http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Tichaona Sibanda
8 April
2010
The MDC-T will this weekend release a statement detailing the issues
covered
in the final report of the recent Global Political Agreement talks
between
ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.
The report was handed
over to the South African facilitation team on
Wednesday, although the three
party principals Robert Mugabe, Morgan
Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara
received their copies last week Friday.
Nelson Chamisa, the MDC national
spokesman, told SW Radio Africa on Thursday
that issues covered in the
report will be made public over the coming
weekend.
This will be the
first time ever that one of the parties involved in talks
will officially
reveal issues covered during negotiations, which started two
years
ago.
It has become normal practice for journalists to merely speculate
about the
talks because no information was made available as a result of a
media
blackout, imposed by the South Africans. A clause in the document that
brought the parties to a round table specifically stated that as long as the
talks were going on, neither side could 'directly or indirectly communicate
the substance of the discussion' to the media, nor use the media as a
negotiating platform.
Journalists have long complained that this is a
real stifling of freedom of
expression, and denies Zimbabweans the right to
information about a process
that decides their future.
Veteran
Journalist Makusha Mugabe told us that the decision by South Africa,
as the
mediator, to silence the media merely created stories based on
mis-information speculation and half-truths.
'I think we should
applaud what the MDC is trying to do. These negotiations
were done by a
group of party representatives on behalf of all Zimbabweans
who deserved to
be updated on a regular basis,' Mugabe said.
He added; 'We should have
been kept abreast of developments at every stage
of the negotiations. Most
times the negotiators were being economic with the
truth, telling us they
were close to a deal while in reality they've been
worlds apart for the
entire duration of the talks.'
Makusha said since the talks were now
officially over, he believed the MDC
were no longer hamstrung by the clause
in the GPA that prevented each party
from divulging
information.
President Zuma is expected to go over the report with his
facilitation team,
after which he will present it to the chairman of the
SADC organ on
Politics, Defence and Security, Mozambican President Armando
Guebuza.
It's believed the Organ will convene an extraordinary summit
that it is
hoped will bring about finality to the implementation of the GPA,
by
imposing its own solutions.
But given the fact that most regional
countries seem determined to maintain
support for Robert Mugabe, that hope
may not materialise.
http://news.radiovop.com
08/04/2010 08:12:00
Harare,
April 08, 2010 - The land scandal - in which the minister of local
government Ignatius Chombo and former Rhodesian police officer turned
businessman Phillip Chiyangwa are implicated - has taken a new twist with
police launching a crackdown against Harare City councillors who reportedly
compiled the report.
Two councillors, Casper Takura of Tafara and
Warship Dumba were on Wednesday
interrogated and charged with criminal
defamation following a report by
Chiyangwa. Police are reportedly looking
for six more councillors who
participated in the land scam investigation.
The notorious Law and Order
department is conducting the
operation.
"Police have decided to charge the two of us and six other
councillors with
criminal defamation. We were quizzed for several hours.
They released us but
we are going back today (Thursday) to sign warned and
cautioned statements.
Chiyangwa is the complainant.
"Thereafter we
will go to court. It's ridiculous but that's the country we
are living in
and we have to get used to these kinds of harassments and
abuse of power by
those who claim to be well connected," Dumba told
RadioVOP.
A
councillor who spoke to RadioVOP Wednesday but has not handed himself over
to the police confirmed the crackdown. "Police are visiting the homes of all
MDC councillors wanting to arrest us at the instigation of Chiyangwa. This
is ridiculous to say the least.
"Instead of arresting Chiyangwa for
stealing council land, the police are
intimidating us a week after they
intimidated journalists who exposed the
scandal. When we go to court, we
will expose these land looters further.
"They will not intimidate us.
Actually we want out find out why Chiyangwa is
so desperate to stop this
investigation. Chiyangwa thinks that this is still
Rhodesia where, when he
was police officer he used to intimidate and
brutalise freedom fighters. The
game has changed and the country is now free
from people like Chiyangwa,"
said the MDC councillor who was on his way to
hand himself over to the
police Monday afternoon.
Chiyangwa has laid criminal defamation charges
against Harare mayor
Muchadeyi Masunda and members of a special council
committee appointed to
investigate land sales in Harare accusing them of
leaking a report
containing the allegations to the media with the malicious
intention of
harming his reputation and his businesses.
Last week,
journalists Stanley Gama, Jennifer Dube, Feluna Nleya and Vincent
Kahiya
were questioned after they exposed the land grab scandal in The
Sunday Times
and The Standard.
Police did not charge them but recorded their
statements. The police wanted
to know the source of the document which is
now public following its
adoption by council. This has paved the way for
police to arrest and
investigate the land theft. But so far police have not
made a move on
Chiyangwa, Chombo and others named in the
scandal.
Chiyangwa is not new to controversy. In 2004, he was arrested
for allegedly
spying for the South African government and spent months in
remand prison
but was acquitted while his accomplices received lengthy jail
sentences.
Chiyangwa admitted in court that he was getting USD$10 000 a
month for his
role in the spying ring but claimed that he was doing
consultancy work. He
denied charges of the spying.
Early the same
year he was arrested for obstructing the course of justice
after trying to
protect directors of ENG capital which had allegedly
swindled people of
millions of dollars.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
8 April
2010
An annual report by the US State Department on the human rights
situation in
Zimbabwe has revealed that ‘corrective rape’ against gay men
and lesbians is
on the increase.
Journalist Angus Shaw said the
latest 50 page report compiled by the US
Embassy in Harare gives emphasis to
the harassment of the gay community,
including revelations that there is now
a practice in Zimbabwe called
‘corrective rape’, where some homosexuals are
being raped ‘by those
intending to convert their sexuality’.
Although
persecution of gays and lesbians is on the increase, very few
victims are
prepared to speak publicly about the attacks because of the
stigma
surrounding the issue of homosexuality.
Shaw said the human rights report
shows how through the guise of ‘corrective
rape’ lesbian women are raped by
men to ‘make them enjoy heterosexual acts’,
while gay men are raped by
women, sometimes, under supervision of villagers
and relatives to ‘remove
their sexual orientation tendencies’.
The journalist said the report
shows how some homosexuals are forced to
marry to encourage heterosexual
conduct, while others are ‘taught the errors
of their ways’ by being raped
by family members.
