The ZIMBABWE Situation Our thoughts and prayers are with Zimbabwe
- may peace, truth and justice prevail.
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ZIMBABWE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS
 
PVO 38/69
SPCA Member Centres:
Beitbridge - Bulawayo - Chegutu - Chinhoyi - Chiredzi - Gweru - Harare - Hwange - Kadoma - Kwekwe - Marondera - Mashava - Masvingo - Mutare - Zvishavane
 
15 AUGUST 2003
 
Once again, we thank all of the individuals, organisations and businesses who made it possible for Meryl to receive her heart operation.  She is well on the road to recovery - 'on the road' being exactly where she is - having been given the all clear to start driving again.
 
Meryl has just returned from a very fruitful Baboon Control Stakeholders' meeting with the Timber Producers Federation in Juliasdale.  The animal welfare concerns raised by the ZNSPCA are being taken seriously and Meryl was gratified that throughout the meeting, National Parks referred to the ZNSPCA as their 'colleagues'.  Timber Producers have welcomed the participation of the ZNSPCA who will be consulted and invited to monitor any problem animal control exercises.  They have also indicated that they would welcome any alternative methods for the humane management of problem animals.
 
In spite of the deterioration of law enforcement in Zimbabwe, we are pleased to report that all cases which have been brought to court by the ZNSPCA this year have been won.  The owner of the ex-Tredar dog which died after he had failed to take the animal for veterinary attention, which was reported on earlier this year, was found guilty.  Two other cases involving neglect of a herd of cattle and cruelty towards a cattle pony in Gweru were also won.
 
Meryl returned to the Ostrich farm in Bromley which was reported on in July.  Despite not having been served with a Section 8 Notice, the farmer has now been evicted.  He will be sending the entire flock for slaughter apart from a few birds which he will attempt to relocate.
 
The Rescue Team have carried out three rescues since Meryl's return.  They received a report of dogs having been abandoned on Groovy Tuesday Farm.  Two Labradors were rescued and both have been rehomed.
 
In Mtorashanga, the army gave a farmer 24 hours notice to evacuate but they were unable to load their three dogs - 2 Collie X's, 'Shumba' and 'Sally' and a Rotty X, 'Major'.  The Team went to the farm without a police escort and managed to rescue all three animals - one had been left tied up at the front gate.
 
In one of the worst cases the Team has yet had to deal with, an elderly farmer and his wife were attacked in Marondera.  Both are in their 70's.  The farmer was called to the front gate and whilst he was distracted 4 men entered the house through the back - they were all armed with thick wooden poles.  The farmer was badly beaten, his hands and feet tied and then tied together.  The assailants wrapped him in a tablecloth and then put an armchair on top of him.  At that stage he was struggling to breath.
 
Three of the assailants claimed to be War Veterans and were elderly.  The other assailant was young and attempted to rape the farmer's wife.  She is currently receiving ARV treatment.  The farmer required several stitches to close the wounds on his head.
 
The farmer's domestic worker and his wife were brought in with their baby and 4 year old child.  The couple were assaulted in the presence of the young child and whilst the baby was still on the wife's back. 
 
All were then tied up and the assailants loaded up the farmer's truck with property and left.  They returned later for another load.  The farmer's wife finally managed to free herself and broke out of the house. 
 
One of the family's Scotty dogs 'Timolina' had a wound across her back where she had been hit.  The other Scotty 'Lizzy' had run away and when she did not return the following day, Sunday, the team went out on Monday, happily to find that she had returned uninjured but was very traumatised.  She sat next to Meryl on the way back to Harare and wouldn't leave her side.  The Team returned to help the family clear up the house which had been completely 'trashed' during the attack.
 
The wildlife situation remains cause for very grave concern.  Hunters from here and abroad are capitalising on the chaotic situation as well as other unscrupulous individuals who are claiming that the wild animals on occupied farms are a natural resource to be exploited.  Hunting concessions are being handed out in excess of recommended quotas.  It is basically 'open season' - even the 'presidential elephants' in Hwange are being poached.
 
