The ZIMBABWE Situation
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Mugabe in
Singapore for eye surgery checks: paper
http://af.reuters.com/
Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:51am
GMT
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is in
Singapore for a
medical review after undergoing a cataract operation there
last month but is
expected to come home before his birthday next week, state
media reported on
Sunday.
Mugabe, one of Africa's longest serving
leaders who turns 87 on February 21,
last month dismissed as "naked lies"
media reports that he had undergone an
operation for a prostate problem in
Malaysia.
The state-owned Sunday Mail said opticians in Singapore, where
Mugabe spent
a month-long holiday with his family from the end of December,
had scheduled
a review for the veteran leader.
"He went for a review
following a small medical procedure he underwent while
on holiday," Mugabe's
spokesman George Charamba told the paper. "He had a
cataract in his eye, so
that was removed and he was asked to return by
opticians."
A cataract
is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects sight, normally
in older
people, and can lead to blindness.
Mugabe told Reuters in an interview
last September that he was surprised by
constant speculation over his health
but hardly paid any serious attention
to it.
Mugabe has been in power
since independence from Britain in 1980, but was
forced to form a
power-sharing government with his arch-rival, Prime
Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai, in February 2009 after a disputed re-election in
2008.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has nominated him as its candidate for
presidential
elections he wants to hold this year.
Tsvangirai's
Movement for Democratic Change has urged Mugabe to drop his
early election
plan, saying the poll could lead to a bloodbath.
A dozen people have been
injured in clashes between supporters of ZANU-PF
and MDC in the past two
weeks, and a ZANU-PF mob looted shops in the capital
Harare last week.
Ghost
Workers Helped Mugabe Defeat Tsvangirai In 2008 Polls:Report
http://www.radiovop.com/
13/02/2011
18:20:00
JOHANNESBURG, February 13, 2011-Zimbabwe's overburdened
taxpayers are paying
almost $20-million every month to more than 75000 ghost
workers, most of
whom were deployed into civil service to save President
Robert Mugabe from
the jaws of defeat during the 2008 elections.
This
comes amid revelations that cabinet last week decided to increase the
salaries of the country's poorly paid 260000 civil servants, which will cost
taxpayers at least $120-million a month. Mugabe has said he will use diamond
revenue for this.
A comprehensive payroll and skills audit done by Ernst
& Young (India) on
behalf of the Ministry of Public Service, seen by the
Sunday Times, shows
that Zimbabwe's public service has been invaded by ghost
workers, mostly
untrained and unqualified Zanu-PF militias and supporters
who are drawing
salaries without providing useful services.
The
ghost-workers scandal, yet to be discussed in cabinet and acted upon,
has
sent shock waves through the corridors of power as it reveals Mugabe's
abuse
of power and office.
It also shows that he avoided defeat by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
during the 2008 elections through patronage,
besides violence and
intimidation.
A month before the ill-fated June 27
2008 presidential election run-off, the
audit shows Mugabe recruited
thousands of unqualified youth militias and
deployed them in government to
draw salaries from Treasury, while
campaigning for him.
The situation,
the report shows, was so desperate that the Ministry of Youth
Development,
Indigenisation and Empowerment, led by Mugabe die-hard Saviour
Kasukuwere,
hired 6861 youth militias on May 26 2008.
The youths were incorporated
into the ministry as civil servants despite
their lack of
qualifications.
Kasukuwere is a former Zanu-PF youth leader under whose
command the militias
fell as well as an ex-intelligence
operative.
"The maximum number of appointments made on one day was by the
Ministry of
Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment, where 6861
'civil
servants' were appointed on May 26 2008," the report
says.
Mugabe will soon reintroduce the controversial National Youth
Service
training programme ahead of crucial elections later this year, a
move likely
to have a chilling effect on his rivals and the country.
The
discovery of the ghost workers demonstrates that Zimbabwe's civil
service
has become a haven for unqualified Zanu-PF supporters and militias
who are
holding down government jobs irregularly.
"The civil service in Zimbabwe
has been affected by the negative
macro-economic trends over the last
decade. In particular, the service has
experienced a flight of key personnel
with technical skills, leading to
substantive skills gaps across all sectors
of the economy," the report says.
"This has moreover led to a loss of
institutional memory, and, in many
cases, civil servants are not qualified
to do the work they are hired to do.
This has weakened the public service
delivery system in Zimbabwe."
The report shows there are 75273 ghost
workers out of 188019 employed in
various ministries.
There are also
17088 civil servants whose designations do not appear. About
1315 civil
servants are working without designation. At least 8723 civil
servants'
qualifications could not be traced.
About 188019 civil servants were covered
by the exercise, including 9571
civil servants who were not in the database.
Out of this, 2191 civil
servants could not be enumerated as their records
were not available.
Records also show there were 13782 civil servants
enumerated as absent or
presumed absent as they have either retired,
absconded, deceased,
transferred or had resigned.
About 13782 workers did
not show up for enumeration, raising more questions.
The audit indicates
3593 civil servants appointed on or after January 1
2007, had no proper
documentation, a violation of the law.
"On closer scrutiny of 10753 civil
servants' records it was observed that
they do not have both police and
medical clearance.
"This is a serious violation of government rules and
regulations relating to
recruitment and hiring of civil servants and should
be further be
investigated to determine who is responsible for these
lapses."
About 6345 civil servants had obtained other relevant employment
after their
dates of appointment, a violation of the rules and procedures of
employment.
Some government employees held several jobs at once and some had
similar
national IDs.
"About 10135 civil servants who have been appointed
in various ministries
are in excess of their authorised establishment and
were appointed without
the necessary treasury concurrence, which is
irregular," the report says.
The report recommends further investigations
and punishment of those
responsible for the corrupt
activities.
Zimbabwe's Public Service Commission last month unilaterally
increased the
salaries of government employees, ballooning the wage bill.
The increases
were endorsed by cabinet last Tuesday. Civil servants'
salaries gobble most
of the money government collects
monthly.
Government collects $150-million and uses $120-million to pay
its workers.
For every $1 which government collects in the form of revenue,
up to 80
cents goes to paying government employees, which leaves government
with 20%
of its revenue to meet other obligations.
Finance Minister
Tendai Biti told the Sunday Times on Friday that Zimbabwe
needed a
comprehensive public service sector reform to flush out ghost
workers,
remove redundant employees and contain the wage bill.
"The ghost workers
have to go. We can't continue wasting taxpayers' funds
paying spooks and
people who are not working. If we remove those ghost
workers we create
fiscal space to pay good salaries to professional civil
servants." he said.
Missing
fuel deal above board - Mangoma
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/
By Guthrie Munyuki, Deputy News
Editor
Sunday, 13 February 2011 20:01
HARARE - Energy and Power
Development Minister Elton Mangoma has said
allegations that he flouted
government procedures in sanctioning procurement
of fuel by a little-known
South African company are “a storm in a tea cup”.
Mangoma said the
deal was above aboard and there was no need to raise panic
buttons although
his permanent secretary Justin Mupamhanga told a
Parliamentary committee on
energy and power that “we were hoodwinked”.
“He (Mupamhanga) didn’t tell
me that. He is doing a double speak. I don’t
see where the loss is and don’t
know why the panic buttons are there,” said
Mangoma.
Mangoma is
accused of allowing PetrolTrade, a new company replacing former
fuel
procurement agency NOCZIM, to procure the fuel ahead of local reputable
companies without going to tender.
PetrolTrade settled for South
African company – Nooa Petroleum - which had
promised to deliver five
million litres of fuel within 48 hours at the
height of fuel shortages in
January.
Nooa Petroleum was paid US$ 4.4 million from the US$6 million
received from
Treasury. The other US$ $1.6million was spent on ZIMRA taxes
and levies for
the undelivered five million litres of fuel.
Mangoma
dismissed allegations that the fuel company deal was dubious and
instead
revealed that Nooa Petroleum was a bona fide firm.
“The fact that they
are not known here does not make them a fly-by-night
company. Those who say
they are dubious could be other players because they
fear new
entrants.
“I am told Nooa Petroleum have already delivered more than 1
million litres.
They encountered delays because there was derailment and the
track was
blocked between Matola and Rutenga.
‘All the five million
litres are for the Southern Districts such as
Beitbridge and other towns in
Matabeleland,’ explained Mangoma.
He said the South African company would
deliver the rest of the consignment
in due course and would be scouring the
local market for business in the
near future.