The gay community has long been under siege in
Zimbabwe and hate speech
against this group is common. Robert Mugabe says
homosexuality is ‘abhorrent’
and famously described homosexuals as “worse
than dogs and pigs”.
Recently both the principals in the inclusive
government, Mugabe and Morgan
Tsvangirai, publicly condemned the practice of
homosexuality, with Mugabe
adding that he would not allow any gay rights to
find their way into the new
constitution.
Ironically, the two were
speaking at an International Women's Day
celebrations in Chitungwiza, where
the theme was ‘Equal Rights, Equal
Opportunities: Progress for
All’.
Engaging in homosexual acts is unlawful under the common law
offence of
sodomy and the issue of gay rights has now become a hot debate in
the
discussion on a new constitution.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Human
Rights NGO Forum urged the political leaders
to desist from making
statements likely to promote hate and prejudice,
especially when the country
is going through a transition from a period
characterised by hate, violence
and economic suffering, and hopefully moving
towards national
healing.
The group said in a statement: “We support a Constitution that
protects
Zimbabweans against discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation, just
as it prevents discrimination on grounds such as race,
gender, ethnicity, or
religion. The immediate challenge the nation is facing
is overcoming social
deprivations in areas such as hunger, health,
education, unemployment and
violence against women and children and above
all the functionality of the
GNU. These are the areas in which the
Principals in the GNU should be
providing leadership; rather than fostering
antipathy and intolerance.”
http://www.thedailynewszw.com/?p=28668
April 8, 2010
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Human rights groups here are urging the newly
constituted Zimbabwe
Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) to ensure that Zimbabwe
quickly ratifies the
UN Convention Against Torture (CAT).
President
Robert Mugabe last week swore into office members of the ZHRC
which is
expected to investigate past rights abuses.
Reginald Austin, a
distinguished law professor, took oath as the new chair
of the the
commission at State House, together with his deputy Dr Ellen
Sithole.
Also sworn-in by Mugabe as human rights commissioners were
Dr Kwanele
Jirira, Nomathemba Neseni, Carrol Khombe, Elasto Mugwadi, Dr
Joseph Kurebwa,
Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube and Jacob Mudenda.
Human rights
groups this week acknowledged the daunting task the commission
faced but
urged it to immediately ensure that the country was party to the
CAT, which
the Zanu-PF side of the inclusive government has staunchly
refused to
ratify.
The ZHRC's core mandate is "to promote the protection,
development and
attainment of human rights, to monitor, assess, investigate
and ensure
observance of human rights in Zimbabwe and to perform such other
functions
as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament."
The
Commission was provided for under the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
and
inserted into the Constitution through Constitution Amendment No. 19,
which
came into force in February 2009 when the inclusive government was
consummated.
"The commission has a mandate to persuade the government
of Zimbabwe to
ratify the UN Convention Against Torture," said ZimRights in
a statement to
The Daily News.
"It is ZimRights' hope that the
commissioners will be capacitated so that
they can fulfil their duties in
tandem with the will of the people."
Section 111B of the Constitution
requires prior Parliamentary approval
before Zimbabwe becomes party to
international treaties and conventions.
Approval is granted by resolutions
passed by both Houses.
Because Zimbabwe was not a signatory of the
Convention and the Optional
Protocol when they were drawn up in 1984 and
2002, respectively, the
technical procedure for becoming party to them is
for the government to
lodge instruments of accession with the
Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
An instrument of accession
is a simple legal document signed by the
President on the recommendation of
Cabinet.
Legal and Parliamentary affairs think-tank, Veritas, said of all
the human
rights abuses that have taken place in Zimbabwe, torture was the
most
heinous and it was imperative that the new commission takes steps to
eliminate torture through the ratification of the UN Convention.
"It
(torture) involves premeditation and planning, often total isolation,
and
not only incredible infliction of pain but the uncertainty of if and
when it
will end," Veritas said.
"It is a violation of all that makes us human.
It is hoped that the
Commission will persuade the government to sign the
United Nations
Convention against Torture and its Optional
Protocol."
Zimbabwe is one of the few SADC countries that have not signed
this
convention.
It is several years since Parliament passed a
resolution recommending it be
signed and a year since Zimbabwe's failure to
sign the convention was raised
in Parliament and co-Minister of Home Affairs
Giles Mutsekwa said he would
look into the matter. That was last year in
April. Almost a year later,
Zimbabwe is still not state party to the
protocol.
President Mugabe's military generals and politicians have
organized
campaigns of terror for decades to keep him and his party in
power. This
cabal has fiercely resisted the ratification of the Convention
amid fears
perpetrators would be vulnerable to prosecution, especially for
crimes
committed during the 2008 brutal election campaign.
Zimbabwe
is in the midst of a treacherous passage from authoritarian rule to
an
uncertain future. After a bloody election season in 2008 stained by the
state-sponsored beatings and killings of opposition supporters, Mugabe and
his rivals in the Movement for Democratic Change agreed to a power-sharing
government that included both victimizers and victims.
Observers say
Mugabe's lieutenants, part of an inner circle called the Joint
Operations
Command (JOC), know that their 86-year-old leader may not be
around much
longer to shield them, and therefore fear losing, not just their
power and
ill-gotten wealth, but also their freedom.
The cabal is accused of
sanctioning the use of torture. Pointedly, it has
become the preferred
method of investigation by the Zimbabwe Republic
Police; it is used against
suspects in the process of interrogations in a
bid to extract evidence and
confessions.
Torture is also used against human rights defenders and
opposition political
activists and common methods of torture widely used in
Zimbabwe include
Falanga (beating on the soles of the feet), mock drowning,
and whipping,
among others.
Unfortunately, torture is not
criminalised under Zimbabwean law. This leaves
victims of torture with no
recourse or effective remedy at the domestic
level. The perpetrators are
also charged with lesser offences, if at all.
Human rights groups have
demanded that the human rights commission must
immediately take steps
towards the ratification and domestication of the
United Nations Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.
The ZHRC is one of four constitutional commissions, including
one to
overhaul the electoral system, oversee the media and another to
investigate
corruption.