Regards
 
Bernice
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www.worldonline.co.za

Keep despotic Mugabe out, says Aussie leader


[Auckland, August 15 ] - John Howard, the Australian prime minister, has branded Zimbabwe's president an "un-elected despot" - and says his nation should not be readmitted to the Commonwealth.

Zimbabwe was kicked out of all decision-making councils of the group, which comprises Britain and its former colonies, after President Robert Mugabe's regime was accused of intimidation and vote-rigging in the presidential elections of March 2002.

Howard, speaking on the sidelines of a Pacific leaders' meeting in Auckland on Friday, said unless Zimbabwe moved back towards democratic rule it "should definitely remain suspended".

"There's no sign that Zimbabwe's position is altering," he added.

"Zimbabwe as a nation continues to suffer the ruin of a country that has been in the hands of an un-elected despot."

Howard also said Mugabe should be barred from the next Commonwealth meeting, scheduled for December in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

"I don't think it would be helpful for the Commonwealth if Mr Mugabe were to come to Abuja," he said.

Earlier on Friday Don McKinnon, the Commonwealth secretary-general, announced that he planned to stand for a second four-year term when his term expires at the end of the year.

McKinnon, New Zealand's former foreign minister, said the 54-nation group "has achieved a lot in the last three years," but added: "I think there is still a lot of work to do."
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Zimbabwe: Government arrogance derails economic recovery programme
      Charles Rukuni, Staff Reporter
      Barutiwa News Service
      Filed on Aug 14, 2003 @ 09:35 hours EST



Old habits die hard. Despite coming up with fantastic homegrown economic
recovery programmes, the ruling ZANU-PF has failed to turn around the
country's teetering economy. Instead, the slide has continued with inflation
now at a staggering 364.5 percent up from 199 percent at the end of 2002.
And it appears that the slide is likely to continue for some time as the
government continues to grope in the dark, blaming everyone else for the
economic collapse except itself. Yet, it is the arrogance of the ruling
party that has led to the current crisis.
With an acute shortage of foreign currency, no food or fuel, threats to cut
down power supplies and skyrocketing inflation, most Zimbabweans believed
the government was genuinely looking for a solution to the country's crisis
when it revamped the Tripartite Negotiating Forum (TNF), which takes in the
business sector and labour, and signed a number of protocols to steer the
country out of the doldrums at the beginning of the year. The announcement
of a national economic recovery programme in February seemed to be icing to
what looked like a joint and genuine effort to get the country back on
track.

Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa said the programme was aimed at restoring
conditions necessary for full agricultural production, reversal of
de-industrialisation and increasing capacity utilisation in the
manufacturing sector and resuscitation of closed mines and companies. The
government was supposed to introduce measures that would address the
viability of producers and the survival of exporters, including all earners
of foreign exchange. It was also supposed to come up with credible pricing
policies for domestic goods and services and arrest inflation. Another key
component of the recovery programme was to restore business confidence and
to engage external creditors over payment of arrears which had risen to
US$1.4 billion in January 2003.

There was no time to waste. The 49-page revival programme had a 16-page
implementation plan with most of the tasks scheduled to start in February or
March except those that were ongoing. Four months down the line, very little
has been achieved. Targets have been missed. Blame shifting is the order of
the day. And, the government is not acknowledging that one of the key
factors in the success of the programme, the TNF broke down in April when
labour organised a three-day national strike to protest against the
government's arbitrary decision to increase the price of fuel by more than
300 percent when the TNF had signed a prices and incomes stabilisation
protocol that was supposed to be in force until the end of June.

The government had already lost the trust of the labour body when it rounded
up members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change after their
two-day stayaway in March. This was a serious breach of the Kadoma
Declaration which the TNF had agreed to in January as part of the
government's efforts to restore confidence in the nation as well as shore up
political tolerance which was key to good governance and a return to the
rule of law.

A participant in the TNF said the government had never been serious about
the TNF. It appeared only interested in using the TNF to come up with an
economic recovery plan which appeared to have the consensus of key
stakeholders so that it could sell this to the International Monetary Fund
to resume its credit line.