However, Mangoma did
not explain why the fuel is coming now when the US$4.4
million was released
on the understanding that Nooa Petroleum would deliver
fuel within 48 hours
from date of payment.
The minister’s critics said the procurement of fuel
should have gone to
tender as agreed by the National Fuel Procurement
Committee, whose members
are from major Zimbabwean oil companies, Noczim and
the Ministry itself.
They argued the Procurement Committee could buy or
import fuel from a list
of Government Tender board-approved reputable
international oil supplying
companies.
But Mangoma said PetrolTrade
was not obliged to tender the deal because they
were a private company that
assumed the role of NOCZIM which had been
created as a private
company.
“The industry was liberalised a long time ago and that
procurement committee
no longer exists. The fuel companies created a traders
association which
formed the national procurement body as a voluntary
body.
“I did not want to sanction a body that is voluntary and could not
do things
enforceable to anyone,” Mangoma said.
He also disputed
claims that he had acted illegally by appointing Griffin
Revanewako as
managing director of PetrolTrade before the Energy Regulatory
Bill had been
passed into law.
A lot of flak has been directed at Mangoma for allegedly
rushing to set up
PretolTrade and National Oil Infrastructure Company of
Zimbabwe (NOICZIM)
without waiting for the Bill to become law and signed by
President Robert
Mugabe.
The Bill was passed by Parliament in
December and sailed through the Senate
on February 8 during its first
sitting for 2011; a day after Mangoma’s
office told a parliamentary team
that they had been duped of US$5million.
““Those querying this are acting
from ignorance. NOCZIM is not a parastal.
It was not set up by a statute and
I can’t see any reason why it should be
taken away by a statute,” said
Mangoma.
“There is no connection between that Bill and PetrolTrade. It
was an issue
sanctioned by cabinet sometime ago.”
PetrolTrade will
takeover national fuel importation from NOCZIM service
stations countrywide;
while the newly-created NOICZIM, now manages fuel
storage tanks in Msasa,
Mabvuku, Feruka and the oil pipeline from Harare to
Feruka.
Last
month, fuel shortages disrupted business as panic returned following
the dry
pumps at service stations across the country.
The parallel market briefly
resurfaced as a result of the sudden woes which
triggered bad memories of
the 2000 – 2008 economic meltdown.
Tsvangirai
slams diamond looting
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
12 February, 2011 11:30:00 Timeslive
ZIMBABWE
is experiencing a fierce scramble for the country's minerals by top
Zanu-PF
officials and members of the security forces. There are fears of a
systematic looting spree ahead of anticipated elections, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai has said.
Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Times,
the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) leader, who is in a power-sharing
arrangement with President Robert
Mugabe, said the looting of mainly
diamonds and gold was a cause for
concern.
"I am aware that a lot of
mineral resources are being discovered - gold,
coal, diamonds, platinum and
others. You hear stories of senior army
officials, senior politicians in
Zanu-PF scrambling for these resources.
This is a challenge to the inclusive
government - to make sure there are
rules and transparency with regards the
exploitation of these resources.
"There must be methods of accountability
- this issue of saying we are going
to grab as much as we can is going to
cause instability in this country. It
is disturbing to note that the people
who are supposed to protect our
mineral resources are at the forefront of
looting them.
"What business does the army have in diamonds or gold? We
have credible
information that there have been discoveries of huge deposits
of minerals,
even in areas like Filabusi, Tsholotsho and Shurugwi and indeed
along the
Great Dyke. If there is no accountability we will soon be like the
DRC and
Sierra Leone.
"You hear stories of them grabbing mineral
claims as if it is the last
supper. This plunder of resources brings chaos
and anarchy to our country
and I am going to discuss this with my fellow
principals.
''This plunder is going to cause instability and we have to
stop it. We have
to bring order," said Tsvangirai.
He said he did not
understand why the police, the army and some members of
the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO) were interested in mining
instead of
maintaining security.
Mining should be done by mining companies and all
proceeds from diamond
sales should go through the treasury.
The
minerals grab is especially targeted along the Great Dyke belt, which
stretches through the centre of the country from the Zambezi Valley to
Beitbridge.
The belt is said to contain hundreds of billions of
dollars worth of
minerals, including diamonds, chrome, gold, platinum and
more than 50 other
minerals.
The Prime Minister also took a swipe at
Local Government Minister Ignatius
Chombo, saying he must come clean on
corruption charges levelled against him
by local authorities throughout the
country, who accuse the wealthy Mugabe
ally of illegally acquiring dozens of
plots of land from towns and cities.
"There have been reports that have
been produced by councils on his
(Chombo's) involvement in illegal
possession of stands. We will examine
every report made by the councils.
What is disturbing is the pre-emptive
strike of suspending and firing
councillors who are doing their job."
So far at least three cases of
fraud against Chombo have been reported to
the police but no action has been
taken.
Biti
stops funding of Robert Mugabe's bursary scheme
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
12 February, 2011 11:34:00
By TONDERAI KWIDINI
The Minister of Finance Tendai Biti has stopped
paying the controversial
Presidential Scholarship Fund from government
coffers.
"It's a private trust and we will not fund it," Biti told the
Sunday Times
this week. "We have not funded it since I became
minister."
The scheme was established by President Robert Mugabe to help
young
Zimbabweans from poor backgrounds attain a meaningful education at a
time
when the country only had one university.
It is managed by
Mugabe's ally, Christopher Mushohwe, the Governor of
Manicaland Province,
who is the veteran leader's former wartime personal
assistant.
For
years it was seen as a national project funded from national coffers.
"It
is a fund created for sentimental reasons to take students to Fort Hare,
so
we cannot fund it. Besides we don't have the money," Biti said. "The
president wanted us to fund it to the tune of $54-million yet it's private,
just like the Reagan Foundation and the Thabo Mbeki
Foundation."
Biti's revelation comes at a time when the militant Zimbabwe
Students Union
(Zinasu) has been agitating for the funding of the programme
to be stopped
as it is largely viewed as partisan.
"We call upon the
national treasury to halt funding of the notorious
Presidential Scholarship
but if they have done so that's welcome news,"
Zinasu president Tinashe
Mugwadi told the Sunday Times.
Last week Zinasu met Biti to discuss the
poor funding of higher education in
the country. They were concerned that
the budget for this year was just a
quarter of funds given to Mugabe's
scheme, which was said to have received
about $50-million. Local education,
whose standards have deteriorated to the
extent that institutions are
failing to pay lecturers, got $20-million in
the 2011 budget.
Sources
in the Ministry of Finance said Mugabe had on many occasions
pressured Biti,
who has been in the job since 2009, not to tamper with the
scheme.
The Minister of High and Tertiary Education, Stanley Mudenge,
also met the
students union last week. He said: "The president will find the
money
elsewhere if Biti does not pay for the scheme."
When the scheme
was established only the University of Zimbabwe was open and
one needed to
have high passes to gain entry. However, several state
universities have
since opened .
The presidential scholarship, which initially took
students only to the
University of Fort Hare, where Mugabe got his law
degree, is now a
free-for-all with children of Zanu-PF officials, senior
civil servants,
soldiers, war veterans and Mugabe's relatives
benefitting.
These children are now taken to other SA universities, such
as the
universities of Johannesburg, Venda, KwaZulu-Natal, Nelson Mandela,
Walter
Sisulu and Free State. The prestigious universities of Witwatersrand,
Rhodes
and Cape Town are a preserve of children of government ministers and
Mugabe's cronies.
According to supporters of the scheme, the students
will learn skills that
they will bring home. But statistics show that most
of the sponsored
students go on to get jobs in South Africa rather than
return to Zimbabwe. -
TimesLive
Brass
meet on violence
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
12 February, 2011 11:22:00 | By ZOLI
MANGENA
ZIMBABWE's political leaders are battling to contain an
eruption of
political violence which has outraged human rights groups and
civil society
bodies ahead of anticipated elections later this year, as the
future of the
inclusive government remains uncertain.
Alarmed by the
wave of violence sweeping through the country, the Zimbabwe's
top political
leadership met on Friday as the National Security Council
(NSC), chaired by
President Robert Mugabe, tries to tackle the upsurge in
violence before it
spins out of control.
Apart from Mugabe, others who attend the NSC
include co-vice-presidents
Joyce Mujuru and John Nkomo, Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai and his
deputies, Thokozani Khuphe and Arthur
Mutambara.
