, incentives in the form of higher pay were needed to rally
them behind the government."

      Chiwenga is also said to have reminded Mugabe that soldiers were still
waiting for a hefty salary increment that was promised last November but
which to date has not materialised.

      Mugabe reportedly promised Chiwenga that he would instruct Finance
Minister Hebert Murerwa and Public Service Minister Nicholas Goche to see to
it that soldiers' salaries were reviewed as a matter of urgency, the sources
said.

      Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba was not available for comment on
the matter while Chiwenga's office directed ZimOnline to the ZDF press and
public relations office, where one Colonel Ncube said the office did not
have authority to speak on such an issue.

      "That is a policy issue which we cannot just respond to. You need to
speak to higher offices," was all Ncube would say, without saying which
higher office was qualified to speak about the matter.

      Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main faction of the splintered MDC,
last week began a nationwide campaign to drum up support for mass protests
to oust Mugabe whom he accuses of stealing elections and ruining Zimbabwe's
once vibrant economy.

      Government insiders say Mugabe, who has increasingly relied on the
country's security forces to stifle opposition and dissent to his
controversial rule, is rattled by the threatened protests despite putting up
a brave face in public.

      Political analysts say although Zimbabweans have largely been cowed by
Mugabe's iron fist tactics against dissension, a crumbling economy has
fanned public frustration with the government to dangerous levels.

      The government's Joint Operations Command, comprising top commanders
of the army, air force, police, secret and prison services, last October
also warned Mugabe and his Cabinet that Zimbabweans' patience was wearing
thin in the face of deepening economic hardships and that Mugabe and ZANU PF
could be overthrown in a popular uprising.

      Zimbabwe is battling a six-year recession dramatised by acute
shortages of foreign currency, fuel and food while joblessness is around 80
percent and inflation is pegged at 782 percent, the highest in the world. -
ZimOnline

Government minister says no one has died of hunger in Zimbabwe

Zim Online

Fri 7 April 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwe Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche on Thursday
vehemently denied that anyone had died in the food-short southern African
nation because of hunger-related causes.

      Speaking at a ceremony in Harare to receive a gift of 2 000 tonnes of
rice from the Algerian government Goche said: "We have not as a country
witnessed incidences of starvation-induced deaths."

      Goche's statement is in sharp contrast with reports from humanitarian
aid agencies and local government authorities alleging citizens were
succumbing to hunger and malnutrition-related illnesses both in rural and
urban areas.

      School authorities have also reported several children fainting during
lessons because of hunger while hundreds of children are said to have
withdrawn from mostly rural schools because they cannot learn on empty
stomachs.

      Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube, the Executive Mayor of the second largest city
of Bulawayo in the hunger-prone south-western part of the country was last
year threatened with suspension by the government for revealing that on
average nine people died in the city per month because of malnutrition
related illnesses.

      Zimbabwe, once a regional breadbasket, has grappled food shortages
since President Robert Mugabe's arbitrary seizure in 2000 of white-owned
commercial farms to resettle blacks.

      The farms seizures destabilised the agricultural sector, knocking down
food production by about 60 percent. - ZimOnline

Chinese gift can't fly

Zim Online

Fri 7 April 2006

      HARARE - An MA 60 passenger plane donated to Zimbabwe by China earlier
this year packed up just weeks after it was handed over to Harare amid much
pomp and ceremony, sources told ZimOnline.

      The modified light aircraft, with a carrying capacity of 48
passengers, was given to Zimbabwe last January as a thank you gift to
President Robert Mugabe's government after purchasing two similar aircrafts
from Beijing in 2005.

      However, Air Zimbabwe engineers yesterday said the aircraft had failed
to "live up to expectations" owing to frequent breakdowns right from the day
it was received.

      "The final straw came when smoke was noticed from its engine while
preparing to take off to Zambia weeks after the official handing over
ceremony," said an Air Zimbabwe senior official who spoke on condition he
was not named.

      David Mwenga, Air Zimbabwe spokesman, confirmed the Chinese aircraft
was grounded but said this was because a spare part ordered from the
manufacturer in China had not yet arrived.

      He said: "It (Chinese plane) is not yet in operation. We are still
waiting for a spare part from China to fit."

      The gift plane had been hoped to bolster debt-ridden Air Zimbabwe's
fleet for domestic and regional routes.

      The loss-making and wholly state-owned airline has in recent months
failed to service some routes or delayed passengers because planes could not
fly due to a lack of spares or fuel, blamed on an acute shortage of foreign
currency to pay foreign suppliers.

      For example, Air Zimbabwe last Tuesday had to cancel a flight to Cuba
after failing to secure adequate fuel supplies.

      The Cuba flight was scheduled to leave Harare on Tuesday morning and
make a brief stop-over in London before proceeding to Havana. It had been
specifically chartered by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to fly
back home Cuban doctors who had completed their attachments at government
hospitals. - ZimOnline

European, US firms boycott Zimbabwe trade fair

Zim Online

Fri 7 April 2006

      BULAWAYO - For the fifth year running European and American firms are
boycotting the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), the southern
African nation's premier business event, beginning in two weeks time.

      ZITF chairman Nhlanhla Masuku told journalists in Zimbabwe's second
largest city of Bulawayo and the venue of the fair that they were expecting
foreign exhibitors mostly from Asia, Africa and the Far East but none from
the world's richest markets of Europe and the United States.

      "We have twelve direct foreign exhibitors that will exhibit at this
year's trade fair and most of them are from Asia, SADC, North Africa, West
Africa and the Far East," Masuku said.

      Local companies expected to exhibit at the fair have fallen from 369
last year to 353 this year, a reflection of a tough economic crisis that has
seen many firms folding or unable to splash scarce resources on shows.

      Western governments and private investors have shunned Zimbabwe
accusing President Robert Mugabe of violating human and property rights when
he seized white owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks without
paying compensation.

