VOA
By Peta
Thornycroft
Harare
01 December 2005
After weeks
of difficult negotiations, the U.N.World Food Program has signed
an
agreement with the Zimbabwe government for an emergency program to feed
up
to four million people. The United Nations won its demand that all food
distribution be done by non-governmental organizations and not the Zimbabwe
government.
The World Food Program said it fed two million people in
November although
the agreement was only signed Thursday.
The
Zimbabwe government said last year it had grown record crops and asked
the
WFP to stop feeding people ahead of the general election this past
March.
Human rights groups protested that food was used as a political
weapon
during the run up to the poll.
For the fifth year in a row, ever since
President Robert Mugabe instituted a
policy of seizing white-owned
commercial farms, Zimbabwe's crops have
failed. The economy, which depended
for decades on agriculture produced by
the seized farms, has bee bankrupted.
Zimbabwe had been self sufficient in
food production and its export crops
provided 40 percent of annual foreign
exchange earnings.
Economists
say that such products as seed, fertilizer, fuel and equipment,
were largely
unavailable because of foreign currency shortages in last
growing season. In
addition, rainfall was patchy, and in some areas, there
was a
drought.
The WFP had been pressing to resume its emergency feeding
program for
several months. Mr. Mugabe had said he would not allow
non-governmental
organizations to distribute food because they have a
political agenda.
The WFP, backed by strong calls from Secretary General
Kofi Annan, insisted
NGOs would distribute the food and its determination
has prevailed.
The WFP said its non-governmental partners were preparing
to feed more than
three million people, as well as an additional million who
are already being
fed through programs for targeted groups, such as orphans,
school children
and people living with HIV/AIDS.
WFP regional
spokesman Michael Huggins in Johannesburg said the deal only
covered food
aid to rural areas and that many more people would benefit from
emergency
feeding in urban areas. He said this could not be done until the
Zimbabwe
government recognized that there was a need for assistance in these
areas.
Most opposition supporters live in urban areas.
Mr.
Huggins said the WFP was concerned about urban dwellers who lost their
incomes during the government's demolition of hundreds of thousands of urban
homes and a crackdown on informal traders last May and
June.
Agricultural sources across the country say that the 2006 farming
season
will be the worst ever. December first is the last day for maize
plantings
for fair yields according to the Commercial Farmers
Union.
Less maize has been planted this summer season than at any time in
the last
50 years according to farmers' organizations. The present agreement
with the
WFP runs until June next year.
Emergency food is largely
funded by donations from the United States, the
European Union and
Britain.
[ This report does not necessarily
reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 1 Dec 2005
(IRIN/PLUSNEWS) - The United Nations is appealing
for $276 million in aid
for Zimbabwe, and says the humanitarian situation in
the country is likely
to continue deteriorating in 2006.
The UN Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for
Zimbabwe, launched on Wednesday, said
the outlook for the year ahead was
bleak: at least three million people
would require food aid, as only an
estimated 600,000 mt of maize had been
harvested, compared to a national
requirement of 1.8 million mt.
On Thursday the UN World Food Programme
announced that it had concluded an
agreement with the Zimbabwean government
on the delivery of food aid to the
millions in need.
"Among the
expected development in 2006 are decreases in the quality and
access to
basics services; deepening of urban poverty; ... continued
emigration, both
legally and illegally; new farm evictions; and deepening
overall
vulnerability to natural disasters," the CAP noted.
Given this scenario,
the various agencies participating in the CAP expected
that "unless
appropriate humanitarian action is taken, the use of negative
coping
mechanisms will increase, placing vulnerable persons at further risk,
deepening poverty and minimising opportunities for long-term
recovery".
Though many of the humanitarian challenges facing Zimbabwe
were common to
countries in Southern Africa - particularly the 'triple
threat' of HIV/AIDS,
food shortages and a decline in the provision of basic
services - the
country has suffered rapid economic decline, and formal and
informal
migration of skilled and unskilled labour. However, the CAP noted
that these
problems "could be countered by appropriate government
policies".
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government
and the WFP,
signed after several weeks of discussions, lays out the
framework for food
aid distributions and clarifies government and WFP
responsibilities.
"WFP welcomes the signing of this agreement, which will
certainly assist in
meeting our plans to deliver food aid to hungry people
across Zimbabwe,"
Kevin Farrell, WFP Country Director for Zimbabwe, said in
a statement.
"This MOU sets out the modalities for food aid deliveries
and we are
encouraged by the commitment to ensure procedures are formalised
and
followed," Farrell added.
With generous support from a range of
donors, WFP and its partner NGOs
provided food aid to two million people in
November, in addition to ongoing
school feeding programmes. The relief
agency is gearing up to feed more than
three million Zimbabweans through
vulnerable-group feeding programmes, and
provide support to orphans and
people living with HIV/AIDS.
The MOU is to run until the end of June
2006, when the food security of the
most vulnerable will be reassessed. In
signing the MOU today, Nicholas
Goche, Minister of Public Service, Labour
and Social Welfare, expressed
appreciation for the WFP's efforts to assist
vulnerable people in Zimbabwe.
For the full CAP go to:
http://ochaonline.un.org/cap2005/webpage.asp?MenuID=6848&Page=1332
[ This report does not necessarily reflect
the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 1 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - In
another twist to the crisis in
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC), its' second
highest body, the national council, on Thursday
revoked party leader Morgan
Tsvangirai's suspension and "disassociated"
itself from the pro-senate
faction.
The MDC national council said in
a statement that a disciplinary committee
meeting which had suspended
Tsvangirai last week was not quorate and had not
followed proper
procedures.
Sibanda had announced that Tsvangirai had been suspended last
week Thursday,
after a disciplinary committee allegedly found him guilty of
violating the
party's constitution by issuing a call to boycott the recent
senate polls.
