http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Politics
Apostolic and
other African-initiated churches have vowed to mobilise
millions of people
to vote for Zanu PF in the forthcoming general elections.
BY PATRICE
MAKOVA
The churches’ political stance comes amid surveys that have
indicated that
Zanu PF was gaining ground against its political rivals,
MDC-T and MDC.
Results of the latest survey released by the Mass Public
Opinion Institute
last week revealed that elections were likely going to be
a closely fought
contest with President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party
marginally edging Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T.
But
analysts and other religious leaders described the initiative to lure
independent African churches as doomed.
Zanu PF leaders, among them
Mugabe, his deputy Joice Mujuru, Minister of
Media, Information and
Publicity, Webster Shamu and local government
minister, Ignatious Chombo
have relentlessly addressed gatherings of Johane
Masowe, Johane Marange and
other independent African churches in the past
months.
They have been
promising church members, land and benefits of the
indigenisation and
economic empowerment programme.
Some of the church leaders among them
Noah Taguta Momberume who heads Johane
Marange and Paul Mwazha of the hugely
followed African Apostolic Church have
openly endorsed Mugabe. The MDC-T has
however accused Zanu PF of abusing
churches.
President of the
Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ), Bishop
Johannes Ndanga said
the over 620 churches registered under the umbrella
group were busy
registering their members as voters.
He said the other church members
were being assisted to get national
identity documents to ensure that they
vote for Zanu PF.
Bishop Ndanga said by March 9 all the churches under
the council would
“voluntarily” provide figures of how many of their members
would have
registered as voters.
He said religion could not be
separated from politics.
“Just wait and see. We want to show our power by
swinging the votes in
favour of Zanu PF,” said Ndanga. He claimed that the
churches under the ACCZ
had over 8 million members, adding all of them were
united and loyal to
their leaders. “If we decide to swim in a river we all
go in at the same
time,” he said.
Ndanga said ACCZ was bitter that
MDC-T councillors have performed dismally
in terms of service delivery and
accused them of corruption.
He also accused the MDC-led councils of selling
land to churches at
commercial value.
The church leader also claimed
Tsvangirai has been snubbing them since he
became Prime Minister in
2009.
However, analysts and other religious leaders said Zanu PF has
tried in the
past tried and failed to win the religious vote.
One
religious leader, Rev Useni Sibanda said the apostolic churches and
other
independent African churches were not a homogenous group. He said
getting
the support of one group’s leader did not translate to winning the
support
of the others.
“Zimbabweans are an intelligent people who have
independent minds,” he said.
Rev Sibanda said for the political parties
to win the votes of Christians
they needed to have clear policies on issues
to do with justice, peace,
fairness and the common good.
Gift
Mambipiri, coordinator of National Movement of Catholic Students said
the
2012 census results showed that Zimbabwe was a highly religious country,
with more than 95% of the people belonging to at least a religion.
He
however said although 80% were clear that they were Christians, the
figures
did not matter when it comes to elections.
“Our democracy has not matured
to an extent people would consider moral
Christian issues as voter clarion
calls,” Mambipiri said.
“We still vote with our heads and stomachs, not
our bibles. People know the
character and history of Zanu PF and they don’t
need Church elders to open
their eyes. They smile at some political leaders
in broad daylight for fear
of victimisation, but act otherwise when they are
handed the ballot and a
pen.”
University of Zimbabwe religious
studies lecturer, Professor Ezra Chitando
said while addressing a captive
audience was important, it was difficult to
determine whether accessing such
church gatherings would translate to votes.
Chitando who has just
completed editing a new book on “Religion and
Politics” said what brings
people together in churches was not political
opinion but a shared religious
ideology.
“It is very likely people who share the same religious view may not
share
the same political ideology,” Chitando said. “My suspicion is that
there is
no such thing as the religious vote.”
He said factors that
were likely to win support of religious members were
economic and social
policies, as well as the charisma of specific political
leaders.
Another respected church leader, Rev Murombedzi Kuchera also
said religious
leaders have no political influence over their members. “We
can only advise
our members to vote wisely otherwise our churches have
people from different
political persuasions,” he said.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Politics
ACTING
President Joice Mujuru has castigated greedy politicians and leaders
who are
grabbing everything for themselves under the guise of
indigenisation.
BY PATRICE MAKOVA
Speaking at the burial of
the late Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the Democratic
Republic of Congo, John
Mayowe at the national shrine in Harare yesterday,
Mujuru said the country’s
natural resources should benefit all people and
not just a few
individuals.
“Let me state that empowerment and indigenisation are not
mutually
exclusive,” she said. “We should be practical and flexible to
emphasise one
or the other without compromising the thrust of the noble
ideological
position.”
Mujuru, who was acting in the absence of
President Robert Mugabe who was in
Equatorial Guinea for a regional summit
said Zimbabweans must be guided by
the philosophy of Ubuntu and unite to
build rather than destroy the country.
The programme to transfer majority
shareholding in foreign-owned businesses
is currently embroiled in
controversy.
Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere, is reportedly at
loggerheads
with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Gideon Gono over the
high
consultancy fees paid to a company contracted to oversee the
empowerment
deals. The two MDCs have also complained that only Zanu
PF-aligned people
were benefitting from indigenisation.
Mujuru told
the hundreds of people who were at the Heroes’ Acre that
Zimbabweans should
demonstrate maturity by conducting the March 16
constitutional referendum
and subsequent harmonised elections in a peaceful
environment.
She
said Zimbabweans should take heed of the call by the political
leadership
for violence-free campaigning to avoid undue criticism and
scrutiny from the
outside world.
“No parent wants to see his or her children fight each
other, let alone kill
or maim each other,” said the acting
president.
She accused unnamed Western countries of interferring in
Zimbabwe’s
political processes by demanding to be monitors in the
forthcoming
elections.
“Why should we be monitored by other countries
outside Sadc when we are a
sovereign state?” queried Mujuru. “Some
countries, particularly those which
have imposed illegal sanctions on us,
wish to pursue their interests at our
expense by imposing themselves on our
national election processes, so as to
influence the outcome in their
favour.”
She revealed that Zanu PF was in the process of establishing an
“ideological” school which has been on the drawing board for a long time
now.
“Without a school of ideology, it becomes difficult to remain
focused on the
direction in which the people want to go,” said Mujuru. “It
is a good recipe
for disaster as the enemy will take advantage of this
vacuum to introduce
their ideological thinking that is in line with
furthering their own
interests.”
She said Mayowe, a veteran diplomat,
had just completed writing a book that
narrated his experiences during the
war and his relationship with the late
Zanla commander, Josiah Magama
Tongogara, with a view of leaving behind a
correct legacy of
history.
Mujuru said there were “yawning” gaps in most of the available
publications
on the history of the country.
Some Zanu PF officials
present at the burial said they were not sure whether
Mayowe’s book would
finally reveal how Tongogara died. They said Mujuru’s
call for the writing
of the true history of the country could open a can of
worms; including
revealing the true circumstances under which her own
husband retired General
Solomon Mujuru met his death in August 2011.
A number of inconsistences
have been highlighted on how Tongogara and Mujuru
met their
fates.
The official version was that Tongogara died in a car accident on
December
26 1979, a few days after the signing of the Lancaster House
agreement.
Tongogara’s children recently said they doubted this version,
calling for
the exhumation of his body.
On the other hand, a coroner
ruled that Mujuru died of carbonation in an
inferno at his Beatrice
farmhouse, but the family has dismissed this
version.