      The West also accuses Mugabe of failure to uphold democracy and the
rule of law.

      Mugabe denies the charges and has in turn responded by embarking on a
"Look East Policy" to build firmer trading and political ties with China,
Malaysia and other Asian economic powers. But his crisis-hit country still
remains dependent on aid from the West which also remains the largest market
for Zimbabwean minerals, tobacco and other products.

      The trade fair takes place amid worsening economic conditions
characterised by acute shortages of foreign currency and raw materials,
while inflation is more than 700 percent and unemployment is conservatively
estimated at more than 70 percent. - ZimOnline

Students seek Mugabe's intervention as 50 percent fail to pay new fees

Zim Online

Fri 7 April 2006

      BULAWAYO - The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) yesterday
said 50 percent of students at private and state institutions were unable to
continue with their studies because of high fees adding that it would
tomorrow appeal to President Robert Mugabe over the matter.

      ZINASU is the largest body for students at universities and other
tertiary colleges in the country.

      Union president Washington Katema said ZINASU teams that visited 28
state and private institutions in the country established that close to half
of students at the colleges may have to abort studies after authorities
hiked fees on average by more than 100 percent.

      ZINASU believes the situation at visited colleges is indicative of the
situation at other institutions across the country. Zimbabwe has about 40
tertiary institutions.

      Katema said:  "Out of the 28 tertiary institutions that we have
visited since last week, we have established that close to half of the
students have failed to raise the required fees.

      "We have little option (but) to approach President Mugabe as the head
of this country to intervene on the fees issue but if that fails then we
have no option but to resort to other means."

      The ZINASU leader said 40 student representatives from all tertiary
institutions across the country will meet in Masvingo city tomorrow to draft
a petition to be sent to Mugabe.

      Last month, thousands of students at state tertiary schools staged
demonstrations across the country protesting against plans by the government
to hike fees by more than 100 percent.

      The students also said they were not happy over their low payouts and
falling standards at state universities and other tertiary institutions.

      Protests by state tertiary school students and teachers for more
stipends and pay respectively have become routine as the cash-strapped
government struggles for money to run the institutions. - ZimOnline

Police to press fresh treason charges against Zimbabwe opposition activists

Zim Online

Thu 6 April 2006

      HARARE - Zimbabwe police want to press fresh charges of treason
against opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party activists
cleared last month of charges of plotting to assassinate President Robert
Mugabe, authoritative sources told ZimOnline.

      Senior officials at Attorney General (AG)'s department on Wednesday
said the police last week approached AG Sobuza Gula-Ndebele and told him
that they had unearthed fresh evidence that white gun seller Peter
Hitchsmann and MDC treasurer Roy Bennett had plotted to blow up the
country's internet hub at Melfort, less than 50 km east of Harare.

      The officials, who spoke on condition they were not named, said the
police told Gula-Ndebele that they had found correspondence in Hitchsmann's
mail box and on his personal computer indicating the plan to bomb Melfort.

      "Police have indicated to Gula-Ndebele that they found mail between
Bennett and Hitschmann which could be used to prove the treason charges,"
said a senior officer in the public prosecutions division at the AG's
department.

      Gula-Ndebele - who is said to have last month forced the police to
withdraw charges of plotting to kill Mugabe against Hitschmann, MDC
secretary for defence Giles Mutsekwa and five other activists of the
opposition party for lack evidence - could not be reached for comment on the
matter.

      But our sources said the AG had told the police he would need to
review the evidence first before deciding whether to prosecute the MDC
activists on the fresh treason charge.

      Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena refused to take questions on the
matter saying he could not discuss with the Press an issue that was still
under investigation.

      But our sources say the police claim that information gleaned from
Hitschmann's letters and from his laptop computer indicated that he was to
supply the weapons to be used to blow up Melfort while Bennett was to raise
funds for the operation as well as recruit cadres from the MDC to carry out
the sabotage.

      The police last month arrested MDC secretary for defence Giles
Mutsekwa and five other activists of the opposition party after discovering
what they said was an illegal arms cache at the home of Hitcshmann in Mutare
city.

      Hitchsmann, who is not an MDC member, was also arrested although the
police could not apprehend Bennett after he reportedly fled to South Africa.

      The police alleged Hitschmann and the MDC activists had wanted to use
the guns to commit acts of banditry and that they also plotted to spill
along the Harare to Mutare highway to make it slippery so that Mugabe - who
the opposition activists allegedly assumed would drive to Mutare for his
birthday celebrations - would overturn in his vehicle and die.

      But the charges had to be withdrawn against the MDC activists for lack
of evidence although Hitschmann remains in custody after the police altered
charges against him to strengthen their case. The police are now charging
the gun dealer under the Firearms Act. - ZimOnline

Mugabe's clarification on mining law too late to calm rattled investors

Zim Online

Thu 6 April 2006

      HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's first public comments on the
government's controversial mining reforms were meant to calm rattled foreign
investors but damage has already been inflicted to an industry raking in the
country's largest foreign exchange  earnings, analysts and industry
officials said.

      Mugabe said last Friday that a law which could see his government take
control of foreign-owned mines was still at an early stage of debate and
that the "furore" it had caused was unnecessary.

      This was after Mines Minister Amos Midzi shocked the mining world when
he declared that the Cabinet had approved amendments to the mining law "to
indigenise 51 percent in some instances of all foreign owned companies", a
move which immediately raised fears the southern African nation would be
gripped by foreign investor flight.

      "This is a damage control exercise and I think it's coming too little
too late," Harare economist James Jowa told ZimOnline, adding that Mugabe
should have immediately censured Midzi if there was no agreement within
Cabinet on the proposals.

      "Already foreign investors are nervous and when they look to what
happened to the agriculture sector, the signs are not encouraging," added
Jowa.

