Zimbabwe's Government Leaders To Meet Over Outstanding Issues

http://www.radiovop.com


HARARE - President Robert Mugabe and the two MDC leaders, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara are
meeting this Monday for what is set to become a very tense round of talks
centering on outstanding issues to the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

"The Monday meeting of the three principals is routine," George
Charamba, President Mugabe's spokesperson, told this week's Sunday Mail
newspaper.

"The only difference this time around is that it is coming against the
background of absolute anger and frustration in the Zanu-PF Politburo at the
non-placard disposition of the MDC regarding outstanding issues."

Charamba, who is also Media, Information and Publicity permanent
secretary, was referring to last Thursday's meeting by the politburo which
called on party leader, President Mugabe, to repel further pressure from the
MDC which wants Zanu PF to commit itself into fulfilling outstanding issues
to the GPA.

The MDC is keen to see the unilateral appointments by Mugabe of
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes
Tomana revisited as they were done in violation of the GPA.

The MDC is agitated by the apparent refusal by Mugabe to swear in its
officials that have been nominated to take up posts for provincial
governorship.

The MDC also wants Zanu PF to stop the systematic prosecution of its
legislators who continue to be arrested for crimes involving theft,
electoral fraud, rape, inciting public violence, among others.

The MDC says the prosecutions are a deliberate attempt by Zanu PF to
trim its razor thin parliamentary majority.

But in what could be viewed as an attempt to wad off more pressure
from the MDC in terms of meeting its obligations on the issues outstanding
in the GPA, Zanu PF has tasked Mugabe to resist further "attempts to abuse
the agreement" by the MDC.

During Monday's meeting, Mugabe is expected to ask his colleagues how
far they have played their part in fulfilling their own obligations.

Zanu PF spokesperson, Ephraim Masawi told journalists on Friday his
party was not happy with the MDC's failure to stop the operations of
so-called pirate radio stations based abroad but broadcasting into Zimbabwe.

He alleged that President Mugabe acted within both the law and the GPA
when he appointed Gono and Tomana.

Masawi further alleged it was Mugabe's "exclusive constitutional
prerogative" to unilaterally appoint 10 provincial governors and resident
ministers.

Zanu PF says the MDC has not done enough in actively advocating for
the lifting of targeted sanctions imposed on the country and its politicians
by the West, an assertion which the MDC has vehemently dismissed.

In a statement, the MDC on Saturday blamed the imposition of sanctions
on President Mugabe's repressive rule in the past decade, which has been
characterized by the arrest of political opponents, journalists and the open
manipulation of electoral systems to secure an easy victory.

"The world is clear that the so-called sanctions are a result of Zanu
PF's past sins of omission and commission," said the MDC.

"The onus is on Zanu PF itself to morph into a civilised political
party that does not believe in the primitive and feudal coercive politics of
machetes and knobkerries. The MDC cannot be held accountable for Zanu PF's
political misfortunes and the barbaric image it has carved out for itself in
the eyes of Africa and the world.

"Zimbabweans, the region and the world know that it is Zanu PF which
has violated the GPA by standing in the way of Constitutional reform, by
maintaining a stranglehold on the public media, by persecuting political
opponents, by reneging on agreed reform processes and refusing to swear-in
officials legally seconded to the inclusive government by their political
parties. The case of Hon Roy Bennett is a case in point."

Zuma steps into Zim fray

http://www.int.iol.co.za


      Basildon Peta
    August 16 2009 at 08:55AM

President Jacob Zuma is expected to meet his Zimbabwean counterpart,
Robert Mugabe, at the end of August to try to help solve serious problems in
the unity government.

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met Zuma in Johannesburg
two weeks ago and complained about Mugabe obstructing the unity government.

After the meeting Zuma said the problems Tsvangirai had identified
were "weighty and important" but could be solved.

He said he would discuss them with Mugabe, Zimbabwean Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara and regional leaders.

Authoritative Zimbabwean government sources said Zuma would land in
Harare on August 27 to meet Mugabe and open the annual Harare Agricultural
Show.

Zuma's spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, said he could not confirm any
meeting between Mugabe and Zuma at this stage. On whether there had been any
telephonic discussions, he said: "Even before the president met Tsvangirai,
there were engagements between South Africa and Zimbabwe and discussions are
not necessarily confined to the presidential level," he said.

Zuma will try to resolve the outstanding issues that have dogged the
unity government before the Southern African Development Community summit in
the Democratic Republic of Congo in September.

Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change hopes that Zuma's
intervention will ensure that Mugabe does not dominate the summit, as he has
previous summits.

Among the key issues that have threatened to derail the unity
government have been the controversial unilateral appointments of Mugabe
cronies such as Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana to the key posts of central
bank governor and attorney-general respectively.

The Movement for Democratic Change is also angered by the
controversial targeting of its MPs in what it believes are politically
inspired prosecutions, long delays in swearing in agriculture deputy
minister Roy Bennett and appointing new provincial governors in line with a
new formula and Mugabe's attempts to muzzle a new constitution-making
process, among other things.