Mayowe’s burial
was attended by mostly members of the uniformed forces. A
Zanu PF official
attributed the low attendance to the absence of President
Mugabe and failure
to bus people to the venue.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Politics
VICTIMS of
political violence are demanding that this year’s elections be
monitored by
regional and international officials to avoid a repeat of the
2008 bloody
elections.
BY OUR STAFF
More than 200 victims of political
violence who recently gathered in Zaka,
Masvingo, said they still suffered
psychologically and physically from the
brutality they encountered at the
hands of Zanu PF and State security
agents.
The meeting was convened
by Heal Zimbabwe Trust (HZT), an organisation that
fosters social
integration and tolerance among communities.
After the meeting, the
victims came up with recommendations, demands and
expectations for the next
elections.
“All political parties should be allowed to campaign freely
without being
intimidated or harassed,” the victims said as part of their
recommendations.
“All survivors of any form of political violence should
be given full access
to medical facilities as a matter of urgency.”
The
district of Zaka witnessed some of the worst cases of political violence
during the 2008 elections.
A number of MDC-T supporters were
petrol-bombed and killed during the orgy
of violence, largely perpetrated by
soldiers and Zanu PF militia.
The victims also recommended that those
campaigning for either a “Yes” or
“No” vote during the constitutional
referendum should be allowed to do so
peacefully without
victimisation.
The victims said the police and army should not be allowed
to interfere with
the election process.
Senior security chefs in the
army, police and Zimbabwe Prison Service (ZPS)
have openly supported Zanu PF
and President Robert Mugabe.
“Survivors of political violence should not
be coerced into supporting a
certain political party like what happened in
the June 2008 election
run-off,” they said.
“Regional and
international monitors and observers should be in the country
six months
before and six months after the election period, in order to
reduce cases of
violence.”
The victims also recommended that those who had their
livestock confiscated
during the 2008 political violence be compensated by
the parties that were
responsible, before the next elections.
The
survivors also demanded that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)
should
be led by a new secretariat.
“ZEC should make sure there are no delays in
announcing election results
like what happened in 2008,” they
recommended.
“People who are differently-abled should be assisted by a
person of their
choice in the voting booth and there should be no other
election official
close by, including any member of the police.”
The
survivors said civil society organisations should be allowed to attend
political rallies so they record all forms of hate speech, record people who
threatened and harassed other people for political reasons.
They also
recommended the barring of traditional leaders from openly
supporting any
political party.
“Civil society organisations should set up district
centres in order to
monitor cases of political violence and should be ready
to swiftly rescue
victims of political violence in case there is an outbreak
of violence,”
they said.
However, in the past few
weeks, the police
have been raiding civic organisations accusing them of
interferring with the
country’s electoral processes.
It was recommended that youth officers
under the Ministry of Youth,
Indigenisation and Empowerment should be
stopped from harassing the
electorate or being made poll officials, as they
had openly displayed
partisan tendencies.
The victims also wanted all
those who committed acts of political violence
in 2008 prosecuted before the
next elections, due later this year.
The MDC-T claims that 200 of its
supporters were killed by Zanu PF militia
and state security agents during
the last elections.
“All those who perpetrated political violence during
the previous elections
should openly ask for forgiveness as well as
restitute the people they
offended,” they recommended.
“Supporters of
different political parties should heed their principals’
call for
non-violent campaigns and should stop intimidating other perceived
enemies.”
HZT CAMPAIGNS FOR VIOLENCE-FREE ELECTIONS
The Heal
Zimbabwe Trust said a demand for peace would soon be submitted to
the
government as a way of pressuring them to guarantee violence-free
elections.
The trust is running a campaign dubbed “Matthew 5 verse 9:
Blessed are the
Peacemakers” aimed at promoting a culture of peace and
tolerance as the
country heads for elections.
The campaign targets
communities in some of the hot spots districts which
recorded the highest
cases of political violence during the 2008 elections.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Local
THE police have
requested US$183 million ahead of a referendum and elections
due later this
year, raising questions whether this does not amount to
commercialisation of
the force.
BY OUR STAFF
Ironically, the request is only US$22
million less than what the country
needs to run the whole electoral process,
which is expected to cost US$205
million.
Even Home Affairs
co-minister, Theresa Makone said she thought the budget
was a bit steep and
wondered how the police force had come up with that
figure.
“It
sounds like a lot of money,” she said. “I am yet to see a breakdown of
how
they came up with that figure.”
Makone said she was also worried that one
government department, the police,
was demanding so much money for the
elections and what that would mean for
the entire electoral
process.
“The whole electoral process will cost US$200 million and then
you have one
department asking for US$183 million, that does not sound
right,” she said.
The country is struggling to raise money for the
referendum and national
elections.
The government has already sent
out a distress signal to the United Nations
Development Programme and the
private sector to bankroll the two electoral
processes.
The
government only set aside US$100 million for elections, enough to cover
the
referendum.
But police spokesperson, Charity Charamba defended the police
budget, saying
since the inception of the coalition government four years
ago, there had
been scant financing of police operations.
“At the
same time [you] . . . ought to understand that [the] police operate
from
government funding, we do not have any other source of funding,” she
said in
written responses. “For time immemorial, especially after the
formation of
[the] GNU, the police have continued to suffer perennial budget
shortages.”
Charamba said the force required funding for elections,
as what they had in
their coffers was barely enough to cover their
day-to-day costs.
“Policing elections is not regularly budgeted for,
hence an extra budget is
drawn to ensure effective and efficient managing of
elections,” she
continued.
However, Charamba declined to reveal the
budget for elections, “due to
security reasons and this is not for public
consumption”.
The police spokesperson scoffed at suggestions that the
force was being
commercialised as evidenced by the rather high elections
budget.
“Those proponents of the theory that police are commercialising
should in
fact appreciate that [the] police are strategic planners who plan
ahead
according to international best practices; we do not wait until
election
day,” she said.
“Those misinformed elements should also know
that this is not the first time
[the Zimbabwe Republic Police] ZRP has
policed plebiscites of this nature,
for example [in] 2008 a budget was also
drawn. Remember ZRP is a patriotic
organisation that wishes to see the best
in a violent-free environment.”
Apart from money from government, the
police also get money from fines they
collect on a daily basis but do not
remit to Treasury as required by law.
They are also paid to provide
security at such events as soccer matches.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Local
EFFORTS
by police to combat corruption among its ranks seem to be coming to
nought.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
The corrupt officers are moving
fast, devising complicated ways of
extracting bribe-money from motorists to
avoid being caught.
Before my recent experiences, I had a negative
perception of kombi crews.
I viewed them as a harsh, rough and arrogant
bunch.
But when I later learnt how they are extorted of their hard-earned
cash on a
daily basis by traffic cops, I became bitter on their
behalf.
Last week, I took time and embarked on a mission to observe how
traffic
police dealt with the kombi crews.
My first trip was to
Norton.
I boarded a Toyota Hiace in Harare’s central business district
(CBD) and
less than two kilometres away at the Showgrounds, the police waved
for us to
stop but as the driver slowed down, the officer instructed him to
proceed.
Being a man on a mission, I asked the driver why the officer had
told him to
proceed.
“These officers deal with local kombis whose
destinations are Belvedere,
Kuwadzana, Warren Park and so on,” replied the
driver.
I did not bother myself asking for more details as I realised
that the
police had divided the kombis among themselves, classifying them
under two
broad categories.
There are those that target kombis plying
local routes and another group
that handles those driving out of the
capital.
I also realised that the police have information on every
commuter omnibus;
that is, its owner and the route it plies.
There
was another roadblock about 20 kilometres out of the city centre.