The other members of the council are Defence Minister Emmerson
Mnangagwa,
State Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, Presidential Affairs
Minister
Didymus Mutasa, Finance Minister Tendai Biti, co-Home Affairs
Ministers
Kembo Mohadi and Theresa Makone, Energy and Power Minister Elton
Mangoma,
Industry and Trade Minister Welshman Ncube and security service
chiefs
including the army commander, police commissioner, head of prisons
and the
director-general of intelligence.
Tsvangiari's spokesman,
Luke Tamborinyoka, said on Friday: "I can confirm
that the National Security
Council met this morning, but I can't go into the
details." However, senior
members of the council told the Sunday Times the
meeting was about the
political violence rocking the country. Makone had
confirmed before the
meeting that violence would take centre stage.
A senior minister said
later: "We discussed a lot of issues, but the most
critical debate centred
on political violence. The country's leadership is
worried about the
situation and wants to take effective measures to stop
this violence before
it gets out of hands.We need to deal seriously with
this issue. We can't
allow this situation to continue.
"It's unacceptable. In fact, there
should be an investigation so that
leaders and politicians who incite
political violence can be arraigned and
punished," he said.
The NSC
is a structure created under the Global Political Agreement (GPA) to
deal
with security issues. Parties in the inclusive government had agreed
that
the council must meet every first Friday of each month. Mugabe has not
been
keen to convene the council meetings because they provide an
opportunity for
his rivals to criticise him and his Zanu-PF party, but was
forced to call
this week's meeting because of public anger over the
violence.
Mugabe's Zanu-PF and Tsvangirai's MDC-T have for a long
time now been
fighting over the functions of the NSC.
The MDC-T wants
the Joint Operations Command (JOC), Mugabe's building block
to power, to be
dismantled and to have its responsibilities taken over by
the NSC. But
Zanu-PF has refused, arguing that the NSC could not replace the
JOC because
it dealt with policy issues, while the NSC focused on
operational
matters.
Another minister said the NSC dealt with political violence at
length
because "it's the most compelling public security issue facing the
country
at the moment".
Mugabe, who controls the country's security
bodies, is under pressure to
deal with the violence, which is blamed mostly
on his party and its
supporters.
Last week Tsvangirai met Mugabe to
deal with the problem.
In terms of the GPA, parties have an obligation to
guarantee the security of
citizens and prevent violence. The government also
has this obligation in
terms of the constitution.
The GPA says
parties have an obligation to "renounce and desist from
promoting and using
violence, under whatever name called, as of a means
attainting political
ends".
The latest political violence erupted mainly in Harare townships
where
Zanu-PF and MDC-T supporters had been fighting running
battles.
The two parties blame each other for the violence.
Police
spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena has blamed the MDC-T for the violence,
prompting
the party to say he must be fired for being partisan. The MDC-T
also says
police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri must go for failing
to do his
job.
With upsurge in political violence - and tensions within the
inclusive
government over the lifespan of the coalition arrangement - the
European
Union (EU) is set to renew targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his
cronies on
Wednesday when its ministers meet in Brussels. The latest
violence is likely
to force the EU to maintain the sanctions.
An
advocacy group, the Centre for Development, has urged parliament to
investigate the ongoing violence so that perpetrators could be
punished.
Another civic group, Restoration of Human Rights, has also
denounced the
current violence and churches in Zimbabwe have done the
same.
Amnesty International this week also urged the coalition government
to "act
on ongoing human rights abuses and institute reforms of the security
sector
and the media". - TimesLive
Zimbabwe
churches: Stop police harassment of Mugabe critics
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/
Feb 13, 2011, 16:00
GMT
Harare - Zimbabwean churches on Sunday demanded a meeting with the
police
commissioner to ask him to end what they said was the harassment of
those
who had been driven from their homes by gangs loyal to President
Robert
Mugabe.
The last three weeks has seen a surge in the number of
attacks in the
capital, Harare, on supporters of Prime Minister Morgan
Tsvangirai. The
premier says more than 1,000 people have been displaced by
the violence.
Observers have said the attacks are directly linked to
Mugabe's threat to
call early elections this year. The two-year-old, power-
sharing government
led by Mugabe and Tsvangirai is close to collapse due to
disagreements over
political reform.
The Christian Alliance, an
umbrella group for most of the country's
Protestant churches, said Sunday
that police had last week twice raided a
church property in Harare where
people accused of being Tsvangirai
supporters and driven from their homes
had found shelter.
In the town of Glen Norah, police raided and assaulted
about 100 people
sheltering in another church property, activists group
Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights said.
The Christian Alliance said
it was seeking an audience with police
commissioner Augustine Chihuri to
protest the alleged violence.
Earlier this month, a mob of youth marched
from the offices of Mugabe's
Zanu-PF party to Harare's business district,
attacking foreigners and
looting foreign-run businesses, whom they accused
of destroying the economy.
At the end of January, an independent
watchdog, the Southern African
Coalition for Survivors of Torture, also
warned of increasing incidents of
political brutality and violent
intimidation by militias under Mugabe's
control.
Meanwhile on Sunday,
state media reported that Mugabe had flown to Singapore
on Friday for a
check-up following an earlier operation there to remove a
cataract.
The government in January denied press reports that Mugabe
was ill and had
undergone surgery in the Far East.
Zim
to stick with foreign currencies: Mutambara
http://www.newzimbabwe.com/
13/02/2011 00:00:00
by
Business Reporter
DEPUTY Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has said
Zimbabwe will continue to
use foreign currencies until capacity utilization
improved to levels that
can support the value of a local
currency.
Mutambara said Zimbabwe should continue to pursue various
economic reforms
before rushing into making currency changes.
He was
addressing delegates who attended a recent London Stock Exchange
symposium
in Harare.
Once considered among the highest value currency units in the
world when it
was it introduced in 1980, the Zimbabwe dollar was ditched in
2009 when it
was virtually worthless, battered by political turmoil in the
country and
hyper-inflation.
The country has been using foreign
currencies since with the Botswana Pula,
the South African Rand and the
United States dollar among the most popular.
Mutambara said the policy
not to have a local currency in the interim was
shared by principals in the
inclusive government.
“Our desire is that the Zimbabwe dollar should not
come back until we
deserve a currency,” said Mutambara.
“At the
moment we don’t deserve to have our own currency. Maybe in 2015 or
2020 can
we start thinking of our own currency.”
He however conceded that there
was no guarantee the policy would not change
after elections widely expected
sometime this year.
“That is the uncertainty that as a country we have to
address if we are to
attract investment,” he said.
Ncube's
MDC Is Dead: Zapu
http://www.radiovop.com/
13/02/2011 18:19:00
BULAWAYO, February 13, 2011-
The opposition Zapu party says the troubled MDC
formation led by Welshman
Ncube is almost dead and will struggle to win
seats in the next
elections.
Zapu national spokesperson and former Journalist Methuseli
Moyo told Radio
Vop that the current crisis in the smaller faction of the
MDC has been the
final nail in the coffin.
The crisis has been worsened
by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara,s
refusal to vacate his post after
he was ordered to do so by the national
executive council which met in
Harare last week.
A day before he was fired, Mutambara countered and fired
his first shot
announcing that he had actually fired Ncube from the party
and was resuming
leadership.With open backing from President Robert Mugabe,
Mutambara vowed
he would not leave his DPM post.Ncube threw in the towel
after sensing he
was fighting a loosing battle.
“ The MDC is
dead.They crucified themselves and they have been carrying the
cross since
2005 split, ” said Moyo whose party is also struggling to win
back the
support it had in the 80s when it was still led by the late
vice-President
Joshua Nkomo.
Moyo said the problem with MDC leadership is that they
have academic
approach to politics and they lack stamina.
“Politics is
like football. You need stamina and these guys might have ideas
but they
lack stamina, ” boasted Moyo.Both Zapu and the MDC led by Ncube
have their
support base in the Matabeleland region.
Responding to Moyo’s sentiments MDC
Bulawayo province spokesperson Edwin
Ndlovu dismissed Moyo as a comedian
who should not be taken seriously. “
He is just a comedian and we are not
going to take him and his party
seriously. They don’t even qualify to
comment about what is taking place in
our party, ” Ndlovu told Radio
Vop.
“ Zapu is just like Zanu (PF) there is no difference. The same people
who
are in Zapu today are the same people who were beating and
torturing
opposition members but now they claim to be human rights
activists. Some
few years back our offices here in Bulawayo were burnt by
the same people
when they were still in Zanu (PF) , ” added
Ndlovu.