Critical issues

The MDC's national executive committee was expected to meet this
weekend to "deliberate on critical issues affecting the party and the
inclusive government".

In a statement announcing the meeting on Friday, the MDC said top of
the agenda of the meeting would be a "discussion on the outstanding issues
in the Global Political Agreement, the progress or lack of it in the
constitution-making process as well as the grab-all and take-all attitude of
Zanu-PF, which has betrayed it as a dishonest partner in the inclusive
government".

"The outstanding issues have been the Achilles heel of the inclusive
government. Zimbabweans and the international community at large have waited
patiently for visible reforms that reflect the new order and the new
dispensation in the country," the statement added.

"That hope has been dampened by Zanu-PF's reluctance to clear all the
outstanding issues that continue to puncture the wheels of change, progress
and national development.

"Zanu-PF wants to cling to governorships in all the 10 provinces; they
want to control the public media and all state institutions, including the
army and the police."

"The MDC is the senior partner in this inclusive government. We did
not join anyone's government.

"Ours is not a unitary arrangement but an inclusive set up where
executive power is shared equally between the president and the prime
minister."

But despite the tough statement from the MDC, some sources within the
party say Tsvangirai will have to persuade his party to agree to compromise
on some of the outstanding issues, or the unity government will be wrecked
altogether.

Because Mugabe is not going to budge on the appointments of both Gono
and Tomana, Tsvangirai is already comfortable with the option of settling
for at least one of these two posts, a position that Zuma will push for.

There have also been secret negotiations between Mugabe's henchmen and
Tsvangirai's people in an attempt to bridge the remaining differences.

This article was originally published on page 9 of Tribune on August
16, 2009

Cash crisis hits agro industry

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

13 August 2009

By STAFF REPORTER

HARARE - Zimbabwe's cash-flow crisis is impacting negatively upon the
heavily agro-based industry - as harvested crops cannot be bought because of
the shortage of cash.

Most farmers have just finished harvesting their products and the selling
season has reached its peak this month. But sources in the industry revealed
that although farmers are rushing to sell their crops, companies lack the
capacity to pay for crops like soya beans, maize and paprika. Some companies
are said to have sought an audience last week with Finance Minister Tendai
Biti to negotiate for a financial package to buy crops.

"My company buys soya beans in large quantities for processing. But
following the dollarisation of our economy this year, cash has been a really
challenge. We are unable to buy as much as soya beans as we want," said
Jairos Dlomo the Managing Director of Soya Beans Africa. Dlomo said the
price of Soya beans was becoming very expensive and most companies are
finding it difficulty to buy the crop.

Soya bean output was projected at more than 70 000 tonnes last season, with
the crop selling at between $US300 and $US500 per ton. Companies buying
paprika face similar problems. Although officials from Paprika Zimbabwe and
Cairns could not be reached for comment, a buyer with Paprika Zimbabwe, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said his company was buying the crop but
would pay farmers later.

But farmers also desperately need cash to prepare for the coming season. The
cash crisis has also affected the state-run Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
which is also failing to pay farmers in time for crops delivered. The maize
price is $265 a ton.

Zim inflates gem output to evade ban: PAC

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

13 August 2009

By NEVER CHANDA

HARARE - Zimbabwe exported a mere US$33 million worth of diamonds in 2008
and will not be severely prejudiced by an impending embargo from world trade
in the precious mineral, a leading international campaigner against "blood
diamonds" said last week.

Ottawa-based Partnership Africa Canada, one of the organisations that
rigorously campaigned for Zimbabwe's expulsion from the Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme (KPCS), said Harare's current official trade in
diamonds was so negligible that a ban would not send tremors throughout the
struggling southern African economy.
"Total diamond exports from Zimbabwe for the whole of 2008 were a mere US$33
million and, therefore, the necessary embargo by the KP on Zimbabwe's
diamonds will not undermine any future economic recovery," observed PAC
executive director Bernard Taylor.
The country's total exports for 2008 were estimated at around US$1.8
billion, making the contribution by diamonds a drop in the ocean.
A probe team from the 49-member KPCS last month recommended that Zimbabwe be
suspended from trade in rough diamonds for at least six months until better
controls are in place and Harare acted to end human rights violations at the
notorious Marange or Chiadzwa diamond fields near Mutare city.
Zimbabwe's Mines Minister Obert Mpofu immediately responded to the
suspension verdict by arguing that the troubled southern African nation
would not survive the diamond trade ban as it desperately tries to revive an
economy buffeted by a decade of international isolation.
The Zimbabwean minister reasoned at the time that the proposed diamond
blockade would only worsen Harare's economic situation - already dire after
the country's new coalition government failed to secure critical
international aid necessary to kickstart collapsed industry.
But Taylor dismissed Mpofu's assertion, saying the arguments by Zimbabwe's
political leaders "are based on deliberately inflated diamond production
levels and are simply smoke and mirrors".
Added Susanne Emond, another PAC official: "Without aiming to harm the
country, suspension is one of the only tools the Kimberley Process has to
encourage member countries to undertake the necessary reforms to meet the
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme minimum requirements and thereby
rejoin the world diamond regulatory body."
PAC has been calling for the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Kimberley
Process since December 2008 following the first reports of human rights
abuses, together with other indications that Zimbabwe had lost control of
its diamond industry.

