Head of Zim's grain company arrested

IOL

    August 26 2006 at 04:20PM

Harare - The head of Zimbabwe's state-run grain company has been arrested on charges of corruption, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Samuel Muvuti, the acting chief executive officer of the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), was arrested on Friday and is being questioned by police, spokesman Andrew Phiri told the state-controlled Herald.

"He will appear in court as soon as we are through with our investigations," Phiri said.

"We believe that he could have done a lot of illegal activities at the GMB."

The paper said Muvuti is being charged under the country's Prevention of Corruption Act. He is alleged to have used workers from the grain company to work on his private farm in northern Zimbabwe.


 
Muvuti allegedly paid the workers close to a million Zimbabwe dollars out of GMB funds.

As the head of a key parastatal, Muvuti is a well-known figure in Zimbabwe, frequently interviewed in state media.

In a speech earlier this month President Robert Mugabe, whose government is pursuing an anti-corruption drive - warned Zimbabweans wrongful self-enrichment will not be allowed to go unpunished.

However, critics say only political lightweights have so far been caught. - Sapa-dpa

Zim farmers left with loads of worthless cash

IOL

    August 25 2006 at 06:58PM

Hundreds of peasant farmers in south eastern Zimbabwe have been left with sacks full of worthless money after they failed to meet a currency swap deadline, it was reported Friday.

Angry cotton farmers from Chipinge district have been left holding billions of old Zimbabwe dollars, the official Manica Post newspaper said.

They say they did not have time to travel the long distances to commercial banks to exchange their old money before Monday's deadline.

People in my constituency are cotton farmers and they sold their cotton recently on cash basis. They have huge sums of money that they are failing to exchange, said the MP for the area, Enock Porusingazi.


Last month Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono gave Zimbabweans three weeks to change old bank notes for new ones with three zeros less.

The move was an attempt to halt skyrocketing inflation now hovering just under 1 000 percent - and outwit black marketeers.

Porusingazi said that with no radio or television reception in his constituency, the farmers had not benefited from the central banks publicity campaign on the currency changeover, the Manica Post said. - Sapa-dpa

African regimes turn to China for their salvation

Asian nation is providing political,economic help to their governments
By Terry Leonard, The Associated Press
August 27, 2006
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — On a parade ground in the Zimbabwean capital, the national commissioner of police recently told police academy graduates that they should learn Chinese. And why not; African regimes such as Zimbabwe, largely shunned by the West, are turning to China for economic and political salvation.
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, under targeted sanctions by most Western governments because of his country's human rights record and its retreat from the rule of law, has declared a "Look East" policy.