This
time the driver stopped voluntarily without being ordered to do so. The
police did not even bother to come and check his vehicle.
They remained
glued to their positions.
With the keenness of an eagle scrounging for
prey from high above, I watched
the proceedings carefully.
The driver
took out an old tattered route permit from the dashboard and
placed a US$5
note between the folded permit and dashed to the officer who
stood by the
roadside holding a receipt book.
The driver handed over the permit to the
officer who “carefully” opened it.
In no time, the driver was
back.
“This is a new team and they need their ‘tollgate’ fees,” said the
driver.
“The first team has gone, maybe they have ended their shift. But it
is over
now; we have registered and no more hassles till
evening.”
True to his word, the return trip was smooth.
He was
stopped and instructed to proceed without any scrutiny.
Wanting to probe
more, I proceeded to Mabvuku in a bid to confirm my earlier
findings.
This is where I got startling revelations.
Kombi
crews said police officers on roadblocks divided the kombi crews into
groups
of five.
Each group has its leader, who collects US$5 or US$10 every
morning and
surrenders it to an officer at a roadblock.
The kombi
driver, who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation,
said the
group leader would leave the registration number with the
officers — these
are often described as “codes”.
“Those you find with either a Mercedes
Benz or a BMW at roadblocks, such as
the one near Mabvuku turn-off, group us
into five, before demanding money,”
said the driver who plies that route.
“But after paying that money you can
operate freely the whole day.”
I
concluded my mission with a journey to Marondera.
The crew told me money
collected on their first morning trip was for the
police and for
fuel.
The highway has two major roadblocks which are manned by a minimum
of four
police officers.
“When coming from Marondera, I know I have
to set aside US$15 for the two
roadblocks. Police at the first roadblock at
the ‘tollgate’ before or after
Ruwa demand US$10 while the others at Zimre
Park turn off want US$5,” said
another driver.
“At Zimre Park turn
off, they demand US$5 because they know that their
fellow officers at the
tollgate would have taken something from us.
It costs US$2 to travel from
Harare to Marondera, which means the crew gets
US$36 for an 18-seater
vehicle.
“Fuel costs US$15 and then we set aside US$15 for the
roadblocks. This means
we will be left with US$6 and automatically the trip
is for nothing else but
to pay them.”
After paying, the crew leave
codes, which they use later as they pass
through the same check
point.
At the Zimre Park turn off, the conductor simply told the officer
“blue” and
read out the first letters on his vehicle registration number
before he was
allowed to proceed.
“So whenever I pass through, I just
shout my code and they confirm whether I
have paid the ‘toll’ fees or not,”
he said.
I was shocked to learn how the police officers at roadblocks
have come up
with such tactics to rip off the government and individuals for
their
personal benefit.
What I witnessed and heard flies in the
efforts of Police Commissioner
General, Augustine Chihuri who vowed to fight
corruption among the police
rank and file.
It appears his efforts are
coming to nought.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in
Local
Zimbabwe Environmental Journalists Association (Zeja) is planning
to
establish a school of environmental journalism as part of its grand
strategy
to broaden the scope and encourage proper environmental reporting
in
Zimbabwe and Africa.
BY Farai Matebvu
The association that
was launched by the Environment and Natural Resources
minister Francis Nhema
in Vumba, Manicaland Province on September 29 2011,
has since put all the
necessary documentation in place, for the successful
launch of the
Institute.
In an interview after the association’s special board meeting
was held in
Harare recently, the board chairman Ismail Shillaev said the
institute of
environmental journalism would go a long way in providing
relevant
literature and readily available reservoir of skills and knowledge
to needy
environmental journalists in the country.
“As a body of
environmental journalists in Zimbabwe, we are determined to
set necessary
institutions that provide the necessary skills and knowledge
for journalists
because we know that research and training are aids to
proper reporting and
they are solely based on skills and knowledge, hence
the institute,” he
said.
“The world over, environmental journalism is poorly ascended and
journalists
find it very difficult to report factually on environment
because of the
scientific nature of the subject matter.
“It is
against this background that we adopted this decision as a board to
be our
grand plan. We will be finalising the processes and modus operandi of
all
the necessary requirements soon,” added Shillaev.
The Institute for
African Environmental Journalism will be a training,
research and conference
centre for environment and related areas including
climate change and the
conservation of natural resources.
It will provide technical support to
stakeholders and a platform for
exchanging ideas for the development of our
environment which, of late has
come under serious anthropogenic
practices.
Zeja national secretary-general, Gilbert Munetsi believes that
the institute
would, upon its establishment, provide courses that are
relevant to
environmental problems in the country and the region.
“We
face almost similar environmental problems in the region, hence the need
to
design a curricular that has an inclusive approach to solving our
environmental problems.
“Courses must strongly include mainstreaming
environment and climate change
in development planning and implementation”
said Munetsi.
“Most of our journalists face environmental knowledge and
reporting
challenges in their daily work.
The institute, the first of
its kind to be established in the country, will
bring in a new paradigm
shift in positive reporting to help in advocacy,
education and information
in Africa,” he added.
Nhema, who is the patron of the association, will
be presented with the
implementation and operational document at the end of
June for
regularisation and endorsement.
Institution to be a panacea
to environment journalism
Zeja Board member responsible for Education,
Training and Fellowships Lizzy
Mujuru said if the institute was established,
it would be the panacea to
most ills of environmental practices, reporting
and treatment.
“This is the solution to most of our environmental
practices, reporting and
treatment.
Our environment is under siege
and there is need to hasten all possibilities
that can save it.
“The
training and education component will sharpen our journalists with some
special skills and inevitable knowledge about the environment that they have
been longing for, for some time now.
“Upon its establishment, the
institute will also provide conference services
and act as an innovative
ground for environmental research.
“It will also host international
researchers, scholars and fellows from
around Africa and the world ,” said
Mujuru
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Local
THERE has
been an outrage over police’s recent ban of special radio
receivers, saying
this was in violation of the Constitution which guarantees
freedom of
expression.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
Police last week banned the
possession of “specially designed radios” and
other communication devices on
suspicion they are being used to communicate
hate speech ahead of the March
referendum and general elections later this
year.
Police
spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba told
journalists in
Harare that possession and distribution of the devices was
illegal.
She accused some political parties of “sowing seeds” of
disharmony within
the country by distributing the gadgets ahead of the
referendum and
harmonised elections.
Misa-Zimbabwe director,
Nhl-anhla Ngwenya said the ban was illegal.
“It is an illegal ban to start
with,” he said.
“There is no law which proscribes ownership and
distribution of the
receivers in the country.
“This is an act of
cowardice by people who feel threatened by the free flow
of
information.”
It is suspected that the ban is part of a Zanu PF agenda to
hinder
information from radio stations like SW Radio Africa and Studio 7,
which had
become popular with Zimbabwe shunning Zimbabwe Broadcasting
Corporation
(ZBC).
There have been previous attempts to block these
from broadcasting into the
country.
“We cannot pre-empt what we are
doing to challenge this, but I can confirm
that we are working with our
civil society partners with whom we share the
view that we cannot allow the
wanton violation of people’s rights and
constitutionally-guaranteed
freedoms,” Ngwenya said.
In a statement earlier, Misa said it was
concerned about the lack of clarity
on what exactly the “communications
devices” were and the police’s failure
to explain on what basis the radio
sets or their distribution was deemed
illegal.
The media watchdog
challenged the police to specifically state the exact
nature of the illegal
devices and the relevant laws that criminalise their
possession.
