http://www.radiovop.com
HARARE - Zimbabwe has discovered
five of its first ever cases of
Pandemic Influenza A H1N1, otherwise known
as Swine Flu, in the eastern
border city of Mutare.
The
cases involve children ranging from five to 10 years old.
Health
Minister, Dr Henry Madzorera, told journalists Thursday the
outbreak
occurred at Hill Crest Primary school, an affluent private school
in the
eastern border city of Mutare early August.
He quickly allayed fears
that its failing health infrastructure may
not be able to contain the spread
of the deadly disease.
"The National Virology lab scientists have been
conducting
investigations, which included at total of 27 tests, five of
which tested
positive for the influenza A," he said. "Samples were
forwarded for
confirmatory tests for Pandemic Influenza A H1N1, and all five
came back
positive..."
"The ministry has in place a concrete
preparedness and response plan
for dealing with the Pandemic Influenza A
H1N1," he said. "Through working
closely with WHO, the University of
Zimbabwe and all stakeholders in the
national taskforce the national
trainers have been identified and trained
for the major cities, all
provinces and districts with ports of entry and
exit.
"All lab
scientists in the public service have received training in
conducting rapid
tests, collecting and forwarding specimens for
confirmation."
Madzorera said plans were underway to train practitioners in the
private
sector so that patients could receive standard treatment wherever
they
present.
He added, "A National Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and
Response
Plan has been developed to give guidance on the coordination, case
management including laboratory support, surveillance, logistics and public
health measures at the ports of entry."
"Drugs for treatment of
probable and confirmed cases have been
pre-positioned at all the central
hospitals, provincial hospitals, city
health departments and district
hospitals with emphasis at those with ports
of entry," he said.
Madzore said his ministry will also employ proactive measures
involving
improving the sanitation and hygiene at all health institutions,
isolation
units and the identified major ports of entry.
Madzorera also said
nearly three quarters of the country's medical
personnel, who had gone on
strike pressing for higher wages, had returned to
work.
Africa is
the last continent to be hit by the virus that has killed
over a thousand
people around the world, since it was first detected in
April in
Mexico.
So far, reports say, the continent's death toll remains
negligible,
with seven killed in South Africa, three in Mauritius, and one
in Egypt.
Botswana, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia and Swaziland also
have
medically confirmed cases.
Many African countries are already
affected by immune-weakening
illnesses like Aids, making them more
susceptible to new viruses.
In a country like Zimbabwe, experts say,
where the health sector is
slowly starting to recover after collapsing last
year, even minor illnesses
carry a potential death sentence.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21465
August 20, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Nine Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
legislators who were
arrested late Wednesday afternoon, were released in the
evening after they
spent nearly three hours in police custody. Human rights
lawyer, Tafadzwa
Mugabe, who was called to handle the matter, told The
Zimbabwe Times
Wednesday evening that his clients, initially reported as 10,
were finally
released after being ordered to report at Harare Central Police
Investigations section at nine on Thursday.
"They were released at
8.15 pm and were told to come back the following
morning," said
Mugabe.
"They are said to have engaged in disorderly conduct in a public
place."
The law makers are all from the mainstream MDC party led by Prime
Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai.
They are Mbare legislator Piniel Denga,
Margaret Matienga (Sunningdale),
Pishai Muchauraya (Makoni South), Shepherd
Madamombe (Mabvuku-Tafara), Amos
Chibaya (Mkoba), Simon Ruwuke Hove
(Highfield West), Prosper Chapfiwa
Mutseyami (Musikavanhu), Senators Cephas
Makuyana (Mvurachena) and Patrick
Chitaka (Mutasa-Nyanga).
According
to Mugabe, the MPs' offence, which attracts a minor fine, involves
shouting,
insulting or threatening someone in a public place knowing fully
well their
conduct could result in a breach of what would be prevailing
peace.
The MPs deny ever engaging in such conduct.
Relating
details of the incident, one of the MPs involved, said they had
visited the
Finance ministry offices in the New Government Complex in
central Harare to
enquire about the status of their car loans.
He said, "When we got to the
ministry offices, we were ushered into the
board room where we were informed
the permanent secretary was in a meeting
with donors and would attend to us
afterwards.
"Meanwhile, we were given water, orange crush and some
biscuits to eat while
we waited quietly for the permanent secretary to
finish his meeting. Little
did we know the police were being summoned to
come and arrest us."
The legislator said the police, who were 10 in
number, informed them they
were under instructions to arrest
them."
When they got to Harare Central Police station, they were taken to
the
police holding cells.
An instruction was later given that they
should not be detained but should
be informed of their offences. They were
later told to come back the
following morning.
The MPs, say there was
no need for them to engage in any disorderly conduct
as alleged claiming as
they had long agreed the terms of their loans with
Finance Minister Tendai
Biti.
Biti, secretary general of the MDC, was said to be in Botswana on
government
business.
Tsvangirai's MPs have been targets of sporadic
arrests by the police for
different and often petty offences, which the MDC
says are trumped up.
The police force operates under the control of two
government ministers,
Kembo Mohadi of Zanu-PF and Giles Mutsekwa of the
Tsvangirai-led MDC. The
police force remains under the firm control of
long-serving police chief,
Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri, an avowed
and loyal supporter of
President Robert Mugabe.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Violet Gonda
20 August
2009
The 10 MP's from the Tsvangirai MDC who were arrested on Wednesday
at the
offices of the Ministry of Finance, were released after being held
for
several hours at Harare Central Police Station. The MPs had gone to the
Ministry offices to enquire about their vehicle loan scheme. They were
charged with disorderly conduct, but MP Pishai Muchauraya denied they were
disorderly and believes they are being harassed by some ministry officials.
He said the reason for this is because they are refusing to buy vehicles
from a garage they believe to be owned by ZANU PF Minister of Local
Government, Ignatius Chombo.
The Makoni South MP told SW Radio Africa
on Thursday: "We had gone to the
Ministry of Finance wanting to see the
Permanent Secretary, a war veteran
there called Willard Manungo."
The MPS
were told the Permanent Secretary was in a meeting with some donors
and were
asked to sit in the boardroom. Muchauraya said they were offered
refreshments and were waiting for the official when 15minutes later, heavily
armed police officers stormed into the boardroom and told them they were
under arrest. They were accused of behaving in an insulting, threatening and
abusive manner and taken to the police station, before being
released.
"We went to the courthouse in the morning (Thursday) but they said
the
complainant had not yet written his/her statement so they could not take
us
to court. They said they will proceed by way of
summons."
Muchauraya said they still do not know who the complainant is.
"It is not
very clear if it is that war veteran Willard Manungo or if it's a
secretary
in the office. But the Minister (Tendai Biti) said he was not the
complainant. He was also shocked to hear that some members of parliament
were arrested at his offices."
The MDC legislators claim there is a
dispute between themselves and some
workers at the Ministry of Finance over
a car loan scheme given to them by
the government.
They say every
parliamentarian is entitled to a loan of US$30 000 to buy a
vehicle of their
choice, but that they are being 'forced' to purchase the
vehicles from
Willowvale Mazda Motor Industry and a garage they say belongs
to Minister
Chombo. The Makoni South MP said they are refusing to 'enrich
ZANU PF linked
businesses', especially since they will be paying back the
car
loans.
Muchauraya said: "The people in the Ministry of Finance are
directing MPs to
go and get some vehicles from Ignatious Chombo's garage,
called Buzzer
Busters, and people are saying we can't be forced to go to
that garage. We
want to get vehicles from the garages of our own choice.
There is no way we
can be forced to go and give money back to ZANU PF again.
It has been
happening for the last 30 years and it is now time it should
stop."
The MP said the ministry officials deny the garage belongs to
Chombo but
they are demanding to see a list of the company directors. "We
can't just
spend money on individuals we don't know," said
Muchauraya.