Committee members have since then disputed Sibanda's
account and said they
were unaware of a formal meeting having taken
place.
In a move perceived as an attempt to sideline the pro-senate
faction, the
national council also adopted a vote-of-no-confidence in its
leading
members: deputy president Gibson Sibanda, secretary-general Welshman
Ncube,
deputy secretary Gift Chimanikire, treasurer general Fletcher Ncube,
spokesman Paul Themba Nyathi and others as they had not "availed themselves
for any party meetings".
"The congress has the power to remove the
office-bearers, [which will only
meet in February 2006], until then the
council is disassociating itself from
them," said William Bango,
Tsvangirai's spokesman.
In another telling resolution, the national
council vested control over the
party's finances in Tsvangirai and his
allies: the party chair Isaac Matongo
and the leaders of the women and youth
wings of the party.
The pro-senate election faction has refuted the
national council decisions.
"The council meeting did not have a quorum. Only
two of the top six
management official participated in the meeting - it is
just a meaningless
gesture," said Nyathi.
Bango, however, maintained
that 57 out of the 66 members of the national
council attended the
meeting.
The crisis in the MDC followed Tsvangirai overruling a national
council
decision in October to participate in the senate elections, which
were held
on 26 November. He argued that the MDC's agreed position had been
to ignore
the poll on the grounds that it would be a waste of taxpayers'
money, and
the upper chamber would be dominated by the ruling
party.
The pro-senate faction argued that by boycotting the elections MDC
would
hand ZANU-PF control of constituencies it could not win through the
ballot
box, and Tsvangirai had torn up the party's rule book by ignoring the
national council's decision.
[ENDS]
Human
Rights Watch (Washington, DC)
PRESS RELEASE
December 1, 2005
Posted
to the web December 1, 2005
Johannesburg
U.N., Other Humanitarian
Agencies Need Unhindered Access to Hundreds of
Thousands
Displaced
The Zimbabwean government is refusing to protect and assist
hundreds of
thousands of people displaced by its campaign of forced
evictions, Human
Rights Watch said in a report released today. At the same
time, Zimbabwe is
deliberately obstructing efforts by international
humanitarian agencies to
provide assistance and protection to the
displaced.
The 61-page report, "Evicted and Forsaken: Internally
Displaced Persons in
the Aftermath of Operation Murambatsvina," documents
the government's denial
of assistance and protection to people internally
displaced as a result of
Operation Murambatsvina ("Clear the Filth"), which
began in May. The report
also examines the role of international agencies,
and in particular the
United Nations country team, in addressing the
humanitarian crisis in
Zimbabwe.
"The Zimbabwean government has
created a humanitarian crisis in which
hundreds of thousands of people are
now living without food, water or
shelter," said Peter Takirambudde, Africa
director at Human Rights Watch.
"Not only have the Zimbabwean authorities
refused to acknowledge the crisis,
they have abandoned the men, women and
children they forcibly evicted from
their homes."
Today, hundreds of
thousands of displaced Zimbabweans are living outdoors in
disused fields or
in the bush, in rudimentary shelters made from the debris
of destroyed
houses, or are squeezed into tiny rooms with family members who
have agreed
to shelter them. The government has done nothing to provide them
with food,
water, sanitation and health services.
President Robert Mugabe's
government has also failed to address the
desperate situation of vulnerable
groups that were particularly hit hard by
the evictions. These groups
include widows, orphans, households headed by
women or children, and the
chronically ill or elderly. Some children have
developed malnutrition due to
lack of food, while others have fallen ill
with pneumonia after months of
sleeping out in the open. Following their
forced eviction, hundreds of
people living with HIV/AIDS are no longer able
to access life-saving
treatment such as anti-retroviral medications or
remedies for opportunistic
infections.
The Zimbabwean authorities have engaged in a concerted effort
to coerce
those displaced by the evictions to leave the cities and move to
the rural
areas. In areas across the country, the national police have
threatened,
harassed or beaten the internally displaced, forcing them to
relocate to
rural areas where many have no homes or family and where social
service
provisions and economic opportunities are minimal. In addition, the
government has tried to force relocation by denying assistance to those who
choose to stay in the urban areas, and has used food packages as an
incentive to compel families to move out of the cities.
In blatant
disregard of its international obligations, the Zimbabwean
government has
denied international humanitarian agencies access to the
majority of the
internally displaced. The government has also deliberately
obstructed the
provision of international assistance and protection to these
vulnerable
people.
"Zimbabwe's blocking of humanitarian assistance for its displaced
population
is unconscionable," Takirambudde said. "Such actions threaten the
very
survival of these people."
The report emphasizes that the
obligation to protect and assist the
displaced lies first with the
Zimbabwean government. But Human Rights Watch
also found flaws within the
U.N.-led humanitarian assistance program in
Zimbabwe. The problems include
the U.N. country team's failure to assess and
monitor the situation of the
internally displaced, and to devise a realistic
response strategy that would
take existing challenges into account. The team
also has not paid sufficient
attention to protection concerns in the
planning and implementation of its
programs.
U.N. agencies involved in humanitarian response in Zimbabwe
have been
reluctant to confront the government over its blatant disregard of
the human
rights of the displaced and to protest the continued obstruction
of
humanitarian assistance, claiming that quiet representation would be more
effective for achieving its operations.
"While the U.N. cannot be
held responsible for the Zimbabwean government's
recalcitrance, it does bear
a responsibility to protect and assist the
hundreds of thousands of
displaced people whose fundamental rights are being
violated," Takirambudde
said.
Human Rights Watch called on the Zimbabwean government to permit
national
and international humanitarian agencies full and unhindered access
to these
internally displaced persons and other victims of Operation
Murambatsvina.
The government should immediately provide the displaced
persons with
assistance and protection-including food, water, shelter,
sanitation and
medical services-or ensure them access to these services.