“It
is not clear as yet, on what basis possession of devices such as radios
meant to receive broadcasting services can be deemed illegal, as a reading
of section 38B of the Broadcasting Services Act states that one is not
prohibited from possession of a receiver, as long as it is in accordance
with the terms and conditions of a listener’s licence, as issued by Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC),” Misa said.
Misa said access to
information was a fundamental part of freedom of
expression, which would
assist citizens to make informed decisions and
choices during the referendum
and the forthcoming elections.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (Zlhr)
said it was astounded by the
ban and indicated it was preparing to challenge
that through the courts.
“The utterances by the police are patently
illegal,” Zlhr said.
“This so-called ban has no basis in law. The lengths to
which State
institutions and actors are now going to deny fundamental rights
and
freedoms and act outside the law is alarming, but is typical of paranoid
State authorities who are contemptuous of any diversity of opinion and
information.”
Media and rights lawyer, Alec Muchadehama said no law
had been broken to
warrant the police action.
“No offence was
committed by the people who use or distribute the receivers,
meaning there
is no legal basis for the police’s action,” Muchadehama said.
“It is
simply a case of oppression that the police are carrying out on
behalf of
some political parties.”
In recent weeks, police have upped their ante on
civil society
organisations, whom they accused of possessing subversive
material.
Police raided the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)
premises,
where a number of officials were arrested.
Similar raids
followed on Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn), the
National Youth
Development Trust (NYDT) and the Zimbabwe Peace Project
(ZPP).
Stop
tormenting civil society leaders: EU
The European Union (EU) has also
castigated harassment and arrests of
leaders of civil society organisations
by State security agents.
“These recent incidents raise particular
concern in the context of preparing
for the constitutional referendum and
the elections,” said the EU in a
statement.
“It is critical that
authorities demonstrate impartiality, including in
their relation to civil
society, and contribute to generating confidence in
these important
political processes.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Community News
SOME
members of the Johane Masowe Church have appealed to Zanu PF and other
political parties to stop politicising the religious group saying this was
tantamount to humiliating them.
By Our Staff
Wilfred Kushure,
a senior member of the Johane Masowe weChishanu (JMC)
church last week said
politicians should not come to Masowe shrines and
conduct rallies as this
was taboo.
“We do understand that many times these [rallies] are
solicited by bribed
members of our church ‘leadership’,” he said. “We bring
it to everyone’s
attention that a Masowe shrine is a sacred place and that
is why everyone is
asked to take off their shoes and all modern
items/gadgets.”
Kushure said some of the “overzealous” members who were
bestowing upon
themselves leadership roles were either gullible and easily
bought over or
were cowards who could easily be pushed.
He said
political parties should also stop coercing JMC members to join them
as they
were not allowed to participate in politics.
Kushure said while
individual members were free to choose to be party card
holders, they were
not allowed to be active in politics or be elected into
positions of
authority or leadership.
“We may vote but that is not expected of us, for
ours is the Kingdom of God
(Hwedu humambo huri mudenga),” he
said.
“If you demand that of us or if you coerce us to be that active,
then you
are forcing us to do things against the teachings of our church and
therefore against the dictates of our God. That is
sacrilegious.”
Kushure said JMC members should shun “tokens with some
ties,” as most of
them were meant to “hoodwink” vulnerable and poor
members.
“We are observing a more accelerated presence of senior members
of our
society and a more accelerated drive to award, reward and benefit
some of
them in various ways by some honourable members of our society,” he
said.
“We hope this is genuine and not meant to hoodwink vulnerable poor
members
of our religion who in turn will be forcibly expected to reciprocate
in ways
that betray the ethics and value standards of our beliefs. That’s
spiritual
murder!”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Community
News
NYANGA — Some villagers in Kazozo area in Nyanga North survive
mostly on
barter trade because they do not have money.
BY OUR
CORRESPONDENT
Even if they were to have it, most retail shops there were
closed down in
2007 during the hyperinflationary era.
Kazozo is one
of Zimbabwe’s remotest areas at the border with Mozambique,
about 140km
north of Nyanga town.
Seeing an opportunity, unscrupulous businesspeople
from Nyanga and Mutare —
some 250km away — are ripping off desperate
villagers here, exchanging basic
commodities which they bring along for
livestock.
In most cases, no money changes hands.
“There is no other
way we can survive,” said Maria Basikiti, one of the
villagers. “We do not
have any option but to barter trade.”
Due to the remoteness of Kazozo,
businesspeople were reluctant to invest in
the area, the villagers
said.
At times, said Basikiti, a beast is exchanged for about 144 litres
of
cooking oil and two cartons, each with 24 bars of laundry soap.
A goat
is traded for 6×2 litres of cooking oil or one carton of green bar
soap.
Some traders bring clothes to the village, which they exchange
for farm
produce such as maize, beans, sunflowers and
groundnuts.
Another villager, Norman Chetsanga, who used to operate a
diesel-powered
grinding mill, said his business crumbled during the
hyperinflationary
period.
He has not been able to revive it
since.
“We now call upon government to establish a fund to assist
distressed small
businesses at growth points and business centres in remote
areas,” added
Chetsanga.
Businesspeople enjoying unfair advantage:
Chief
In an interview with Standardcommunity recently, chief Kazozo
blasted the
businesspeople accusing them of short-changing the villagers in
his area.
“This predicament has forced the villagers to lose their
livestock and farm
products to the informal traders who have flooded my
area,” said Chief
Kazozo.
“These unscrupulous traders are ripping off
villagers. I would like the
police to come and arrest them because villagers
are losing out.”
Some traders pay cash for livestock to enable villagers to
pay school fees
for children.
But it is usually too little compared
to the actual value of the livestock.
“I do not have the money to buy
groceries and pay school fees,” said another
villager, Aaron
Chikangwa.
“So whatever the small amount they offer will go towards
school fees for my
children.”
The traders said they were making
profits through the resale of the
livestock and farm produce at a higher
price in cities such as Harare and
Mutare.
“Times are hard for
everyone and we are just trying to make ends meet. we
barter the maize here
and sell it at a profit to private millers in town,”
said George Shereni, a
barter trader from Mutare.
“But at least we are serving the villagers by
bringing them groceries at
their door steps.”
villagers have accused
Zanu PF officials and war veterans of chasing away
non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) that used to provide them with food
aid.
“There
were some NGOs that used to give us food, but they have since stopped
as the
whole process was hijacked by Zanu PF,” said one of the villagers.
“We
now appeal to Zanu PF to reconsider its stance and wrong perceptions of
NGOs
that were providing us with food aid and re-establishing irrigation
schemes.”
John Hurudza, MDC-T ward six development committee chairman
said the
villagers would only be able to sustain themselves if NGOs were
given the
green light to establish irrigation schemes in the area.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Community
News
Counsellor, motivational speaker, manager and church pastor Lucia
Gunguwo
has become a household name with her no-holds-barred sermons on
marital
issues that are being listened to in homes, churches and commuter
omnibuses.
Standard correspondent Wellington Zimbowa spoke to the popular
marriage
counsellor and found out growing up as a poor girl in rural Mutoko
did not
stop her from being a much sought after marriage counsellor in the
capital.
LUCIA Gunguwo wallowed in poverty as she grew up in
Mutoko.
Her mother, Mary Chimutugu was left stranded when parents of the man
responsible for her pregnancy shunned her, preferring another woman to be
his wife.
Without a breadwinner, life proved hard for Lucia until her
mother remarried
Haggai Kanengoni, whom Lucia was to view as her “biological
father”.
“I had no known father and as such, I couldn’t get a birth
certificate for
the major part of my childhood. It was impossible those days
for one to get
a birth certificate without a father or the support of
paternal relatives,”
she said.
