Zim Standard
BY
WALTER MARWIZI
RESERVE Bank governor, Gideon Gono, and
Agriculture Minister
Joseph Made escaped Parliamentary scrutiny over their
role in the
importation of substandard fertilizer.
The
Standard established last week that less than a week after
President Robert
Mugabe removed from his job a man described by some as "the
fall guy" in the
fiasco, the fertilizer fiasco was going to be given a quiet
burial - and no
more heads would roll.
Simon Pazvakavambwa, Made's permanent
secretary, a key player in
the purchase of the controversial fertilizer, was
reassigned by Mugabe,
reportedly to the President's
office.
His job at Agriculture was given to Dr Shadreck
Mlambo, former
director of the Department of Agricultural Research and
Extension Services.
Pazvakavambwa, who threatened to "spill
the beans" if he was
fired was not dismissed from the civil service, in the
end - so did not
carry out his threat to "tell all".
The
chief secretary to the President's and cabinet office, Dr
Misheck Sibanda,
made the announcement on Wednesday.
There were unconfirmed
reports that Pazvakavambwa, who gave the
go-ahead for the substandard
fertilizer to be distributed to farmers, would
be transferred to the
President's office. Pazvakavambwa yesterday denied any
knowledge of the
move.
"I have not been informed of anything," he said
yesterday. "I
will not live my life in the press."
But as
Pazvakavambwa awaits his fate, The Standard was informed
that other senior
officials involved in the fertilizer fiasco would be let
off the hook in a
move set to raise eyebrows.
These were Gono and Agriculture
Minister Made.
The chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio
Committee on
Agriculture, Walter Mzembi, confirmed the surprise
move.
Mzembi told The Standard that, contrary to an earlier
announcement that the committee wanted to get to the bottom of the matter by
calling Gono, Made and Pazvakavambwa, all three would not now be summoned to
Parliament.
"We are giving policy space to the Executive;
the Executive has
decided on the matter and we don't see any role for us.
What the Executive
has said is enough. After all it's not in our interest to
demoralise
farmers," Mzembi said.
"Before we summon
anyone, we sit as a committee and make a
resolution. Though I was away, when
the committee sat, I browsed through the
minutes and saw that members had
resolved to call Pazvakavambwa, not Gono or
Made."
Mzembi
said his committee was not in the habit of just summoning
people to
Parliament.
"We are not the police or an anti-corruption
body. We believe
what has been said by the Executive is enough and we don't
want to
demoralise both farmers and people who are involved in efforts to
support
farming activities," he said.
Sources, however,
said the move was designed to put an official
lid over the embarrassing
deal, set to derail the 2006/07 farming
activities.
They
said bringing in the Governor and Agriculture Minister to
Parliament could
have exposed how the deals were negotiated and the amounts
of the scarce
foreign currency wasted on the condemned fertiliser.
MPs, who
include members of the opposition, would also have had
an opportunity to
quiz the RBZ boss on how Sasol, blamed by authorities for
bringing in the
substandard fertiliser, was awarded the contract.
A source
said yesterday: "This would have been tantamount to
washing dirty linen in
public."
Others thought the decision not to scrutinise the
deal, on the
basis of action taken by the Executive, went to the very heart
of how the
democratic system of checks and balances is supposed to
work.
The three arms of government are the Executive, the
Legislature
and the Judiciary. At best, the three are designed to monitor
each others'
decisions to ensure there is no infringement of any provisions
of the
Constitution.
During the land reform controversy,
there was a head-on clash
between the Executive and the Judiciary, which
culminated with the Chief
Justice, Anthony Gubbay, being forced into early
retirement.
That move was engineered, it is speculated to
this day, by the
Executive. The subsequent appointment of Justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku as
Chief Justice changed the complexion of the Judiciary for all
time, in
favour of the Executive.
Zim Standard
By Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO
-Vice-President Joice Mujuru's ascent to that lofty
post in Zanu PF was
unconstitutional, a court heard last Friday.
The Zanu PF
politburo, rather than its central committee,
amended the party
constitution, against the provisions of that document.
This
stunning revelation was made during the cross examination
of John Nkomo, the
party chairman and Speaker of the House of Assembly in
the ongoing $200
million defamation suit in the Bulawayo High Court.
Once she
became vice-president of Zanu PF, replacing the late
Simon Muzenda, Mujuru
automatically assumed the second vice-presidency of
the state as
well.
Tsholotsho MP Jonathan Moyo is suing Nkomo and another
Zanu PF
heavyweight, Dumiso Dabengwa for their comments in relation to the
Tsholotsho indaba, which shook the ruling party two years
ago.
The constitutional amendment by the politburo eventually
barred
Emmerson Mnangagwa, then Speaker of the House of Parliament and Zanu
PF
secretary for Administration, from entering the vice-presidential poll
race.
According to Rule 253 of the Zanu PF constitution,
produced as
evidence by Moyo's lawyer, Job Sibanda of Job Sibanda and
Associates, Nkomo
confirmed that "the power to amend the constitution rests
with the central
committee subject to ratification by the
congress".
Under cross examination, Nkomo had said the
politburo amended
the constitution, to implement a 1999 resolution that one
of the two
vice-presidents should be a woman.
"The
politburo secretariat implemented the decision of the
congress," said Nkomo.
"The politburo did not act on its own to amend the
constitution. It was
implementing the decision of the congress.
"In this
particular case, the congress passed a resolution (that
one of the VP's be a
woman) whose implementation necessitated an amendment
to the
constitution."
On Tuesday, Nkomo had told the court, in his
evidence in chief,
that Moyo's rise worried the party.
He
accused the former Minister of State for Information and
Publicity of being
"mischievous" when he questioned the politburo's decision
to amend the
constitution when it had no mandate to do so.
Nkomo said:
"The plaintiff was new in the party, which is why
the Zanu PF politburo
borrowed a word used by the first vice-president that
he was mischievous to
question the politburo for implementing a decision of
the congress. Zanu PF
has its own way of running its affairs."
Also on Tuesday,
Nkomo said: "We did not know the man. The
leadership was worried about that,
and subsequent events confirmed that. One
such event was his refusal to take
counsel from the presidency not to stand
against a
woman."
Nkomo said the politburo was forced to rescind an
earlier
resolution to widen the disciplinary action on all those cited as
having
attended the Tsholotsho meeting.
That decision was
taken after Moyo "cried for mercy" when he was
taken to task by the
politburo.
This was after the suspension of six provincial
chairpersons for
their alleged role in the foiled palace coup, said
Nkomo.
"The plaintiff, during the politburo meeting, cried
that the
Tsholotsho meeting was regrettable and that it had caused
unnecessary pain
and misunderstanding," said Nkomo. "That was the reason why
the politburo
did not undertake further action after he (said he) regretted
his actions."