The commissions are part of reforms that
Zimbabwe's power-sharing government
must implement to re-shape and
democratize the country's politics that has
been characterized by violence
and gross human rights violations almost
since independence from Britain in
1980.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=15929
By: Gerald Chateta
Posted:
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Harare - Police have summoned relatives of
the 2007 coup plotter, former
Army captain Albert Matapo, who during the
weekend attempted to escape from
Chikurubi maximum prison, and have tortured
a convicted prison officer
Donald Tapera Gwekwerere said to have assisted in
the botched escape,
forcing them to implicate Defence Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa in the case,
it has emerged.
Sources at Harare central
police's law and order section and Zimbabwe
Prison Service(ZPS) dealing
with the case said all inmates involved in
the attempted escape are
also being tortured to establish their
relationship with
Mnangagwa(pictured).
Matapo was arrested in 2007 together with six other
suspects namely Nyasha
Zivuku, Oncemore Mazivahona, Emmanuel Marara, Patson
Mupfure, Shingirai
Mutemachani, and Rangarirai Maziofa on allegations of
plotting to replace
President Mugabe with a senior ZANU-PF official Emerson
Mnangagwa.
"Yesterday Matapo's wife and two of his close relatives were
roped into the
matter. They have however distanced themselves from the
minister", said the
sources.
Donald Tapera Gwekwerere (26) who was
sentenced to an effective five years
in jail for assisting the inmates to
escape from lawful custody, sources
said was still being held by the police
who are forcing him to implicate
Mnangagwa.
Chikurubi maximum Prison
officer-in-charge, Assistant Commissioner Pambai,
his deputy Chief
Superintendent Tarwira and In-charge Administration
Superintendent Dumbura
on Wednesday appeared before a board of Prison
inquiry.
"We are not
yet aware of the outcome of the enquiry but what we can
confirm is that
they were summoned by ZPS chief yesterday for explanations.
Gwekwerere is
limping after he was tortured by the state security agents who
are forcing
him to implicate Mnangagwa in the case.
"He told us that he is being
forced to say what he does not know. He is
saying, what he knows is his
relationship with Matapo's relatives who had
promised him some fortunes",
said a ZPS source.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=15954
By: Gerald Chateta
Posted: Thursday,
April 8, 2010
Harare - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said he is
next week going to
order Youth Development, Indigenization and Economic
Empowerment Minister
Savior Kasukuwere to announce the revised
Indigenization and Empowerment Act
before the council of ministers which he
chairs.
Addressing business people and African Diplomats in Harare on
Thursday Prime
minister Tsvangirai assured the nation and the world that the
controversial
Empowerment Act has been revised.
"It is unfortunate
that some people want to use politics where it is not
necessary. Such
statements are just political rhetoric. Next week when
Kasukuwere comes
back from Kariba I will insist that he present the full
revised edition of
the regulations to the council of ministers .He is
not going to escape
from that, that I assure you.
"Let me assure you that when the
new regulations are published ,they
will be very different and much
more progressive than when originally
gazetted. The revised regulations
will ensure amongst other changes,
that none is criminalized, there will
be no forced accusations and
assets will be purchased, not ceded. The
regulations will reflect
broad based empowerment and ensure that a
minority elite does not
benefit at the expense of the many who deserve
to benefit from our
nation's riches", Tsvangirai told business people
and African ambassadors
who were gathered at a local hotel in
Harare.
Under the controversial Empowerment Act, foreign owned companies
are to cede
51% of their share holding to the local indigenous
people.
Kasukuwere is on record for batting that there was no going back
in the
implementation of the controversial law that has threatened the
inclusive
government and economic recovery in a country that has seen a
decade long
economic decay.
"Those who are opposed to the Act must go
and die. We have no reverse gear
in our gear box. Journalists please
emphasize that Kasukuwere has said 50%
in the country's minerals are for us.
If there is an insane Zimbabwean who
is opposed to that he must go and die",
Kasukuwere told Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono at a function
hosting ANC youth league
President Julius Malema at Gono's Norton farm last
Sunday.
Gono though a ZANU-PF activist, is strongly opposed to the Act
and has
publicly clashed with the Empowerment minister Kasukuwere.
http://www.africasia.com
HARARE,
April 8 (AFP)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will officially open Zimbabwe's
main
trade show later this month, state television reported on
Thursday.
"Iran's President Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will officially open
this year's
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair to be held in Bulawayo," the
Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation said in a news bulletin.
"This was
revealed by a cabinet minister after Iran's new ambassador
Mohammed Najav
presented his credentials to President Robert Mugabe at State
House
today."
The trade fair was a major calendar event in Zimbabwe, but has
become more
localised in recent years as the country battled an economic
crisis which
saw inflation peaking to 231 million percent.
Zimbabwe
enjoys good relations with Iran, as well as several Asian countries
after
launching a "Look East" policy in response to its isolation which
followed
Harare's controversial land reforms and disputed 2002 polls.
The fair,
from April 20 to 24, will be officially opened on the 23rd.
http://www.zicora.com
Posted by Own Staff Friday, 09 April 2010
01:41
A Chronicle journalist based in Beitbridge was on Thursday morning
detained
by police over an article that claimed that eight detectives fled
for dear
life after an armed suspect opened fire at them.
Mashudu
Netsianda, who is Chronicle Beitbridge office reporter was picked up
by two
police officers for questioning over a story titled "Cops flee police
station as injiva opens fire".
Police said the story was likely to
place the country's security at
risk.Netsianda wrote that on Sunday eight
detectives fled for dear life from
Beitbridge Police Station "after an angry
injiva they had arrested for
illegal possession of a firearm opened
fire".
Quoting sources, Netsianda said the detectives took the suspect
who is now
on the run to the police station. However, the detectives failed
to find the
gun but the suspect suddenly withdrew it from a bag and ordered
the
detectives to lie down before he fled leaving his car.
One of
the detectives, according to the story " plunged into a pool of water
on a
drainage system as he ran for dear life".
Matabeleland South police
spokesperson Inspector Tafanana Dzirutwe told
Zicora that Netsianda was not
in police custody.
"I am not aware of that. Infact Mashudu phoned me in
the morning inquiring
on some story. So if there was anything wrong he would
have told me so,"
said Insp Dzirutwe.