China, hungry for energy and raw materials as its economy expands, has invested heavily in Africa. At the same time, it has offered limited political and economic help to repressive governments in Africa. Western governments are more likely to tie engagement to political and social reform, though they, too, have a history of backing African dictators.
Africa is also a battleground in China's rivalry with Taiwan. Chad recently ended ties with Taiwan and resumed diplomatic relations with China after a break of nearly a decade.
Bilateral trade between China and Africa has increased more than 300 percent since 2000 and now exceeds $40 billion a year.
"There is a potential of political leverage for China. The West is worried about growing Chinese influence. But the political effect so far is less than might have been imagined," said Stephen Friedman, a senior research fellow at the Center for Policy Studies in Johannesburg.
"The argument is that they have helped Mugabe. But they haven't much. It has been more of a symbolic gesture."
But Friedman said repressive and corrupt governments may nonetheless increasingly turn to China for economic development and political cover.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, on a visit to South Africa in June, insisted China's interest in Africa was based on mutual respect, and that both sides would benefit.
"We respect the social system and development strategy pursued by African countries in light of their particular national conditions," Wen said in a speech during his visit. "We do not seek to export our own values and development models."
"We respect the principle of equality, mutual benefit and noninterference in other's affairs," he told reporters at another stop on his South African tour.
China is now the largest exporter of oil from Angola. It also exports oil from Sudan, without condemning that government for the killing in the Darfur region that the United States has labeled genocide.
At the United Nations last September, China worked to dilute a resolution condemning Sudan for the killings in Darfur.
China has come to Africa seeking oil and raw materials, such as Zambian copper, and to make investments that include such big ticket items as roads and refineries, usually built with Chinese labor.
The Chinese "never make any pretense that they are anything other than hard nosed and want to take away a profit," said John Robertson, an independent economist in Harare. "My biggest fear is that Zimbabwe has become so weakened that at some stage the Chinese can say, ¿We can bail you out,' and in exchange we not only will repay money but sell their products in the region.
"In other words, we will become the tool that wipes out the clothing, footwear and textile industries for the whole of Southern Africa, and the Chinese will have the market to themselves," said Robertson.
At the level of the working man, China — and especially imported Chinese workers — are seen as a threat to already meager livelihoods. In Zambia, local workers have rioted to protest the Chinese.
Chinese companies have been accused of flooding Nigerian markets with fake and substandard goods, notably textiles. In December, Nigerian officials took the dramatic step of shutting down several shopping centers run by Chinese traders in the commercial capital, Lagos.
Even in South Africa, the richest country on the continent, unions fearful of a loss of jobs, especially in the clothing and textile industries, are pressing the government to renegotiate trade agreements with China they believe are advantageous to the Chinese.
South African imports from China exceeded $4.4 billion in 2005 compared with $1 billion in exports, according to government figures.
South African firms — from mining giant Anglo American to Internet service providers and beer brewers — have invested some $400 million in China, according to government figures. China has put about $130 million in South Africa, most in a chromium mine.
In Angola, where most people live in extreme poverty, Prime Minister Fernando Da Piedade Das Dos Santos last week had to respond to rumors that he had authorized the immigration of 4 million Chinese workers into Angola.
"The Chinese are coming to Angola within specific projects and after those projects come to an end they will return to their country," he said without confirming or denying the rumored figure.
In Zimbabwe, "Look East" has generated deep resentment of the Chinese, said John Makumbe, a political analyst at Zimbabwe University and a critic of Mugabe's policy.
But Friedman said he believes despite any resentment in the streets, corrupt and repressive African governments that have nowhere else to turn will look to China for political legitimacy and protection. Even if China has offered little political help so far, it presents itself as a leader of the Third World.
Democratic governments in Africa will look toward China because their businessmen will be pressing for access to China's huge market potential.
Friedman said China believes its investment in Africa, beyond bringing it the energy and raw materials for expansion, also has the potential of creating a windfall profit in geopolitical influence in the future.

Harare says French fuel deal still on

Zim Online


Mon 28 August 2006

HARARE - Zimbabwe authorities at the weekend insisted that a US$50
million fuel supply fund arranged with French bank, BNP Paribas, was still
active, even as a long-running fuel shortage that worsened in the last three
weeks threatens to bring the country to a complete halt.

Under the fuel procurement deal, the French bank provides the
state-owned National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (NOCZIM) with cash to import
fuel. In return President Robert Mugabe's virtually broke government uses
earnings from Zimbabwe's lucrative nickel mining industry to repay BNP
Paribas.

Zimbabwe's giant nickel producer, Bindura Nickel Corporation, has
pledged a percentage of its export earnings to meet the loan repayments.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono, a key architect of the
fuel deal, at the weekend told ZimOnline that the deal was still in place,
adding that the country was set to receive 37 million litres of fuel
supplied under the arrangement.

Gono, who refused to answer more questions pertaining to the fuel
supply deal, would not say when exactly the fuel shipment he said was on its
way to Zimbabwe would arrive in the country.

"The fuel is coming but the authorities at NOCZIM can confirm that,"
was all Gono would say.

NOCZIM chief executive officer, Zvinechimwe Churu, also told state
media at the weekend that Zimbabwe had over the past week taken delivery of
25.7 million litres of fuel worth US$15 million, which was supplied under
the deal with BNP Paribas.

Previous fuel supply deals with oil suppliers from Libya and Kuwait
collapsed after Harare failed to pay.