We were not able to reach Minister Chombo for
comment.
Muchauraya also said there is a misconception that MPs are
asking for too
much for vehicles. He said the money given to them by
government is not a
donation but a loan, which has to be paid back on a
monthly basis. "MPs have
to buy at full costs these vehicles, unlike
Ministers who don't." He agrees
there are some officials who abuse the
system and that some ministers have
multiple government vehicles, at a time
when the government says it is
broke. But he said all MPs get labelled and
tainted with the same brush,
regardless of the fact that they may only have
the one vehicle.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20
August 2009
Three legislators from the MDC faction led by Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur
Mutambara, who were this week officially expelled from
parliament, are set
to challenge the move in the Supreme Court.
The
expelled MPs, Norman Mpofu (Bulilima East), Abednico Bhebhe (Nkayi
South)
and Njabuliso Mguni (Lupane East) were found guilty of misconduct
after they
appeared before a party disciplinary committee last month. They
were
expelled from the party and had since been trying to fight the
expulsion
from parliament through legal means. But the legal battle was
thrown out of
the High Court last week.
On Tuesday, clerk of parliament Austin Zvoma,
announced in a press
conference that the Speaker, Lovemore Moyo, had
notified Robert Mugabe and
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the new MP
vacancies, confirming the
trio's expulsion from the House. The group's
lawyer is now set to file
papers with the Supreme Court, challenging the
move.
Meanwhile, infighting within the MDC-M party has seen it become riddled
with
its own breakaway factions. Last week, former MP Job Sikhala declared
himself the new leader of the party, saying Mutambara is only the party
leader "in the Herald newspaper and on the ZBC." He told journalists that
Mutambara and Secretary General Welshman Ncube were working for Robert
Mugabe, and that he had taken control of what he called 'the people's
party',
until its next extra-ordinary Congress next year.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21480
August 20, 2009
By Raymond
Maingire
HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has finally given in
to relentless
pressure from major civic society groups leading a defiance
campaign against
the current constitution-making process driven by
Parliament.The groups, led
by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA),
want the inclusive government
to surrender control of the
constitution-making process to independent
organisations.
The NCA and
two other dissenting organisations are said to have convinced
the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) leader at a no-holds-barred meeting
held last
weekend he should go back to his colleagues in government and push
for the
amendment of Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), as a
condition to their participation.
The controversial clause gives the
inclusive government the authority to
lead the constitution-making
process.
According to the GPA, the role of civic society was only to
assist the
Parliamentary Select Committee "as may be necessary" to discharge
its
mandate.
But in an apparent bid to mend his party's deteriorating
relationship with
its long-time allies, Tsvangirai requested a meeting with
the three
organisations at the party's headquarters last
Saturday.
The two other organisations that attended the meeting alongside
the NCA were
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Zimbabwe
National
Student Union (ZINASU). The three organisations facilitated the
creation of
the MDC back in 1999.
The meeting was also attended by
Thokozani Khuphe, Tsvangirai's deputy,
secretary general Tendai Biti, Adv
Eric Matinenga, Minister of
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs in the
inclusive government and a
handful of other top MDC
officials.
Sources privy to the discussions revealed that the three
groups told
Tsvangirai in no uncertain terms that they were not going to be
party to the
current constitution-making process for as long as Parliament
was driving
it.
The three, it is said, also dismissed appeals by the
MDC leader who asked
them to understand the GPA was "not a perfect solution"
to what had become a
political paralysis in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai also
said the GPA was conceived under "subjective" circumstances.
They were
also livid over what they view as the MDC's temerity in discussing
and
agreeing with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, on the clause without
first
consulting the stakeholders on the issue.
The painstaking negotiations
between Zanu-PF and the two MDC parties led by
Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara, who is now Deputy Prime Minister, were
brokered by the SADC and
the African Union. The negotiations were conducted
in an atmosphere of
secrecy.
The outcome was unveiled in a signing ceremony conducted on
September 15,
2008, in the presence of some African leaders and members of
the diplomatic
community.
Over the weekend the NCA, ZCTU and ZINASU
are said to have berated
Tsvangirai for allegedly abandoning the MDC's
founding principles, which
they helped to draft, by agreeing to impose on
Zimbabwe a "cease fire"
document similar to the current Lancaster House
Constitution adopted in
1979.
"We also did not hide our anger with
the MDC whose naivety created this
needless contest around the Kariba Draft
document by appending their
signatures to it," said the
source.
Zanu-PF is adamant the constitution-making process should be
anchored on the
controversial document crafted by MDC and Zanu PF
representatives in the
resort town of Kariba. The document leaves the
President's excessive powers
intact.
The organisations, it was
revealed, also said they were angered by the
"arrogant" attitude that had
been adopted by some MDC politicians who were
now allegedly telling their
supporters in rural areas to beat up people
found wearing the NCA's "Take
Charge" T-shirts.
"Take Charge" is the slogan adopted by the NCA in its
campaign against the
government controlled process.
The source said
some delegates at the meeting even protested that Tsvangirai
now suddenly
had a favourable disposition towards those civic groups that
proposed last
year that he should step aside and allow Simba Makoni to
become leader of
what would then have become an opposition coalition of the
two MDC parties
and other opposition parties to contest the elections
against Mugabe under
one umbrella.
Makoni, now leader of the opposition Mavambo/Kusile party,
had just broken
away from Zanu-PF to challenge Mugabe and Tsvangirai in the
March 29, 2008
Presidential elections. His performance was dismal.
At
a civic society convention to craft the People's Charter in February last
year, the NCA, ZCTU and ZINASU, it is said, were among the organisations
that campaigned strongly against Makoni's imposition.
During the
weekend meeting, Tsvangirai is said to have agreed to approach
his fellow
principals in the GPA to propose an amendment to Article 6.
This, it is
said, would allow for the creation of a constitutional
commission that would
completely be independent of government influence.
Tsvangirai's will be an
uphill task, considering President Mugabe's known
intransigence in matters
that threaten his hold on power.
MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa refused
to discuss the subject.
"I do not know what you are talking about," he
said.
But ZCTU secretary general, Wellington Chibhebhe, NCA spokesperson,
Maddock
Chivasa and ZINASU president, Clever Bere, each confirmed they had
participated in "fruitful discussions" with the MDC leader.
For up to
six months now, the MDC has been battling to apply pressure on
Mugabe to
desist from blocking the full implementation of crucial reforms as
provided
for in the GPA.
Mugabe is adamant that the MDC acts under pressure from
hostile Western
governments, which he accuses of sponsoring the party to
facilitate a regime
change agenda against his controversial rule.
By
giving in, Mugabe says he would have compromised "the revolution", now a
euphemism for his relentless and vice-like grip on power.
Zanu-PF
unequivocally stated its position last week. The party's deputy
information
secretary declared that Zanu-PF would not make any further
concessions on
the GPA unless the MDC started to campaign for the removal of
Western
imposed sanctions.
http://www.mineweb.com
A proposal to
reintroduce the Zimbabwean dollar backed by local tangible
assets such as
gold seems totally unrealistic to part of the government and
to external
observers.
Author: Mineweb Reporter
Posted: Thursday , 20 Aug
2009
HARARE -
The Zimbabwean Reserve Bank and Finance ministry
are definitely not marching
to the same tune, although this is hardly
surprising.
In Thursday's edition of state-run newspaper, The Herald,
Zimbabwe Reserve
Bank governor, Gideon Gono, proposed that the Zimbabwean
dollar be
re-introduced as the country's currency but, in a guarded fashion,
"where
such new currency will be fully backed by credible, tangible and
locally
available assets, such as gold, diamond or platinum, among several
other
possibilities."
The main reason for this, he argues is that
there is just not enough of the
basket of foreign currencies (mostly US
dollars and SA Rands) the country
moved over to in January to go around and
so, people are unable to buy what
they need.