Dzirutwe said the journalist
should not be arrested for carrying out his
duties 'unless he/she had
incriminated someone".
However, Netsianda told Zicora that police wanted
to charge him with
"placing the country's security at risk".
He said
he was detained for more than an hour at the Law and Order Section
and a
docket was opened for him.
"However, after the police officers consulted
their bosses they told me that
they are dropping the charges. But they
strongly told me that the language I
used was demeaning the police
establishment."
He was then released but now feels threatened by the
police action.
Netsianda's arrest comes hardly a week after three
Harare-based reporters
where also quizzed by police.Last week two female
journalists Feluna Nleya
and Jennifer Dube of the privately owned Standard
weekly were questioned by
police from the Law and Order Section for exposing
an alleged massive land
scandal involving the Minister of Local Government
Ignatius Chombo and
business person Philip Chiyangwa.
The story was
based on a 54-page report titled: Special Investigations
Committees report
on City of Harare's Land Sales, Leases and Exchanges from
the period October
2004 to December 2009. Earlier in the week, police had
summoned freelance
journalist Stanley Gama over a related story published by
The Sunday Times
of South Africa.
The harassment of the journalists comes hard on the
heels of statements by
the Minister of Media, Information and Publicity
Webster Shamu that
harassment of journalists should stop.
http://www.zimdiaspora.com
Thursday, 08 April 2010 12:07
Harare - Scores of Central
Intelligence organisation (CIO) and other Robert
Mugabe's officials were
over the Easter holiday left stranded at the Harare
International Airport
after Mugabe was provided a Libyan Jet to fly him to
Senegal instead of
using an Air Zimbabwe plane as previously planned,
Zimdiaspora can
reveal.
Globetrotting Mugabe traditionally commandeers an Air Zimbabwe
plane and
travels with a large delegation of over 60 officials and relatives
on his
frequent foreign trips, but last week Libyan dictator Muamour Gaddafi
dispatched a plane to ferry him to Dakar to attend Senegal's 50th
independence celebrations.
A source at Munhumutapa building told
Zimdiaspora that only less than 15
officials were able to travel with Mugabe
as Gaddafi's jet was too small to
accommodate the ageing dictator's large
delegation of over 60 people.
"Most CIO's were left behind at the Airport
because the Libyan jet was too
small. They were really disappointed with
Gaddafi because they will have to
surrender to treasury the thousands of
dollars in travel and subsistence
allowances they had been given," said the
source. "Some of them had already
squandered part of their allowances before
the journey and they will have to
borrow in order to replace the
money."
An official who was left behind told Zimdiaspora that most senior
government
officials were hopeful that Mugabe will not buy a small
presidential jet in
future as most of them would lose out from the frequent
free foreign trips.
He said Mugabe, the first lady and most of his
officials use foreign trips
for shopping sprees, adding that the regime is
fighting to have sanctions
imposed on them removed to enable them to travel
to Paris and London to do
their regular shopping.
CIO's and
government officials who globetrot with Mugabe are paid several
thousands of
dollars in allowances bleeding the bankrupt government of
millions of
dollars.
A few months ago a team of CIO's which travelled with Mugabe for
an ICT
meeting in Switzerland were reportedly paid up to US$50 000 each in
allowances.
The trip reportedly cost taxpayers over US$6 million,
yet the country did
not benefit anything as the conference was just a talk
show.
Sources say on average officials who travel with Mugabe to areas
such
Europe, Asia and the Middle East are paid an average of US$5 000 per
day at
a time civil servants in the country are earning less than US$200 per
month.
Mugabe loves travelling and used to be nicknamed 'Vasco Dagama
after the
Portuguese explorer. His travels to the USA and Europe are however
now
limited due to the western travel restrictions imposed on him and his
close
cronies due to the Zanu PF's regime's gross violations of human
rights.
http://news.radiovop.com
08/04/2010
14:26:00
Harare, April 08, 2010 - The announcement by Tourism
Minister Walter Mzembi
that the North Korean national soccer team would
train in Zimbabwe has
sparked a tribal storm particularly in Bulawayo where
some activists feel
the team's presence would re-open old wounds of the
Gukurahundi era.
On Wednesday, Mzembi announced that only the North
Korean soccer team had
accepted to train in Zimbabwe during their
preparations for the World Cup.
The government approached five World Cup
participating countries - England,
the United States of America, Australia,
Brazil and North Korea - to train
in the country. According to Mzembi, only
North Korea took the offer.
But that deal is now in trouble as some
activists feel the presence of North
Koreans was "a symbolic insult" that
would reopen old wounds, which would
also remind many that the "relationship
between Zimbabwe and North Korean
was cemented by the blood of our
kin".
In a forum of mostly activists fighting the marginalisation of
Matabeleland,
angry email exchanges have been the order of the day since the
announcment,
to share ideas on how "we can protest, embark on massive
advocacy to
register our discontent, and if we can possibly attempt to have
them barred
from coming to train at Barbourfields Stadium".
South
Africa based Zimbabwean actor Bhekilizwe Ndlovu said the North Koreans
"should be pushed out of town".
"This could begin serious dialogue,
action and closure to this problem (of
the effects of Gukurahundi
atrocities) that continues to haunt us," said
Ndlovu, who is famous for his
role as AK in the once popular local ZTV soap
Amakorokoza.
In one of
the emails, UK based Zimbabwean academic and civic activist,
Brilliant
Mhlanga, said the North Korea had been "an accomplice in many
ways" to
President Robert Mugabe's regime. Mhlanga said "it is possible to
have this
thing (stopping the North Koreans from camping in Zimbabwe) done".
Among
those who support the proposal is former Radio Zimbabwe presenter,
Ezra
Tshisa Sibanda, who said he has two documentaries that show people
being
raped, maimed and killed.
The Gukurahundi atrocities claimed more that
20,000 lives during the 1980s
when Mugabe unleashed the North Korean trained
fifth brigade in the Midlands
and Matabeleland Provinces to smoke out
dissidents whom he said were being
haboured in the area. He now claims the
actions were "a moment of madness".
http://www.thedailynewszw.com/?p=28679
April 8th, 2010 by admin
By
Our Correspondent
JOHANNESBURG - Civil rights group AfriForum, which
helped commercial farmers
attach a property belonging to the Zimbabwean
government, says it will wait
to hear from President Robert Mugabe's
government if there were plans to
compensate the farmers before selling
it.