Humanitarian
agencies should give priority to the needs of vulnerable groups
such as
widows, children, the elderly and the chronically ill.
The
report called on the U.N. country team to work in full compliance with
its
mandate to assist and protect the displaced and to advocate for the
human
rights of all those displaced by Operation Murambatsvina.
Zim Online
Thu 1
December 2005
HARARE - Defence received the fourth largest vote in
a Z$123.9
trillion budget for next year unveiled on Thursday in Parliament
by Finance
Minister Herbert Murerwa.
The largest share went to
Education which was allocated $7.4 trillion
followed by the health and
public service sectors allocated $5.2 and $5.1
trillion
respectively.
Murerwa, who called for bold measures to ensure
President Robert
Mugabe's government lived within its means, said he hoped
to collect about
$110 trillion in the year to leave a budget deficit of
$13.9 trillion or
about 4.6 percent.
Reviewing
Zimbabwe's prospects in the coming year, a clearly overly
optimistic
Murerwa, predicted Gross Domestic Product to increase by between
two and 3.5
percent in 2006 after a 3.5 percent decline this year.
Murerwa's
forecasts drastically contradict figures given by the
International Monetary
Fund which predicted Zimbabwe's GDP to fall buy about
seven percent next
year, citing continued poor performances by key sectors
such as agriculture
and manufacturing.
The Financer Minister, who criticised ongoing
farm invasions, said
expected good rains this farming season will push
growth in the agricultural
sector by 14 percent in 2006 which he said would
give momentum for overall
economic growth.
"Growth in
agricultural sector will be driven by increased production
of maize which is
expected to increase by 33 percent and cotton which is
expected to increase
by 26 percent," Murerwa told parliament.
He said the mining sector
will grow by a massive 27 percent next year
picking up from a 5.7 percent
decline this year while the manufacturing
sector, at present running at
below 60 percent of capacity, would decline by
just three percent next
year.
The Finance Minister said the Harare administration would
maintain
consultations with all creditors including IMF and World Bank. -
ZimOnline
Reuters
Thu Dec 1, 2005 5:16 PM GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's
economy is set to grow next year for the first
time since 1999 on the back
of an expected turnaround in the country's
troubled agricultural sector,
Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa said on
Thursday.
Unveiling his 2006
national budget proposals to parliament, Murerwa said
gross domestic product
(GDP) growth was forecast at between 2 and 3.5
percent in 2006, against a
3.5 percent contraction this year.
"Growth will be driven mainly by
agriculture, manufacturing, mining and
tourism," Murerwa said, drawing
shouts of derision from opposition
legislators. Last year the government
said the economy would start to expand
again in 2005.
Zimbabwe, once
the bread basket of southern Africa, is reeling from its
worst economic
crisis since independence from Britain in 1980.
The crunch is widely
blamed on mismanagement by President Robert Mugabe's
government --
especially the seizure of white-owned farms, which has led to
the collapse
of the agricultural sector, formerly the mainstay of the
economy.
Mugabe, 81 and in power since independence, says the economy
has been
sabotaged by opponents of his policy of redistributing the farms to
the
landless black majority.
The country has suffered six years of
recession, with output contracting by
more than a third. A combination of
foreign currency shortages and drought
has forced the manufacturing sector
to operate well below capacity.
Murerwa predicted the budget deficit
would dip to 4.6 percent of GDP in 2006
from 5.0 this year. He gave no
explanation for the lower forecasts, but has
repeatedly warned government
departments against overspending.
From The Mail & Guardian (SA), 1 December
Matthew Burbidge
Johannesburg - On May 25 this
year, Zimbabwe's government began Operation
Murambatsvina - a massive
campaign of forced evictions and demolitions. Six
months later, says a
damning Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on
Thursday, the government
has made no arrangements to provide even temporary
shelter to the internally
displaced. Thousands of people are now living in
the open. "We have been out
in the open since the end of May when our houses
were demolished during
Operation Murambatsvina. We are not getting any
assistance from anyone. I
have two children staying with me, but I sent the
other two to the rural
areas. My husband does not have a rural home and I
don't think he would
appreciate it if we went to my rural home. I don't have
the money to send my
children to school. The kids have colds because of
staying outside and in
the cold. I can't afford medical assistance.
Sometimes we sleep without
eating a meal or anything. We don't know what's
going to happen once the
rains come," a displaced mother of four, living by
the edge of a forest in
Victoria Falls, told a HRW researcher in September.
HRW is an
international NGO, based in New York, that conducts advocacy and
research on
human rights issues. On the front page of the report, entitled
Evicted and
Forsaken: Internally Displaced Persons in the Aftermath of
Operation
Murambatsvina, there is a Reuters photograph of an old man sitting
among his
possessions in front of his destroyed home in Norton, Zimbabwe. He
sits
close to a small fire; his toes protrude from his shoes. He clasps his
hands; he does not look angry. There are cupboards, couches and clothes
strewn nearby. Women and children mill about in the background of the
photograph. Perhaps they are trying to reconstruct the rooms with the
furniture, repositioning it inside a house that now has no walls. In
September and October, HRW sent a new research mission to the country to
look into the plight of the internally displaced persons. The researchers
carried out site visits to numerous locations in four of Zimbabwe's
provinces and conducted more than 50 interviews with displaced people, human
rights activists, local authorities, church officials, United Nations staff
in Zimbabwe and others.
"The political, economic, humanitarian
and human rights conditions in
Zimbabwe are all in precipitous decline.
While drought and the devastating
HIV/Aids pandemic have influenced these
conditions to some extent, the
actions of the Zimbabwe government and its
indifference to the dignity and
well-being of its citizens lie at the heart
of Zimbabwe's current crisis,"
says the report. "Ruling through intimidation
and with respect for the rule
of law or the rights of his citizens,
President [Robert] Mugabe's latest
outrage -- the forced eviction and
displacement of hundreds and thousands of
mostly poor people from the urban
areas throughout Zimbabwe -- has attracted
international condemnation but
been defended with characteristic bluster."