      Mugabe's government in February 2000 backed the often violent invasion
of white-owned commercial farms by war veterans and ZANU PF supporters
before moving in to seize more than 90 percent of white farms for
redistribution to landless blacks.

      The farm seizure programme saw agriculture, then the largest export
earner, plunge by two-thirds and stoking food shortages that still persist.

      Mine industry officials said Mugabe's comments could be meant to
re-assure investors that their investments are safe but added they could
have calmed many jittery nerves if made earlier.

      "The animal called foreign capital is a coward, it recoils in any
environment of uncertainty," an official at one of the country's largest
gold mines in Matabeleland South province said.

      "So I don't quite see the President's comments assuring investors that
their capital is safe in Zimbabwe," added the official, who insisted he not
be named for fear his mine might be targeted.

      The Chamber of Mines had not responded to questions sent on Tuesday on
its reaction to Mugabe's comments. The Chamber has attempted to portray
calmness, rarely commenting in public about the proposed mining law
apparently fearful of inflaming the situation.

      The analysts said the Mines Ministry proposals may also be a
bargaining tactic by the foreign currency short government to arm-twist
foreign investors to release a little more hard cash the government badly
needs to import food, fuel, electricity among other key commodities.

      Anthony Hawkins, University of Zimbabwe business studies professor,
said what ever the reasons behind Midzi and Mugabe's conflicting statements
on the proposed mining law, investors were more likely left confused and
less reassured about the safety of their investments in the country.

      "I don't believe any investor will be assured by those statements, one
minute a minister is saying something and the next the President has
something different, who do you believe?" said Hawkins.

      "I believe these are tactics aimed at arm-twisting investors,
especially Impala Platinum (Holdings) which has put itself on the wire to
roast by saying Zimbabwe is the area of its future growth," added Hawkins.

      Impala, the world's second largest platinum producer has said its
future growth lies in Zimbabwe where it is the majority owner of Zimbabwe
Platinum Mines but early this year the South African miner said it was
reviewing plans to raise output by two-thirds because of uncertainty over
Mugabe's government indigenisation plans.

      Analysts said this has riled the government, which is battling acute
foreign currency shortages as a result of a six-year old recession that has
sparked the highest inflation rate in the world and a jobless rate of more
than 80 percent. - ZimOnline

Harare bars relief agency from assisting displaced families

Zim Online

Thu 6 April 2006

      HARARE - The Zimbabwean government on Tuesday barred an international
relief agency from distributing food aid to hundreds of displaced
individuals at a holding camp in Harare insisting it should limit its work
among the chronically ill and child-headed families only.

      An official with Christian Care relief agency said they were told at a
meeting chaired by a Department of Social Welfare officer, Ezekiel Mpande,
to halt its general food assistance programme to displaced families.

      The Christian Care official who refused to be named for professional
reasons told ZimOnline yesterday that they were ordered to confine their
activities at Hopley Farm to "targeted feeding" of vulnerable groups only.

      "Christian Care is now required to feed only the sick, child
headed-families and the crippled but the problem is that the majority of the
people at the farm desperately need assistance. Some people will definitely
starve to death because of hunger.

      "As long the government does not allow us to feed all the people, we
cannot do anything to help these other people who do not fall under agreed
categories," said the official.

      Sources at the farm said the Harare authorities regard Hopley Farm as
an "enclave" of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
party and giving food to the residents would be tantamount to "supporting
the opposition party."

      About 1 300 people are staying at Hopley Farm after their houses and
backyard shacks were razed to the ground last May in a controversial
clean-up exercise sanctioned by President Robert Mugabe to clean up cities
and towns.

      At least 700 000 people were rendered homeless through the exercise,
according to figures released by United Nations envoy Anna Tibaijuka.
Another 2.4 million people were also directly affected by the exercise which
the UN criticised as a serious infringement of human rights.

      Labour and Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche who is in charge of
food aid distribution could not be reached for comment on the matter.

      The World Food Programme (WFP) in January this year stopped
distributing food at the camp after reports of politicisation of relief aid.

      WFP regional public affairs officer Mike Huggins said the body stopped
distributing relief food after "distribution concerns" were raised at the
camp. But Huggins said the WFP was, "in dialogue with government so that we
can resume feeding vulnerable people".

      The Zimbabwean government has in the past rejected charges of
withholding food aid to MDC supporters as punishment for backing the
opposition party. - ZimOnline

Three ZANU PF officials finally granted bail

Zim Online

Thu 6 April 2006

      MUTARE - Three senior ruling ZANU PF officials who are facing charges
of defrauding the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) of fuel worth
Z$322 million were on Wednesday released from custody after paying Z$75
million bail each.

      Legislators Enock Porusingazi, Fred Kanzama and ZANU PF central
committee member Esau Mupfumi were freed on bail after the state said it was
no longer appealing against an earlier ruling by provincial magistrate
Josiah Mujaya last Friday to grant them bail.

      Mujaya granted the trio Z$75 million bail each but the state evoked
section 121 (2) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act which allows it
to detain accused persons without recourse of an appeal against a refusal to
grant bail.

      A lawyer who is representing the three, Victor Mazengero, told
ZimOnline yesterday that the state had indicated that it was no longer
appealing against the magistrate's ruling leading to the granting of bail to
his clients.

      It is being alleged that the three received 15 000 litres of fuel from
Noczim which were meant to be used during a tour of development projects in
Manicaland province by Vice-President Joice Mujuru late last year. The state
says the fuel was never used for the intended purpose.

      The three are also on remand facing more fraud charges after they
allegedly defrauded the national oil company and the Grain Marketing Board.