And there was little evidence at the weekend that Zimbabwe was getting
any substantial supplies of diesel or petrol, with long and winding queues
of motorists at the few garages - mostly operated by small companies who
source their own fuel - that were selling fuel in Harare and other cities.

Fuel queues had disappeared in most cities and towns in Zimbabwe
following the deregulation of the energy sector last year.

But the government has re-imposed controls on the fuel industry
ordering suppliers two weeks ago to lower pump prices of diesel and petrol
to levels fuel firms say are below cost and would condemn them to financial
ruin.

Zimbabwe has battled severe fuel shortages since 1999 after the
International Monetary Fund withdrew balance-of-payments support to Harare
following sharp disagreements with Mugabe over monetary policy and other
governance issues.

The fuel shortages have resulted in most private and public buses
being forced off the roads with many commuters being left with no option but
to walk or cycle to work. - ZimOnline

Daughter of Zim bigwig bags land

Mail and Guardian



Godwin Gandu

25 August 2006 06:00

The daughter of Zimbabwean Vice-President, Joice Mujuru, has
helped herself to Ashcott farm, situated on prime agricultural land about
150km northeast of the capital, Harare.

Armed with an offer letter issued by Intelligence and Land
Reform Minister Didymus Mutasa, Kumbirai Madzima and her husband, Tapiwa,
arrived three weeks ago on the farm and told the owner, Darryl Zietmann, to
pack, giving him just two days to vacate the land.

Her mother, Mujuru, is known as a staunch supporter of the
government's expulsion of white farmers, and has herself benefited from the
policy, living on the requisitioned farm, Alamein, 70km south of Harare.

The Mail & Guardian has learnt that the Madzimas arrived with
four helpers in their Ford pick-up on the 341ha farm. Zietmann had to
hurriedly borrow a neighbour's truck to pack most of his belongings, which
he took to Harare, where he is now staying. The rest of his goods he is
storing on a friend's farm in the area.

Ashcott is in the Mashonaland central province, situated on the
wheat and orange belt that has sustained the country with food.

Zietmann last season produced 40ha of soya beans, 10ha of seed
maize, 10ha of commercial maize and 40ha of tobacco, which he harvested,
paying off a loan he obtained from the AgriBank.

"Fortunately for him the couple stormed in just after he had
harvested and settled his loans," the M&G was informed.

Zietmann got a call from the Madzimas on August 2 advising him
that they were the new owners of the property.

A meeting was hastily arranged the following day and Zietmann
got to know of his fate in person and immediately "indicated he was prepared
to leave given the profile of the individual he was dealing with ."

But the couple also made a further offer when they arrived on
the farm. "The wife [Kumbirai] said she wanted to buy plates, sofas,
tapestry and a piece of art," an eyewitness told the M&G. The farm owner
indicated that he would compile an inventory. Every­thing in the farmhouse,
according to rough estimates, is worth about Zim$700-million (R46 000). The
owner took it with him to Harare but hasn't heard from the Madzimas who have
since settled on the farm.

More than 20 new settlers have also joined them on Ashcott.

Zietmann did not want to comment. Tapiwa Madzima denied that
they were already occupying the farm, saying the couple had applied but were
still waiting "to get a farm like any other citizen".

And while the land resettlements continue unabated, President
Robert Mugabe has recently warned that new black farmers should produce food
on farms taken from whites or have the land seized by the government.

Former Grain Marketing Board chief executive, now opposition
Movement for Democratic Change secretary for agriculture, Renson Gasela, has
expressed his concern that most of the land reform beneficiaries "haven't
got the slightest idea about farming".

"They are relying on the expertise of remaining farm workers,
who have to advise them what to plant, when to plant, pesticides needed and
estimates of financial resources required," he added.

Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 26th August 2006

There was such a crush we had to make room by taking down two of the banners penning us between the four maple trees. “Wake up World! Zimbabwe is Dying!” and “No to Mugabe and No to Starvation” gave way before the bursting dancers.  A bus brought down a large contingent from Leicester who made a day of it going on to a fundraiser organised by North London MDC.  A car load came down from Manchester – finally making it after their last attempt ended in breakdown on the motorway! Two separate groups came from Newcastle and another from Leeds. 