"Whilst too much demand
relative to supply has traditionally been pointed
out as the mother of
inflation and its noxious spill-over effects to society
and the economy, too
little demand can itself be an equally deleterious
vampire that can bring
down the economy amidst plenty in stockpiles and
flooded stockrooms full of
goods facing little or no demand."
He adds that, such a new currency will
have" real, tangible worth as
embalmed in the real asset(s) backing
it.
"Given the country's already proven reserves of gold, platinum and
diamonds,
among several other minerals, a fully backed currency which can
freely
convert back to the real underlying assets at the instance of the
currency
holder's wishes will have the desirable characteristic of being a
legitimate
store of value."
Indeed, earlier this year, if media
reports and, in particular a youtube
video produced by a self-proclaimed MDC
member and freedom fighter can be
believed, then a de facto gold standard
was already in use in some regions
of the beleaguered country - all that was
missing were the notes, as it was
actual gold mined in the mountains that
was changing hands.
However, judging by the reaction of Finance Minister,
Tendai Biti, as well
as other commentators within Zimbabwe, it is unlikely
Gono is going to get
his wish.
According to AFP, Biti said in
response to questions about Gono's proposals,
""The Zim dollar is dead and
buried."
AFP continues, "Gono's stewardship of the Reserve Bank is one of
the main
battles within Zimbabwe's six-month-old unity government between
long-ruling
President Robert Mugabe and his erstwhile rival Prime Minister
Morgan
Tsvangirai.
"Mugabe unilaterally appointed Gono to a new
five-year term after the unity
accord was signed but before the government
had taken office. Biti, the top
aide to Tsvangirai, has often feuded
publicly with Gono, who enjoys strong
support from Mugabe." The newswire
reported.
Another commentator described Gono's idea as 'daydreaming'
pointing out that
the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank is not believed to own any gold
any more, nor any
other appropriate commodity with which to support such a
move. And as to
whether anyone would support the initiative should it
miraculously be
implemented would likely founder on trust as to whether any
such currency
could be truly convertible given the country's straitened
circumstances and
general disbelief that the government would actually pay
out!.
As an idea, backing a new Zimbabwe dollar with gold, diamonds or
platinum
would seem absurd until the country has returned to some degree of
economic
normalcy, which could not happen without a revival of the
agricultural
sector, decimated by the Mugabe regime's seizure of white-owned
farms, and a
revival of the gold mining sector which is languishing due to
non-payment by
the government for gold mined and a desperate shortage or
equipment, spare
parts and supplies. With the best will in the word this
could take years to
achieve.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Alex Bell
20
August 2009
South African President Jacob Zuma is expected in Zimbabwe
next week, and is
set to tackle the political stalemate threatening the
stability of the
six-month-old unity government.
Zuma will be a guest
of honour at the Harare Agricultural Show that opens
next week, where he is
expected to officially open the exhibition next
Friday. He is also set to
meet the principals of the power share
arrangement, and it is hoped he will
use the time to meet with Robert Mugabe
to challenge him on 'weighty' issues
threatening the already fragile unity
accord. Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai's spokesperson James Maridadi on
Thursday could not confirm
exactly what Zuma's itinerary will be, but said
the outstanding issues of
the Global Political Agreement will feature in
talks between the
leaders.
But Mugabe's press secretary George Charamba has this week
insisted that
Zuma will not be raising the outstanding issues when he meets
Mugabe,
telling state media that Zuma's visit has nothing to do with the
MDC's
grievances.
Charamba reportedly said: "President Zuma is coming
here to officially open
the Agricultural Show and not to resolve the MDC's
issues."
Prime Minister Tsvangirai last month turned to Zuma for help,
travelling to
South Africa to urge his intervention in the deadlock over the
key issues,
including the unilateral appointment of Gideon Gono as Central
Bank Governor
and Johannes Tomana as Attorney General. After the meeting,
Zuma said he was
keen to hold talks with Mugabe, and his visit to Zimbabwe,
confirmed last
week, was pegged as a possible intervention.
But
political analyst Professor John Makumbe argued on Thursday that it is
unlikely that Zuma will do anything more than listen to the political
leaders grievances when he is in the country next week. Makumbe continued
that former President Thabo Mbeki is still technically the mediator
appointed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and Zuma
will not cross that particular line.
Zuma has a small window of
opportunity to tackle the unity government's
problems, as he hands over his
current seat as the chair of SADC in
September. As SADC chair and South
African President, Zuma should carry
enormous influential weight to set the
unity government on the right path.
His trip to Zimbabwe next week therefore
provides him with an ideal
opportunity to tackle the political
crisis.
But Makumbe explained Zuma will be more willing to tackle the
Zimbabwe
crisis when he is no longer the SADC chair, saying "SADC is
difficult
because of its allegiance to Mugabe." Makumbe agreed that Zuma is
likely
holding-off on taking strong action against Mugabe to please his
counterparts at SADC while he is in charge there, explaining he needs SADC
on his side to tackle other issues affecting the region.
"Zuma will
likely prefer to tackle Mugabe when he is only South African
President,"
Makumbe said. "Taking a hard line with Mugabe as SADC chair
could jeapordise
his future relationships with the SADC."
Critics meanwhile have argued
that Zuma needs to publicly take a hard line
with Mugabe, who has previously
enjoyed much unconditional support from
former President Thabo Mbeki. Last
month, South Africa's main opposition,
the Democratic Alliance (DA), urged
Zuma to use his unique opportunity as
South African President and SADC chair
to be tough on Mugabe, saying he
needs to place an arms embargo on Zimbabwe
and urge Mugabe to stop ongoing
land invasions.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21489
August 20, 2009
By Our
Correspondent
HARARE - Chitungwiza Mayor Israel Marange will probably
never wear his
regalia of mayoral office again and will most likely don
prison garb for a
year instead, unless his appeal against a prison sentence
handed down
Thursday succeeds.
A Harare magistrate sentenced him to
what he described as a custodial
sentence after he convicted His Worship the
Mayor on charges of corruption.
Marange stood accused of corruption
involving the amount of US$1 000 which
he accepted as a bribe from his own
bodyguard, a Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) supporter, to whom he
allocated a residential stand.
Regional magistrate Morgan Nemadire
sentenced Marange, who was elected Mayor
on a ticket of the MDC led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, to three
years in prison of which two were
suspended for five years on condition that
he does not commit a simmilar
offence in that period.
Reading out the sentence Nemadire said Marange
committed a crime punishable
by a custodial sentence.
"A community
service sentence or a fine would not have done justice to the
offence
because corruption crimes are on the rise and prevalent in this
country. As
a Mayor he was in a position of trust and responsibility but he
abused it. A
custodial sentence will have a large bearing on would-be
offenders," said
Nemadire before handing down the sentence.
He said people should have
confidence in their mayors and councillors.
Nemadire said the court had
considered that Marange was a first offender and
hence the lighter
sentence.
Marange was convicted last week for corruption after he
received US$1 000
from his bodyguard as a token of appreciation for
facilitating the
allocation of a residential stand in the dormitory
town.
Nemadire said there was overwhelming evidence that the Mayor had
committed
an offence describing the State's evidence as very
credible.
Soon after the sentence was handed down Marange through his
lawyer Advocate
Linos Mazonde filed a notice of intention to appeal against
both conviction
and sentence which was granted.
"We have already
filed the notice of appeal at the High Court against both
conviction and
sentence. Now we are going to apply for bail pending the
appeal in the High
Court since there has been a change of circumstances,"
said
Mazonde.