SA's Zim arms shame

http://www.iol.co.za

 

    August 16 2009 at 07:01AM

By Edward Malnick

South Africa exported deadly weapons to Zimbabwe at a time when it was
virtually at war, unleashing savage attacks on the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change.

This is one of the shock disclosures in a document leaked to the
Sunday Tribune, which the government has failed to make public.

The report details South Africa's arms trade - including the
"temporary export" of arms to Zimbabwe, which included "major conventional
implements of war that could cause heavy personnel casualties."

The arms exports listed showed that "fighter aircraft, explosives,
missiles, bombs, artillery guns (and) tanks" were among the items dispatched
to our neighbouring country.

In the wake of these disclosures the National Conventional Arms
Control Committee could face a serious crisis of credibility with its
functioning and conduct seeming to be in violation of both the Constitution
and the ANC government's own enabling legislation governing arms dealing.

There are claims that for over a year the National Conventional Arms
Control Committee, the government body that oversees South Africa's arms
trade, effectively did not function as it was supposed to do in terms of
vetting arms sales.

The past four annual reports of the committee have been kept hidden
from public scrutiny and loosely termed "classified" although the law
requires these documents be delivered to Parliament's defence committee and
made public.

The 2005 report records a "temporary export" of arms to Zimbabwe. The
weapons fall into the category of material that "could cause heavy personnel
casualties", say government documents. The government has refused to answer
questions about this export.

The committee is supposed to vet whether weapons made available to a
particular government are likely to be used against that country's own
citizens or whether they are likely to be used to inflame regional
conflicts.

Yesterday, Tlali Tlali, spokes-person for committee chairman Jeff
Radebe, did not respond to queries - including whether these arms had been
returned.

A defence expert has raised the possibility that the weapons could
have been on offer to international buyers including the Democratic Republic
of the Congo at an arms exposition in Zimbabwe.

Noel Stott, of the Institute for Security Studies, said although he
was not aware of an arms sale event in Zimbabwe, "I can't picture why a
particular country would have an expo just for its own defence force and
military".

"Any country could be a potential buyer," he added.

In 2005 an Amnesty International report "DR Congo: arming the east"
said that "The DRC has used sympathetic neighbours in the region for arms
procurement".

A UN report on repression in 2005 accused Zimbabwe of acting in "an
indiscriminate and unjustified manner, with indifference to human suffering,
and, in repeated cases, with disregard to several provisions of national and
international legal frameworks".

Though the SA government has refused to divulge details of what
weapons and ammunition were made available to the Zimbaweans, the 2005 deal
is only one of several deals with them in recent years.

Earlier in 2009, the Mail & Guardian indicated that among other
material, handguns (assault rifles as well as 9mm handguns) had been sold by
SA interests to the Zimbabwean security forces.

Last year, a furore erupted when news broke of a permit issued by the
committee to allow a Chinese ship to convey weapons to Zimbabwe via South
Africa. However, a court order prevented the ship unloading.

Whether the arms ever got to Zimbabwe via another African state
remains unclear.

In December 2008 a UN panel of experts reported on deliveries of
ammunition made from the DRC to Zimbabwe. On whether these originated from
China, Jason Stearns, a member of the panel, said, "It's possible, but we
have no clues."

Democratic Alliance parliamentarian Dr Wilmot James, who recently
authored a report for the party on a fact-finding trip to Zimbabwe,
described the latest revelations as really alarming. "I would have thought
the committee would have exercised a bit more care."

James expressed concern about the possibility of additional unreported
arms exports to Zimbabwe, saying "it sounds like there has been a pattern".

Human Rights lobby group Freedom House, which ranked Zimbabwe "not
free" in 2008, raised concerns that Zimbabwean security and military forces
"abuse citizens with impunity".

The latest revelations come as the British government has effectively
warned South Africa against providing Zimbabwe with weapons based on
concerns about "internal repression".

Last week, DA defence spokes-man David Maynier called on Radebe to
"investigate the arms deals that have been authorised by the committee in
respect of Libya, Syria and Venezuela", and to a deal with Zimbabwe
currently pending authorisation.

The Helen Suzman Foundation last week called on Parliament to
thoroughly probe the latest allegations about "dodgy" arms deals.

The foundation said it was concerned that ongoing allegations
regarding the armaments industry continued to bedevil public life, eroding
and undermining trust between citizens and government institutions.

Adding to the concern, for well over a year the committee largely
ceased to function. In the aftermath of political bloodletting at the ANC's
2007 elective conference, the committee apparently existed only in name
until the early part of 2009.