Moyo is claiming $200 million from Dabengwa and
Nkomo for
alleging in statements that he plotted a coup against President
Robert
Mugabe and other senior cabinet ministers.
The
case is continuing this week.
Moyo claims the statements were
made at a 12 January 2005
district co-ordinating committee held in
Tsholotsho.
Among witnesses expected to testify in the case
are the Minister
of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Patrick
Chinamasa, the Deputy
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare,
Abednico Ncube, the
Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Andrew
Langa, and war veterans
leader, Joseph Chinotimba.
Zim Standard
BY
WALTER MARWIZI
AN expanded Operation Maguta/Ukusutha
programme introduced by
the government has the potential to enslave and
impoverish peasant farmers,
The Standard has discovered.
The programme designed by the Ministry of Agriculture could turn
villagers
into labourers, growing maize and sorghum under the supervision of
the
army.
The Standard established that villagers countrywide
risk
entering into an Operation/Ukusutha/ Food Security contract farming
scheme
being promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture without knowing the
full
implications of the contract.
Farmers say the scheme
could turn out to be a nightmare for
communal people who have largely grown
crops for subsistence.
Under the scheme, they would have to
grow maize and sorghum "for
the purposes of creating a strategic grain
reserve for the 2006/07 season".
Sources told The Standard
the expanded scheme was formulated
following the realisation that the army
alone could not grow crops to feed
the nation.
The
government launched Operation Maguta last year, using
soldiersto grow crops
in designated areas.
But the grain realised from the Maguta
fields, where command
agriculture was being practised, was not enough to end
food shortages this
year.
Under the new programme,
villagers are being enticed to grow
crops for the Grain Marketing Board with
promises of free tillage, seed,
fertilizer and chemicals. These would be
provided on loan to the farmers.
Contracts being distributed
to farmers in the rural areas show
the tricky part is that: "Operation
Maguta/Ukutsha reserves the exclusive
right to recoup the actual cost of the
inputs and running cost in the form
of produce or in cash and it shall
determine the price.
"In the event that the farmer fails to
repay the input in the
form of either produce or cash he/she hereby pledges
all his/her movable
assets in lieu of the produce and/or in
cash."
The farmers said this clause would be enough to force
them to
toil in the fields, without knowing what they would get in
return.
Farmers in Mhondoro, who were asked to sign the
contract forms,
said they feared the government had a sinister
motive.
They said all along they had been getting inputs from
the
government but they had never been asked to declare all their movable
assets
as surety. Some of these inputs were doled out for free during
election
times.
"It's as if they are enslaving us now,"
said a farmer who
declined to be named for fear of
victimisation.
"Who would leave his or her field when there
is a risk that
Operation Maguta would confiscate all the assets, scotch
carts,
wheelbarrows, ploughs, cattle - you name it?" Another farmer said he
suspected a government desperate to see an end to food shortages wanted them
not to leave their fields.
"I think they no longer have
faith in new farmers and we,
villagers are their last resort," he
said.
What is alarming is that the contracts make it clear
that once
villagers enter into the agreements, there won't be an excuse for
them not
to work.
Reads part of the contract: "Operation
Maguta/Ukutsha shall
provide managerial service whilst the farmer assists in
management and
ensure adequate labor (sic) is available when
needed."
Agriculture Minister Joseph Made and representatives
of farmer
organisations could not be reached for comment yesterday. Have
your
say:editor@standard.co.zw
Zim Standard
By John Mokwetsi
KADOMA residents and
business people were last week angry with
their town council after going for
a week without water.
One resident said the mayor, Fani
Phiri, had promised during the
recent election campaign that he would solve
this "perennial water problem".
He said Phiri had not been seen since the
water crisis hit the town.
There were fears of a serious
outbreak of disease in the mining
town as residents resorted to unprotected
water sources.
Residents are drinking water sourced from
ponds and streams
while others are getting it from the water fountain at the
Town House -
ironically, the only place in the whole town where water is
available.
Some unscrupulous people have taken advantage of
the crisis and
are selling water at anything from $1 000 to $1 500 a
bucket.
When The Standard visited Kadoma, desperate residents
with
containers could be seen roaming around the town, on the hunt for
water.
Trucks with big tanks were spotted on the highway
speeding to
Chegutu to fetch water.
These belonged to
companies which said they had no option but to
send drivers to fetch water
from Chegutu, about 30km away. They wasted
precious fuel in the
process.
A worker at TM supermarket who refused to be named
said most
workers were reporting for work late and without having bathed.
Others were
not coming to work at all, he said. "The toilets here are
stinking and this
has become unbearable."
Not everything
was bad, in terms of business, he said, because
mineral water was "selling
like hot cakes".
In the high-density suburb of Waverley,
residents were
threatening to demonstrate against the council, saying it had
neglected
them. They said they were concerned there was never a public
apology or
explanation on the cause of the water
shortage.
Thomas Moyo said: "We do not have Blair toilets and
most of us
use flash toilets. How do these incompetent people think we are
surviving?
You will see how the bills will be like. Obviously, astronomical,
as if they
are giving us a good service.
"Water shortages
have always been a problem in this town. We are
simply fed up with this
problem. We should take to the streets."
Several people in
the high-density suburb had Peter Koster to
thank for coming to their
rescue. They converged in their hundreds at his
Waverley home in Bonda Road,
jostling good-naturedly to get to the water.
Koster has a
borehole and draws water from it using an engine
pump.
Koster said: "I am doing this (giving water for free) for my
community since
the municipality has failed to deliver to the ratepayers.
Fani Phiri (Mayor)
lied to the people during the election campaign. He said
if elected he would
act to end this perennial problem. He has not come here
to explain to us
what is happening."
Phiri could not be reached for comment.
He was said to be either
out of office or attending
meetings.
Gear Hanyane, the council public relations officer,
was also
said to be in a meeting.
Have your say: editor@standard.co.zw
Zim Standard
BY OUR
STAFF
FINANCE Minister Herbert Murerwa's 2007 national
budget did not
address the bread-and-butter issues, according to a snap
survey of The
Standard.
In separate interviews, business
leaders, economic commentators,
politicians and ordinary people said the
budget did not offer any solutions
as to how the economic meltdown could be
halted.
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than
for Murerwa to prepare a budget under the present economic
environment,"
said MDC deputy secretary general Tapiwa
Mashakada.
"They are budgeting for the revenue they do not
have. Government
coffers are empty," he said.
Mashakada
said Murerwa's move to stop the central bank from
funding government and
parastatals was a fallacy.
Mashakada said: "They resorted to
funding from the RBZ because
the government did not have money in the
absence of foreign currency inflows
and balance of payments support. For
them to say that they will stop funding
from RBZ is
hypocritical."
Economic consultant John Robertson had no kind
words for Murerwa
either, saying the people should brace for a disappointing
2007.