The group is helping attach properties for loss the farmers suffered
as a
result of Mugabe's controversial land reform. AfriForum also said it
would
wait before going ahead to attach three others properties in the same
city
of Kenilworth.
The attached R2,5 million property is in
Kenilworth, Cape Town while the
other three are in Zonneblom and
Wynberg.
"We will keep things as they are at the moment," said Willie
Spies, of
AfriForum who is acting as a lawyer for the farmers.
"We
are not going to sell the house immediately but wait for the response
from
the Zimbabweans to see if they are going to act on compensating the
farmers."
He emphasised that the decision withhold sale was not in
any way influenced
by the South African government's intention to appeal
against the attachment
of the property.
"This process is about
helping Zimbabweans by showing them that it's
possible for civil society to
institute civil sanctions against a regime
that does not help its
people."
In November 2008, the Southern African Development Community
(SADC) Tribunal
ruled in favour of Michael Campbell and 78 Zimbabwean
farmers that the land
reform programme in the country was "racist and
unlawful".
In June last year, the Tribunal issued a contempt ruling
against the
Zimbabwe government before the North Gauteng High Court in
Pretoria
registered the tribunal's rulings this year on February
26.
But Zimbabwe Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa described AfriForum's
move
as a "day dream," saying the properties could not be attached because
they
are under diplomatic protection, while Zimbabwe's Ambassador to South
Africa, Simon Khaya Moyo, called it a "nonsensical move by a racist
organisation."
Meanwhile, the South African government has said it
will appeal a ruling by
the North Gauteng which registered the SADC ruling
giving AfriForum the
leeway to attach Zimbabwean properties.
A Harare
High Court Judge Bharat Patel in January ruled that Zimbabwe was
bound by
rulings of the regional court but said the order on farm seizures
could not
be implemented because it was against public policy.
In blocking the
Tribunal order, Patel said its enforcement would effectively
undo Mugabe's
land reforms of the past decade, with all white farmers who
lost land
expected to use the judgment to claim their properties back.
The judge
said this would require the government to evict tens of thousands
of black
families resettled on farms seized from whites in order to return
the land
to lawful owners, a move he described as a "political enormity"
with
potential to cause upheaval in Zimbabwe.
The decade-long farm invasions
which the 86-year-old Mugabe says were
necessary to ensure blacks also had
access to arable land they were denied
by previous white-led governments
have been blamed for plunging Zimbabwe
into food shortages.
http://news.radiovop.com
08/04/2010 09:40:00
Johannesburg, April
08, 2010 - ANC Youth League president Julius Malema on
Thursday verbally
sparred with a BBC journalist at a media briefing on
Zimbabwe's land reform
policy.
He called the reporter a "bastard" and kicked him out of the
briefing at
Luthuli House in Johannesburg.
Malema recently returned
from a trip to Zimbabwe to study the effects of
"nationalisation" in that
country.
Malema hailed Zimbabwe's land reform policy as "courageous and
militant".
"Land reform in Zimbabwe has been very successful," he said,
adding that the
controversial programme was a "very correct
method".
Malema said violence, however, should never be used to implement
policy. He
said this before verbally sparring with the journalist.
-SAPA
http://www.sabcnews.com/
April 08 2010 ,
6:00:00
The National Press Club has strongly condemned Julius
Malema's behaviour at
a news conference earlier today. Malema kicked a
journalist out of a media
briefing after hurling insults at
him.
Malema was criticising Zimbabwean opposition party the Movement for
Democratic Change, saying they should go back to Zimbabwe instead of working
from offices in Sandton, Johannesburg. Then BBC Journalist Jonah Fisher
pointed out that Malema too was staying in Sandton. It was then that a
furious Malema hurled a series of personal insults at Fisher and told him
to get out of the briefing.
National Press Club chairperson Yusuf
Abramjee says Malema's behaviour is
unacceptable. He says the media has a
job to do, adding that journalists
will not sit back and watch their
colleagues being abused and manhandled.
Abramjee says this is not the first
time that Malema has chosen to attack
journalists, and he has called for the
insults, swearing and name calling to
end.
The South African National
Editors' Forum (Sanef) has also slammed Malema’s
behaviour. A member of
Sanef's executive council, Raymond Louw says: "We
are appalled at the
conduct of Julius Malema. This is no way to treat a
reporter at a press
conference…It’s no way to treat the media and we object
to it very
strongly."
Malema has just returned from Zimbabwe where he studied the
effects of
nationalisation in that country.
By MICHELLE FAUL (AP) -
37 minutes ago
JOHANNESBURG - A white politician stormed out of a live TV
debate about race
relations and a black leader of the ruling African
National Congress threw
racial epithets at a journalist he kicked out of a
news conference.
The events are just part of the fallout in South Africa
after the slaying of
a notorious white supremacist. Eugene Terreblanche,
leader of the
once-feared AWB paramilitary group, was bludgeoned to death on
his farm on
April 3. The acrimonious aftermath reveals strained race
relations 16 years
after apartheid collapsed and Nelson Mandela became
president, urging all
races to come together.
"I am not finished with
you," AWB Secretary General Andre Visagie shouted as
he stormed off the
local TV talk show, pointing a finger at a black female
analyst. Video of
the Wednesday night blowup, which erupted after the
analyst continually
interrupted Visagie and made hand gestures in front of
his face, was posted
on YouTube and quickly got hundreds of hits.
At least four musical
remixes went onto the Internet, including one by a
popular South African
rapper.
On Thursday there was more acrimony.
Julius Malema, leader
of the ANC Youth League, held a news conference in
which he sang about
beating up white farmers, defying a new directive from
his own party to stop
singing racially polarizing songs. Some whites have
blamed Terreblanche's
murder on a song Malema had previously belted out,
urging that white farmers
be shot.
"How on earth did SA get from Mandela to this guy??" wrote one
poster on
YouTube, along side a clip of the press conference that had more
than 10,000
views.