Ndlovu said MDC is part of the coalition government and will not
waste time
on petty issues.History has a tendency of repeating itself and
moreso in the
world of politics.In the 80s, soon after defecting to Zanu
(PF) former
Minister of Industry and Technology Callistus Ndlovu described
Joshua
Nkomo,s Zapu party as a “ dead donkey. ” Callistus was made to eat a
humble
pie when the same party he described as dead went on to win all the
parliamentary seats seats in Matabeleland.
Congressman
Payne Condemns Zim Violence
http://www.radiovop.com/
13/02/2011 13:36:00
Washington,
February 13, 2011- American Congressman, Donald M Payne has
strongly
condemned the on-going violence in Zimbabwe and called on the
authorities to
protect innocent people.
“ Over the past few weeks there have been
several episodes of Zanu (PF)
instigated violence and intimidation around
the capital city Harare and in
the rural areas that have left supporters of
Morgan Tsvangirai in
hospital, ” Congressman Payne said in a
statement.
He said the violence was undermining the Global Political
Agreement, GPA and
hope for peace in the country.Payne,s comment comes in
the wake of worsening
attacks against supporters of Prime Minister
Tsvangirai in Harare allegedly
by Zanu (PF) youths known as
Chipangano.
Analysts say the violence could be another sign that Zanu (PF)
has launched
its election campaign.Soldiers have also been deployed in some
parts of the
country.
Parly
Committee To Visit SMM Mines
http://www.radiovop.com/
13/02/2011 13:35:00
HARARE,
February13, 2011?The parliamentary portfolio committee on Mines and
Energy
will embark on a two-day visit of Mashava and Zvishavane starting
Sunday to
get an update at the state of affairs at the two asbestos mines
wrestled
from businessman Mutumwa Mawere seven years ago.
The hearings take place
on Sunday and Monday where the committee will
interview workers at the two
mines. Gaths Mine and Shabanie, the two mines
owned by SMM, are not working
due to cash problems bedeviling the holding
company which government seized
from Mawere. This has meant that workers
have not been able to get their
salaries which has worsened their plight.
Mashava and Zvishavane were mainly
driven by the two mines. Edward Chindori
Chininga, the committee’s
chairperson confirmed the visit to Radio vop.
After the visit, the team will
write a comprehensive report to be presented
to Parliament recommending the
way forward.
The committee has so far interviewed, Mawere, Justice
Minister Patrick
Chinamasa and SMM administrator Afaras Gwaradzimba. Mawere
has been fighting
to reclaim his prized possession seized by government in
2004 by the
reconstruction laws which deemed his companies indebted to the
state by
virtue of owing parastatals money.
His appeal at the Supreme
Court challenging the reconstruction laws was
dismissed last week. The visit
at the mines comes at a time when Gwaradzimba
was confirmed an interested
investor into the mines.
The agreed price for the 76% shareholding is
US$115 million, of which US$37
million will be invested directly into AAM
Mines (the holding company of
Gaths and Mashava) and the balance will be
used by SMM to pay its
liabilities.
“ The investor is currently
working on the modus operandi of transferring
this money to Zimbabwe, ”
Gwaradzimba said.
The prospective investor has so far paid a commitment
amount of US$2 600 000
which when all terms and conditions of the IA
(Investment Agreement) are
fulfilled will form part of payment of the
investor amount.
Chinamasa insists the takeover of Mawere's companies was
within the realms
of the laws as they had become so indebted to the
state.Mawere on the other
hand contends that the takeover sets a bad
precedent and chases away
prospective investors.
Zimbabwe’s Inclusive Government Stalls
Peta Thornycroft | Harare February 11, 2011
Photo: AP
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, right, chats to Prime
Minister Morgan Tsavangirai during their end of year press conference at State
House in Harare, saying they were dispelling rumors of disunity in the
Government of National Unity, December 20, 2010
Negotiations for an inclusive government followed this
stalemate.
Now two years later, experts and civil society organizations
say the inclusive government is bogged down. Even some who wholeheartedly
supported its establishment - mostly because political violence eased and
hyper-inflation disappeared - are disappointed.
The Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions, from which the MDC emerged in 1999, was particularly critical.
Congress president Lovemore Matombo said the labor movement warned Mr.
Tsvangirai and his party not to go into the unity government as he said it was
impossible to do honorable deals with ZANU-PF. He said before the inclusive
government came to power, ZANU-PF had no money, and even its supporters were
angry as the party could not keep schools and hospitals open.
"They
misjudged ZANU-PF. Then they rescued ZANU-PF," said Matombo.
In terms of
the political agreement which established the inclusive government, one of its
tasks was to reform many repressive laws imposed by Mr. Mugabe and ZANU-PF
following independence in 1980. In 2010, Zimbabwe passed fewer laws through
parliament than in any legislative year since independence.
Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights has been at the forefront of the campaign to promote
democracy and protect those who are politically persecuted.
Irene Petras,
director of the lawyers group, said those who had high hopes for the inclusive
government were particularly disappointed with parliament’s failure to reform
repressive laws or write new laws for future elections.
"We had a
legislative agenda which was outlined by the president. And if you look at that
legislative agenda almost none of the laws that were going to be either amended
or repealed or new laws that were going to be brought in, none of those have
gone through," said Petras.
She said expectations for quick reforms by
the inclusive government were high, and many were disappointed when they
realized how long reform would take.
She says one of the group’s main
concerns is continued partisan policing and warrants of arrest issued by ZANU-PF
Attorney General, Johannes Tomana.
She said many MDC supporters arrested
during the last two years, regularly gave the lawyers group the same message -
that the police are wholly controlled by ZANU-PF.
"[They say] we are not
being protected, police are not helping us, they are not making sure there is
order and that the real perpetrators are being arrested. So when you have that
loss of public confidence in the police you have a very dangerous situation,"
said Petras.
But Petras also tells VOA the last two years have been
useful for MDC cabinet minister members as they were able to learn how the
government worked and how it had evolved under 30 years of Mr. Mugabe’s
rule.
Leading up to this anniversary, Mr. Mugabe says that the inclusive
government would expire on its second anniversary and that fresh elections
should be held soon.
Human rights groups say this election talk has
produced sporadic small-scale ZANU-PF violence against MDC
supporters.
ZANU-PF spokesman Rugaro Gumbo said this week his party is
gearing up for elections this year. He told journalists in Harare Thursday,
ZANU-PF is "fed up" with the inclusive government.
The political
agreement gives no deadline for elections but does now require a review of
progress of the inclusive government with the Southern African Development
Community which has guaranteed the multi-party political
agreement.
Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the MDC says new elections
cannot be held now. He says voters feel insecure their vote will reflect their
political choice, the voters roll is inaccurate and contains two million
deceased people, and that the agreed reforms to electoral laws are still
outstanding.
"The starting point is, is this country ready for an
election at the present moment - and I think that is the critical thing? And
quite clearly this country is not ready for an election," said
Biti.
Biti, who is also finance minister in the inclusive government,
says political violence has subsided since the high point of 2008, and
hyper-inflation disappeared when Zimbabwe abandoned its currency in favor of the
United States dollar and South African Rand.
But he says it will be South
African mediators, who report directly to President Jacob Zuma, who will produce
a road map for fresh elections which will end the inclusive
government.
"So the fate of the next election, how credible it is, any
omissions, any deficiencies any commissions clearly lies in the road map that is
being drafted by President Zuma right now," he said.
Tensions have been
growing within the inclusive government since late last year. In addition to
failure of legislative reform, many top jobs within the civil service which, in
terms of the political agreement, should have gone to the MDC have been given to
individuals known to be close to Mr. Mugabe.
The country’s state-owned
broadcast media, both radio and television, continue under the control of Mr
Mugabe’s ZANU-PF in contravention of the agreement. Independent media monitors
say coverage is biased toward Mr. Mugabe and ZANU-PF and denigrates Mr.
Tsvangirai and the MDC.
Some analysts believe that the MDC has not been
sufficiently energetic or strategic enough to stop ZANU-PF from hindering
political reform.
Eldred Masunungure, senior political scientist at the
University of Zimbabwe believes that some in the MDC have become comfortable
with some of the trappings of political power.
He also says Mr.