"We are in for more disappointments because inflation
will
continue to rise," he said. "We will face increasing difficulties in
2007,
unless there are political changes. The political problems are causing
most
of the difficulties."
Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce president Marah Hativagone
said the budget was fair in terms of the
social front.
"We do welcome moves to relieve employees of
the tax burden but
pray that the move is done every quarter," Hativagone
said, referring to the
increase in the tax-free threshold to $100 000 from
$20 000.
But she said the government had to review the
pension policy as
a matter of urgency "so that people can retire
comfortably".
Hativagone said: "Those that are retiring are
suffering and most
of them are earning below $10 000 a month. We need to
repeal the pension
laws so that pensioners should be relieved of taxes and
given allowances, as
happens in South Africa."
She said
Murerwa was not clear on how the country would address
the balance of
payments support.
For the ordinary Zimbabwean, Murerwa's
budget did not address
the bread-and-butter issues.
"Murerwa should address the issue of prices of basic commodities
which are
not in tandem with salaries," said John Nhamo, a security guard.
Nhamo said
as a result of the escalating cost of living, he was left with no
choice but
to walk from Epworth to Graniteside, where he works.
The
budget did not offer any respite for him, he said.
Zim Standard
BY
OUR STAFF
BULAWAYO - Bishop Trevor Manhanga of the
Evangelical Fellowship
of Zimbabwe (EFZ) could soon lose his position after
being suspected by
church members of being a Zanu PF
lackey.
He would be the second church leader to suffer
rejection on
those same grounds.
Elections to choose the
new EFZ leader were called off recently
after tempers flared when it emerged
that Manhanga, the current president,
did not have enough nominations to
seek re-election at the annual general
meeting held in
Gweru.
Manhanga had pledged at the last AGM not to seek
re-election.
Bishop Peter Nemapare, the president of the
Zimbabwe Council of
Churches was early this year voted out of office after
the ZCC membership
felt he was "too much" in Zanu PF's
pockets.
Nemapare, Manhanga and other church leaders were
part of a
delegation of church leaders wined and dined by President Robert
Mugabe at
State House before they declared their support for
him.
On the same visit, the church leaders giggled
uncontrollably
when Mugabe made comments about Catholic Archbishop Pius
Ncube of Bulawayo.
In Gweru Manhanga's supporters were
reported to have forced the
cancellation of the elections when it became
clear that their candidate did
not meet the EFZ constitutional
requirements.
The elections have been moved to April to try
and accommodate
Manhanga, although the knives are out for him, according to
sources.
Manhanga is accused of being a Zanu PF activist, a
charge he
denies. Informed sources who attended the meeting said Manhanga's
candidature was rejected by church denominations after it was discovered
that he had only one nomination, instead of the two required under the
regulations.
Manhanga, in his address to the 2005 annual
general meeting,
indicated he would not stand for
re-election.
He told The Standard recently he had changed his
mind after
representations from EFZ members.
"Several
member-bodies approached me," he said. "They asked me
to reconsider my
decision because they said I was doing a good job."
Manhanga
denied his supporters had forced the cancellation of
the
elections.
"It was felt that the nomination process was not
handled
properly. There was a vote; 70% voted in favour of deferring the
election
while 11 were against. That was a decision of the
majority."
Other candidates in the aborted elections were
Pastor Goodwill
Shana from the Word of Life in Bulawayo, with two
nominations, Tudor Bismark
from Jabula New Life Ministries, and Pastor Roy
Musasiwa, who both had one
each.
The sources said the
other three candidates, including Manhanga
had only one nomination, which
meant Shana was to be duly elected EFZ
president,
unopposed.
Manhanga was elected by Brethren In Christ Church
alone, while
Shana's two nominations were from churches in the
Midlands.
"According to the constitution, Shana is now the
EFZ president,
after he got the required votes," some of the pastors told
The Standard. "We
are not happy with the manipulation of the
constitution."
Shana could not be reached for comment as he
was said to have
travelled to Harare to attend meetings.
The EFZ constitution indicates that nominations for the
presidency are
supposed to be entered four months before the annual general
meeting.
EFZ presidential candidates, adds the
constitution, must have at
least two votes from the church denominations
representing the provinces.
Sources who attended the meeting
said the Manhanga camp was not
aware of the constitutional requirement until
members at the AGM raised the
issue shortly before elections were
held.
But when it became clear to all members that Manhanga
did not
qualify for the elections all hell broke loose with pastors aligned
to and
working on the National Vision Document causing disruptions at the
meeting,
prompting the EFZ secretary general, Andrew Muchechetere, to
postpone the
elections.
Zim Standard
BY
VALENTINE MAPONGA
A senior Zanu PF official in Makoni
District has called on the
people in rural Nyazura in Manicaland province
"to rise above politics" when
it comes to development
issues.
Marshall Mukono, Zanu PF district chairperson for
Rusape Urban
urged the people in the community to accept assistance
regardless of where
it came from.
He was speaking at the
commissioning of a British-sponsored
electrification project at Handina
secondary school in Nyazura.
"In politics you will hear us
shout, Pasi NaBlair (Down with
Blair)," said Mukono. "but where did the
funds for this electrification
project come from? You should open your eyes
and see; the British government
has helped us develop in a big way. Let
politicians do the politics."
Mukono is the chairperson of
the Zimbabwe Ex-Political Detainees
and Restrictees Association for Makoni
District.
He spoke on behalf of Makoni East MP Shadreck
Chipanga.
President Robert Mugabe has, over the past few
years, used
international forums to attack Britain and the
US.
But despite Mugabe's attacks Britain continues to help
the
underprivileged members of society in Zimbabwe.
Speaking during commissioning, the deputy British Ambassador to
Zimbabwe,
Valerie Brownridge, said the people should take advantage of the
25 000
British pounds electrification project, which was started last
year.
Brownridge said she was hopeful that the availability
of
electricity at Handina school would improve learning conditions at the
rural
school and help students realise their potential.
"We hope that the provision of electricity will improve learning
conditions
and help students concentrate on their studies. It allows the use
of modern
tools such as computers which aid both the teaching and the
learning
process," said Brownridge.
She said the school would now be
able to compete with its urban
counterparts in terms of results and
achievements.
During the same function, the British Embassy
donated textbooks
and a soccer kit worth thousands of dollars to the
school.
School headmistress Agnes Mukada said: "Our school
fees are very
low and we could not have reached this far had it not been for
the
assistance we received from the British Embassy. In the past we have had
a
number of teachers leaving because there was no electricity but today it's
a
different story."
Former student and Air Zimbabwe board
member, Luxon Zembe, who
was a guest of honour at the function, pledged to
donate money for the
connection of electricity to the water pump to improve
water supply at the
school.
Zim Standard
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
MUTARE - Lawyers representing former police
constable, Peter
Mike Hitschmann, have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court
against a ruling
by a High Court judge denying him bail.