      The three ZANU PF officials are among the few ruling party members who
have dragged before Zimbabwe's courts to face charges of corruption. Critics
accuse President Robert Mugabe's government of sweeping under the carpet
most cases of corruption involving senior officials of his ruling party. -
ZimOnline

Roadblocks go up as govt warns against protests

Zim is Mbeki's downfall - report

iafrica.com

Thu, 06 Apr 2006
Zimbabwe is the only blot on President Thabo Mbeki's otherwise successful
foreign policy, says 'The Economist' in its April 8 survey on South Africa.

Epitomising the transformation in South Africa's relationship with the rest
of the world since 1990 as "remarkable", The Economist notes that South
Africa has moved from being an international pariah under apartheid to
become one of the most engaged, open and connected countries in the world.

While the re-engagement was "inevitable", given that South Africa has always
been the continent's leading economy, Mbeki is seen as having added his own
twist via a foreign policy based on African solutions to African problems.

"It is likely to prove his most important legacy."

The Economist sees Mbeki's other foreign policy ambition as persuading
Africa to set up its own institutions and mechanisms for solving its
problems, "thus ending the constant, humiliating requests for aid to the
West's former colonial powers".

Thus: "Mr Mbeki has led South African interventions all over the Continent
to prove his country's African-ness and show its commitment to the
continent's problems." In this context, Nepad is believed to be very much
Mbeki's own idea.

The Economist draws attention to the boom in South African investment in
other African countries in recent years while simultaneously noting that the
country is sensitive to the resentment of its size, its relative success
and, still, its "whiteness".

But while The Economist is virtually unstinting in its praise for Mbeki's
international achievements, it is scathing in its criticism of his
Zimbabwean policy.

"Here, Mr Mbeki's Africanist credentials trump his Nepad ambitions that
African countries should help each other uphold standards of good
governance, human rights and democracy, none of which Robert Mugabe,
Zimbabwe's president, seems to care much about."

It concludes: "By any standard, Zimbabwe has been Mr Mbeki's biggest
foreign-policy failure."

I-Net Bridge

Mpilo Stops Accepting Corpses At Morgue

The Herald (Harare)

April 6, 2006
Posted to the web April 6, 2006

Bulawayo Bureau
Harare

MPILO Central Hospital has stopped accepting bodies brought to the hospital
by the police and prison officials for postmortems as the mortuary has
filled up.

According to a source, the hospital stopped accepting bodies from outside
the hospital as it was battling to accommodate corpses of people who die at
the institution. "The hospital stopped taking bodies from the police and
prison officials a week ago because the mortuary is already overwhelmed by
the high number of people who die at the hospital and some bodies have to be
placed on the floor.

The machinery is very old and frequently breaks down and therefore, really
does not serve its purpose. The mortuary is however, being renovated," he
said. The source said bodies brought in by the police were being referred to
United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) but expressed fear that UBH may also run out
of space soon. The Mpilo Hospital mortuary can take up to 60 bodies but is
often overloaded with as many as 250 bodies at a time.

Relatives of deceased persons often delay in collecting bodies, as the
hospital does not charge fees unlike private funeral parlours, which charge
daily rates to keep bodies. A proposed new multi-billion mortuary, with a
capacity of 180 bodies, was initially scheduled for completion two years
ago. When complete, it will accommodate bodies of people who die at the
hospital and the old one is expected to accommodate those brought in by the
police and prison officials. Shortages of building material have delayed the
completion of the mortuary.

The medical superintendent, Dr Lindiwe Mlilo referred all questions to the
Permanent Secretary for Health and Child Welfare, Dr Edward Mabhiza. Efforts
to get comment from Dr Mabhiza proved fruitless as he was said to be out of
the office. The hospital this year embarked on a fundraising campaign to
rehabilitate the hospital and replace old equipment.

The fund raising initiative aims to supplement the $49,6 billion allocated
to the hospital in the 2006 budget. Meanwhile, in a related development,
there is rampant illegal excavation of soil from the Bulawayo City Council's
Hyde Park cemetery, a si tuation that might force the local authority to
remove soil from other graves. The move is likely to raise a public outcry.

According to a report of the local authority's Health, Housing and Education
Committee, the illegal excavations have seriously affected burials at the
cemetery. Graves are considered to be sacred according to local tradition
and council fears that it would provoke residents if it is eventually forced
to remove soil from other graves to fill empty ones.

"There has been an illegal excavation of topsoil at the cemetery. Mourners
are aggravating the situation by backfilling excessively thus leaving nearby
graves with virtually no soil for backfilling. "The Department of Health
Services has done all it could to urge mourners to stop this practice
without success. Some mourners become abusive when spoken to," reads a
report of the council's Health, Housing and Education Committee.

"We thus shall very soon have unusable graves due to soil shortages. Because
of the obvious problems in carting soil from elsewhere, the department might
resort to removing soil from those graves next to the empty ones, a move
which might not be appreciated by members of the public." Councillors have
since been asked to use their public ward meetings to discourage people from
using too much soil as cover for graves.

The City's Director of Housing and Community Services, Mr Isaiah Magagula,
told the committee that his department would deal with the issue of illegal
soil excavations as a matter of urgency. Most of the burials in the city are
being carried out at the Hyde Park Cemetery, after council closed some
sections of Luveve Cemetery due to waterlogging. Only the children's section
and those reserved for the Zimbabwe National Army, the Zimbabwe Republic
Police and the Muslim community remained open, as they were not badly
affected.

More Price Shocks for Zimbabweans

MSN Money

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Embattled Zimbabweans faced a further 25 percent
increase in prices of food and essential basic household goods during March,
the independent Consumer Council said Thursday.
The standard basket of household goods for an average family of six to
survive in the four- week period rose to 35 million Zimbabwe dollars
(US$352, euro294), three times the average income of wage earners.

Among increases the council recorded in March was an 88-percent rise in the
price of vegetables, 39-percent rise on detergents and 26-percent on
margarine.
Its monthly consumer report said urgent steps were needed to curb price
increases. Most Zimbabweans were now living in poverty, the report said.