"The Kadoma Declaration is key to the success of both the TNF and the
economic recovery programme," the participant said. "As long as the
government continues to politick, ignoring the realities that the country
faces today, it will go nowhere."

The TNF first came up with the Kadoma Declaration in August 2001 after
noting that it was necessary to address the totality of the macroeconomic
problems including the country risk factor I order to turn around the
country's economic problems but the government had refused to sign the
declaration.

The forum said the country risk factor was the premium that was attached by
nationals, residents, foreigners and international bodies on residing in,
visiting or doing business with a particular country". Elements of the risk
included low confidence or pride in one's country, lack of patriotism and
trust in institutional systems. Millions of Zimbabweans have left the
country to seek greener pastures elsewhere. A weekly paper recently reported
more than half a million professional and technical Zimbabweans had left the
country to work abroad.

The elements of risk also included failure of the nation to supply basic
human needs, like is currently being experienced by the country's failure to
supply fuel and cash as well as basic requirements such as mealie meal.
Other elements are lack of social cohesion, real or perceived selective
observance of the rule of law, insecurity and real or perceived lack of
political tolerance.

The TNF said country risk led to most of the problems Zimbabwe is currently
experiencing such as prolonged economic depression, hyperinflation, low
savings, capital flight, de-industrialisation, high unemployment and brain
drain. It led to increased poverty, with poverty in turn leading to an
increase in crime.

The TNF even suggested solutions and the way forward to solve the country's
risk problems. These included depoliticising institutions of governance and
a return to the rule of law, timeous implementation of agreed policies,
democratisation of the economic landscape and timeous resolution of
disputes. All political leaders had to speak against violence and ensure
free and fair elections. The law had to apply equally to anyone who incited
or perpetrated violence.

The government had to blacklist all givers and receivers of bribes, enforce
the Prevention of Corruption Act and deal with commercial corruption. It had
to ensure good governance.

What has angered some members of the TNF, especially the labour movement
which has strong links with the Movement for Democratic Change is that
whenever there is violence it is only members of the opposition who are
arrested even when they are the victims. The government also seems to be
turning a blind eye on the black market leading to speculation that senior
government or ZANU-PF officials are involved, especially in money spinning
activities such as the trade in foreign currency, fuel procurement, and the
sale of scarce products whose prices are still controlled such as sugar and
mealie meal or maize.

The biggest blow for the trade union movement was the arbitrary price
increases that the government allowed soon after a freeze on incomes was
supposed to have been put into effect. But the arrogance of the government
which continued to give the impression that everything it was doing had been
sanctioned by all stakeholders has derailed its recovery programme, the
fourth such plan to flop because of politicking.

The government adopted the International Monetary Fund sponsored Economic
Structural Adjustment Programme in 1991 but failed to implement it fully
because of political considerations. It came up with its own Zimbabwe
Programme for Economic and Social Transformation, but never implemented it.
This was followed by the Millennium Recovery Programme. It too was not
implemented.

Under the current programme, the government was supposed to have explored
models of land tenure systems vis a vis property rights by March. It was
supposed to have reviewed maximum A2 farm sizes and rationalised and
consolidated land allocation in line with an audit by the Land Task force
the same month. Instead, it threw away the report without disclosing its
findings to the public and setup another audit team which is still working
on its audit.

The government is supposed to have reviewed and topped up input schemes,
finance and extension services and facilitated the setting up of commodity
associations by the same month. It should have introduced a Dairy
Development Programme to revive dairy farms by March and transformed
Agribank into a land bank as well as the disbanded Agricultural Marketing
Authority.

Other tasks that should have been carried out by March included the review
of the Industrial Review Strategy to address de-industrialisation, low
capacity utilisation, increased exports and empowerment and, a review of the
gold support scheme. International public relations companies should have
been hired to counter negative publicity.

Several measures to boost foreign currency should have been implemented in
February. These included an export support scheme, a review of the 50:50
export proceeds surrender every quarter, the introduction of an export
revolving fund and incentives to attract remittances from non-resident
Zimbabweans. A credible external payments arrears repayment programme should
also have been put in place in February.