Marange has had a tumultuous reign at the helm of the
Chitungwiza Town
Council, with several accusations being levelled against
him. At one point
he was accused by some of his party members of being unfit
to run the
affairs of the populous town. With the conviction, Marange faces
the
possibility of losing his mayoral position.
http://www.swradioafrica.com
By Lance Guma
20 August
2009
Thousands of people affected by HIV and AIDS are dying in the
country while
the National Aids Council of Zimbabwe abuses funds collected
under the
national aids levy. Surprisingly it took the state owned Herald
newspaper,
notorious for pro-government articles, to reveal that out of
US$1,7 million
collected in AIDS levies since February this year only US$20
000 was spent
by the council in buying critical Anti Retroviral (ARV) drugs.
The rest was
spent on 'luxuries' for staff working for the council,
including trips to
foreign countries, luxury cars, generous salaries and
other mysterious
administration costs.
Under government's own policy
the National Aids Council should use 50
percent of the levies collected to
buy ARV's. But the Herald reports that
the figures it obtained from the
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority show that only a
shocking US$20 000 had been
spent. Every Zimbabwean worker pays an AIDS levy
which is deducted from
their salaries the same way income tax is deducted.
The revenue authority
then hands over the money to the AIDS council to
facilitate its work.
Critics say the council spends too much money on
workshops instead of drugs
to help those suffering from the disease.
A Ministry of Health and Child
Welfare official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said that board and
executive meetings were being held in
expensive hotels when the council had
offices large enough to accommodate
such activities. Commenting on the use
of the money she said 'it appeared as
if the bulk of the money is going to
salaries, sponsored trips, cars and
other perks for administrative staff who
are running different programmes
under NAC'.
Journalist Denford Magora
blamed ZANU PF loyalists working in the council,
saying their culture of
corruption was still evident for all to see. He said
the story exposed 'the
greed and corruption that has become the mainstay of
ZANU PF in power. Even
after the expose, you can be rest assured that
NOTHING will be done about
the National AIDS Council. No one will be fired.
The Board will remain in
place. This is the reason I like the Chinese
system. These Shylocks would
all have been stood up against a wall and shot
at dawn like the traitors
that they are. But in Zimbabwe, they will not even
get a slap on the wrist,'
Magora wrote.
Two weeks ago the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria
granted Zimbabwe US$37,9 million, after getting assurances from the
unity
government it would not be misused. Previously Reserve Bank governor
Gideon
Gono diverted US$7,3m worth of funds from the organization to use in
keeping
ZANU PF afloat. The same corrupt National Aids Council was also the
organization tasked with administering the fund. The United Nations
Development Programme in Zimbabwe will now be managing the money from the
Global Fund instead.
Meanwhile the Youth Forum accused the Herald
newspaper of masquerading as a
'public eye on issues of transparency and
accountability' after it's report
on the AIDS scam. The forum accused the
paper of sweeping 'under the carpet
many such tendencies carried out by
their bosses. It boggles the mind as to
why the paper is mum on multiple
farm ownership, purchase of luxurious
vehicles, homes and other properties
by senior government officials using
tax payer's money, let alone the
Chiadzwa fiasco?'
http://www.radiovop.com
MUTARE- August 20, 2009 - The
Co-chairperson for Parliamentary Select
Committee on Constitutional Reforms
and Member of Parliament (MP) for Chivi
Central constituency (Zanu PF)
Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana told journalists
here on Thursday to stop talking
about Zimbabwe holding fresh elections
soon.
"No one is ready to leave
power. All the politicians are not at
liberty when it comes to issues they
know will affect their terms of
offices. I want to plead with you
journalists to remain quite about
elections so that we would be able to
finish the constitution making
process," he said. "Once you start to talk
about elections then be assured
that we will not be able to finish this
process."
Mangwana said the chaos which is rocking the
constitutional making
process was being caused by politicians who did not
want elections soon.
"This is clear, how can people want
the constitution that will see
them being challenged. For us to have a
credible and uncompromised
constitution in this country, we then have to
shelve the fresh election
issue," he said.
He also
argued that most MPs still believe that they shall serve for
five
years.
The people in Zimbabwe were pushing for the fast
track of constitution
making process to pave way for fresh elections there
after.
http://www.zimonline.co.za/
by
Sebastian Nyamhangambiri and Nokuthula Sibanda Thursday
20 August
2009
HARARE - Zimbabwe's humanitarian situation
remains a "significant
challenge" while donors remain reluctant to give
support, pledging only less
than half of the US$718 million required to
fight hunger and disease in the
African country, the United Nations (UN)
said Wednesday.
The world body said Zimbabwe continued to face food
shortages and
remained at risk of killer epidemics such as cholera that
killed 4 288
people out of 98 592 infections between August 2008 and July
2009.
"Although Zimbabwe is not facing armed conflict, humanitarian
threats
such as food shortages and outbreak of diseases such as cholera pose
a
significant challenge," said UN humanitarian coordinator in Zimbabwe,
Agostinho Zacarias, at a ceremony in Harare to mark World Humanitarian
Day.
"Sadly, only 44 percent of Zimbabwe's appeal of US$718 million
had
been raised by the end of July," Zacarias said.
UN
officials said the same problems that helped spread cholera
remained
unresolved, with six million people or half of the country's total
population of 12 million people with little or no access to safe water and
sanitation.
Head of the UN's Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs
in Zimbabwe, Fernando Arroyo, said: "When you analyse
the causes of the
cholera crisis or any other crisis in Zimbabwe, we find
the common thing;
the chronic deterioration of the infrastructure and basic
social services."
A junior Zimbabwe government minister Rueben
Marumahoko said while
problems remained Zimbabwe was no longer a "country in
crisis" adding the
battered nation was now looking to boost recovery
efforts.
He said: "The humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe has improved
. . .
Zimbabwe is no longer a country in crisis but a country in
recovery."
A power-sharing government formed by President Robert
Mugabe, Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara
has promised
to rebuild Zimbabwe's economy and restore basic services such
as water
supplies, health and education that had virtually collapsed after
years of
recession.
But the administration, which says it needs
US$10 billion to revive
the economy, could fail to deliver on its promise
unless it is able to
unlock financial support from Western governments that
have remained
reluctant to provide aid until they see evidence that Mugabe
is committed to
genuinely share power with Tsvangirai.
An
ongoing strike for more pay by doctors and nurses - who had
returned to work
only six months ago after formation of the unity
government - has
highlighted the immense difficulties facing the unity
government that
analysts say must not be allowed to fail or Zimbabwe could
quickly
degenerate into a full-blown failed state in the style of anarchic
Somalia.
- ZimOnline
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
18
August 2009
By The
Zimbabwean
HARARE - Confusion surrounds the 36-page global political
agreement (GPA) -
the foundation of the government of national unity, amid
revelations that
the document signed by President Robert Mugabe was tampered
with by the AG's
office.
A meeting to iron out this, and other
contentious issues, was scheduled for
Monday but was postponed because
deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara was
not available. The stakes are
high. With SA president Jacob Zuma scheduled
to visit Zimbabwe next week, it
is vital that the GNU make some progress
towards full implementation of the
agreement.
MDC members say it has recently come to light that, after
Parliament
unanimously passed the full document, only half was sent to the
president's
office for signature.
"An act must be enacted by both
parliament and the president," said Sheila
Jarvis, a lawyer with a
background in constitutional issues. "It is
impossible, legally, to have an
act in two different versions - one version
approved by parliament, another
by the president."
Jarvis said the attorney general's office did not bother
with the missing
pages because they weren't important and the office wanted
to save paper.
But without the missing text, the agreement could give Mugabe
absolute
control over the management of future referendums, including one on
a new
constitution in 2010.
The MDC has registered its concern about the
shuffled paperwork.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the three
principals late
last year was also tampered with after they had initialled
it, and before it
was finally signed.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
18
August 2009
By The Zimbabwean
HARARE -
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara's MDC faction has
disintegrated into
three factions over sharp differences over the expulsion
of three
legislators. Former St Mary's MP, Job Sikhala, says he has staged a
coup and
is the new leader of the embattled faction.