"The situation will get hopelessly worse for consumers if remedial action is
not taken immediately," it said.

Attempts to freeze prices have forced many goods off the shelves and spurred
black market dealing at inflated prices.

Official annual inflation is at a record 783 percent in the worst economic
crisis since independence in 1980. Unemployment exceeds 70 percent.

At least 3 million Zimbabweans are receiving emergency food aid and many
families are surviving on one meal or less a day, according to U.N.
officials.

Independent finance houses estimate inflation for Zimbabwe's affluent
minority stands at least 3,000 percent, including sharp price increases on
beer, liquor and wine, mobile phone charges and black market gasoline.

MDC MP Surrenders to Police

The Herald (Harare)

April 6, 2006
Posted to the web April 6, 2006

Harare

ZENGEZA MP Mr Goodrich Chimbaira of MDC yesterday handed himself to police
who are keen to question him in connection with the discovery of a truck
containing 30 cartons of cigarettes at his house.

Chief police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said
Chimbaira handed himself over to police at Chitungwiza Police Station
yesterday afternoon. "He came to Chitungwiza Police Station this (yesterday)
afternoon and he is still in police custody while we continue with our
investigations," he said.

A Botswana national was arrested and police recovered a truck containing 30
cartons of cigarettes worth more than $900 million at Mr Chimbaira's house.
Ezekiel Cephas (46) was arrested while in the process of concealing the
cigarettes. Police received information about suspicious activities at Mr
Chimbaira's house in Unit E, Seke, Chitungwiza and reacted swiftly. A welder
was found busy welding the metal sheets in a bid to conceal the cartons of
Remmington Gold cigarettes in the truck.

$19 Trillion Needed for Tobacco Crop

The Herald (Harare)

April 6, 2006
Posted to the web April 6, 2006

Harare

The next tobacco crop requires funding to the tune of $19 trillion and a
foreign currency component of US$32 million, Secretary for Agriculture Mr
Simon Pazvakavambwa has said.

He was giving an overview of the tobacco industry to the parliamentary
portfolio committee on Lands, Agriculture, Resettlement, Rural Resources and
Water Development on Tuesday. "The Zimbabwe dollar funding is estimated at
$19 trillion assuming zero stock level holding by growers," he said.

He said the returns in tobacco had been impressive over the years but the
Government was concerned by the declining trend. Tobacco is one of
Zimbabwe's key sources of foreign currency. Mr Pazvakavambwa said: "There
are a number of challenges but we need to sing the same song and same tune
of that chosen song to make progress."

Curing facilities on farms had the potential to handle up to 250 million
kilogrammes of flue-cured tobacco provided that 40 percent or more of that
was irrigated. However, some of the structures need to be modified to suit
the scale of operation of new farmers, said Mr Pazvakavambwa.

The three tobacco processing plants in Harare were not being fully utilised
due to a decline in production. Cigarette manufacturers were faced with a
shortage of tobacco and were having to import to sustain operations. "If
necessary funding is in place on time, forex for inputs made available on
time, viability addressed, rebounding of the industry can be much quicker
with tobacco assuming once again, its rightful role of being the leading
generator of forex and driver of the economy," he said.

Tobacco production decreased from 237 million kg in 2000 to 69 million kg in
2004. Despite the drought in 2005 the crop bounced back to 73 million kg due
to adequate input and financial support. He said the average exchange rate
for sales in 2005 was about $13 000 to US$1 whereas growers were purchasing
inputs for the following season at between $26 000 to $100 000 to US$1.
"Although growers were entitled to access 15 percent of their US dollar
tobacco proceeds for importing 2005/2006 inputs, only a few large scale
growers benefited from this facility due to forex un availability," said Mr
Pazvakavambwa.

He said the average production budget for 60 000 hectares of flue-cured
tobacco was $315 million per hectare inclusive of land preparation, fuel,
coal, labour and marketing costs while costs for large scale growers could
be more. "Costs will be regularly monitored and adjusted accordingly as
these have moved from an average of $122 million per hectare in January 2006
to $315 million per hectare in March 2006.

Giving evidence on the availability of power to farmers before the same
committee Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission Company managing director
Engineer Edward Rugoyi said electricity supply remained precarious because
of an acute shortage of foreign currency to buy spare parts to maintain the
supply chain. He said Hwange Power Station was currently producing 210
megawatts out of a possible 780 megawatts because a total of US$30 million
was needed to buy spares to revamp the power station.

"The quality of coal is also of concern to us as well as the supply of
diesel," he said. Eng Rugoyi said the country's small thermal power stations
were not producing any power at the moment. Payments for electricity from
Cahora Bassa were up to date but EDM of Mozambique was owed US$8,2 million
for transporting the power to Zimbabwe. The Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), said Eng Rugoyi, was owed US$7,75 million for power supplies and that
money should be paid first before the existing contract could be extended.

"Energy could be saved if a meaningful demand side management is put in
place. Expansion of our own electricity generation is required and cost
reflective tariffs is a major issue," he said. Hwange Colliery company
marketing and public relations manager Mr Clifford Nkomo said his company
had been facing challenges of supplying coal to farmers and other customers
because of constant breakdown of equipment. "Most tobacco industry
organisations paid us in advance but we have not been able to supply the
coal," he said. Mr Nkomo said US$8 million was required to refurbish
equipment at the colliery. He said the company's major customers like Zesa
and the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco) owed it in excess of $600
billion. "If that money was paid, it would help to clear our US dollar
debt," said Mr Nkomo.

Mass rejections of Zimbabwe asylum applications in South Africa

      By Tichaona Sibanda
      06 April 2006

      The Zimbabwe Civic Society Organisation based in South Africa has
launched a scathing attack on the asylum system, accusing officials in the
Home Affairs ministry of a 'staggering' lack of knowledge about human rights
abuses.