Malema and Visagie perhaps represent two extremes
in this once white-led
country where blacks for decades were brutalized and
belittled by a racist
white minority government. But the aftermath of the
Terreblanche killing,
which was allegedly motivated by a wage dispute, shows
that rage and wounds
remain raw among many. Some residents of a black
township near
Terreblanche's farm even hailed Terreblanche's alleged killers
as heroes.
Terreblanche's extremist Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
movement, better known
as the AWB, wanted to create all-white republic
within South Africa.
"It does really highlight the fact that race
relations in our country are an
unresolved issue," said Chris Maroleng, the
journalist who was host of
Wednesday night's TV show. "Eugene Terreblanche's
death has opened up a lot
of unhealed wounds and unresolved issues in terms
of race."
Maroleng, however, stressed that most South Africans of all
races are keen
to get along and work together to rebuild the divided nation
of nearly 50
million people.
Visagie had become angry when analyst
Lebohang Pheko kept interrupting him,
asking "Is it still you versus us?"
and whether he cared about starving
South African children or abused farm
laborers. Visagie tore the microphone
from his jacket and threw it. Maroleng
came between him and Pheko and
warned: "Touch me on my studio and you will
be in trouble."
Some who saw the episode sympathized with Pheko. Tshepo
Dithipe, a
22-year-old law student, said, "I was actually scared for the
woman." Others
thought she provoked Visagie.
"She was not asking
questions to find out more," said Innocentai Mdluli, a
22-year-old
anthropology student. "She wanted this man to look raw and
barbaric."
The blowup at Malema's press conference happened as the
ANC youth leader was
speaking about his recent trip to neighboring Zimbabwe.
He said Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party, which is in an acrimonious
unity
government with hardline President Robert Mugabe, will not find
"friendship"
with the ANC in South Africa.
"They can insult us here
from air-conditioned offices in Sandton. We are
unshaken," he said,
referring to the wealthy suburb of Johannesburg.
BBC television
journalist Jonah Fisher said Malema himself lives in Sandton.
Malema's eyes
got big and he blew up.
"Don't come here with that white tendency ...
undermining blacks!" Malema
shouted. He insulted Fisher's manhood, called
for security officers to throw
the reporter out and said: "Go out, bastard!
You bloody agent."
Malema has found an ear among poor black South
Africans disenchanted that
their right to vote has not been matched by
access to decent housing, jobs,
good education and health care. South Africa
is the richest country in
Africa, yet the ANC has been unable to translate
that into better lives for
the people.
Only a small black elite has
become enormously rich since apartheid ended.
Studies show the majority of
blacks are worse off financially than they were
under the white
government.
"Race still matters very much in South Africa ...
particularly the
coincidence between race and inequality, race and poverty
and race and
unemployment, with the black youth experiencing all those
disproportionately," said Justin Sylvester, a researcher at the Institute
for Democracy in South Africa.
Associated Press writer Nkemeleng
Nkosi in Johannesburg contributed to this
report.
SW Radio Africa Transcript
| |
Violet Gonda presents the final segment of her interview with
Andrew Cranswick, CEO of African Consolidated Resources, the
company in the middle of a legal wrangle with the government over the Chiadzwa
diamond mine. The alluvial diamond fields in Chiadzwa are one of the richest in
the world but corruption is swallowing up all the profits, which could rebuild
Zimbabwe . Cranswick talks about the corruption, the South African ‘crooks’ who
have been given permits to mine Chiadzwa, and his fears that the unrest created
by these diamonds could lead to war, as has happened in other parts of Africa.
He accuses the State of allowing a ‘bunch of South African smugglers’ to manage
Zimbabwe ’s most important cash asset.
BROADCAST: 02 APRIL 2010 |
|
VIOLET GONDA: Welcome to the second part of the interview with Andrew Cranswick, the CEO of African Consolidated Resources, the company in the middle of a legal wrangle with the government over the Chiadzwa diamond mine. In the first part of the interview Cranswick talked about the history of, and the controversy behind, the Chiadzwa diamond mine. The alluvial diamond fields in Chiadzwa are one of the richest in the world but corruption has apparently swallowed all the profits. There is no doubt that these resources should benefit the deeply troubled country yet the Zimbabwean people have nothing to show for the natural wealth under their feet. There are some who say diamonds, like oil are a non-renewable resource and should be regulated. So in this final segment I started by asking Cranswick to respond to those who believe that such resources should not be under the control of private investors but by the State. ANDREW CRANSWICK: First of all, all minerals – not just diamonds and oil – are non-renewable. Platinum is non-renewable, nickel is non-renewable, copper is non-renewable. The only mineral that we are mining at the moment that is in some way renewable is phosphate. Now we’re mining a non-renewable resource but if we recycled sewage then it would be somewhat renewable. So it’s not just diamonds and oil, it’s all minerals that are non-renewable and I’ve just outlined the best way, and it’s been proven in countries like Australia, Canada, Tanzania and now Botswana, that if you don’t involve private capital and private equity these things will never be developed. The State has controlled Marange, albeit illegally, the State has controlled and mined Marange for four years and yet not one cent has flowed back to the Zimbabwe people and now we want to let South African crooks manage our natural resource? Is that sensible? That’s rubbish! So should the State be involved? Yes because it takes 12% royalty on diamonds. Should the State be involved? Yes it takes 15% corporate tax on mining companies and gold mining companies, 35% on other corporates. It is involved. GONDA: You keep talking about South Africans smuggling diamonds from Zimbabwe and just now you have described them as crooks. What do you know about their operations in Zimbabwe ?