Tsvangirai should not have deployed both his party’s secretary-general and
deputy secretary-general to cabinet jobs as this had weakened the
party.
"You can do that when you have arrived. Not when you are in a
heavily compromised position. To me it displays a lack of strategic direction,
and that has been the major weakness of the MDC," said
Masunungure.
Although the inclusive government has made progress in
education and health, as well as price stability, most businessmen, and ordinary
people, are disappointed with the inclusive government. Many wonder if Mr.
Mugabe is trying to provoke prime minister Tsvangirai into quitting the unity
government.
But unionist Matombo said it is impossible for the MDC to
walk away now.
"What is likely to happen is they are going to be
arrested. They are going to die there in prison. And the MDC is aware about
that," said Matombo.
Political observers say the only chance of moving
political reform along will come through President Zuma’s mediation team when it
unblocks resistance to reforming repressive
laws.
Zimbabwe Vigil Diary – 12th Februaryp 2011
As Egyptians celebrated the triumph
of people power, the Vigil marked the second anniversary of
Zimbabwe’s Government of National Unity
(GNU) with posters expressing our disgust at how the agreement has rescued
Zanu-PF and emasculated the MDC.
We are still bewildered why MDC
leaders signed up to such a flawed document. ‘Two years forward for GNU – two
years backward for MDC’ read one of our posters.
We are still angry that the
agreement’s SADC guarantors have allowed Mugabe to get away with murder. ‘Two
years of GNU – two years of violence and looting’ read another poster.
Vigil supporters are disgusted that
the opposition is more occupied in fighting among themselves than against
Zanu-PF: ‘MDC: many-headed Hydra – all parties of excellence?’ read another
poster.
In short ‘Two years of GNU – thanks
for GNUTHING’ concluded another.
With the quasi-legitimacy conferred
by the GNU, Zanu-PF is making further inroads in the
UK. We have always had the families of
Zanu-PF bigwigs here of course – for education, to look after investments etc.
(Who knows when a bolt-hole will be needed when the ‘Ben Ali / Mubarak’ time
comes?) Then there are the dozens of CIO people working for the Embassy . . .
The Guardian newspaper reported
recently that 32 suspected Zanu-PF war criminals are believed to be in the
UK – among hundreds of suspects at
large from countries ranging from Iraq and
Afghanistan to
Rwanda and the DRC. (see: https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/feb7_2011.html#Z4).
Among
the dubious Zimbabwean organizations springing up here is ‘Zimbabwe Achievers
UK’ who have announced a ‘short’ list of about 160 nominees for awards in some
30 categories (see: http://www.mafaro.com/awards/news.php). Surprisingly there is not a specific
category for ‘Zimbabwe war criminal’ or ‘Zanu-PF propagandist’. But Vigil
supporters noticed the inclusion of long-standing Mugabe fan George Shire in the
category ‘Academic Award’. (‘This award recognizes the individual who best
exemplifies an advocate for professionalism and presenting the best public
image. Will also have served as a model of dedication, enthusiasm, and
leadership’). Very soon they will be
electing Mugabe president of the year.
Diary readers may remember Shire (called ‘Professor’ in
the Zimbabwe Achievers announcement) from the Vigil’s encounter with him in
Lisbon in December 2007 when he mounted a
rival demonstration in support of Mugabe who was attending an EU / AU summit
meeting. Certainly Shire is a ‘model of dedication’
to Zanu-PF (see: http://www.swradioafrica.com/news101207/zimvig101207.htm)
Needless to say the Vigil has not been nominated for an award. But it
is for the best: we wouldn’t want to pay £60 a head to attend this fake Rolex
event.
Other
Points
·
Vigil
founder member Ephraim
Tapa –
who is President of ROHR – said the current violence in Zimbabwe showed how
inappropriate was the UK government’s proclaimed intention to send back failed
Zimbabwean asylum seekers. He said this plan should be shelved until after
elections in Zimbabwe. If there were free and fair elections people in the
diaspora would want to go home.
·
It was
good to meet Edward Sims from the office of the Member for the European
Parliament for the East of England Geoffrey Van Orden. Edward spoke of Mr van
Orden’s fight to keep EU targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies (see:
EU starts
deliberations on extending sanctions targeting Zimbabwe President
Mugabe – https://www.zimbabwesituation.com/old/feb13_2011.html#Z7).
·
We were
impressed by Sandra Manyika’s efforts to get to the Vigil. She left
Sheffield at 10
am with
Kieran 8 years, Kanisha 6 years and Brianna 3 months and didn’t expect to get
home till 11.30 pm.
·
We
welcomed back Josephine Zhuga who has been unwell for a while. She spent her convalescence knitting stylish
hats and scarves in the Zimbabwean colours.
See our photos. She has been
asked to bring more.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/.
For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check http://www.zimvigiltv.com/.
FOR THE RECORD: 120 signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
·
The Restoration of Human Rights in
Zimbabwe (ROHR) is
the Vigil’s partner organisation based in
Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the
Vigil to have an organisation on the ground in
Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission
statement in a practical way. ROHR in the
UK actively fundraises through
membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in
Zimbabwe.
·
ROHR
Stoke-on-Trent general
meeting. Saturday
19th February from 2 – 5 pm. Venue:
19
Regent Road
Stoke-on-Trent
ST1
3BT.
ROHR executive members present. Contact: David R Mugwira 07833943494, Maxwell
Dube 07533349840, Faith Pemba
07780594852, P Chibanguza 07908406069 / 07534626040 or P Mapfumo on 07915926323
/ 07932216070.
·
ROHR
Yorkshire general
meeting.
Saturday 19th February from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Dock Green Inn,
Ashley
Road,
Leeds
LS9 7AB. Contact: Chinofunga
Ndoga 07877993826, Prosper Mudamvanji 07897594874, Wonder Mubaiwa 07958758568,
Donna Mugoni 07748828913 or R Chifungo 07795070609.
·
ROHR
Peterborough general
meeting.
Saturday 26th February from 2 – 5 pm. Venue: Millfield Community
Centre, 3 New
England Complex,
Lincoln
Road, Peterborough PE1
2PE. Contact: Alista Mabiya
07724540506, Bertha Chiyangwa 07846151527 or P Mapfumo
07915926323/07932216070.
·
ROHR Bournemouth general meeting. Saturday 26th February
from 2 – 5.30 pm. Venue: East Cliff Reformed Church opposite ASDA store,
Holdenhurst
Road,
Bournemouth BH8
8AY. Contact: Sekai 07772211220, Sledge
07788850146, Abi 07780831455, P Mapfumo 07915926323 /
07932216070.
·
ROHR
Bristol general meeting. Saturday 5th March
from 1.30 – 5.30 pm. Venue: St
Joseph’s
Presbytery Church,
232 Forest
Road, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3QT.
Contact: Ronald Oputeri 07791109394, Bridgita Mubaiwa 07789084534,Cecilia Ndlovu
07740122687 or P Mapfumo 07915926323 / 07932216070
·
Vigil Facebook
page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8157345519&ref=ts.
·
Vigil Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/zimbabwevigil.
·
‘Through the
Darkness’, Judith
Todd’s acclaimed account of the rise of Mugabe.
To receive a copy by post in the
UK please email confirmation of your order and postal address to
ngwenyasr@yahoo.co.uk and 0send
a cheque for £10 payable to “Budiriro Trust” to Emily Chadburn, 15 Burners
Close, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 0QA. All proceeds go to the Budiriro Trust
which provides bursaries to needy A Level students in
Zimbabwe
·
Workshops aiming to engage African
men on HIV testing and other sexual health issues. Organised by the Terrence Higgins
Trust (www.tht.org.uk). Please contact the
co-ordinator Takudzwa
Mukiwa
(takudzwa.mukiwa@tht.org.uk) if you are
interested in taking part.
Vigil
Co-ordinators
The Vigil,
outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from
14.00 to 18.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in
Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October
2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are
held in Zimbabwe: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.
The Use of Violence in Politics
In 1983 I received a call from a Catholic Nun who told me that she was
speaking from the District of Lupane in Matabeleland and that an army unit
was creating havoc in the district with hundreds of people injured or worse.
It was the start of Gukurahundi, a four-year campaign to crush the spirit of
the Ndebele people and wipe out Zapu as a political party. Thousands died in
the subsequent campaign, which used violence and torture, killings and mass
starvation. In 1987 the leadership of Zapu conceded and the “Unity” accord
was signed and Zanu’s goal of eliminating this long-term rival was
achieved.