According to well-placed sources, authorisations for weapons trading
were given under the signature of a functionary in the Defence Department,
acting Defence Secretary Tsepe Motumi, the Defence Ministry's deputy
director general for policy planning and strategy, after NCACC chairman and
former minister Sydney Mufamadi apparently delegated his committee's
responsibilities.

Shortly before this, an investigation by First Consulting uncovered
irregularities in the weapons trade serious enough to call for the
suspension of several top officials and the cancellation and rescinding of
several deals.

The report was later suppressed by the Secretariat of Defence. Earlier
in August the current chairman of the committee, Justice Minister Jeff
Radebe, admitted in response to allegations by Maynier that the NCACC had
"developed a special mechanism in terms of which the chairman or deputy
chairman can consider "urgent matters" and "take any such decision they deem
appropriate within confines of the law".

However the law states that "four of the members, who must include the
chairman or deputy chairman of the committee, constitute a quorum".

Mufamadi would not therefore have had the power to delegate
responsibility to Motumi under the "special measures".

A week ago, the Tribune put written questions to Radebe's spokesman,
Tlali Tlali, including "on what advice the "special mechanism" was developed
and how many decisions were taken under this "mechanism"."

Tlali refused to address the questions, saying, "I really do not want
to have my fingers burned." He referred queries to the Defence Ministry's
director of arms control, Dumisani Dladla, who refused to answer any
questions.

This article was originally published on page 1 of Tribune on August
16, 2009

Archive sues Zuma for weapons reports

http://www.iol.co.za

    August 16 2009 at 01:38PM

By Edward Malnick

The South African History Archive is suing President Jacob Zuma, the
National Conventional Arms Control Committee and its chairman, Justice
Minister Jeff Radebe, to obtain the committee's annual reports produced
since 2004.

The Pretoria High Court is due to hear the application in October,
although the government has asked for a postponement.

The National Conventional Arms Control Act stipulates that the NCACC
must present a report on its activities to Parliament each year.

Only the "quantity of controlled items involved" are to be submitted
"on a confidential basis".

However, reports presented to the defence committee for 2005, 2006 and
2007 were not made public and members of the arms control committee have
consistently failed to appear before Parliament's defence committee to
answer questions on their reports. The 2008 report has not yet been
submitted.

Piers Pigou, former head of the former SA History Archive, an
"independent human rights archive", said that the government was using
apartheid-era laws to keep information on arms deals under wraps.

The government has ignored requests under the Promotion of Access to
Information Act for the reports.

Chairman of Parliament's defence committee Nyami Booi said last week
he would meet Radebe to discuss why the documents had not been made
available.

The DA's former member of the defence committee, Rafeek Shah, said
that during his five-year tenure members of the arms control committee
appeared only once to be grilled by MPs on their work.

In 2008, amid the storm over a Chinese ship attempting to transfer
arms to Zimbabwe via South Africa, Shah demanded that the arms control
committee appear before the defence oversight committee but only Sydney
Mufamadi, then chairman of the arms control committee, and January Masilela,
the defence secretary at the time, agreed to attend a meeting.

It was effectively not a public meeting because it was not until the
media had been turned away that Shah persuaded the committee to open the
doors to journalists, who were no longer there.

Mufamadi and Masilela answered questions only on the Zimbabwe shipment
and did not present or discuss any annual reports on their decisions.

The committee did not allow minutes of that meeting to be released.

Dr Rob Thomson of the Ceasefire Campaign, which asked the archive to
help obtain the annual reports, expressed concern that the arms control
committee appeared to have "decided not to make their annual reports
public".

He said there needed to be public criticism, "in the best sense, of
what the arms committee is or is not doing".

This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Argus on
August 16, 2009

Zimbabwe Cargo company smuggles illegal substances

http://www.zimeye.org/?p=8058

By Masimba-Chirimutsa

Published: August 16, 2009

HARARE  A backyard Zimbabwe Cargo company has gone on a stealing escapade as
it preys upon poor Zimbabweans in the diaspora, while smuggling illegal
substances into the country, the ZimEye can reveal.

The company, Zim Cargo which is involved in the smuggling of illegal goods
into Zimbabwe sealed in drum containers (pictured-right) meant for liquids
has to date officiated the stealing from more than 50 desperate Zimbabweans
in the UK, becoming enriched with more than £100 000.

Drums donated by economically depressed exiles intended to benefit poor
Zimbabwean families have been stripped, opened and subsequently reported to
be 'missing' upon which time no compensation whatsoever is paid.

As at the time of writing, goods worth more than £114 000 were missing and
customers were fuming over the matter. Apart from the goods stolen, the
company charges £205 per drum.

'No no no no, it happens all the time..we keep referring customers to Mr
Nembaware ' the receptionist said

The company openly states on its website that it ships '.most household
items DUTY FREE to Zimbabwe,' a contravention of Zimbabwe and the United
Kingdom's customs regulations which require that goods being transported in
and out of the country borders be declared what they are.

A DEAL HARD TO BELIEVE!