However, despite the enduring love
from her stepfather, the hostility from
some people around her saw Lucia
packing her bags time and again.
“Due to the bad influence of some of my
stepfather’s relatives and some
people in the society, I was always shifting
homes.
“For my primary school alone, I learnt at three schools, but even
at these
schools I transferred to and from several times,” she
said.
Although she was bright, she obtained only two Bs, in Maths and
Shona, out
of the six subjects that she had sat for at O’level in
1990.
She attributes this dismal failure to a life of hardship as a
teenager,
which involved being sexually abused by a close
relative.
The incident, now a closed chapter in her life, haunted her for
the better
part of her early life as efforts to seek justice came to nought
as
relatives shielded the perpetrator.
It was around that time that
Lucia accepted Jesus Christ as her saviour and
joined the Eternal Word
Ministries.
Unknown to her, this was to mark a complete change of her
life, as it was
here that she was to meet her future husband, Apostle
Tatenda Gunguwo.
On November 23 1996, the two got married. Marriage
brought happiness to Mai
Gunguwo, but that dissipated when she realised how
badly she lacked in
grooming and in the understanding of some core life
issues.
“I had no idea whatsoever how to handle my marriage. I remember
on some
occasions just waking up, bathing, dressing up and picking up my
handbag and
off I would go to town after giving my husband an impromptu
notification,
which was in a way [said] as a matter of fact,” she
narrated.
She would also skip taking contraceptive pills, resulting in
her falling
pregnant when she was not ready for it.
“After the birth
of our first child in 1997, my husband briefly went to
South Africa and I
was on contraceptive pills.
“During his brief absence, I ignorantly
stopped taking the contraceptive
pills, breaking the continuous cycle of
taking them.
“We were both shocked that on his return and after a few
encounters, I fell
pregnant,” she recalls.
She said that experience
also gave her invaluable insight on the challenges
confronting women,
especially those with a similar upbringing.
“While at clinics they tell
you that taking contraceptives prevents
pregnancy, they take it for granted
that everyone knows how they should be
taken,” she said.
Mai Gunguwo
said she owed her changing fortunes to her loving and patient
husband, who
encouraged her to go back to school and rewrite her O’Level
examinations.
Though pregnant, in 1997 she would literally spend the
whole night studying,
soaking her feet in cold water to keep sleep at
bay.
And it paid off, as she passed all the subjects she sat for, including
English Language and Science.
Mai Gunguwo then enrolled at the
Christian College of Southern Africa
(CCOSA), successfully completing a
secretarial course before joining the
Zimbabwe Open University as a
voluntary worker in the data capturing
department. She later became the data
entry clerk, before deciding to pursue
an accounting degree which she
abandoned when the call to serve the
underprivileged was too much for her to
resist. In 2001 with the assistance
of her husband, she established a
charity organisation, Voice of Peace.
Today Mai Gunguwo and her husband
cater for many underprivileged children.
She is determined to provide that
warmth and love she could only dream of,
for the better part of her life.
They even stay with some of the children at
their family
residence.
Is Mai Gunguwo’s marriage without problems?
Given Mai
Gunguwo’s moving and authoritative teachings on marriage issues,
does that
mean her marriage is all rosy?
“Like all other marriages, we have our ups
and downs. But even when we
disagree, we find ways of rising above the
differences.
I stick to my husband’s advice. He taught me that
“ngatisataura tiine hasha.
Simba iroro rauinaro pakupopota wacha magumbezi
kana kumbofamba-famba.” [don’t
talk when you are still boiling with anger,
use the energy to do laundry or
just take a walk to cool off.]
Mai
Gunguwo added that knowing what makes the other partner tick was
important
in oiling relationships.
Today Mai Gunguwo is no longer that poor girl
from Mutoko, but an
accomplished woman, who also has a purpose in
life.
The 41-year-old ambitious lady who owns a catering, events
management and
decor company, Lucy Creations, said she was set to enroll for
a
post-graduate degree with Africa University this year.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Community
News
MUTARE — For the past four years, Rosemary Nyambabvu had been
surviving on
prostitution following the death of her husband.
BY
CLAYTON MASEKESA
The 35-year-old widow, who is now HIV-positive, said she
had resorted to
prostitution to enable her to support her four children and
two relatives
left under her custody.
“I was raped and assaulted
several times and many customers did not want to
pay for my services,” she
told Standardcommunity recently.
Nyambabvu had no other skill to engage in
any kind of gainful employment.
But her life has since changed after a
local Christian organisation, the
International Rescue Mission Ministry
(IRMM), came to her aid.
She is one of the several women and girls in Sakubva
high-density suburb in
Mutare that are benefitting from two
income-generating projects so that they
quit prostitution.
The
projects, funded by IRMM and International Development Aid, include
sewing
and poultry ventures in Sakubva and Dangamvura high-density
suburbs.
“When I remember how I used to suffer, how my children used to
sleep hungry
and even failed to go to school because of lack of school fees,
I cannot
stop working hard,” said Nyambabvu.
“I can now pay school
fees for my children after selling outfits that I am
making at the sewing
project. Before IRMM came to our help, I was a popular
commercial sex
worker, but now things have changed.”
Through the income from the sewing
and poultry projects, Nyambabvu has
managed to construct a two-roomed
house.
Another former prostitute, Hilda Musengeyi said she was very glad
to be part
of the 15 beneficiaries of the Sakubva project, valued at about
US$10 000.
“I am so glad that I am one of the women who is privileged to
be here where
we are learning how to make clothes for sale, now I feel like
God has a
purpose for even poor people like me,” said Musengeyi.
“I
am working towards helping my old mother and paying the school fees for
my
young brothers and sisters.”
In Dangamvura, the poultry project has
helped 20 former hookers quit
prostitution. The poultry project currently
generates an estimated monthly
profit of US$2 000.
The manure from
the chickens is used in the members’ fields to boost yields.
George
Bvute, IRMM projects manager for Zimbabwe, said the organisation was
determined to empower the less-privileged people in society and restore hope
to those who had lost it.
“Our vision is to be the leading Christian
ministry sending out reliable
missionary agents to most of Africa and the
rest of the world by 2025,” said
Bvute.
Theresa Mureza, another
former prostitute said: “We can now see some new
hope for our lives since
some of us are doing better in our lives. We are
now our own employers
rather than selling our bodies for money. We are also
being trained for free
and we will also teach our fellow women for free.”
Jesca Mushambadzi,
IRMM community health specialist in Zimbabwe, said both
projects were
benefitting not only the former prostitutes but also the
community at
large.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Community News
Zimbabwe
Prison Services (ZPS) officials are still at a loss on what to do
with
self-proclaimed devil worshippers, but they hope a solution will be
found
soon.
REPORT BY OUR STAFF
ZPS deputy commissioner, Huggins
Machingauta last week said they wanted the
two Satanists to leave but there
were legal complications in the case.
“It is our wish that they leave our
institutions immediately, but there are
legal complications,” he told a
stakeholders’ meeting.
The two Satanists, George Renee Lungange and Ngezi
Ngendo Bragxton, have in
the past few weeks caught the attention of
Zimbabweans, as they asked to be
allowed to practise their religion in
remand prison.
The request was flatly denied.
Authorities are in a
fix as the two are in Zimbabwe legally — they were
granted asylum —
complicating any form of repatriation.
Machingauta said Zimbabwe was
mostly a Christian nation and could not allow
the practice of
Satanism.
Home Affairs co-minister, Kembo Mohadi recently said there was
no room for
Satanism and the two would be deported soon, but that may prove
difficult to
do.
Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and
Rehabilitation of the Offender
(Zacro) official, Elisha Chidombwe conceded
that the case of the Satanists
was complicated.
“I think we should
call pastors and prophets like [Emmanuel] Makandiwa to
come and exorcise
them,” he said.
Chidombwe said their continued stay in remand prison was
not ideal as they
could influence other prisoners.
Zimbabwe, despite
combining Christian beliefs with traditional practices,
widely considers
itself a Christian nation.
Authorities have declared that there was no
room for Satanism in the
country.
Lungange and Bragxton, refugees at
Tongogara Camp, were arrested after they
wrote to the Social Welfare
ministry requesting that they be given a licence
to operate a Satanic church
in Zimbabwe.
The two insist they have done nothing wrong and should be
released as
Zimbabwe has freedom of conscience and religion.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Community News
COTTON
farmers in Chipinge district have bemoaned the low prices that the
crop is
currently fetching on the local market.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
The
farmers urged government to intervene and set prices that would keep
them in
business in the next farming season.
Some farmers said they feared a
repeat of the 2011/2012 season where ginners
offered US$0,30 per kg, a price
they said was economically unsustainable.
“I have a lot of cotton in my
field and it is ready for harvesting, but the
thing is, I do not know
whether I am going to get much from it,” said
Thandiwe Fusire, a farmer near
Checheche growth point.
“Last season, we suffered a huge loss as the
price offered was not tallying
with the costs of inputs.”
Fusire, who
has 20 hectares of cotton, said most farmers sold a bale of
cotton for US$60
last year, down from US$180 in the 2010/11 season.
Another farmer, Petros
Muyambo from Chinyamukwakwa Village under Chief
Garahwa urged the government
to intervene.
“Our main worry is that of the low price of 30 cents per
kg. It [the money]
is nothing and the government needs to help us this
season,” he said.
“We depend on cotton farming and if the government does
not help us, we will
be in serious problems.”
Local Agritex Officer,
Tafara Muzonda said farmers in Chipinge district had
increased their cotton
hectarage expecting a change of fortunes this year.
“I can confirm that
we have a lot of cotton in this area despite farmers not
getting much money
in the last season,” said Muzonda.
“In two weeks’ time people will start
picking the cotton, while waiting to
hear news about the prices.”
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Business
A Cabinet
inter-ministerial committee has received recommendations on the
change in
ownership of the Chisumbanje ethanol project amid indications the
plant
would soon resume operations.
BY NDAMU SANDU
Government has
appointed CBZ Bank to work out how the project could be
converted from the
Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) model into a joint
venture in which
government would have a 51% stake with the remainder owned
by Billy
Rautenbach’s companies.
CBZ also did the due diligence and evaluation of
the plant.
Standardbusiness was told last week that a CBZ report was
presented to the
technical team, comprising the permanent secretaries and
directors in
relevant government ministries.
The technical committee
then presented the report and its analysis to the
inter-ministerial team led
by Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara.
The inter-ministerial team is
set to consider both the report and analysis
from the technical committee
and are currently working on finalising a
report to be presented to
Cabinet.
The completion of the change of ownership will be the last leg
towards the
resumption of production at the ethanol plant that has not
produced anything
since it reached the 10 million storage capacity in
December 2011.
government recently showed its seriousness in the revival
of the plant by
making it mandatory for all licensed companies to sell
petrol blended with a
minimum of 5% of locally-produced ethanol.
The
ethanol project was initially a partnership between the Agricultural and
Rural Development Authority and Rautenbach’s Rating and Macdom Investments
in a 20-year BOT arrangement to transform estates at Chisumbanje and Middle
Sabi.
It stopped operations in December 2011 after reaching the
storage capacity
due to a slow uptake of the blended petrol.
The
promoters of the project then begged government to introduce mandatory
blending, starting with 10%, just as is happening in other ethanol-producing
countries such as Brazil, as a way of rescuing it.
They also argued
that work stoppages at the plant had put in danger the fate
of over 2 000
employees.
Government on the other hand, argued that it was not feasible
to introduce
mandatory blending to save the interests of an individual
company.
It also argued that the promoters of the project were not coming
out clear
on the formula used in pricing the final product.
The haggling
culminated in the setting up of the inter-ministerial committee
led by
Mutambara.
The committee toured the plant and listened to views of all
the concerned
stakeholders.
It recommended the conversion of the BOT
into a joint venture.
The committee also recommended the banning of
unleaded petrol into Zimbabwe
to rescue the ethanol project from
collapse.
Experts say the introduction of a 5% mandatory blending for
petrol would
save US$2 million monthly in imports.
The country
imports at least 30 million litres of petrol per month.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Business
THE
Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) has adopted a
three-pronged
approach to raise US$35 million meant to recapitalise its gold
producing
subsidiaries.
BY NDAMU SANDU
ZMDC owns Jena, Sabi consolidated and
Elvington gold mines.
Jena and Sabi are currently operating while the
corporation is looking for a
strategic partner for Elvington.
“Funds
will be raised through income from internal resources, strategic
partnerships as well as borrowings,” ZMDC general manager Jerry Ndlovu
said.
This means the corporation failed to capitalise on the booming
prices that
averaged US$1 669,06 per ounce last year.
In the period
2009 up to last year ZMDC injected a total of US$21 million
into the gold
mines.
Ndlovu said negotiations were at an advanced stage with a joint
venture
partner for Elvington.
“Meanwhile, some limited exploration
work is taking place there to define a
potential near surface,
low-grade-high-tonnage proposition within the
claims,” he said.
The
recapitalisation is meant to increase capacity and ultimately output at
the
mines.
According to statistics from the Chamber of Mines, 309 kg of gold
were
produced at Jena while Sabi Consolidated Mines had an output of 188
kg.
ZMDC has in the past been accused of neglecting its gold mines in
favour of
the diamond joint ventures in Marange.
This means that the
corporation has failed to capitalise on a boom in gold
prices.
ZMDC
wholly owns Marange Resources and has joint venture agreements with
Mbada,
Diamond Mining Corporation and Anjin.
The government’s mining arm has
grown over the years with 16 mines currently
under its stable from six at
inception 31 years ago.
Of the mines, four are wholly-owned by ZMDC while the
remainder are in joint
ventures with other companies.
The corporation
has also signed six agreements in gold and diamonds
exploration and
development.
“The joint venture companies formed from these agreements
are mobilising
human resources and equipment to commence activities in the
first and second
quarters of 2013,” Ndlovu said.
The country’s gold
production is on the increase after years of decline.
Gold production last
year was 14 735,12 kg against a target of 15 000 kg.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Business
POLICY and
political uncertainty will continue to hold back investment and
constrain
decision-making throughout 2013 and probably for most of next
year, a
leading economist has said.
BY OUR STAFF
Zimbabwe’s
much-anticipated upward economic growth trajectory since
dollarisation in
2009 has been blighted by policy inconsistency, fuelled by
bickering parties
in the inclusive government.
University of Zimbabwe Business School head,
Tony Hawkins told an Alpha
Media Strategic meeting recently that meaningful
socio-political change in
the sense of a more competent and
economically-oriented administration,
wi-th a focus on the population as a
whole, was the key to a better future
performance.
He said Zimbabwe
had a huge trade gap, pegged at US$3 billion, which would
remain
unsustainably high despite the expected slowdown in import growth.
“The
trade gap is huge because Zimbabwe is over-consuming 90% of GDP [Gross
Domestic Product], so that demand spills over into imports. It has become a
high-cost economy, partly because wages are rising faster than
productivity,” said Hawkins.