20 years later, I sat in my truck watching the people
of Lupane vote after
yet another tough and violent election campaign.
Villagers walked out of the
bush from all directions and reported first to
their Village Headmen who
were seated in the shade about 200 metres from the
polling station. They
then walked down to the school, passing a large pile
of 50 kg bags of maize
that had been dropped there by the Grain Marketing
Board some 5 days before.
On the top of the pile was a policeman with an AK
47.
Inside the polling station were several policemen, some known
CIO operatives
and in front of these the peasants had to give their names,
see them checked
off in the Register, then collect a numbered ballot, fill
it in behind a
screen and then put it into the box. Then going back to the
Headman to
confirm they had voted. The people had been told, “We know whom
you vote
for. If your area votes for MDC, the maize goes back to the GMB and
you
starve and we will then return and repeat what we did to you in
1983/4”.
They voted for MDC.
There is a limit to
the value of violence as a political tool and after a
while it is actually
counter productive. Matabeleland has always voted
against Zanu – first
because they voted for Zapu and then simply because
they could not forget
what Zanu did to them in the 80’s. The hurts are real
and deep and are not
forgotten or forgiven and are now translated into
support for anyone who is
opposed to Zanu rule.
Zanu has a political culture that has
violence at its epicenter – in the
sixties, the government banned both
political parties, not so much because
they were a threat to the status quo
but because of widespread violence and
intimidation – against each other’s
supporters. Our gardener carried both
Party cards – when confronted he would
pull out one or the other and give
the appropriate slogan, if he got it
wrong, the result would be a beating.
Today Zanu has
metamorphosed into factions, one is in favor of violence as a
means of
avoiding an election that they now recognise they cannot win,
others are for
an election using their old tactics – manipulate the voters
roll, distort
and control the delimitation based on a distorted roll,
control the
balloting and the counting and if necessary (as in 2008) simply
falsify the
results. This faction would also use violence and intimidation –
targeted
killings, disappearances, beatings and torture, threats to family,
destruction of property and even banning people from their
homes.
Such tactics and plans were far advanced in 2010. They
have not resulted in
an election or in the failure of the GPA government
simply because of
regional pressure. Recent violence has its origins in both
pro and anti
election factions. The former because they really believed that
they could
get away with a snap election – first in October 2010 and then in
May 2011.
They set up the structures, deployed the thugs and leadership and
have
simply not been able to curb their eagerness to get
started.
The violence planned by the other, more radical group,
is much more serious
and sophisticated and was best illustrated by the
so-called riots in Harare
on Monday. This group knows full well that they
simply cannot win an
election – not even if they are allowed to get away
with all the nonsense
that the other faction has planned. They therefore
want a solution that
would leave power in their hands.
So
first they planned a strategic assassination, followed by a declaration
of a
State of Emergency and the arrest of MDC leadership, the formation of a
Government of National Salvation as a front for a thinly disguised military
Junta. Headed off by the region they now want an “Egypt”
solution.
I am astonished at the naivety of those who see in the
riots and protest in
Egypt a model for change in Zimbabwe. What do we have
in Egypt today – 48
hours after the resignation of the President, a Military
Junta with a
civilian facade. For the hard line faction of Zanu PF today
such an outcome
is exactly what they want to see happen here. The engineered
riots on Monday
were a clumsy effort to evoke a response from the people of
Zimbabwe and
they had hoped that in the subsequent mayhem they would find
justification
for a crack down and the abandonment of the GPA and its
wretched road map to
elections.
I hear that even more
violence is planned and that this will be more
serious, not just looting
stores and allowing the young Zanu thugs to keep
what they can steal. This
time I would not be surprised if they do not burn
down some big buildings
and engineer some real street battles.
The problem is that we are
not buying it. MDC is telling its supporters to
keep cool and stay out of
it. Do not retaliate if attacked or provoked. This
is not weakness but real
strength and discipline. We decided 12 years ago
that we wanted a peaceful,
legal, democratic transfer of power to new
leadership. We are not about to
change our stance. We knew the GPA
government would not work, we did not
even like the arrangement, but we
accepted it because it was the only deal
on the table that would take us to
a free and fair election. This time,
violence will not help Zanu.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo 14th
February 2011
Are Zimbabwean Political Parties Serious About the Internet?
By Clifford
Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, 13/02/11
An analysis of
websites of Zimbabwe’s main political parties reveals a
startling disregard
for the importance and potential of using the internet.
One is left
wondering whether some of the leaders know that they have a
website at all.
All the websites are not up to date on content. You just
begin to wonder
whether Zimbabwean parties are serious about the internet
given what is
going on in North Africa and beyond.
Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) (www.mavambokusiledawn.org)
In the
wake of two confessions by former party members Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn
(MKD)
party may have to issue another statement if not two besides the
current
undated one entitled ‘MKD Neither an Election Party nor a Covert
Project’
because the negative tag seems not to be going away. Some of the
problems
are like chickens which have come home to roost.
‘Braai stick’
The
first ‘confession’ or disclosure was made by Dumiso Dabengwa, then
Interim
leader of Zapu who was quoted as saying MKD leader, Simba Makoni was
a
“braai stick”. “We used Makoni to stop the old man (Mugabe) and
Tsvangirai;
whose track record we did not feel would make him a good
president. UMakoni
wayeludlawu lokos’inyama, Nxa usugedile ukosa inyama
uyalulahla udlawu
uzidlele inyama yakho (Makoni was a braai stick. You put
away the braai
stick when you have finished roasting and then enjoy your
meat,”said
Dabengwa to Zapu officials in Gwamayaya communal lands in Nkayi
on
Wednesday, June 29, 2010 (Zimeye, 01/07/10).
Kudzai Mbudzi’s
Confession
The second ‘confession’ was allegedly made by retired Major
Savious Kudzai
Mbudzi in January when he reportedly claimed that MKD was a
Zanu-pf project
meant to destroy the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
led by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
“I knew from the beginning that
Makoni and I were never going to win, we
were just used to remove Zanu-PF
from the mud,” said Mbudzi before
re-joining Zanu-pf (RadioVop,
23/01/11).
MKD Spin
Although it is not clear which election MKD is
referring to in its online
‘survey’ entitled ‘Who will you vote for in the
next election?’ which
started on Monday 9th October 2006 and was still
ongoing as of 13/02/11, the
party does not hide its ambition as it is
leading all other parties with 363
votes (48.5 %), MDC-T 235 votes (31.4%),
ZAPU 66 votes (8.8%), Zanu-PF 46
votes (6.1%) and MDC-M 32 votes (4.3%).
However, the MKD online poll results
were not confirmed in the real world in
2008 election when Morgan Tsvangirai
polled 1 195 562 votes (47.87%), Robert
Mugabe had 1 079 730 votes (43.24%)
Simba Makoni got 207 470 votes (8.31%),
and Langton Towungana, Independent
got 14 503 votes (0.58%) (Eisa.org.za,
accessed 11/02/11).
Speaking moments after Simba Makoni had officially
announced his decision to
contest the March 29, 2008 presidential election
as an independent on 5th
February 2008, two days after he had been barred
from contesting in the
Zanu-pf primary elections in Makoni Central,
Manicaland Province, Mbudzi
reportedly said Makoni ‘consulted widely’ and
had the backing of 90% of key
people in the party (Zanu-PF). He said that
they would not launch a party
and were comfortable with the name Zanu-pf
since “the constitution is
fortunately silent on the use of symbols and
names” (New Zimbabwe,
07/02/08). Mbudzi was not the only one who had high
hopes about Simba Makoni’s
electoral appeal.
Formerly a Professor of
Development Studies at the University of Zimbabwe,
Brian Raftopoulos saw
Makoni’s appearance on the Presidential, as a result
of: ‘the continuing
struggles within Zanu-pf between factions that have all
benefited from the
ruling party’s patronage; the rampant decline of the
economy; the divisions
in the opposition; and the failure of the SADC
mediation.’
Regime
change
In an article on the MKD website, former Zanu-pf Minister, Fay Chung
says
‘Clearly the anti-sanctions strategies followed by the Zanu-pf
Government
over the last decade were seriously deficient if they existed at
all …sanctions were and are real. The wish for regime change was and is
real’
(Mavambokusiledawn.org accessed 11/02/11). Equally ineffective is
Zanu-pf’s
strategy of using the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang
Jiechi to call
for the lifting of targeted sanctions against some
Zimbabweans for alleged
human rights abuses at a time when Amnesty
International has condemned
Mugabe’s party for Zimbabwe violence (The
Zimbabwean, 11/02/11).