"I have taken over. Mutambara
only remains president of the MDC-M in the
Herald and on ZBC," said
Sikhala.
A third faction is headed by one of the expelled legislators,
Abdenigo
Bhebhe, comprising the other two expelled MPs and other
legislators. This
faction is frantically working to stop the expulsion of
the three from
Parliament.
The remaining group loyal to Mutambara
comprises secretary-general Welshman
Ncube, spokesman Edwin Mushoriwa and a
few others, who denied the split.
Mutambara's controversial move to expel the
three will slash the embattled
faction's number of legislators in Parliament
from 10 to seven. He gave the
Speaker of House Assembly, Lovemore Moyo, up
to Tuesday, August 18, to
announce the expulsion of three legislators,
threatening that they would
report him to the police for contravening the
Prevention of Corruption Act
if he did not do so.
But Moyo said he would
not be pressured into making any premature
announcements.
A letter to
Moyo on August 13, written by "MDC acting secretary-general"
Edwin Dzambara,
seeks to reverse the expulsion of MPs - Abednico Bhebhe
(Nkayi South);
Njabuliso Mguni (Lupane East) and Norman Mpofu (Bulilima
East), dismissed
for conduct unbecoming and prejudicial to the interest and
reputation of the
party for allegedly publicly denouncing the party's
leadership.
"It has
come to our attention that Welshman Ncube has written letters to you
purporting to fire the honourable MPs," Dzamara said in his letter. "We
advise that the letters are useless, meaningless and do not represent the
views and position of our party . any legitimate communication will come
only from myself as the acting-secretary-general," it says.
The split
comes in the wake of concern among top officials at MDC-M's policy
of
appeasement with Mugabe and Zanu (PF).
"We have taken this opportunity to
announce our seizure and total control of
the people's party until our next
extra-ordinary congress next year in April
to shape our struggle against
Mugabe's dictatorship," Sikhala told
journalists on Friday, in the company
of eight officials he claimed were
provincial representatives of his new
leadership.
What eventually broke the camel's back was the National Council
meeting held
last Thursday, in which party members sympathetic to the
expelled
legislators were barred from the meeting by alleged CIO operatives,
said to
be rubbing their hands with glee as the party disintegrates.
http://www.zimeye.org/?p=8234
By A-Correspondent
Published: August
20, 2009
(ZIMBABWE)Harare's City Council has recovered more
than 1 015kg of meat that
disappeared at the installation of Mayor Muchadeyi
Masunda from the function
caterers, Cresta Jameson Hotel, state run Herald
has reported.
The recovered meat is said to equal to six beasts assuming
that about 600kgs
were dished out at the function even though they were not
enough for guests.
Ten beasts were slaughtered for the grand function but
guests who included
Government ministers, diplomats, councillors and their
spouses and officials
from other municipalities did not have
food.
Some of the guests could be heard complaining.
City
spokesman Mr Leslie Gwindi on Tuesday confirmed that council had
recovered
slightly more than 1 000kg from Jameson Hotel.
"We have retrieved six
carcasses that were being kept at the hotel cold
room. It took quite some
effort to retrieve them. We have the meat in our
custody now," he
said.
The meat would now be used in the council canteens and hospitals to
feed
workers and patients.
Mr Gwindi dismissed allegations that some
senior council officials could
have been involved saying investigations had
exonerated council managers.
Investigations were currently in progress to
establish why food was
inadequate.
"We are still investigating and as
of now we have not agreed as council on
whether there was criminal intent.
But like I earlier said, we even asked
them why we had run short of meat,
but they did not respond satisfactorily,"
said Mr Gwindi.
Management
at Cresta Jameson Hotel refused to comment. The receptionist kept
on
transferring the call from one manager to another to no avail. [Source:
Herald]
http://www.voanews.com
By Patience Rusere
Washington
19 August
2009
More controversy has arisen in the process of selection the nine
members the
new Zimbabwe Media Commission following news that former
Ambassador to China
Chris Mutsvangwa, a top ZANU-PF official, has been
included in an updated
short list of candidates.
Also appearing on
the official short list sent to President Robert Mugabe is
Lawton Hikwa,
dean of communications at the National University of Science
and
technology.
Mr. Mugabe's former ruling ZANU-PF party raised objections to
the initial
list, saying it was tilted in favor of the Movement for
Democratic Change,
in majority in parliament.
Neither Mutsvangwa nor
Hikwa were in a short-list circulated in the media in
the immediate
aftermath of public interviews and a closed-door meeting of
Parliament's
standing committee on rules and orders which made selections
with the help
of consultants.
Media reports said Mutsvangwa was ranked 19 among 27
candidates interviewed.
The name of publisher Roger Stringer, long
associated with the University of
Zimbabwe, fell off the list though he
ranked among the top 10 in the scoring
process.
In another change,
Godfrey Chada, the former executive director of the
Zimbabwe Mass Media
Trust, has replaced journalist Vambe Jirira.
Broadcast journalist Douglas
Dhliwayo was also cut from the list of names
from which the president will
select nine commissioners. Information
Minister Webster Shamu will select
the three members of the Broadcasting
Authority of Zimbabwe from the same
list.
Media reports quoted House Speaker Lovemore Moyo as saying the
names first
circulated in the news media did not represent the panel's final
selections
for the short list.
But Advocacy Officer Tabani Moyo of
the Zimbabwe chapter of the Media
Institute of Southern told VOA reporter
Patience Rusere that the final list
was the result of horse trading by
political parties in response to ZANU-PF
objections and does not fully
reflect merit.
http://nehandaradio.com
Published on: 20th August,
2009
By Denford Magora
I have previously told you about
buckets of loose diamonds stored in the
vaults of the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe but what we did not know was just how
this is affecting the
"outstanding issue" of Gideon Gono at the Reserve
Bank.
The American
government recently put sanctions on people from Malaysia and
Singapore who
are apparently facilitating the sale of loose diamonds on the
world market
for Grace Mugabe and Gideon Gono.
We now know how these loose diamonds
are being taken out and what they are
then used for.
As you know,
diplomatic bags are not searched, nor are diplomats when they
travel through
foreign airports.
Most of the trips that are made by Grace Mugabe,
especially, to Hong Kong
and Singapore are not publicised unless Robert "The
Solution" Mugabe joins
in. And always, there is a smokescreen when Robert
Mugabe himself travels.
It is either for "holiday" or "medical reasons" to
see his urologist, who is
based in Singapore and travels between Singapore
and Malaysia.
Mohamed Kechik, who is said to be Mugabe's personal
physician in Malaysia
and Singapore, has now almost entirely stopped his
medical practice, and
instead concentrates on "business".
This
business involves the Mugabes, Gideon Gono and some top Defence Forces
officers from Zimbabwe.
Premises for cutting and polishing loose
diamonds for eventual sale have
already been established in Qingdao Province
by this group, with the help of
their Malaysian and Singaporean
friends.
Of course, everyone knows about the voracious appetite Grace
Mugabe has for
opulence. This applies also to the lifestyles of her children
and, although
no one can say for certain how Mugabe is funding the
University education
for his daughter Bona, who is at a Hong Kong hotel,
those in the know say
that it is money from loose diamonds that makes this
possible.
Already, bit by bit, loose diamonds are being taken out in
handbags and in
diplomatic pouches.
There are allegations that
surfaced this last week that some of this dirty
work is being done my
military attaches in China, where Grace's former
husband is now stationed as
a military attache.
The refusal by the army to vacate the Chiadzwa
diamond fields is so that
they can at least buy more time to collect even
more loose diamonds for
polishing and sale from their new factory in
China.
Previously, it was thought that Zimbabwean diamonds were going out
by way of
South Africa, where the loose diamonds were "sanitised" put up for
sale as
originating from that country or from Namibia.
This is what
informed the plea by the Kimberley Process Team for Zimbabwe's
neighbours to
help ensure that Zimbabwe's diamonds are monitored properly.