The government should have put in place trigger mechanisms to adjust the
prices of fuel, and tariffs for coal and electricity by February. It should
also have concluded and signed the Kadoma Declaration by February.

As things stand, it is still gropping in the dark, calling on the nation to
remain steadfast- Rambai makashinga.
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Is Mugabe trying another cover-up?
      Charles Rukuni, Staff Reporter
      Barutiwa News Service
      Filed on Aug 14, 2003 @ 15:30 hours EST



Harare, Zimbabwe (BNS) - President Robert Mugabe's has called on his
lieutenants to surrender excess farms if they have more than one but the
move is being viewed with a lot of skepticism, coming as it does, just
before the Land Review Commission which he appointed in May is about to
present its report. The commission was given two months to submit its report
but is behind schedule.
Observers say the call could be another cover-up. The government appointed a
land audit team led by Minister of State in charge of Land Reform Flora Buka
last year but has declined to publish its findings. Part of the Buka report
was, however, leaked to the local and international media. It is not clear,
therefore, whether the document that has been circulating is the genuine
report or not because the government has denied its existence.

President Mugabe's call comes amid speculation that the government is not
likely to release the findings of the Land Review Commission chaired by his
former top lieutenant, Charles Utete, either. Other members of the powerful
committee were Robie Mupawose, Liberty Mhlanga, Tobias Takavarasha, Boniface
Ndimande, Rudo Gaidzanwa, Mavis Chidzonga and Misheck Sibanda. Whispers say
should the government decide to publish the findings, it is likely to
produce two reports, one for government consumption and the other for the
public.

The findings are said to be too embarrassing for the government to risk the
forthcoming general elections. The Buka team named prominent people and they
in turn could have spilled the beans so that they do not go down alone. The
Utete Commission is reported to have opened a can of worms that sent shivers
among the party's top lieutenants who had ignored requests for information
from Buka because she was a political lightweight. Utete, the man once
regarded as the de facto Prime Minister of the country when that post was
scrapped, is no easy pushover.

Buka's report was quite revealing. It covered all the country's provinces
except Masvingo. It found that some people had been allocated land on which
people had already been settled. Barclays Bank managing director, Alex
Jongwe, allegedly bought nine such farms in Bindura, Mazowe and Makonde
districts. Sunday Mirror publisher Ibbo Mandaza bought five such farms in
Bubi district

Senior government and party officials had also been allocated farms that had
originally been planned for A1 settlement (for peasant production) but had
been redesignated A2, commercial farming. War veterans Chris Pasipamire and
Mike Moyo were allegedly violently evicting 36 settlers from Mayfield farm
in Mazowe. James Makamba had removed settlers from Maryvale farm while Mines
Minister Edward Chindori-Chininga had moved into Calgary farm, both in
Mazowe.

Member of Parliament Servius Kasukuwere, Air Force chief Perrence Shiri and
Defence Minister Sidney Sekeramayi were also involved with Kasukuwere moving
in onto Harmony farm in Mazowe, Shiri displacing 96 families at Eirin farm
in Marondera and Sekeramayi moving 21 families from Ulva farm in Marondera.

Mashonaland West faced a peculiar problem. Disagreement between governor
Peter Chanetsa, party chairman Philip Chiyangwa and Local Government
Minister Ignatius Chombo on prospective beneficiaries had resulted in 90
farms acquired for resettlement in the prime farming area lying idle for two
years.

Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises Development Sithembiso Nyoni was
playing havoc at Fountain farm in Insiza. The Insiza District land committee
had recommended that the farm, which is highly developed and produces
poultry, citrus and livestock should be allocated to youths for skills
training, but Nyoni had allegedly been offered the farm. Though Lands and
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made had promised to withdraw Nyoni's offer
letter, Nyoni was allegedly hiring thugs to beat up people at the farm
including members of the Insiza District land committee.

The report also names at least 30 senior government and party officials who
it says have more than one farm. They include Local Government Minister
Ignatius Chombo, Masvingo governor Josiah Hungwe, Deputy Minister Joram
Gumbo, MP Servius Kasukuwere, deputy speaker of Parliament Edna Madzongwe,
Deputy Minister Shuvai Mahofa, Minister Elliott Manyika, businessman Mutumwa
Mawere, Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi, Information Minister Jonathan
Moyo, Matebeleland North governor Obert Mpofu, Sabina Mugabe, Perrence
Shiri, Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena, and Mashonaland West governor
Peter Chanetsa.