Furthermore, Zanu-pf women’s league Manicaland
provincial chairperson, Jane
Knight threatened to bomb the offices which are
owned by a local white
businessman and MDC official, Dirgit Kidd (RadioVop
10/02/10).
The MDC led by Welshman Ncube (mdczim.com)
The party’s
website seems unaware or not bothered at all by the drama we saw
last week
involving the ‘firing’ of Welshman Ncube by Arthur Mutambara
followed by the
‘expulsion ‘of Mutambara by Ncube and the refusal by Robert
Mugabe to swear
in Ncube as the new Deputy Prime Minister as well as the
reported ‘donation’
of Mutambara by MDC-N to Zanu-pf!
Not up-to-date
It is not clear what
has caused the Welshman Ncube MDC not to update its
website especially the
Executive Structure in view of the ‘party’s congress.
Whether it’s the site
administrator’s fault or the fact that the leadership
dispute is before the
High Court, the party’s homepage, says the Executive
Structure comprises:
Arthur Mutambara, President and Deputy PM, Welshman
Ncube, Secretary Gen and
Minister of Industry and Commerce; Priscilla
Misihairambwi-Mushonga, Deputy
Sec.Gen and Minister of Regional Integration;
Fletcher Dulini-Ncube,
Treasurer-General and MP for Lobengula, Magwegwe;
Miriam Mushayi, Deputy
Treasurer-General; Jobert Mudzumwe, national
Chairperson and Edwin
Mushoriwa, Secretary for Information and Publicity.
There is no reference to
the recent congress and its new structure nor the
game of
expulsions.
Whereas the party’s website says the forum is open only to
registered and
logged in users, there is no access (space for registering
username and
password), neither is there evidence of interaction with
browsers on any
issues. In the gallery are picture albums. With things
moving so fast in the
party, the website seems oblivious to all the issues
on Zimbabwe’s current
affairs such as the reported plans by Zanu-pf to
replace the US$ with the
Chinese Yuan currency should it win elections which
Mugabe wants to run this
year. Although the site does not have links to
Facebook, Twitter or You
Tube, Ncube is said to be on Twitter.
Eat
own Words
Some analysts have argued that Welshman “Ncube might have to eat
his own
words on ‘trivial’GPA posts” now that Mugabe has refused to swear
him in as
Deputy Premier. They cite what he said in October 2010 to his
followers on
twitter, ‘to us it is not about positions but rather about what
we can do to
improve the lives of ordinary people. We are frustrated that
our partners
have slowed the full GPA implementation over issues, including
the
appointment of Gono, Tomana and Bennett’ (SW Radio Africa,
04/02/11).
ZAPU Home page(www.zapu.org)
Unlike the MKD where only the
party leader features on its homepage, Zapu’s
website displays pictures of
its leaders and spells our what it stands for
in the areas covering
constitutional reform, gender equality, opportunities
for youth, social
development, economic development, natural resources,
foreign trade and
foreign policy and has a link for its manifesto. However,
the Zapu homepage
had not yet been updated following the tragic loss of
Thenjiwe Lesabi last
week.
‘Brandvantage’
One lengthy article that is difficult to miss but
stale is entitled ‘Zapu’s
Brandvantage Over Others Advantage’ and is a
rebuttal of a commentary by
Sibusiso Dlodlo in the Standard newspaper of
November 21 to 27, 2010. A
noticeable feature on the Zapu homepage is the
Jubilee 50 Appeal marking the
party’s 50th anniversary. Following reports
that ‘Zapu is broke’ (The
Zimbabwe Mail/ RadioVop 07/02/11), it is not
surprising that there are four
icons on the party’s website appealing for
donations.
Zapu National Treasurer, Macdonald Muswere reportedly said
donors had not
been forthcoming ever since Dabengwa broke away from the
Unity Accord which
was signed by the late Zapu founder and former vice
president, Dr Joshua
Nkomo and Robert Mugabe of Zanu-pf. Zapu’s consolation
could be that it is
not alone in being skint as Zanu-pf has also reported it
was faced with a
bill of nearly US$1 million in overdraft charges. Since
Zapu contested in
previous elections but did not win a single parliamentary
seat, it is
understandable that its homepage has active links to Facebook,
Twitter and
You Tube making it one of the few that are maintaining contacts
with the
young generation. That may also be instrumental in fund raising
efforts.
The Movement for Democratic Change led by PM, Morgan
Tsvangirai (mdc.co.zw)
There is evidence of currency of information on
the website of the MDC led
by Prime Minster, Morgan Tsvangirai such as
articles and pictures of events
as recent as Friday 11th February 2011. In
its offensive against Zanu-pf,
the MDC’s website has articles like: ‘Wheels
off the Herald’, ‘Police
Alliance with Zanu-pf a major source of threats to
the people of Zimbabwe’,
‘Zanu-pf must stop abusing hapless youths’,
‘Violence: President Tsvangirai
meets Mugabe’ and Nelson Chamisa’s address
to the Transparency International
Zimbabwe public meeting on ‘the
Declaration of Assets by Public Figures’
held in Harare, among
others.
Informative
The articles on the MDC-T website have dates
unlike most of those on the
Zanu-pf homepage. There are sections describing
the MDC, its leader, the
team, the agenda, ‘get involved’ (register to vote,
spread the word,
contribute to change and photo gallery). Therefore it’s
informative. The
‘follow us’ icon has active links to Facebook, You Tube and
Twitter where
there are pictures of MDC’s friends and followers.
Like
Zapu which uses its website for recruiting members, the MDC’s homepage
is
similarly on a membership drive. The MDC website also has an email and
webmail links making its leadership accessible. There is a message box for
contacting the MDC’s president. MKD has an email and various phone numbers
for contacting the party. The Zanu-pf website’s sign-in button is inactive
thereby restricting access to the leadership.
Discussion
forum
Ideally as a non-commercial organization, the MDC’s web address should
have
been .org not .co.zw which makes it vulnerable to hacking and possible
snooping by the much dread intelligence agents. For unclear reasons, the
MDC website’s discussion forum was not downloading on Sunday 13th February
2011 although on Thursday 10 February 2011, it showed four issues for
discussion namely: ‘Should the MDC pull out of the inclusive government?’
‘The Constitution we want,’ ‘2011 Elections’ and ‘MDC and Corruption.’ This
writer noticed that the site’s discussion forum had been interfered with
because some of the postings were corrupted or inappropriate, probably that
is why the forum link had been deactivated. However, if the site
administrator values the public’s views, the webmaster should have left a
message that ‘the page you are looking for is undergoing maintenance’.
Otherwise discussion forums are invaluable for ideas and
feedback.
Zanu-PF Homepage (www.zanupf.org.zw)
The Zanu-pf website
has its own peculiar characteristics of getting on the
propaganda offensive
like a boxer who starts to throw blows on entering the
ring with or without
gloves! It’s press statement and articles like the one
entitled ‘Why
continue to bother Gono?’ have no dates presumably to enable
them remain
posted indefinitely without getting stale.
On the Zanu-pf homepage, the
surfer immediately encounters aggressive
propaganda, starting with ‘MDC-T
Reign of Terror in Harare’. The article
claims that Zanu-pf has been
‘carefully studying the unfolding violent
situation in Harare’. However,
eight members of Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-pf
party who were arrested on Monday
7th Feb 2011 after they allegedly looted
the Gulf Complex stunned a Harare
Magistrates Court when they revealed that
they received orders from Zanu-pf
bosses to attack foreigners and that the
violence was ‘systematically
co-ordinated from the party’s Harare provincial
offices at 4th Street
(Zimeye, 12/02/11).
Zanu-pf’s Opinion and Analysis page
Interestingly
only two of the four issues listed in the forum of the Zanu-pf
website have
6 posts made in July 2010, while the other two ‘bumper tobacco
harvest’ and
‘corruption in MDC-T run local authorities’ were created on 4th
February but
have zero posts! This shows lack of interest in the Zanu-pf
forum and the
issues put forward. As noted before, the webmaster has gone
AWOL. Gadzira
Chiruumhanzu is listed on the Zanu-pf website as the Director
for Science
and Technology/Webmaster and his email address plus phone
contact numbers
given. So there is means of access, at least. Hopefully they
will update
their website, unless they have reservations about ‘inciting’
interest in
the internet.