The Vigil was further augmented by WOZA supporters whose graphic photos of recent “sheroic” demonstrations drew lots of attention from passers-by.  Lois Davis, on behalf of WOZA, urged Zimbabweans to help with their campaign to phone police stations holding WOZA women – apparently it’s best late in the day when the overnight policeman is more likely to be receptive to being told to look after his mother and sisters!  (Police station numbers are available from WOZA-UK so if you want to take part in the campaign please email: wozasolidarity2005@yahoo.co.uk.)

Patson Muzuwa, Chair of the Zimbabwe Association, updated people about the asylum situation and said that reports of many people being detained were inaccurate but he repeated that Zimbabweans in the UK should not give the authorities any reason to act against them.  He said the ZA was doing everything it could to support asylum seekers and urged people not to panic.  Good news from one of our Leicester supporters: Bernadette has received her papers.

Further on the Zimbabwean Delegation to the Home Office (see posting of 11th August): for reasons we do not accept, the decisions of this meeting have not been supported by the Refugee Council.  After being lobbied by various elements, they called another meeting on 23rd August, which was less representative, less inclusive, and attended by fewer people than the first one.  This meeting has chosen a new team to go to the Home Office.  We cannot support this. We will continue with our own initiatives to support  asylum seekers.

Alois and Wellington of Free-Zim Youth showed us the reply from Lord Triesman, Minister responsible for Africa, following their submission of a letter to the Prime Minister at a demonstration at 10 Downing Street (see Vigil Diary of 28th July).  Lord Triesman says “We have always said we would be ready to respond positively to a real commitment to a sustainable reform in Zimbabwe.  Sadly we see no evidence that there is any intention by Mugabe to move in this direction.”  Lord Triesman makes a revealing comment about the so-called mediation by former President Mkapa of Tanzania.  He says “Mr Mkapa has also made no approach to us.  But if he can persuade Mugabe to undertake the policy changes that Zimbabweans urgently need for a more stable and prosperous future, we will support his efforts in any way we can.” He goes on to say “We believe Zimbabwe’s neighbours must recognise and respond further to Zimbabwe’s sad decline so British Ministers take every opportunity to press African leaders to seek positive change in Zimbabwe.  We are seeing some welcome African efforts.” Lord Triesman points out that the UK is one of the main contributors to humanitarian relief efforts for what he estimates as 4.5 million people starving in Zimbabwe and concludes “Zimbabwe remains a top priority for this government.  We will continue to work with our African and UN partners for the return of democracy to Zimbabwe.”

Finally, we were saddened to hear of the death of our supporter Patricia Zinyemba.  Her friends, Irene and Ottiliah, told us she died of a chest infection this week.  The Vigil observed a minute’s silence for her and took a collection.  We will miss her.  So many deaths.
`
For this week’s Vigil pictures: http://uk.msnusers.com/ZimbabweVigil/shoebox.msnw.

FOR THE RECORD: 104 signed the register.        

A REMINDER:  It is a public holiday on Monday, 28th August so there will be no Zimbabwe Forum on that date.

FOR YOUR DIARY: Monday, 4th September, 7.30 pm: there will be a branch assembly for all members of the MDC Central London Branch.  This will be in place of the Central London Zimbabwe Forum. Upstairs at the Theodore Bullfrog pub, 28 John Adam Street, London WC2 (cross the Strand from the Zimbabwe Embassy, go down a passageway to John Adam Street, turn right and you will see the pub). 

Vigil co-ordinator

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 by the current regime 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

SADC pushes for a customs union by 2010

Zim Online


Mon 28 August 2006

JOHANNESBURG - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is
pushing for a customs union for the region by 2010, according to a South
Africa's Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa.

Addressing the media at the weekend, Mpahlwa said the issue of
monetary integration for SADC had received "a high level of attention" at
last week's summit for heads of state in Maseru, Lesotho.

The South African minister said trade and finance ministers in the
region were already discussing the modalities for the implementation of the
monetary integration and were expected to deliver a report to regional
leaders at the next SADC summit early next year.