      Sox Chikohwero, vice-chairman of the organisation, said an analysis of
asylum rejection letters showed startling ignorance of the situation in
Zimbabwe. Each week a hundred new applications for asylum by Zimbabweans are
rejected simply on the basis that there is no war in the country.

      'As it is, up to 400 applications from Zimbabwe per month are being
wrongly refused because immigration officials state there is no war in
Zimbabwe,' said Chikohwero.

      He said this was a wrong interpretation of the United Nations Act on
the classification of refugees. As defined in the 1951 UN convention
relating to status of refugees, a refugee is defined as a person who is
forced to flee their home due to persecution, whether on an individual basis
or as part of a mass exodus due to political, religious, military or other
problems.

      He said human rights lawyers working with Zimbabwe asylum seekers have
also attacked the South African government over the way applications are
being turned down.

      Many applications are being rejected in a standard circular letter
without any explanation of why the application has been refused. Before,
asylum seekers used to receive comprehensive letters setting out why their
applications had been turned down.

      Asylum seekers now receive much shorter letters stating that their
reasons for seeking refugee status in South Africa are unfounded and that
there is no war in Zimbabwe.

      Chikohwero cited his own case where, with the support of newspaper
cuttings, medical reports and graphic pictures of himself soon after he was
tortured, authorities in Johannesburg still denied him asylum because his
'reasons were unfounded.'

      'This is sheer incompetence on the part of the immigration officials
and basic natural justice insists that they should all go on a course run by
the United Nations and learn how to define refugee,' he said.

      He added: 'There is a very clear procedure. Every individual
application has to be processed and considered separately. But what you get
now is one refusal letter being copied and sent out to a dozen people.'

      SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news

State in Bid to Combat Deforestation On Farms

The Herald (Harare)

April 6, 2006
Posted to the web April 6, 2006

Noah Pito
Hurungwe

GOVERNMENT has enlisted several non-governmental organisations to work with
it in combating massive deforestation that has reached alarming proportions
on farms adjacent Karoi.

The Department of Environmental Management Services (formerly NRB), in
conjunction with the Forestry Company have engaged the ZRP, Hurungwe Rural
District Council, Karoi Town Council and the Zimbabwe National Army to
assist in thwarting commercial firewood poaching. The massive deforestation
is perpetrated by firewood dealers who have ready markets in Karoi's
Chikangwe and Chiedza high-density suburbs.

The indiscriminate cutting down of trees in enormous volumes is also
witnessed along the busy Harare-Chirundu highway where there is also a high
demand from motorists. Hurungwe district natural resources officer Mr
Munyaradzi Gandidzanwa said the most affected areas are Tsangadzi, Chiedza,
Moniac, Nyama and Haulsted farms.

Convoys of ox-drawn carts laden with firewood have been entering Karoi daily
between 3am and 5am when many people are sleeping. By daybreak the convoys,
which usually consisted of about 15 scotchcarts would have completed their
transactions and left for their respective areas. A scotchcart load of
firewood goes for around $500 000. The same amount of firewood can be
retailed into bundles of firewood and sold at between $20 000 and $30 000
per bundle to cater for those who cant afford bulk buying.

Victorial Falls Not Environmental Fit: UNESCO

CRI, China

    2006-04-07 00:27:39      Xinhua

(UNESCO declared the unique Victoria Falls, which is jointly managed by
Zambia and Zimbabwe, a world heritage site in 1989 because of its scientific
and tourism value. Photo: CRIonline.cn)
The Victoria Falls, one of the seven wonders of the modern world, may be
downgraded and lose its world heritage status due to environmental concerns,
UNESCO has warned.

Reports said the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) has dispatched a team to investigate reported grave
pollution and rampant dumping along the shores of the Zambezi river.

UNESCO declared the unique Victoria Falls, which is jointly managed by
Zambia and Zimbabwe, a world heritage site in 1989 because of its scientific
and tourism value.

The said downgrading has been received with shock by most residents of
Livingstone, location of the falls, who understand what negative impact this
could cause to the tourism of the city in particular and Zambia as a whole.

Livingstone-based natural resources management consultant Kalaluka Mulyokela
was quoted by Zambia News and Information Service as saying that there is
need to serious review the manner the site is being managed.

He said Zambians should guard the heritage status seriously before the world
body down grades it and losing its status will mean less foreign tourists
coming in the southern African country.

He said the outside world is too sensitive to uncontrolled pollution and
rampant dumping of refuse and may indirectly boycott coming to Zambia as a
result of the environmental degradation.

Zimbabwe's Environment and Tourism Ministry Permanent Secretary Margaret
Sangarwe said their sole mandate is to investigate these reports of possible
downgrading and help clean the area.

She confirmed that the team from UNESCO visited the falls and a report of
their findings is being awaited.

War Vets invade newsman's farm

      April 6, 2006

      By Andnetwork .com

      Gwanda(AND)-War veterans have forced their way into Nyoni Ranch which
was solely under the ownership of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation's
Matebeleland South Bureau Chief Sifiso Sibanda.An impeccable source who
spoke to AND Said the move by the war fighters comes in th wake of
revelations by the Land Audit Committee that Sibanda has been running the
Ranch single-handedly despite acquiring the property unedr the guise that it
would be a youth project benefiting him and nine other members.

      Sibanda is said to have denied his collegues access to the farm soon
after finalising the paper work. He will now have to share the vast wildlife
rich sanctuary with five war veterans, said the source.It is further alleged
that the newsman could haveprejudiced the state of millions of dollars in
foreign curreny earnings received for hunting expeditions from
tourists.Sibanda also operates a booming restuarant known as Homenet which
is housed at a government complex  in Gwanda.

      Nyoni Ranch will now be partitioned into six plots and will be turned
into an A2 model fron a wildlife conservancy raising fears that wildlife
numbers might dwindle at the farm.Efforts to contact Mr Sibanda were
unsuccessful as his phone went unanswered.