Hitschmann is being charged with stocking dangerous weapons and
attempting
to assassinate President Robert Mugabe and other Zanu PF
officials in
Mutare.
High Court Judge Alfas Chitakunye last month refused
to grant
Hitschmann bail when the matter was heard before a High Court
circuit.
The court could not conclude the matter and it was
referred to
the next High Court circuit, which will sit next
March.
Hitschmann's lawyers immediately applied for bail,
arguing their
client had stayed for too long in prison. But Justice
Chitakunye dismissed
the application, saying Hitschmann was facing serious
charges and was
therefore likely to abscond since there was a possibility he
could be
convicted.
"The evidence led so far can lead to
a conviction," said
Chitakunye, who still granted Hitschmann leave to appeal
to the Supreme
Court, against denial of bail.
Trust
Maanda, a Mutare lawyer, representing Hitschmann said:
"What is just needed
now is to set down a date. The Supreme Court wants a
typed copy of the
judgment we are appealing against."
In papers filed at the
Supreme Court, Hitschmann's lawyers are
arguing that Justice Chitakunye
misdirected himself by refusing to grant
bail on the grounds that the former
policeman would abscond without
providing evidence to that
effect.
Zim Standard
By Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO -
John Landa Nkomo, the ruling Zanu PF national
chairman and Speaker of the
House of Assembly, says the Gukurahundi
atrocities must be revisited and the
victims compensated.
He becomes the second most senior former
PF Zapu member after
Vice-President Joseph Msika to openly condemn the
actions of the North
Korean-trained 5 Brigade that massacred thousands of
civilians in the
Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces during the
political disturbances in
the 1980s.
Msika said President
Robert Mugabe was to blame for the
atrocities in which about 20 000 men,
women and children died.
Msika said he was not convinced
Mugabe's apology was sincere,
when PF Zapu members took him to
task.
Nkomo told The Standard on Wednesday: "I would not want
to see
and experience again what I saw at the time. We must revisit and
address the
Gukurahundi issue.
"We should have a
management or healing process for Gukurahundi
victims. It's an issue that we
can't ignore. It is something that happened
and is part of our history and
should be used as a mirror and an
experience."
Nkomo's
call for a healing process follows recent controversial
remarks by Nathan
Shamuyarira, the Zanu PF spokesperson.
Shamuyarira opened old
wounds and sparked outrage within party
structures in the region when he
said he did not regret the 5 Brigade's
actions.
But in a
veiled attack on Shamuyarira, Nkomo said there was now
a proliferation of
hate speeches from people with questionable agendas. He
did not
elaborate.
But Nkomo's comments on this thorny issue
immediately provoked a
rebuke from former Zanu PF provincial chairman and
leader of the Zimbabwe
Liberators' War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA),
Jabulani Sibanda. Sibanda
attacked Nkomo as an opportunist, using the
Gukurahundi atrocities to endear
himself to the people.
Nkomo announced a week ago he was interested in the
Presidency.
Sibanda said: "It (Gukurahundi) was uncalled for,
but that
should not be used as a campaign tool. He (Nkomo) is reducing the
magnitude
of the atrocities to a political chess game and this is
unacceptable."
Sibanda said Nkomo had not talked about the issue all along
and found it
convenient to speak out it now.
"My point is
that he was in the government but did nothing about
it. Now he wants to be a
president, he speaks," said Sibanda.
"Why have Msika and
Nkomo failed to raise the issue during Zanu
PF central committee meetings,
cabinet meetings and congresses, but only at
some secluded places? Are they
not free to express themselves?"
But Max Mnkandla, the
president of the Zimbabwe Liberators'
Peace Initiative (ZLPI) commended
Nkomo for condemning the atrocities.
"That was good on his
part; for the first time," said Mnkandla,
"to come out in the open on the
issue. That is the only way he can be
respected in the region. There are
some people that are committed to the
process, despite the threats they face
from the President. He should not
talk about it but should initiate
it."
Archbishop Pius Ncube said the healing process would
only take
place after Mugabe left office as the "government has for now
blocked it to
cover up the atrocities".
Mugabe (82), has
described the killings as part of a dark
chapter in the country's history.
But he has failed to address the issue of
compensation.
Zim Standard
BY VALENTINE
MAPONGA
THREE Zimbabweans jailed for spying will be back
in the High
court next week.
Godfrey Dzvairo, Zimbabwe's
former Ambassador-designate to
Mozambique, former Metropolitan Bank company
secretary Tendai Matambanadzo
and Itai Marchi the former Zanu PF Director
for External Affairs have been
languishing in prison since February last
year.
Harare Magistrate Peter Kumbawa slapped Dzvairo with a
six-year
prison term while Marchi and Matambanadzo were each jailed for five
years
each after finding them guilty of contravening sections of the
Official
Secrets Act.
The three were convicted in
February last year in a high-profile
case that raised eyebrows after their
relatives were prevented from
witnessing the proceedings. The Press was also
barred from covering the
case.
The three were picked up
by Central Intelligence Organisation
operatives and kept in custody where
they were denied access to legal
counsel.
Details of
their trial and subsequent conviction remained a
closely guarded State
secret, leaving many to speculate on their activities
with the South African
Secret Service (SASS).
It later emerged the spies had
received huge amounts of money
from the South African Secret Services in
return for information.
Early this year High Court Judge
Justice Bharat Patel dismissed
a bail application pending appeal for the
three. He said considering their
foreign links, there was likelihood they
could abuse the opportunity and
flee.
But the registrar
of the High Court recently wrote to Selby
Hwacha of Dube Manikai and Hwacha,
notifying him that the case had been set
for hearing on 7 December this
year.
Zim Standard
By Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - The
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has allegedly
recruited so-called Green
Bombers to enforce price controls.
Previously the task has
been carried out by the police.
Authoritative sources said
the RBZ had hired the youths who were
also involved in much-publicised
Operation Sunrise in August.
The campaign, to harvest old
bearer cheques, was widely
condemned after reports that the unruly youths
were stripping people naked
and robbing them of their valuables and
cash.
RBZ governor, Gideon Gono, has in the past warned
retailers and
wholesalers against raising prices
arbitrarily.
At one time, Gono descended on shops in Harare's
central
business district, to warn managers and shop assistants that he
would not
tolerate unauthorised price increases.
Under
the new programme, until now kept under wraps, youth
militias have been
recruited to enforce price controls.
The hiring of the youths
followed accusations that police
officers handling the operation were
soliciting for bribes.
The Green Bombers are believed to be
earning around $300 000 a
month to perform the police
duties.
Sources say they were operating under the Crime
Prevention Unit
(CPU) at the Bulawayo central police station. They have been
spotted at
morning drill either at the Drill Hall or at the Zanu-PF
provincial offices.
Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson,
Assistant Inspector Langa
Ndlovu, referred The Standard to Superintendent
Oliver Mandipaka, who said
he was "not aware of that".