Put ANYTHING - Dead or Alive

Put ANYTHING - Gold or Food

*No more duty to Pay

*No more Clearing Charges to pay!

* No weight limit

All in all for ONLY £185.00 (empty drums excluded) are some of the cache
phrases used on the company's stationery.

A receptionist who answered the phone Saturday merely referred ZimEye to the
owner of the business a certain Mr B Nembaware whose two mobile phones kept
ringing continuously without an answer and Nembaware never rang back.

'You will need to speak to Mr Nembaware directly for that.' the receptionist
said, stating that she had no information and could not assist in any way
whatsoever.

When our reporter inquired, '..are you a company or are you a person?', the
receptionist gave no answer.

Who are the directors in your company?' our reporter further inquired upon
which time she boldly replied:

'Mr Nembaware is the boss!'

Nembaware apparently is also the truck driver of the makeshift truck that
picks up shipments from vulnerable customers in the United Kingdom. His
website http://www.zimcarrgo.com states: WE ARE OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS
A WEEK ON 020 (8)961 1105

The department of fair trading has been informed as the company comes under
public scrutiny and police surveillance. It is still not yet clear which
other goods the company smuggles into Zimbabwe as they are not checked by
Zimbabwe's Customs Authority (ZIMRA). Finance Minister Tendai Biti's office
has now been informed .

New govt fails to deliver

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

13 August 2009

By FUNGI KWARAMBA

Just after the formation of the inclusive government, the city of Harare
showed signs that it might retain to its sunshine status. However with the
progress of time, things are stagnant again, litter is everywhere and even
at the Government Munhumutapa offices there are rivulets of sewage - signs
for many that the government has failed.

"It's just a sign that there is no progress with the new government, how can
the offices of both the President and the Prime Minister have sewage flowing
out like that," asked one resident.
Indeed the poor service delivery in the capital city is microcosmic of
macrocosmic inertia of the Unity Government that is characterized by
constant squabbling and bickering, borne out of Zanu PF hardliners'
unwillingness to embrace wholesome change.
The residential areas are worse than the city centre, in the leafy parts of
Harare, where the high-heeled live, almost every house has had a borehole
drilled. Water does not reach the highlands and then when it oozes from the
rusting tapes, it is said to cause stomach pains, "How can I drink water
that cause sickness, the Government should not only provide water but safe
drinking water," said Griffith Hubert who stays in Vainona.
The Mayor of the city that has 14 golf courses, only a few of which are
still maintained, recently said that the City had acquired water chemicals
that would also benefit other towns, but blamed constant power outages as
one reason why water delivery was often erratic.
"I don't think there is a town in Zimbabwe where refuse trucks are still
making the rounds. The government should see to it that proper sanitation is
provided for all its citizens, otherwise we are facing another cholera
outbreak," said another resident.
Respective councils blame the residents, the majority of whom have not paid
their bills since the introduction of multiple currencies, "I cannot pay the
100 rands that the council demands. I surely want to see service delivery
Improving. We thought that things would be normal by now but unfortunately
that is not the case."
The fountains which momentarily spurted water into the pools at the Unity
Square have returned to the state they were in before the formation of the
inclusive government.
Investors are still wary of the country that, even though is ruled by a
joint government of three political parties, has a corrosive element in the
name of Mugabe whose obstinacy has derailed progress. Mugabe has refused to
let go his personal banker Gideon Gono who stole money from Non Governmental
Organizations last year and is yet to repay them, and Johannes Tomana - the
man who is refusing to give MDC's Roy Bennett  his passport back.
Progress in parliament has been painfully slow and to date no law has been
passed in a parliament where MDC used to have a majority. With five of its
legislators arrested, it is now in the minority again.
"Investors will not come in a country where a political party fails to
honour its part in the Global Political Agreement," said one economic
commentator.
Streets kids are spread everywhere and squatter camps like Hopley farm
Mugabe's creation after the infamous Murambatsvina are still far from being
fit for human habitation. Even though NGOs have came to the rescue of
prisoners, a Zimbabwean prisoner still has to walk to the courts. Judge
President Rita Makarau put the unsaid into words when she said all prisoners
in the country are on death row.

Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 15th August 2009

A spectacular performance by our friends the Afro Drum Generation was the highlight of the Vigil. Dressed in traditional animal skins, their high-stepping dancing, supported by marimba and drums, entranced many passers-by. The group hopes to take part in Zim Idol, a TV talent contest to discover Zimbabwe's music stars of tomorrow.

Thanks to Njabalo Ndlovu, Claude Chiswamu, Christopher Sibanda, Jerry Mtotela, Peter Dlomo (on loan from the Shashe Dance Troupe) and Nanzy Sebata. Nanzy who also manages the group. They are available for hire – please contact Nanzy (07787 183 098).

Once again we were joined by several MDC officials who spoke of the need to reform the party in the UK. Our activities were again filmed by ZNB News (www.zbnnews.com).