The report says the displaced
"have continued to suffer the cruel
indifference of their government; no
protection or assistance, no
compensation, no accountability, restrictions
on freedom of movement".
The report says up to 223 000 children were
directly affected by the
operation. An ActionAid report found that, overall,
22% of children who had
been attending school dropped out because of the
evictions. The
displacement, says the HRW report, also hindered parents'
ability to pay for
schooling, which meant that even more children dropped
out of school. The
report says that with unemployment at about 80%, most
adults in Zimbabwe try
to make ends meet in the informal sector. Many lost
their livelihoods when
the government destroyed market stalls and other
informal-sector businesses
and homes. Now the government has prevented them
from making money by
selling fruit, for example, says the report. Chipo D, a
Harare township
resident, told HRW that although his stall was destroyed, he
still tries to
sell vegetables, "but the police arrest me and make me pay a
fine". Another
witness told HRW: "People whose market stalls were demolished
have come back
and are selling their vegetables in the open. Police come
about five times a
day and harass the vendors, and take their goods for
free. "One woman got
tired of police harassment and threw stones at the
policeman three weeks
ago. She was arrested by the police, and I don't know
what happened to her."
The report says the Zimbabwean government has
persistently obstructed
humanitarian operations. It says the UN staff
interviewed by HRW in
September and October cited the Zimbabwean
government's continuous
obstruction of operations as the main reason for the
international agencies'
inability to implement their programmes. In its
recommendations, among
others, HRW calls on the Zimbabwe government to take
urgent measures to
provide protection and assistance to the displaced,
including shelter, food,
water and sanitation and medical services. It also
calls on the government
to allow the special envoy of the African Union
Commission, Tom Nyanduga, to
return to Zimbabwe and fulfil his mandate and
report to the AU on the status
of internally displaced people. It calls on
the AU to adopt a resolution
strongly condemning the mass evictions and
demolitions as well as strongly
condemning the obstruction of international
humanitarian assistance. The
report says the plight of people displaced by
the Zimbabwean government
cannot be overlooked any further. "It must
generate a sense of outrage
sufficient to trigger concerted action to
protect and assist the displaced."
MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE
NATIONAL
COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
1. Article 15 of the MDC Constitution:
15.1 In any place where the requirements of this
constitution cannot be satisfied because of an omission or oversight in
draughtsman ship, or because a body provided for has not been established, or an
officer provided for in this Constitution has not been elected or appointed, or
because of a procedural problem, the National Council shall have the power to
make such arrangements which in their opinion, satisfy the spirit of this
constitution and shall seek approval for such arrangements at the next
Congress.
1.0 Concern
1.1 . Convening of Council and Executive
Meetings
The Constitution of the party does not specifically
provided for conveners of the meetings of the above organs of the
party.
The constitution only provides that the Secretary
General shall ensure that such meetings take place as required by this
constitution but does not give him specific powers to convene. The constitution
therefore infers that such meeting shall be convened by the respective
chairpersons of the said meetings. This is an omission and, or a procedural
problem.
2.0 Resolution
That in terms of Article 15 of the Constitution,
Council hereby provides that
(a) the Chairman or the President of the Party
shall convene all Council meetings; and the Secretary General -- through the
secretariat -- shall ensure that all administrative arrangements are made to
ensure that the meeting takes place as convened.
(b) all council meetings convened either by the
President or the Chairman of the party prior to this resolution are valid;
(b) that the President and in his absence, the
Deputy President, shall convene all executive
Meetings.
The motion was put to the meeting and the resolution was
adopted.
2. Article 15 of the MDC
Constitution
15.1 In any place where the requirements of this
constitution cannot be satisfied because of an omission or oversight in
draughtsmanship, or because a body provided for has not been established, or an
officer provided for in this Constitution has not been elected or appointed, or
because of a procedural problem, the National Council shall have the power to
make such arrangements which in their opinion, satisfy the spirit of this
constitution and shall seek approval for such arrangements at the next
Congress.
Concern
1.1 Ever since the meeting of the 12th of
October 2005, the Deputy President, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General,
and the Treasurer General have not availed themselves for any party meetings
including the Management Committee, the Executive and the Council. This has had
the effect of paralyzing party business.
1.2 The Constitution does not provide for an officer to
act in the absence of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General and the
Treasurer General
1.0 Motion
(a) No
individual office bearer is bigger than the party and the party which is the
people shall not be held at Ransom by an individual office
bearer
(b) In
terms of article 15 of the Constitution, and up to the next Congress, Council
resolves that in the absence of the Secretary General, the deputy Secretary
General and the Treasurer General, the Chairman of the party shall perform the
functions of the said office bearers.
Resolution adopted.
3. Freedom of association, vote of no confidence motion
-- availability of officers of Congress
1.0 Concern
1.1 Ever since the meeting of the 12th of
October 2005, the Deputy President, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General,
and the Treasurer General and Executive have not availed themselves for any
party meetings including the Management Committee, the Executive and the
Council. This has had the effect of paralyzing party
business.
2.0 Motion
The Council resolves that pending their availability for
party business, the National Council resolves to exercise its freedom of
association by not associating with the Deputy President, Secretary General,
Deputy Secretary General, the Treasurer General, the Secretary for Information
and Publicity and the Secretary for Policy and Research, among
others.
The resolution was put and adopted.
4.
Treasury and money matters
Article 8.3 The National Council shall prescribe the manner in
which funds shall be kept and the manner in which money may be withdrawn for
party use, including a prescription of which officers shall be signatories to
party accounts.