“To finance the trade gap, Zimbabwe is
unsustainably reliant on foreign
capital, deeply ironic, given the
government’s indigenisation policy.”
‘Rate of borrowing must slow
down’
Hawkins said in the last two years, capital inflows had averaged
US$1,4
billion a year, more than US$2 billion when arrears are included,
with the
bulk of this being borrowed money.
Less than US$250 million
a year is in the form of offshore investment.
“And this is by an already
over-borrowed country. In the future, the rate of
borrowing will have to
slow, while a growing proportion of new borrowing
will have to be used to
service existing loans,” the business professor
said.
Zimbabwe’s
foreign debt stands at an estimated 116% of GDP, over half of
which is in
arrears.
Hawkins said a combination of a sluggish global economy, the
growing impact
of constraints in the form of high debt, an unfavourable
balance of payments
position and excessive consumption without any savings
pointed towards a
flattish year for the economy in 2013.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in
Opinion
After the rejection of the constitution in 2000, Zanu PF got
shaken and
angry and ordered the self-styled war veterans to invade the
predominantly
white-owned farms.
Sunday Opinion by Zanda
Shumba
Owners were driven off the farms violently . . . some were killed
and assets
were looted. Later, much of the land was claimed through corrupt
means by
Zanu PF officials, army officers, high ranking police officers,
etc. For
many, this was a gimmick by Zanu PF to woo voters.
Still,
people did not vote for it. However, with Zanu PF government
spearheading
the 2002 elections, it manipulated the election process and by
hook and
crook it “won”. In urban areas where MDC had more support, voting
was
restricted through fewer polling stations and a slow processing of
voters.
However, the results of the land reform were and are
disappointing. Most of
the new farmers don’t have capital, the training or
the inclination to farm
efficiently.
They now have returned to
primitive subsistence farming. Some less literate
farmers have either sold
some of the farming equipment remaining on the
farms and butchered herds of
livestock that had taken many years to build.
The ill-conceived land
redistribution resulted in the collapse of the whole
agro-based
economy.
Most firms produced goods and services that were linked directly
or
indirectly to agriculture.
The industry that produced inputs for
agriculture scaled down their
operations due to low demand; so was the
industry that used to process
agricultural output from the farms.
The
railroad whose major business was to ferry inputs and produce to and
from
the farms was also badly affected.
The financial sector was not spared
too. The majority of their clients were
the original white farmers who used
to get loans to support their farming
activities. The country’s GDP went
down by about 80% as a result.
Many people lost their jobs. The
marginally poor were the worst affected.
Our heavily subsidised education
suffered a heavy blow as tax revenue
decreased. We have witnessed a series
of strikes by teachers from 2003 to
date.
Zanu PF did not foresee
this collapse because of its lack of foresight.
When this collapse was
apparent and manifesting itself in untold suffering
of the people, President
Robert Mugabe began using sanctions as a scapegoat
for his party’s
mistakes.
It is apparent to all that the ill-planned land acquisition and
redistribution coupled with mismanagement and corruption is what crippled
the economy.
The only real sanctions we know are travel bans imposed
on Mugabe and his
cronies. In the 2008 elections which were heavily marred
by violence, Zanu
PF raped the people’s will again, first by withholding
election results and
later by Mugabe contesting and winning a solo election
in the bloody runoff
after Tsvangirai withdrew citing
violence.
Mugabe, through his propaganda machines, forced MDC to cower
into the
dysfunctional inclusive government.
It also seems like South
Africa (SA), the mediator, is not so keen to solve
the Zimbabwean issue. The
collapse of the Zimbabwean economy leads to growth
of the South African
economy. We buy most of our goods from SA and most of
our people have
migrated there to seek political or economic refuge.
Recently SA deported
some 43 000 Zimbabweans. We think SA should bear the
consequences of its
reluctance to resolve the Zimbabwean issue
expeditiously. SA can stand up to
the task but clearly its leadership is not
keen to resolve the issue for
reasons better known to themselves.
So we will remember the current
leadership of SA as ones who were in a
position to offer help to the people
of Zimbabwe at a time when help was
needed most…but didn’t.
Now the
constitution has been made without contribution of the people. Still
people
are being urged to vote “yes”. Zanu PF should learn from the past
that it
once tried in 2000 to force a constitution down the people’s throat,
to no
avail.
What guarantee do we have now that Zanu PF can uphold a
constitution, old or
new?
Zimbabwe has a lot of potential for
economic growth and to achieve a higher
standard of living for its people.
Only Zanu PF and Mugabe stand in the way
for people to achieve full
prosperity. Zanu PF has no one to blame for the
chaos in the country except
itself. Zanu PF is now a liability to the
Zimbabwean people. So Zanu PF
should never talk about democracy.
Now the end result is that people are
disunited but are faced with a total
system failure. People have been
intimidated by the ruling party’s
repressive machine (army, police and the
CIO) and are scared to protest, yet
Zanu PF sarcastically label the people
resilient. It’s now a dog eating dog
situation.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in
Opinion
Civil society organisations (CSOs) are key players in development
and
democratisation processes of a country.
Sunday View by Maxwell
Saungweme
CSOs broadly have three main functions in development and
democratisation of
a country and these are: articulating citizens’ interests
and demands;
defending citizens’ rights; and providing goods and services
directly to the
need, without recourse to state organisations.
Each
of the three functions is critical for the mobilisation of citizens
towards
various activities and processes in the development of a
country.
Articulating citizens’ interests and demands is an important
function.
When state policies and programmes of government do not address
adequately
the needs of the poor and vulnerable sections of the community,
CSOs come in
and represent the interest of these groups without fear or
favour.
Defending citizens’ rights is an important function in nations
riddled with
conflict and political crisis.
Defending rights involves
CSOs performing monitoring and watchdog functions
to make the state and its
functionaries accountable.
Admittedly, performing these functions brings
CSOs into conflict with
government and donors, but genuine CSOs are measured
by their ability not to
relinquish their functions for the sake of
mollifying the government and
donors.
CSOs become a danger to
democracy and development when they participate in
what Joerg Forbrig refers
to as vices that render CSOs to be dysfunctional
and hinder them from making
positive contribution to democracy and
development.
Political
co-option is one of the documented vices of civil society.
Co-option of CSOs
is a strong instrument used by political parties to
promote the political
actors’ own anchorage on communities, thereby
increasing their
legitimacy.
The co-option of CSOs is not only done by ruling political
parties but also
opposition parties.
Political co-option increases
the chances of the CSOs’ survival in a
politically polarised environment as
co-opted CSOs will receive political
favours and preference by the political
actors and some donors. However,
political co-option defeats the whole
purpose of an organisation posing as a
CSO.
Co-option limits their
impartiality and ability to play a watchdog role and
defend and articulate
citizen’s interests.
CSOs are formed not to be annexes of government, but
to articulate citizens’
interest, defend their rights and provide services
where governments are
falling short without recourse to state
agencies.
The state of Zimbabwe’s civil society today is a sad one as
some sections of
the CSOs have negated their core principles and main
functions and have
agreed to be co-opted into the country’s coalition
government.
This political co-option of sections of Zimbabwe’s CSOs is
not only causing
discord in the country’s civil society but also making the
CSOs
dysfunctional at a juncture where CSOs have to provide leadership,
represent
the suffering masses and articulate and represent their rights and
interests
boldly in the face of a coalition government whose actions and
policies have
alienated the majority of Zimbabweans.
It is unsettling
that the coalition government through its police force has
in the past eight
weeks increased their clampdown on CSOs who are working in
human rights and
voter education.