But analysts and observers say economic turmoil in Zimbabwe - once the
SADC's second strongest economy after South Africa - could scuttle efforts
at achieving greater economic integration in the region.

For example, Zimbabwe, in its seventh straight year of recession, has
the world's highest inflation of nearly 1 000 percent and which is forecast
to rise further. But most countries within the region have succeeded in
whittling down inflation to single digits.

An influx of Zimbabweans fleeing worsening economic hardships to
especially South Africa and Botswana is straining social services in those
countries and in some cases causing friction between Zimbabwe and its
neighbours.

Besides hyperinflation, Zimbabwe's economic crisis is also marked by
shortages of fuel, electricity, essential medicines, hard cash and just
about every basic survival commodity.

Critics blame the crisis on repression and wrong policies by President
Robert Mugabe, in power since Zimbabwe's 1980 independence from Britain.
Mugabe denies mismanaging Zimbabwe and says the country's troubles are
because of economic sabotage by Western nations opposed to his government. -
ZimOnline

Five die in Zimbabwe train crash

Zim Online


Mon 28 August 2006

BULAWAYO - Five people died on the spot on Sunday when a
Bulawayo-bound National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) train collided head-on
with a Spoornet train near Dete, along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls railway
line.

More than 30 others were injured in the accident and were taken to
Hwange District hospital for treatment. About 20 of them were treated and
discharged while the rest were admitted, according to hospital officials.

NRZ spokesperson, Fanuel Masikati confirmed the accident but told
ZimOnline its cause was yet to be ascertained.

"I can confirm the accident and that five people died. But we are yet
to establish what really happened," said Masikati.

However, one engineer with the NRZ who did not want to be named told
ZimOnline the accident occurred as a result of poor communication between
the two trains.

A shortage of foreign currency to revamp an aged communication network
has forced the NRZ to resort to ancient methods to control train movement on
its equally aged rail network, a situation that has resulted in several
serious accidents.

For example, Sunday's train collision is the second such accident on
the same line in less than three months. The worst accident occurred in 2001
when 50 people perished after two trains crashed into each other again
because of poor communication.

Details of the latest accident were still sketchy last night but NRZ
officials said goods worth billions of dollars were destroyed when parts of
the collided trains caught fire. - ZimOnline

Zimbabweans to get 24-hour notice before next currency change

Zim Online


Mon 28 August 2006

HARARE - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has
warned Zimbabweans not to stock up cash in homes as the country's final
transition to a new currency will be sharp and swift.

Speaking at the weekend, Gono said the final leg of currency reforms
he says are meant to shore up the near-worthless Zimbabwe dollar would be
implemented within 24 hours.

"Next time round, the implementation process will be short and,
therefore swift. It will require less than 24 hours notice and will have
much tighter cash limits for allowable deposits. So Zimbabweans take heed.
Don't say you were not warned," said Gono.

The RBZ chief earlier this month introduced a new family of bearer
cheques with less zeroes as part of currency reforms that also included a
devaluation of the local dollar by more than 60 percent.

Bearer cheques are promissory notes first introduced by the RBZ three
years ago at the height of cash shortages in Zimbabwe. They are not official
legal tender but are used in the same way as money.

Zimbabweans were given 21 days to hand over the old notes and switch
over to the new currency. The new measures created a siege for most
Zimbabweans as the police and national service youths seized cash from
individuals at roadblocks mounted around the country.

The tough measures sparked chaotic scenes in most urban areas as
Zimbabweans rushed to beat the deadline.

Thousands of villagers in remote parts of the country were also left
holding on to heaps of worthless money after failing to meet the deadline
forcing the RBZ to last Friday extend the deadline for rural areas only up
to 2 September.

Gono urged people not to stock up the new bearer cheques but to make
use of the banking system to avoid being caught unawares by the next
currency switch.

"Ladies and gentlemen don't store cash under your pillows and don't
operate mini central banks because the day of reckoning is coming," he said.