      The Land Audit Committee has unearthed a number of irregularities in
farm allocations in Mat South, the Minister of Home Affairs Mr Kembo Mohadi
was last month ordered to surrender one of his two farms in line with
government's policy of one-man,one-farm.

      By Albert Mazhale

Harare degenerates into a 'fly and rodent' city

      April 6, 2006

      By Tagu Mkwenyani

      Harare (AND) AS Harare continues to degenerate into a 'fly and rodent'
city, Commissioners appointed by President Mugabe to run the Zimbabwe
capital are working out incentives for companies prepared to stop the decay
in the city centre.

       Standards in Harare sharply declined a few years ago when President
Mugabe's government sacked Elias Mudzuri, a popularly elected executive
mayor, and replaced his administration with a commission. The commission is
made of ruling party activists with little experience of running the affairs
of the city.

      A city health department report for 2004 revealed that Harare was fast
degenerating into a 'fly and rodent city' as a result of garbage that goes
for months without being collected because of the fuel shortages. Right at
the centre of the city, large and gaping potholes remain an eyesore, robots
do not work and garbage can be seen everywhere. A cholera outbreak in the
city has claimed several lives.

       However council minutes show that Harare city officials appear to
have decided to take action following several petitions by the residents to
correct the situation. A full council meeting, which sat in Harare last
night, tasked the City's Department of Works to come up with the policy on
the Prevention of Inner City Decay that would give incentives to the
business community to operate within the inner city centre. Officials
suggested that rates could be reduced for organisations prepared to maintain
certain roads and streetlights within the vicinity.

      Notes an internal council report: "The committee felt there was need
to make the Central Business District a more attractive environment for
those who work in and enter it to buy services and goods and implored
council and all stakeholders to rehabilitate the centre into a safe, clean,
comfortable and beautiful place."

      Zimbabwe Bureau

Elephants destroy fields in Zimbabwe

Xinhua News Agency
 06 Apr 2006

HARARE, Apr 6, 2006 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Despite the prospects of a good
farming season this year in Zimbabwe's perennially drought-prone
Matabeleland, local farmers are set to realize low yields as a result of
elephants which have invaded the areas.

Most parts of Zimbabwe, including some semi-arid areas, this year received
normal to above-normal rainfall.

But prospects of a bumper harvest in the area were fading each day following
the invasions by the elephants, local media reported on Thursday.

Chief of the area, Romano Senga Nekatambe, was quoted by The Daily Mirror as
saying that elephants were wrecking havoc in the fields.

"This year, everyone was expecting a bumper harvest in my area, but it
appears all hope has been lost because of elephants which have turned the
lives of many people upside down.

People are literally sleeping in their fields in a desperate attempt to
protect their crops," said Nekatambe.

He described the elephants as daring and aggressive.

Nekatambe said he would soon approach the Department of Wildlife and
National Parks over the issue.

The Senator for the area, Grace Dube, also echoed the traditional leader's
concern.

"We really have a problem here. The government had done all it could to
assist farmers, but it seems the elephants are letting us down," she said.

Dube said some villagers have resorted to prematurely harvesting their crops
due to the problem.

The elephants believed to be coming from Hwange National Park were also
reportedly said to be destroying granaries in search of food.

Apart from the elephants, Dube said crickets have also destroyed crops in
some areas in the southern African country.

Scores Elude Baton-Wielding Riot Police To Stage NCA Demo

Zim Daily

            Thursday, April 06 2006 @ 12:03 AM BST
            Contributed by: correspondent
             Armed anti-riot policemen wielding batons, teargas and other
weapons descended on scores of National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
protesters demanding a new constitution in the capital yesterday, with the
entire group managing to elude a tight police cordon thrown around the city
centre.

            About 100 demonstrators marched on and off as they dodged the
police cordons along Nelson Mandela Avenue, Fourth Street and Jason Moyo.
Some of them, however, were entrapped by the police who beat them up
severely. Three women protesters suffered serious injuries, while several
others sustained minor injuries. NCA spokeswoman Jessy Majome told Zimdaily
the demo was aimed at protesting piecemeal reforms to the constitution by
government and also the setting up of the so-called Human Rights Commission.

            "The demonstration was to demand a comprehensive reform of the
constitution of Zimbabwe, driven by the people," Majome said. "The protest
was also aimed at protesting against piecemeal approach by government to
constitutional reform.

            For instance the announced human rights commission. Such token
measures cannot ever have an impact on the lives of Zimbabweans."
            Majome told Zimdaily "the setting up of the HRC in the current
constitutional framework is totally meaningless and pointless." At the time
of going to print last night, Majome said she had not received any reports
of arrest "The police dispersed the demo with violence," she said. "But it
was successful in the sense that they did march along the street and drew
attention to need for constitutional reform before they were violently
dispersed."

            An NCA official, who preferred anonymity, said: "This is just
the beginning of massive demonstrations currently in the making. We will not
rest until the people of Zimbabwe reclaim their power through a new
constitution. The government should just employ more police officers because
we are determined to continue fighting for our rights." The demonstrators
marched through the streets denouncing President Mugabe for rejecting
constitutional reform. Although the demonstration was peaceful, the police
pounced on the activists and sent them running in all directions before
confiscating their placards.

            The MDC yesterday condemned the police's high handed approach to
the demo saying saying it was disturbing that the government had deployed
its riot police to deal with peaceful protesters when violent and armed Zanu
PF gangs are allowed to cause mayhem with police assistance. "Of course we
realise that they are trying to undermine any expression of legitimate
discontent in this country," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. "They are
trying to suppress any pocket of resistance by Zimbabweans but very soon the
pockets are going to translate into an ocean of disenchantment and
resistance. It is not possible for the regime to be in a perpetually
defensive mode.