But the report states that the list is not exhaustive. "People interviewed
were scared to reveal any information lest they might be victimised by the
multiple farm owners who seem to have their loyalists within the various
land committees," it says.
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The Herald

Chinese delegation to explore mining opportunities

Herald Reporter
A FIVE-member Chinese delegation is in Zimbabwe on a five-day visit to
explore mining opportunities in the country.

The chairman of the Chinese Metropolitan Mining Corporation, Mr Yang Chang
Heng, said Zimbabwe had large mineral deposits that needed to be exploited.

A subsidiary of the company, Metallurgical Construction Company (MCC) is
already operating in the country.

Several officials from mining companies such as the Zimbabwe Mining and
Smelting Company, the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, ZimAlloys, the
Zimbabwe Mining and Development Corporation and the Mineral Marketing
Corporation of Zimbabwe attended the meeting.

The Chinese delegation said it looked forward to starting work in Zimbabwe
and hoped for maximum support from the Ministry of Mines, which was
represented by Minister Edward Chindori-Chininga at the meeting.

Mr Heng said since Zimbabwe was rich in mineral resources, China could
provide the finance, technology and market to exploit the resources.

Representatives from the mining companies took turns to brief the MCC on the
operations of their companies as well as the areas that needed revamping.

The Chinese delegation said it would start working in stages and had already
set its sight on chrome which has an annual production of about 250 000
tonnes.

An official with MCC said feasibility studies had already been done and
developments should be expected "as soon as possible".

In a move that would benefit Zisco in terms of financing, the Chinese have
also shown interest in iron and steel and will visit Zisco today.

They have also indicated interest in the coke ovens at Wankie Colliery Mine.

Mr Heng said investment opportunities were bright in Zimbabwe.

"We have a bright future here, otherwise we wouldn't have come. Even if we
encounter problems, we know they can be overcome through consultations," he
said.

MCC specialises in scientific research, geo-technical construction and
installation, technical services, and equipment designs, among other diverse
operations.
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The Herald

Presidential pensions law gazetted

Herald Reporter
The Presidential Pension and Retirement Benefits Amendment Act is now law
after President Mugabe assented to it.

According to yesterday's Government Gazette, President Mugabe signed the
Act, which was recently approved by Parliament, into law.

The Act sets the annual pension of the first President of Zimbabwe at 75
percent of the annual salary of a serving President.

It also states that any person who, at any time since December 31 1987, had
been President or Vice President of Zimbabwe for at least one full term of
office, shall receive an annual pension that is equal to the annual salary
of a serving President or Vice President.

Under the Act, surviving children of a person who dies whilst in the office
of the President or Vice President of Zimbabwe after having served at least
one full term shall receive an annual pension equal to one third of any
annual pension to which the President or Vice President would have been
entitled to if they had vacated office as President or Vice President.

According to the Act, the spouse of the first President of Zimbabwe shall be
paid allowances which are equal to 75 percent of any allowances paid to the
spouse of a serving President.

The spouse of any person who had been President or Vice President since
December 31 1987 shall be paid allowances equal to any allowance paid to the
spouse of a serving President or Vice President.

The allowances will be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
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Comment from ZWNEWS, 15 August