"In terms of the constitution, the Zimbabwe Republic Police is
the only
police force. I don't know under whose machinations the youths
work."
Kumbirai Nhongo, the RBZ public relations manager,
had not
commented by the time of going to press.
The
Standard has received reports of the youths beating up and
harassing
businessmen and informal traders whom they accuse of inflating
prices.
The militias have been accused of swindling
Osiphatheleni,
(black market traders) of their money.
On
17 November, three of them, Raine Mazhandu, Mthandazo Sibanda
and Tawanda
Nyamukonda, spent the weekend in custody after an illegal
money-changer
reported them to the police.
The case number is CR625/11/06
and the three were charged under
the Prevention of Corruption Act. The
acting Bulawayo police spokesperson
confirmed the case.
They were supposed to appear in court on 20 November but the
case was
reportedly inexplicably withdrawn before plea.
Other reports
received at The Standard say militias confiscated
goods belonging to Zambian
cross-border traders after accusing them of
contributing to the food
shortages and escalating prices of basic
commodities at Victoria
Falls.
The government has defended the youth centres, saying
they were
designed to instill discipline and patriotism into the
youths.
Zim Standard
BY OUR
STAFF
VIOLENT farm invasions have resumed in the Midlands
province
where two commercial farmers are battling to get back on their
properties,
seized by Zanu PF supporters from Kwekwe.
Sources in the town said marauding Zanu PF supporters last month
violently
moved into the farmhouses of Neil Saunders and Jeremy Vaughn and
declared
themselves the new owners.
The sources said the supporters
brandished "offer letters" from
the Ministry of Lands, Land Reform and
Resettlement, which they claimed
authorised them to take over the
farms.
"We don't know whether the offer letters are authentic
but these
people are reported to be close relatives of senior Zanu PF
politicians,"
said a source. "They are very interested in the two farms
because they have
irrigation facilities and are doing well
productively."
Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) regional
manager for Midlands
Vaughn-Evans last week confirmed there were
disturbances on two farms in
Kwekwe recently.
"We have
reports that two farmers, Neil Saunders and Jeremy
Vaughn are being chased
off their farms by Zanu PF supporters.
"Currently they are
trying to get legal assistance to try and
stop the
invasions."
Saunders of Jenville Farm, a few kilometers
outside Kwekwe, last
week said he was not ready to comment to the
Press.
He has been growing soya-beans, barley and wheat on
his farm
since taking over from his late father, Neville.
Vaughn owns Sub Division 1 of Ben Three farm. He could not be
reached for
comment last week.
The government's chaotic land reform
programme has led to an
unprecedented decline in agricultural
productivity.
Pleas by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono to
halt the fresh
invasions have gone largely unheeded.
Gono
has labelled people continuing with invasions as
"saboteurs".
Zim Standard
BY
VALENTINE MAPONGA
STRUGGLING Zimbabwe Schools Examination
Council (Zimsec) is
paying a paltry $70 or less per script to examiners for
this year's
November-December Ordinary level papers, The Standard was told
last week.
Disappointed examiners said the paltry payments
could compromise
the quality of the marking exercise.
"The money is so little that sometimes I don't feel like
committing myself
to the task," said one teacher based in Harare. "Can you
imagine how many
scripts I need to go through for me to be able to buy a
drink? This is clear
exploitation."
The teacher said on average one examiner would
mark at least 300
scripts, which translate to $21 000.
"That money is not even enough to transport one to the marking
venue during
the marking period. I think something has to be done urgently
to ensure
marking standards are not compromised," said the teacher.
In
Harare, the marking started on Friday at Prince Edward High
School and is
expected run until 18 December.
According to the contracts
drafted by Zimsec, the examiners are
expected to work from 8AM to 5PM every
day until marking has been completed.
To add insult to
injury, Zimsec has failed to provide transport
and accommodation for the
examiners.
"Examiners, please note that you can only accept
this invitation
on condition that you have or can find your own
accommodation close to the
marking centre. The Council will not be
responsible for any accommodation
expenses incurred by examiners who accept
this invitation," reads part of
Zimsec's letter sent
examiners.
Zimsec director Happy Ndanga on Friday said the
examiners were
free to stop marking if they were not happy with the
payments.
"We do not discuss our levels of payments with
newspapers. If
they don't want to mark for us, they should just do that and
stop tarnishing
our image," said Ndanga.
On what appeared
to be second thoughts, Ndanga said: "Of course,
we think the levels are not
good enough and definitely something has to be
done. People should know the
money we are given determines how much we pay
our
examiners."
Zimsec has over the past years been blamed for
poorly running
the examinations. Frequent examination leaks have tainted
localised marking
system.
Until the early 90s Zimbabwe's
examinations were administered by
Cambridge University in the United
Kingdom.
Zim Standard
By
Nqobani Ndlovu
BULAWAYO - Zimbabwe National Students
Union (ZINASU) leaders
were last week hounded out of a hotel by Bulawayo
police.
The ZINASU leaders were holding a summit at the
Rainbow Hotel on
Saturday under the theme "The year 2006 in retrospect and
prognosis for
2007".
The summit ended abruptly after the
police raided the hotel.
Beloved Chiweshe, the ZINASU
secretary-general, confirmed they
were forced to abort their stay at the
hotel.
Chiweshe said: "We had to flee after police threatened
to arrest
us for not seeking a police clearance for holding the summit. The
summit did
not need any clearance as it was an academic meeting. There was
no need for
the police to sanction it."
Under the
draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA), people
planning to hold a
gathering, are required to obtain police clearance.
Before
the raid, the students had resolved to roll out protests
in the event they
were expelled for failing to settle overdue fees.
ZINASU
resolved to force the closure of tertiary institutions
and universities if
there was an increase in tuition fees.
Promise Mkhwananzi,
the ZINASU president, said: "We have the
capacity to grind to a halt the
education sector if there is a new fee
structure. We have set the tone for
nationwide class boycotts as a way of
forcing the government to reverse the
fees."
Acting Bulawayo police spokesperson, Assistant
Inspector Langa
Ndlovu could not comment on the raid on the students. He
referred The
Standard to the chief inspector, Andrew Phiri, who could not be
reached.
The raid comes after the arrest of many student
leaders for
organising protests at tertiary institutions against high
tuition fees and
falling standards.
Recently, five
National University of Science and Technology
leaders were arrested for
leading protests against high tuition costs.
Zim Standard
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
MUTARE - Four police detectives have been
arrested after they
allegedly confiscated more than 1 000 diamond stones
worth about $20 million
from an illegal diamond dealer and failed to hand
over the precious stones
to the police station.
Two more
officers were arrested after they allegedly confiscated
a yet undisclosed
sum of cash from South African diamond dealers they had
"arrested" in
Marange where the discovery of diamonds has transformed the
villagers'
fortunes.