The Vigil continues to be ‘humiliated’ by developments at home – when, for instance, Mugabe says Zimbabwe must maintain its vast army of  diplomats leaving trails of unpaid debts around the world because to reduce their number would be ‘humiliating’. We are embarrassed when the mayor of Harare – in an affront to all donor countries – openly boasts he has a private fleet of vehicles but must still have an official car costing US$150,000: ‘I have a Mercedes Benz E240 and a Jaguar. My wife has a Toyota Double Cab and an Audi Curio Double Cab. My children use a Ford Bantam and a Ford Courier’. We are embarrassed that the Zanu PF deputy spokesman—in a break from insulting the West --  whines that Mugabe and his gang still can’t travel to the West or educate their  children there.

It was good to have so many supporters from far-flung places today – David Maliselo from Plymouth and Edrith Mhembere from Wales were there to greet us when we set up and we were also joined by Tabetha Mutyambizi from Dublin.  Patson Muzuwa read out a letter of thanks from Enika Chindawi.  Her mother died recently and Vigil supporters made a collection for her last week. Our condolences go out to Enika. There was also a message from journalist Irene Madonko. She is interested in talking to anyone who has been repatriated.  If anyone would like to help her, please contact the Vigil (co-ordinator@zimvigil.co.uk) and we will pass on the message.

For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/

FOR THE RECORD:  190 signed the register.

FOR YOUR DIARY:

·    ROHR Swansea launch meeting. Saturday 22^nd August, 1.30 – 6 00 pm. Venue: Morriston Memorial Hall, Heol Gwernen, Morriston, Swansea SA6 6JR. Present ROHR President and some members of the ROHR Executive. Contact: Kudzai Ruzwidzo 07824967317, Israel Ncube 07789814159 or P Mapfumo 07915926323/07932216070.

·    ROHR South East London general meeting. Saturday 22^nd August, 1 – 5 pm. Venue:  375 Old Kent Road, London, SE1 5JQ. Contact: Priscilla Chitsinde 07804696328 or Wellington Rupere 07838153217.

·    ROHR Chelmsford general meeting. Saturday 29^th August, 1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue: Springfield Parish Hall (centre), Chelmsford, CM1 6GX. Transport from train station to the venue provided.  Contact: Faith Benesi 07958650670, Tobokwa Malikongwa 07533660621, Robert Mafigo 07944815190, Christina Zanji 07535791464, Matha A Magwaza 07748644911.

·    ROHR Derby general meeting. Saturday 5^th September, 1.30-5.30pm. Venue: The Community Block, Pear Tree Community Junior School, Pear Tree Street, Derby DE23 8PN. ROHR Executive present and a substantive committee to be elected. Contact: Tsitsi Razawe 07773649330, Wonder Katurura 07858699224, Phenias Tutayi 07825524519. FREE PARKING AVAILABLE.

·    ROHR Coventry party. Saturday 5^th September from 4 pm till midnight. Venue: St Paul's Church, Foleshill Road, Coventry CV6 5AJ. Food, drinks, ne Doro available. Admission £3.50. Contact (Chairman) E. Nyakudya 07876796129, (Secretary) Pauline Makuwere 07533332306, (Organizer) Matambanashe Sibanda 07886660392, (Treasurer) V.J Mujeye 07534034594.

·    Zimbabwe Association’s Women’s Weekly Drop-in Centre. Fridays 10.30 am – 4 pm. Venue: The Fire Station Community and ICT Centre, 84 Mayton Street, London N7 6QT, Tel: 020 7607 9764. Nearest underground: Finsbury Park. For more information contact the Zimbabwe Association 020 7549 0355 (open Tuesdays and Thursdays).

Vigil Co-ordinators

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.  

Tomana working full-time for Zanu (PF)

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

13 August 2009

By John Makumbe

It has become very clear to all and sundry that Mr. Johannes Tomana, the
unilaterally appointed Attorney General, is working day and night to get MDC
supporters and MPs arrested and prosecuted on trumped up charges. That is
the specific purpose of his appointment by Mugabe without consultations with
the two MDC formations.

The second purpose of his appointment is to ensure the protection of Zanu
(PF) supporters and MPs from prosecution for the numerous crimes that they
are alleged to have committed. For example, ZTV footage clearly showed that
Chinotimba, Kasukuwere and Zhuwawu were among the ring-leaders of the Zanu
(PF) hoodlums that disrupted the All-Stakeholders Constitutional Conference
at the Harare International Conference Centre a few weeks ago. None of the
three was ever arrested for this foolish and criminal act.

There has also been no arrest in relation to the alleged poaching of rhinos
in some of the nation's game parks even though there is evidence that two
Zanu (PF) Cabinet Ministers may have been involved. The missing of the
dockets from Tomana's office is certainly by design and with his complicity,
no doubt. The named ministers have not issued any statements denying these
allegations, but still they are not being prosecuted.
Now the MDC has compiled a damning report with regard to the 2008 political
murders committed by some senior Zanu (PF) officials. We wait to see whether
Mugabe will again make use of Tomana to shield these murderers from the law.
The MDC should devise effective ways and means of exposing the names of the
alleged murderers so that the general public may be warned and may also
reveal even more atrocities possibly committed by the same political
hooligans.