            Fire fighting is finally coming to an end. Very soon there will
be fire everywhere. The tragedy is that it is the government that is
starting the fire." Chamisa said every single effort towards peaceful change
in Zimbabwe had been met with arrests, violence, abductions and murders by
the Zanu PF government. He said it was time that everyone confronted the
regime, adding that there was no room for people to sit on terraces and
watch. "The point has to be made that the right of Zimbabweans to peacefully
express their ideas on the streets is a right that lies at the foundation of
any democratic society and is the lifeblood of a free land," Chamisa said.

            "Finally, the MDC shares the cause for which NCA officials are
being persecuted. The MDC objects to government's intentions of stopping the
process of crafting a new and democratic constitution for Zimbabwe," Chamisa
said.

Mugabe boosts security as MDC members rally

From Associated Press, 6 April

By Angus Shaw

Harare - The government increased its already tight security after
opposition politicians called for demonstrations against President Robert
Mugabe's increasingly authoritarian rule. On one main boulevard, police have
erected a military-style tent for the officers manning the checkpoint that
went up ahead of the March 17-18 convention of opposition leader Morgan
Tsvangirai's faction of the Movement for Democratic Change. More than two
weeks after the convention ended, the checkpoint appears permanent. "It is a
security check. We are looking for weapons," says a paramilitary officer,
searching a car at the checkpoint. In the trunk, he rummages through a tool
box. He eyes a hammer with suspicion, but the driver is allowed to proceed
after his identity documents are scrutinised.At the opposition convention,
15 000 delegates had called for demonstrations against Mugabe's regime,
saying dialogue, legal action and skewed elections had failed to ease the
nation's political and economic crisis.

Since then, the independent Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe said this
week, the state media has repeatedly giving prominence to government
allegations that Tsvangirai and his supporters were planning a coup. Senior
ruling party officials have been quoted as warning Tsvangirai "to stop
talking about or planning violence or insurrection". Former guerrillas in
the ruling party who fought for independence from colonial-era rule have
been quoted by state media as saying war was "not like a picnic or a dinner
party, it is blood, sweat, injuries and death". State television recently
re-broadcast archive footage of a speech made by Tsvangirai five years ago
that had led to incitement charges, the Project said. Tsvangirai was cleared
of the charges. The Project report said the mass circulation state
newspapers, including the most widely distributed and read Sunday Mail, were
preoccupied with discrediting the opposition party's activities "in clear
violation of ethical standards of fairness". In a media crackdown, the
government has banned the only independent daily newspaper and two weeklies.
Scores of independent journalists have been arrested, threatened or
assaulted by ruling party militants since 2002.

Mugabe said last week that demonstrations aimed at unseating his government
would be crushed. "If a person now wants to invite his own death, let him go
ahead," said Mugabe, speaking in the local Shona language, the state Herald
newspaper reported. In a convention address, Tsvangirai had urged his
followers to stock up with scarce foodstuffs for what he called a "southern
hemisphere winter of discontent". Zimbabwe is suffering its worst economic
crisis since independence in 1980, with acute shortages of food, gasoline
and essential imports. Power and water outages are frequent. Garbage
collection and road repair services have collapsed. The opposition has given
no details of when or where it might launch its protest campaign. Under
sweeping security laws in Zimbabwe enforced since 2002, political
demonstrations are routinely dispersed by paramilitary riot police.

From Zim Online (SA), 6 April

Police to press fresh treason charges against Zimbabwe opposition activists

Harare - Zimbabwe police want to press fresh charges of treason against
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party activists cleared last
month of charges of plotting to assassinate President Robert Mugabe,
authoritative sources told Zim Online. Senior officials at Attorney General
(AG)'s department on Wednesday said the police last week approached AG
Sobuza Gula-Ndebele and told him that they had unearthed fresh evidence that
white gun seller Peter Hitchsmann and MDC treasurer Roy Bennett had plotted
to blow up the country's internet hub at Melfort, less than 50 km east of
Harare. The officials, who spoke on condition they were not named, said the
police told Gula-Ndebele that they had found correspondence in Hitchsmann's
mail box and on his personal computer indicating the plan to bomb Melfort.
"Police have indicated to Gula-Ndebele that they found mail between Bennett
and Hitschmann which could be used to prove the treason charges," said a
senior officer in the public prosecutions division at the AG's department.

Gula-Ndebele - who is said to have last month forced the police to withdraw
charges of plotting to kill Mugabe against Hitschmann, MDC secretary for
defence Giles Mutsekwa and five other activists of the opposition party for
lack evidence - could not be reached for comment on the matter. But our
sources said the AG had told the police he would need to review the evidence
first before deciding whether to prosecute the MDC activists on the fresh
treason charge. Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena refused to take questions
on the matter saying he could not discuss with the Press an issue that was
still under investigation. But our sources say the police claim that
information gleaned from Hitschmann's letters and from his laptop computer
indicated that he was to supply the weapons to be used to blow up Melfort
while Bennett was to raise funds for the operation as well as recruit cadres
from the MDC to carry out the sabotage.

The police last month arrested MDC secretary for defence Giles Mutsekwa and
five other activists of the opposition party after discovering what they
said was an illegal arms cache at the home of Hitcshmann in Mutare city.
Hitchsmann, who is not an MDC member, was also arrested although the police
could not apprehend Bennett after he reportedly fled to South Africa. The
police alleged Hitschmann and the MDC activists had wanted to use the guns
to commit acts of banditry and that they also plotted to spill along the
Harare to Mutare highway to make it slippery so that Mugabe - who the
opposition activists allegedly assumed would drive to Mutare for his
birthday celebrations - would overturn in his vehicle and die. But the
charges had to be withdrawn against the MDC activists for lack of evidence
although Hitschmann remains in custody after the police altered charges
against him to strengthen their case. The police are now charging the gun
dealer under the Firearms Act.