1.0 Concern
1.1 Ever since the meeting of the 12th of
October 2005, the Deputy President, Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General,
and the Treasurer General and Executive have not availed themselves for any
party meetings including the Management Committee, the Executive and the
Council. This has had the effect of paralyzing party
business.
1.2 The Secretary General and the Treasurer General have
since the National Council meeting of the 12th October 2005, not
availed themselves to facilitate the funding of the programmes of the party
including meetings and rallies.
1.3 The party has not had sight of audited accounts
since inception
Motion
2.1 . The Council resolves that with immediate
effect, and in order to facilitate the smooth operations of the party, the
President and Chairpersons of the Party, the Women’s Assembly and the Youth
Assembly become the only signatories of the party until further
notice.
2.2 . That party seeks access to the bank
accounts to enable it to conduct its normal business without
hindrance.
2.3 . That the Treasurer General, with immediate
effect, facilitate by handing over all books of account to an independent firm
of Auditors who shall appointed by Council to prepare a full audit for the next
Congress.
Resolution put and adopted.
5.
Article 15 of the Constitution of the MDC
15.1 In any place where the
requirements of this constitution cannot be satisfied because of an omission or
oversight in draughtsmanship, or because a body provided for has not been
established, or an officer provided for in this Constitution has not been
elected or appointed, or because of a procedural problem, the National Council
shall have the power to make such arrangements which in their opinion, satisfy
the spirit of this constitution and shall seek approval for such arrangements at
the next Congress.
Concern
We have a provision in the
Constitution for an Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal must be set up by Congress.
That did not happen at our last Congress, making it difficult for the party to
handle a number of pending cases. In the interest of natural justice, appeals
cannot wait until after our Congress in February. That would defeat the purpose
and spirit of our Constitution and of the party.
Motion
That an appeals tribunal be
set in terms of Article 15. The composition of the tribunal shall be determined
by the council.
Resolution: That the matter be
referred to the National Executive for reconsideration. The Constitution
specifically states that such a body must be set up
Congress.
6.
Attempts to suspend the President – letter from Gibson
Sibanda
The purported decision of
the Disciplinary Committee of
As Council, our reasons are
as follows:
1.
In terms of clause 7.4 (b)
of the Constitution, a decision of a party committee on a major policy issue
shall not be implemented without the approval of the National Council. A
decision to suspend the President is a major policy issue. It follows therefore
that Gibson Sibanda and others breached this Constitutional
provision.
2.
Further and in any event, in
terms of clause 10.5 of the Constitution, the powers of the Disciplinary
Committee of suspending a member can only be implemented after due process and
the member has been found guilty of a misdemeanour. The President has not been
found guilty of any charge.
3.
Members of the Disciplinary
Committee in particular Messrs Tichaona Mudzingwa, Ena Chitsa, Innocent Gonese
and Edith Mushore were never advised and invited to attend the meeting of
4.
It is quite clear that
Sibanda has acted both as complainant, prosecutor and judge in his own charge.
The allegations made in the letter of suspension are exactly the same that
Gibson Sibanda made and announced against President Tsvangirai on
5.
Further, it is quite clear
that generally the Disciplinary Committee as opposed to Congress cannot impeach
the President.
6.
Having noted the above, the
council set aside the decision.
7.
Alternatively, even assuming
that Gibson Sibanda’s 20th November meeting was quorate, in terms of
clause 10.6 of the Constitution, we would uphold the President’s appeal and set
aside the suspension and the decision to charge
him.
8.
The resolution was
unanimously adopted by the Council.
In view of the National
Council resolution dissociating the rest of the party from Gibson Sibanda and
others, Nelson Chamisa, the national youth chairman and MP for Kuwadzana,
From The Pretoria News (SA), 1 December
By Tawanda Mashingaidze
The "rampant abuse and
inhuman treatment of commercial farm-workers" are
widespread in the coffee
and tea growing region of Chipinge, where Zimbabwe
war veterans and senior
government officials have seized farms. According to
a report by the General
Agricultural and Plantation Workers' Union of
Zimbabwe, (Gapwuz) farmworkers
in the area are being subjected to "practices
synonymous with slavery". Some
have been forced at gunpoint to work in the
plantations; only a few are
being paid and then only a pittance. According
to Gapwuz secretary general
Gertrude Hambira, some of the worst offences
have taken place on Redsands
Farm, which is owned by senior members of the
Central Intelligence
Organisation (CIO). The farm has been declared a no-go
area for union
officials and has been put under 24-hour guard by members of
the CIO. Union
investigators who managed to interview some of the workers
report that a
dawn-to-dusk curfew is in place and that workers are often
expected to work
12 hours per day without a break. One worker who escaped
from the farm
claimed he had been tortured by members of the CIO after
complaining of
unbearable working conditions. All of those interviewed
reported not being
paid. The same tale was being told at the Ashante Estate.
This estate was
taken over by a group of veterans of the independence war
who have
subdivided it into seven plots. The war vets told the workers that
they had
spent years making the former colonial owners rich and therefore
had a
responsibility to work for free for those who had liberated the
country.
Several workers disagreed and were apparently beaten for it.
The Gapwuz
report says severe beatings seem commonplace on these farms. And
in the
anarchy that exists, different groups of war vets compete for the
same
labour, often beating workers who have been forced to labour on another
plot. "This is a return to the days of Chibharo in the 1920s, when our
people were forced by the settlers to work the fields for free," says
Hambira. Most of the workers are also expected to provide their own
implements to till the soil. According to the workers, many of the new
farm-owners know little or nothing about farming and most have no equipment.
"So they provide their own implements and then have to work without pay.
"Something must be done," said Hambira. Complaints have been lodged with the
government, which has so far not responded. But the government has pointed
out in the past that there is a stipulated minimum wage for farm workers.