Discussing the matter with Mugabe is not going to help anything since these
people committed the crimes on his behalf. He was the presidential candidate
they were fighting for in June 2008. There is no way he is going to let them
face the law now.
It is absolutely crucial that the names of these political murderers be made
public in the most effective way. They may escape the gallows today but let
them know that when Mugabe goes down the way of Msika, they too will have to
start running very fast. Mugabe's departure is not very far from now, so all
the records need to be carefully kept and protected from those that would
seek to make them disappear in the manner that Tomana made the rhino dockets
vanish from his office without trace. Those that think that Mugabe will
always be there to cover their backsides are fooling themselves. Nature has
a very specific way of dealing with flesh, and there is no negotiation on
that one.

In a way, the MDC has been unduly weak and docile. Sometimes I think the MDC
forgets that they won the 2008 parliamentary elections and the presidential
elections as well. In many ways, they behave as if Zanu (PF) won both those
elections. This level of cowardice does not help matters much in relation to
the implementation of the GPA.
Mugabe is currently dragging his feet and demonstrating that he is reluctant
to abide by the provisions of the GPA. The SADC is very unlikely to push
Mugabe to move any faster than he is doing now. The onus is on the MDC to
apply meaningful pressure on Zanu (PF) to do the right thing. Exposure of
the alleged perpetrators of political violence is one way that the MDC can
employ to make sure that Zanu (PF) is consistently politically discredited
in the eyes of the people of this country.

Zimbabwe heading for a Rwandan-style genocide?

http://www.politicsweb.co.za

Alex Matthews
16 August 2009

Alex Matthews on the unnerving parallels between the situation in the two
countries

Zimbabwe heading towards a Rwandan genocide
by Alex Matthews

Once upon a time there was an African country that after several years of
instability seemed to be moving shakily towards reform and democracy. Its
ageing despotic president had signed a power-sharing deal with the
opposition that created a unity government that would precipitate a new
constitution and elections.

Sounds rather like Zimbabwe, doesn't it? But I was actually describing
Rwanda in early 1994 - only months before a genocide that would claim almost
a million lives. While the Arusha Accords were being haphazardly implemented
(but more often than not being ignored), fanatics in the countryside were
setting up militia training bases.

Arms and military advisers were being flown in to train and equip these
ragtag groupings. President Habyarimana's assassination in April 1994 was
the catalyst for a hundred days of massacres, rape and torture.

Zimbabwe is in an eerily similar situation to the one that Rwanda was
experiencing before its genocide.  After a decade of brutality and economic
devastation, it is tempting to hope that Zanu PF's "partnership" with the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) shows that Zimbabwe is
irreversibly on the road to recovery.

Sadly, however, what we see in Zimbabwe is nothing but a false dawn: a
Potemkin peace designed to lure us into the same indifferent complacency
with which the world viewed Rwanda in 1994.

The violent repression that has characterised Zanu PF's rule continues,
flouting the provisions of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), the
power-sharing agreement signed with the opposition in September. Zanu PF
considers the unity deal after its defeat at the March 29 polls last year as
a mere speed bump in its path of continued authoritarian rule - a speed bump
which creates the illusion that it is prepared to accept reform and genuine
democracy.

Don't be fooled. Activists, lawyers and MDC supporters continue to be
unlawfully harassed and detained. Senior opposition leaders face death
threats. Opposition members of parliament are being targeted with ridiculous
criminal charges by a brazenly partisan police and judiciary. Five have
already been convicted (MPs have to resign if they serve a jail-term longer
than six months).

The Zanu PF militias that unleashed a wave of brutality on suspected MDC
supporters as punishment for the 2008 election result, have been accused by
teachers of setting up "terror bases" at schools.

Even more frightening (and chillingly reminiscent of the prelude to Rwanda's
genocide when French weapons were despatched en-masse to Kigali) is the
build-up of weapons in Zimbabwe.

Last month the International Peace Information Service (IPIS) revealed that
in April 2008, Chinese arms (including several million rounds of ammunition
as well as RPC7 rockets and mortars) destined for Zimbabwe reached to
Luanda, Angola. It has been confirmed that the arms have subsequently
reached Harare. Later, in August, an additional 53 tons of ammunition were
flown to Harare from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 2008.

There's more. David Maynier, the Democratic Alliance's defence spokesperson,
has revealed that South Africa is seeking authorisation from its National
Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to export ammunition to its
neighbour. Maynier has been subsequently vilified by the ANC ruling party
which seems more obsessed by how the opposition MP found out about the
application than about what the arms will be used for should they be
authorised for export.

President Mugabe has unleashed his military on innocent civilians before -
in 1982 he used North Korean-trained troops to torture and massacre
thousands in Matabeleland for their alleged support for Zapu, a rival
anti-colonialist movement that he eventually forced to merge
with his own party.