In the north, the Mbada, the so-called Mbada Syndicate is funded by a company called Reclam or the new Reclamation Group who are scrap metal traders in South Africa and if you read their company documents, the only thing they have ever, ever, ever done or intend to do supposedly is to trade in scrap metal. Now suddenly these are diamond mining experts and the Minister himself admitted that there are crooks in the companies operating. He admitted at the Parliamentary Select Committee - he said I know there are crooks there but the diamond industry is full of crooks so what can I do? He also admitted that the licences were not given with proper procedure. Now Reclam interestingly has been operating at Zisco for ten years now without any tender process being followed, without any tender renewal being followed, no-one checking on what they are exporting compared to the value they are paying, no-one doing a forensic audit which you would expect. They are digging down a mountain of slag from Zisco’s years of operation and shipping out something called chilled pool iron, there appears to be some discrepancies on paperwork which should call for a forensic audit. So in my opinion they have been essentially taking Zimbabwe ’s assets for ten years already and now they want to up the ante a bit and take more of our assets for cheap or free. So this is just, it is unacceptable, I cannot believe that serious and honest people in the government will allow this for much longer. GONDA: Is it true that some of the people who are running Mbada Diamonds are related to the Minister, to Minister Obert Mpofu? Have you heard anything about that? CRANSWICK: Only what I have read in the press from the Parliamentary Select Committee that the Minister decided it appears, to appoint one of Reclam’s own people as his own director and the chairman, Dr Robert Mhlanga has been appointed, yet he is a partner, a long-standing partner, in fact he facilitated and brokered and is involved in the Zisco deal and now he gets appointed as the government representative. How can we have the fox looking after the henhouse? So and then what I hear about other people being appointed, so it’s not transparent, if you look at the joint venture agreement between the Reclam’s subsidiary and the ZMDC it’s heavily loaded in favour of control by Reclam. They have exclusive rights to market all the goods, they are going to do transfer pricing, there’s no security to check whether they are not smuggling some of the goods, so it’s just pathetic. Why would the government, why would the minister go and joint venture with the scrap metals trader on the north of ACR claims and a bunch of smugglers and night club owners in the south instead of doing it with a transparent public company like ACR who has the legal rights anyway and has offered a more favourable joint venture to government than either of the ones underway? It would immediately clear up the Kimberley Process issues, it would immediately clear up the sanctions issues and we would do it transparently – perhaps that’s the problem. Perhaps certain people don’t want it to be transparent because then money can’t change hands. GONDA: And what about human rights abuses?
GONDA: Is it correct to say that whenever there is terrible unrest in countries with such resources, the resources don’t last and if this is true are you able to tell us how long will this mine last in Chiadzwa?
Some people argue that Botswana is an exception – it’s not, Botswana ’s diamonds are not alluvial. They are Kimberlite deposits which are difficult to mine by hand and they're buried under desert sand. So Botswana ’s not an exception in that rule. So my terror as a Zimbabwean and as a patriot, never mind ACR ’s interest, is that this is going to lead to war and we’ve already seen death and bloodshed related to this totally unnecessarily and my fear is that it’s going to lead to war. So that’s fear number one in terms of the unrest, much more important than the diamond resource being mined out, human lives are more important than a pretty stone on a finger. The second thing is the life of the resource. At first we thought it was only ten to 15 years life because we intended to mine it quite aggressively in terms of tonnage and so we were very, very concerned about this rape and pillage of it and we still are because it’s not good for the diamond industry and it’s not good for Zimbabwe. But if it’s mined responsibly and by responsibly I mean at a reasonable rate, we don’t want to mine it too fast because it will affect the price of diamonds negatively or we will be cutting off our own nose to spite our face as a country. So if we mine it responsibly and steadily I believe it has got about a 30 year mine life, that particular deposit on our claims. But there are deposits that are similar to it and related to it in Chimanimani that have nothing to do with us and there’s a lot of science, very unique, a lot of science has to be applied, we’ve offered our services for free to the government on this in return for a joint venture. There’s a lot of science that needs to be applied and if we look at the whole Chimanimani system and that area, we believe that this could give rise to diamond mining at various levels for possibly another 50 to 100 years. It’s a national treasure and we’ve got to look after it. GONDA: Let’s talk a bit about the issue of corruption. You’ve talked about South African crooks being involved and you’ve also talked about one or two individuals in government who have vested interest in this mine. What have you managed to gather in terms of corrupt activities, can you give us some examples? CRANSWICK: Violet this is probably the wrong forum to do this in right this minute. I can tell you that there are a number of people investigating a number of officials in three or four different countries around the world. We are not the only people who are investigating them, we have assisted where we could. We do expect that corruption charges will be laid within the next few months against some senior officials. GONDA: In government?
GONDA: You have been accused by Minister Obert Mpofu of being one white man holding the country to ransom with regards to diamond revenue, what is your reaction to this?
GONDA: Who are these Zimbabweans that are assisting these South African ‘crooks’? CRANSWICK: Well in Canadile for example who are mining illegally against a Supreme Court order in the south of the mineral rights that have been declared by the Courts to be worked by ACR , there is for example a company run by a white man by the name of Jan Swart and he is complicit in the shareholding of this business and he’s benefiting from a crime. There are others as well, there’s Lovemore Kurotwi who’s a director and shareholder in Canadile operation. In the north it seems Dr Robert Mhlanga is helping an illegal operation in the north of the claims and that’s unfortunate. Dr Mhlanga is a war veteran, he’s formerly a highly respected member of the Air Force and it’s unfortunate that he is assisting something like this because we’d expect something different from him. GONDA: And what about Minister Mpofu himself, how is he involved? What do you know about his activities there?
GONDA: And was he the one who gave the licences to these mining companies that are actually working in the Chiadzwa area?
GONDA: And there was a recent article stating that ACR ’s mining rights would once again be cancelled. Is this correct and has the cancellation been effected?