With soaring inflation, this is now worth less than R35 a month. Several of
the new farmers claim they are paying the equivalent of this wage or even
more - but in accommodation and food rather than cash. Union investigators
also found some farmers who were paying their workers something. But this
was often as little as the equivalent of R10 a month. "This third liberation
war has not freed the land. It has put us under new oppression." This was a
common refrain from workers reported by the union investigators.
IOL
December 01 2005
at 11:54AM
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Thursday
accused
"global super-powers" of dictating international trade rules and
urged
African and other developing nations to unite against such
dominance.
"As we work to elevate the performance of and depth of
intra- and
intercontinental trade, we must as Africans guard ourselves
against uneven
global trade," Mugabe told an annual gathering of African
bankers being held
in Harare.
"At such a forum as the World
Trade Organisation, the global
super-powers continue to dictate and impose
their value systems of what is
right and what is wrong, just and unjust, at
the expense of weaker nations,"
he
said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
He said that the unfavourable conditions demanded "singleness of
purpose"
between Africa and other developing countries "for us to take our
rightful
place on the global trade arena".
Mugabe, whose government has
engaged on a controversial land reform,
expropriating land from white
farmers and giving it to landless blacks,
complained specifically about the
system of farm subsidies in western
countries.
"Whilst the vast
majority of developed global centres are propping up
their farmers with
billions of dollars in annual subsidies, the same
subventions are condemned
in developing countries as sub-economic policies,"
he said.
His
remarks came ahead of a key WTO meeting in Hong Kong starting
December 13
that is to address calls from poorer nations for an end to farm
subsidies
and greater access to lucrative markets.
Negotiators however have
sounded a pessimistic note ahead of the
meeting, suggesting that talks on
the so-called Doha development round,
launched in 2001, are expected to
continue through 2006.
By Tererai
Karimakwenda
01 December 2005
Around the world, December
1st is designated as World AIDS Day, and it
is set aside as a time to
remember friends and relatives lost to AIDS, take
stock of the lessons
learned over the year, and to review any progress
towards stemming the tide
of this challenging affliction. World AIDS Day is
part of a broader World
AIDS Campaign, and the theme this year "Stop AIDS:
Keep The Promise" is one
that should be taken very seriously by the Zimbabwe
government. Keeping the
promise requires commitment, and according to Glen
Norah MP Priscilla
Misihairabwi, the Zimbabwe government does not have any
commitment.
While other countries organised many events to mark
AIDS Day on
Thursday, the Zimbabwe parliament sat through budget proposals
for 2006
which were announced by finance minister Herbert Murerwa. MP
Misihairabwi
said the important issue of AIDS, which affects all other areas
of
development, was mentioned in only one sentence. She said the country has
run out of the drugs that are needed and condoms are not available.
Misihairabwi said the limited supplies available usually wind up in the
hands of a small priviledged class of people, while the poor and needy have
no access to services.
Zimbabwe has created a very dangerous
situation by failing to provide
Anti-retroviral therapy (ART). Misihairabwi
said this could help develop a
mutated strain of the HIV virus. In turn,
those with the mutated virus could
then infect others and spread this new
form that is resistant to the current
drugs. Asked why the government has
chosen to ignore this problem, the MP
said they had lost a sense of what is
relevant. She said they spent loads of
money on a new cabinet and new
vehicles while the more serious issues go
unresolved.
The MP
criticised recent statistics by The United Nations that claimed
that
infection rates in the country were down. She said it is difficult to
accept
these figures when many people are not receiving therapy and drugs
and
condoms are unavailable. As the 2005 World AIDS Day theme is "Keeping
The
Promise", the government needs to remember the promises it made to the
United Nations by being signatory to numerous charters that respect human
rights.
SW Radio Africa Zimbabwe news
The
Herald (Harare)
December 1, 2005
Posted to the web December 1,
2005
Harare
ZIMBABWE needs to observe and respect in full the
virtues of property rights
to regain its attractiveness as a sound
investment destination, Reserve Bank
governor Dr Gideon Gono has
said.
"For international investors to prefer our economy as a
destination, for
their hard earned capital, we must nurture a Zimbabwe that
respects the
sanctity of private property rights," the governor
said.
Dr Gono was speaking during the commissioning of Unilever South
East
Africa's US$1 million washing powder manufacturing plant at its
Workington
premises.
His vision, Dr Gono said, was of a Zimbabwe that
condemned any form of farm
disruptions and vandalism of agriculture
infrastructure.
"A Zimbabwe that implements economic policies
expeditiously and
wholeheartedly without abrupt policy reversal and a
Zimbabwe that engages
and works co-operatively with the international
community.
"Without these basic requirements, the road to realisation of
high
investment inflows will be narrow, lengthy and painful," Dr Gono
said.
The RBZ governor said it was sad to note that some people had opted
to
relieve themselves from the battle of reviving the country's economy
saying
this could derail turnaround efforts.
In that respect he urged
all patriotic Zimbabweans to collectively fight for
the building of a
sustainable business environment.
"For our collective prosperity as a
country, however, no amount of
resigning, capitulation and self-pity can
ever solve our challenges.
"Rather, it is upon us as Zimbabweans to
collect a pool of our individuals
and collective energies towards building a
sustainable business environment,
for the good welfare of our current and
future generations."
Turning to the state of the economy, Dr Gono
reaffirmed Government's
willingness to address the challenges besetting the
economy.
He said measures to contain inflation and measures to improve
the
performance of the export sector and enhancing capacity utilisation in
the
industry and commerce would be put in place.
Emphasis would also
be put on underperforming parastatals and local
authorities and indiscipline
across all sectors of the economy. The new
Unilever washing powder plant,
which has been under construction for the
past eight months, has commenced
operations.
It has the capacity to produce over 20 000 tonnes per month
and is expected
to create additional 100 jobs over and above the current 500
employees.
The new plant has a lifespan of 30 years and it is expected to
significantly
increase Unilever's production levels.