The same coalition government, through its police, is
also gagging freedom
of expression by banning the use of shortwave
radios.
It then defies logic that instead of CSOs uniting, some are
actually
entertaining supporting Copac in a process that is totally flawed
and leaves
out the poor.
CSOs in Zimbabwe should know that being
politically co-opted is dangerous
for democracy and development and weakens
their ability to operate as civil
society and as such, should choose between
leaving civil society and openly
joining political parties.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in Editorial
President
Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have been
making repeated
calls for peace as the nation gears for a referendum and an
election in the
coming few months.
The Standard Editorial
The two principals
appear to have found common ground on many contentious
issues facing the
inclusive government, but their calls seem superficial,
judging by the
events of the past few days.
While they have been preaching peace,
tolerance and the respect of the rule
of law, police have embarked on a
campaign to harass civil society
organisations by intensifying arbitrary
searches, arrests and detention on
spurious charges.
A case in point
is how they have hounded the Zimbabwe Election Support
Network (Zesn) over
the past few days.
Zesn is a registered organisation that seeks to
promote a culture of
democratic elections in the country and has been
working in Zimbabwe openly
since 2000.
Yet on February 19, armed
police broke down a perimeter fence and searched
the offices for subversive
material. They left with documents detailing
their plans to observe the
referendum.
Earlier, unknown assailants had broken into the organisation’s
offices in
Masvingo and emptied drawers, before taking away a computer, some
documents
and t-shirts.
Police, who announced a ban on shortwave
radios, also raided the offices of
the Zimbabwe Peace Project and Nango and
arrested an official of the Centre
for Community Development of
Zimbabwe.
This crackdown on civil society organisations is not surprising
given that a
referendum is only a few weeks away, and an election earmarked
for June. The
motive of the police is clear: to stop civil society
organisations from
conducting voter education.
The police actions,
which are partisan, underscore the need for security
sector reform before
Zimbabwe holds any credible election that can end the
prevailing political
uncertainty. Without genuine reforms, the police, the
army and the Central
Intelligence Organisation cannot be trusted to be
impartial in their
duties.
Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube should push Mugabe to quickly rein
in the
police and stop actions that undermine Zimbabweans’ right to
participate in
democratic elections.
http://www.thestandard.co.zw
February 24, 2013 in
Editorial
Legendary Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, in one of his
brilliant novels
gave the story of a tortoise that fell into a pit latrine
and for 20 years
no rescue came along.
From the Editor’s Desk with
Nevanji Madanhire
One day it heard voices passing by and called out: “Get
me out of here, I
can’t stand it any longer.”
Zimbabweans can be
compared to the tortoise which lived passively in the
dung getting used to
the smell and the maggots and everything that goes with
waste
matter.
This is a day in the life of a Zimbabwean urbanite:
He wakes
up in the morning to find there is no running water. He carries two
buckets
to a shallow well in the corner of his yard. Using a rope he draws
the water
and fills his buckets. Electricity has been switched off, so there
is no
question of him heating the water for his bath. After the bath he uses
the
dirty water to flush his toilet.
He opens his wardrobe to search for a
decent set of clothes to put on.
Because of the lack of water, laundry has
not been done for weeks. He fishes
out the least dirty of his clothes; it
doesn’t matter if his shirt matches
his trousers. For socks, he sniffs the
different pairs and decides which is
least offensive. He is ready for
work.
He walks to the bus stop and waits. He just waits for he doesn’t
know when
an omnibus will pass by and pick him. If he is in luck, the wait
isn’t too
long; a minibus comes by and stops to pick him. It’s packed with
other
commuters.
The driver and conductor are rude and curse him for
not making way for yet
another passenger even though the minibus is bursting
at the seams.
The minibus hits the first of dozens upon dozens of
potholes. The driver
curses as he manoeuvres the vehicle through the craters
that have formed in
the roads. By the time he reaches his destination, he is
dishevelled and
cold sweat flows down his neck.
At the block of
offices there is again no power, so he has to walk up the
staircase to the
11th floor. But, he remembers, even if there was power, the
lifts haven’t
worked for a while now due to lack of maintenance.
There is no running
water in the toilets on the 11th floor; they say there
isn’t enough pressure
to push the water up. There is a sign on the toilet
door that reads: No
Water. It means today he can’t answer nature’s call!
Power supply is
intermittent; so the computer switches on and off, losing
data and damaging
the network.
At lunch he descends the steps and decides to go to the
nearby hotel to use
their toilet. But the hotel staff is now wiser; the
toilets are locked and
given to patrons only. He walks to the recreational
park and pretends to be
admiring the flowers while in fact he is relieving
himself.
He is depressed as he makes the journey up the stairs
again.
At knock-off time, the journey down is pitiful. Then the minibus
trip home;
the rude crew and the potholed roads. At the shops he has to buy
paraffin
for the stove and candles for the lighting and chlorine tablets to
treat the
water from the shallow well. He goes to bed and falls into a
dreamless
sleep.
He is like the tortoise.
But how did this
state of affairs come by and why have Zimbabweans accepted
it as
normal?
The answer to this must surely lie in our decayed politics which
ensure that
only mediocre politicians are ever voted into
office.
It’s strange isn’t it that quite a number of politicians have
been in
parliament continually since independence in 1980? They have
overseen the
collapse of the country’s infrastructure and even superintended
it, but
still they are in parliament and are positioning themselves to stand
again
in the coming elections.
What new things have they to offer?
But imagine an election without Didymus
Mutasa or Emmerson Mnangagwa or
Kumbirai Kangai to name but a few?
They will likely be voted back in not
only because they will use all methods
fair and foul to win, but mainly
because voters now see their kind of
leadership as normal.
It is
normal to the ordinary Zimbabwean that politicians get into power to
enrich
themselves at the expense of the majority; it’s normal that the
politicians
are always demanding new cars from treasury while not doing a
thing to
repair the roads on which they wish to drive their new cars.
It’s normal
to Zimbabweans that their politicians can become filthy rich in
a matter of
months while the general populace wades in abject poverty.
It’s normal
when a politician comes to them towards elections with food
hand-outs
demanding votes which they will happily give.
The populist politician
wins the day; the one who comes to a gathering with
a tanker full of
traditional beer and distributes seed and fertiliser he has
looted from the
Grain Marketing Board but claims to be his own largesse
which he is sharing
with the masses.
He will shout revolutionary slogans and use coercion and
intimidation to
win. He is absolutely not interested in the people’s welfare
but is only
working towards his own enrichment.
There are some who
stand up and demonstrate peacefully for the improvement
of their lot but
they are ridiculed by everybody else when they are arrested
and
tortured.
Civil society organisations which stand up to the establishment
are harassed
with impunity while the rest of the population
watches.
One can already begin to foretell what will happen in the
primary elections
right across the political divide: the bootlickers, the
most corrupt and the
most violent will carry the day.
They don’t have
to have any developmental programmes; simply their fists and
loud mouths!
The leaders at the top prefer these because they are ready to
kill for
them.
In the end, mediocrity has become all pervasive; it’s in every
government
office, in every public institution.
The politicians even
promote it because it means less scrutiny on how they
are conducting their
business. Mediocrity promotes corruption and corruption
has become the bane
of our country. When shall we as a nation stand up and
say no to mediocrity
and corruption?
When shall we, like the tortoise shout out and say, “Take
us out of this, we
can’t stand it any longer”?
The coming elections
give us a good chance to lift ourselves out of the dung
by electing leaders
for their programmes and not for their populism or even
their political
party.