Hit for six


The government is so desperate for foreign currency that it seems even
cricket players' bank accounts are not immune from the attentions of the
country's security agents. Members of Zimbabwe's cricket squad stand to lose
a large part of their earnings from playing in the World Cup, The Times
reported yesterday. Not only has the total amount paid to each player
reportedly been cut, but a ruling by the Reserve Bank also means that the
players will be forced to change half of their remaining earnings into local
currency at the official exchange rate. The players are furious. "It’s like
they’re stealing our foreign currency," one unnamed player was quoted as
saying, "and it’s only worth living in Zimbabwe if you can earn foreign
currency." Small print in the players' contracts stated that, if the
Zimbabwe Cricket Union's income from the tournament failed to reach a
certain level, payments to the players would be cut pro-rata. The result of
this was an immediate 19% cut in each player's payment. Worse was to follow.
On the day the payments were made to the players' foreign currency accounts
in Zimbabwe, CIO agents arrived demanding to see details of the accounts.
The account manager was later informed that the Reserve Bank had decided
that these accounts were deemed to be corporate, not individual, accounts.
The change in status means that 50% of the players' earnings must be
converted to Z$ at the official rate of 824 to the US$. On the black market,
the US$ has recently been trading at up to Z$4500. Access to the remaining
50% held in foreign currency is by application to the Reserve Bank. There is
no guarantee that any such application would be successful.
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Vanguard, Nigeria

      Obasanjo, Bush have a pact on Taylor, says Kalu


      By Kenneth Ehigiator
      Saturday, August 16, 2003


      GOVERNOR Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State has said President Olusegun
Obasanjo’s resolve not to hand over former President Charles Taylor of
Liberia to the United Nations for war crime trial was informed by an
agreement on the issue between him and President George Bush of the United
States.

      The governor, who made the disclosure at the presidential way of the
Murtala Mohammed Airport, Thursday night, said the UN apparently was not
aware of that understanding between Nigeria and the US which he was privy
to, hence, its insistence on the hand over of the former Liberia leader, who
is currently on exile in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

      "Let the UN not talk what they don’t know. To the best of my
knowledge, there was appropriate agreement between Presidents Bush and
Obasanjo. The US cannot come into that agreement now to portray Nigerians as
bad people.

      "If no other Nigerians know, I know that from the part of the
Americans, there was an agreement. It wasn’t even on the plan of Bush to
stop-over in Nigeria during his last visit. You could see there was no
fanfare, and when I talk to you, I talk to you because I’m telling you what
I know."

      "What pushed President Bush to be here was Liberia and once he
finished with that, he was finished with Nigeria," said Governor Kalu, who
pleaded with Nigerians to temper justice with mercy on the asylum granted
Taylor by the federal government.

      He, however, said it was only the security council of UN that could
issue a decision for Taylor’s handover, stressing if this were so, the
federal government would have no choice, but to hand him over for trial.

      Governor Kalu said what was paramount was the removal of the former
Liberia leader from power to make room for peace in the war-torn country,
adding that the issue of his handover for war crimes was only a secondary
consideration.

      He said leaders in the region would not hesitate to sacrifice him, if
that was all that was needed to restore sanity to the whole of the Mano
Rivers Union’s territories which he alleged President Charles Taylor had
thrown into anarchy over the years.

      Making a case for the former Liberia leader , Governor Kalu stated:
"the man has done wrong, he should be forgiven also. Let’s remove him first
because there is problem in Guinea Conakry, problem in Burkina Faso, problem
everywhere, Sierra Leone, the whole of the Mano Rivers Union area you have
problems, and this is caused by one man called Charles Taylor.

      "You see the way he left his country, he left with all his heart, and
if you have shown such a remorse, the way he talked to Liberian people, the
way he behaved when he was leaving, I mean he was virtually crying. And for
a man in that level of office to be removed from office in that way shows
African leaders should be cautious."

      Kalu, who challenged African leaders to extend similar treatment to
President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, flayed the leaders for their sit-tight
syndrome in office, which had stood between the continent and progress.

      He said "we have to start finishing these African leaders who want to
sit tight, who do not want to leave office. It’s criminal offence not to
leave office. "It’s criminal offence for a leader to subvert the
constitution of his country, and the earlier we started dealing with these
African leaders, the better for the world."

      Governor Kalu lamented the conversion of national wealth by some
African leaders to their personal resources, warning that the continent
would continue to suffer, if something urgent was not done to reverse the
trend.

      He commended the mediatory role President Obasanjo had played lately
in Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone and Liberia, saying the world
expected nothing less than that from Nigeria, considering her stature in
Africa.

      For him, the country’s profile in mediating international conflicts
could be taken to the world stage, if her resources, human and material,
were optimally managed.

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