His army's abysmal rights record continues, with Human Rights Watch recently
exposing the army's invasion of the Marange diamond fields in November 2008
where it has subsequently subjected locals to forced labour, torture and
murder.

Two South African MPs, Wilmot James and Kenneth Mubu, who returned earlier
this month from Zimbabwe on a fact-finding mission reported:

"There are reports from credible sources of increasing paramilitary activity
in the countryside..."

They explained, "Under his [Mugabe's] personal control he has a paramilitary
machine consisting of soldiers, thugs, the so-called war veterans and ZANU
political commissars. There are the hit squads. The police also
collaborate..." They also have reason to believe that in addition to the
arms exports uncovered by IPIS, "Mugabe is talking to Venezuela, Cuba and
Korea to fund a war-chest in preparation for the referendum and election
following on the implementation of the GPA."

While Rwanda's genocide was powered by ethnic hatred, this was merely a
pretext: the tragedy was deliberately orchestrated by a shadowy ruling
clique which knew its power was in jeopardy, and which refused to sacrifice
it at all cost.  So while ethnic tensions in Zimbabwe are no where near the
levels of those in Rwanda in 1994, a similar intensity of hatred exists, as
does the same desperate willingness for its rulers to do whatever it takes
to remain in power.

The arms flooding in and the paramilitary training in the countryside are
deliberate preparations for war - a war to be inflicted by home grown
postcolonial imperialists on an innocent and undeserving citizenry so that
Zanu PF's rapacious supremacy can continue.

We cannot ignore the warning signs. We know what happened in Rwanda in 1994.
The world looked away while almost a million people were slaughtered. Will
we let this happen in Zimbabwe?

Alex Matthews is a freelance journalist, politics blogger and editor of
TheSoapbox.fm (http://thesoapbox.fm)

Just say, 'I'm sorry'

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/

13 August 2009

By The Editor

The shedding of crocodile tears is an act that should come naturally to
every politician worth his salt, but it seems President Robert Mugabe will
not shed even these for the victims of the army's 1980s Gukurahundi campaign
in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.
At the burial of the late Vice President Joseph Msika last week, Mugabe
described the murder of an estimated 20 000 Ndebeles by the notorious 5th
Brigade as a "sad period" that should never have been allowed to happen. He
sounded more remorseful for the fact that this "accident of history"
happened but not for the fact that he caused it.
At one time Mugabe even feigned madness, labelling the 5th Brigade's
four-year orgy of bloodletting in Matabeleland and Midlands an "act of
madness", all just to avoid a very simple task - apologising.
On the one occasion Mugabe was able to muster enough courage to apologise in
privacy to former PF-ZAPU leaders, the late Msika found the insincerity and
self-interest too much to ignore. "When we asked him about the massacres he
apologised, but I was not convinced about his sincerity," the vice-president
told a rally in October 2006.
We find it utterly incomprehensible that such a skillful political master
and gifted orator as Mugabe could find it so difficult to say these three
little words: 'I am sorry'.
Even at this late hour, a formal apology from Mugabe would go a long way to
soothe the pain of survivors and victims of Gukurahundi and the political
violence of recent years.
Attempting to sweep their suffering under the carpet as a mere "act of
madness" or a "sad period" in Zimbabwe's history that should be simply
forgiven and forgotten like it never happened is an insult to victims and
survivors of Gukurahundi.
Acknowledgement of the injury and pain they suffered at the hands of
soldiers and Zanu (PF) goons was and has always been the first objective of
those who suffered at the hands of the 5th Brigade and Zanu (PF) militia.
But we must say that the ranks of those clamouring for "The Hague solution"
are swelling with every moment that passes without an apology from Mugabe or
Zanu (PF) for Gukurahundi and all the other crimes that they have committed
against this country.

Taking transitional justice to the people

Coventry runs riot but Zimbabwe slide

16 August 2009

Charles Coventry accepts the applause during his magnificent unbeaten 194, off just 156 balls

Buy this photo

Charles Coventry equalled Saeed Anwar's record highest individual one-day international score of 194, but he could not prevent Bangladesh claiming a series-clinching victory over Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe piled up 312 for eight in the fourth one-day international in Bulawayo, but Bangladesh chased down the total for the loss of six wickets.

Tamim Iqbal led with way with 154 as Bangladesh triumphed with 13 balls to spare – and move 3-1 ahead in the series with one match to play.

Earlier, Coventry cracked 16 fours and seven sixes in an unbeaten 156-ball innings.

Former Pakistan opener Anwar's record – against India – had stood for 12 years, and Coventry equalled the feat after bringing up his maiden international hundred.

His team-mates contributed little, though, with Stuart Matsikenyeri's 37 the second-highest score.

Iqbal hit eight fours and six sixes as he too prospered with the bat in Bangladesh's reply, eventually falling to Ray Price, who took three wickets.

But Mahmudullah saw the tourists home with an unbeaten 21 from 11 balls.