GONDA: So while you say that this matter is still under appeal in the Courts, the website Zimonline reports that the Kimberley Process monitor, or Zimbabwe monitor Abbey Chikane will visit Zimbabwe next week to inspect diamonds being mined and it’s reported that he’s most likely to certify the diamonds especially those that are produced by Mbada Investments - so that they can be sold on the international market. If this actually happens what will it mean to your claim? CRANSWICK: Well it will mean a lot of things and it’s quite a worry that it’s going to be done unilaterally in that manner - if it is going to be done. Now our understanding is the same, we have some information that is not conclusive, that the Kimberley Process will recommend the allowance of that sale. We have warned them in a very polite manner that the danger of that is they’re essentially endorsing and becoming complicit in a crime in Zimbabwe , the crime being contempt of Court because in Zimbabwe , contempt of Court is a criminal offence. The Supreme Court is very, very clear that those diamonds are supposed to be lodged at the Reserve Bank pending the outcome of the appeal. The Supreme Court was also very, very clear that all mining should cease forthwith pending the outcome of the appeal. Now you can’t have diamonds without mining so the growing and the growth of that pile of diamonds which has been ongoing, every three days a helicopter arrives at Harare Airport with more diamonds from site, can only be given rise to by mining and in fact the companies have acknowledged they are mining. So the point is that they are in contempt of Court and there’s a double contempt of Court here and the KPS might be endorsing it. We have had a suggestion made by elements in government which we think is a very credible one and one we endorse and that suggestion is that we do not object to the sale of diamonds, we do not apply to the Kimberley Process or the Supreme Court to freeze this sale, but on the sole suggestion that 100% of the revenue from such a sale must go to government, must go to the fiscus and on that basis - which I think is very fair - we would not object to the sale because essentially we want the government and the people of Zimbabwe to benefit. This is an idea that would satisfy the requirement to bring money into the economy that Zimbabwe and the people of Zimbabwe desperately need, and we’ll endorse that sale without fighting it and agree to that suggestion provided that 100% of the money goes to government, 100% of the sale money must go to government and the sale should be 100% fair and transparent and open to bidders to get the best possible price. In the future when the Supreme Court decides the final ownership of those diamonds then the decided owner as decided by the Supreme Court will be due a credit from government which will be deductible from future taxes or royalties and that’s a very, very fair outcome and if Mbada or anyone else dismisses or rejects that suggestion it shows that they are aware they will never be the owner of the diamonds. GONDA: But isn’t that what usually happens? Doesn’t the revenue actually go to the government? What was happening before?
So if the revenue goes 100% to the fiscus, I’m very satisfied with that and we will not object and we cannot be accused of holding the country to ransom or delaying streamer revenues. But Mbada will object because they’ll say they have costs of mining well they have costs of mining – costs of mining – an illegal mining – costs of illegal, illegality should not be borne by the State of Zimbabwe or by ACR so my attitude is there’s no costs. GONDA: And you said that the ZMDC and MMCZ gave nothing to the government and recently declared a one million dividend to government after three years of operating the Chiadzwa mine, so in your view, how much could Zimbabwe have earned in those years, in the last three years alone? CRANSWICK: Well we would have taken at least another six months to be fully operational so the earliest we would have been operational at a reasonable production would have been June or July 2007 so that gives us just over two and a half years of production and we’d offered a 50/50 JV to government - so 50% of the likely gross production we would have probably grossed a gross of two and a half billion dollars. Let’s say that just over two billion dollars of that would probably have been gross profit, then government would have earned half of that at least, not allowing for extra taxes and so on, so the government’s lost at least a billion dollars over the last three years compared to the one million paid to it by ZMDC. GONDA: And it’s said that corruption is rife in Marange so how do you think the sale of the diamonds will be monitored to ensure that the revenue will go to the State, will go to the government?
GONDA: I was actually going to ask you about the government’s involvement in this, in particular ZANU PF because there are some who believe that the diamonds in Chiadzwa are oiling the ZANU PF machinery. What are your thoughts on this?
GONDA: And this money you mentioned that was donated to the MDC by David Mhlanga and co, was it money from the sale of the illegal diamonds?
GONDA: But he is a person who is heavily involved in this diamond saga. CRANSWICK: Yes unfortunately and hopefully Dr Mhlanga will see Zimbabwe ’s benefit is not being served at the moment and perhaps he will legitimise this. I have great faith that he will do that in the future. GONDA: So are there people in ZANU PF and the MDC leadership who sympathise with you, who actually want to see your company mine that deposit?
GONDA: So in your view, who then is controlling the situation especially when parliamentarians investigating corruption are blocked by police from entering the Chiadzwa area, like what happened last week? Do you have any idea who’s behind this?
GONDA: What about reports saying the Minister of Mines owns a lot of properties, there’s this new casino that he’s building, what are your thoughts on this because there’s a lot of speculation that this could be money coming from the diamonds? CRANSWICK: Well all I’m, I have alluded earlier to different organisations in Zimbabwe, in the region are investigating a number of officials in the flow of money from a number of banks and the number of companies and people to other companies that may be linked to certain officials and the outcome of that money – where it’s being spent and how it is being spent is often very traceable and there’s an on-going investigation that we feel will yield a lot of results. We are not funding the investigation but we are being kept abreast of it and we have assisted with it where we can. So let’s leave it at that until the facts come out and speak for themselves. GONDA: OK. I understand that you have been told to report to the police, that there seems to be an intention to detain you by certain elements of the police force. Why is that?
GONDA: What do you suspect is the motive?
GONDA: What effect does this have, what’s been happening in Marange, have on ACR ’s on-going investment and development programmes in Zimbabwe ?
GONDA: From the feedback from the first interview that we ran last week, a lot of people wanted to know, you mentioned that you have black Zimbabwean investors in your company and they wanted to know who they are. Are you able to tell us at this point in time? CRANSWICK: There’s at least 25 of them including many of the people who work at ACR and I don’t think they’d object to have their names known but unless, until they tell me that, I can’t do that but perhaps what we can do is ask people to write into you, email into you declaring their shareholding, some people have been criticised by elements of government for having shares in ACR . Why I don’t know. Many people have shares in Bindura Nickel or Hwange Colliery or other listed entities like Rio Zim, I don’t know why there’s this fascination with ACR . It’s a public company, anyone can buy shares so we have a number of black shareholders living in London, a number of black shareholders living in South Africa, a number of black shareholders living in Zimbabwe who are shareholders so I’d invite them to write to you and declare their ownership if they wish to. GONDA: OK, and a final word. CRANSWICK: Final word is let’s get on and make Zimbabweans wealthy. We can do it. We’re the richest country in Africa by minerals and all that’s stopping it is corruption and lack of transparency and lack of legality. Let’s get on with it guys, this is pathetic, we’re Zimbabweans, let’s get it working properly. The simple answer is we need Zimbabwe to develop, with our respect for the law and that must apply to all investors whether we call them British or we call them Zimbabwean-based British invested companies – whatever we call them, it doesn’t matter where they come from, we’ve asked for foreign investment, we want the country to develop, let’s respect our own laws. We want to benefit the people and the country, that is the only way to do it – bring in the investors. GONDA: Thank you very much Mr. Andrew Cranswick the CEO of African Consolidated Resources, thank you for speaking on the programme Hot Seat. CRANSWICK: Thank you very much Violet. Feedback can be sent to violet@swradioafrica.com |