"The efficient
local production will go a long way in saving foreign
exchange on the
importation of the same (product) thus supporting the
country's import
substitution programme," Dr Gono said.
[ This report does not
necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
JOHANNESBURG, 1
Dec 2005 (IRIN) - Vultures croak and swoop noisily on the
decaying carcass
of an elephant on the crusty shores of a dried-up water pan
in Hwange
National Park, Zimbabwe's largest game reserve.
The elephant is one of
the latest victims of a drought currently ravaging
southern Zimbabwe that
has destroyed wildlife valued at more than US $50
billion in the last five
months. Authorities say the animal sanctuary is
facing serious water
shortages, which have claimed the lives of 43
elephants, 53 buffaloes, three
zebras and a giraffe.
Several water holes have dried up and grazing has
become scarce. National
parks authorities cannot pump water into man-made
water points because they
either have no fuel or the motors have broken
down. Of an estimated 66
drinking points, only seven, whose levels are also
dropping fast, still have
water.
National Parks and Wildlife
Management (NPWM) spokesman Edward Mbewe told
IRIN that more animals could
die if no remedial measures were taken, adding
that the depletion of
pastures was mainly due to the increase in the number
of elephants, which
had surpassed the national park's holding capacity.
"Basically, thirst is
the major cause of their [the animals'] death and, as
the responsible
authorities, we are doing the best we can to address the
situation. Although
most dams have dried up, we try by all possible means to
ensure that water
is available in some pans through our pumping system," he
said.
"Again I must stress that the park is strained by the number of
jumbos,
which has more than doubled in the last few years. Instead of each
animal
occupying one hectare of land you will find that a tiny space
accommodates
ten animals - it is just unsustainable, hence the deterioration
of
pastures," explained Mbewe.
Kudus and Impalas [antelope] are among
the other species that have succumbed
to the drought in Hwange, one of
Zimbabwe's main tourist attractions.
Hwange, ranked in the same category
as the Kruger National Park in South
Africa, has breathtaking scenery and
many wildlife species. It can house
14,000 elephants but currently has a
population of 75,000, according to
official statistics.
Mbewe added
that there had been an outbreak of blackleg, an acute infectious
disease
characterised by gas-filled swellings on the legs caused by a
spore-producing bacteria in the soil, which brings sudden death in most
species. Animals are more susceptible to blackleg in late summer when
grazing pastures are scarce and they are forced to start scrounging for food
at ground level or in creek bottoms.
Animal husbandry specialists say
the disease, which is normally dormant,
attacks wildlife when there is
inadequate drinking water and the ground is
too dry.
The fact that
Zimbabwe is also in the throes of serious gasoline shortages,
which have
crippled most of the country's economy, has exacerbated the
situation.
Despite pledges of support, the ministry of environment and
tourism has not
taken adequate steps to ensure steady supplies of fuel. More
than a dozen
water pumps have been idle as spare parts are not available.
NGOs such as
the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force (ZCTF) have stepped in to
provide fuel,
spare parts and other necessary auxiliary support. The
organisation recently
bought two new water pumps for the park with donations
from the Save
Foundation of Australia.
ZCTF chairperson Johnny Rodrignes said, "The
water situation is really bad -
animals have to travel long distances to
drink, while some get stuck in the
mud and die there."
He was
dismissive of reports of animal overcrowding, saying research by his
organisation had shown that there were only about 27,000 elephants at Hwange
and not the officially estimated 75,000.
"Grazing pastures are not
much of a problem - there is grass in some places,
but because there is no
water in those areas the animals do not go there ...
The national park has
failed to maintain boreholes at the park. When they
see the elephants
crowding on these few watering points, they allege that
they [the elephants]
are overpopulated," commented Rodrignes. "It is simply
not true, and what I
suspect here is that the government just wants to cull
these elephants to
feed the people who are battling with hunger."
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Masimba Rushwaya
Business Editor
issue date :2005-Dec-02
THE bulk of Zimbabwe's
workforce was yesterday given an early Christmas
present, with workers set
to receive their bonuses tax free. The Minister of
Finance, Herbert Murerwa,
hiked the tax-free portion of bonus income from $5
million up to $20
million, effective November 1 2005.
Announcing a $123,9 trillion 2006
National Budget, Murerwa said the increase
was necessary to uphold the
spirit of celebration.
"Employees look forward to the bonus income in order
to acquire assets as
well as prepare for the festive season. Aggregate
demand for goods and
services is thus stimulated."
The minister added
that government recognised the need for tax relief for
taxpayers through the
regular review of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) income
brackets and tax
thresholds. With this in mind, Murerwa proposed an upward
review of the
tax-free threshold from the current $1,5 million per month to
$7 million per
month.
Furthermore, he widened the income tax band to end at $40 million,
above
which income will be taxed at 35 percent.
These measures will be
effective from January 1 2006.
Murerwa hinted that government could soon
replace the progressive tax rate
on individual incomes with a flat tax rate
because of its ease of
administration, enforcement and compliance.
The
flat tax rate is already applicable for corporate tax where all
companies
are taxed at 30 percent.
However the tax relief efforts were somewhat
dampened when Murerwa said, as
widely expected, the pricing system for all
goods and services will be
market driven.
"These (price) controls have
contributed to the shortages of basic
commodities on the open market, with
the same goods resurfacing on the
parallel market. It will, therefore, be
critical that market pricing
mechanisms be embraced, which are central to
ensuring the viability of
industry, as well as the well being of
consumers.However, subsidies and
safety nets will be essential to protect
vulnerable groups, but will need to
be targeted."
Murerwa said the
removal of the producer and selling price distortions,
especially for agro
goods and fuel, would result in the efficient and
effective utilisation of
resources.
In this regard, government will now offer post harvest producer
prices that
will allow farmers to adequately prepare.