Zimbabwe's
diamonds are considered "blood diamonds" or conflict diamonds
because of the
persistent allegations that up to 200 people may have been
killed at the
Chiadzwa diamond fields as the army moved in and cleaned up
the place,
brutally dispersing the "small-scale diamond miners" who were
exploiting the
place.
While it is true that there was an upsurge in vehicles with South
African
registration plates in the diamond-mining area in the old days,
these have
since disappeared as the army put a choke-hold on the
fields.
Any foreign registered vehicle found in that area is searched
thoroughly and
the drivers routinely roughed up.
The move is as much
about protecting the loose diamond trade established
under the table by
authorities in Zimbabwe as it is about ensuring that
national wealth does
not get frittered away as foreigners buy the gems for
much less than they
are worth - the small-scale miners know no difference.
The extent and
richness of the fields is betrayed by the fact that Acting
Chief Chiadzwa,
Newman Chiadzwa, who was is currently on trial in Mutare,
was found with
8KGs OF LOOSE DIAMONDS in his shop.
Apparently, he had been asking
desperate villagers to bring him diamonds to
buy groceries and supplies
with, since cash was in short supply.
He also owned a diamond mining
supply shop and it is alleged that he also
sold equipment to small-scale
diamond miners and asking for loose, rough
diamonds as payment.
All
this makes it unlikely that you will find any resolution to the Chiadzwa
issue any time soon. The army has refused to move off, prompting the
Kimberley Process to call for a ban on Zimbabwe diamonds
worldwide.
All that this will do is ensure that the army remains in
charge and loose
diamonds continue to be spirited away to China to be
invested in the
lifestyles of Zimbabwe's ruling class. No company will want
to partner the
government-owned company that is now nominally in charge of
mining at the
diamonds fields.
By the time the whole mess is sorted
out, quite a number of Zimbabwe's
ruling class would have built empires,
fortunes and vast investments on the
back of smuggled loose diamonds, cut
and polished in China and sold, as one
source put in, "in the alleyways and
backyards of Hong Kong and China."
Even as the MDC is aware that this is
happening, Tsvangirai is powerless to
do anything about it because of his
fear of Zimbabwe's military, who only
recently decided to pay him token
respect in exchange for being left alone
to pursue their trade in loose
diamonds and continue milking the state and
the fields themselves.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21456
August 20, 2009
Geoffrey
Nyarota
By Munemba Tsverukai
INSTEAD of the occasion being solemn,
seems President Mugabe seized the
opportunity to mollify public misgivings
of his corrupt government by
proffering a splendid profile of Joseph
Msika.
We now focused on Mugabe through Msika. Under the façade of
Msika's funeral,
Mugabe grabbed the momentous event to portray his gallantry
in the struggle
for independence. Mugabe becomes the center of the universe
and not the dead
man or for that matter, the departed's relatives. He finds
glory of his
existence when reminiscing over yesteryear.
Contrary to
the general perception that these sordid occurrences are a
painful reminder
of the dark days gone by, these funerals actually offer
Mugabe a splendid
opportunity to invigorate his own life. Whilst we
concentrate on reading his
facial expressions to deduce the depth of his
agony at losing yet another
comrade, Mugabe instead seems to get a new lease
of life.
Unbeknown
to almost everyone, the man breams with content. These are rare
times Mugabe
gets to go over how his strategy fell in place over the years.
His
ascendancy to dominance within the power structures leading the war
effort
was a well calculated survival of the fittest theory in practice.
Master
stroke. He outsmarted every single one of the initiators of the
struggle
without making his intentions too obvious. By the time every other
major
player took notice of Mugabe's manipulations, they were already at the
whim
of his authority.
Those deemed as potential threats of a more serious
nature were
systematically eliminated in ways raising no dust.
What
Mugabe conveniently fails to make obvious to the public especially at
these
burials, is the fact that Zanu-PF and PF-Zapu were not the best of
friends
either. Numerous half truths get peddled. Why do the feigned
unbreakable
bonds manifest themselves only at luminous funerals but not in
real life?
Mugabe's timing is second to none too. By making astounding
statements that
need no follow up, he inevitably creates an impregnable
shield from
intrusive scrutiny. After all, death is supposed to be a somber
occasion
necessitating no elucidation of eulogies or verbal expressions
following
thus.
Not only does Mugabe indulge in nostalgia while at the podium, but
he charts
national policy at the same time. Over and above that, he
unwittingly
re-affirms his authority over every Zimbabwean soul through the
sound and
fury he embodies. He mesmerizes and subdues the nation all in one
act. In
these times, his audience ranges from those in attendance at Heroes
Acre to
those watching at home on TV. Any gaps in between are dutifully
covered by
the print media, radio or word of mouth. By then, historical
distortions to
the original speech keep mounting. The serves Mugabe well
since only he,
appropriates himself the national custodian of historical
perspectives.
When his mood increasingly takes a dip, he excoriates
whites lurking at the
periphery of national interests while staying mum
regarding outrageous
activities by himself or his lieutenants. As the
eminent person in the
house, he never misses the opportunity to foster the
need for unity in the
party. Of course at this point, you get it. Big
decisions are normally made
at this juncture; to either belong to the
exclusionist club or forever
remain an outcast.
In death Mugabe heaps
accolades on comrades contrary to their interactions
in real life. He went
on about Msika as if he, the dearly departed, was the
greatest thing that
ever lived. If the likes of Msika were a voice of reason
and wisdom as
currently claimed, how come we still experienced the
catastrophic
Gukurahundi?
If indeed the calming voice of Msika was an essential
element of good
governance, how is it that economically debilitating farm
invasions
continued until his passing? Msika's booming silence over
collapsing
education and health for example, come as a major surprise for a
man of such
strong convictions. Was he blind to mounting potholes on our
city strips in
particular? How did the nation miss his outrage at endless
banking or
supermarket queues? Considered judgment dictates good men speak
out when the
nation loses focus and decay sets in as was the case
here.
Was he muzzled or is it our scatter-brained speculation?
Yes
Msika's war credentials are unquestionable, however, how does his record
reflect from 1980- 2009? If Mugabe portrays him as a trailblazer, what
specific project other than the war effort, did Msika spearhead to develop
Chiweshe, Matebeleland or Chipinge; all three places with real significance
to him. On the other hand, is there any obvious policy decision Msika caused
to be either implemented for the good of the country or dropped as deemed
injurious to the same entity. If so, instead of endless speechifying, why
did the President not inform the nation of such testimony?
I ask this
not of Msika but the chorus Mugabe continued to sing all week
long. No
doubt, the storyline has essentially shifted before our own eyes as
happened
many times before; from Msika to that of Mugabe. Msika's
achievements in the
post war years should stand on "their own" if indeed
Mugabe consulted him in
good faith while extending a true gesture of power
brokering. Denying
Msika's request to retire before death casts new light on
evidence not of
Mugabe's magnanimity but of his overbearing presence on
every lesser soul.
This is the same attitude that basically denied Msika or
Joshua Nkomo
operating space so that they became self-serving window
dressers.
Naturally Msika was no fool. He toed the party and
government line for
self-reservation rather than serve national interests as
they strenuously
might want us to believe. He had seen the misfortune that
befelll Ruth
Chinamano, Dzikamai Mavhaire and even UMudhala Wethu himself,
Joshua Nkomo,
Williwe Musarurwa, to mention but just a few. Msika chose
therefore to be
compliant and simply play along. This means any public
statements or image
had to conform to the ruling clique's
gamesmanship.
Finally, the elaborate funeral showmanship covering the
breath and length of
the country was a fraudulent attempt to hoodwink those
in Chiweshe, Bulawayo
and the nation at large into reaching more favourable
conclusions regarding
the contentious and often treacherous working
relations in our government.