Detectives Watts Nhema, Tinashe Ivines and Garikayi
Muzanenhamo
appeared before the magistrate courts facing fraud charges. The
fourth
detective, Patsao Mahasha, is expected to appear in the court on
similar
charges.
The detectives appeared before
magistrate Noah Gwatidzo.
Prosecutor, Farai Matinhure said the detectives
"arrested" a diamond dealer
on 9 November and drove him to the police
station.
But while on their way, they released the diamond
dealer without
charge and took 1 040 stones of the precious mineral with
them. The state
alleges the detectives did not surrender the diamonds to the
police station.
They were granted $5 000 bail each and will appear again
before the courts
in two weeks' time.
Two other
detectives based at Mutare Central police station,
Timothy Gombera and
Bhekitemba Nkomo, are alleged to have confiscated an
undisclosed sum of
money from South African diamond dealers while on patrol
in Marange, but
they converted the cash to their own use.
The pair, however,
did not appear in court after the docket was
referred back to the
police.
Meanwhile, the police have recovered diamonds worth
$70 million
from illegal dealers in Marange and surrounding
areas.
Officer in charge of CID Mutare, Obert Maida, told
journalists
the stones were recovered during police
patrols.
The Chiadzwa diamond fields, where thousands of
villagers were
digging for the precious mineral, were sealed by police
recently but trade
in the lucrative mineral is continuing.
Zim Standard
BY OUR STAFF
A senior official in the
Ministry of Industry and International
Trade has said that penalties
proposed by the National Incomes and Pricing
Commission Bill would deter
businesses from violating price control
regulations.
Norman Chakanetsa, research and consumer affairs director in the
ministry
told a parliamentary portfolio committee on Industry and
International Trade
last week that penalties in place were not deterrent
enough.
The bill, once passed into law, enacts a five-
year jail term
for offenders. Clause 26 (3) of the bill proposes cessation
of the offenders'
business.
Chakanetsa said: "Penalties,
as they stand, are not deterrent.
We are looking at penalties which are so
deterrent that if you are up to
that, you have to think
twice.
"If you have prospects of ceasing to operate for a
brief period,
you think twice. It (the bill) is specifically for those
offenders."
The portfolio committee had called ministry
officials to respond
to concerns raised by stakeholders at a public hearing
on the bill two weeks
ago.
When asked by Mutare-Mutasa
Senator Mandi Chimene whether the
penalties would be consistent, Chakanetsa
said he believed the courts would
be consistent.
Chakanetsa said the Commission would not duplicate the functions
of the
Competition and Tariff Commission, Central Statistical Office (CSO)
and the
Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ).
At a stakeholders'
meeting two weeks ago, it was felt that the
commission's functions would
overlap into the work of the CCZ, CSO and the
Competition and Tariff
Commission.
"The Competition and Tariff Commission deals with
mergers and
acquisitions while the commission would be researching on
mark-ups
indicative of the industry. The CCZ, on the other hand goes into
the market
to collect information on prices on their baskets," Chakanetsa
said.
Zim Standard
Comment
IT'S amazing how an election
can trivialise the management of a
country.
Last year,
the government expressed concern at what it said was
a situation where a
considerable number of government workers did not pay
income tax. This year,
however, the government saw nothing wrong in
practising exactly the opposite
of what it had preached. The majority of
civil servants will no longer pay
income tax under the 2007 Budget statement
presented last week by Finance
Minister, Herbert Murerwa.
Murerwa said the government would
increase the tax-free
threshold from $20 000 to $100 000 with effect from
next year and tax-free
bonuses by the same margin effective from the
beginning of last month.
The Budget statement reveals four
disturbing developments. The
first is that the government has fast-tracked
the impoverishment of civil
servants to the extent the majority of them earn
salaries that are below the
Poverty Datum Line. The second is that the move
is an admission by the
government that Zimbabweans are getting poorer by the
day because of its
inability to attract investment and industrial and
manufacturing growth. The
third development is that the government is
already pre-occupied with
elections, especially those for 2008 and that
cognisant of its eroded
support, it has decided on bribing government
workers. The fourth is that
the move is inspired by a desire to forestall
any criticism as the ruling
party as it prepares the tabling of a
recommendation that President Robert
Mugabe extends his terms to 2010. One
of the proposals being offered for
this will be that it is a cost-saving
measure.
Unlike the majority of Zimbabweans, those in
government are
blest with short memories. Each time there is an impending
election, the
government has found "justification" for rewarding civil
servants. While
such stop-gap measures blunt criticism of the government by
workers, the
move has not necessarily earned the government and the ruling
party
significantly more votes on the scale it expects.
But the new tax-free threshold says a lot about the kind of an
employer the
government is when the bulk of its workers earn salaries below
the PDL. In
part this explains why there is no desire, among the most of
civil servants,
to offer efficient service to the public. It also explains
why a many of
them are increasingly being tempted into petty and grand
corruption
activities to make ends meet.
In seeking to bribe civil
servants, the government demonstrates
a pattern of total disdain for the
majority of the citizens of this country.
The government is determined to
ride roughshod over the rights of
Zimbabweans. It has its priorities totally
mixed up and, frankly does not
care as long as it remains in power, by any
means necessary.One way in which
the government shows its disdain for
Zimbabweans is found in its decision to
close Goromonzi High School so that
the ruling party can hold its annual
binge at the institution. When last
year the government held its conference
at Mzingwane High School, the
closure of the school was closer to the end of
the school
term.
But this time the government, demonstrating its
impunity in
disregarding the rights of its citizens, decided on closing
Goromonzi much
earlier. Officially, the schools' third term ends on Tuesday
this week.
There is no reason why the four-day Zanu PF conference could not
have taken
place from 18 December and end on the eve of Unity
Day.
But then this is a government that is answerable to
itself and
can therefore afford to bribe its way, browbeat and ride
roughshod over its
citizens.
Zim Standard
sundayopinion by Bill Saidi
AT this
time, before the ninth annual get-together of Zanu PF,
it is not out of
place to reflect on the failure by one Jonathan Moyo to
punch a big hole in
the alleged impregnable fortress that is the "party of
blood" - party
yeropa.
Moyo attended his last party conference in 2004. By
that time,
he had already burnt his bridges with the so-called Tsholotsho
Declaration.
Many naïve commentators have suggested that that
pronouncement
was innocuous enough. They have suggested, in fact, its noble
aim was to
inject democracy into the party leaders'
elections.
What crackpot had planted that wild idea into
their soft heads?
Certainly, not anyone who had been in the party for any
length of time.
If it was Moyo's idea, then it is logical to
conclude that the
man, while seeming to have earned massive kudos with the
party leadership,
had ignored the first lesson of belonging to this party:
don't buck the
system, ever.