This will now mean
that the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) will no longer sell
maize and wheat at
subsidised prices but at break-even thresholds.
By implication, consumers
will now have to buy bread and maize-meal at
market-determined
prices.
Within the same vein, Murerwa alluded to the fact that the price of
fuel
will now be determined by exchange rate and given the current interbank
rate, a litre of petrol could soon cost somewhere around $70 000, in line
with the current arrangement where some service stations are selling the
liquid at US$1 a litre.
Government will now use a trigger mechanism for
determining the price of
petrol products taking into account total
procurement costs, including
movement in international prices and the
exchange rate.
To provide shelter for people that were affected by Operation
Murambatsvina,
government allocated $800 billion for the Garikai/Hlalani
Kuhle programme.
Apparently taking cognisance of the impact the spiralling
prices has had on
consumers, Murerwa reduced the rate of value added tax
(VAT) from 17,5
percent to 15 percent with effective from January 1
2006.
He urged stakeholders "to report on registered operators who fail to
pass on
this benefit to consumers."
The 2006 budget framework for total
expenditure at $123.9 trillion is a four
fold increase from the prior year's
(inclusive of the supplementary budget)
$31 trillion.
Of the 2006 figure,
$30,9 trillion or 25 percent of total expenditure would
go towards capital
expenditure.
Total revenue is expected to be $110 trillion, with a budget
deficit of
$13.9 trillion or 4.6 percent of the gross domestic product
(GDP).
Murerwa forecasted that in 2006, the economy would grow by between 2
and 3.5
percent, with agriculture expected to register a positive growth of
14.8
percent on the back of a normal rain season, increase irrigation
hectarage
and timely provision of inputs.
Murerwa said many parastatals
had remained a major impediment to economy
growth and a drain on the
fiscus.
In this regard, Zimbabwe Power Company, TelOne, NetOne, NRZ,
Ziscosteel and
the Cold Storage Company (CSC) will all be privatised through
joint
ventures, strategic alliances and concessioning.
CSC will undergo a
partial divesture before listing on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange.
Small-scale communal and A1 farmers who had been left out of
previous
financing arrangements were given $1 trillion which will be
chanelled
through Agribank to finance inputs.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
Michael
Kariati
issue date :2005-Dec-02
Zimbabwe's Warriors yesterday received
a major financial boost when the
government poured in $10 billion into the
team's coffers ahead of the 2006
African Cup of Nations finals in
Egypt.
According to the minister of finance, Hebert Murerwa, the money would
go
towards "encouraging the team's performance as well as facilitating their
preparations for the Nations Cup finals." Murerwa made the government's
commitment towards the Warriors' cause when he announced his 2006 national
budget.
According to Murerwa, the $10 billion was a starting point for
the Warriors'
2006 African Cup of Nations campaign and more would be coming
the team's
way.
Zifa have all along been crying for government support,
and the association's
board member in charge of development Remigio Makoni
applauded the
government's move and said the money would go towards player
bonuses,
allowances, and airfares for the team.
National team coach
Charles Mhlauri also said this was a good gesture from
the government and
hoped that the Warriors would reciprocate the move with a
good performance
in Egypt.
The Warriors have been drawn in a tough African Cup of Nations
group
alongside Nigeria's Super Eagles, Senegal's Lions of Teranga, and
Ghana's
Black Stars and need the best of preparations if they are to
negotiate their
way through.
The money from government, according to
Makoni, would help in the Warriors
preparations where friendly matches have
been lined up for the team against
the likes of Zambia, Libya, and Angola
before flying to France
for other engagements against Cameroon, the DRC,
Auxerre, and Ivory Coast.
Although national team striker, Benjani Mwaruwari
has indicated he would pay
all the other expenses for the team in France, he
has asked Zifa to pay the
airfares of the team from Harare to Paris.
Daily Mirror, Zimbabwe
The Daily
Mirror Reporter
issue date :2005-Dec-02
THE United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) has allocated US$2 million
to Zimbabwe to speed up its
parliamentary reforms, which started in 1997.
Speaking at the official launch
of Parliament's three-year Rolling
Multi-Donor Support Programme yesterday,
UNDP resident representative in
Zimbabwe Agostinho Zacarias said:
" We
are especially content with the dialogue facility which makes bi-annual
discussions between the business of the House Committee and participating
partners possible.
Hence our commitment to the next phase of the reforms
which seeks to
complete outstanding activities and to embark on new
initiatives.
To this end, we have allocated US$2 000 000 of which almost a
quarter has
already been disbursed."
Zacarias added that he was happy to
note that the money was matched by other
funds from Parliament's
budget.
The proposed three programme needs resources from other partners,
hence the
adoption of the Parliamentary fund to allow other donors to
contribute, he
added.
The UNDP local boss said the Zimbabwe government
had exhibited commitment to
parliamentary reforms by pledging to take
responsibility of running costs of
the august house's constituency
information
centres.
Launching the three-year programme, Parliamentary
Speaker John Nkomo said
the fund would facilitate greater civic
participation, harnessing the power
of information and communication
technology to enhance efficiency and
effectiveness and strengthening the
house's legislative, budget and policy
analysis capability.
Nkomo added:
"Some of the major activities to be undertaken include the
purchase and
installation of cameras and ancillary equipment to facilitate
the live
coverage of all plenary sessions and media coverage of committee
meetings,
publication of informative publications on Parliament and
empowering members
to monitor the implementation of the country's Millennium
Development Goals
(MDGs)."
The Parliamentary reforms were adopted by the House in 1997 and
among other
things, recommended the introduction of a weekly question time
without
notice on policy issues.
Among those present at yesterday's
function were the President of the
Senate, Edna Madzongwe and Nkomo's
predecessors, Emmerson Mnangagwa and
Cyril Ndebele.