That massive send-off precludes any doubts
creeping in about the onerous
rule of our royal highness. This subtle
domination has rendered the man a
life president against all odds at
removing him. As Mugabe looks down into
each casket at Heroes Acre, one
wonders what he says to them silently. Is it
genuine grief or scorn for
dying sooner than the master himself?
By all accounts, the day
unmistakably always ends up belonging to Mugabe and
not the deceased, Msika
in this case.
http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=21472
August 20, 2009
By
Goodwill Mpofu
IN THE Zanu-PF controlled Herald newspaper and the
NewZimbabwe.com online
news site alleged to belong to him, Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor,
Gideon Gono has been reported to have proposed the
reintroduction of the
Zimbabwe dollar anchored on gold.
He said this
on Monday August, 17, 2009 while giving oral evidence before
the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Natural Resources, Hospitality and
Tourism.
The committee had ill-advisedly invited the central bank for
it wanted to
know the financial sector's preparedness in terms of
introducing plastic
money ahead of 2010 World Soccer Cup Finals to be held
in South Africa. It
also invited the Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ),
led by its
president John Mangudya.
Imagine a committee full of
serious people sitting down to discuss about
plastic money, yet it has been
reported more than two months ago that the
Minister of Finance Tendai Biti
has engaged the bankers about the same issue
amongst other concerns. Gono
had adequately dealt with it in his latest and
modestly delivered mid-year
monetary policy statement (MPS), paragraphs
85-92, which is available on the
RBZ website.
As was usual of him during the "Gonomics Era" from
2004-2008, Gono proffered
an array of advice beyond his call of duty that
included the need for
political stability, addressing infrastructural issues
like availability of
electricity, water, transport network, and the health
delivery service
system, among others.
One wonders if he has nothing
else to do within his mandate when he has the
temerity to "proffer an array
of advice." It is also worrisome when the
parliamentarians fail to stop him
in his tracks so that he focuses on his
area of mandate only.
He
called for such gold to be valued by an independent body comprising all
stakeholders. Recalling what he referred to as "all stakeholders," this
would include his advisors in the mold of hoodlums like Joseph Chinotimba
and his business acolyte Jonathan Kadzura, who parades himself as an expert
in everything - politics, economics, business and rural
development.
On July 30, 2009, Gono without the usual pomp and ceremony
and live
television coverage, he delivered his mid-year MPS. While facing
the banking
chiefs and executives only, he reasonably welcomed and applauded
the
inclusive government's expression of full faith in the multiple currency
system. "The benefits of this noble policy which was reconfirmed and
fortified in the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP) have been
phenomenal to the economy as a whole. Under this system, inflation
favourably responded very drastically, falling from the painful
multi-million percentage levels into the negative territories virtually
during the entire first half of 2009."
He observed that capacity
utilization in companies moved upwards from trough
levels of around 10
percent, to current levels in the 34-45 percent range.
He expressed the
desire that "continued policy consistency and better
institutional
coordination should see the economy registering even better
levels of
capacity utilization levels.The hyperinflation that characterized
the
economy over the past two years had adversely affected and indeed
severely
constrained economic activity. Against the background of widening
parallel
markets and speculative activities, economic activity rapidly
contracted and
informalized. Capacity utilization across most sectors of the
economy
declined to levels below 20 percent, resulting in severe shortage of
goods
and services.
The cumulative effects of the hyperinflation led to the
relegation of the
Zimbabwe dollar as a medium of exchange in the economy.
Subsequently and
progressively economic transactions were conducted in
foreign currencies.
The migration to the use of multiple currencies adopted
by government ended
the hyperinflation immediately and set the platform for
enhanced
formalization of economic activity and recovery."
As sign
that Gono practices a well grounded Orwellian "doublethink," one has
to read
through the following paragraphs of the MPS,
"11. As Monetary
Authorities, our views and advice on this matter are
anchored on the
following 2 key principles:
a) That the existence and stability of a
country's national currency is
defined and dictated by the barometer of real
economic activity in the
economy. Accordingly, therefore, in as much as the
loss of value of the
Zimbabwe dollar was a direct result of the near
absolute stagnation in
Zimbabwe's productive systems, a quicker recovery and
sustained growth in
the productive sectors of the economy will lay a solid
foundation for the
return of the Zimbabwe dollar and this can be anytime
depending on how
seriously we work as a nation to rebuild our
economy.
* To this end, therefore, there are no calendar time limits
favouring or
barring the return of the Zimbabwe dollar, and as Monetary
Authorities, we
will continue to carefully gauge the overall performance of
the economy to
inform us on the appropriate decisions or courses of actions
to take, in
close collaboration with our Principals in the Inclusive
Government.
b) Our strong views and preference however are that as
Zimbabweans we must
have our own currency and autonomy in formulating our
fiscal and monetary
policies.
* Whilst too much demand relative to
supply has traditionally been pointed
out as the mother of inflation and its
noxious spill-over effects to society
and the economy, too little demand can
itself be an equally deleterious
vampire that can bring down the economy
amidst plenty in stockpiles and
flooded stockrooms full of goods facing
little or no demand.
12. Future policies on the currency issue will,
therefore, stand guided by
an intimate consideration of the progress that we
make on key milestones on
the production front and the need to minimize the
downside risks of a
protracted recession." (My emphasis.)
All that is
needed now is to create and improve the earning and production
capacity of
individuals and corporates. The improved and created production
capacity of
corporates will safeguard existing and create new jobs. Revenue
inflows will
improve. That way, such honestly earned money is spent
ultimately benefiting
the fiscus through improved collectible taxes - PAYE,
VAT and corporate
income tax.
Seventeen days later he amplified the statement of 11(b) of
the MPS by
calling for the introduction of the Zimbabwe dollar. What
progress has been
made on "on key milestones on the production front and the
need to minimize
the downside risks of a protracted recession?"
This
is a sign that the above quoted views in the MPS are in serious
conflict
with his Zanu-PF principals' desire to benefit from a free falling
economy.
His statements could have been reviewed and a notice was made that
he was
seemingly becoming reasonable.
The statement made by Gono at the
parliamentary committee deserves
condemnation by those most willing to see
the economy recover. The Zimbabwe
currency can only be introduced when the
economy has fully recovered. Gono's
free hand on the till should never be
allowed again.
Gono has made his pitch for the Zimbabwe dollar and the
media, economic
analysts and online chat-rooms are mute! For 'ignoring' him,
Gono might
think that his bankrupt pronouncement was reasonable to require
attention.
This was the norm - nobody challenged or critiqued the
economically
destructive thinking during the Gonomics Era.
The only
voices we heard were those who praised and agreed with him. Not
surprisingly, his views as destructive as they are, he called them those of
"outside the box" so that he can benefit out of his own generated
chaos.
On a separate matter, much of what is in all his MPS are of
research nature
not a monetary policy statement in the technical sense. The
RBZ (not the
Governor) should be publishing monthly, quarterly and annual
bulletins that
we last saw during tenure of his predecessor, Leonard
Tsumba.
The bulletins would save us the pain of going through a
"textbook" of the
Governor's quarterly presentations full of nothing but
fiscal issues beyond
his core business.
http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk
18
August 2009
By The Editor
Zanu (PF) has
perfected the art of subterfuge. Whenever things get a bit too
hot for them,
they throw up a smoke screen of some trivial issue in an
attempt to cause
confusion. They stampede furiously to muddy the waters in
the hope that the
pressure on them will go away.
It is quite obvious to everyone
that President Robert Mugabe and his
henchmen, are responsible for the
stalemate in the unity government. Even
Zanu (PF) hardliners know this - if
they are honest with themselves.
They have refused to implement the GPA in
full. Their hearts have never been
in it. Even at the singing ceremony,
while Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur
Mutambara were pledging to work
tirelessly for the success of the unity
government, Mugabe was busy
attacking Britain, the US, the EU and all his
other imaginary enemies.