The Mubarak dilemma
While they may not openly admit
having nightmares in view of Tunisia and
Egypt, Zanu-pf spin doctors are
facing the Mubarak dilemma – whether to
switch off the internet and risk
upsetting Mugabe’s Chinese guests or just
hope the 2006 snooping laws will
buy them enough time to strategise for the
worse case scenario. Keeping the
entire country incommunicado is not an
option. Mubarak tried it and he
failed. Even in Morocco, where the regime
has allegedly severely constrained
the independent print media through
direct and indirect censorship, the
internet has put the country’s censors
under great pressure since the first
connection was made in 1995 (Balancing
Act Africa, Issue No 275).
No
time to say farewell
Mubarak tried to switch off the internet, and shut down
Aljazeera, but after
a week he re-connected Egypt and lifted the ban on the
satellite tv company
which has extensively covered the events in Tahrir
Square to his irritation.
In the final analysis, Mubarak did not have time
to say farewell as left for
the holiday resort sooner than he had planned
leaving his new Vice President
whose post had been vacant for 30 years to
say good bye for him!.
After watching Aljazeera’s Witness TV programme on
Sat 12th February 2011 at
7.45 p.m. GMT it became clearer how the rise of
Egypt’s blog revolution
started in the face of state repression in 2007 and
now Egypt is said to be
the eighth largest Facebook nation in the world,
according to a Research
Fellow speaking on the programme.
Domino
Effect
The Mubarak domino effect is already being felt in North Africa and
the
Middle East with reports that over 30,000 soldiers were deployed on
Saturday
12th February in Algeria to disperse demonstrators who were
protesting
against the government of Abdel Aziz. In the streets of Sanaa,
Yemen,
thousands of anti-government protesters inspired by Egypt’s
revolution were
calling on Saleh to step down as president. Meanwhile,
according to
Aljazeera, the prosecutor’s office in Egypt was on Saturday
investigating
allegations of corruption against three former cabinet
ministers. That will
happen one day in Zimbabwe.
In denial
In his
‘dissertation’ on Tunisia and Egypt (The Herald, 05/02/11) George
Charamba
misses many points on why and how revolutions have swept through
the 30-year
regimes. He is in denial of the possible by manufacturing an
external enemy
as usual – this time America, which he vilifies religiously
enough to earn
his thirty pieces of silver. While his articles are
nauseating, they provide
a handy archive of the bankrupt thinking behind the
denial of freedom of
expression in Zimbabwe.
Catalyst
Despite the controversial
Interception Law of 2006, one of the catalysts of
change in Zimbabwe will be
the internet especially with the reported
completion of the US$22.7million
undersea fibre optic cable, coupled with
the fast spread of mobile
broadband, SMS, as well as the Voice Over Internet
Protocols for inexpensive
long-distance phone calls. While George Charamba
says the catalyst in the
jasmine revolution was the igniting self-immolation
from a poor youth in
Tunisia, what happens between now and the elections
could have the trigger
for a revolution in Zimbabwe. Again contrary to
Charamba’s assumption that
going into the diaspora tends to radicalize
Zimbabweans, while a
contributing factor, it is images of violence being
perpetrated on their
parents, relatives, friends or compatriots which makes
people angry and
bitter.
Reach-out
Unless Zimbabwean political parties recognize and
meaningfully reach out to
the young generation at home and abroad in time,
they risk marginalizing
them and being overtaken by change possibly greater
than that of the jasmine
revolution. We don’t mean orchestrated ‘Zvirise
sei’ jingles or abusing
jobless people to go looting other people’s
properties under the guise of
indigenization nor making grade one children
draw a picture of a leader of
one political party. Why not ask the school
children to draw pictures of all
the leaders of Zimbabwe’s main and fringe
parties so as to instill a sense
of unity in diversity at an early age than
subjecting them to communist
regimentation of a leadership cult?
Clifford
Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
Bill Watch Special of 12th February 2011 [Parliamentary Committee Meetings 14-17 February]
BILL WATCH SPECIAL
[12th February 2011]
Parliamentary Committee Meetings: 14th to 17th
February
The following meetings are open to members of the public, as
observers only, not as participants. [See note at the end of this bulletin on public attendance and
participation at different types of committee meetings] As there are sometimes last-minute changes to the schedule, it is
recommended that you avoid possible disappointment by checking with the relevant
committee clerk that the meeting is still on and still open to the public.
Parliament’s telephone numbers are Harare 700181 or 252936-55. [Names of committee clerks are given below]. If attending, please use the Kwame Nkrumah Ave entrance to
Parliament. IDs must be produced.
Monday 14th February at 10 am
Portfolio Committee: Transport and Infrastructure
Development
Oral evidence from ZINARA [Zimbabwe National Roads
Authority]
Committee Room No. 1
Chairperson: Hon Chebundo Clerk: Ms
Macheza
Public Accounts Committee
Oral evidence from Public Service Commission, Ministry of Youth and
Ministry of Finance
Committee Room No. 4
Chairperson: Hon Chinyadza Clerk: Mrs
Nyawo
Monday 14th February at 2 pm
Portfolio Committee: Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfareu
Oral evidence from Ministry of Labour and Social Services on its
programmes and activities for 2011
Committee Room No. 1
Chairperson: Hon Zinyemba Ms
Mushunje
Portfolio Committee: Public Works and National
Housing
Oral evidence from Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities
on Ministry’s housing projects
Committee Room No. 311
Chairperson: Hon Mupukuta Clerk: Mr
Mazani
Thematic Committee: Gender and Development
Oral evidence from the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and
Network
Committee Room No. 3
Chairperson: Hon Chitsa Clerk: Ms
Masara
Tuesday 15th February at 10 am
Portfolio Committee: Agriculture, Water, Lands and
Resettlement
Oral evidence from ARDA [Agricultural and Rural Development
Authority] official
Committee Room No. 4
Chairperson: Hon Jiri Clerk: Ms
Mudavanhu
Portfolio Committee: Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and
International Trade
Oral evidence from Inter-Ministerial Committee on Infrastructure
Development on its programmes and challenges faced at Beitbridge Border
post
Committee Room No. 3
Chairperson: Hon Mukanduri Clerk: Mr
Chiremba
Portfolio Committee: State Enterprises and
Parastatals
Oral evidence on Ministry of State Enterprises programmes
Committee Room No. 2
Chairperson: Hon Mavima Clerk: Ms
Chikuvire
Portfolio Committee: Industry and Commerce
Oral briefing from Zimbabwe National Chamber of
Commerce
Committee Room No. 311
Chairperson: Hon Mutomba Clerk: Ms
Masara
Portfolio Committee: Local Government, Rural and Urban
Development
Oral evidence from Gutu Residents Association on provision of water
by their local authority
Committee Room No. 413
Chairperson: Hon Karenyi Clerk: Mr
Daniel
Wednesday 16th February – no meetings open to the
public
Thursday 17th February at 9 am
Thematic Committee: Human Rights
Oral evidence from Ministry of Labour
Committee Room No. 2
Chairperson: Hon Marava Clerk: Ms
Macheza
Thursday 17th February at 10 am
Portfolio Committee: Education, Sport and Culture
Oral evidence on Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture
programmes and activities for 2011
Committee Room No. 4
Chairperson: Hon Mangami Clerk: Ms
Chikuvire
Public Attendance at and Participation in Committee
Meetings
·
Open to the public to attend as observers
only: Portfolio and thematic committee meetings where oral evidence is
being heard. Members of the public can listen but not speak. [As listed
above.]
·
Stakeholders by invitation: At some committee meetings stakeholders [and those who notify
Parliament that they consider themselves stakeholders] are invited to make oral
or written representations and ask questions. [These meetings will be
highlighted in these bulletins.]
·
Not open to the public: Portfolio and thematic committee meetings in which the committees
are doing private business – e.g. setting work plans, deliberating on reports
and findings, or drafting reports for Parliament, or when the committees make
field visits. [Veritas does not list these meetings in these
bulletins.]
·
Public Hearings: When committees call for public hearings, members of the public are
free to submit oral or written representations, ask questions and generally
participate. [Veritas sends out separate notices of these public
hearings.]
Note: Zimbabweans in the Diaspora can send in written submissions by
email to clerk@parlzim.gov.zw
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot
take legal responsibility for information
supplied.