Moyo may take umbrage at
this; but to many neutral observers,
Edgar Tekere, in his heyday, had a
better chance of pulling off that caper
than Moyo would have in a thousands
years.
Tekere was the beneficiary of a long, intimate
relationship
with, not only the party yeropa, but with its leader, Robert
Mugabe himself.
That alone explained how, in the l990
parliamentary election,
his newly-formed Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM)
performed with such dignity.
If there had been no attempt on the life of one
of Tekere's closest allies,
Patrick Kombayi, the candidate for Gweru urban -
now crippled for life -
there is no telling what drastic transformation
would have been wrought on
the political landscape.
Tekere himself did not perform disgracefully in the presidential
stakes,
against Mugabe himself.
Yet today, Tekere waits in the wings,
to be fully rehabilitated
into the party which he had forsaken on the solid
grounds, according to many
non-Zum members, that Zanu PF had abandoned
democracy, like a terminally ill
relative, in the intensive care
unit.
What could have possessed Moyo to believe that he, a
relative
novice in the dynamics of power in a party born out of the
liberation
struggle, could achieve such a feat, of diluting the love for
power of the
control freaks who practically own Zanu PF?
Many people, and not all of them journalists incensed by Moyo
over the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), have
offered
somewhat generous, sympathetic reasons.
The unkindest remark
was that it was Moyo's ego to blame. Since
joining a cabinet full of people
on permanent ego trips, they say this was
understandable: he could hardly
escape the contagion.
Others have suggested he was led to
believe he could do no
wrong, after his "sterling" work with AIPPA. Most
hard-liners in the
leadership - and the non-hardliners can be counted on the
fingers of one
hand - had embraced him as one of their own, after AIPPA
passed into law, in
spite of Eddison Zvobgo's eloquent rebuttal of all it
was claimed to be.
Was Moyo a victim of his own propaganda,
then?
Clearly, at some stage, he believed he and Mugabe were
on the
same wavelength. How he would have arrived at that conclusion is a
little
difficult to understand. In his earlier life as a columnist, he had
been one
of Mugabe's fiercest critics. He, Moyo, may have mellowed over the
years;
Mugabe had not.
Mugabe had a distinctly soft
spot for Moyo. When he told of how
he and Joice Mujuru tried to dissuade
Moyo from taking the plunge - and
going it alone in the election in 2005 -
one could not help detect a
paternal note in his voice.
You felt this whole, dirty episode had hurt him more than it
hurt Moyo -
which is saying a lot about a consummate politician accused of
sleeping with
Machiavelli's most famous work under his pillow.
If it is any
consolation for Moyo, nothing unexpected is likely
to happen at the ninth
conference: the mandarins will ensure that. Moyo can
also console himself
with the thought that he failed to succeed where even
angels - and
metaphorically, Tekere, is one such angel - still fear to
tread.
Be prepared to pay the price for the good of
the nation
ZIMBABWEANS are regarded as among the most literate
people, not
only in Africa but in the rest of the world, but they are doing
a huge
disservice to this great nation.
It is now seven
years since the madness of 2000 and when we look
back we see that chaos has
reigned supreme. All this is a result of
President Robert Mugabe refusing to
get real. He admits that the country is
facing an economic crisis, while
refusing to accept that the real problem is
political. Unfortunately some of
us, for selfish reasons, support Mugabe.
As a result of our
inability to accept that we are facing a
political crisis, we have
prescribed inappropriate solutions to our problems
and this has led to
misplacement of priorities.
The resultant effect of
lawlessness was the creation of a
breeding ground for corruption. When
corruption is allowed to flourish,
especially at the highest level of
society, it becomes difficult to deal
with. That is our position right
now.
Yet, all of us will agree that it is corruption that has
brought
our economy to its knees - thanks to Zanu PF's blundering which
allowed
lawlessness to flourish.
It is important to
recall that it was at the instigation of
Mugabe that farm invasions began
and that this was a follow-up to the costly
adventure in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, which itself was a
follow-up to the decision in 1997
to award gratuities to former fighters of
the liberation
struggle.
My point about Zimbabweans being among the most
literate people
on the continent and in the world is that despite all this
self-evident
destruction, the most educated among them are busy competing to
please
Mugabe. Frankly, I find this quite disgraceful that there are those
among us
who are prepared to do anything to please a person who has so
single-handedly destroyed everything we cherish. The enemies of the State
are not Tony Blair or George W Bush. Neither is it Morgan Tsvangirai nor his
MDC.
It is incumbent upon the general populace to ensure
that Mugabe
admits the fact that this country faces a political crisis and
in this
regard we need to remember that collective action is the best way
forward
and this requires everyone's involvement. The residents of Harare,
Bulawayo,
Mutare and Chitungwiza should take the lead. They can do this by
refusing to
pay for services that are not offered by the likes of the
Commission running
Harare.
On a larger scale, I suggest
that all those who use public
transport to and from work, start to speak out
clearly and loudly. People
should be organised in such a way that they
choose to walk to work on one
particular day. The impact such collective
action will have on the
authorities would be
immeasurable.
People should not sing or beat up anyone along
the way. This
would not be rioting but a simple way of expressing their
displeasure at the
rate and manner in which things have
deteriorated.
Walking would not be a heavy price to pay.
However, the message
out of it would be enormous. Soldiers and police
officers would be free to
join. Let us show that we are prepared to pay the
price for the good of the
nation. If ever there was a time to be united and
speak with one voice for a
common cause, it is now.
A new
Zimbabwe is possible if all of us can make a
contribution.
Maunganidze M Vhusani
Checheche
Chipinge South
-------------
Mugabe to blame for corruption
THE Anti-Corruption Commission is a gamble that is being
used to gain
political mileage by President Robert Mugabe, especially
considering that
elections are around the corner.
But this
anti-corruption crusade should not come as a
surprise because it was once
used by Mugabe against the former Deputy
Minister of Finance, Chris
Kuruneri, and businessman James Makamba, who were
sacrificed in order to
preserve Zanu PF leadership.
Applying the theory of
reinforcement, which states that
behaviour is a function of its
consequences, then Mugabe is to blame for the
corrupt activities which are
shown by a great number of Zimbabweans as he
did not punish corrupt
activities committed by Zanu PF bigwigs at the Grain
Marketing Board during
the early 1980s, the ministers responsible for the
National Oil Company of
Zimbabwe and at the Harare City Council during the
late 1990s and early
2000.
All of the above were not punished, hence the
graft
activities continue to be prevalent today.
Considering the fact that the Anti-Corruption Commission
took ages before
its establishment and considering the fact that it should
be relevant to the
nation, the recent Ziscosteel saga makes it a mere
joke.
The Ziscosteel saga is just the tip of the
iceberg which
has shocked the nation but still no one has been brought to
book. The
headline in the Mail & Guardian which said that the Ziscosteel
saga leads to
Mugabe should not come as a surprise. That is why no action
has been taken.