He
has also taken his sweet time about swearing in provincial governors and
deputy minister of agriculture Roy Bennett - in direct contravention of both
the letter and the spirit of the agreement. And just this week it has
emerged that even the GPA itself was tampered with.
The issue of the
Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General is still
unresolved.
With
Jacob Zuma arriving next week, having made some strong statements
recently,
and a SADC summit looming - Zanu (PF) has gone into stampede mode.
They are
making every effort to cause confusion over the selection of people
to sit
on the various committees mandated by the GPA - simply because their
nominees have not been successful in making it onto the short
lists.
Their ridiculous argument - that the MDC members of the selection
panel were
in the majority and favoured non-Zanu (PF) candidates - simply
does not
wash. That is how democracy works. Their behaviour demonstrates -
if anyone
ever double it - that Zanu (PF) is not interested in
democracy.
As for the so-called sanctions issue - to insist that MDC should
get the
targeted sanctions against individual members of Zanu (PF) lifted by
the
west - is absurd.
Mugabe and co know very well that targeted
sanctions were imposed by foreign
nations, who have every right to decide
whom they will welcome into their
countries, and whom they will not. As does
Zimbabwe itself.
The position of the west has been stated unequivocally. They
will not remove
their travel and financial bans imposed upon Mugabe and his
cronies for
human rights abuses, until such abuses are stopped, media
reforms are
implemented and the country returns to the rule of law. As yet,
there is no
evidence of any of this.
Mugabe knows what needs to be done.
He should simply get on and do it.
http://www.ft.com
By Tony Hawkins in Harare
Published: August 19
2009 23:05 | Last updated: August 19 2009 23:05
Donor support for
Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis has fallen far short of
what the country
desperately needs, according to the United Nations.
Augustino Zacarias,
head of the United Nations Development Programme in the
country, said on
Wednesday that donors had so far pledged only $316m (£191m,
€222m) in
humanitarian aid of the $718m sought by the UN.
He said that while
Zimbabwe was not facing armed conflict, humanitarian
threats such as food
shortages and diseases including cholera posed “a
significant
challenge”.
The UN estimates that 2.8m adult Zimbabweans need food aid while
6m people
have little or no access to safe water and sanitation. During the
cholera
outbreak in 2008-09 almost 100,000 people were infected with the
disease,
which killed 4,288.
Wednesday’s UN report is the latest in a
series of setbacks threatening the
inclusive government established in
February by Robert Mugabe, president,
and Morgan Tsvangirai, prime minister.
This week, the national airline, Air
Zimbabwe said it would make 500
redundancies in a bid to stave off
bankruptcy.
Patrick Chikumba,
chief executive, said passenger numbers had collapsed from
around 1m in the
mid-1990s to only 300,000, while the state-owned airline
had foreign debts
of more than $30m. He said the airline needed to replace
its ageing fleet of
aircraft, some of which had a normal working life of 15
years but were still
flying after 23 years in service.
Some government ministers have
suggested that the airline be privatised, but
the deeply divided coalition
government is unlikely to make such a decision
any time soon.
In a
further public display of discord, Tendai Biti, finance minister,
reiterated
his repeated rejections of calls to revive the defunct Zimbabwe
currency. Mr
Biti said he was setting up a team of experts to advise on
whether Zimbabwe
should join the Rand Monetary Area, comprising South
Africa, Lesotho,
Namibia and Swaziland, in the process slapping down the
governor of the
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Gideon Gono, who this week called
for the
reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar “backed by gold”.
Mr Gono told a
parliamentary committee that the country could use its own
gold production
to anchor the revived Zimbabwe dollar.
Striking government doctors
demanding substantial pay increases have
intensified the pressure on the
government, which is unable to meet their
demands. Teachers are also
threatening to strike, while mine workers have
declared a dispute with
employers that has gone to arbitration. Mining
accounts for nearly half of
total exports, which fell 38 percent in the
first half of 2009, underlining
the necessity of avoiding any disruption to
production.
http://www.ft.com
By Michael Holman
Published: August 20 2009 20:02 |
Last updated: August 20 2009 20:02
It is time for western governments to
swallow their pride, re-engage in
Zimbabwe and do business with Robert
Mugabe.
The country’s battered people urgently need help: compassion and
self-interest demands that the west provide it; the future of the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change could well depend on it; and the recent
announcement that China has offered Zimbabwe a US$950m (€671m, £576m) loan
should concentrate policymakers’ minds on it.
Six months after the
introduction of a coalition administration, Zimbabwe
remains in cruel limbo.
Its children are still being orphaned by Aids and
dying of preventable
diseases. Its students remain without books or
computers. Nearly half the
population are kept alive by UN food shipments,
but denied by western donors
the resources that could allow the country to
fend for itself.
Doing
business with a dictator is anathema, maintain western diplomats.
President
Mugabe must go, they say, before regular aid can resume.
Meanwhile, their
governments keep their distance. They channel hundreds of
thousands of
tonnes of food aid through the UN’s World Food Programme, and
enlist
non-government organisations to deliver the modest humanitarian help
the
west is prepared to allow.
All this takes place on the sufferance of Mr
Mugabe. Every agency operating
in Zimbabwe has signed an agreement with his
administration, setting out the
terms of its operations.
Were the
west to take the advice of the MDC, the party in a coalition led by
Mr
Mugabe, this relationship could form the basis for assistance on a far
bigger scale. Yet for all the genuine concern about dealing with a dictator,
the west seems influenced by a desire for revenge on the man who has for so
long defied its efforts to dislodge him.
Not only have these efforts
ended in embarrassing failure – all too often
they have backfired to Mr
Mugabe’s advantage. He has defied European Union
travel bans, and made UN
and EU sanctions look foolish.
And far from assisting the cause of Morgan
Tsvangirai, the west’s veto on
increased aid has left the MDC leader in a
bind that could lead to his
political demise. When Mr Tsvangirai returned
from a fundraising tour of
western capitals, he had little to show for his
efforts – and if he fails to
improve the quality of life in Zimbabwe, MDC
supporters are entitled to ask
why he joined the coalition in the first
place.
So what can be done?
If the WFP can be trusted to ensure
that food supplied by Britain and other
donors reaches the needy and not the
army, it can be trusted to implement a
wider programme, supervising efforts
to help Zimbabwe’s small-scale farmers
feed the country.
And if the
NGOs can be relied upon to deliver the west’s humanitarian aid to
the
deserving and not to Mr Mugabe’s cronies, they can be trusted to
implement
an expanded programme of international assistance, delivered to
specified
areas, and backed by funds from official donors.
Lives saved from hunger
should not be lost to disease, so western funds need
to go towards medicines
and hospital equipment; to save a generation from
illiteracy, we should help
revive an education system that was arguably the
best in
Africa.
Success cannot be guaranteed. But if fresh help is abused, there
will be
plenty of whistleblowers, whether among diplomats in Harare or the
millions
of Zimbabweans who crave a normal life.
But a recovery
programme also needs to tackle the consequences of the
eviction of 5,000
white commercial farmers. Whatever Mr Tsvangirai may say
in public, it would
be political suicide to attempt the return of white
farms to their former
owners.
Yet their skills need not be lost to the region. Let donors help
to create
an agricultural project in neighbouring Mozambique, near the
border with
Zimbabwe, to the benefit of both countries. Use funds earmarked
for Zimbabwe
to build the infrastructure Mozambique lacks, and to underwrite
a Land Bank
that would provide the capital and financial guarantees
commercial farmers
require – a package that should encourage Zimbabwe’s
white farmers, now
exiled or jobless, to return to a new home on the
land.
With every week, the aid impasse becomes more painful, and Mr
Tsvangirai’s
predicament becomes more acute. Meanwhile, China looks on at a
prize that
the west is helping to make ready for plucking.
The
writer is a former FT Africa editor