Gono has in the past accused Zimbabweans of operating "mini central
banks" by stashing cash in their homes for speculative purposes on the
thriving but illegal parallel market for foreign currency. - ZimOnline

Zimbabwe uses loan to buy petrol

IOL

    August 27 2006 at 03:12PM

Harare - Oil-starved Zimbabwe has received 25.7 million litres of fuel from Kuwait under a deal financed by French bank BNP Paribas, a state weekly reported on Sunday.

"Zimbabwe has taken delivery of 25.7 million litres of fuel worth $15-million (about R108-million) under the $50-million facility which the country recently signed with French bank BNP Paribas," the Sunday Mail reported.

National Oil Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) chief Zvinechimwe Churu told the weekly that 8.5 million litres of petrol and 17.5 million litres of diesel were being brought in from the Mozambican port city of Beira.

"The product (diesel) is being pumped from Beira and we have already received the full consignment of petrol," Churu said.



"Since the supplies are now in the country, the arrangement is for the public and the private sector to access the product. However, first priority will be given to certain sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, as the country gears up for the forthcoming season."

In May, Zimbabwe signed a $50-million loan deal with French bank BNP Paribas to purchase fuel and ease shortages that are threatening to bring the economy to its knees.

Under the deal signed in the capital, Zimbabwe's Bindura Nickel Corporation (BNC) put up a percentage of its export earnings as a guarantee for the loan.

Zimbabwe requires $40-million a month to meet its fuel demands.

The supply, the first under the deal, was sourced from Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait, which bagged the tender, Churu said.

Zimbabwe has been struggling with fuel shortages for nearly seven years due to a foreign currency crunch.

The shortages have spawned a burgeoning black market where private importers sell the commodity for as much as double the government-fixed price of Z$320 (about R9.20) per litre of diesel and Z$335 for petrol.

The government blames the shortages on sanctions imposed by the United States and European nations on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle following presidential elections in 2002 which the opposition said were rigged. - Sapa-AFP

Zimbabwe Extends Controversial Currency Exchange For 1 Wk

26 Aug 2006 13:23 GMT DJ


Copyright © 2006, Dow Jones Newswires
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)--The central bank Saturday gave rural Zimbabweans another week to exchange their old currency bills for new ones, saying about one-fifth of old notes were still unaccounted for despite being phased out earlier this month.

Banking officials planned to tour Zimbabwe and offer exchange services to rural populations, some at least 60 miles from the nearest banking services, Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono said in a statement.

In Zimbabwe's hyperinflationary economy, the central bank said it was introducing new bills - removing three zeros from the old denominations - in order to combat black-market currency dealing, profiteering and money laundering.

About 22% of old notes in circulation are "missing from our radar," Gono said. The extended deadline, only for rural people, gives them until Sept. 2 to change bills that became obsolete with the official currency changeover Aug. 21.

Gono said, however, that some areas resisted the change, and that he and his staff had received death threats and faced "naked personal hatred" over the changeover rules.

From Aug. 1, individuals were allowed to exchange a limit of 100 million old Zimbabwe dollars, equal to about $400, for new currency in a single transaction each week. Those attempting to exchange more or found with more at police roadblocks were required to prove they earned or received the money legally. Businesses could exchange 5 billion old Zimbabwe dollars a week.

Gono said in that in the three-week period up to Aug. 21, police and central bank officials reported 9,320 cases in which people holding excess money could not account for its origin. Seized money was being held in government bonds, Gono said, adding "those unable to acquit themselves will face the full wrath of the law."

The central bank "apologize unreservedly" for misunderstandings, tensions, frayed tempers, scuffles, arrests and alleged harassment at roadblocks across the country.

Police and central bank inspectors were searching vehicles for hoards of illegal cash.

"Quite often, good things have some temporary hurtful consequences," Gono said.

Zimbabwe has suffered more than five years of political and economic turmoil that followed the often violent seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms to transfer land to black Zimbabweans.

Disruptions in the agriculture-based economy led to record inflation of nearly 1,000%, the highest in the world, and acute shortages of food, hard currency from exports and tourism, gasoline and essential imports.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 26, 2006 09:23 ET (13:23 GMT)