It is because Mugabe cannot point a finger at those named in
the saga
because of fear.
To prove the fact that
the Anti-Corruption Commission is a
mere joke, how could the Minister of
Anti-Corruption address Permanent
Secretaries on corrupt activities by their
bosses?
If the Anti-Corruption Commission is to be
successful, it
has to start with Mugabe and end with Mugabe because he has
allowed this
culture and immoral values and his failure to act in cases, for
example,
involving his ministers and some of his
relatives.
The Commission should define where the
problem emanates
from and direct efforts towards the problem, not the
general populace.
Jackson
Mpopoma
Bulawayo
-----------
Fertilizer fiasco calls RBZ 'bambazonke' role
to question
HOW the fertilizer was imported tells the
nation,
like no other story, how the State institutions have all been
collapsed
under the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). It is quite clear that
the RBZ now
runs everything, instead of facilitating. We hear that they have
imported
combines, tractors, ploughs and other agricultural equipment. Who
actually
imported these?
Recently, it was
reported RBZ was going to
rehabilitate agricultural equipment and farm
machinery. Who is going to
select the companies that will do the
rehabilitation?
The unknown South African company
was given the
order in June 2006 to supply compound D because we are told
that by 30 June
2006, the Chemistry & Soil Research Institute had
carried out tests on the
fertilizer, presumably, samples. The company was
given an order of US$45
million to supply the
fertilizer.
We know that the local fertilizer
industry requires
around the same amount of foreign currency to import raw
materials to
manufacture all the fertilizers required in the country.
Although this
allocation was done in June, if this was made to the local
industry, at
least they would have been in full production half the year and
produced
more than half the country's
requirements.
The economic benefits of providing
foreign currency
to enable local industry to operate should really be in the
priorities of
the monetary authorities.
If it
was absolutely necessary that manufactured
fertilizer be imported, the
correct thing would be to go tender, get samples
tested by experts and award
the tender. Resources should been made available
to Grain Marketing Board
(GMB) to do the import or to the local fertilizer
companies.
It was reported that a delegation
of senior
personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture and GMB went to inspect
the
quality of fertilizer. What do those senior officials know about
chemical
composition of the fertilizer other than that they would just nod
their
heads in agreement after looking at the composition as written on the
bag?
If what is reported in Online publications
that
permanent secretary Simon Pazvakavambwa in reply to a letter from RBZ
on the
7 November, 2006, stated that the ministry did not know the suppliers
of
fertilizer as they were known or selected by the RBZ, is true, then this
country is truly finished. Is it not the role of RBZ to ensure compliance?
If it is now the importer, who will dare challenge
it?
Renson
Gasela
Secretary for Lands and Agriculture - MDC
- Arthur
Mutambara
faction
---------
Shielding incompetence
BAKERIES, a milk
processing concern and retail
shops have been among recent victims of a
government drive to put a lid on
run-away prices of essential
commodities.
Several company executives
have been hauled
before the courts to answer charges of "overpricing", -
bread by 168% - but
I think once again here is a case of selective
application of the law by the
authorities.
The energy sector, a
telecommunications
company and lately the Zimbabwe National Water Authority
(ZINWA) were
allowed increases in the case of ZINWA from $8 to $130 a cubic
metre - an
increase of 1 600%.
The only
difference between those who are
unfortunately being arrested and those who
aren't is that in the first case
the government decides not to do anything
and if industry withholds
productions they run the risk of being accused of
sabotaging the economy,
and if they go ahead and charge an economic rate,
they risk arrest and
incarceration.
In
the second case the government can decide
on a huge increase and it is
lawful, because the government says so even if
the margin is so high. In the
case of Zinwa, the water is going up but its
availability and quality will
remain questionable.
At best, what the
government has done is to
shield the incompetence of the Commission running
Harare from public
scrutiny.
Tirivanhu Mhofu
Emerald
Hill
Harare
---------
Mugabe's rule no different from Ian
Smith
regime
THE history of Zimbabwe
seems to go in
circles and at the moment the country appears to be having a
replay of past
events.
During the
colonial history of the country,
the white rulers were dead set against any
dialogue with the indigenous
people of this country. They created all kinds
of obstacles to keep the
restless indigenous men at bay. The Constitution of
the time divided the
country into black and white
areas.
Laws were crafted in such a way
that it
became a criminal offence for blacks to belong to political parties
of their
choice. It was criminal for more than five people to congregate.
The
colonial police force was all-powerful and blacks could be arrested for
trivial matters, detained for long periods and in many cases, made to
disappear forever.
The indigenous
people of this country tried
to reason with the white settler governments
but this was in vain. The
intransigence of the colonial rulers helped in
spawning Black Nationalism,
which led to the armed
insurgency.
Zimbabwe came into being
through an armed
struggle which knew no discrimination because thousands of
both blacks and
whites lost their lives during the prolonged fighting. The
country is still
haunted by these deaths, which were never appeased as
tradition demands.
Zimbabweans who still
remember the white
settlers' history are shocked to realise that events
taking place today are
similar to events of so many years
ago.
Zanu PF does not brook any
opposition from
anybody. Laws have been crafted by our leaders who have even
adopted and
maintained colonial laws in order to subjugate the majority of
the people of
Zimbabwe.
The Rhodesian
Law and Order Maintenance Act
has been allowed to exist for decades. There
are laws criminalising the
gathering of people. Such gatherings have to be
sanctioned by the police
except when they are Zanu PF gatherings. In
essence, every Zimbabwean is
supposed to be a Zanu PF member and should not
belong to any other political
parties.
The police have unlimited
powers, which they
can use to arrest anybody (except Zanu PF members) for
very trivial reasons.
The arrested people may be detained for long periods
and they may be made to
disappear forever. No dialogue is possible with Zanu
PF and Zimbabweans are
forced into a
rut.
Just like in colonial times,
Zimbabweans are
beginning to whisper about underground movements to organise
challenges
against President Robert Mugabe. Our youths, who have known no
progress in
Zimbabwe, are being forced into radicalism, just as Mugabe was
forced into
an armed struggle by the intransigence of Ian Douglas Smith.
Mugabe has
unwittingly helped in creating the nucleus of a new armed
struggle. Why is
he so keen to go on ruling Zimbabwe for a thousand
years?
Mugabe is no different from Smith.
He has
reduced us to miserable beggars who are the laughing stock of the
entire
world. Does he not see the hopelessness on the faces of
Zimbabweans?
Churches are recording large
attendances of
desperate people seeking divine answers to the problems
Mugabe has created.
Traditional wakes are also conducting roaring business
as youngsters evoke
ancestral spirits to help Zimbabwe. Does all this not
ring a bell?
Is history repeating itself?
The situation
in the country is volatile, Mr President. You need to do
something promptly.
Any delay will be to your own
disadvantage.
Don't spawn
terrorism
Masvingo